Saturday, March 2, 2013

Cross River State gov, Liyel Imoke returns

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Femi Adesina emerges new NGE president

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•National Mirror’s Ayorinde is Vice President, West

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Saturday, March 02, 2013

2015: Jonathan free to contest –Court

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INSIDE •Says president eligible for second term MAGAZ IN •Dismisses suit with N40,000 cost •Ruling appropriate, says PDP •Battle has just begun –ACF

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Omotola motola

P. 17 ...Chummy stars

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P. 18 National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) protesting in Abuja yesterday over the recent killing of some Nasarawa State University students. PHOTO: NAN

Bukky

Senate to probe killing of Nasarawa students

Insecurity: Ekweremadu advocates decentralised police

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Top Stories

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Give me a job to feed my family –June 12 P.33

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The treatment we get is not encouraging –Dwarf P.35

Life’s pains come with gains –Moji Olaiya P.24

How 17-year-old boy drowned in Ogun River P.36

March 2, 2013

Fashola blames okada for Damoche’s murder MURITALA AYINLA

House of commotion: Caretaker dupes 70 intending tenants P.51 N5.2m

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ommercial motorcycle transportation, popularly known as okada, is once again in the eye of the storm following the brutal murder of singer and student, Damino Damoche, last Thursday in Lagos by gunmen on Okada.

Before Damoche’s murder, okada activities had been restricted in the state, and now, the state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, is using the Damoche murder as an opportunity to campaign against Okada riding.

Condemning the gruesome killing of the singer cum student, Fashola urged residents to see reason for restriction of commercial Okada operators in the state.

He said that the recent murder and previous ones buttressed the state government’s objectives of taming crime through the new road traffic law which restricts the activities of commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada.

Fashola

“Most dastardly acts are perpetrated with the use of okada so residents have to be security conscious and on their guard all the time. On Thursday, Damino Damoche was shot at the entrance gate of LASU. Those who perpetrated the evil act used Okada.

“Just one month ago, a medical doctor was killed by some armed men who were riding Okada. The doctor would have been of benefit to those in need of medical services.

“Some people may be saying that the ban on Okada has ren-

dered them useless. Is this a suitable business, a business that has led to the death of many who could contribute effectively to the development of the country especially Lagos State?”

Lamenting further, he said, “Those who perpetrate these evil acts aren’t spirits. We (Lagos residents) are the ones offering them shelter when they come to the state.”

“Anyone you suspect doesn’t live in your neighbourhood, report such people to the nearest police station, the chairman of their Community Development Area, CDA, and landlords should ensure that they don’t rent their house to criminals.”

Damoche

Three fraudsters attempt to swindle Benue State Government of N495m HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

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n attempt to defraud the Benue State Government of three million dollars (about N495 million) by three men who posed as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials has been foiled by the Department of State Security (DSS) operatives in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Parading the suspected fraudsters before journalists, DSS Director, Rashidi Adedirun, disclosed that the conmen were apprehended by men under his unit. He added that they pretended to be EFCC operatives while trying to blackmail some top government officials in order to actualise their objective of extortThe suspects ing funds from them.

Adedirun revealed the iden- Bulus Ashom and Nuhu Bawa tity of the culprits as Mark from Plateau State.

He however regretted that Gbaa from Buruku Local a fourth member who is allegGovernment of the state and

edly the kingpin is still at large and efforts are being intensified to apprehend him so he can face the full wrath of the

law along with his partners who are already in custody.

When Saturday Mirror questioned one of the suspects, Mark Gbaa, he claimed to be innocent of the allegation, described himself as a consultant on conflict resolutions and emphatically denied that he attempted to swindle the Benue State Government of the said three million dollars.

He claimed that he had earlier met with Governor Gabriel Suswam who asked him to see him for further discussions but that Suswam did not make clear the reason for his request that he should see him.

Bawa also said he is innocent of the alleged crime and that he was unjustly arrested for an issue he knows nothing about.

In his own case, Bulus said the truth shall triumph eventually and his innocence will then be proven.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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March 2, 2013

Saturday Starter

Discharged,

but nowhere to go They are an unknown species of landlords. They are found in hospitals across the country. They lay no claim to properties, but are so labeled because though they have been discharged, they cannot go home. They have been abandoned and are confined to the premises of institutions which are not supposed to be their abodes. Having serious health situations and unable to settle their bills, which are often quite prohibitive, they are left to their fates, fates which are characterised by helplessness and hopelessness.

To add to their riddle, hardly would any government official confirm, on record, their presence in their institutions. But despite the reluctance and reticence of doctors and other hospital personnel to confirm their existence, they exist. They indeed exist and can be spoken with. But again, that is when they agree to speak. Many of them would rather not be interviewed because they fear that their ‘hosts’ will kick them out if their stories are published.

To encounter any of them is to be acquainted with the painful life of the wretched of the earth. They are some of the most downtrodden members of the public, held captive by penury, poor healthcare facilities, unfriendly government policies and in some cases, man’s inhumanity to man. Welcome to the world of the unusual ‘landlords,’ who sleep and wake up with untainted sadness.

FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON, OSEYIZA OOGBODO AND TOBORE OVUORIE

J

oseph Onwudinjo and Amaechi John are two individuals who are not acquaintances.

They probably have never met each other. However, they share one rare thing in common. They are, as individuals, a quintessential case study of people who are helpless and almost hopeless in their situation of poor health and abandonment.

The two men, like some of their ilk in, usually, government hospitals, across the country had at different times reported sick with the hope of recovering and returning to living their normal lives. But largely because of penury which had made acquiring drugs, injections, other necessary materials and services to restore their health impossible, they have remained abandoned in hospitals.

For the two men, the stay in the hospitals, which they could almost bet their bottom pennies would last, at most, a few weeks, have lasted months, years and in some cases, over a decade.

In the case of Onwudinjo, of his 52 years on earth, more than 27 have been spent either in hospital or on a wheelchair. His tale of woe began one Sunday morning, when, as an auto technician at a Lagos based firm, Bouyges Nigeria Limited (BNL), some years ago, he went to work. He had thought he would return home that day as usual, but that was not to be. He ended up in a hospital from where he was later transferred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos.

He narrates the incident that caused an unsavoury twist in the tale of his life: “It was a Sunday afternoon and I was at our office which was then in Ikeja where CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Saturday Starter

Confined to hospital beds, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 I worked as an auto technician. I was forced by Mr. Anthony, a French man, to operate a crane because the operators were not around, being a Sunday.

“As I was about to lift the load, I never knew that one of the tyres of the caterpillar was leaking air and because of the heavy weight of the concrete, as I lifted the load, the machine threw me up to the first deck of the building under construction and I was badly injured in my spinal cord. I was rushed to one hospital, and later, the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, where treatment commenced.”

If Onwudinjo had thought that he would get the required support from the company for which he worked and sustained the injury, he was wrong. The company, according to him, abandoned him to his fate, and in his state of penury, he could just not gather the financial strength required to pay the bills to bail him out of his predicament.

“It was a very sad situation for me when after three months of being in the hospital, I was abandoned by the company I had worked for assiduously,” he said.

Teary eyed, Onwudinjo said it was not the company alone that abandoned him.

So did the lady he so much loved and had decided to walk down the aisle with.

Said he: “I was almost getting married to a woman I loved before this incident occurred. When she heard of the incidence, she came to see me at the hospital and asked me if I could lift my legs and I told her I could not. The next moment, she stormed out of my presence and the hospital leaving me to my fate. That was the first and the last time she came to see me at the hospital. It was such a sorry case for me.”

For years he was left to his fate. But a helping hand came in form of one Mr. Emmanuel Akoko, a lawyer and evangelist, who took up the matter with his evasive employer.

But before he met Akoko, a lot had happened to him in the hospital where he was meant to be a patient. Lying down on the hospital bed for too long a time gave him bed sore.

He added too that at a point, “they put us in a place which is known as condemned ward where people who could John die at anytime were being kept and they gave us an ultimatum to leave the place.” claims characterised the intervention, It was at that point that a philanthro- but at long last, Onwundinjo was respist, one Professor Yinka Omorogbe, vis- cued from the pangs and pain of being ited the hospital and ensured that he was an unusual landlord.

The case of 30 years old Amaechi treated.

He was not the only one in that state John is not totally different. For a paof abandonment at that time. There were tient who was admitted at the National about three of them with spinal cord in- Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, in August, 2011, the hospital is today, his juries, but only he survived.

He stated that with the number of home.

John’s journey into becoming anyears he spent in the hospital, he was generally referred to, at the National Or- other unusual landlord owing to penury began when he was four years old. A thopedic Hospital, Igbobi, as Landlord.

Much later, help came from one Mr. domestic accident which ordinarily Emmanuel Akoko, a lawyer and evan- anyone would have dismissed as insiggelist who took up the matter with his nificant happened, and that led to his evasive employer. Claims and counter eventual confinement to the hospital.

He said he fell down from a chair, and later discovered that his buttock, right thigh and leg began to swell.

His words: “My parents tried to seek solution to my problem at home and in some hospitals for many years, but their efforts proved abortive. Later, my mother took me to Igbobi, where we were told that I could not be admitted as the relevant specialist had retired.

“We went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

They referred us back to Igbobi. When we came back to Igbobi, in August 2011, they admitted me finally and charged me N43, 300.00 to admit me. But sadly,

we didn’t have the money.”

John’s parents who are based in Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos State, decided that because of the distance from home, John should remain at the hospital while they sought financial help for his admission.

“That was how my mother and I began to sleep in Igbobi premises. We were sleeping outside both in rain and sunshine. Eating was a real ordeal and I had to beg for food.”

In the course of his begging, he met a woman who, out of curiosity, asked what his problem was and later promised to help. The lady, whom he described as a northerner, took his case to her church fellowship and they provided him with the N43, 300.00 he needed to be officially admitted into the hospital.

“So, I was admitted on December 16th, 2011 and Igbobi carried out the first operation on me three days later on December 19th. After it, they said I had to do another operation, which would cost N136, 700.00. Of course, we didn’t have the money. I called my benefactor again and she said she and her fellowship members would look into it.

“There was another man I also met while begging. He promised to help me.

I kept calling him and he sent me N60, 000. Igbobi social workers also helped me raise N200, 000.00 and I was able to go for the prescribed scans and tests at Mecure Laboratory at Oshodi. My initial benefactor also came around again and gave me some money and I was able to have the second operation and also run all the tests,” he narrated.

Despite the support and medical care, John’s problem just would not go away.

After the second operation, even though it was obvious that he was in need of further medical intervention, he was discharged in October 2012 and a bill of N154, 565.00 was presented to him. He, however, could not leave Igbobi because he lacked the financial muscle to pay the bill. Hence, be became a landlord. Another unusual landlord.

“I am just tired of my situation. I want to pay my discharge fees as it’s the right thing to do, but my family doesn’t have it,” he said with sadness.

John is, no doubt, tired of being confined to the hospital. In his state of desperation, he would even opt for an amputation of the leg, if that would bail him out. He said that much: “I am tired of all the problems my leg is giving me and I am willing to have it amputated. This leg has prevented me from progressing in life and I want a permanent solution to the problem now. That is why I am ready to amputate it now. The leg has prevented me from going to school and it has continued to hinder my progress.

“If it is amputated, I can have a prosthetic leg and I believe that will make my life better. My mates are out there making something of their lives and I want to do the same. I want to go to school and be useful to my parents and the society at large. I want the leg amputated. ”

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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abandoned to fate The desire to have his leg amputated is also, surprisingly, a tall dream. To do that also requires some amount of money and he lacks it.

“I am calling on Nigerians to come to my aid. I need money to discharge from Igbobi, money to amputate my leg and money to get a prosthetic leg. Nigerians should please help me so that my life won’t be wasted,” he pleaded.

The state of helplessness and perceived hopelessness is not peculiar to Onwudinjo and John. Countless others like the duo exist in almost all the states of the federation, no thanks to the poor state of the economy and the prohibitive cost of healthcare services in the country.

Doctors and other health personnel in government institutions will readily tell you that such abandoned patients abound. A doctor at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, who pleaded anonymity, being a civil servant, told our correspondent that he, along with many of his colleagues had had cause to save some patients from becoming “landlords” by contributing to offset their bills.

Said the doctor: “It’s not news to us as doctors, but it is quite a sad situation. We have such patients here in Ibadan. Most of the time, it’s usually those with critical medical conditions and after treating them, they are unable to pay their bills.

My colleagues and I have, on different occasions, contributed money to assist patients pay their bills.”

A doctor from the General Hospital, Ikorodu, Lagos State, corroborated what his UCH colleague said.

His words: “It hurts me so much.

There have been those who cannot even afford basic amounts for treatments; it’s so heart rending. Nigerians think we doctors are callous but we are not. Go to other hospitals, I am certain doctors in these other hospitals contribute money to assist patients to pay for treatment and other hospital bills. We have them here in Ikorodu and it’s so painful. Mind you, when these people continue to remain in our wards, it limits the bed spaces that will be available for other patients”.

Another doctor, but from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), who spoke about the case of abandoned patients talked about how the hospital and its staff have been helping.

Said he: “We have been writing off substantial amounts of patients’ debts because we want them to leave so that other people can occupy the bed spaces.

Although this is not economically good for our finances, but what can we do?

We can’t continue keeping them in our wards, lest their bills keep soaring and our bed spaces become fewer. We have such people here and as a doctor, I am not comfortable with this trend.”

But is there a way out of the problem?

Yes, said the doctor from LASUTH. As far as he is concerned, the government should create special funds that can be accessed to care for people in such a cir-

cumstance.

He said apart from the government, non-governmental organisations should form an alliance and rescue such patients.

“In the United States of America, there is an NGO called St. Jude, they do this and it’s working. Let there be an active synergy between government and the private sector. Our philanthropists should come and form an alliance in this regard in order to better healthcare delivery in our nation,” he said.

On the part of the doctor at the UCH, Ibadan, government should subsidise medical treatment, especially in government hospitals, so that those who cannot afford private hospitals would be bailed out.

A psychologist at the Department of Psychology of the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State, Abiodun Ogunkoya,

while speaking on abandoned patients owing to penury among other factors, declared that abandoned patients, if care is not taken, may commit suicide.

“They become demoralised and psychologically imbalanced. This explains why some people commit suicide while it makes others become aggressive and incessantly suspicious of others. They find it hard to trust anybody. Others may adjust from the hospital but some may go through the feeling of dejection, betrayal, solitude, distrust and loneliness,” he said.

Whatever the situation may be, it is obvious that a lot more needs to be done by the government to ensure that healthcare is made cheap to make life more meaningful to Nigerians. At least, that is the summation of the generality of opinion on the plight of abandoned patients.

Onwundinjo

Abandoned patients may commit suicide -Psychologist

Abiodun Ogunkoya is a psychologist at the Department of Psychology of the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State. He spoke with FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON on the various reasons patients are abandoned by their care givers and the possible psychological effects of the action. Excerpts:

could decide to abandon their loved ones in the hospital because they are not responsive to treatment. For instance, if a patient is being treated for drug use and each time the patient is taken to the hospital, he gets back only to relapse after some time, the patient’s caregiver tend to give up on the person and may decide to stay away from him while at the hospital.

Is there any other reason apart from that?

Yes. For some others it could be for financial reasons. They may not have the funds to pay the bills for the patient and this may make them abscond, leaving the patients behind at the hospital. There have been several instances of husbands abandoning their wives at the hospitals. You have examples of some very poor couples who may have children on ground and somehow the wife gets pregnant and becomes delivered of four children at a go. The first thing that may run through the mind of that man is to run away and there have been countless examples of such. So people abandon their loved ones at the hospitals for various reasons.

Ogunkoya

W

hy would you say some patients are abandoned in the hospital by their families?

There could be so many reasons for care givers to abandon their loved ones in the hospitals. For instance, some care givers of some patients in a psychiatric hospital

What is the likely psychological effect of abandonment on such patients?

The way we react to a situation varies from person to person. This is so because we have different make up and backgrounds. For some, they enjoy the company of family life and failure to have it may have severe effect on them. For such ones, being abandoned at the hospital could have a very adverse effect on them. It could make them lose their sense of belonging and make them feel like a loser. They become demoralised and psychologically imbalanced. This explains why some people commit suicide. Abandonment makes others become aggressive and incessantly suspicious of others; they find it hard to trust anybody. Others may adjust but some may go through the feeling of dejection, betrayal, solitude, distrust and loneliness. This also prompts some to do many heinous things even after leaving the hospital. Some end up as robbers while some engage in begging for alms because they feel they can never be of any good to themselves again. Like I said initially, the way individuals react to situations vary.

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March 2, 2013

2015 Presidency: Jonathan free to contest -Court •Dismisses suit with N40,000 cost •Says president eligible to vie for 2nd term

EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

T

he confusion and furore that hitherto greeted the rumoured presidential ambition of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidency and his eligibility to so contest were settled yesterday via a judgement delivered by a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.

In the judgement that lasted over forty five minutes, presiding judge, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, held that President Jonathan was in his first term of four years, having stood for election to the position of president in 2011.

Oniyangi discounte-

nanced the claim that Jonathan had taken the oath of office and oath of allegiance twice; the first being on May 6, 2010, upon the passing on of late President Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua, and the second on May 29, 2011.

According to the trial judge, the 2010 oath-taking was not a fall-out of an election, but a culmination of the “Doctrine of Necessity” enacted by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to that extent, therefore, the court said that that oath does not fall within the meaning and contemplation of extant laws.

Specifically, Oniyangi held that the combined provisions of Sections 135 (2) and 137 (1) (b) of the 1999

constitution (as amended), were not meant to be read in isolation of other legislations, stressing that where the law is clear and unambiguous, it should be given literary interpretation.

He clarified further that the above provisions could only apply if the May 2010 oath-taking was consequent upon an election, so properly called, adding, however that, where an exceptional circumstance is foisted, as in the instant case, a person can take oath more than twice.

Clearly, the judge stated that Jonathan did not contest election in 2007, but was only the Vice Presidential candidate, which role, he noted, was eloquently stated in the constitution.

Sections 135 (2) and 137 (1) (b) stipulate that a person can only be elected as president for a single, though, renewable term of four years and that he is eligible to swear to an oath of office and allegiance not more than twice.

However, the court emphasised that where “exceptional” circumstances arise, a person can take oath more than twice.

In that wise, the court declared that President Jonathan could aspire to contest the 2015 presidential poll on the platform of his party - the Peoples Democratic Party - or any other party platform, for that matter.

The court went further to hold that the PDP was at liberty to offer its ticket to

Director, Highway Bridges, Mr. Aniette Effiong; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry Of Works, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar; and Minister of Works, PHOTO: NAN Mr. Mike Onolememen, at the inauguration of Highways Design Office in Abuja, yesterday.

…The battle has just begun –North

•Group threatens to file fresh suit A ZA MSUE KADUNA

T

he apex Northern socio-cultural organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), yesterday declared that the battle against President Goodluck Jonathan’s ambition in 2015 has just begun.

The declaration was made in reaction to the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja that Jonathan is qualified to contest the presidential election in 2015.

It would be recalled that some key northerners have been critical of Jonathan’s perceived ambition to contest in the next presi-

dential election.

Reacting to the ruling, the organisation, through its spokesman, Mr. Anthony Sani, said the case must get to the Supreme Court for interpretation.

He said yesterday’s ruling, could, certainly not be the end of the case.

In a statement sent as a text message to our correspondent, the ACF said the battle had just begun.

It reads: “You should know that it (the ruling) is not the end of the court process. Don’t you know that litigants will make sure they exhaust the court processes as laid down by the law? You will

recall it was the Supreme Court which ruled that the period served by the six governors before their re-runs must count.

“Left to the High Court and Appeal Court, such periods should not count, and those governors who had reruns should serve more than the maximum of eight years. So, let us wait until the court processes are exhausted.”

Meanwhile, a pan Northern youth group known as Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) said it has concluded plans to file a fresh case against Jonathan’s presidential ambition in 2015.

In a telephone inter-

view with our correspondent, the national president of the group, Alhaji Gambo Gunjugu said yesterday’s judgement would not deter the group from instituting its own suit to stop the president.

As far as the group is concerned, the suit over which the court gave its ruling, was just an arranged one.

“We said it before that the plaintiff is a stooge of President Goodluck Jonathan and that it is all a game. The judgement will not discourage us to file the case to interprete Jonathan’s eligibility to contest in 2015, having been sworn in twice as president,” he said.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Jonathan, in the event that he decides to contest and he wins the party primary.

For the avoidance of any “mischief ”, the court stressed seriously that its judgement was neither an explicit nor implicit endorsement of an automatic ticket from the PDP. A member of the PDP in Zuba, Mr. Cyriachus Njoku had filed an originating summon praying the court for an injunction stopping Jonathan from vying for the party’s ticket in 2015.

The plaintiff predicated his suit on the ground that sections 135 and 137 of the constitution precluded Jonathan from standing for the election.

Njoku also prayed the court to order the PDP to close its doors against the president in 2015.

In resolving all the issues raised in Jonathan and PDP’s consolidated notices of preliminary objection, Oniyangi held that the plaintiff failed to “disclose any cause of action” to warrant the grant of his reliefs.

This is even as the court further stated that the plaintiff “lacks the locus standi to institute the suit “and where the plaintiff lacks the locus standi, the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.”

Consequently, Oniyangi concluded thus: “Section 87 (1) of the Electoral Act imposes on a political party the duty to conduct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions.

“From the foregoing, it becomes clear that no person can emerge a candidate until his political party has conducted primary election...

“This, therefore, clears the air that the mere fact

that the plaintiff is pursuing an ambition does not confer on him the sole right to contest?

“The 1st defendant (Dr. Jonathan) never contested the 2007 election as the candidate of the PDP - the role of the Vice President is clearly spelt out in section 51(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“After the death of President Yar’Adua, there was no bye-election, he was merely asked to assume the position, and then sworn-in.

“He did not occupy the position after any election; he was made to assume the office for the uncompleted tenure of four years of President Yar’Adua.

“The 1st defendant is on his first term of four years, if he so wishes, he can seek the mandate of political party to contest the presidential election come 2015.

“To avoid mischief, this court is not saying that he is the anointed candidate come 2015 of the PDP or any other political party but that he can seek for the sponsorship of his political party or any other political party of his choice.

“The 1st defendant is not running his second term; he is on his first term.

“Section 137(1) (b) is only applicable to a person that was elected, and it is not applicable to a person who assumes office like the 1st defendant to complete the uncompleted tenure of President Yar’Adua.

“The tenure of office of President Goodluck Jonathan did not commence on 6th May, 2010, but on 29th May, 2011...”

Plaintiff indicated his intention to appeal the court’s judgement.

…Ruling on Jonathan’s eligibility appropriate, says PDP OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

T

he leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the ruling by the FCT High Court that President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally free to contest the 2015 presidential election as yet another victory for the nation’s democracy.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday said the judgment had laid to rest debates on whether or not the presi-

dent is constitutionally eligible to contest the 2015 election, adding that it now depended on the party and Nigerians to decide when the time comes.

This judgment is coming 48 hours after the national chairman of PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, declared that Jonathan was free to contest election in 2015 general election.

Stating that the ruling had freed the nation from the shackles of intimidation and harassment by some desperate elements seeking CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NATIONAL NEWS

March 2, 2013

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Senate to probe killing of Nasarawa students

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Representative of the Senate President, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan (2nd right), Mrs. Vera Ogbodo (left), during a condolence visit to the family of the late Guardian Editor, John Ogbodo, in Abuja, yesterday.

Adesina emerges new NGE president •National Mirror’s Ayorinde is Vice President, West

KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

M

r. Femi Adesina, the Deputy Editor-In-Chief of the Sun Newspapers, was yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, elected the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

At a keenly contested election, he polled 149 votes to defeat his rival, Alhaji Tukur Abdulrahman, the Managing Director of the New Nigerian Newspapers who scored 57 votes.

Those also elected at the convention include Aisha Sule, Deputy President; Mr. Suleiman Uba Gaya, Vice President, North; Mr. Victor Agusiobo, Vice President, East and Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Managing Director, National Mirror Newspapers, Vice President, West.

Others are Mr. Isaac Ighure, Secretary; Mustapha Isa, Assistant Secretary; Ogbang Akwaji, Treasurer and Mrs. Funke Egbemode, Social/Publicity Secretary.

Speaking with journalists after he was declared the winner of the election, Adesina dedicated his victory to God, stating that he hoped what the editors displayed by his election would be translated to the larger society where election would not be based on the ethnicity.

He gave the assurance that he would deliver on his electoral promises such that by the end of his two-year tenure, he would have something to point to as his achievements.

Meanwhile, the governor

of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has advocated for what he called media reform convention to check the threat to the practice of journalism in the country.

He made the call yesterday while declaring open the 2013 Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) held at Premier Hotel, Ibadan.

He said while the noble profession of journalism had played and is still playing significant roles in the development of the country, there was the need for men of the profession to find an avenue to chart a course that would help to check those who want to put the profession into disrepute.

He maintained that quacks infiltration and online journalism had become threats to newspaper publication in the country, and warned that the time to act is now so as to save the future of the pen profession.

He said, “Online publications pose their own great challenge to the practice of journalism. Chief among this is the infiltration of non-professionals and all manners of people into journalism practice. This has swelled the ranks of falsehood peddlers and those who assassinate characters of the elite without corresponding verification of their reports.

And because their news is made available to a multiplicity of readers, it enjoys wide audience and rave review which has the potential to destroy faster than a bushfire in the harmattan.”

Ajimobi said as chroni-

clers of history, men of the pen profession must see it as part of their responsibility, the importance of putting their writings in a sort of a book to serve as a guide to the coming generations.

His words, “Those who refer to journalism as history in a hurry indeed understand the mobile nature of the historical content of newspapers. Day in day out, we read in the papers great documentation of our today which eventually become perishable due to the passing phases of stories in them. But these stories are passing historical documents which needed to be collated for our children and children’s children to read about our strides.

“Newspapers cannot offer us that ability to document this passing history because of their perishability. This is why converting some of those historical events into books is a great service to humanity.

Such efforts should be encouraged so that posterity will be availed the oppor-

tunity of having access to some of these journalism patriarchs’ great journalistic efforts and critical historical occasions that are reported in the media.

“So, great practitioners of the media, I throw the challenge to you all this morning to expand the frontiers of your documentation of history: Get them published in book form and stop the drift of destruction of great historical interventions in perishable newspaper publications.”

The governor who asked the media men to play by the rules in electing new executives for the Guild, added that professionals must take charge in the affairs of the media In his valedictory speech, the outgoing president of the NGE, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, thanked the Guild for their resolve for good leadership in Nigeria, stating that his executive succeeded because of the support it received from both members of the executive and the entire members.

he Senate is set to investigate the alleged killing of Nasarawa State University students during a protest in Keffi on Feb. 25, a Senate member said yesterday in Abuja.

Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (PDP-Kebbi) , Chairman Senate Committee on Interior, gave the assurance to members of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS).

The student union members led by NANS National President, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo, had embarked on a peaceful protest on the streets of Abuja and some select federal government offices.

Bagudu’s assurance came on the heels of Tuesday’s resolution by the House of Representatives which mandated its committees on Army, Security and Police Affairs to investigate the alleged killing.

Addressing the protesting students in front of the National Assembly entrance, Bagudu condemned the killing of innocent souls.

He commiserated with the students on the tragic incident and added that the Senate Committee on Education, which he is a member, had already discussed the issue. ``We condemn the forceful killing of innocent souls as we do condemn all acts of violence and force against Nigerian students and citizens wherever they may be. ``I want to assure you that the committee and the Senate are with you on this issue. ``We have always stood and condemned all acts of violence of arbitrary killing and arbitrary use of force by anybody whosoever. ``I want to assure you that I have received a copy of the petition. ``We will ensure that whatever the National Assembly can do to ensure that an investigation is undertaken and whoever is found

guilty should be brought to book,’’ he said.

Earlier, Gbadebo blamed the Nigeria military for the unjust killing of two students Aminu Osuko, a 400-level Geography student and Emmanuel Buba, a 300 level Physics student.

The soldiers were allegedly invited on the campus while the students were protesting over the ``non- provision of water and electricity supply to their campus.’’

Gbadebo said: ``At this point of democratic norm and ethics, Nigeria under this dispensation is not supposed to be going through this barbaric act by the military. ``Nigerian students are not at war with anybody, the students of Nasarawa State University were only exercising the fundamental human rights to protest the non-availability of pipe borne water for two weeks.’’

Before presenting NANS petition to the Senate leadership, Gbadebo issued a 21day ultimatum to the federal government from March 1 to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

Earlier the protesting students, closely followed by a detachment of police officers, gathered in front of the Old Parade Ground in Area 10 Abuja, close to the Defence Headquarters.

Some of the student’s representatives reportedly submitted their petition to the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The protesters also walked some three kilometers to the Federal Secretariat and submitted their letter of protest to the Minister of Labour’s office and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The students displayed placards with different inscriptions saying ``enough is enough’’, ``we want justice, stop killing our students.’’

Cross River gov, Imoke returns

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ross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, who travelled abroad for treatment of an undisclosed ailment, has returned to the country.

Former Minister of Information, John Odey, according to Premium Times, an online publication, Mr. Imoke, arrived Lagos from the United States Friday evening and is being expected in Cala-

bar, the Cross River State capital, on Saturday.

“I can confirm that the governor has returned,” Mr. Odey, one of Mr. Imoke’s closest political associates said.

“We are all here waiting to receive him. We have been in touch with him while he was undergoing treatment. But we are more than excited to have him back,” he added.

The governor’s Chief Press Secretary and Special Assistant on Media, Christian Ita, had in a statement on December 6 explained that Mr. Imoke was away on medical grounds.

The statement did not disclose the ailment but explained that Mr. Imoke started a two-month accumulated leave on December 7.

According to the statement, Mr. Imoke had in-

formed the State House of Assembly through a letter to the Speaker, Larry Odey, that Mr. Cobham would act for the duration of the leave in line with the provisions of the constitution.

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Insecurity: Ekweremadu calls for decentralised police CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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he Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday said that Nigeria is ripe to adopt a decentralised police system to enable it tackle the emerging security challenges.

He stated that the centralised police system which has been in use over the years does not fit the

federal system of government Nigeria is operating.

He stated that it is now important for Nigeria to have a decentralised police, considering the fact that it is operating a federal system of government.

Presenting the 2013 Annual Lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, titled, “Policing And National Security in Nigeria: The Choices Before Us” at the University Auditorium,

Ekweremadu contended that the choice before the country now is very clear.

“It is either we continue doing things the old way and continue to get the old result or to embrace change by facing the realities on ground and embrace the decentralised police system that is working very well in Canada, Australia and the United States. While the choice is ours, let us not forget that the choice we make today will

shape our future,” he said.

He however stressed that his prescription of a decentralised police for Nigeria was his personal views, which he was entitled.

Senator Ekweremadu who said that the centralised police system had not solved the problem of insecurity in Nigeria, reeled out 56 names of unresolved murders and crimes from 1986 to 2007.

He regrettted that for now, things had degener-

ated to the scenario of mass murder and that kidnapping had become a billion Naira sector.

Senator Ekweremadu who maintained that the police is a fundamental institution in fulfilling government’s obligation of catering for the security and welfare of the people, listed the challenges of policing in Nigeria to including inadequate manpower, lack of equipment and security

infrastructure, poor remuneration, corruption, abuse and lack of credibility and centralised police system.

He recommended that Sections 214 and 215 of the Nigeria Constitution that empowers the federal government to exclusively control the police force be amended to give room for a decentralised police system and the creation of State Police Commission for all the states of the federation.

FG pegs minimum capital investment in Centenary City at $100m OMEIZA AJAYI

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Managing Director, UBA Foundation, Ms Ijeoma Aso (left) presenting a braille machine to Master AbdulAzeez Balogun (middle), a visually impaired student of Crescent College, Victoria Island, Lagos, who participated in the recent national essay competition organised by the foundation. With them is Mr. Mahmud Abdul Ganiy, Vice Principal, Crescent College (rigfht) recently.

PDP, APGA mourn Abba-Ogbodo, Guardian Editor OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed deep sorrow over the shocking death of Assistant Political Editor of the Guardian Newspapers, Mr. John-Abba Ogbodo, who died in an auto crash on Thursday.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh ,in a statement yesterday said the party was thrown into mourning when the news of Ogbodo’s death got to the national secretariat.

The statement described the late Ogbodo, who covered the activities of the PDP for many years, as an exceptional and very hard working journalist who contributed immensely to the development of the country through his reportage of political events.

The PDP said Ogbodo remained dedicated to his calling as a journalist and carried out his duties with a great sense of responsibility that reflected in the credibility of his reports.

“The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party

(PDP) received the shocking news of the Assistant Political Editor of the Guardian Newspapers, Mr. John-Abba Ogbodo with deep sorrow.

“Ogbodo was an exceptional journalist who remained dedicated to his calling as a journalist. He covered the activities of the PDP for many years and during this period, he carried out his duty with great sense of responsibility which reflected in the credibility of his reports.

“The PDP family deeply mourn Ogbodo and his memory will continue to remain fresh in our hearts especially for his immense contributions towards the political development of the country”, the statement reads in part.

The party condoled Ogbodo’s family, especially his wife and children; The Guardian family and all members of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) for the death of “this great Nigerian who lost his life in the line of duty”.

It prayed God to give the family of the bereaved the fortitude to bear the “irreparable loss.”

Similarly, the PDP Press Corps which the late AbbaOgbodo was a member said that it received the news of the death of their former colleague with great shock.

Ogbodo, according to a release by the PDP Press Corps, who until his death was an active member of the group, exhibited an uncommon intelligence in the discharge of his duties.

The statement reads in part: “As we condole his family and relations and indeed the journalism family over this sad demise, we, of his immediate constituency who interacted with him on daily basis, feel a deep sadness over this irreparable loss.

“Ogbodo, a dedicated and intelligent journalist and gentleman was highly resourceful to the Press Corps as his spirit of camaraderie, which emboldened unity across the Press Corps, was highly envied.

“We pray God almighty to grant his soul a peaceful repose and for his family, the fortitude to bear the loss. We all miss him.”

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in

another statement by its interim national chairman, Maxi Okwu , said the party was deeply pained over the demise of one of the brightest, creative and versatile journalist in Nigeria.

“His death is a big blow to journalism profession particularly The Guardian newspaper where he distinguished himself as an investigative reporter. We share the grief of members of his family, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Guardian Newspaper.”

he federal government yesterday in Abuja told prospective investors in the centenary city project to have a minimum of $100 million if they must partake in the project.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, who spoke at a meeting with the investors in Abuja, also announced that the presidency was extricating itself totally from the project to enable the private sector take charge.

While stating that the project is designed to have an international outlook, Anyim expressed optimism that the stock of the city would not only be quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange but on the international stock market.

“We expect that in the next one year, the stock of the city must not only be quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange but on the London Stock Exchange. We have said it before that as an investor, you must have an investment of about 100 million dollars in the city”, he said.

He gave indications that

the project site is located near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and that it is estimated at a total cost of $4billion which would invariably be bought over by a parent company that would manage the entire construction projects.

It would be recalled that the federal government recently kick-started activities for the commemoration of 100 years of Nigeria, following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 by the British government.

The SGF assured the investors of a good return on investment if they staked their funds in the project saying, “this meeting marks the beginning of government’s withdrawal from the centenary project, and making the stage clear for decisions to be taken solely by the private sector investors themselves.

“We expect that the project would conform to international standards because we envisage that the stocks of the city would be quoted in the Nigerian Stock Exchange as well as other international markets before the end of 2013.”

Jonathan tasks African leaders on political stability ROTIMI FADEYI

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resident Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday in Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire, said he would continue to work with President Alassane Ouattara and other leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to achieve greater peace, security, political stability and economic prosperity in the sub-region.

Jonathan who spoke at the City Hall after being presented with the keys to the city by its Mayor, Konan Ouanigbe, said that African leaders must do their best to foster greater political stability and accelerate economic growth within their countries and across the continent as no significant progress could be attained without stable governance structures and stronger national economies.

Jonathan who formally began his state visit to Cote

D’Ivoire earlier in the day noted that there was an intrinsic link and a symbiotic relationship between political stability and economic development.

“Without political stability our economies cannot grow and stronger economies will help us achieve greater political stability. We need to strengthen ECOWAS by strengthening our individual countries economically and politically. We must continue to do our best in this regard,” Jonathan said.

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Power: Minister tasks workers over regular supply CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

M L-R: Federal Capital Territory minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim; members of the board of FCT, Alhaja Salimot Badru and Col. Edward Mark (Rtd), at the inauguration of newly reconstituted board of the Federal Capital Development Authority In Abuja, yesterday.

Jonathan talks tough on distortion of Abuja masterplan OMEIZA AJAYI

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rked by the continued distortion of the Abuja Masterplan and the outrage which greeted the demolition of an estate along Umar Yar’Adua Expressway, President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to deal with anyone found violating the city’s design, saying the era of impunity was over.

Warning that the federal government will not condone the abuse of the Abuja Master Plan in whatever way, the president said the integrity of the plan must be maintained at all times.

Dr. Jonathan gave this warning yesterday while inaugurating the Board of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in Abuja.

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, the president reiterated that the new Board must ensure transparency and value for money in its operations.

“There are two things of equal importance that must be uppermost in your minds. First, the federal government will not condone any abuse of the master plan. Next, you must ensure transparency and value for money in your operations”, he said.

Dr. Jonathan further warned that his administration has zero tolerance for corruption, which must be sustained and indeed, given greater impetus.

According to him, “the on-going prosecutions of

various officials found wanting in their dealings with public funds are proof that we reject the notion of governance as business as usual”.

The president restated that his administration is firmly committed to the development of the Federal Capital Territory and will welcome new initiatives to accelerate the transformation of Abuja into a world-class capital.

“In particular, we are committed to attracting private sector investments for the development of the Centenary City as the initiative will brand Abuja as an international destination of choice with distinctly Nigerian flavour of culture, recreation and leisure: a green city, a business hub and a model for our continent”, he added.

He remarked that his administration constituted this new Board as part of a comprehensive plan to sustain the tempo of development in the Federal Capital Territory; and enhance the results already achieved by this crop of leadership of the FCT Administration in the pursuit of its mandate.

Dr. Jonathan therefore seized this opportunity to pay a well-deserved tribute to the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, as well as the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide; adding, “you are steadfast agents of this administration’s transformational commitment in the provision of infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory”.

The President said “we have all witnessed the great dedication and passion that

now pervade FCT administration which is focused on hard work and team work while shunning unnecessary drama – is yielding tremendous results”.

The president announced that the new Board Chairman is the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed; while members are Alhaja Salimot Badru, Mr. Ayekeme Whisky, Alhaji Kashim Bukar Shettima, Mr. Aliyu

Musa Dagoggo, Dr. Uche Uzochukwu, Mrs. Martha Onwuzurumba and Col Edward Mark.

Responding on behalf of the inaugurated board, the Chairman and the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed appreciated the recognition by President Goodluck Jonathan and promised to do everything possible to add impetus to the Transformation Agenda.

inister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, yesterday charged electricity workers across the country to redouble their commitment in providing uninterrupted power supply.

Nebo, who spoke at the National Executive Council meeting of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) in Abuja, noted that sustainable power supply remained the catalyst for economic development of every nation.

He said: “I enjoin you therefore to redouble your efforts by being more committed to achieving the common goal of providing uninterrupted power to Nigerians and the socio-economic development of our country. I know that with all hands on deck, we will succeed.”

The minister also commended the leaders of the union for their maturity and goodwill demonstrated during the negotiation process which allowed for peaceful agreement on terms of settlement.

Also, the managing director of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Engr. H Labo, urged the workers to continue to show more commitment as the reform process in the sector entered the last stage to ensure successful implementation of reform.

Labo said even though the sector had witnessed some labour hiccups in recent times it was able to surmount it through effective communication and maturity from both parties.

Earlier in his welcome address, chairman FCT branch of NUEE, Comrade Wisdom Nwachukwu, lamented the irregularities in payment of staff salary of the corporate headquarters.

“In recent past, payment of staff salary of the corporate headquarters has been irregular. While we appreciate the effort of national secretariat in finding temporary solution to it, we shall equally appreciate them proffering a permanent solution to this problem as this will go a long way to bringing succour to our staff at corporate headquarters,” he stated.

Minister berates principal over library project IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

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he Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, yesterday berated the Principal of the Federal Government College, Kwali, for constructing another library even as the federal government had already awarded e-library in all the unity colleges across the country.

Wike rebuked the principal, Mrs Celestina Omokhede, for not officially informing the ministry of an on-going library project thereby committing the ministry to start off elibrary in the same school.

The minister who expressed his displeasure during a tour of facilities of on-going projects in the Federal Government Colleges, within the FCT could not understand the rationale behind citing two libraries in a school while some schools do not have one.

It was discovered that the school management has been pumping a minimum of N8 million each year in the last four years into the school library which is still not anywhere near completion.

Wike who frowned at the site where the new elibrary was located, chided the principal for allocating the site on the outskirts of

the school.

In her explanation, the principal of the school, Mrs. Omokhede, told the minister that she informed the officials of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) at the commencement of the e- library project that the school had an on-going library project.

Wike who was visibly sad over the poor management of funds by the school said, “you are aware that government is building elibraries in all the unity colleges, why didn’t you tell us you already have a library project going on. You are not competent to be a principal of this school. This project started since 2009, it

has not been completed and you receive annual budget from the government, you are telling lies.

“I’m not going to take it easy with you, the e- library should have been at the centre of the school; how do you expect the students to walk from hostels to this place, this place is too far and there is no fence that will ensure the security of lives of students”.

Speaking to journalists after the on the spot inspection, the minister said, “we have also come to Rubochi and you have seen how far the project has gone, the contractor has promised to hand over the project by first week of April.

Ruling on Jonathan’s eligibility appropriate, says PDP CONTINUED FROM 6 to impose themselves on Nigerians, the party said the judiciary had also restated the freedom and right of every Nigerian to seek for any office under the constitution.

Said the party: “The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

applauds the ruling by the FCT High Court that President Goodluck Jonathan, as a Nigerian, has the constitutionally guaranteed right to seek re-election in 2015.

“This landmark ruling is yet another victory to the nation’s democracy. It has laid to rest the unnecessary debate

on whether or not the president is constitutionally eligible to seek re-election in 2015.

“The court held that President Jonathan is in his first term, which commenced on the 29th of May, 2011 and thus is free to seek a second term in office in the 2015 general election under the

platform of the PDP or any other political party.

“The import of this judgment is that it is now left for the PDP as party and Nigerians to decide, through legitimate processes, whether or not to return President Jonathan to the Presidency in 2015 if he indicates interest.”

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REGIONAL NEWS

March 2, 2013

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SOUTH WEST

Corruption: Court grants Daniel’s appeal application FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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n Ogun State High Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, the state’s capital, yesterday granted the application of a former governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel, to stay proceeding on the criminal charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until its determination at the Court of Appeal.

Daniel had, through his lead counsel, Professor Taiwo Osipitan, informed the court that he already filed an application at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, Oyo State, against the ruling of the lower court on his prayer for quashing counts 1 to 13 out of the 38 count charge levelled against him.

In his address to the

court yesterday, Osipitan argued that he had submitted the application to the court, adding that he had received the hearing notice of the motion he filed at the appellate court.

He further told the court that hearing on the application had been fixed for 11 April, 2013 thereby, urging it to stay proceed-

ing pending the hearing and determination of the matter at the Appellate court.

In his argument, EFCC counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, disclosed that he had received an application for stay of proceeding but described the application as ‘incompetent.’

Adeniyi argued that the application contradicted

section 40 of the EFCC act (2004) sighting the case of AdeyinkaAjiboye vs. FGN in appeal number CA/ IL/C.21/2012 as a relevant case.

The EFCC’s counsel also described the application as contrary to constitutional and statutory provision adding that section 19 0f the EFCC Act (2004) also negate the ap-

plication.

In his ruling yesterday, Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje granted Daniel’s application for adjournment, stressing that the application before him was that of an adjournment and not of stay of proceedings as against Adeniyi’s submission.

He therefore granted the application for adjourn-

ment pending the hearing of the application for stay of proceedings fixed for April 11 at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan.

The case was thereafter adjourned till April 22, 2013, for continuation of trial. He said that where an applicant was able to show a good cause, his application for adjournment could be granted.

Alaafin lauds ACN govts in S’West KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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he Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, yesterday lauded the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) controlled states in the South- West of the country, for what he called “their sincerity of purpose in tackling myriads of inherited problems inflicted on the people by previous administrations.”

The royal father made the remarks when the executive members of the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Miners and Agriculture (NACCIMA) in the southern part of the country led by its National President, Dr. Ademola Ajayi, paid him a visit in his palace.

The monarch, who described the South Western state governments as ‘focused, well intentioned and

committed,’ said principles of peace, justice, fairness, infrastructural development, welfarism, and zero tolerance for corruption being carried out by the CAN governments are unprecedented in the history of governance in the zone. ‘‘We are all living witnesses to the reigns of previous administrations when human lives were not sacrosanct due to motor parks hooliganism.

But the present adminis-

trations are not only Godfearing, they have listening ears. They listen to the words of elders and attend to peoples’ yearnings without fear or favour,” the monarch said.

While appreciating tangible roles of NACCIMA in economic emancipation, Oba Adeyemi recalled the unique positions occupied by the Yoruba in the socioeconomic development of the country.

He continued: “Yoruba are not docile or complacent but very enterprising and agile. We are richly blessed and this is due to the lasting legacy bequeathed on us through the wisdom of our ancestors. We are the first to have an Anglican Bishop,

established a newspaper and legal profession. Also in business, we are the first to establish a bank, engineering, and medical profession’’, he said Ajayi, who acknowledged the sense of history of the Alaafin, lauded the initiatives of the ACN state governments on regional integration.

He said the visit to Oyo town was to sympathise with the Alaafin on some parts of the palace gutted by fire recently, and also to commission a new secretariat for the Oyo chambers donated by a prominent industrialist and National Life VicePresident of the association, Chief Adebowale Omotoso.

Adeleke eyes Osun senatorial seat ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo (m) flanked by Globacom’s Director, Gloworld Development, Mr. Bisi Koleoso (2nd left) and former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and his wife, Omolola at a banquet in honour of the monarch organised by Globacom as part of the activities marking the 2013 Lisabi Festival in Abeokuta , Ogun State, yesterday.

Ekiti group, leaders pass vote of confidence on Fayemi

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kiti indigenes resident in Lagos have hailed the performance of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led administration in the state.

A statement by Olayinka Oyebode, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said that the commendation came at a forum organised in honour of the Fayemi by the IgbimoUre Ekiti, a nonpartisan social group, in Lagos on Thursday night.

The event which was designed as a forum for

interaction between the governor and top Ekiti citizens in Lagos State, as well as major players in the corporate world, was attended by former mili-

tary governor of the old western state, Gen Adeyinka Adebayo; first civilian governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, pioneer military admin-

istrator Col Inua Bawa; one time sole administrator, Gen Adetunji Idowu Olurin and Managing Director, Access Bank, Aig Imokhede among others.

Baba Aladura, Akinde, dies at 83

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he Supreme Head of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim, His Most Eminence Baba Aladura Amos Akinsanya Akinde is dead. He died in Lagos at the age of 83 years.

Baba Aladura Akinde died in the early hours of Saturday February 23, in his residence at Dalemo, Alakuko, Lagos State.

The General Secretary of the Holy Order Senior Superintendent

Apostle Kola Odunsi who announced the passing on of the revered clergyman said his burial arrangement would be announced later.

Baba Aladura Akinde was ordained the head of the church on June 4, 2005.

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he first executive governor of Osun State, Chief Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, yesterday declared his intention to contest for the Osun West Senatorial seat in the next general elections, with a promise to move the zone forward through ‘intimidating and beneficial programmes’ for his people.

Adeleke made his intention known at the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders meeting held in Ede, Osun State. He assured the gathering that if given the mandate, he would not let the people of his constituency down.

The former governor also promised to toil for

the good of his people and safeguard their overall interest politically while in the senate.

In his speech at the meeting, chairman of the party in the state, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, charged all party members to embrace peace, harmony and live in one accord saying it is only in these that remarkable successes could be recorded in the field of politics. In attendance at the stakeholders meeting were former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adejare Bello; Lere Oyewumi; Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Ademola Adeyemo, a former member of the House of Representatives, Gbadebo Mufutau Ayinde, as well as a governorship aspirant in the state, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi.

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SOUTH SOUTH

Bayelsa community accuses Dickson’s aide of murder EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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oncerned chiefs and elders in Nembe Kingdom in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, at the weekend,

blamed the state’s Commissioner for Special Duties, Kuroghofa WalterBenwari, for the death of a youth and injuries sustained by eight other people following a violent clash in the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party in

the community.

The concerned elders had alleged that WalterBenwari instigated some youths to cause the mayhem which occurred in the community on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

In the crisis, soldiers at-

tached to the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) and policemen were deployed in the community to quell the violence and restore peace.

In a petition signed by Chief Inafieboemi Alamieye and Nengimote

Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (middle), his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru (left) and the Chairperson of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, Maureen Tamuno, at a town hall meeting at Ogu, recently.

Amanyanobo of Kalabari kingdom not dethroned –Solicitor

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he solicitor to the traditional ruler of Kalabari kingdom, Mr Faye Dikio (SAN), has debunked the news making the rounds that the monarch, King Theophilus Princewill, has been dethroned by the Supreme Court.

Dikio, who spoke with journalists yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said that the case of the rulership tussle was still at the apex court and

had not been heard yet.

He alleged that the speculation on the situation was caused by a local newspaper publication which misinterpreted the apex court proceedings on February. 25, 2013, claiming that the court dethroned the ruler.

Dikio explained that the apex court, on February 25, presided over the appeal filed by Chief O.T.K.D Amachree as against Chief MacDon-

ald Abbi and three others.

He said that Amachree had two motions in the appeal, one of which was for striking out of names of deceased respondents who were initially joined in the case and other prayers.

Dikio said that the deceased were Chief Dagogo Princewill and Chief S.O. Princewill, adding that the prayer was granted while other prayers were struck out upon withdrawal.

According to Dikio,”The second motion for leave to file additional grounds of appeal

Amaechi gives N100m grant to LGA

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ivers State governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has given a grant of N100 million to Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council to argument cost of developmental projects in the locality.

The grant was particularly necessitated for the council to complete the linking of Bolo Town to the national grid to boost social and economic activities in the area.

Amaechi disclosed the grant on Thursday at a town hall meeting with the people of Ogu/Bolo, at Ogu, the headquarters of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of the state.

“The cardinal projects in my administration are education, health, road and power.

Your chairman has done well in the area of power. We will support her with a N100 million grant, because the Ogu/

Bolo council has taken care of the rural electrification project which is also our priority project in the area of power,” Amaechi said.

The governor at the meeting, underscored the importance of the building of a Model Secondary School in the area by June this year, while urging the people of Ogu/Bolo to provide 21 hectares of land for the school project.

was also withdrawn to be refilled.”

Dikio said that there was no judgment of any sort during the proceedings since no appeal was heard by the court.

He said that the traditional ruler had an appeal in the apex court against the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in May, 2011.

Dikio explained that the Appeal Court ruling restrained all the parties struggling for the throne from ascending the throne as the ``Amanyanabo`` of Kalabari unless there was settlement.

He also assured the people of Ogu/Bolo that his administration would build more health centres in Ogu, Wakama, Bolo and Ele communities.

While declaring that his administration had also completed the road project linking Ogu main town, the Bolo road and bridge project, Amaechi, following a demand by the people of the locality, promised to build a Police Station in the area.

Enemiete, chairman and secretary of Concerned Elders of NembeBassambiri, respectively, and addressed to Governor Seriake Dickson, the group alleged that Walter-Benwari sponsored and instigated some persons suspected to be political thugs to beat up and inflict body injuries on some persons including the President, Nembe Youth Federation, Igoro Aaron.

According to the petition, preliminary investigation conducted by the group absolved the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (Rtd) of any involvement in the crisis, but claimed that the commissioner allegedly hired and motivated some thugs to cause mayhem by attacking some indigenes of the community.

The petition read in parts: “The incident that occurred on the 23rd of February during the burial rites of a PDP chieftain, Solomon Ina-David, was allegedly aggravated by the aide to the governor, with

the open directive to the thugs to beat up the youth leaders. The commissioner stood there and was pointing out specific youth leaders for special violent treatment.

“The commissioner and his hired thugs inflicted machete cuts and severe blows on some youth leaders. With intent to kill him, the President of Nembe Youth Federation, Mr.Igoro Aaron, was inflicted with severe machete cuts on the head,” the group alleged.

Efforts to reach Walter-Benwari was not successful, but one of his aides, who pleaded anonymity, denied the allegations levelled against his boss. The aide described the elders’ investigation as a figment of their imagination.

According to the aide, “Is it right for elders to release their report without summoning the commissioner to appear and defend himself ?

Why are they in a hurry?

Such claims are frivolous and vexatious.”

A’Ibom to encourage youths to embrace agric

A

kwa Ibom Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Godwin Afangide, has said that the state government would encourage youths to embrace agriculture so as to ensure food sufficiency.

Afangide said this in Uyo, the state capital yesterday, while declaring open a two- day workshop organised by youths in agriculture and economic empowerment.

The theme of the workshop was: ‘’Modern Techniques of Farming for Increased Productivity and Profitability.’’

Represented by Mr Richard Ekpe, the Acting Permanent Secretary and Director of Engineering in his ministry, Afangide said the government viewed the youths as major partners in the agriculture sector.

Afangide was quoted as saying: “Government is proud of you that is

why we view you as major contributors in the agricultural sector. We are doing what we can to involve youths in agriculture because they have proven to be highly resourceful.’’

The commissioner explained that the youths had identified that farming if taken seriously had the propensity to change the future of youths for better, as against the old mentality which viewed farming as occupation for the elderly.

He noted that with the huge investment by the government in agriculture, the state was set to produce enough food for the teeming population and for export in the nearest future.

The commissioner disclosed that government had trained 4,000 youths in various agriculturerelated vocations, including crop farming, poultry, fishing among others.

Politics

Akpabio

TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

A

ll seem not to be well within the camp of governors in Nigeria. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), under which they unite and pursue common goals, is gradually splitting. Already, splinters within the group have emerged.

As at today, each member of the NGF belongs to about two or three other association of governors association. Such associations are either formed based on political affiliations or geo-political zones. These include Northern State Governors’ Forum; South-East Governors’ Forum; South-South Governors’ Forum; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum; Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Governors; Progressive Governors’ Alliance.

Considering the division, some observers are of the view that NGF may find it difficult to speak with one voice on issues of national interest.

Needless to say that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, since its establishment in 1999, has remained one of the power brokers in the country, considering the crucial roles it has played in the administration of the country. But on the other hand, some are of the view that it has been a thorn in the flesh of the country.

NGF, which is a coalition of the elected governors of Nigeria’s 36 states is a non-partisan association which seeks to promote unity, good governance, better understanding and co-operation among the states and ensure a healthy and beneficial relationship between the states and other tiers of government.

Obi

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Amaechi

2015: Divided the governors stand NGF was established at the beginning of the present Fourth Republic in 1999 following a multi-party conference of all the 36 democratically elected state governors. It is registered under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, (CAMA), 1990, and also draws its legality from Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Its Mission Statement reads: “To provide a platform for collaboration amongst the Executive Governors on matters of public policy; to promote good governance, sharing of good practice and to enhance cooperation at state level and with other arms of government and society.”

However, not many people believe that the NGF is still on course. It is believed by many, to have digressed from the purpose of its establishment and now constitutes a threat to Nigeria’s democracy considering the various confrontations it has had with the presidency, National Assembly, political party leadership and other political gladiators in the country.

March 2, 2013

It was in view of the alleged excesses of the forum that provoked the call last month by an elder statesman and former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, for its ban, having described it as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

Clark, in an open letter to the Governor’ Forum accused them of breaching the Nigerian constitution with impunity.

“The Governors Forum is now acting as an opposition party to the Federal Government. It deliberately breaches with impunity, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Constitution of the PDP, without any challenges. The Forum has now become a threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria. Most of the governors today, are more dictatorial than the then military governors. The President should ban them,” he said.

Apart from Clark, many people have also expressed their displeasure over the conduct of the Governors’ Forum.

Coming ahead of the 2015 election, the division in the NGF is considered to be

deliberate activities aimed at scoring some political points, positioning and strategising. The activities are in congnisance of the crucial roles the forum stands to play in determining the winners and losers during the election.

Since the beginning of the present political dispensations, considering the influence governors wield in their respective political parties, they are regarded as the live wire of political parties. Political gladiators cannot toy with them. They play key roles in determining who occupies what post, even at the presidential level.

That is why, ahead of 2015, political parties, especially the ruling party, PDP seems to be strategising to ensure that the excesses of the governors are curtailed, especially those who are rumoured to be nurturing presidential, governorship and senatorial ambitions.

Based on the perception that President Jonathan may run for second term in 2015 and considering the fact that some PDP second term governors are also eyeing the presidency there seems to be a clash of interest and this is believed to be one of the reasons while the presidency and the PDP gladiators are trying to do their best to break the ranks of the governors.

To many people the recent emergence of Akwa-Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio as the chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors’ Forum is believed to be a move by the Presidency and PDP national chairman Alhaji Bamangar Tukur to water down the perceived growing political influence of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

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March 2, 2013

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‘Centenary celebration will be worthwhile if …’

T

he state of insecurity in the country is giving many people sleepless night. How do you think the problem can be tackled?

I believe every structure of the authority should live up to expectation and there are obligations that are expected from us (the parliamentarians).

We must not live the Nigerian people with the challenges that we met when we came in. I have also spoken on how to do an assessment on every office holder.

My salary is not paid by Guinness, MTN or Globacom; my salary is paid from the common wealth of the Nigerian people.

So, I must reasonably be able to give an adequate, commensurate return on investment to Nigerians. And what is the return of the investment they expect from us? That will be security, water, all of the basic infrastructure. If they get anything short of that, we should be sacked. Unfortunately, they are stuck with us for four years whether we give enough of returns or not.

For example, if an organisation hires you to do a job, there would be job specification that you must meet and you must discharge that responsibility. If any bank also gives you a job and says that your target is N1billion in two months, you are expected to go chasing the N1bllion deposit. If you do anything short of that consistently for a period of time, they will give you a query. And if you ultimately don’t get that right they would sack you. In our own case, Nigerians are stuck with us for four years. I am conscious of the fact that I don’t want to be sacked, not necessarily talking about coming back here, but because I know I have the opportunity and I am obligated to discharge that responsibility by as much as possible doing what Nigerians want.

They want me to come here to talk about things that are affecting them and that was why I moved the motion titled “Emerging Threat to Internal Security and the Need to Set Up Department of Homeland Security”. I believe that our challenges are not particularly very novel. There is no novelty around the challenges that we have. What we need to do is to novel the idea on how to go about it. There must be novelty in terms of leadership. Not the kind of leadership that we used to have. We must rise up against it. I am not a security personnel but I have looked at the security architecture of Nigeria and it s very defective. There are holes here, regardless of the fact that we have the DMI, SSS, police, the soldiers and all of that. In spite of that, you still have gaps and as long as those gaps are there, criminals will always infiltrate those gaps because when a criminal is ahead of you, he will perpetrate his criminality. I have said this at different times, the propensity for crime and criminal-

Daramola

Hon. Bimbo Daramola, a member of the House of Representatives from Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1, in an interview with journalists bares his mind on the state of insecurity in Nigeria and the need for creation of state police to curb crime. Daramola, also speaks on the proposed Nigeria centenary celebration and Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration in Ekiti State among other issues. TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE brings the excerpts: ity will continue to be on the rise if we don’t have adequate marching capacity to deal with crime.

Considering the rate of crime being perpetuated in some states, some people are of the view that creation of state police will reduce crime in the country. Do you agree?

You can’t beat the power of native intelligence and that was why America decided to create the department of homeland security with other controls like the police, immigration and all of that.

For instance, if you come to Ekiti today, I grew up there; I can tell you where you can find criminals. But if you bring somebody from Cross River, Anambra or Enugu to manage the security of the state, he will need the very first year to understand the environment. You are drawing a blank if you transfer somebody like me to Maiduguri where I don’t know the terrain. Every criminal wants

to enjoy the proceeds of crime. No criminal wants to go into criminality and be shot dead. So, if you know their escape route, you can plug those routes. For example, if somebody steals in Kuje or Wuse II, if you know the terrain very well you will know how to track him down. But if you don’t, the guy will get away. Though, I agree that management of security has gone beyond direct policing.

Recently Boko Haram announced cease fire and their readiness to dialogue with the government. Do you think the Federal Government should go into dialogue with the Boko Haram sect?

One thing we cannot run away from is the fact that there must always be an opportunity to discuss. However, that is not the sole panacea to this trouble. There is a saying that “Taking off the head is not a cure for headache”. There may

be multi-lateral approaches to dealing with this challenge. Let me give you an example, when the late President Umar Musa Yar’ Adua decided to come up with the Amnesty Programme for Niger-Delta militants, did he hold any dialogue with the militants? What we have in NigerDelta today is the peace of the grave yard.

Did you hear how much the Borno State government will commit to this? N26billion. If I have N26 billion, I won’t negotiate with anybody. I will smoke them out so well. Look at what Governor Rotimi Ameachi did. He did not negotiate with criminals in Rivers.

In the Abacha years, when the militants were giving them problem, the guy in charge of JTF said they were taught in the Nigerian Army 101 ways of killing people and they demonstrated it by shooting at trees and those trees started going down and he now said, you can imagine CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

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POLITICS

March 2, 2013

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 what we can do to human beings. If I become the president of this country, it won’t take me more than six months to fix this problem. It takes a will to do it.

Abuja/Lokoja road is taking 12 years; you don’t need second term to build it.

Some of those characters terrorising the country at the end of the day report to people. They have major stakeholders that are backing them up. Some of those guys that attacked ThisDay newspaper cannot afford AK 47. Terrorism is not cheap. It takes will to solve this problem.

Nigeria will soon celebrate her centenary. How would you assess the country and do you think the 100 years celebration is worth it?

We cannot run away from our history.

Are we going to say that amalgamation did not happen in 1914? No, it happened.

Somebody was asking me few days ago why I was not at the centenary event and I said because every deliverable that should come out of that exercise, we most likely won’t get it. When the last candle went down after the dinner,

15

‘Centenary celebration will be worthwhile if …’

I guess people did not leave that event with the essence and meaning of a centenary celebration. If we work out of this centenary celebration with a Nigeria that is more united, a Nigeria that is ready to confront its challenges which includes primarily bad leadership, corruption and others, then our centenary celebration would have been worthwhile. Otherwise, it would have been a wasted effort and waste of time. Even as simple as that event was, we did not give enough honour to our national colours. How can Nigeria put up a show to flag off a centenary celebration and the lead singer, Onyeka Owenu, will wear an American flag colour. She wore red.

Virtually all the guys who came to the stage wore all manners of colours. In major events in America, you will see three colours, red, white and blue. After our centenary, if we come out and start talking about parochialism, narrow interest of where you are from, who you

Daramola

are, it would have been an effort in futility like I said before. 75 per cent of the guys who are supporting this are looking for one thing or the other. It is transaction and that is why I think we are not taking it right.

How would you assess the Gover-

nor Kayode Fayemi-led administration in Ekiti State?

If today we have a different report coming out from Ekiti State, I would have been surprised because we were prepared for this job. When Fayemi has not become governor we were having meeting every month. I would fly down to Lagos and drive to his house in Ibadan, Akure, Ado Ekiti or his village. We did not just stumble into this job, we were prepared for it. So, if Fayemi is posting a wrong result today, I would have been shocked and I would have been the first person to say that we chose the wrong guy. Today, by the grace of God, I can say that Fayemi has given us value and satisfaction for all the bruises that our body took; for all the lives that were lost on the struggles.

I think that we can look back today and say we have reasonably met all of the aspirations of those people who lost everything in the course of the struggle.

2015: Divided the governors stand who was elected chairman of the NGF in June 2011 for an initial two-year term.

It would be recalled that PDP, during an emergency meeting on Sunday, which was attended by President Jonathan, PDP national chairman, Bamanga Tukur and governors elected on the platform of the party, presented Akpabio to journalists as the chairman of a newly formed PDP Governors’ Forum.

Amaechi is said to be leading a massive opposition against the President and Tukur considering various confrontations of the Governors’ Forum against the presidency and Tukur-led PDP over some national and party issues. Some are also of the view that the NGF chairman is using his position to strategically position himself as PDP vice-presidential candidate in 2015.

PDP seems not to be comfortable with Amaechi as NGF chairman and they believe that he might use the position to nurture his ambition the way his predecessor, former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, did in his quest to run for presidency during 2011 general election.

The notion that all is not well within the governors forum is also indicated with the recent postponement of the NGF election to May. Amaechi’s tenure as NGF chairman suppose to end in April but many wonder why the NGF could not elect a new chairman on Monday and why they decided to shift the election till May instead of holding it before the expiration of Ameachi’s tenure.

Though Amaechi is entitled to recontest for the position but analysts are of the view that he may not be given the opportunity to lead the NGF for another two years. Some are of the view that with the emergence of Akpabio as the chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, the party may not back Amaechi for a second term of office whenever his tenure expires. Considering the fact that PDP

has the largest number in the NGF with 23 members against opposition parties that have 13, PDP may well present Akpabio as the party’s candidate for the position.

Some are also of the view that with the emergence of Akpabio, a SouthSouth Governors as chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, the ruling party may decide to zone the position to the North to scuttle Amaechi’s return. But some are of the view that Amaechi still enjoys the supports of the opposition governors and some PDP governors and this may work in his favour in retaining the NGF chairmanship seat because of the various significant achievement of the group under his leadership.

While some people see the emergence of the PDP Governors’ Forum as a means to weaken the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, PDP national chairman defended the position of the party, saying that the formation of the PDP Governors’ Forum was out of necessity.

Akpabio also said his election was part of the plot by the PDP to re-strategise, and that there was no plan to remove Amaechi from office.

“There was never a discussion to remove him (Amaechi). His tenure will end by April, though he has the right to re-contest, there will be no crack. Other parties are also meeting. There will be no crack. It will strengthen the forum,” he said.

With the division in the governor’s camp, political analysts are of the view that it may be difficult for the governors to speak with one voice as per which direction they will go in the choice of the presidency and other key offices at the national level. Some are also of the view that the ongoing plot to silent Amaechi may lead to a major confrontation between the presidency and the governors if Amaechi survives the ‘coup’ against him.

It is also believed that if a North-

ern governor emerges as the next NGF chairman, he may use his position to work against Jonathan’s return to Aso Rock. Also, considering the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders have started wooing some PDP governors, it may well pass that that any alliance between some PDP governors with

APC may spell doom for the ruling party if they do not manage the governors’ forum’s crisis very well.

As combination and permutation toward 2015 seem to be gaining momentum, the question on the lips of many Nigerians is: Will the governors speak with one voice in 2015?

In your refreshingly different The NITEL rot Moribund Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) is very much in the news apparently because its facilities which include buildings, telephone exchanges, transmission channels, cables, warehouses and offices across the country are rotting away.

A few years back, NITEL services were not for the poor but for the affluent. Why then has it not been possible to rebrand the indigenous telecommunication outfit despite huge resources committed to it all these years? How did things get to this sorry pass? What happened to its privatisation? And is there any hope of its rebirth? We provide answers to these posers tomorrow.

Passion

I paid dearly for being a star –Ibinabo Ibinabo Febrisima.

Remember her? She is the President of Actors Guild of Nigeria. Above all, this mother of four and a onetime beauty queen, hit the news-waves some years back when her jeep crashed into the car of a medical doctor, killing him. Ibinabo, who passed through the eye of the storm as she was arraigned for manslaughter, relives that agony, regretting that people crucified her over the incident because she was a star. She spoke on her life in prison and now that she is a free woman.

Dateline

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

The Maitatsine wars

Between 1980 and ’84 in Kano and some northern communities, it was a tough battle as the Shehu Shagari administration battled to put down series of insurrections caused by the deadly Maitatsine religious sect. We bring back memories of that era, in this edition

PDP: Can Anenih ‘Àx it’?

That Chief Tony Anenih finally emerged as the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) in what was his second coming is no longer news. What is however riveting is the approach Anenih, popularly known as ‘Mr. Fix It’, will use in resolving the various crises rocking the party.

This is against the backdrop of alignments and re-allignments among Nigerian politicians, which observers say could have negative impacts on the PDP dominance. We give you the full analysis tomorrow.

Tales of two monarchs Two dramatic events played out in Ekiti State last week. While a traditional ruler was stoned by his angry subjects, another was simply chased out of his palace and sent on exile. What actually angered these locals to warrant humiliating their monarchs respectively? Keep a date with your vendor.

These and many more available tomorrow in your

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Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

MAGAZ INE Genevieve

Omotola

...Chummy stars Sex talk 15 sex questions, 15 sexpert answers

z z z z z z

Relationships Should a woman change her surname after marriage?

z z z z z z

Fashion •Earn your stripes •Rocking your red bottoms right

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March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘There is sexual harassment everywhere’ If you watched the Yoruba movie titled Apesin, Bukky Fagbuyi’s face should be stamped on your mind.

With an acting experience of over ten years, Bukky Apesin, as she is now fondly called, is set to paint the town red with her new movie, Sekunola, which she just concluded. In this interview with FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON, the Business Administration graduate of the University of Ado Ekiti speaks on the challenges of her acting career, her new movie and her rare passion for children among other things.

children, because the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow.

Celebrity

What prompted the idea of that theme in you?

I love children and I believe a lot in them because they are the future of tomorrow. I want to use the movie to encourage parents to invest in their children, especially in the area of education. I want to use the movie to make parents see that no matter what we are going through, we should endeavour to give our children the best of training in all areas of life. Doing so is building a strong and mighty nation. I also want children to learn how to behave and make the best of their lives.

Who are on the cast of the movie?

The movie has people like Muyiwa Ademola, Dayo Amusa, Ogogo, Saheed Balogun, Ibrahim Chata, Bimbo Oshin, Aderupoko, Kemi Afolabi, Olaitan Ogunjobi, myself and a host of others.

With the high level of competition in the industry, how do you intend to market the movie?

I intend to premier the movie around before taking it to the cinemas. For now, I am doing the project in conjunction with a company that will be working with me on the premier. I have strategies and plans on how I will be going about it and I know that by the grace of God, things will turn out well. There are also plans to do the final premier in the UK. The plan is to do the final premier in May to mark Children’s Day.

H

ow long ago have you been acting?

I have been acting in church dramas and in school for a very long time. But professionally, I have been acting for over ten years.

In which movie did you play your first major role ?

It was in Apesin. I played the lead role.

As someone who has been in the entertainment industry for ten years, would you say sexual harassment is a big issue in the industry?

Sexual harassment is all over the world, not just in the movie industry.

People talk about it because the movie people and those in the industry are in the public eye. These things happen in every sector, not just in the movie industry.

How did you get into professional acting?

About ten years ago, I enrolled as an apprentice under the ace actor Muyiwa Ademola, who gave me all the exposure I needed and taught me the rudiments of the profession. I studied Business Administration at the University of Ado Ekiti and was acting on part time basis until I graduated. It was also during that time that I featured in Apesin How do you prepare for your roles?

I rehearse in front of a mirror to see what it will look like when I am being watched. I also take my time to practice one or two other characters of the movie apart from my own character. I go the extra mile to research how different people would react to the same situation my character is to play. For instance, if I am to play the role of a mad woman, I will go to town and see how mad people behave and how they do things, so that when the time comes for me to play such a role, I will do it well.

A number of people have died in the entertainment industry in the last few months. Does this scare you?

We think a lot of people die in the industry because they are in the public eye. People die every day. Thousands of

people die every day at different times in various sectors. But because entertainers are in the public eye and they are well known, it appears like they are the only ones dying. That is not the truth. For instance, look at the number of people that died in the Dana plane crash last year, or the people who died in different infernos that happened in different parts of the country at the beginning of the year.

Those were not entertainers. We just have to keep praying against untimely death for everyone in our country.

What are you working on currently?

I have just completed my own movie, produced by me and directed by Muyiwa Ademola and Bayo Tijani. It is titled

Sekunola.

What themes does the movie explore?

The movie is an all encompassing one that has its focus on children, parental guidance, love and life in general. It is a movie that parents in particular must watch. It is also about child abuse and its negative impact. It is meant to encourage parents to give serious thought to giving a sound education to their children. For instance, I am a graduate of Business administration. Although I am not exactly working with the certificate at the moment, the knowledge I have received in the course of my study has impacted positively on my acting career. So education and good training are very important for

Have you ever been sexually harassed?

Yes. I have had experiences of such.

I have been sexually harassed. But you know it takes two to tango; it is a two way thing. If someone makes a demand on you and you are not interested in doing it, you can decline. The worst that could come out of it is that you will not give me what I want at that time. But that does not mean I cannot go elsewhere and still get what I want. It may take time, but you will surely get there.

You may pursue ten jobs and get maybe two that will not demand for that in exchange for the job.

Can you date a movie industry player?

It will depend on who the person is and whether he is my kind of man or not. If he has what I need in a man, I will go for him even if he is in the industry.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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March 2, 2013

Entervaganza

With OSEYIZA OOGBODO

08023755142 kingseiza@gmail.com

More Genevieve, Omotola controversies prove friendship in public trail Darey’s concert F or a long time now spanning several years, the tale in town has always been that Nollywood’s top two actresses, Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde are at daggers drawn. Even though they have co-starred in several movies, the bitter tale wouldn’t go away. Even when they came out separately and at different times to refute that there was bad blood between them, that even though they were not the best of friends but they were not enemies, the dirty ru-

mour persisted.

The two divas might finally have respite from the tale now with their public display of friendship during the week at Omotola’s 35th birthday celebration in Lagos. Not only did Genevieve attend the party, she and Omotola hugged tightly, cut the cake together and were generally a bit intimate.

Does one need any further proof that the two sexy, beautiful, attractive, ambitious and successful ladies are not enemies?

Damoche

Singer Damoche shot dead

R

ising singer, Damoche, is dead.

He was shot by suspected cult members at the Lagos State University, Ojo where he was studying Banking and Finance. He was popular for his song, Obotoche.

Iyanya launches album today

H

igh flying crooner, Iyanya, will launch his Desire album today at Eko Convention Centre in partnership with high flying outfit, Flytime Promotions.

The Lagos launching is coming after that of Abuja and Iyanya’s high flying colleagues who are expected to support him during his big day tonight are the Koko Master D’Banj, Choc Boy MI, Star Boy Wizkid, urban highlife leader Flavour and self-acclaimed Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya.

D’Banj finally announces album release date

A

date has been announced for the highly anticipated D’Banj Records debut album. D’Banj Records is owned by D’Banj and he established it after his controversial breakup with Don Jazzy.

But while Don Jazzy’s Mavin records has since released two albums, the compilation Solar Plexus and D’Prince’s Frenzy, D’Banj Records has only released singles by D’Banj and Kay Switch.

Excited about the debut which will also be a compilation album, D’Banj tweeted: ‘D Kings Men album out March 30th. Presale from Friday March 1st.

Thank you all for the long wait.’

Omotola (left) and Genevieve at the party

I

t seems the dust is refusing to settle over Darey’s Valentine concert, Love Like A Movie concert. Initially, the hullabaloo was that the star attraction, American reality star, Kim Kardashian, didn’t spend quality time at the concert.

The grouse then moved to the insinuation that she was paid half a million dollars for her extremely brief appearance. Now, a tale is being peddled that the show cost N300m to put together.

An entertainment head, Saucy, has however come out to challenge Darey to prove that he spent N300m on the concert and that Kim K received $500,000.

Speaking with Entervaganza, Saucy said, “Do you know how much $500,000 is in naira? Over N70m. Let’s be frank and stop kidding ourselves and living in delusion. They did not pay Kim K that much and neither did they spend N300m on the show. This is Nigeria where it’s all about hype and you have more lies than truth in entertainment especially.

“I’m not out to beef Darey and co, the show was wonderful and all that, but since they’ve set a standard of organising a unique show, then they should also set the standard of coming clean with what it really cost them to produce the show and what they paid Kim K. Until they do that, I do not believe that they expended all the millions they are touting around.”

When Entervaganza called the show’s organisers to get their opinion about Saucy’s comments, their numbers were unavailable.

2go, iroking bring music to millions STANLEY IHEDIGBO

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go and iroking are joining forces to bring instant free Nigerian music downloads of artists that include Timaya, Flavour and Burna Boy to the 9 million active 2go users across Nigeria.

According to 2go and iroking, a brand new mobi site, iroking.2go.im, has been built for this purpose by iroking and it brings the biggest and best afrobeat songs

to 2go users who will be able to download them free and direct to their mobile phones.

Speaking about the partnership, Head of Business Development for iROKO Partners, Adi Nduka-Agwu, said, “The 2go platform has galvanised the biggest mobile messenger networking user base in Africa in an extremely short space of time, so it was only a matter of time before we were going to work with them. We are bringing Nigerian music to the millions with this partnership and we’re thrilled to be work-

ing with 2go to connect with new, young and music-obsessed audiences across continental Africa.”

2go’s Peter Lockhart said, “Millions of people use 2go to message friends and meet new people every day, so we’re very pleased to now partner with iROKING to bring the biggest Nigerian artists to 2go. Our users love music, so we’re excited to give them access to the latest Nigerian music and

music news for free on their mobile phones.”

Now Muzik takes hip-hop higher

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ip-hop in the country is about enjoying very good fortunes thanks to the efforts of Now Muzik En.Core. The music outfit held the second edition of its relaunched monthly Str8 Up, Hip-Hop forum last Saturday and it was entirely an hip-hop affair.

Known as the Love Jones Edition,

it featured all the elements of hip-hop: graffiti, B-boying, poetry and MCing.

Hosted by core hip-hop femcee, Blaise, performances were by core hip-hop artists, Ill Bliss and Phyno who brought the house down with their smash hits, Amachi Kwanu, My Heart Beats, Ghost Mode and Shut The City Down.

Poetry performances were by Toni

Payne and Efe Paul Azino, freestyle were

by Butafly, Eternal and others. Many aspiring hip-hop artists and B-boys also had the opportunity to showcase themselves.

Heavyweights who made an appearance at the event which held at the popular Koga Studios included Efe Omorogbe and Mode 9.

ENTERVAGANZA

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March 2, 2013

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CLASSICAL RYHMES

AIRWAVES LINK

Bovi lights up Glo Presents The Big Friday Show

Bovi (left) and Basket Mouth

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his weekend’s edition of Glo Presents The Big Friday Show is all fun and humour as popular comedian Bovi links up with his senior colleague and regular show host Basket Mouth.

Bovi, popularly known as Man on Fire, is the celebrity guest on episode

six of the new season of GPTBFS which shows every Friday on MTV Base at 8.30 pm Central African Time (CAT), Nigeria’s Silverbird Television (STV) at 6 pm and 11 pm, Ghana’s Viasat 1 TV at 5 pm and Benin Republic’s ORTB at 9.30 pm. Viewers in Nigeria can also watch it on Africa In-

dependent Television (AIT) at 9.30 pm on Wednesdays.

A 2002 Theatre Arts graduate of Delta State University, Abraka, Bovi spoke to viewers about his life as an actor, writer, comedian, MC, poet and producer.

There was also a special Big Friday Show tribute to the singer Susan Harvey better known as Goldie who passed away on Valentine ’s Day last month.

As usual, there was the full complement of exciting segments of the programme: Upcoming Guest Of The Week, Ask/Reply, Big Friday Show Countdown, Vlog and Prank Yo Peoples.

Pm Wizzy, the week’s upcoming artist, was challenged to interview people on the streets of Lagos. Viewers will find out how he fared and if he was able to complete his task and showcase his talent.

Entertainment news was excitingly delivered by sexy Vlogger Steph, and on the Prank Yo Peoples segment, Glo subscriber, Oladipo Onifade, played a prank on his friend, Waxzy.

Viewers who are Glo subscribers can send in questions via text messages to future studio guests who will answer the questions live on the programme.

Clara Okoro initiates monthly music and fashion show O n-air personality, Clara Okoro, has concluded plans for a monthly music and fashion show, Rock ‘N’ Rave, to debut on Easter Sunday.

According to Okoro who is also the publisher of ICE magazine, “Rock ‘N’ Rave will not only showcase the many talents and skills that abound in the nation and in Africa in general, it will also empower many youths to become their own masters through proper management of their talents.

“This is imperative because Nigeria is full of resources and skills yet there’s a high rate of poverty in the land which will only disappear when we put to use the great energy and resources at our disposal.”

A perfect example of what she is preaching, Okoro is the presenter of Brand World on Channels TV and DBN TV, and she added that, “Like its name implies, music and fashion in-

terface at Rock ‘N’ Rave. New DJs who have not made a

Okoro

statement in the industry will have the opportunity to do so by interpreting fashion through music and new artists will also have the opportunity to showcase their talent.”

She also said that the talent showcase show will debut on Easter Sunday March 31st, 2013 at Xquisite Lounge, Jade Palace, Victoria Island, Lagos, will create employment for more than ten people every month and that she hopes the sponsor they’ve approached will see it as a laudable means to reach the youths and empower them at the same time.

African China

Mr President Artist: African China Verse 1 Food e no dey Brother eh water no dey And our country no good o Everyday for thief One day for owner e Poor man wey thief maggi Omo, dem go show im face For Crime Fighter [Crime Fighter] Rich man wey thief money Omo, we no dey see their face for Crime Fighter Tell me something now rude boy Rich man go dey halla prayer [Mo dupe] Poor man go dey shout Rich man go dey halla prayer [Mo dupe] Poor man go dey shout Make una lead us well No let this nation to fall inside well Chorus Mr. President [Lead us well] If you be Governor [Govern us well] If you be Senator [Senate am well] If you be police [Police well well, no dey take bribe] Oya lead us well [Nne me eh, govern us well] If you be Senator [Senate am well] If you be police [Police well well, no dey take bribe]

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ENTERVAGANZA

March 2, 2013

BOX OFFICE HITS

BRAIN BEHIND THE SCENE

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ike Bruce Willis’ current box office blockbuster, A Good Day to Die Hard, Snitch is also a movie about a guy who is in trouble and his father is ready to do all he can to get him out of the mess he’s got himself into.

Unlike A Good Day … where

Selane

Bongiwe Selane … highly rated film and TV producer

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ongiwe Selane is not a Nigerian. Nevertheless, she has been very influential in determining what Nigerians watch on their DStv and also very influential in getting Nigerian programmes onto M-Net, a very popular satellite TV channel in Africa.

A South African, Selane has been in film and TV for 15 years.

She studied at the London College of Communication and is executive producer at Blingola MediaVanilla Productions.

Her importance and overall contribution behind the scenes to Nigeria and Africa’s film and TV sector just cannot be quantified. She was employed by M-Net in 2000 as their commissioning editor, and one of her major tasks was New Directions, a film development initiative launched to advance and develop the African film industry.

Consequently, she executive produced over 20 short films all

over Africa for New Directions.

Short films are just part of her notable achievements, though.

She is also very adept at full length feature films and she also excelled in that category as the supervising producer for M-Net’s Movie of the Month project.

Some of the films that came out of the initiative are Gums And Noses, The Flyer, Murmur, Swan Song For Charlie, Dollars And White Pipes and Yesterday. The films have been shown not only on M-Net, but at some of the most prestigious film festivals in South Africa and abroad, and have also won several awards.

Selane it was that facilitated MNet’s broadcasting of the Nigerian TV productions, Doctor’s Quarters and Edge of Paradise. They were the first non-South African drama series M-Net broadcasted, albeit for Nigerian audiences, and she followed them up with a Kenyan drama series, Changes, also for viewers in Kenya.

A

s its title suggests, 21 & Over is about a guy who turns 21 years of age and his best friends decide they must celebrate it for him. They surprise him with

the son in trouble was implicated in an assassination attempt, Snitch’s son in trouble was for distribution of illegal drugs. And his father, who is not on too good terms with the son, decides to do everything to get him out of the predicament because he feels guilty as he believes his son m a d e a mist a k e due to being emotionally abandoned by the father.

To make matters worse, there is the suspicion that the son might be killed before he serves the 10-year prison sentence he is given.

How was father able to help son?

Find out in this blockbuster which is already doing well at the box office due to its emotional and thrilling plot.

a visit a n d i nv i t e h i m out for a night on the town.

E x cited and pleased by their visit to him to honour his b i r t h d a y, the birthday boy who is normally a very serious student, decides to go with them, even though he has an interview for medical school early the following morning.

But as things will not always go as planned, the simple celebration turned into a long night of chaos, overindulgence, humiliation and utter debauchery.

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Relationships

Should a woman change her What’s in a name?

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hat is in a name?

William Shakespeare once asked that question through the historical romantic character Juliet when she asked Romeo the question, “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Juliet was telling Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention. I believe in that maxim too. A name is a man made contraption used in personal and individual identification. A man called ‘Smart’ will not automatically be intelligent, just like a woman called ‘Joy’ will not automatically be a naturally happy person.

Most Africans believe that a name has an impact on how much a person behaves or what the person becomes in life. To most of us, a good name has a way of opening ‘doors’ of good luck and opportunity to its bearer. One of the common examples is the name Goodluck which has been attributed to be the reason why President Goodluck Jonathan has been successful in life and politics. Be that as it may, it is not surprising that people want to be identified with something or someone after marriage.

The funny thing is that even when a woman wants to be identified as someone’s wife, she also wants to have a personal identity outside of the man’s name. She wants to be seen and known as a person in her own rights who as an individual will not be an appendage of someone else. The African society through culture and religion on the other hand, believes that a woman must only be seen and not heard.

Her voice is silent. She has no opinion on issues.

A lot of men and some women too will crucify me for holding on to this opinion. I know I will be called names. Funny names and not so funny names, but the truth must be said. One question I ask people espe-

cially men who insist that their wives should change surnames after marriage or who make an issue out of this topic is that does name change by married women affect or hinders the qualities they saw in these women before they became their wives? How has my wife’s changing her surname to mine after marriage made her to become a different person or has it made her less a wife or someone else’s wife? So why the uproar over a woman’s name change?

A lot of people hide under culture and traditions to say that it’s what their ancestors have been doing; therefore it cannot and should not be changed. Some men will tell you that their religion even demands that the woman should not only lose her surname, she must submerge her identity to theirs. If you ask me, I’ll tell you that the idea is becoming outdated and obsolete. When this topic came up, most of the people I discussed it with said they believed a woman need to change her name so as to have a marital identity connected to her husband.

They went further to say that once a woman gets married; she should give up her identity and become part of the man’s. What I ask them is, ‘what happens to the former identity that it took her some time to build?’ Is marriage supposed to be bondage of sorts? A prison from which one’s identity is forever lost?

Call me what you will. I may be called an apologist or a rabble rouser, or even an iconoclast maybe? I don’t mind. I believe that it should be a woman’s prerogative whether she wants to change her surname after marriage or not. No one should use culture, traditions or religion to shackle her down.

This is the 21st Century and we need to have an attitudinal change on a lot of issues, even if these changes may look radical in nature.

SEX TALK

This column is x-rated

15 sex questions, 15 sexpert answers CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK Q: Why do women seem to have this heavy emotional investment in sex? Why do they think every sexual act must end on the altar?

A: Female brains have a larger emotional region than the male brain. The male brain, on the other hand, has what’s called a “sexual-pursuit centre” that is 2 to 2.5 times larger than a woman’s sexual-pursuit centre. This big centre causes men to seek out sexual pleasure and multiple partners first and foremost. Additionally, girl’s brains discharge far more oxytocin (a bonding hormone linked to estrogen), which is to blame for this silly attachment after sex, whether she wants it or not. Biologically, the female brain is programmed not to risk impregnation by someone who won’t be around to raise the offspring. If you get this, you’ll be more understanding of women and their attitude to sex.

Q: What happens during female orgasm?

Do they squirt liquid like us men?

A: Female ejaculation is indeed real. The fluid originates in what is called the paraurethral gland. Some researchers have found PSA (a protein found in semen) and fructose in female ejaculate. Sexperts, however, speculate that women have been conditioned to repress this outburst.

The urge to ejaculate feels like the urge to pee, and it takes some mastering to tell the difference. And women, being the considerate creatures they are, worry about peeing all over the man they are in bed with. But men, being selfish ‘bastards,’ don’t care a hoot about leaking all over the woman and the sheets. That’s probably why they are more adept at ejaculating than women.

Q: I always tell my girlfriend that it’s good to have sex because she’ll burn a lot of calories. She is perpetually worrying about her

weight. Am I giving correct advice?

A: Sexperts speculate that vigorous sex for thirty minutes will burn only about 40.5 calories. With the horizontal positions, your heart doesn’t have to work very hard to produce circulation around the body and you’re not using large muscle groups, no matter what you’d like to tell yourself.

Therefore, you can assume sex burns even fewer calories than your constant, relentless, incessant begging for more action.

Q: My girlfriend does not like to swallow sperm because she thinks it may be fattening.

How many calories would be in a single ejaculate of sperm?

A: You might have an easier time convincing your girlfriend to swallow semen if she knows that ejaculate contains a mere five calories per serving. Most popular diet plans consider semen a “calorie-free food.” Semen is actually a tantalising blend of sperm, fructose, sodium, citric acid, potassium, water, vitamin C, phosphate, bicarbonates, zinc, and prostaglandins. So tell her to go ahead and enjoy you to the fullest without any fears!

Q: I heard that consuming pineapple helps sweeten the taste of semen. Can there be any truth in this?

A: Some say there is a link between what you eat and the flavour of your semen. Others maintain these are old wives’ tales perpetuated by powerful fruit farmers and sweets manufacturers.

But somewhere in-between lies the truth: Semen will never be delicious. The body is filled with bacteria, which affects its by-products. Certain foods can make it taste better, but, like sweat or saliva, semen is not going to be appealing. Fruits and quality alcohol are good for a pleasant, sugary flavour, but chemically processed liquors may

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RELATIONSHIPS

March 2, 2013

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CHINWE ANNIE AMAECHI 07028684481 chinweamaechi@gmail.com

surname after marriage?

It is personal

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This column is x-rated cause an acidic taste. Milk and meat products create the foulesttasting fluids. However, the fact remains that there is no hard evidence that diet has any bearing on the taste of semen.

Q: My wife is silent in bed. I hate it. What can I do?

A: Ask her nicely if she is being sexually satisfied. If that doesn’t work, play a game where you ask her to walk you through, step by step, how she wants you to touch her. Prompt her... ask her questions. Create a dialogue. Above all, be patient.

Just remember, no two women are alike. Some of them, even in the hottest of encounters, would rather stay quiet.

Q. My wife can orgasm from oral or hand sex, but not during intercourse and I really want her to. What are the best positions that will take her to the big O? A: For the surest at taking your woman to the heights of orgasm, you need direct clitoral contact, which is usually easiest with woman-on-top. This position optimises contact between her clitoris and your pubic bone. Since she’s in control of the thrusting, she can have as much clitoral stimulation as she wants. She’s also in a position that will make it easy for you to stimulate her manually.

Q. Every now and then, my boyfriend and I will hole up for a weekend and have sex nonstop. Is there such a thing as too much sex?

A. Though prolonged intercourse isn’t bad for you, there

This column is x-rated are a few things you need to consider. First, ongoing sex sessions can contribute to ‘love cystitis’ or urinary tract infection.

When bacteria get pushed up the urethra from the in-and-out of thrusting, they cause irritation, burning, and a constant feeling of having to pee. The best way to prevent cystitis is to flush out germs by drinking lots of water and urinating after intercourse.

It’s also smart to use water-based lubricants, since excessive intercourse can cause chafing. Lubricant keeps the action spots from getting irritated, so you can literally have sex for hours.

Another great idea is to declare manual or oral-only encounter.

Instead of using hand or mouth action as a prelude to actual intercourse, make it the main event. Not feeling rushed to get to the real deal lets you relax and enjoy every lingering lick, kiss, and tongue flick.

Q. Sometimes my guy is too tired to do it at night, but he’s always raring to go in the morning. Is that normal?

A. There’s a physiological reason your man is an early bird. Testosterone levels cycle between highs and lows throughout the day, typically peaking between 8 and 10 a.m. But morning erection can also be caused by the need to pee. When the bladder fills, it stimulates the nerves in that area, creating an erection. The full bladder also creates pressure that increases blood flow to the genitals.

CONCLUDED

he last time I checked, no written law or religion required that a woman must change her name after marriage; in the same way, no law or religion prohibits such change of name. However, there are some norms that most of us were born into which we have not questioned or traced the histories thereof. The woman’s change of surname after marriage is one of such norms.

We grew up with the notion that the change of status from ‘spinster’ to ‘married woman’ and a change of title from ‘Miss’ to Mrs.’ necessarily culminates in a change from ‘daddy’s surname’ to ‘husband’s surname’. In fact, once you announce that you are getting married, the major question that your well-wishers ask is: so you are going to be “Mrs. Who?” Also, when you return to your place of work after your wedding, the Human Resources manager naturally directs you to begin the process of changing your name on all relevant documents.

The truth is this: there is a presumption that a grown woman who bears her father’s surname is either unmarried or divorced. It is worse where her title is Mrs. and her surname is her father’s name; she is automatically presumed to be divorced. Should this be the case, especially given the fact that no law or religion makes it mandatory for a woman to change her name after marriage?

From conversations and written resources, I have come to learn that in Islam, a woman need not change her maiden name after marriage. In Iran and other Arab countries, it was not the norm for women to change their maiden names upon marriage, until not so long ago when western influence changed the status quo.

Similarly, in Spain, women usually maintain their father’s name and their children take up a hyphenated combination of their parents’ surnames. Quite interesting!

Also, I am not aware of any Christian doctrine which proposes that a woman’s failure or refusal to change her maiden name after marriage is a sin. However, I have not heard of any Christian marriage ceremony at which the couple was not introduced as Mr. and Mrs. “man’s surname” after the officiating minister has declared them man and wife. Also, most Christians believe that a woman’s submission to a man in marriage includes forfeiting her father’s name and taking up her husband’s name. We can therefore say that Christianity encourages women to change their maiden names after marriage.

I once read about one Lucy Stone. She was a 19th-century suffragist who was the first American woman to revert to her birth name after marriage. I hear she chastised one woman thus: “A wife should no more take her husband’s name than he should

hers.” At a point, women who refused to change their names upon marriage were called ‘Stoners’.

What of celebrities who have built fame in their maiden names? Shouldn’t they be an exception to the general norm? In a popular American female writer’s opinion, no one would be willing to pay those high prices for products of the popular designer – Vera Wang – if she changed her name to Vera Becker after marriage; songs by Mariah Cannon, Jennifer Anthony or Barbra Brolin would not be popular even though they are songs by Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, and Barbra Streisand. This just shows the power of names, when the owners have converted them to renowned brands.

Well, I must admit that I am one of the propagandists of change of name after marriage. But I believe that women should not flow with the norm as if they have no choice in the matter. Instead, they should give up their father’s names as an exercise of their will in honour of and love for their husbands. I also believe she should do so for the children’s sake. You can imagine how absurd it would sound if a child has to state his/her parents’ full names using two different surnames? Definitely, knowing how nosy people can be, other questions will follow!

Clearly, changing a woman’s maiden name to her husband’s name after marriage is a social tradition that has eaten so deep into most cultures that it now seems like a compulsory post-wedding step. Even where a woman is conscious that it is not mandatory and wishes not to drop her maiden name, her husband may not agree with her for various reasons. Some men feel that it could be an indication that the woman’s plan is to walk out on him at anytime she feels tired of the marriage, so maintaining her maiden name will save her the stress which a subsequent change of name would entail.

I think a woman should not make a fuss about her right to retain her maiden name, but be willing to take up her husband’s surname either by combining his with hers as a compound surname, or by totally forfeiting hers. If she falls under the category of those whose maiden names have built a brand, she should be able to convince her husband to let her keep her maiden name or merge it with hers. If he doesn’t like the idea, she should be able to publicise her change of name in a way that the ‘goodwill’ which she had built with her maiden name can be attached to her new name over a period of time.

Celebrities all over the world have done this, so this debate should not ordinarily cause friction between a woman and her man.

So, should a woman adopt her husband’s surname as hers after marriage? I think there are many good reasons to.

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Woman

Life’s pains come with gains –Moji Olaiya Ever since her lead role as Ireti in Wale Adenuga’s “No pains, no gains,” Moji Olaiya, daughter of legendary highlife maestro Victor Olaiya, has remained a force to reckon with in the Nigerian movie industry. The delectable actress, in this interview with YEMISI ADENIRAN, speaks about her father, marriage and the secret behind her successful career. Excerpts:

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s a child of a famous musician, it is clear that you were born into publicity and fame. How did you cope?

My father as everyone knows is a celebrated musician, so, we grew to know and live with the word, fame. We saw fame as being part of our lifestyle. We had a lot of people wanting to be our friends just because we have a recognised name but we have also been taught to be careful not to soil the good name that has been built for us. We were trained to be good children, to keep our heads low and to be friendly with everyone. I am used to over-hearing people calling my name or telling others around about whom I am and who my father is or was. Fame is not strange to me and I know how to handle it. Although one of the prices we pay for being known is to live an open life; I am used to it and I try as much as possible to manage it. One good thing about this is the fact that it also has a lot of advantages too. Because we have a face and a name to protect, we wouldn’t join others to play any negative pranks.

If we did, we would easily give others up. Many others like I said softened up for us once they knew who we were. It’s a two way thing. Fame, you know, comes in two phases. The advantage of this again is that when I become an adult, it was not any big deal. I was already used to people looking my way, shouting my name and all that. I don’t need anyone to tell me that I don’t have a private life, I know the aftermath of a careless life. I wouldn’t dare it.

Does this explain why you have been able to stay off scandals?

I guess so. Apart from the fact that I have been made to be conscious of the need to protect the good name of my father, I also hate negative stories trailing me.

Olaiya

How would you love to be described?

I am a simple and easy going life. I don’t go beyond my limits, I don’t trouble people and I avoid troublesome people. I hate to step on people’s toes and I love to make good friends.

How will you describe your father?

My father is a very good man, he is hardworking. He is a responsible man. He cared for us as children and was not found wanting in any of his duties as a father.

He created a good name that we all cherish and enjoy till today. His good name, I must confess is working for me up till today. Several doors that ordinarily would not have opened for me keep opening even before I touch the knobs. I thank God for blessing me with that kind of a father. He was focused and knew what

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WOMAN

March 2, 2013

he wanted very early in life. I get things that even my own personality would not get easily done whenever I mention his name. He has a highly respected and worthy name; this is the same thing I pray to live for my own children too. I want to be of a good reference, I want my name to open good doors for them and any of my relatives. I want a name that will save them in times of trouble and not a name that will deny them good things in the future.

Not many actresses enjoy success almost immediately they hit the screen like you did. What’s the secret?

I tell you, God is the bedrock of my success. My father is a musician, not an actor. The Wale Adenuga’s No pains, no gains soap was my first time of doing something like that and I thank God that I did not disappoint the person that introduced me to the Super Story crew and my viewers. I did not do anything special or secretive, I only tried to put in my best and I am glad it worked out well for me. Generally, the same thing is what I apply to anything I do. My motto is: Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. I have been taught to always give my best to whatever I do and that is what I do at all times. Whatever role they give me, I try to give it the best shot. I just try to make it natural; I don’t take any assignment given to me with levity, I do it with all my strength and mind. I don’t do a half way job. I am committed to my job and I always pray and wish for the best result. Even when the story line seems somehow, I always try to play well my own part so that whenever they are evaluating it, it will be clear that I played my part well. This is the mindset with which I do my jobs and with God on my side, I have been able to get this far. Yes, it is not everyone that is endowed with easy success, but I think, I have just been privileged. It is God’s grace.

You also have this captivating smile and shape. Aren’t they part of the secret of your success?

We thank God for His gifts but if He has not helped someone, those beautiful attributes wouldn’t have meant anything. I am not the only one that has those attributes; there are many more actresses who have more enchanting gifts than mine but like I said, I have just been privileged.

Your Isese movie is rich in Yoruba culture and won you an award. What message do you wish to pass to your viewers?

It is all about tradition. It unfolds the way we behave and how we can sustain our tradition. If we look around us now, we will notice that a lot of things are happening due to civilisation. A lot of people, both young and old are drifting away from our tradition and culture to that of the Western world. It is not

good enough. We can borrow things from other places and culture but definitely not to the detriment of our own. We need to go back to our root and that is what the film is all about. If we adults of today will not uphold whatever is left of our culture, then I wonder what our children will know. We need to begin to appreciate our culture for the sake of the generation coming behind us.

A lot of things happening, now are eroding our culture and tradition.

So, I believe we need to come back to our culture and let our children know that a nation without respect and acknowledgement of its culture is a nation not existing.

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Keeping ABREAST

What is marriage to you?

It is a contract between two lovers to live their lives together.

By why are couples not living together today like they used to be in those days?

Some people blame it on lack of deep affection between spouses, some blame it on lack of trust and understanding while some blame it on lack of maturity and misplaced priorities. I know that no man or woman will go into a marriage with the intention of breaking it; broken homes happen for one of these reasons, all of them and many more.

It is different strokes for different people.

How do you view life?

Life is meaningless without God, He is the best companion. Life is all about sacrifice. It comes with a lot of responsibilities. It involves giving and taking. Life is good if we will have that mindset. Life is what you view it to be. There is nothing too big to get in life if one will endeavour to go the extra mile. If one will be determined and will not relent on striving hard to attain something, he or she will get it. Just ensure that it is what you want and the rest of the journey will be very easy.

Just like the first soap opera that I did, life gains comes with pains, no pains, no gains. We must go about our daily activities the same way.

It is not all about gains, there are pains too and vice versa. With this mind set, I believe it shall be well.

Life is interesting when you keep a free mind towards others. When you suspect everyone around you, you cage yourself and your feelings and it means you don’t trust yourself too. Whatever situation you find yourself, know that life will go on, it will only stop when you are tired of going on. So, there’s no need to give up on life or that situation.

What word of advice do you have for the upcoming actresses?

They should be focused and be sure they are doing what they want to do and not what they see their friends do. They should work hard and not be discouraged by anything.

They should have it in mind that nothing good comes easy.

Daily soft drink consumption linked to higher stroke risk in women

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omen who drink regular soft drinks every day are much more likely to have a stroke than women who rarely drink pop or other sweetened beverages, say Japanese researchers.

For the study, researchers asked the participants to fill out questionnaires listing their typical daily food and drink choices in four years at an interval of five years. They then split the participants into four groups based on how much soft drinks they drank. Those who rarely drank soft drinks, those who had one to two drinks a week, those who had three to four a week, and those who had a soft drink every day or nearly every day.

The researchers focused on all sugarsweetened pop and fruit drinks, but not diet sodas or 100 per cent fruit juices.

During 18 years of follow-up, the researchers noted more than 1,900 strokes among the participants.

They found that women who drank sugary drinks almost every day were 83 per cent more likely than those who rarely drank them to suffer an ischemic stroke, the most common kind of stroke caused by clogged arteries.

Interestingly, they found no such link in men. Nor did they find that high soft drink consumption was linked to higher heart disease rates in either gender.

Culled from ctvnews.com

Breastfeeding is not as beneficial as once thought –Study

F

eeling guilty that you didn’t breastfeed your children enough or at all? Relax. New research shows that breast milk is not as important for either the mother or the child’s health.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found that the association between breastfeeding and healthy children is not as strong as has previously been believed. It is true that breastfed infants are slightly healthier than bottle-fed babies. But apparently it is not the milk that makes the difference. Instead, the baby’s overall health is all determined before he or she is born.

It was found out that it is the placenta, not breast milk, that has more of an effect on children’s health.

“What happens is that there are hormones that come from the foetus that are converted to testosterone and oestrogen in the placenta -- if the process goes as it should. This is an energy intensive process. If the placenta does not have enough energy, a portion of the testos-

terone that would have been converted to oestrogen is in fact not converted.

Then what happens is that the testosterone goes to both the mother and child, and probably affects both of them”, said the lead researcher..

The only area where the study concluded that breastfeeding confers a benefit was in mental abilities.

The researcher believes it is time for nursing enthusiasts to calm down.

“There are many good reasons to breastfeed. But concern for the child’s health is not one of them. There is no reason why women who are struggling to breastfeed should have to go around feeling guilty, or think that they are giving their child a poor start in life if they can’t nurse. Baby formula is as good as breast milk”, Carlsen says.

The lead researcher adds that it is far worse for babies to have a tired, stressedout mother with a guilty conscience, than to forgo breast milk. The health aspects of breastfeeding should be left out of political arguments, he says.

Culled fromntnu.com

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March 2, 2013

Parenting

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression

Dealing with a difficult child

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ny parent dealing with a difficult child can attest to how taxing and distressing it can get at times. This is especially true of kids with behavioral problems who are already going to school or are involved in extracurricular activities.

Parents have to deal with complaints from school authorities and their child’s peers on top of everything else.

The most important thing parents can do when dealing with a difficult child is to provide a home that can help improve their kid’s behavior, as well as in their interaction with people surrounding them. Counsellors, teachers, and other persons of authority can only help do much in guiding your child’s conduct.

It is up to you to provide the groundwork for changing difficult behavior at home. Consider these five tips on child behavioral management for parents.

Let your child feel like your home is where they truly belong.

Home is where a child experiences a lot of firsts. It is also where the foundations of their character, attitude, quirks, and behavioral patterns are established. One of the most effective ways of dealing with a difficult child is to make them feel loved and important. Love brings more love, after all, and logic dictates that a well-loved child will be hard-pressed to create

trouble or hurt to people who care for them.

Create roles, tasks, and assignments specifically for your child so they will feel like they’re contributing something significant to your home, have their own identity, are appreciated, and not regarded as being merely troublesome. Always be there when they need to confide about things. Be your child’s role model by behaving appropriately at all times, and keeping your temper even in stressful situations.

Talk to your spouse and other family members about consequences for bad behavior.

You can’t take on the task of dealing with a difficult child all by yourself. The rest of your family and other persons that matter need to be in on it, as well. The key for effective disciplining in cases of child misbehavior is consistency.

Talk about consequences for misbehaving that are age-appropriate, will allow them to think about the actions that led to them being punished, and still be within the boundaries of fair treatment.

You and other older family members can give a warning before doling out the consequence so your child can learn to self-discipline. Once you give the consequence, do not attempt to explain or justify the punishment. Your child will soon learn to regard this as an inflexible thing in the

house.

Be calmly authoritative but not bossy.

As a parent, it is automatically assumed that what you say goes. But there are ways of dealing with a difficult child without being bossy and harsh. Your child might regard you as a bully instead of a caring parent if this is the case, and could end up resenting your attempts to discipline. Worse, they can misbehave more just to see you reacting angrily.

It’s important to get your child’s attention when you want to point out a particular misbehavior that needs to be dealt with. Get them to look at you as you explain why their behavior cannot be tolerated, and ask them to repeat what you said. This will encourage your child to focus and respond on what they did, and acknowledge you as the person who is in charge of the situation. Be as calm as you can be when you do this. Raised voices are understandable at times, but don’t make a habit of it, and keep your temper in check.

Always acknowledge positive things about your child.

A misbehaving child can sense disappointment and resentment from their family and friends even at a tender age. In dealing with a difficult child, praises and compliments for positive behavior are as important as conse-

quences are for negative ones.

When they do the right things of their own volition, acknowledge the action even if it’s an ordinary one. Remember that just because it’s supposed to be done by your child doesn’t mean that it doesn’t merit praise. Children need affirmation; difficult children more so.

Adopt a child behavioral management system according to your lifestyle.

No two misbehaving chil-

dren are alike. So when dealing with a difficult child at home, your behavioral management methods should be tailor-made for the circumstances and dynamics of your house and its members.

You can get inspiration from and compare notes with other parents of misbehaving kids and seek help from specialists, but in the end, you will have to map out unique strategies for dealing with an unruly child.

Tiny Feet

NAME: Bimbayo Animawun

BORN TO: Mr. and Mrs Animawun AGE: 12 months BIRTH WEIGHT: 3.5 kg Have you just had a baby? Send a picture of your bundle of joy to mirrorbabies@gmail.com

Fast food linked to severe Update Parenting asthma in children A new, multinational study suggests that children who often eat fast food have more severe asthma than children who don’t.

The study, found that 13- and 14-year-olds who ate fast food three times per week had a 39 percent increased risk of severe asthma; 6- and 7-year-olds who ate fast food three times per week had a 27 percent increased risk of severe asthma. Fast food consumption was also linked to an increased risk of severe eczema in children and teens.

Although the study only dem-

onstrates a link between fast food consumption and asthma, it does not confirm whether fast food causes asthma. The size of the study, which included 319,000 13- and 14-year-olds from 51 countries and 181,000 6- and 7-year-olds from 31 countries, “adds some weight to the possible causality of the relationship.”

The researchers, from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, also suggest that fruit may reduce the effects of asthma. Children who consumed at

least three servings of fruit per week had up to a 14 percent reduction in asthma severity.

The authors suggest that fast food’s high levels of saturated and trans fat could play a role in asthma severity because both are known to affect immunity.

“If the associations between fast food and the symptom prevalence of asthma … is causal, then the findings have major public health significance,” the study says •Culled from www.usnews. com

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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March 2, 2013

Rocking your le StyGlam

s m o t t o b red and

with Yemisi Adeniran

W

(08037801158) ydiran@yahoo.com

hile many fashionistas will dare wearing the red dress, a lot of them will not go near a red pant. But the red pant and or trouser is a great wear when accessorised appropriately. It can spice up simple look to a classy one if worn in a classic way.

This is how to wear the red pant from casual to formal look.

Team it up with a floral shirt, top to get a more formal plus semi formal look Accessorise with evergreen black shirt, top and blazer (if needed) Pop the outfit with burst of Blazer of same colour and it will become a stylish formal wear Accessorise with tops in

right

white, nude and earthy colour palette.

Pair most of your red pant with a white or black blazer/ jacket and compliment with statement bracelets for a simple, stylish and corporate look.

Wear it with stripes : You need to think about the shape of stripes. It will go totally wrong if body type is not considered.

Team up it up with colourful tops and shirts for a sunny day: A red pants despite its brightness can be worn even with colorful tops, shirts and all. Steal the look below and you will not regret. Just remember to avoid make up as much as possible. otherwise the look with be a tacky one.

28

STYLE & GLAM

March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Fashion Frenzy

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heth desir they but will make y are still scared ways to wear it Go chic with What could striped, boat-ne right for you.

Try colour-b This spring, just two colors, You’ll also se and verticals to interesting-look 4: Go long an Long, skinn blouse looks gr to dressy and a Pants or skir cially when pa

BEAUTY

Q&A

Your candid response to all fashion questions Choice blouses you need The Button down blouse The button down blouse is arguably the most popular style of blouse on the market today. This style often has a more formal look and typically includes a collar. Button down blouses are often worn with business suits, dress pants, or dress skirts. They can be dressed

down if desired, and can be worn with jeans, shorts, and casual skirts as well. This style of blouse is flattering on a multitude of body types, as it lengthens the torso and makes a woman appear slimmer. There are a handful of different styles of button down blouses to choose from, depending on the taste and preference of the shopper.

Oxford The Oxf button dow lar as well are margin These blou all come w

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

her for formal or an informal date, stripe wears are rable options. Otherwise known as the bandage wear, y are flattering and won’t just stand you out in the crowd you the envy of your friends and colleagues. But if you d of wearing one for one reason or the other, these are t right: h a striped T-shirt possibly be more “ooh-la-la” than a navy and white eck T-shirt? Try on several styles to find the look that’s

blocked stripes , one of the hottest striped looks is a variation of not , but three or more. ee combinations of stripes that cleverly use diagonals o create a flattering silhouette. Don’t be afraid to try an king top or dress on for size. nd lean with vertical stripes ny stripes can help elongate your figure. A striped reat when paired with a suit, skirt or jeans, from casual all moods in between. rts with vertical stripes are a very flattering look, espeired with a solid colored blouse or T-shirt. The stripes

STYLE & GLAM

29

Facelift on the bottom help to elongate the lower half of the body and make you appear longer. Pinstripes are always right, but don’t be afraid to experiment with bolder options.

Pick a boldly striped dress A striped dress adds a bit of fun to your wardrobe. You’ll find designs that range from casual and relaxed, to sophisticated and formal.

To maximize fashion mileage, get a sleeveless striped dress, then top it off with a cardigan or blazer in a complementary colour for work or a committee meeting. Make sure to keep the length a few inches above the knee. Show plenty of leg.

Accessorise with stripes Add a graphic punch to your outfit by choosing accessories with multi-colored stripes. A scarf, handbag or headband is a great way to sport the striped trend, especially if you’re not quite ready to embrace a striped top or dress. A belt with stripes gives any outfit a preppy feel, especially when paired with white jeans or khakis.

You can even sport stripes on your feet! Try on a pair of loafers, or ballet flats with stripe designs that range from subtle to bold. Chunky bracelets, watchbands and even novelty pedicures are unexpected ways to play up stripes.

No matter what your figure type or fashion style, add a few stripes to your wardrobe this season to show your style and saucy attitude.

button down blouse ford button down blouse is considered one of the original wn styles, with thick white buttons on the top of the coll as down the front of the shirt. The buttons on the collar nally bigger than the buttons down the front of the blouse. uses are commonly made out of cotton, linen, or silk. They with collars, including spread, small, and button down styles.

The spread collar is a bit wider than the small collar option, while the button-down collars button directly to the front of the blouse. Oxford button downs include two numbers when it comes to sizing, the first being the collar girth and the second being the sleeve length. Pleating in the front is a common feature that helps achieve a slimmer fit than a men’s oxford style shirt.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

Keep those wrinkles away in 10 minutes Our skin like other body parts is not invincible, when it comes to being susceptible to damage. As it is necessary to get monthly haircuts and weekly manicures as part of your grooming regime it should also be a necessity and not a luxury to take care of the most important organ of your body, the skin.

And the time to start doing that is now.

Too young to care.

It may seem unimportant to contemplate doing anything about your complexions before reaching your thirties. However it is in our twenties that the effects of aging begin to be visible in our complexion. As we mature, biochemical changes occur in elastin and collagen, the connective tissues that give skin it’s firmness and elasticity. Genetics also play a part in this, which is why these changes occur at different times in different people.

As skin becomes less elastic, it also becomes drier, and the fat padding begins to disappear. This causes the skin to sag and look less supple. Ultimately wrinkles will appear. Then one day, after glancing in the mirror you suddenly notice those crows feet creeping in around the corners of your immaculately decorated eyelids, or you notice that your lip potions have sadly waded into the spider like crevices above the lips. It is normally then, when decisions are made to go out and get a miracle cream or maybe a facial.

Aging can be slowed down, and you can do your part to promote a younger complexion even as you mature. All it takes is a little TLC, but start NOW! The sooner you start to nurture your skin the more chance you have of a age-less complexion. All it takes is a short monthly visit to a skin care specialist, or a few minutes a day, taking care of your skin at home.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

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March 2, 2013

Male Essentials

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Men in uniform OLUWASEGUN IJABIKEN

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so eb ebi is a trend that has gained popularity over the years. While popu originated from the Yoruba it or culture of W Western Nigeria, it now has a widespread appeal within the country.

Aso e ebi (family cloth) and aso egbejoda (group cloth) refer to a cloth agreed agre to be worn in unison by group of people to attend a a g function such as a birthday, a fu wedding, a funeral, elders and w councils’ meeting and other c social gatherings. s Aso ebi started with celebrants and their immediate e family members. It eventuf ally spread to include other a people who share some level pe of intimacy with them. However, the trend has gone way beeve yond family and friends now to yon include colleagues, neighbours incl and other well wishers and lent credence to the popular saying: cre The more the merrier.

Th

The good thing about the aso ebi trend is that it helps you as a man to have more clothes and to update your wardrobe with the latest fabrics in town. It also saves you the stress of going to the fabric market from time to time. It also gives you a sense of belonging in the occasion where it is used. No matter how expensive what you wear to a party is, even if it’s more expensive than the stipulated aso ebi, you feel locked out, instead of feeling among.

For occasions where the cost of aso ebi is outrageous, they would have other variations that are affordable. If you can’t afford their cloth, you can go for the cap. You don’t have to incur debt to get aso ebi when there are other projects that need your commitment, so always buy the affordable one.

Don’t have the attitude of buying aso ebi is not a do-or-die affair. Remember that it’s their turn to celebrate today, it could be yours tomorrow, and if you decline buying someone’s aso ebi, you may likely not get people to identify with you in aso ebi when it’s your own turn as it will eventually be.

Aso Ebi is us, it’s our culture, and we’ve got to sustain it. Let’s keep it alive.

Why looks matter (I) H ave you noticed that people react to you differently based on what you wear? Do certain outfits lend you special treatment and others yield the silent treatment? Has a sharp suit won you a seat upgrade on a plane? Have sweatpants made you feel like a leper at the grocery store? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve experienced the social dynamics of clothing.

Clothes affect your success with women In one university study, women rated the attractiveness of one man dressed in several different getups. Outfits ranged from a designer suit and tricked-out watch all the way down to a lowly fast-food uniform. As you can imagine, ladies preferred the power suit to the burger-flipping one.

But it’s why they chose the businessman that’s important.

The study notes that girls actively sought signs of “status” when judging the man’s clothes, and they liked that look better because it suggested a good provider.

In other words, women do care what you wear, and this is why looks matter. Girls favour a put-together guy because it’s likelier he can put food on the table. Does this make all women gold diggers? Not exactly.

Though like the humble homing pigeon, which can detect subtle signs to lead it home, women’s brains are awesomely adept at spotting signs on men that point to prosperity. (Note: Women do not have the brains of pigeons. Don’t pin that on me.)

So, clothes can be a tool to boost your standing with the opposite sex, but what kind of style should you be channeling?

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a billionaire to win a lady’s hand. More realistically, you just have to nail the right details.

The goods you need to command a girl’s attention: A quality timepiece, a fitted (though not necessarily designer) suit, a well-polished pair of oxfords or boots, and a crisp button-down shirt. Equipped with these style essentials, you can scientifically increase your chances with women.

•To be continues next week

People

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

31

g n i k a M : h p e Isaiah Jos c i s u m h t i w waves

FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON

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lot of people go into music for different reasons. Some go into the music industry for money, others go into it for fame while for some, it is a passion they must live and fulfil.

Indeed, the story of Isaiah Joseph popularly known as Boy Too Much could be described as the need to fulfil a childhood passion.

Born about three decades ago, Isaiah Joseph whose stage name is Boy Too Much hails from Ikwerrian in Rivers- State Port Harcourt.

He started his musical career at the tender age of 10 years. For him, it could be said that music is genetic because his father before his demise was a professional musician.

Really like father like son, is what aptly describes Boy Too Much and his solid passion for music.

The son of Joseph Ogbonna is a graduate of Marketing from the University of Science and Technology, Rivers State. Although he knew the importance of education to life and all human endeavours, Boy

Too Much prefers to follow his passion which is music.

“Although I know I had to go to school for back up, I have always known that I would end up in music” he said.

Speaking about his late father, he told Saturday Mirror how he had learnt and known the art of music from childhood under the tutelage of his father.

“My father was a great musician and I learnt music all my life through him. So it is not surprising for me today finding myself in music. I love music and it seems to be the only thing I am so passionate about; music is my life” he said excitedly.

The Rivers-born single and searching singer further noted that his 14 tracker album which is enjoying air play at the moment includes four instrumentals. He added that he is already signed on to Bidland Investment/ Entertainment owned

by Adelana Olabanji.

“I just completed a musical video titled AKA JEHOVAH which is the fourth track in my new 14 tracker album and it is currently enjoying massive air play” Boy Too Much may not be very known in Lagos at the moment but his name is a household name in the eastern part of the

country.

On the strategies he has in place considering the level of competition in the industry, he simply responded; “Nothing good comes easy. There is no gain without pain and for that I am ready to do all I can to make it work and I know that surely one day soon, God will crown my effort with success” Although Joseph was not particularly born with a silver spoon, he did not lack the basic needs of life.

“As a child, I had the basic things I needed even though I was not born with a silver

spoon. I had fun as a child and most of the things I have learnt from my father over the years became a part of who I am today. As a child, my father had always instilled the need to be honest and respectful no matter what you have or you think you own. That has been a part of me till now and I find those attributes very useful for me now that I am on my own and it has been a great help to me all the way. Each time I look into the past, I cannot but give thanks to God for giving me a father who taught me all I need to be a better person in life,” he recalled.

Jumoke Anifowose: Like father, like daughter OSEYIZA OOGBODO

T

he Ajasins are one of the most respected families in the SouthWest of Nigeria. The most popular Ajasin till date still remains the late Michael Adekunle Ajasin, former Governor of old Ondo State. As Governor, the legacy the late Ajasin left behind is that of virtuosity, credibility, righteousness and accountability.

Unlike today’s politicians, he went into politics not to enrich himself but to truly serve his people and the nation at large.

When he was in office as Governor, it was his own car he used as his official car. When people therefore talk of the poor state of today’s governance, Ajasin’s administration is one of those they still make reference to as one that should be emulated.

Such is the enormity of his legacy that nobody, not even his children, have been able to take on from where he left off. “My daddy’s shoes are too big to step into,” admitted Jumoke Anifowose, last child and daughter of the late Ajasin. “I cannot even begin to contemplate how to step into them.”

Asked further on whom she thinks can

adequately step into Ajasin’s shoes, she chose the acclaimed cleric, public commentator and social activist, the Right Reverend Moses Gbonigi, saying Gbonigi has all the qualities that the late Ajasin had.

Her success is all the more astounding since politics, particularly in Nigeria, is a game for men, and not just any men, but the boldest and bravest of heart. How has she then been able to survive and is surviving in this man’s game?

“First, I don’t report to anybody. I am a professional. I am a widow, my children are grown up and so I have all the time in the world to play politics. As I said, I don’t report to anybody, cook for anybody, I’m not at the beck and call of anybody. Because of my own peculiar situation, I think I have been able to survive and been able to take part and take part very well.

“Politics needs your time, your money, your talent in order to be able to practise it.

Also, I want to be in politics, it’s in me, so I have the interest, so I create the time for it. I’m also lucky that as a woman, the men that I work with have not discriminated against me. They have cooperated with me all the way.

“Maybe if I was younger or at the time I was taking care of my kids, I would be sing-

ing another song. But in the position I am now, I practise politics the way the men do.

They travel in the night, I do so too. They hold meetings at night, I do so too. I am not hindered in any way to practise it,” she said.

It would have been natural to assume that men would want to intimidate her, yet she says the men she works with have not discriminated against her. But has there never been an occasion that a man had challenged her, or worse still, berated her on what she had to offer politically as a woman.

Her answer was swift: “I would tell such a man too what I have done since, because I met a comatose party on ground and I have been able to raise its profile in my state, so nobody can say that to me because I’ll answer back, yes.”

Nigeria’s politics is synonymous with violence like assassinations and armed assaults at rallies. Anifowose explains how she copes with violence at rallies.

“Well, there are occasions that people will want to scare you. It’s for you to stand your ground. If you stand and they know you’re not running away, even the thugs will run away because they will think that maybe you too have some things on you.”

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March 2, 2013

Dear Igho

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

TTel: e 08023924679 (SMS only) ighomit@gmail.com

Having difficulties with relationships, family, work or any other aspectt off your life? lif Help is at hand with TOBORE IGHO OVUORIE

Help! My fiancé’s father is threatening us! sell all he has and leave his only son (who is also his only child) nothing.

He won’t meet us half way with a blessing, and he doesn’t care if we leave and he never sees his son, again. Please help. We don’t know what to do.

Khadija, Zazau, Kaduna State.

Dear Khadija,

Dear Igho, My fiancé’s father is blackmailing us into getting married his way in a Catholic Church because he is

a knight, or he is not going to hand over his business empire to my fiancé. My fiancé attends a Pentecostal church while I am a Muslim. My father-in-law to be said he would

I’ll advise you thread carefully because being an only daughter myself, I understand what your fiancé is facing.

Personally, I’ll advise you both make his father happy by getting married in the Catholic Church. It’s not going to be easy moving a Knight in the Catholic Church to attend his only son and worse still, only child’s wedding in another church. I have travelled this path and can categorically tell you that! Put yourselves in his shoes, will you be happy?

The day your fiancé chose to leave the Catholic Church, I am certain he must have been told or would have known his wedding has a fixed address: the Catholic Church!

Honestly, this is a tough choice especially as money is involved! I ruminated over your mail over and over again before writing this response. And I don’t say that lightly. It is one thing to think about principle, but it’s also true that giving in, if it doesn’t compromise your life too much, may be the better plan. In other words, a father’s blessing to his only son and child for that matter is no joke just as a business empire is no small thing. It could mean some security that others may never have.

However, it’s also about the degree in which this manifest. If his father insists your kids are baptized, mandatory catholic school, and all the other religious-driven things people want if they are devout, and controlling (the will is his weapon), then it’s best to lose the business empire. It’s possible he could change his mind once his grandchildren come - if you have them- but only you and your fiancé can know how much power his father will want to wield, and to what extent he will make you pay for not thinking like him.

How do I tell my man I don’t need his gift?

Dear Igho,

I need your advice on what to do in a major situation urgently! My boyfriend bought me a piece of furniture he thought would look cool in my (mini-self contained) apartment.

The problem is: (a) my place is exactly how I want it. I don’t need extra furniture. (b) What he got is not even my style, and I have no place (dark corner) to at least keep it. (c)

Dear Igho, I am a Nigerian, and married to a Nigerian but have been in the United Kingdom almost all my life. I got your contact details from a copy of Saturday Mirror Newspaper a friend who recently returned to the UK from Nigeria gave me. I found it useful and decided to share my plight with you. Kindly do reply me via email as well since I have not been able to get your page online and we don’t get National Mirror Newspaper here in Manchester.

Years ago my husband and I took in a great niece as a foster child, as she had been abandoned by her mum in Nigeria. We brought her to the UK to be a part of our family but she lied and stole from us, and accused our 11 year old son of molesting her. She later ran away and the entire extended family knew where she was but lied to us, and

He has put so much effort into it and it breaks my heart to tell him, it was a big mistake, and I want that thing out of my home! When he brought it to my apartment, I tried to be gracious, but he could tell I didn’t like it.

I said I would think about it to make him feel better, but I really already know for there is no way I will keep it. How do I break it to him nicely?

Thank you.

Mimi,

Victoria Island, Lagos

Dear Mimi, There may be a woman on the planet who would stick it in a prominent place, and suck it up, but that wouldn’t be me.

I would not want to say put a Barcalounger in a room filled with French country! He really missed the memo that said you are proud of the way you’ve decorated your apartment, and you wouldn’t change a thing. You can be kind about it,

but there’s nothing you can do other than be honest. He likes it, and he will probably take it to his apartment to display it proudly.

The problem with gift giving is that people often choose what they would like to receive (their taste), rather than being insightful as to what the person receiving the gift would truly appreciate. Other than this oversight, I hope he’s a great guy, and perfect for you. Wishing you the best ahead!

Do we let her back in our lives? the police. We never knew she was still in the UK. Years went by, and she had a baby that was taken from her for neglect. She was convicted of attempted murder and spent eight years in prison. She had another baby, went back to prison for eight months, got out and is pregnant again but has been deported to Nigeria. That is the background.

So my immediate family (husband and two sons) have no desire to associate with this person. Her grandmother (husband’s sister) is throwing a fit that we are snubs and are not behaving as if we are part of the family. Are we wrong to stay away from these people? Now she (the grandma) is posting nasty remarks on face book. I just need your opinion. Thanks

Worried (Names withheld), Manchester, United Kingdom.

Dear Worried, No, you are absolutely right in staying away from her. You paid your dues by offering help, but it didn’t work out.

I feel for her having a lousy upbringing that had her mother tossing her out like garbage- but she has made no improvements on her life, and your family could be in danger were you to let her back in. If her granny is writing nasty Face book messages about your family, that’s

a small price to pay for staying free of this woman and the horror she could bring to your lives.

Sincerely, your husband’s sister can twist herself into a pretzel for all you should care. Letting it go is not an option in a situation of this magnitude.

She was in prison for attempted murder! If she ever turns her life around, that’s the only time you should reconsider your position. Hope springs eternal, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a radical change in her life to occur.

I’m afraid you would pass out before that happened!

RE: Please, will I make it as an actress?

You don’t need to be looking at yourself as someone that can’t make it. Take the JAMB examination

again or you do go for foreign admission. By the grace of God, I’m assuring you success. I am Johnson. Bye.

Living Give me a job to feed my family –June 12 Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

THOMAS USHIE

C

omrade Abiodun Mustapha has only one leg. He is also known as June 12. He lost his leg while protesting the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by the mogul, Chief MKO Abiola.

But while many, after the restoration of democracy in 1999, rode on the back of June 12 to socio-political and economic fortunes and prominence, Mustapha is still languishing in penury.

Prior to the accident, he was a budding tailor, but with the loss of his leg, pedalling the machine, especially in the absence of the ever epileptic electricity, has become too big a task. And having been ejected from his former 12 Awoyokun Street, Onipanu, Lagos, residence, he has, inevitably, become a house agent, speculating and prospecting for houses and land for potential buyers and tenants.

“After I was evicted from where I was living and managing a tailoring shop, I lost the shop and had no alternative than to become a house agent. That is what I have been doing to manage myself,” he lamented.

Mustapha thinks that patriots celebrated in Nigeria in terms of recognition and care, especially when such patriots do not hold political office and worse still, when they share divergent political ideologies with the power that be.

“I think that the government don’t know what it means to struggle and to sacrifice for the growth of a nation.

In Europe and America and other advanced democracy, people who sacrifice their life, their pleasure, for the benefit of all, are recognised and honoured but it is not the same thing in Nigeria. Even then, I have never lost hope. I still believe that there shall come a day, a time, when a government that would recognise me would come and I shall be rewarded accordingly,” he waxed with hope.

Although his voice rumbled with rage, gravitating across the Awoyokun Onipanu container-built barbing saloon where this reporter had a chat with him, reminiscing on how he lost his right leg during the civil strife for the actualization the June 12 mandate, his voice waned as anguish enveloped his countenance.

“I lost this leg in 1993 shortly after the annulment of June 12 presidential election which was won by Chief M.K.O. Abiola. There was a campaign for the actualisation of the mandate given to Abiola by the people of Nigeria led by the Late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and I was part of that campaign. I was a member of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) where great people like Dr Beko and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin were at the forefront. We were on a rally and while we were at the Third Mainland Bridge, we heard gun shots. Soldiers fully equipped with armoured tanks opened fire and people scampered for safety. As everybody was running for their dear life, I jumped from the bridge down after I was shot on the leg. After the whole shooting

33

June 12, as Comrade Abiodun Mustapha is popularly known, is a casualty of the protests accompanying the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. However, while his colleagues in the pro-democracy family are occupying various political posts, he wallows in abject poverty. calmed down, Beko sent people to search for me and I was asked to come out from under the bridge but I could not as my legs have been broken and the right leg badly damaged by the gun shot. The soldiers were still patrolling the streets and the Third Mainland Bridge and its environs to ensure that the protest was quelled,” he narrated.

Scared struck, he said that despite being beckoned to come out, he maintained his cool with the pains of the gunshots and the fall grinding him gory.

“Beko beckoned on me to come out but I was afraid. I thought the soldiers would still shoot. It was until General Oladipo Diya came to the scene and ordered the soldiers to cease fire, before I was rescued from under the bridge where I was wallowing in pains. Till date, I remain grateful to Diya for saving my life that day. I also remain grateful to other human right and civil campaigners who remained steadfast and unmoveable to ensure my safety and that of democracy in Nigeria.

“Dr. Beko took me to General Hospital. I was there for about three weeks but the doctors were on strike. The gun shot damaged my ankle and maybe, if the strike was not on, my leg would have been saved from amputation. I was transferred from the General Hospital in Lagos to University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and subsequently I was transferred to Ilorin where I was amputated after 18 days of moving from one hospital to another. It was terrible.

I thank God for surviving the ordeal.

When I came back from the hospital, Dr. Beko took me to General Diya’s office.

Diya told me that when democracy is enthroned, I would be remembered and rewarded,” he recalled in anguish.

He is an ardent apostle of the late medic turned civil right campaigner, Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti. According to him, Beko took care of him and his family without him going to beg anything from him. He was placed on monthly allowance by Beko, so that he could take care of himself and family. But when Beko died, he knew that the tree on which his family leaned on had fallen.

“Dr. Beko took care of the hospital bills. He was the one taking care of me and my family. He was paying me monthly salary. After he died, I knew that something terrible had happened to me and my family. Nigeria did not just

Mustapha

lose Dr. Beko. His family did not just lose him. My family lost him more because he was our pillar of survival. We will forever miss him. He is irreplaceable,” he mourned.

“Beko was a shining light in philanthropy and justice. He was a very good man who is full of pity, emotions and care for the masses. He was always thinking

of how to help than being helped. He was a very good man that is worthy of emulation by all civil right campaigners and especially, politicians in power.

They need to have the kindness of Beko and the resilience of Gani Fawehinmi, the two late great men who laid down their life for this country.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

34

LIVING

March 2, 2013

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 He continued: “I sacrificed my right leg for democracy in Nigeria but today, I have not been rewarded accordingly.

I am still living in poverty, struggling with one leg, supported with clutches to survive with my wife and children to take care of. Although I have not benefitted financially from it, I am still not bothered. I am happy to have done what I did. If I have the opportunity to campaign against the kind of injustice done to Abiola or to campaign for democracy again, I will do it over and over again with my one leg. I don’t regret going out that fateful day to express myself, although I am not reaping the reward for now.

“It is not that some people are not giving me something. They are. Occasionally, if I go to Alausa, some people would reach out to me with some monetary gifts but it is not enough to sustain me for live and take care of my family. I am not a beggar. I don’t want to bother people every day, month and year for help. I want to do something for myself. I want a tangible help that could settle me and my family down for business. It could even be employment.

If I was given a permanent job or appointment, there would be no need for me to be hustling round with clutches to feed my wife and children,” he said.

Probing into his poverty stricken condition despite knowing personally several politicians holding position of power, Mustapha confessed: “I am not on the pay roll of government but I won’t lie; I thank Governor Babatunde Fashola and Hakeem Bello.

It was Bello who helped me when I was ejected from where I was at Onipanu and was looking for accommodation.

He gave me money from Fashola, to rent the apartment I am living in now at Abule Egba. But the struggle to live and care for my family still continues with my crutches. My children are in school and I need to pay their fees and take care of their needs. That is why I was talking about tangible help. If the government can give me a job and help my children with scholarship, life would be easy for me to bear. Since Beko died, I have become like a beggar.

When he was alive, things were better for me.

“I was at an event recently where the governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi was speaking and the Lagos Commissioner for Transport, Kayode Opeifa, saw me on clutches and was so embarrassed. He asked me if am still using crutches to walk. I answered yes.

He asked me where I have been all this while and I told him that I have been trying to see him in his office but was unable to because of protocols. He took me to his personal assistant and asked me to see him at his office later.

“Yes. I know them. I know Dr. Fayemi, the governor of Ekiti State and he knows me very well but I have not gone to him. Even the governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Aregbesola is my man. I knew him even before he was commissioner for works in Lagos State and he knows me very well. Before Beko died, he handed my case over to Aregbesola but I think he has been very busy and has not been able to help me yet,” he

Mustapha

“I can never become a beggar” I SACRIFICED MY RIGHT LEG FOR DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA. BUT TODAY, I HAVE NOT BEEN REWARDED ACCORDINGLY. I AM STILL LIVING IN POVERTY, STRUGGLING WITH ONE LEG told Saturday Mirror.

And has he bothered to explore all the opportunities of knowing these “progressive” politicians to help in his much needed permanent and not rented apartments, scholarship for his children who need education and other means of mobility necessary to assuage his pains?

How does he feel when he sees those who “struggled” for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria blossoming in splendour while he is living in squalour?

“I don’t feel bad about it. There is time for everything so I always say to myself that ‘one day be one day, God go remember me, give me my own’ (with time, I would have my opportunity). I know that all of us cannot be in government at the same time, no matter how much one has sacrificed for the rebirth of democracy.

But what I am asking for is not too much.

I don’t think that at this stage and with my condition, I should be renting house which I would be bothered to pay rent by month or year end. No. “The government should give us who were incapacitated by the struggle, at least, a block of flat that is permanently ours. They can also help our children with scholarship. It is not all about me.

My colleague, Akin is also there. He was

equally a victim. Most people presently in power know us and I think that it is the right time for them to help us. We cannot continue to live from hand to mouth and carry ourselves as if we are failures. I am angry because the people I know are carrying on as if they don’t know me. I know Ogbeni Aregbesola one-on-one, I know Honourable Opeyemi Bamidele one-on-one, I know Baba Femi Falana (SAN) one-on-one, and many others. I know them during the many civil campaigns for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria. They are democrats and I hope they would ensure that we enjoy the dividends of democracy.

“Mr Femi Falana is our man. He was the one who stood by us during our trying times. He was the one who said that government must do something for us,” he said.

Pressed further, on how he feels when he sees those who never sacrificed for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria, feeding fat on it, he said that “the only thing I feel and I pray for is that democracy would not fall. I don’t have the power to go and tell them that ‘you and you is not fit to be in government’ and whatever. I don’t even have to do that.

But what we want is our own dividends

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

of democracy,” he held.

On how he is caring for his children, he said that “I have a wife and four children. My extended family is taking care of three of my children because I am incapable of doing so now. I have one left with me and my wife which are my direct responsibilities. I don’t have shop anymore. I don’t have a permanent work that could guarantee me monthly salary or regular income. That is what I have been agitating and when I meet with those concerned, I would put that forward. Those who are embarrassed by my leg and the clutches, they should not be bothered about them. They should only be bothered about how they can make me live a life worthy of a man – to be able to feed and care for my family. That is what makes a man a man. I don’t want them to give me money now and then. They should give me job so that my future and that of my family is guaranteed.

“When Asiwaju Tinubu was in power, he approved some flats for us, me and Orisagbemi, but until now, we have not been able to take possession of those flats. We don’t know what happened to it. Those who were supposed to ensure the delivery of the promise, I don’t know what they did in the process. Many people were aware that Asiwaju Tinubu gave us houses. And I know that he cannot promise what he cannot deliver.

I know him very well. I know that part of him very well. I knew that there were houses for us before he made the pronunciation and who took over those houses, I don’t know because we are still homeless! The houses he promised us were not given to us. I am talking about since 2007 at Onikan when Asiwaju made the pronouncement but six years down the line, we don’t know where the houses are,” he lamented.

Asked who was in charge when Tinubu promised the said houses, he said that “Opeyemi Bamidele was directly responsible because he was the one who brought our files. We even heard then that Asiwaju Tinubu approved 20 million naira for us but what we got was 200 thousand Naira. The Chief of Staff to Fashola gave us the sum of 200 thousand naira which was said to be the money.”

Asked further if they made efforts to take possession of the said houses promised them, he said that “We complained and wrote letters to the governor concerning our plights but I cannot say whether the letters got to him. Nothing has happened except the money they gave to me in December for rent.”

Many in his shoes have resorted to begging. Has it crossed the mind of Mustapha to start begging in order to make ends meet?

“I won’t lie. There was a day I went out for hustle and that very day, I had nothing on me. I had to beg and people gave me money. However, I do tell them that I am not a beggar. No. Never,” he retorted in protest.

“I can never be a professional beggar even though there were times I had to solicit assistance from the public to keep myself going. I will continue to struggle to survive until tangible help comes my way. There are even times that I would be walking on the way and people would pity me with alms and I will just let them know that I am not a beggar.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LIVING

March 2, 2013

35

Little people in a huge world ‘The treatment we get is not encouraging’ They are ubiquitous. On major streets and junctions, they cradled copies of video and audio Compact Discs begging motorists and pedestrians to buy. One thing, however, differentiates them form others. It is also what unites them, male and female. They are dwarfs.

Chidi

Blessing

FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON

T

o many, giving birth to a dwarf is like giving birth to a gnome. It is usually attracts stigma on the child and its parents.

The stigma hovers also around superstitions, myths and omens. Though said to be practically as old as time, dwarfism most of the time attracts distaste of regular people who sometimes regard them as acutely retarded, fiendish and harbinger of bad luck, especially when encountered early in the morning.

Because of these beliefs and myth, many dwarfs in the country, experience stigmatisation daily in their mundane activities.

Although small in size, one cannot but notice their presence: it can’t be ignored. They are the objects of focus of all eyes wherever they are: on the road, in the market, places of worship, schools and any where they are. They have the height of children but the physique of

men and women.

However, the story seems to be changing these days as most of these people are now finding their feet and trying to carve a niche for themselves in the area of movie appearances.

Although most of them are not well compensated for these roles they play, for them it is a way out of their shell, an escape from the stigma and feeling of rejection especially in their environment of birth. Majority of them leave their various villages and places of birth for greener pastures.

Blessing Oghoghorie hails from Delta State. However, she came to Lagos about two years ago after dropping out of secondary school. She disclosed to Saturday Mirror that she had to drop out of the school in S.S. 2 because her parents could not afford her school fees anymore and she also could not cope with the stigma of being the only one with her body type in her school, family and even neighbourhood.

“I had to drop out of school in S.S.2

because my parents could not afford my school fees anymore and again. I got tired of the way I was being treated both at school and in my neighbourhood because I am a dwarf. I made up my mind one day to come down to Lagos and see if I could do something different and make a new meaning out of life” explained Oghoghorie.

Indeed, it could be said that luck smiled on Blessing not too long after she came.

“I was out one day on Osborne Road selling compact discs like most of my other fellow dwarfs when Omawunmi, the popular singer was riding in that direction. She spotted me and had a word with me. She asked me if I would want to take part in her musical video and I have been waiting for a chance like that so I quickly grabbed the offer. That was how I was able to feature in her musical video.

I played the role of Bottom Belle in the video. For me that was a great improvement because it afforded me the opportunity of meeting other artistes like Terry G and Flavor,” Oghoghorie added.

Although she featured in the musical video like many of her fellow dwarfs, finding her feet financially is still a struggle. They are severally used as actors and actresses but they don’t really have any material achievements to show for their acting roles. What a number of them even do to survive nowadays is to purchase the movies they have appeared in and sell them in holdups and people purchase from them in sympathy.

She also added that it would be her delight to go back to school if she could get assistance but at the moment, making a living on a daily basis is enough worry for her.

Chinedu Aneke who has been in Lagos

Chinedu

for over a decade is not finding things easy as well.

His story: “I have been in Lagos since 2002 and I have been struggling to survive through movie productions. It is really challenging and tough to be a dwarf. People look down on us and it is very frustrating.

They believe we are good for nothing but it is not so. We have our own talents and qualities and if society would only give us the chance, we would prove ourselves” Although for Chinedu, he was fortunate to have known Sam Loko Efe back in the east who gave him a link to feature in a few movies like Golden Axe, Fire on the Mountain, Popo in Love, and The Kingdom among others. He had also featured in some musical videos.

“If only I can get the support I need to do my own movie, I would be a happier man today” lamented Chinedu.

The story is not different for Enugu born Chidi Okolie who came into Lagos since year 2000.

“Since I came in to Lagos from Aba where I was born, it has not been easy at all. I only live on the stipend I get from the sales of videos and CDs in the traffic.

I have not been able to get a better job and the treatment we get from people is not particularly encouraging. We were always been looked down upon just because we are dwarfs.

However, Okolie noted that it is true that they feel more at home and more productive when they are together where they could share a sense of belonging, away from the stigma and hostility they get from normal people.

These dwarfs in Lagos State came from all over Nigeria just to be with dwarfs like themselves.

36

LIVING

YEMISI ADENIRAN

F

or Dele Arubiodu, a 17 years old student of Best Future Secondary School at Olambe area of Ogun State, the journey of life was but a painful one from beginning to the end.

It was one journey he began with pains, continued in grief and ended with sadness. For him, he never lived to see the proverbial end of the tunnel which is said to bear light.

As a new born baby some 17 years ago, his birth did not command the usual bliss that comes with the arrival of a new born. He was an unwanted child, no thanks to the rejection by his father. Although the reason for the abandonment remains sketchy, the fact remains that he was left alone with the mother by a father who swore not to have anything to do with him.

With petty trader as a mother, living was so excruciating and nursing a baby as a single mother was simply unbearable. His grandmother in Ese, a village in Kwara State soon took over nurturing him. The intervention by his grandmother did not make him as lucky as anyone would have expected. Apart from being fed and clothed in some rags called clothes, he enjoyed no other thing. Schooling was not part of the bargain with his grandmother. Rather, he had to provide for the family, small as he was, by vending uncooked pap, otherwise referred to as “ogi” in Yoruba.

When Arubiodu was 10 years old, the unexpected happened. His grandmother kicked the bucket, and a change came to his life. He had to fend for himself, and perhaps, those around him as he did quite a number of menial jobs which included working as a labourer in farms and as a house help.

March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Abandoned at birth, controversial in death:

How 17-year-old boy drowned in Ogun River His was not a life to be envied. He was rejected by his father at birth and spent all his life under the shadow of abandonment. But did Dele Arubiodu really commit suicide? And if so, why?

But fate soon beamed what looked like a smile on him. Like a property abandoned, he was taken over by his aunt who resides in the Lagos and Ogun boundary area of Olambe, Ogun State.

He, perhaps, must have taken the news with disbelief as he never imagined himself leaving the village for a town often mistaken or considered to be part of Lagos, the land of sophistication.

If he had considered it a mere dream, it eventually became a reality. He came to Olambe, Ogun State, near Lagos. He began a new life. For the first time in his life, he lived like a normal human being. He was treated like a normal young boy growing up with people who loved him. He stepped into the four walls of a classroom for the first time in his life at the age of 12, courtesy of the good Samaritan he called aunt.

He came in as a Primary Four student, and had as his classmates, children who were far younger than him.

That was some five years ago.

Arubiodu did not suffer any complex in any way. Indeed, he was glad to have the grace to be among the privileged.

That was probably the reason why he carried on with enthusiasm and won a lot of respect from teachers and even

his guardian.

“Dele was a great inspiration to us all.

His father never bothered about him, but he was set to make the best in life.

At home, he was a quiet person and we all loved him. He played with all despite the age gap and got on with life happily,” said Mrs Latifat Ajayi, his aunt.

Arubiodu was already dreaming big.

His ambition was to become a medical doctor and own an orphanage where he would be able to help the needy in that class.

However, the hapless boy did not live to actualise his dream as he departed the world before any of his dreams could become a reality.

On Sunday, February 17, 2013, he ended his life in a tragic way. On the fateful day, he was said to have packed some of his clothes for washing at a part of the Ogun River, very close to their residence.

Eye witnesses said when he got to the river side; he put down his clothes and simply walked into the river. And before anyone could say Jack Robinson, the poor boy was washed away by the wave which could not be said to be heavy in anyway.

“We saw him move into the river

without even removing his clothes.

The clothes he brought to wash were not washed. We thought he wanted to swim or have a bath, but he went further into the middle of the river. We ran to call the fishermen who were always around, but all efforts to rescue him failed,” said an eye witness simply identified as Baba Ade. His body was recovered three days after. He had since been buried.

As it is often the case in a situation such as his drowning, so much curiosity has been aroused and many are asking questions which are difficult to answer. While some label it a spiritual attack, some hold that the boy could after all be a spirit child otherwise referred to as “abiku”.

The story also took a different turn.

Members of his father’s family are accusing the guardian of maltreating him, such that he had to take his own life.

The controversy surrounding his death notwithstanding, it is obvious that Arubiodu, who appeared to be promising, did not live to fulfil his dreams, especially, having gone through pains of abandonment as a child.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LIVING

March 2, 2013

When 66 years old Olajide Daramola, President of Eko Lions Club, slumped and died on Ikotun Road, Lagos State, his wife, Kuburat, never imagined what travails she would go through especially in the hands of her inlaws. FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON was at her Ijegun residence where she narrated her ordeal.

Troubled by husband’s death, scorned by in-laws

T

he dark air of mourning was almost touchable. It was accompanied with long faces and dark look. All around, people discussed in low tones. It was evident that someone had just died.

Sighing deeply intermittently was the chief mourner, Mrs. Kudirat Daramola, whose husband and President, Eko International Lions Club; Mr. Olajide Daramola slumped and died a couple of weeks ago at Ikotun, a Lagos suburb.

Kudirat groaned again and to the consternation of the worried and concerned faces which surrounded her, she chose to answer Saturday Mirror’s enquiries about her husband of 13 years who was also a former senior manager with Niger Insurance Company.

“I am yet to come to the full realisation of his death. It was a rude shock to me when I was called on phone barely an hour after he called to let me know that he was going to the bank that he had slumped.

“When he (Daramola) left home early in the morning, there was no sign of illness. He called me around 2pm to tell me that he was going to the bank but I was shocked when someone called to tell me he had slumped around 3pm. I could not believe it. I asked a friend living near the area to go and find out. She called to tell me it was true and I had to rush quickly to the scene. When I got there, it was true. We had to rush him to a hospital where he was certified dead, just like that!” explained Kudirat who had now dissolved in tears.

Kudirat, however, noted that Daramola had been hypertensive for over 20 years and he had managed it very well until that fateful afternoon she was called on phone only to find him dying at Ikotun bus stop.

According to Kudirat, the most painful part of his death is the fact that he was such a loving husband and father to all. He laboured so hard to care for children of friends and families, sent them to school up to university level and could not go beyond seeing his only child through to JSS1 before death came calling.

“I wish he were still alive to see his only child Aishat through university level and beyond. He had done that for several people, most of whom were chil-

37

Widow: Kudirat

dren of relatives and friends. It is just so painful but I pray that God will grant me the strength to see Aishat to where he would love her to be,” she added.

She continued: “I met my husband in 2000 through a friend of my godfather.

He was open minded enough to tell me his pains. He told me how he had been married for 24 solid years without an issue. Being a Muslim, he could marry up to four wives more so because of his childlessness. We started out. Initially, I was living in a rented apartment at Ishaga where he normally came to see me. After sometime, the woman at home became suspicious that he was seeing another woman and she got angry. Perhaps things would not have turned out this way if she had played things maturely but rather, she became so enraged that on two occasions, my late husband told me she threatened to kill him and the woman he was seeing if she finds out it was true. The last straw that broke the camel’s back, according to my husband, was when my husband said he went home and found a friend of hers at home telling him that if he married another woman that she would kill the man and the new wife. My husband sent her out of the house and his wife was also supportive of her friend which was why he sent the woman away. That was in April 2002, about two years into our relationship. I had Aishat his only child, for him about four years into the relationship.”

Kudirat further disclosed that she

Late Daramola

would have been a happier woman if only her in- laws had accepted her for who she is and treated her well.

“It is just unfortunate that my inlaws have not been particularly nice to me. Ever since I had Aishat, it was as if that was the beginning of pandemonium. Our relationship became more severe after I had Aishat. Another thing that worsened the situation was the fact that the majority of the family members were not in support of my husband’s decision to send his first wife away over the threat he received from her. Worse still was when my husband discovered that some of his nieces and nephews whom he was sponsoring to school still went to the first wife to give updates of what was going on in our home. He got angry and

told them to stop coming to his house if they knew they still wanted to be seeing the first wife. That severed our relationship because they felt he was acting on my instruction which was not so. During his burial ceremony, the hatred was so much that the video man I called to record the event was beaten up by my in-laws. It was a horrible situation. If not for the intervention of the Lions International Club that met the scene, things would have gotten out of hand” Before the death of Olajide, a terrible incident happened according to Kudirat.

“About a month ago when my husband travelled to Eket for one of Lions event, I was lonely because our daughter Aishat is boarder in one of the boarding schools. I invited my younger sister and her children to spend some time with me. Being a Christian, on Sunday, she went to the Lord Chosen Church, Ijegun branch where she has been worshiping since 2005. Little did she know that her 10-year-old girl who is also mentally retarded had been kidnapped. It took the younger brother of Lara, the missing girl who came to their mom around 11am to take water to reveal the situation. The mother gave him money to get a bag of water so others could share. On the boy’s return, he realised that his mentally retarded sister Lara was not at the children’s church again and that was how the search for the girl started. This was on the 20th of January this year. My husband returned that day from Eket” explained Kudirat.

Kudirat also believed that the stress of the missing child whom she said was found 24hours after the re-arrest of the gateman, the children church teacher and one other person.

According to Kudirat, Daramola had been disturbed over the issue and had been praying incessantly since his return from Eket. She further explained that the matter had since been reported to the police station at Ijegun where in contact with Lazarus Muoka, the curch requested for three days to look for the girl.

The DPO gave the church a 7-day-ultimatum after which the people would be re-arrested and the case transferred to the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ikeja.

After the expiration of the ultimatum, the children church teacher, the gateman and another woman were rearrested. Twenty four hours after the re-arrest, the child was found. Investigation was still ongoing on the people behind the whereabouts of the child.

“We were supposed to go back to SARS the Wednesday my husband slumped and died” explained Kudirat.

All attempts to get to speak with the DPO on the case and the church were abortive.

38

TOURISM

March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kano City walls and gates:

K AYODE FALADE

T

he ancient Kano city walls are 14 kilometres radius of earth structure built in order to provide security to the growing population. The foundation for the construction of the wall was laid

by Sakri Gijimasu from 1095 - 1134 and was completed in the middle of 14th Century during the reign of Zamnagawa.

In the 16th century, the walls were further extended to their present position.

The gates are as old as the walls and were used to control movement of people in and out of the city. Though, most of them are largely in ruins.

Ancient Kano City walls and associated sites are places of spiritual, historical and cultural significance. Dala Hill was the place of the first settlement in Kano City and it formed the nucleus for the peopling of the rest of the city and was the foundation of its economic and political development.

The site bears testimony to local craftsmanship and ingenuity as is evidenced in the materials used for the construction of the walls and palace.

The ancient Kano city walls and associated sites are a cultural landscape that the people still pride themselves in.

The site can compare with other sites like Zaria city wall, Kufena archaeological site and Daura City wall all in the northern part of the country.

Kano, right from its beginning, is commercial town. This has helped in the rapid development of the city. It sprawls over a wide expanse of savannah land.

Although the city has long taken a modern cosmopolitan hue, relics of the city’s

Guarded heirlooms past as the hub for commercial activities during the trans-Saharan trade still remain.

The real identity of Kano can best be felt in old city area. The mud houses with distinct Hausa local architectural dexterity, the narrow roads that were meant for only men and their domestic animals are still there. However, this is gradually being lost as the ancient structures go modern. The relics are gradually being wiped away by both man and nature.

The walls also helped in monitoring the movement of people in and out of the city.

In 1903 when the British forces captured the ancient city, Sir Frederick Lugard, then High Commissioner of the British Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, said: “The extent and formidable nature of the fortifications surpassed the best informed anticipations of our officers, needless to say that I have never seen or even imagined anything like it in Africa.”

The walls are among the major tourist attractions in the city; that probably explains why the state government in conjunction with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) is working towards making the walls World Heritage Site. But while the government

agencies are working, some individuals including indigenes don’t seem to appreciate the importance of the gates as most of the ancient walls have crumbled.

At the rate of their current degradation, there may not be any wall standing soon.

Another heirloom of Kano is on the brink of extinction - the Kano gates. At its current rate of degradation, in the next 10 years, the Kano traditional gates may all be lost.

Recently, one of the gates was reportedly being demolished by a road construction company to pave the way for the road expansion and reconstruction which are still ongoing in the state.

The gates, by history, were built during the reign of Sarkin Kano Usman Giji Masu Dan Wasiri, the grandson of Bagauda, the third king in the Habe dynasty. He started the first gate in 1112AD. The reason for the gate was due to the construction of protective walls to surround the ancient city against invaders.

Below are facts about the gates, which in the beginning, were originally 16.

Kofar Kansakali: It is the first gate which was built in 1112 AD. Its foundation was laid

by Sarki Giji Masu. It was named after the first son of Kano (after whom the city was named) called Damina, popularly known as

Kansakali. He was a blacksmith. The gate is located at Tudun Yola quarters in Ungogo Local Government Area.

Kofar Waika: Immediately after the completion of Kofar Kansakali, the King moved forward a little distance for the building of this gate which was named after Waika, Kano’s second son. The gate of Waika is situated off Aminu Kano Way behind Goron Dutse.

Kofar Dawanau: This gate was initially named after the third son of Kano called Makeri (who was also known as Dan Kwai).

Kofar Ruwa: This is the fourth city gate built by Sarki Usman Dan Warisi.

Kofar Mazugal was built two years after the completion of Kofar Lunkwui in 1118 AD by the then Sarki Usman Giji Masu Dan Warisi and located along Gwammaja Road.

Kofar Mata: It was during the reign of Emir Mohammadu Rumfa (1461 AD) that the idea of expanding Kano City wall and gates started. He invited his subjects within and around the city in 1464 AD to continue the expansion work from Kofar Wambai to the then Kofar Fagge. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Babba Zaki later turbaned Namata, his servant as the gate keeper of Kofar Fagge. Since then, people started calling the gate Kofar Namata, which was finally changed to Kofar Mata, as it is presently known.

Kofar Kudu/Dan Agundi: A walking distance from Kofar Kawaye, Emir Mohammadu Rumfa decided to build another gate called Southern Gate (Kofar Kudu).

Kofar Gadon Kaya: In 1691, Sarkin Kano Mohammed Zaki na Zaki directed his son, Wambai Abubakar to continue with the expansion work of the old city gates and wall. At the end of the work, Wambai Abubakar invited his father to commission the gate. The King honoured the invitation and named the gate as ‘Kofar Gadon Kaya’.

Gadon Kaya is a nickname given to Mallam Ismala, a well-known gardener around the gate.

Kofar Wambai: It was after 300 years during the reign of Sarki Dauda Dan Kana Jeji in the year 1425 AD that Digaci an exiled ruler from Borno, who transited at Jigirya, a small village in the eastern part of Kano (Yan Kaba Quarters), moved to the old city and passed through Adama gate.

Kofar Kabuga: The gate was named by Sarkin Kano Mohammadu Rumfa in 1469 AD to honour one of the prominent Islamic scholars, Mallam Attahiru, who lost his wife.

Kofar Duka Wuya: On the western part of Gadon Kaya, the son of the Emir, Wambai Giwa, decided to build another gate in continuation of the expansion work of all city gates and wall as directed by his father.

Kofar Nassarawa/Kawaye: Emir Mohammadu Rumfa built Kofar Kawaye in the year 1466 AD. After 395 years, the gate was renamed Kofar Nassarawa.

Kofar Famfo: The gate was built in 1928 by the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Abdullahi Bayero, the father of the present Emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero. It was named Kofar Famfo because the main pipe supplying water to the city passed through the gate.

Kofar Rumfa/Sabuwar Kofa was built in 1927.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

39

March 2, 2013

of meningitis. So do a few other risk factors:

Meningitis CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK ◆ Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). This bacterium is another leading cause of bacterial meningitis.

Meningococcal meningitis commonly occurs when bacteria from an upper respiratory infection enter your bloodstream. This infection is highly contagious. It affects mainly teenagers and young adults, and may cause local epidemics in college dormitories, boarding schools and military bases. ◆ Haemophilusinfluenzae (haemophilus).Haemophilusinfluenzae type b (Hib) bacterium was a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children.

But new Hib vaccines — now available as part of the routine childhood immunization schedule in Nigeria — will greatly reduce the number of cases of this type of meningitis. When it occurs, it tends to follow an upper respiratory infection, ear infection (otitis media) or sinusitis. ◆ Listeria monocytogenes (listeria).

These bacteria can be found almost anywhere — in soil, in dust and in foods that have become contaminated. Many wild and domestic animals also carry the bacteria. Fortunately, most healthy people exposed to listeria don’t become ill, although pregnant women, newborns and older adults tend to be more susceptible. People with weakened im-

mune systems, due to disease or medication effect, are most vulnerable. ◆ Viral meningitis. Each year, viruses cause a greater number of cases of meningitis than do bacteria. Viral meningitis is usually mild and often clears on its own within two weeks. The most common signs and symptoms of enteroviral infections are rash, sore throat, diarrhea, joint aches and headache. ◆ Chronic meningitis. Chronic forms of meningitis occur when slow-growing organisms invade the membranes and fluid surrounding your brain. Although acute meningitis strikes suddenly, chronic meningitis develops over two weeks or more. Nevertheless, the signs and symptoms of chronic meningitis — headaches, fever, vomiting and mental cloudiness — are similar to those of acute meningitis. This type of meningitis is rare. ◆ Fungal meningitis. Fungal meningitis is relatively uncommon and causes chronic meningitis. Occasionally it can mimic acute bacterial meningitis. Cryptococcal meningitis is a common fungal form of the disease that affects people with immune deficiencies, such as AIDS. It’s life-threatening if not treated with an antifungal medication.

Risk factors: Not completing the childhood vaccine schedule increases your risk

◆ Age. Most cases of viral meningitis occur in children younger than age 5. In the past, bacterial meningitis also usually affected young children. ◆ Living in a community setting. College students living in dormitories, personnel on military bases, and children in boarding schools and child care facilities are at increased risk of meningococcal meningitis, probably because the bacterium is spread by the respiratory route and tends to spread quickly wherever large groups of susceptible teenagers or young adults congregate. ◆ Working with animals. People who work with domestic animals, including dairy farmers, have a higher risk of contracting listeria, which can lead to meningitis. ◆ Compromised immune system.

Factors that may compromise your immune system — including AIDS, diabetes and use of immunosuppressant drugs — also make you more susceptible to meningitis. Removal of your spleen, an important part of your immune system, also may increase your risk.

Complications: The complications of meningitis can be severe. The longer you or your child has the disease without treatment, the greater the risk of seizures and permanent neurological damage, including: ◆ Hearing loss ◆ Blindness ◆ Memory difficulty ◆ Loss of speech ◆ Learning disabilities ◆ Behaviour problems ◆ Brain damage ◆ Paralysis

Other complications may include: Kidney failure, Adrenal gland failure, Shock, Death Treatments and drugs The treatment depends on the type of meningitis you or your child has.

Bacterial meningitis Acute bacterial meningitis requires prompt treatment with intravenous antibiotics and, more recently, cortisonelike medications, to ensure recovery and reduce the risk of complications. The antibiotic or combination of antibiotics that your doctor may choose depends on the type of bacteria causing the infec-

tion. Your doctor may recommend a broad-spectrum antibiotic until he or she can determine the exact cause of the meningitis.

If you or your child has bacterial meningitis, your doctor may also recommend treatments for: ◆ Brain swelling, shock, convulsions, dehydration

Viral meningitis Antibiotics can’t cure viral meningitis, and most cases improve on their own in a week or two without therapy.

Treatment of mild cases of viral meningitis usually includes: ◆ Bed rest, plenty of fluids, overthe-counter pain medications to help reduce fever and relieve body aches If the cause of your meningitis is a herpes virus, there’s an antiviral medication available.

Prevention Meningitis typically results from contagious infections. Common bacteria or viruses that can cause meningitis can spread through coughing, sneezing, kissing, or sharing eating utensils, a toothbrush or a cigarette. You’re also at increased risk if you live or work with someone who has the disease.

LIFE SAVERS These steps can help prevent meningitis:  Wash your hands. Careful hand washing is important to avoiding exposure to infectious agents. Teach your children to wash their hands often, especially before they eat and after using the toilet, spending time in a crowded public place or petting animals. Show them how to wash their hands vigorously, covering both the front and back of each hand with soap and rinsing thoroughly under running water.  Stay healthy. Maintain your immune system by getting enough rest, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Cover your mouth. When you need to cough or sneeze, be sure to cover your mouth and nose.  If you’re pregnant, take care with food.

Reduce your risk of listeriosis if you’re pregnant by cooking meat thoroughly and avoiding cheeses made from unpasteurized milk.  Immunizations. Some forms of bacterial meningitis are preventable with vaccinations: CONCLUDED

LETTER

Dear Doctor, I am really worried about what I am experiencing presently. I have noticed that when I use the toilet to move my bowel, I see bright red blood in the tissue and the water.

Where is this blood coming from? I don’t want to die please help.

Audu---------------------------Kogi

I bleed from the anus Mirror Doctor replies Bleeding from the anus can be caused by a couple of things.

The first is haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoids are inflamed, irritated blood

vessels in the rectum. Sometimes they can bleed when you have a bowel movement. This is not anything to worry about, unless the bleeding is severe, or does not stop.

Another reason blood could come

from the anus would be some sort of internal bleeding. Intestinal polyps or stomach ulcers can bleed into the intestines and be passed through the anus.

This can be a potentially serious condition, since the body is slowly losing an unknown amount of blood.

If you are unsure of the origin of the bleeding, please see your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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LEISURE

March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

41

Fallout of AFCON 2013

The victorious Super Eagles squad celebrating after winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa. INSET: Prophet Ephraim Ngozi Akuwuogu.

I developed high blood pressure praying for Nigeria’s AFCON triumph –Eagles’ pastor ANDREW EKEJIUBA

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astor of the victorious Super Eagles to the 29th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, Prophet Ephraim Ngozi Akuwuogu, has revealed that he developed high blood pressure while assisting the team in prayers during the continental showpiece.

Speaking exclusively to Saturday Mirror in Lagos shortly after the return of the team, the dare-devil Messenger of God said he prayed until a point he developed high blood pressure, but had nothing to show for all his efforts.

“I never wanted to work for Nigeria initially, because of the past treatments I received from the administrators of the game, but when God told me to help my country to actualize victory, I had no

other option than to obey His voice. I felt God wanted to use the victory to make a statement that He is God. “My experience in South Africa was nauseating and heart breaking because when I was hungry I was only given a meager 50 Rands only to eat which was not enough. I had nothing on me to buy things for my family which I left behind in Imo State to assist my country win the Nations Cup. “Even when I told Gideon Akinsola and Dr. Rafiu Ladipo of the supporters club that we were going to beat Ethiopia 2-0 in our Group C tie, they never believed me and they promised to compensate me.

Now, we won the trophy, nobody from the NFF or even the coaching crew till date recognized my effort.

“To back up my claim, I remember telling sports journalists that they should stone me alive if the Eagles fail to win

Nigerian female players warned against lesbianism P. 42

the Nations Cup in South Africa. Go and check out all what I said prior to the competition and you can see that all came to pass. At the end I was left with nothing to show for the work I did for Nigeria in South Africa at the AFCON,” the prophet said with a tinge of regret.

Speaking on how his romance with the Super Eagles began, he took our correspondent down memory lane.

“My journey with the Super Eagles dated so many years back, but I remember in 1989 when I predicted the demise of Sam Okwaraji, people began to take me serious. Initially when I predicted the incident, nobody took me serious until it happened.

“When the team was praying in that explosive game against the Palancas Negras of Angola on August 12, 1989, God opened my eyes and I saw an Eagle emerging from their midst and what I

Gov Yero P. 43 splashes cash, land on Eagles

saw next was the feathers of the bird started falling off. It was then I knew that something bad was going to happen and it came to pass.

“Again, in Super Eagles last FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Cameroon in 1989, I predicted another calamity that may happen, but I assured people that God had already taken control of the situation. That was David Ngodigha’s slump in Yaounde, after clashing with a Cameroonian player. At the end God spared his life and even Ngodigha came to my house to thank me for how God used me to save his life,” Akuwuogu said.

Meanwhile, the aggrieved Man of God has revealed that Nigerian football will face tough times if the country and its football administrators fail to give him what is due to him over the AFCON triumph.

Giggs signs new United deal P. 45

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March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SWAN’s need to call NFF’s bluffs

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he event of the passing week is one that should not be forgotten in haste in the history of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria’s (SWAN).

This is because it was a week the so-called administrators of Nigerian football openly poked into the eyes of the sporting press.

Aside the fact that many soccer pundits across the world saw the event ( about to be unfolded) as the height of administrative rascality in the round leather game, in world’s most populous black nation, there were bitter lessons the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) learnt, having met a brick wall in their recent attempt.

One may ask, was the entire NFF board asleep when they decided to test their strength last Tuesday against the Nigerian sporting press, in a matter that portrayed them in bad light?

During the week, the NFF in its characteristic and mischievous manner slammed a ban on two sports journalists, Messrs Ezeocha Nze, a correspondent of The Guardian Newspapers and Romanus Ugwu who writes for all-sport daily publication, Soccerstar, from its programmes, activities and events, until further notice.

As expected, the Abuja chapter of SWAN reacted by giving the NFF a 24-hour ultimatum to rescind its decision or face the full wrath of the sporting press.

However, when the Glass House saw that their game was up, they quickly and shamefully swallowed their pride and

HARD TACKLE with

Andrew Ekejiuba anelsports@yahoo.com

rescinded their decision in a manner that even shocked some members of the board who were veteran sports journalists.

HT gathered that the NFF board rescinded their decision out of frustration, especially when they saw that they were heading for a total war, capable of consuming them in the long run.

Apart from the aforementioned fact, HT also gathered that since the Super Eagles won the AFCON trophy in South Africa, members of the NFF board have been overlooked by government and corporate Nigeria in the celebration of the victory.

It got so bad that the entire largesse that followed the triumph had been showered more on the Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, the players and a few backroom staff. Therefore, having felt abandoned and frustrated, the NFF decided to vent their anger on the sporting press.

As providence had it, the melodrama was allowed to come to an end on a bitter note against

08023103605

NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari

the destroyers of Nigerian football, when SWAN Abuja chapter, rose in one voice and condemned the ban. The determination and seriousness of SWAN to put an end to the atrocious behavior of the NFF against some outspoken sport writers in its fold went a long way in confirming that the body is still vibrant. Though there had been desperate at-

tempts to divide the association by some overzealous members of the NFF board.

Following the aforementioned incident, it is now necessary for the sporting press to be more vigilant and ready to do more investigative reporting on NFF’s activities, since this is an attempt to gag SWAN members from going about their duties professionally.

It is the stand of HT that SWAN members from all the states of the federation, including Abuja, should see this recent dastardly planned move by NFF as a tonic they need, so as to do a thorough job of exposing and reporting all the administrative overkills in the glasshouse of Nigerian football.

Quoting the words of Professor Wole Soyinka, “the man will die in you, who keep silent in the face of tyranny.” Therefore, the NFF should understand that the media and to a greater extent Nigerians, are not ready to fold their hands and watch the game that unites the country to be hijacked by a few green-eyed fouls. Past records have shown that this category of people who are not only after what will line their pockets, but have shown that they can breed violence.

HT recalls how the same NFF slammed a life ban on one of Nigeria’s foremost sports journalist, Mr. Olajide Fashikun in 2011, following some reports which he made public on the controversial election that brought forth the board and the

inglorious activities of NFF. Fashikun, then editor of the National Accord newspaper, was arrested on the orders of NFF and allegedly tortured in a manner that made the press to take a hard stance on the killers of the beautiful game.

It would be recalled that the subject of Fashikun’s articles was based on a letter purportedly sent from Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, who congratulated Aminu Maigari on his controversial election as head of the NFF. As if that incident was not enough, the same NFF drove their luck too far at the beginning of the week against the two aforementioned sports journalists, in manner reminiscence of the era of the military junta. It was a move which was enough to make Ladi Lawal, Emeka Enechi and Ayo Ositelu to shudder in their graves, in disbelief over the unrepentant NFF bigwigs, who have assumed a larger than life status.

On a final note, Maigari and his gang must not forget that there will always be a day of reckoning; a day when they will account for their deeds while in office. But then, it will be too late for them to get the sympathy of soccer fans and journalists whom they are currently oppressing with their draconian mentality.

The killers of our football must be assured that many Nigerians are keeping tabs of all their atrocious actions and they must be told that they cannot go scot free at the end of the day.

We are watching!

SPORT NEWS

Etisalat renews Barca deal ANDREW EKEJIUBA

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tisalat Group, the leading telecommunications operator in the Middle East, Africa and Asia has announced the renewal of their fouryear partnership agreement with FC Barcelona. The deal means the UAE-based company is FC Barcelona official partner in the UAE, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Niger, Gabon and Central Africa Republic.

The contract was signed during Mobile World Congress 2013 – a major event for the telecommunications industry taking place in Barcelona – at FC Barcelona’s stadium, Camp Nou, by Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, CEO of the Etisalat Group and Sandro Rosell, the president of FC Barcelona. They were accompanied by Steven Evans,

Etisalat’s CEO for Nigeria, Khalid Al Kaf, CEO for Mobily (which operates in Saudi Arabia), Nagi Abboud, CEO for Atlantique Telecom, its Chief Regional Officer for Africa, Essa Al Haddad and Rainer Rathgeber, Etisalat Group’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Speaking about the partnership, Ahmad Julfar, CEO at the Etisalat Group, said: “As a global telecommunications operator, it makes sense for us to partner with a worldclass football club interested in expanding its international fan base. This partnership presents a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate Etisalat Group’s capabilities as a telecommunications operator, while allowing FC Barcelona to engage new fans in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We very much look forward to sharing the talent of FC Barcelona with our customers.”

Steven Evans, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria said,” Football is a major past-time in Nigeria and across Africa. People from all walks of life enjoy this sport and other activities associated with it. By partnering with FC Barcelona, we are able to allow our customers and Nigerians especially, to extend their support to the world’s most famous football team”.

Sandro Rosell, the president of FC Barcelona, added: “We want to attract new fans from around the world and our ongoing partnership with Etisalat has created another way for us to enhance our image and presence in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Our team looks forward to playing for Etisalat Group’s customers and is excited about how easy they are making it for committed and potential fans to view our matches.”

Nigerian female players warned against lesbianism JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

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hairman of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL), Mrs. Dilichukwu Onyedinma, on Thursday warned that any player that gets involved in act of lesbianism in the women’s league will face the full wrath of the Board.

Onyedinma spoke at the opening ceremony of the congress of the Nigeria Women Football League, which held in Abuja.

She noted that though lesbianism is a global trend, but for the NWFL, it is an immoral act which the board will not condone under any guise.

The football administrator described it as an inhuman and ungodly act which

the holy scriptures condemn and also led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah.

She disclosed that though women league is faced with a lot of constraints in terms of funding, but the NWFL will not be deterred in making the league vibrant and return it to its glorious years.

“Women football has succeeded in projecting the country’s image positively to the outside world. It is on record that while it took the Super Eagles over 40 years to get to the FIFA World Cup, the Super Falcons participated in the very first edition of FIFA Women World Cup. “And while Eagles have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times , Super Falcons have won the Africa Women Nations Cup six record times and virtually all

Onyedinma

the players that made up these are products of the Nigeria Women League,” Onyedinma said.

The NWFL boss appealed to the authorities of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), various sponsors and corporate organisations to come to the aid of the League and encourage the women.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

AYC: Taro dispels Mali, Congo threats SAYO OGUNDEJI

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Taro

his side will be enough to see them surmount their opponents.

“Our team is ready, both physically and psychologically and we have what it takes to go all the way to the final.

“We are all aware that every team in this tournament has equal chances of winning it, but Nigeria has a lot of experience on this stage and with the help of our coaches, the likes of Congo and Mali will not pose any threat to our ambition,” the Enugu Rangers player stated.

he Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Mukhtar Ramalan Yero has doled out cash and land rewards to those members of the victorious Super Eagles, who have affiliation to Kaduna State.

The Super Eagles did the nation proud by lifting the Africa Cup of Nations trophy at the tournament’s 29th edition which ended in South Africa on February 10.

At an impressive ceremony inside the Government House, Kaduna on Thursday, Governor Yero showered five players – defenders Efe Ambrose and Juwon Oshaniwa and midfielders Reuben Gabriel, Obiora Nwankwo and Victor Moses with the sum of N1 million and plot of land, each, in the State capital.

Midfielder Reuben Gabriel, who was physically present, col-

lected his cash reward of N1 million on the spot.

Assistant Coach Daniel Amokachi, who also grew up in Kaduna, the administrative capital of former Northern Nigeria, received the sum of half-a-million naira and a plot of land.

“The Government and people of Kaduna State are very proud of what you have done to bring glory to our country and we urge you to continue to show the same dedication, discipline and commitment to national cause in future engagements”, Governor Yero urged the players.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, unavoidably absent due to an interactive session hosted by the House of Reps’ Committee on Sports that dragged late into the evening, was represented by Member of the NFF Executive Committee, Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed Fresh at the event.

Nigeria to partner Gambia on sports development IFEANYI EDUZOR

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ambian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Her Excellency, Angela Colley says that there is need for her country and Nigeria to partner in the area of sports administration and infrastructural development.

The High Commissioner stated this when she led a four-man delegation from Gambia to pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdulllahi, to seek ways of strengthening the already existing bi-lateral relationship between the two countries.

Colley, who was accompanied on her visit by the country’s Deputy High Commissioner, Brigadier General Ebrima Bah (Rtd), Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Alieu Jammeh and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Gambia Ministry of Youth and Sport, Malong Jassy, noted that the two countries have a lot to gain working together to develop sports in their various countries.

Speaking at the occasion, the NSC chairman stated that the delegation’s visit shows a clear demonstration of the country’s commitment to transform and take sports to greater heights in the Gambia.

According to him, “if both continue to work together to seek ways of advancing sports in Africa, before long the continent will attain greater heights in sports development and consequently become a very formidable force to be reckoned with worldwide”.

The Minister, noted that Nigeria’s victory at the AFCON was a victory for West Africa, stressing that out of the 8 countries that qualified for the quarter finals, 7 were from West Africa.

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bout 345 local and foreignbased wrestlers will be fighting for honours in the forthcoming maiden edition of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi Tournament, expected to hold in six centers of Rivers State.

Some of the foreign-based wrestlers expected to participate in the two weeks event are the defending champion of BRF wrestlemania, Bambikiller, BRF Royal Rumble champion, Banilux Bulldog, Stephen Xavier, Liam Thomson, Michael Kovac, Dynamite Solution, Absolute Andy, Headshrinker Alofa and Frankie Sloan.

Others are, Big Daddy V, Guiseppe Danza, Rosto Poulet, Makoto Morimitsu, Lady Kenfack

Uzoenyi

World Cup Qualifier

Uzoenyi promises Kenya hell in Calabar SAYO OGUNDEJI

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Mallam Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State.

Wrestlers storm PH for Amaechi tourney IFEANYI EDUZOR

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Gov Yero splashes cash, land on Eagles ANDREW EKEJIUBA

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nugu Rangers and Flying Eagles midfielder, Seun Taro, says Nigeria’s opponents in this month’s Africa Youth Championship (AYC) holding in Algeria, will not form a stumbling block to his side’s ambition of retaining the trophy.

Nigeria who is the defending champions of the competition defeated Amajita of South Africa 4-2 on aggregate to qualify for this year’s tourney and the midfielder says his side has the experience capable of fetching them the title again.

The John Obuh-led team are in Group B alongside Gabon, Mali and 2007 champions Congo DR, but the youth international says his colleagues are ready to get the job done, adding that Obuh’s experience in this tournament will help their cause.

Incidentally, Congo DR as host in 2007, defeated Nigeria 1-0 to emerge champions for the first time and Taro who is not unaware of the threats posed by the teams in the group says the quality in

SPORT

March 2, 2013

Jeanne and Lady Nkouaya Eric Magloire. Also expected to be part of the action are Tya Mupepe, US Bing, Mass Terror, Sparking Angel as well as Missing Link with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair serving as match commissioners.

Nigerian wrestlers to participate in the championship are Strong Bone Erujeje, Hot Tempo, Tony Destroyer, Lady Bumi, Veego Lee, Mr. Sharp man, Young Stamina, Golden Power, Rocky Johnson, Iron Scatter, Monkey Man, Rushing Belt, Flying Danco and Mighty Man among others.

Disclosing this to the media during an interactive session, the President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Prince Hameed Olanrewaju Mohammed noted that the championship is in recognition of Governor Amaechi’s numerous

development projects in the state just as he stated that the championship will be spiced up with beauty pageant and musical displays by Nigeria’s leading artists.

He stated that the wrestlers will be competing for honours in 15 categories namely; extra super heavyweight, super heavyweight, heavyweight, cruiserweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, royal rumble, tag/team, ladies ladder fight, three-man tag/team fight and survival series.

According to him, all the foreign wrestlers have indicated their interest to be part of the biggest wrestling championship in the country, even as he announced that the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) under the chairmanship of Tony Abiodun Banigo is putting finishing touches on modalities for the championship.

igeria international, Ejike Uzoenyi, is optimistic the Super Eagles will demolish the Harambee Stars of Kenya when the two sides clash in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier on March 23, in Calabar.

The Eagles who defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 to lift the 29th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa will host the East Africans in a make-or-mar clash later this month.

According to the talented midfielder, who was part of the victorious Super Eagles in South Africa, refuses to entertain the possibilities of the visitors causing any upset.

“Obviously, our confidence level is high at the moment going by our outing at the Nations Cup, which means Harambee Stars of Kenya are coming here to be beaten by Nigeria in Calabar by God’s grace.

“We have shown our quality to the world at the AFCON 2013 in South Africa and picking a ticket to Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup remains paramount in our minds. We will do everything possible to achieve that,” Uzoenyi said.

He also stressed that the Super Eagles are the team to beat as many of their opponents will be dreaming of how to beat the team by virtue of the team’s performance in South Africa.

44

SPORT

March 2, 2013

Fallout of AFCON 2013

Not yet uhuru for Eagles –Onigbinde P

rior to the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, not many soccer pundits gave the Super Eagles a chance, what do you think was responsible for Nigeria’s triumph, despite their poor start to the tournament?

One thing we need to understand is that football is a very funny game, because a single player sometimes can change the course of a match.

In the case of Nigeria at the Nations Cup, though they started poorly, but they got better with each game and I think playing Cote d’Ivoire at that stage of the competition was the tonic they needed to discover themselves. The clash restored confidence in the Eagles and gave them the motivation to go into the rest of the tournament to emerge victorious.

Again, we as a nation must not forget the fact that this is a young team and we should not expect them to win every game they play henceforth because they are not yet a solid unit, but they still need time to play together before we can boast of having a solid national team. Coach, Stephen Keshi, has done a good job with the players as most of them appear more dedicated unlike before and the success achieved so far is as a result of discipline he imparted in the team.

How can the team build on this victorious outing, in order to win more laurels in the nearest future?

Nigeria’s triumph at the 2013 AFCON has shown to the world one more time that we have the materials that can get the job done, but we are not yet where we supposed to be. It is not yet uhuru for Eagles, which means those charged with the administration of sports, particularly football must sit up and help the team in any of the areas the coach wants assistance.

Nigeria won the AFCON after waiting for 19 years, but issues relating to Keshi’s purported resignation and the Nigeria Football Federation’s lack of faith in the team have overshadowed our good outing at the tournament.

Are these events not capable of denting our image to the outside world?

Apart from our image, when there are administrative shortcomings, it will definitely affect performance and will obviously show us as a people who are not serious. Unfortunately I was not in South Africa, so I don’t have the details of what really transpired between the two parties you mentioned. We have been hearing different versions of events, but we ought to have put issues like these be-

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FIFA and CAF instructor, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, has given kudos to the Super Eagles for winning the 29th Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. In this interview with SAYO OGUNDEJI, the Modakeke High Chief, speaks on the need for the team to remain focused in future engagements and hails FIFA’s decision to introduce Goal-Line Technology.

Excerpts:

hind us long time ago.

Therefore, this is a wake-up call to everyone involved in the administration of sports to always remember that the country comes first in everything we do. They must make sure they refrain from anything that is capable of bringing shame to this great country.

Some of the things that came up during the tournament and after, could have been properly managed if we always do things the right way, but unfortunately we failed to resolve the issues internally which is obviously not good for the image of the country.

There were accusations and counter-accusations regarding the purchase of return tickets for the team and officials prior to their game against Cote d’Ivoire, but NFF claimed they followed due process as laid down by CAF that the losing team should leave the country within 24 hours after their ouster. What’s your reaction to this?

That is a very delicate case to dabble into since I am not very certain of what transpired in South Africa, but I am only aware of 48hours grace for teams to depart the country after they must have been ousted. Whether the 48 hours rule is still applicable is another issue entirely, but I believe they must have settled that issue among themselves and whoever is not satisfied over that issue has the right to consult CAF in order to clear the air.

The NFF has made it clear about its decision to hire a technical director, how do you see this development?

We get a lot of things mixed up in this country. There is nothing wrong with them hiring a technical director as far as the intention of hiring one is genuine.

Countries all over the world do the right thing that will benefit their game, and we must not lag behind. We must go through the right process in selecting the best candidate so that the purpose of hiring one will not be defeated at the end of the day.

The likes of France, England, Spain and the rest have sound and experienced hands as technical directors which rubs off on all their national teams and we must do the same thing by getting someone who fits that role so that the game of football can be greatly improved in the country If we have a functional technical department, we must have a technical director whose main responsibility is to develop the game in the country.

Nigeria will battle Spain, Uruguay and Tahiti in the Group B of

Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo (centre) holding the AFCON trophy, with his teammates and South African President Jacob Zuma (left) after winning the 2013 AFCON final against Burkina Faso on February 10, in Johannesburg.

Onigbinde

this year’s FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil, how far do you think the Eagles would go at the tournament based on their AFCON triumph?

The present Eagles’ squad looks very promising, but they have to show that on the field of play in order to convince everyone of their readiness to rule the game.

And the fact that a Team A beat Team B 10-0 today does not mean Team A will still win tomorrow, which means the best determined and disciplined side wins at the end of the day. Past records don’t win you matches, but your current form depending up on what the coaches come up with.

The fact that they made us proud by winning the AFCON trophy is good for their morale, but they need to step up their game if they want to do well at that competition because the likes of Spain and Uruguay seem to be a step ahead in terms of talents and technical ability. If you ask me whether the aforementioned teams are beatable, I will say yes. That means the Super Eagles has a whole lot of things to improve upon, if they want to make Nigeria and Africa proud. We have good materials to make it happen.

The world football governing body, FIFA, has revealed that Goal-Line Technology (GLT) will be introduced for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, as well as this year’s Confederations Cup, don’t you think this decision is coming late?

FIFA have been on this issue for a

very long time and they made it clear right from the onset that it will not be introduced until whatever controversy that might surround its use is settled.

For them to decide on using it this year, means they have considered a lot of things associated with the usage and felt satisfied with the project. I strongly hope FIFA’s decision this time will bring to the barest minimum, controversial decisions associated with match officiating.

Nigeria will confront Harambee Stars of Kenya in a World Cup qualifier this month in Calabar, with the Kenyan coach saying his team is capable of upsetting the Eagles, what’s your take on this?

Kenya will be looking for a way to win the match in order to qualify for the tournament just like Nigeria, but I think we are more superior to them in terms of talents and confidence.

I don’t see how the Harambee Stars can beat us here in Nigeria, though football is full of surprises.

Some of the home-based Eagles may not be included in the team to play Kenya because most of them are match rusty as the Nigerian league has been on break for weeks. What is your reaction in this regard?

The coaching crew of the Super Eagles is aware of the importance of the game, and will always go for the right materials that will fetch the country the desired result, so we must respect their decision.

All we want is for our team to perform well irrespective of where the players are plying their trade and I hope the team qualifies for the world cup.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SPORT

March 2, 2013

Beckham issues Ronaldo warning

D

avid Beckham believes Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo will be in inspired form when he returns to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the Champions League next Tuesday.

It will be the Portugal international’s first visit to his old club since his £80million move to the Spanish capital in 2009.

The two clubs’ last-16 tie is delicately poised after a 1-1 firstleg draw in the Bernabeu, but Beckham has warned Ronaldo will be an even bigger threat than usual given the occasion.

“When you go back, you enjoy the occasion, of course, and I am sure it will inspire Cristiano,” said the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, who experienced re-

turning to Old Trafford himself with AC Milan in March 2010.

“Many things inspire great players and him going back will be a special night for him. The fans love him and it will be a great occasion.”

Beckham has played for both United and Real Madrid during his career and believes it is difficult to predict a winner.

“United did very well at the Bernabeu and I am sure they will do very well at Old Trafford. It will be a great game to watch. It is hard to say who will win. Two great teams with great players,” Beckham said.

Beckham made his second appearance for PSG in Wednesday night’s 2-0 Coupe de France win over Marseille and the for-

Giggs signs new United deal

R

Ronaldo

mer England international is refusing to rule out extending his stay at the Parc des Princes beyond his current short-term deal, which is due to expire at the end of the season.

RVP fit for Ribery targets treble with Real Madrid Bayern clash

M

anchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Robin van Persie will be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid.

The Dutch forward sustained a hip injury during the Premier League match with Queens Park Rangers last time out but the Red Devils were always confident the ex-Arsenal man would recover in time for the last-16 second-leg.

And the 71-year-old has assured fans that, despite initial fears, the striker will be available for both visits of Norwich today and then Jose Mourinho’s side on Tuesday.

The United boss was less optimistic about Phil Jones’ chances of making the crucial European fixture, suggesting he is unlikely to make the game, but did rule him out of the match with the Canaries at Old Trafford.

Looking ahead to the match, Ferguson warned his players not to get complacent and insisted that they cannot afford to be distracted by the ‘occasion’ surrounding the return leg with Madrid’s.

Van Persie

B

ayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has urged his team-mates to remain focused as he has set his sights on winning three trophies this term.

The Bavarians currently hold a 17-point lead over secondplaced Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga table, while they beat Dortmund 1-0 in midweek to book their ticket for the semifinals of the DFB Pokal.

They also recorded a 3-1 away win over Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

“It’s going brilliantly in the Bundesliga and hopefully that’s how it will continue, but there are still a lot of games to go. We need to stay focused,” Ribery said.

“There are two other titles up

for grabs as well - the DFB Cup and the Champions League.”

The France international stressed he is happy to work hard for the team, but added that he needs a certain freedom in order to shine.

“I need to do my share of the defensive work, for sure, but when I’m on the ball, I make an intuitive decision on whether to pass, play a long ball or shoot,” he said.

“Our former coach Louis van Gaal always wanted me to follow precise instructions. I just said: ‘Let me play my game, that won’t work, it’s crazy’. I had my own philosophy - anything else just isn’t Franck Ribery. It’s great now with Jupp Heynckes and it’s working.”

Ribery has been in sublime form this term, netting five goals and nine assists in 18 Bundesliga appearances.

yan Giggs has signed a new one-year deal at Manchester United on the eve of his 1,000th senior game.

The midfielder has ended speculation that he would retire at the end of the season by agreeing to stay at Old Trafford until June 2014 - an extension that will take him beyond his 40th birthday.

Giggs is already the most decorated player in British football history and is on course to add a 13th league championship medal to his collection with United 12 points clear of closest rivals Manchester City.

The former Wales international is set to celebrate his milestone in front of a home crowd against Norwich and boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the evergreen winger will remain at United in a coaching capacity once he does decide to end his playing days.

“He’ll be involved (against Norwich) and he’ll be involved on Tuesday (against Real Madrid) so somewhere along the line he’s going to play his 1,000th game this week, which is phenomenal.

“What can I say about Ryan that hasn’t already been said?

He is a marvellous player and an exceptional human being.

“He has fantastic energy for the game and it is wonderful to see. To think that he now has 23 unbroken years of league goals behind him is truly amazing in the modern-day game.

“His form this year shows his ability and his enjoyment of the game are as strong as ever and I am absolutely delighted that he has signed a new contract,” Ferguson said.

Benitez refutes poor relationship with Abramovich

C

helsea manager Rafael Benitez insists he enjoys a good relationship with owner Roman Abramovich.

Benitez produced a now-infamous rant after his side’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough on Wednesday, complaining about the lack of support the fans have given him since taking over and his job title of ‘interim first-team coach’.

But the Spaniard has revealed he shares a happy relationship with the owner.

“My relationship with the owner is really good. Every time I talk to Abramovich about football, I enjoy it,” he said.

“I know that he wants to win.

I’m here because he wants to win and I will try to do my best until the last day.

“The relationship is fine. I don’t have any problem with anyone.

“I have conversations with Michael Emenalo, the technical director, every single day. He watches the training sessions, we talk about football and when I meet Roman Abramovich, we talk about football.

“We talk like normal people.

We share a passion for football.”

Benitez has also played down reports of dressing room disputes, saying he does not have problems with anyone at the club.

Benitez

45

EURO BRIEFS

Moses targets FA Cup success

C

helsea winger Victor Moses has set his sights on knocking out Manchester United and winning the FA Cup. Moses helped set up their quarter-final clash with United by scoring in their midweek fifth round win over Middlesbrough.

Moses

Chelsea future interests Zola

C

helsea legend Gianfranco Zola is open to the prospect of being manager at Stamford Bridge in the future, but is focused on enjoying success with Watford. Zola was voted Chelsea’s best player by fans after lighting up the Premier League during almost seven years at the club and has been tipped to return as boss one day.

Cazorla ready for derby day

A

rsenal star Santi Cazorla is under no illusions about the magnitude of tomorrow’s North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Arsene Wenger’s underpressure side visit White Hart Lane needing a win to boost their hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Cazorla

PREMIERSHIP TABLE TEAM

P

GD

PTS

1. Man Utd

27

33

68

2. Man City

27

26

56

3. Tottenham

27

15

51

4. Chelsea

27

25

49

5. Arsenal

27

22

47

6. Everton

27

7

42

7. West Brom

27

2

40

8. Liverpool

27

15

39

9. Swansea

27

4

37

10. Stoke

27

-6

33

11. Fulham

27

-5

32

12. Norwich

27

-14

32

13. Newcastle

27

-10

30

14. West Ham

27

-10

30

15. Sunderland

27

-7

29

16. Southampton

27

-11

27

17. Wigan

27

-18

24

18. Aston Villa

27

-26

24

19. Reading

27

-18

23

20. QPR

27

-24

17

46

March 2, 2013

Alhaji Matawall Baba, the National President of Beans, Cowpea, Sesame Farmers Association of Nigeria, spoke with STANLEY IHEDIGBO, on beans development in country and related matters. Excerpts:

but as a farmer. We access loan from the banks and government agencies.

Many Nigerian banks have agriculture loan packages, which give loans to cash crop farmers; some will give for food crop farmers and some will give for three different crops grow farmers. Again it depends on how you put together your business plan for loan to the banks and when it is presented and the banks accept it or government agencies that give or support farmers, then your loan will granted.

Again, how a farmer prepares his proposal is very important because it is it they will use to consider the loan request.

W

hat is the aim of your association?

We are trying to uplift the standard of bean produced in the country, because it is a product which has great relations to human life. Also it is one of the best foods produced in Nigeria and it can be consumed by anybody. Beans have a lot of nutrition. So I can say that there are certain crops one can be barred from eating, but not beans. Bean as a cash crop is very important, but it has been neglected in the country because the farmers are not well organised. But now we have come together because the current government is very interested in farmers. So we need to regroup and join the trend. We are now mobilising farmers to join the group that would assist them through training on how to grow more varieties, higher breed and other benefits to feed the nation with beans. That is why we are canvassing for registration and trying to establish secretariats in the various local governments, states and zonal offices.

How true is the perception that bean cultivation is only suitable for the climate in the northern part of the country?

Beans can be grown anywhere in Nigeria, although there are some parts of the country like the northern region that you may say have good rich soil for beans. I can tell you that there is no state in Nigeria you cannot grow beans. And now we are going into researches where by beans can do well anywhere they are planted in the country so as to bring lasting solution to non availability and high cost of the prices of beans.

What is your strategy in order to achieve your aim of bringing beans farmers together in the country?

Beans are cash crops and I don’t need to mobilise so much for bean farmers to join the group because every farmer needs to have cash crops in their farm, to support their food crops. Beans are growing in the midst of other crops. Since you can grow them and they are very simple crops that can be computed into cassava or sorghum farm. They are not cash crops that grow and occupy

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

As a farmer, what is your view on the recent fertilizer development?

I told you earlier that beans and other related crops are helpful to other crops in the farm land. Then you don’t need to look for a separate fertilizer for beans. But it will be very good if can exonerate beans from other crops, so that the yield will be high.

This involves enough land, where only beans will grow for more.

Baba

‘Don’t look down on beans farming’ space. They are a crop that grows on the ground. Again they help other crops through their stems after harvesting, act as local manure; also it is a food crop for livestock. So, beans have many values. Unfortunately, other crops like rice, cassava are what government consider as value chain crops, but with our various moves and approaches to government, they will soon add beans to the value chain crops in the country.

Before now, what is the relationship between your association and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture through its transformation agenda?

Our relationship is that of a farmer that grows cash crop, a farmer that supports agriculture activities to sustain the farmers’ crop. Because, when you have a food crops, you know you have

a sustainability crops. That will take care of other domestic needs of your food crops. What I am saying is that food crops and cash crops go along together. If you don’t have a cash crop, it will be difficulty as a farmer to cater for the labour needs. Another thing is that, beans can be harvested in just 40 days, while others crops take 60. Beans and other related crops are bedrock to all farmers, because you cannot under take your farm activities without having money at hand.

A very important area of agricultural activities is funding; what are the association’s plans for members to access fund to support their farming?

Right now we are accessing fund through loan, not for a particular crop

What is your take on the recent Federal Government’s proposed N60 billion mobile phones for farmers?

What I understand from the explanation the Minister of Agriculture gave on the matter is that the whole N60 billion is not going into the mobile access. It is an estimate for the farmers to access, to use, to provide and to get the possibility of accessing the information from the ministry through the cell phone. These phones are to help the farmers in their farm activities in the country.

And even if the Federal Government is bringing the money to buy the mobile phones to support the local farmers, I don’t see anything wrong with it. As far the mobile phones will be channelled into the right direction and they reach the targeted local farmers.

What about the economic implication?

The majority of the rural farmers in the northern part of the country and I believe in the south too, don’t have access to mobile phones. Even the interaction we had with some of the rural farmers we met in the cause our meetings have shown that they need the mobile phones. Again , the economic importance of the development is that the rural farmers will be able to access fertilizers directly from the source and nobody will prevent them from getting it and other assistance from the Federal Government on the development of agriculture in Nigeria.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

47

March 2, 2013

Making money from sachet/ bottled water production I ntroduction

When one looks at many packaged water brands in the market and companies behind them, one would conclude that the business is saturated. One would also conclude that the business does not generate much income or profits.

However, from the research conducted by the writer and other teams of the consulting group, you are authoritatively informed that this business is still very lucrative. In fact, more and more serious rich investors are still needed in the industry. The success in this business today depends wholly on how professional the project is packaged and managed. Many people, who can not apply the required professionalism required, have dropped along the line giving way to those who have the required capital backed up with professionalism. The project is no longer a child’s play.

Capital requirement The product is so diverse that no amount of capital is considered too small or too big for the project.

If you have so much money, you will also have more sophisticated areas to innovate and become the leader if you can.

If you are not rich, you may have to operate in the sachet water packaging scale.

The demand for pure water has grown very high. It is now a household consumable product. Therefore if you want to invest in this area do not be discour-

aged but be professional. The writer will guide prospective investors this year 2012 in setting up this project from feasibility studies, site planning, procurement and installation of machines, development of marketing strategies and recruitment of experienced manpower to manage the project for profit.

The need for clean water The need for good quality drinking water packaged under very stringent hygienic condition cannot be over-emphasized. When one considers the costly effect of water-borne diseases like crawcraw, worm infections, water blindness, dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid fever, cholera to mention but a few, it becomes paramount to go for clean (pure) water.

Without adequate clean water, one suffers dehydration and eventual death.

Water provides the medium in which all biochemical reactions take place. Water also plays a major role in the “evolution of biological systems”.

Almost 80% of all hospitals in Nigeria today lack good potable water. Hence the need to remove the entire undesirable elements and pathogens it may contain through treatment.

Pure potable water is very essential for healthy living. It has no substitute.

Simple production processes From the above, investment into innovative purification and packaging of

colorless, odorless and tasteless, drinking water seems a very lucrative business. Already there is rampant and most popular way of packaging water in cellophane sachets usually called pure water” and sold for N10. Though this aspect of packaging water is simpler, cheaper and enhances easy entry and exit, and higher turnover because of the cheapness of the products, it has been observed that this has been abused by a lot of people. A more organized means of production of pure water has been found to be gradually taking over sachet type of packaging.

Demand is assured Apart from the fact that there is an existing market for bottled water, well purified and packaged water is exportable to Europe, Far-East, some African countries and America. Details of the companies, countries, prices and standard required will be given to prospective investors on request.

Presently, a plastic bottling can for pure water production is taking over.

This is found to be more lucrative too.

This is because not every type of investor can invest on it like ordinary nylon/ cellophane packaging of water.

Production plant The plant can be set up at any part of the country. The plant consists of a water treatment plant made up of seal sedimentation, tank, filters, suction pump, alpha chambers, pressure gauge and stainless tank and tama flow 700, an industrial purification system. This machine incorporates from consecutive operations-pre-filters, activated carbon, polisher and ultra violet sterilizer. It also has v/v designed for 30-3 L/min maximum flow rate, 60 PSIG Max pressure, 220 V/50 Hz voltage, 254-barometer wavelength lamp and 99% bacteria elimination rate.

The plant can produce 30 liters of well-purified water per minute. This implies that it can purify about 14,400 liters of water per shift of eight hours.

There must be water purity testing machine to make sure that the water is germ free.

Finally corking machine is needed.

Raw materials required The raw materials for this project are water, plastic cans and water treatment chemicals such as Ozone, etc. All these are locally available in plastic-making companies in Nigeria. The chemicals are also available in Nigeria. The water could be obtained regularly either from borehole or natural spring water.

Production techniques Production techniques are very easy.

It involves rust removal, filtration to produce clear, colorless, tasteless drinking water. The chemicals are added to clear any bacteria and germ free from the water. The water is then filled in the bottle, corked and is ready for sale.

General requirements/ Financial projections Studies carried out indicated that a prospective investor must have a decent building walled and painted with very clean environment, if he must obtain the NAFDAC approval to be in business.

From studies also carried out, the project requires the sum of N3.6 million to set up sachet water producing and N9.6 million for automated bottling/sacheting plant (The cost breakdown is shown below).

The gross profit margin for the project is worked out as N9.7 million in the first year and N14.27 million in the fifth year. Projected operating costs for the first year is N1.140 million and N1.519 million in the 5th year.

When the operating costs are deducted, the investor would be recording N6.096 million in the first year and N9.030 million in the fifth year as net profits. It is a very lucrative business.

Courtesy: Uba Godwin, ubagodwin@yahoo.com

48

March 2, 2013

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‘Tracking device business is for the discerning’ FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON

T

he issue of security is no doubt becoming a very vital one and technology is not leaving any stone unturned to address it.

Gone are those days when once your car is stolen, there is nothing that could be done to find it unless it pleases the thieves to return or drop it somewhere it could be found.

However, the story is not the same anymore because of the advent of technology which has made a lot of things very easy and is now widely available.

According to Olanrewaju Yakub popularly known as Aare Olanrewaju who is the Managing Director of Larmints Business Services, a car tracking company located in the heart of Victoria Island in Lagos, Car tracking is a necessity and not luxury.

“Technology has improved over the years on a global scale and Nigeria is not left behind in these changes as well.

The security circle is also one of such areas that are currently enjoying the improved technology. With the use of a device, you can track your vehicles with good results,” he added.

For those who are wise and who appreciate the importance of security especially in this world of faltering security, they have tapped into the business of tracking devices.

For Olanrewaju, investing in the business is a wise idea with lots of prospects. This he ascribed to the relatively newness of the business to the Nigerian society adding that new entrants could cash in on this.

THERE ARE TRACKING DEVICES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES BUT THE COMMON ONE AROUND HERE FOR NOW IS THE CAR TRACKING DEVICE.

THERE ARE

ALSO SMALLER DEVICES LIKE CHIPS USED IN

TRACKING HUMANS.

BUT IT IS NOT COMMON IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD FOR NOW “However, that which is an advantage could also become the major disadvantage” Olanrewaju noted.

According to the tracking device expert, it takes a lot to be in the business.

One of these, Olanrewaju pointed out is a sound background in the area of information technology while another is some level of managerial and entrepreneurial skills.

“It takes quite a lot to be in this business if one must succeed in it. First, one must have a splendid background in IT. Secondly the person must possess a registered company which must also be registered with the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and lastly good managerial and entrepreneurial skills.

Getting very well acquainted with the

Olanrewaju

product is also very vital. It is when you know the product well that you can actually convince people to use it” He, however, pointed out that tracking is not only limited to cars; practically everything could.

“There are tracking devices for different purposes but the common one around here for now is the car tracking device. There are also smaller devices like chips used in tracking humans it is not common in this part of the world for now,” Olanrewaju explained.

What will it cost a potential investor to kick start such a business?

“The business is quite capital intensive. On a low scale budget, one will need at least about N800, 000 to N1million to kick start while it could cost much more on a high scale. Then you will need to register the company with NCC, attend trainings and create a base station from

which to track only for fleet management,” he stated.

Olanrewaju further disclosed that one could carve a niche for oneself by not only being keen about getting the patronage but also rendering post patronage services to clients.

“You have to tutor them on how to use the device and guide them through the process. It is also important to be available for any questions they may have on how to handle the device and get the best of it. Those little details go a long way in creating a lasting relationship with your clients and will make them want to stick to you” He also remarked that the business is quite a lucrative one undermining its challenges which are also with other businesses.

“As you know, the devices are imported and duties on imported goods are quite high. Secondly, the awareness level is low and so it requires a lot of work and awareness to break through the system.

It is usually very tasking to convince people on the need to install a tracking device in their vehicles. Most people will complain about the cost which I will consider relatively low because by the time you buy a vehicle of about N5miilion, would you say installing a tracker of less than N50, 000 is expensive? So those are the challenges on the business.”

Olanrewaju also counselled new or would-be entrants on the need to first devote quality time to learning the ropes of the business rather than delegating such to others most especially at the initial stage.

“This business is not the type you stay away from at the initial stage. You need to be around to monitor your business well especially when you are just starting. It is a good business that requires attention and one that you can get back investment on in a period of at least six to eight months.”

Crime Watch Robbers lay siege to Lagos community Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

Crime Watch

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P. 51

House of commotion: Caretaker dupes 70 intending tenants N5.2m

BRIEFS

Man jailed for stealing mortal, pestle

A

n Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court yesterday sentenced a 45-yearold commercial motorcyclist, Shola Oniyide, to two years imprisonment for stealing mortar and pestle and other items valued at N 14,000.

Oniyide was not given an option of fine.

Magistrate Idowu Olayinka, who gave the judgment, said Oniyide would serve the two years with hard labour.

Oniyide, whose address is unknown, was not represented by a lawyer.

The convict had pleaded guilty to the two-count charge of house breaking and stealing.

In the words of Oniyide before the court, “My Lord, please have mercy on me. I have a wound on my back and anytime I scratch it I find myself stealing.”

Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp. Augustine Ozimini, said the offences were committed on December 21, 2012 at 1.30 a.m. at Isaga-Orile in Abeokuta, Ogun capital.

According to him, Oniyide broke into the house of one Paul Olusegun and stole items such as a mortal, a pestle, a small Tiger generator and a DVD player all valued at N 14,000.

Rape of minor: Court grants man, 28, bail

A

n Abuja High Court yesterday granted bail to Felix Uwusuru, 28, of Lugbe, Abuja, who allegedly raped a minor.

Justice Usman Musale of the court, granted Uwusuru, an electrical technician, bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.

The judge said the court admitted the accused to bail because there was no objection from the prosecution counsel, Miss Prisca Oguamalam.

According to the judge, “The prosecution did not raise any objection to granting of bail for the accused, although the offence for which the accused is standing trial is not ordinarily bailable. The applicant has complied with provisions of sections 34 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Bail is, therefore, granted to the accused person in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum,’’ he ruled.

Musale adjourned the case to April 9 for continuation of hearing.

It will be recalled that Uwusuru was arraigned on November 21, 2012.

Oguamalam had told the court that the accused forcibly had sex with the 16-yearold on September 9, 2012 at FHA Phase 2, Lugbe.

•Snatch, vandalise cars, injure owners

For the residents of Ebute Meta, a popular community in Lagos, life is no longer the same. They now sleep with one eye open.

Reason: Bandits have turned their community into a game field.

SEGUN ADIO

L

ife is no longer the same for residents of Ebute Metta area of Lagos as armed robbers, thieves and pickpockets have now taken over the community.

In the one month, no fewer than five exotic Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have been reportedly snatched at gun point.

During the period, several houses had been raided by the men of the underworld, while moving about freely in the community freely has become a hoax.

Apparently the recent upsurge in robbery started on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 along the popular Cemetery Street, Ebute Meta. Around 8:30 p.m on that fateful day, two suspected robbers shot sporadically into the air beside a church on the street, and successfully disposed a woman of an SUV. The woman had reportedly just concluded a meeting at the said church and was about driving off in her vehicle.

Unknown to her, robbers had laid in ambush. They immediately pounced on her once she emerged from the church.

She was, however, lucky not to have been shot dead by the robbers. The SUV was reportedly recovered same night in far away Apapa also in the megacity apparently because of the tracking system installed in it.

Less than a week later, exactly on Monday, February 11, 2013, a Toyota Highlander was also reportedly snatched around Apena area by the cemetery on Glover Street, just less than 1000 metres from where the earlier incident took place.

The driver of the Toyota Highlander, dressed in a business suit, was reportedly waved down by four men dressed in black jeans trousers and T-shirts with baseball caps to match.

An eyewitness told Saturday Mirror that just as the man was negotiating the Adekunle area of Ebute Metta, the four men, all armed with cutlasses and pistols, waved him down and barked at him

IGP, Abubakar

to come down from the car and surrender the key to them.

The confused driver was initially hesitant to carry out their bidding. Right there, one of the robbers brought out a machete from under his tunic and cut the driver in several parts of the body.

Within minutes, the driver was dragged out of the car and dumped by the road side. He was left to swim in his own blood.

Just as the robbers were rounding off snatching the Toyota Highlander and pushing him by the roadside, they swooped on another Honda Accord 2011 model. Two young women were the only occupants of the car and the robbers reportedly ordered them at gunpoint to disembark. The women, unlike the other man, did not put up any resistance. They both hurriedly climbed out of the car and fled into the adjoining street. The four robbers fled with the two cars, with two occupying a car each. They drove towards the Third Mainland Bridge.

A day after those twin incidents, suspected thieves reportedly visited the same area, breaking wind screens of cars parked on the streets and forcefully removing batteries and car radios.

Dr. Olusodo witnessed the snatching of the Toyota Highlander by the robbers.

Reliving the incident, he described it as being like a scene from a thriller movie.

His words: “It was as if I was in a cinema. The robbers were so desperate that they started shooting sporadically into the air trying to scare people away. The

entire Ebute Metta has witnessed an upsurge in robbery activities lately and there is need for the government to act fast before the menace gets out of control.”

Olusodo added that he was also a host to thieves who visited him at his 77/79 Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta (West) residence, a day after he watched robbers snatch two cars in the area.

Though Olusodo’s car was not stolen, it was vandalised. The battery of the car, a Mitsubishi Gallant 1992 model, was stolen.

In the area too that evening, several cars were ‘touched’ by the thieves who smashed their wind screens.

A male nurse, whose car was also vandalised in the raid, claimed that he lost his car radio, a laptop and some vital documents to the thieves.

Narrating his experience, the male nurse, identified simply as Nurudeen, said: “I think the operation was done when everyone had turned in because I was on my terrace until 1:15a.m, that morning. It was when I woke up the following morning that I discovered that my car’s side mirror had been while trying to gain entry into it.”

It was tales of woe all through Ebute Metta throughout the week in question, as residents lamented the state of insecurity in the area.

Some residents claimed that the menace of ‘One Chance’ and pick pockets had also become rampant in the area in the last one month.

Do you have a story for us? Contact 08138773277 or crimewatchmirror@yahoo.com

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Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Evil undergrads

Break into friend’s house, cart away N20m, jewellery SEGUN ADIO

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hief Cyril Kenneth Nwoke is a successful businessman. He deals in the importation of electronic appliances and other ancillary products from overseas.

The 60-year-old man has been in this line of business for almost 40 years and had made a name for himself as a major supplier of electrical appliances to many retailers in Lagos and the south eastern part of the country.

Nwoke lives with his last child at Odunsi Street, in Ajah where he reportedly owns a retail outlet of the products which he sells. His other four children are reportedly resident in the United Kingdom, while their mother shuttles between Nigeria and the European nation.

Nwoke’s last child, Austin, is a 300 Level Mechanical Engineering student in one of the country’s private universities. Austin, though lives on campus, also comes to Lagos every weekend especially anytime his mother is not in the country.

Two of Austin’s friends, Kolawole and Fredrick are known faces to his parents and on many occasions, they both spend weekends with the Nwokes once their friend is around.

Whereas Kolawole, 20, is a student of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Frederick is said to be a final year student of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos State. While Kolawole reportedly lives with his mother at Osapa area of Ajah, Frederick stays with his uncle at Badore, Ajah.

It is also reported that Kolawole’s father is the personal mechanic of Nwoke, and is also quite close to the Nwoke family.

It is reported that Kolawole and Frederick enjoy unfettered access to their friend’s father who always give them money should they request for it. The unfettered access Austin’s friends enjoy with their family has come to haunt the family now as the two undergraduates were alleged to have bugled their friend’s father’s apartment, and carting away expensive pieces of jewellery.

Both Kolawole and Frederick reportedly committed the crime on Friday, February 22, 2013.

Investigations revealed that a day before that Friday, Nwoke had told Austin on telephone that he intended to be away for the weekend for a meeting in Abuja.

The man had thus told his son to head home once his lectures were over by midday that Friday as he had an evening flight to catch to the nation’s capital.

As was the practice, Austin put a call to his two friends to inform them of his coming home for that weekend and his father’s itinerary. Kolawole and Frederick had reportedly told their friend that he (Austin) would meet them at their family house by the time he arrived

One businessman rich but generous is Chief Cyril Kenneth Nwoke. But now, he may be biting his fingers over his acts of generosity and magnanimity. Reason: the friends of his last child broke into his private apartment stealing N20 million, jewellery among others. from school.

So, both friends, who chose not to go to their respective schools that day headed for their friend’s house early that morning. They were both welcomed into the house by the Nwoke, who apparently believed the two undergraduates were there to await the arrival of their friend.

It was further learnt that around 11:15am, Nwoke left the two young men in the family’s sitting room in the building, hoping to pick some things at Shoprite mall in Lekki area of the metropolis.

However, when Nwoke returned home about two hours later, the two young men were nowhere to be found.

Austin however came back from school around 2:00pm, but was shocked to learn that Kolawole and Frederick, who his father asked to look after the house, left without notice. Just around 3:30 p.m when Chief Nwoke was about to leave for the airport and wanted to give his son some money he would need for the weekend, he discovered that his personal room had been burgled, apparently by his son’s two friends.

After a thorough search of his room, Nwoke discovered that the envelope con-

taining the sum of N18 million he placed on the shelf in his room was missing. The troubled man and his son quickly rushed to his wife’s room and were startled to see her locked wardrobe broken. It was later discovered that all the woman’s expensive gold trinkets were taken away.

He immediately urged his son to contact his two friends on phone to be able to establish their knowledge of the crime.

Austin reportedly called his friends severally on their mobile phones but they were switched off.

Father and son wasted no time, but drove straight to Kolawole’s father’s shop to tell him of what had happened in his house.

They all reported drove in Nwoke’s SUV to the mechanic’s house thinking that Kolawole would be there. They were wrong. By the time they got home, it was discovered that all valuable items in the young man’s room had been removed.

Speaking with reporters, the guard of the building, identified as Usman claimed he saw the two young men leave the house that day but did not smell any rat. Usman claimed that the two men on getting to the gate, called him to say that Austin was at

bus stop and that they wanted to go and bring him home.

“I was sleeping when I heard that the gate was being opened. I got up and saw the two of them. They told me that brother Austin was waiting for them at the bus stop to help him carry something home, and I never thought that they had committed any atrocities upstairs,” he said.

When asked whether he called them to come meet him at the bus stop, Austin claimed that the last time he spoke with either of them was the day prior to his coming home.

“What has happened is a big surprise to me. You can imagine going into my parents rooms to steal their valuables and money. I have been calling their phone numbers ever since but they kept saying ‘switched off.’, Austin said.

Kolawole’s father also added, “This boy (Kolawole) never gave any premonition that he had such an evil plan in mind. He only came to my shop with Fred, his friend that they were going to Austin’s house. Until chief came with his son saying that Kola had disappeared with his money,” he said.

Police intensify search for killers of Anambra journalist NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

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he police in Onitsha, Anambra State have intensified search for the killers of the editor of Anambra News Newspaper, Donatus Ikechukwu Udendu, who was killed by yet to be identified gunmen on Saturday January 12 2013.

Gunmen suspected to be hired assassins had shot and killed Udendu in an unknown place on the fateful day and allegedly dumped his body at Afor-Nkpor Market, close to his Ogidi family house.

The Onitsha Police Area Commander, Mr. Benjamin Wordu, an Assistant Com-

missioner of Police, who disclosed this during the burial ceremony of the late journalist, said the killers would eventually be fished out and brought to book.

Udendu was buried at his family compound, at No. 26 First Choice Avenue, Ogbeotu, Ikenga village, Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Wordu who was accompanied by the leader of Onitsha North Vigilance Group, Mr. Chinenye Ihenko (a.k.a Okpompi), regretted that the late Udendu was among the first group of journalists who visited his office in Onitsha shortly on assumption of office on transfer, last year, adding

that the circumstances surrounding his assassination still remained a puzzle to all and sundry.

Responding, the late Udendu’s elder brother and publisher of the Anambra News Newspaper,, Emma Chukwulozie Udendu, frowned that barely a month after his younger brothervwas assassinated, the police are yet to make any headway in apprehending his killers.

The elder Udendu stated that although the case is currently being investigated by the state Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Onitsha Police Area Command could still assist in tracing the killers.

Crime Extra

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 2, 2013

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House of commotion: Caretaker dupes 70 intending tenants N5.2m •Stations hoodlums to bar them from building SEGUN ADIO

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ension has heightened on Bashiru Street, in Ojodu Berger area of Lagos State as no fewer than 70 house seekers are at logger heads over the occupation of the same apartments which they had already paid for.

The aspiring tenants are battling on two fronts: while they are struggling among themselves to take possession of available apartments that they could find themselves in, they are also facing threats in the hands of suspected hoodlums, who apparently had been hired to chase them away from the building.

The commotion on No. 10, Bashiru Street house is reported to have been orchestrated by the caretaker of the building, who had allegedly fleeced would-be tenants of amount running into millions of naira.

The caretaker, identified simply as Lekan, had allegedly duped house seekers the said amount and promised all of them apartments not more than six blocks of flats and a couple of self contained apartments.

Lekan, who displayed bill board announcing vacancy into the apartment in front of his shop and on leaflets distributed around major streets and bus stops in Agege and Ojodu area of the metropolis, had been approached by a couple of dozen house seekers for that purpose.

It is reported that once a house seeker approached him in respect if the building, Lekan would tell him or her that the building was nearing completion and that the owners needed some money to carry out the final phase.

Thus, since September 2012, a lot of house seekers had been paying various sums of money into Lekan’s accounts.

The amount reportedly paid into his account by each of the tenants-to-be ranges between N180, 000 – N350, 000.

Once the payments are made, Lekan would issue a receipt to the payee. It is also reported that some of the house seekers were approached by the caretaker’s agents ostensibly working for Lekan. It is claimed that the receipts issued in respect of the house either by Lekan himself or agents bore Lekan’s stamps, handwritings and company name.

The bubble bust when all of them around to take possession of the apartments they had paid for since the deadline given by the caretaker had already lapsed.

From the beginning of last week of the month, truckloads of the aspiring started arriving at the compound.

But to their chagrin, none of them

The affected house

Securing accommodation in Lagos is usually fraught with a lot of obstacles. No fewer than 70 intending tenants have just been taken on a jolly ride by a callous estate agent. How did he do it? was allowed access into the compound.

Suspected hoodlums had already taken possession of the building. The hoodlums were reportedly enveloped in thick waft of marijuana smoke, and they were also reportedly wielding weapons.

The hoodlums’ claim was that they were not given any orders to allow any of the tenants to move into the building.

All attempts to get Lekan and discuss the issue with him proved unfruitful as he no longer go to his office. The matter was later reported at Alausa, the Lagos State seat of government, as suggested by one of the victims and Lekan was picked up and remanded in police custody at Alagbon, in Ikoyi, on Lagos Island.

Speaking to Saturday Mirror on telephone, one of the victims of Lekan’s antics, who identified himself as Mr. Ejere, claimed that the caretaker promised him that he would move into a three-bedroom apartment by the end of February.

However, he continued, when he went there to assess how far work had gone, he was shocked to learn that a lot other

would-be tenants had been turned back from entering the compound.

His words:“I only hear that some caretaker dupe people, but I have never witnessed it in my life. But it is happening to me right now. We all paid money to move into the house but were shocked to hear that the man collected money from a host of other people. Most, if not all of us that paid either to him, or through his agents, cannot have enter into the compound.”

Ejere continued: “When I visited the place to see how the truck bringing in my stuffs would move, I was shocked to see about 10 able-bodied men smoking Indian hemp stationed in and outside the compound. They were also brandishing dangerous weapons. They have been preventing any of us who had paid for the place to even enter there.

Another set of victim of the caretaker’s fraud are Mr. and Mrs. Olasumbo, who claimed to have paid N280, 000 to him but could not move into the apartment they paid for.

According to the Olasumbos: “We

were supposed to move into the house last week, but to our surprise, the thugs stationed at the gate would not allow us entry. It is also surprising because even when we went there and saw this crisis, some interested people were still being brought to come and inspect the house.”

Lekan, the caretaker, could not be reached since he is already cooling his heels at Alagbon, but a young woman at his shop told reporters that many people had been coming there threatening fire and brimstone. According to the woman identified as Bimpe, “I do not know where Oga (boss) went to but I noticed that a lot of people have been coming here to make noise. But I cannot answer them since I do not know what transpired between them and Oga,” A police source at Alagbon confirmed the detention of Lekan. The source also claimed that some of the victims of the fraud had been thronging the police command, adding that investigations were still ongoing.

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March 2, 2013

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SOUTH EAST

Imo House passes motion to convert appointment of teachers CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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he Imo State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. (Mrs.) Uche Ejiogu to convert the appointment of teachers in the state from ‘non–tutorial staff ’ to ‘tutorial staff ’ to enable them earn their requisite remuneration.

Sponsor of the motion, Hon. Victor Ndunagu from Mbaitoli constituency, argued that “it is not only demoralising and counterproductive but a great injustice to employ qualified teachers as non–tutorial staff and thereafter post them to classrooms to teach without commensurate remuneration.”

He stressed that based on the affected teachers’ experience, justice demands that

they should be converted to tutorial staff to give them a sense of belonging as well as bring out the best in them.

Supporters of the motion also contended that the teachers concerned had shown great humility and loyalty by ac-

cepting such a situation where their potentials were underrated despite their qualification. They submitted that the affect-

ed teachers be accorded all the rights and privileges due to them. The group also blamed the civil service system for

Anglican Bishop of Onitsha, Owen Nwokolo (left), receiving cheques of N40 million from Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State for on-going construction work at Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi, yesterday.

the ugly situation.

However, the motion did not scale through without stiff opposition. Hon. Emeka Nwofor of Ngor-Okpala constituency argued that the employment of the non–tutorial staff was fraudulent. According to him: “Teaching is about passion and whoever hides his or her educational qualification and picks a job as a non–educationist has no passion for teaching.”

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu, consequently passed the motion after listening to both arguments. He also set up a committee headed by Hon. Victor Ndunagu to look into the possibility of harmonising how teachers are employed in the state through a bill to be passed by the House to help certify and regulate the employment of teachers in the state.

Court orders lawyer to pay Onitsha businessman N.486m NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

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n Onitsha High Court in Anambra State yesterday ordered a legal practitioner, Barrister Obi Morah, to pay an Onitshabased businessman, On-

yebuchi Omeh the sum of N486,000 for a breach of contract. The court was presided over by Justice Pete Obiora.

Out of this amount, N216,000 is a refund of a balance of a one-year new house rent which the

plaintiff paid to the defendant since March 2011 but which the defendant failed to give the plaintiff the new apartment.

N250,000 was awarded for general damages for the breach of contract ad N20,000 for costs.

In his judgement, Justice Obiora also directed that Barrister Morah be subjected to a disciplinary committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onitsha branch, and also be reported to the Body of Benchers for a disciplinary action to be taken against him for

gross abuse of the legal profession.

On the issue of the defendant issuing a dud cheque to the plaintiff in the process of trying to refund the house rent, Justice Obiora also advised the plaintiff ’s counsel, Barrister J.S.N. Unata to write a strongly worded petition

to the state commissioner of police to handle the criminal aspect of issuing a dud cheque and arraign the defendant to court to face the consequences.

Obiora added that the defendant had tarnished the Image of the legal profession with his fraudulent actions.

Hospital, Onitsha, while Bishop Nwokolo also got a cheque of N40 million for ongoing projects at Iyienu Hospital in the state.

Governor Obi was represented at the occasion by the state’s Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Prof. Chinyere Okunna, who said that the concerns of the state government was to reach the people of the state at the grassroots and make them benefit directly from governance.

According to Prof.

Okunna, “We are partnering with the Church because they already

have the structures.

Besides, their services are mostly for charity and not money making.”

While thanking Obi for the gesture, Rev. Okeke said that Obi’s administration has erased the agony of past regimes when salaries and pensions were not paid and most of the roads in the state were in deplorable situation. His words: “Unlike before, Anambra of today is full of stories of paid pension and salaries, rebuilding of hospitals and schools and reconstruction of roads.”

Enugu College of Education Obi has brought smiles to Anambra trains 30 staffers to fight exam people’s faces –Clerics malpractices DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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he Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu State has trained 30 members of its staff as certified exam ethics marshalls in a bid to rid the institution of examination malpractices. The trained marshalls are to be the vanguards of the scheme.

Provost of the college, Professor Ben Mbah, made the disclo-

sure yesterday during the college’s 19th matriculation ceremony where a total of 1,300 students were admitted to study various courses.

Prof. Mbah said that the college’s management took the decision in order to help redeem the dwindling fortune of education in Nigeria by strengthening the moral foundation, rebuilding the ethical infrastructure and restoring honour and ethics among students.

He also noted that the institution is vigorously

pursuing entrepreneurship education by development of entrepreneurship spirit among students as well as empowering them with skills that will help them become job creators instead of job seekers after graduation.

He added that the college has concluded arrangements to establish a functional college radio station where broadcasting skills, language, culture and extension activities could be nurtured within the college community.

T

he Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Okeke has lauded the giant strides of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State since he assumed the state’s leadership.

The same sentiment was shared by another cleric, Anglican Bishop Owen Nwokolo.

The two clerics made their observations known when Governor Obi presented them with cheques for the completion of projects in their domains. Rev. Okeke received N30 million for ongoing projects at St. Charles Borromeo

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

REGIONAL NEWS

March 2, 2013

53

NORTH

Kwankwaso backs security agencies on anti-terror war AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

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overnor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has pledged his total support to security agents in the state in their war against terrorism.

Kwankwaso’s pledge was coming in the wake of renewed hostilities by gunmen, suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram group, in apparent violation of the ceasefire declared recently by the leadership of the sect.

Saturday Mirror’s investigation conducted in the city during the week revealed that no fewer than 16 persons have

been killed across Kano metropolis by suspected gunmen, the latest, being the attack on the Commander of Mopol 9, Kano, Dahiru Majiya, who was shot dead last Monday on his way to the family house in Gandu Albasa.

The governor made the pledge when he received the new Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr Musa Daura, at the Government House, Kano.

The governor assured the new police boss that he would always respond to the needs of the law

enforcement agents in terms of logistics and welfare anytime he is called upon.

Kwankwaso described the tenure of CP Ibrahim Idris as a wonderful one that would not be forgotten in a hurry in the state.

Apparently disturbed by the latest spate of killings in the state, the governor said he would stop at nothing in ensuring that the security agencies get the necessary support by deploying available resources toward the antiterrorism campaign.

Responding, Daura promised to run an open door policy and welcome constructive criticism, adding that he would make discipline among officers his watchword, as he said he would not condone any act of corruption.

Kaduna Assembly denies plan to remove Speaker

T

he Kaduna State House of Assembly, yesterday, dismissed the rumour of plans by the legislators to remove the Speaker, Alhaji Muazu Gangara.

The chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Information, Al-

haji Yakubu Yusuf, told journalists in Kaduna that there was no rift between them and the Speaker.

“It is an unfounded rumour. There is no rift between the members and the speaker to warrant such action.

``The Speaker has been running the affairs of the House without bias and with all sense of responsibility, and we are satisfied. He has never shown any form of discrimination or favouritism between the members of PDP and

those in the CPC. He regards us as representatives of our people and gives us the respect and encouragement to do our job,” Yusuf said.

The Assembly spokesman advised the media against peddling rumours, and to always in-

vestigate matters before going to the press.

Yusuf stressed the determination of the House to discharge its responsibilities in the best interest of the people, and for the growth and development of the state.

Illegal mining activities worry Kwara commissioner

K

L-R: Representative of Plateau Governor, Malam Idi Waziri; Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga and DirectorGeneral, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Prof. Longmas Wapmuk; at the inauguration of ITF headquarters annex and ICT training centre in Jos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

‘Gombe’ll meet MDGs objective on safe drinking water’

G

ombe State will meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’s objective of providing safe drinking water and basic sanitation to half of the population of the state before 2015.

Alhaji Isa Mohammed, the General Manager of Gombe State Water Board, gave the assurance, yesterday, while addressing journalists in Bauchi. Mohammed is

in Bauchi to witness the inauguration of Bauchi State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy.

“We have a short-term solution; part of the solution is that all bore holes are undergoing reticulation and about 70 per cent of the bore holes are functional and undergoing repairs. By October 2013, all the work will be completed and by 2014 everywhere will be getting water; so, we hope that we

will meet the MDGs goals by the year 2015.

“In Gombe, we have a treatment plant that was constructed, completed and inaugurated in 2006.

The treatment plant is one of the best in Africa.

The treatment plant was designed to discharge about 50 million cubic of water every day, and there was provision for future expansion because of the expected increase in population; it will be

expanded by 70,000 cubic litres per day,” Mohammed said.

He described the general distribution network as fair, stating that old pipelines were undergoing reticulation in Gombe.

He continued, ``We now discharge between 20,000 to 30,000 cubic litres per day because there is no adequate reticulation in Gombe, most of the reticulation was done about 40 to 50 years ago.’’

wara State Commissioner for Industry and Solid Mineral Development, Alhaji Umar Aliyu, Kwara Commissioner for, yesterday, in Ilorin expressed concern about activities of illegal miners in the state.

Aliyu expressed the concern in a statement

by Mr Akin Odeyemi, the Director of Information Services in the ministry.

The statement said the commissioner spoke at a meeting with the Emir of Gwanara, Alhaji SabiIdris and representatives of Baruteen Local Government Area of the state and some village heads in Patigi Local Government Area.

The statement read in parts: “He, therefore, enjoined miners to co-operate with the state government in its efforts to check the activities of illegal miners from neighbouring states.

This is because the problem of illegal mining in the country was posing a serious threat to the nation’s socio-economic development. If mining activities were properly co-ordinated, they could serve as a good source of revenue and employment generation for youths,’’ the statement quoted the commissioner to have said.

Gov. Ahmed

The commissioner, however, reiterated the determination of the state government to curb illegal mining in the state. Aliyu also disclosed that the state government had introduced a new form of revenue that would be collected from the miners, dealers and other operators at the sites.

The statement quoted the Emir of Gwanara to have, while responding, advised the state government to ensure the collection of revenue by employing security agents to work with the revenue team.

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NORTH

2015: Shun ethnic, religious sentiments, Arewa chieftain advises Nigerians TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

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head of 2015 general elections, the National Coordinator of the Arewa United Consultative Forum (AUCF), Alhaji Shuibu Dansudu, has advised Nigerians to shun ethnic and religious sentiments and vote for credible candidates that would turn the fortune of the country around.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos on the state of the nation, Dan-

sudu said that Nigerians should learn from the recent victory of the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa by not being sentimental in the choice of public office holders.

He said Team Nigeria won the Nations Cup as a result of team work, adding that the choice of the players was based on merit and not ethnic or religious sentiments.

“We must shun ethnic and religious sentiments

in the choice of public office holders, especially in choosing the President of Nigeria for us to move forward. What we need is a credible leader to direct the affairs of this country.

We need someone who has integrity and fear of God to govern us. In 2015, I will appeal to Nigerians to vote for a credible candidate, irrespective of the regions or religion background of the candidate. ” Speaking on the recent ceasefire announced by the Boko Haram sect,

Dansudu advised the Federal Government to accept the offer and give amnesty to the insurgents the way it was given to the Niger/Delta militants by late President Umar Yar’Adua for peace to reign in the country.

While expressing dismay over the state of insecurity in the country, especially in the north, Dansudu implored government to find solution to the security problems in the country. He also advised that giving am-

nesty to Boko Haram members would resolve the lingering crisis in the country.

Dansudu while suggesting ways of ending the lingering crises in the country advised the Federal Government to stop transferring suspected criminals arrested for violent activities to Abuja. Rather he advocated that such people be tried within areas where such acts are known to have been carried out so as to avoid

political cover-up.

Dansudu, who is also the National Vice President of Arewa Youth Development Association of Nigeria also debunked the insinuations that Northern youths are prone to crises in some parts of the country, saying those who act on such prejudice is not fair and in ignorance of true situation of things because incidences of violence cut across every region and tribe in the country.

Zamfara disbursed N300m to disaster victims in 2012 –Officials

Z

Acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar, administering the polio vaccine on a child at the inauguration of the second round of Polio Immunisation Programme in Mutum Biyu, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Jigawa police boss reads riot act to criminals ABDULLAHI ODEY DUTSE

J

igawa State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Joel Theophilus, has warned criminals in the state to steer off the state or be caught and brought to justice.

Theophilus gave the warning yesterday in his office while chatting with

Saturday Mirror.

The police boss also called on the residents of the state to go about their lawful business assuring them that security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police are working round the clock to ensure safety of lives and property in the state.

His words: “We have always said it that here in Jigawa State criminals

have no hiding place. Security agencies, especially the police are working assiduously to maintain the serenity enjoyed in the state.”

The police boss used the interaction to commend Governor Sule Lamido for his support to the force in the state. He, however, urged the state government to do more for the police to ensure

optimal performance by the force.

CP Theophilus

amfara State government has said it spent more than N300 million to assist victims of flood, windstorm, fire outbreak and robbery attacks in the state in 2012.

Executive Secretary of Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA), Alhaji Atiku Maradun, disclosed this in Gusau yesterday.

Maradun said government provided relief materials such as food items, clothes and building materials, as well as money to the victims.

The ZEMA official said the Federal Government also donated 27 trailer-loads of food items through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

According to the ZEMA boss, “The items were distributed to victims through the state Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.

Maradun said the Federal Government also donated N200 million to the state gov-

ernment to relocate flood-prone villages and to build river embankment in Gummi, Maradun and Shinkafi Local Government Areas (LGAs).

He also explained that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) donated cement, zinc, timber and food items to the windstorm victims in Maradun and Maru LGAs. The ZEMA executive secretary said the items were also distributed to the victims by NEMA officials. ``We received donations of mattresses and mosquito nets from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which were distributed to flood victims in Talata Mafara, Gummi and Gusau LGAs,” Maradun added.

He also stated that the agency’s annual enlightenment campaign tour would begin soon, as part of measures taken to prevent a future recurrence of flood disaster.

Nasarawa varsity clash: Govt to foot hospital bills of injured students

T

he Nasarawa State government has promised to offset the hospital bills of students receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the February 25, 2013 students protest in the state.

These were the words

of Dameshi Luka, Deputy Governor of the state.

Luka said this, yesterday, in Keffi during a visit to the affected students at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), on behalf of Governor Tanko Al-Makura.

Students of Nasarawa State University in

Keffi had staged a protest over water scarcity in the school, leading to a riot which led to the death of two students, while some others sustained various degrees of injuries.

The deputy governor, while sympathising with the injured

students, described the incident as unfortunate and prayed God to grant the injured students quick recovery.

He, however, advised the students to always channel their problems through appropriate channels. “You should also embrace dialogue,

rather than protests,’’ Luka said.

Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nasarawa State chapter, Dr. Ayuba Nagawa, who briefed the deputy governor on the students’ situation, said they are in stable condition.

He said all the injured brought for treatment had been discharged from the hospital, with the exception of one Abdulmajid Ofoku.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof.

Shamsudeen Amali, accompanied the deputy governor on the visit.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

China parades Mekong killers before execution

F

our foreign men have been executed in China for the murder of 13 Chinese fishermen on the Mekong river in 2011, after being paraded on state TV. The men were put to death by lethal injection in Kunming, Yunnan province.

CCTV News broadcast live footage of the men being taken from their cells to the execution site, though it did not show the moment of death.

Many social media users in China have reacted angrily, condemning the broadcast as insensitive.

It is believed to be the first time in China’s recent history that live footage of condemned criminals

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

March 2, 2013

being taken to their execution has been broadcast.

Since CCTV is controlled by the Chinese authorities, there is no doubt that the green light was given by top government officials, the editor of BBC Chinese, Raymond Li, reports.

It seems that the Chinese government wants to send out a clear signal to the general public that they are taking very tough action against foreign criminals, he adds.

Some have applauded the move, but many Chinese internet users spoke out against the special programme, in what some are saying was a throw-back to the execution rallies of China’s past.

55

Cardinals begin process of picking new Pope W

ith Pope Benedict XVI now officially in retirement, Catholic cardinals from around the world began yesterday the complex, cryptic and uncertain process of picking the next leader of the world’s largest church.

Some details are still unclear, owing to Benedict’s break with the tradition that papacies end with a pope’s death, so these “princes of the Church” will first hold an informal session before traditional rounds of talks begin on Monday.

No front-runner stands out among the 115 cardinal electors - those aged under 80 - due to enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave that picks the new pope, so discreetly sizing up potential candidates will be high on the cardinals’ agenda.

They will also use the general congregations, the closed-door consultations preceding a conclave, to discuss future challenges such as better Vatican management, the need for improved communication and the continuing sexual abuse crisis.

Benedict ended his dif-

ficult eight-year reign on Thursday pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics at one of the most problematic periods in the Church’s 2,000-year history.

“The discussion we have in the congregations will be most important for the intellectual preparation” for choosing a pope, said Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, adding the electors were already preparing spiritually for the vote by intense prayer.

“I would imagine each

of us has some kind of list of primary candidates, and others secondary,” said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago at a media briefing with O’Malley and another American cardinal, Daniel DiNardo of GalvestonHouston.

Conclaves are among the world’s most secretive elections, with no declared candidates, no open campaigning and electors who often do not know more than a few dozen men in the room. Electors are sworn to secrecy about the actual voting itself.

DR Congo: Bunagana residents flee M23 clashes to Uganda

M

ore than 4,000 people have fled at night from a border town into Uganda after rival rebel factions fought in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The violence followed the sacking of the political leader of the M23 rebel group, Jean-Marie Runiga, on Thursday.

Mr Runiga is allied to Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

Some 800,000 people have been displaced since the M23 rebellion began in 2012.

On Sunday, regional Af-

rican leaders signed a UNbrokered accord to end the conflict.

‘Town empty’ The UN refugee agency in Uganda told the BBC about 4,500 people crossed the border overnight.

“It started at around midnight and we can still hear the bullets and bombs,” Damien Batimaha, a local community leader in the border town of Bunagana, told Reuters news agency.

“Most of the town has fled. I’m at home but my family has already left,” he said.

The town is under the control of fighters loyal to the M23’s main leader, Brig Gen Sultani Makenga.

US braces for $85bn in budget cuts

T

he US government is heading towards $85bn in automatic budget cuts, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on an alternative deficit-reduction plan.

The cuts to areas including the military and domestic spending are due to hit yesterday after the White House and congressional Republicans failed to come up with a better plan to tackle the country’s $11.7 trillion debt.

Barack Obama, the US president, has invited congressional leaders to the White House for last-minute negotiations before the deadline for cuts that the IMF has said could have a global impact on growth.

Obama is required by

law to order the budget cuts, known as a sequester, by 11:59pm yesterday Washington time, and the cuts are all due to be made by the end of the year unless a political deal can be reached.

The president says the problem with the Congressional stand-off is not technical, “it’s political”.

Obama said that by refusing to allow a vote on a bill that included a balance of tax revenue and targeted cuts Republicans were “threatening our economy with a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts that will cost us jobs and slow our recovery”.

Political observers in Washington said an agreement is unlikely before the cuts are due to take effect.

Yesterday, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, at centre with red skull, officially takes over the vacant See as camerlengo, chamberlain, before sealing Pope Benedict XVI’s apartment, after Benedict left the Vatican on Thursday.

UK heads for triple dip as factories slump, mortgage lending slides

T

he risk that Britain is entering its third recession in four years grew yesterday with figures showing that manufacturing shrank unexpectedly last month and mortgage approvals for home buyers dropped in January.

Gross domestic product fell at the end of last year, bringing Britain within sight of another recession and the latest data suggested the central bank may need to do yet more to revive the economy.

The pound sank to its

lowest level against the dollar in more than 2-1/2 years, while prices of British government bonds - which the Bank of England could resume buying - rose after the releases.

The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from a downwardly revised 50.5 in January, confounding forecasts for a rise to 51.0. It was the first reading below the 50 line that separates growth from contraction since November.

A separate release

showed that mortgage approvals fell unexpectedly despite the authorities’ efforts to boost lending.

“It’s a bit of a double whammy of disappointing news,” said Alan Clarke, economist at Scotiabank.

“Not a good start (to the year) and really shouldn’t change anyone’s view that there’s precious little growth momentum in the UK and particularly not in manufacturing.”

The numbers are the latest in a string of bad news for the Conservative-

led coalition government and its Chancellor George Osborne. Moody’s downgraded Britain’s triple-A rating last week, prompted by weak economic growth prospects.

In the last quarter of 2012, a plunge in factory output - which accounts for around a 10th of the economy - shaved 0.1 percentage point off economic growth, according to official data released earlier this week.

Markit said factory output fell last month at the fastest pace since October.

Eight policemen arrested over drag death in South Africa

E

ight South African police officers have been arrested over the death of a Mozambican man who was apparently dragged behind a police vehicle.

An investigation was launched after video footage emerged showing the man hauled through

the streets with his hands cuffed to a police van.

Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega thanked people for revealing “callous and unacceptable behaviour”.

President Jacob Zuma called the incident “horrific” and “unacceptable”.

The eight officers were

initially suspended pending an investigation. It was later announced that they had been arrested and would appear in court on March 4.

Taxi driver Mido Macia, 27, died of head injuries and internal bleeding after his arrest in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg, an initial post-mortem found.

He was reportedly detained for parking his vehicle in a way that blocked traffic.

The video, apparently recorded by a bystander on a mobile phone on Tuesday, shows a large crowd watching as uniformed policemen tie him to a van, dragging him as they drive away.

Quote

of

the

day

There is need for a change. Nigerians are tired of PDP which is no longer what it used to be after failing to address Nigerians’ needs after ruling the nation for over 13 years without any dividends for the people.

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, explaining his decision to pitch his tent with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Saturday, March 2, 2013. www.nationalmirroronline.net

Taking the Atlantic Basin initiative forward (I) F ollowing the initial meeting on Atlantic Basin jointly sponsored by the Government of the State of Sao Paulo and Johns Hopkins University in Sao Paulo in April 2012, Greg Mills and I jointly prepared a paper for the second meeting scheduled for Dominican Republic in January 2013. The idea canvassed here requires to be widely circulated, discussed and debated if Atlantic Basin will be a reality.

The world is beset with regional initiatives. As one measure, as the World Trade Organisation’s record below illustrates, regional trade agreements (RTAs) have become increasingly vogue since the early 1990s. As of 15 January 2012, some 511 notifications of RTAs1 had been received by the WTO, of which 319 were in force.

To an extent these urges reflect the failure of globalization; that regional trade pacts are a ‘second prize’ given the inability to find political agreement around wider, multilateral arrangements such as the Doha Round. But this is not only down to politics; it is also about vested national interests, about the competitiveness of domestic industries and a lack of faith in global agreements in regulating a system of fair exchange and in ‘levelling the domestic policy playing field’ to ensure there is not unfair government interference in, for example, subsidization and currency manipulation.

Regionalism is seen as part of the an-

with President Olusegun Obasanjo hexcellency2011@yahoo.com

THIS IS NOT ONLY DOWN TO POLITICS; IT IS ALSO ABOUT VESTED NATIONAL INTERESTS, ABOUT THE COMPETITIVENESS OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES AND A LACK OF FAITH IN GLOBAL AGREEMENTS IN REGULATING A SYSTEM OF FAIR EXCHANGE....

swer to these failings and pressures of intense global competition.

Trade agreements are but one feature of the contemporary global order. There are an additional range of multilateral, regional, inter-regional, trans-regional

and hemispheric, both exclusive and inclusive, economically and politically focused, governmental and non-governmental. The spectrum of associations includes the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation3 (APEC) forum with 21 mem-

SPORT EXTRA

CAF Champions League: Kano Pillars battle Olympique de Bangui ANDREW EKEJIUBA

K

ano Pillars FC of Nigeria will tomorrow battle Olympique de Bangui in the return leg of the CAF Champions League tie, slated for the Central African Republic.

To confirm the seriousness the Nigerian team attaches to the competition, Pillars stormed Central African Republic late Thursday evening to intensify their build up ahead of tomorrow’s cracker.

When both sides met in the first leg a fortnight ago, the Baba Ganaru-led side defeated their counterpart 5-1 in Kano.

Nofiru Ali scored a brace after Bello Kofomata and Ali Nasiru had put the

Kano side two goals ahead, with Rabiu Aminu completing the five-goal thriller.

But the Central African Republic club fought back to pull a goal back through Didier Yabo in the 44th minute.

All the Kano Pillars scorers were said to be among the players who travelled with the team to Central African Republic.

From statistics, the host will need five unreplied goals to advance in the competition ahead of the Nigerian side who heads into tomorrow’s clash as favourites, following their victorious outing in the first leg.

Coach Baba Ganaru said before their departure that the players and the coaching crew of the team will not relent in

this second leg tie, until they qualify for the next round of the competition.

The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) defending champions are staging a comeback to the prestigious competition after a two-year break. They were ousted in the second round in 2011

by Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) of Morocco.

Meanwhile, Reuben Gabriel is expected to make a return to action after his Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) success with the Super Eagles. The defensive midfielder missed out on the first leg, and a return will be a morale booster for the Kano club side who are eager to make Nigerians proud in the continental showpiece.

ber-states, the ten-member4 Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus its various offshoots including the ASEAN plus three (with China, Japan and South Korea), the East Asian Summit5 and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), to more recently the G-206, the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) and the Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa (BRICS) fora. To this lengthening list has to be added the various regional communities including the principal bodies in Africa (Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, East African Community, Community of Sahel/Saharan States, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Economic Community of Central African States), plus the overlapping Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); those in the Americas including Mercosur,7 the Andean Community,8 the North American Free Trade Area, the Caribbean Community9 (CARICOM), and the Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA)10; and in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States11 (CIS), the European Free Trade Area12 (EFTA) and of course the European Union.

TO BE CONTINUED

PREMIERSHIP FIXTURES Today’s Matches Chelsea v West Brom 15:00 Everton v Reading 15:00 Man United v Norwich 15:00 Southampton v QPR 15:00 Stoke City v West Ham 15:00 Sunderland v Fulham 15:00 Swansea v Newcastle 15:00 Wigan Athletic v Liverpool 17:30

Sunday, March 3, 2013 Tottenham v Arsenal 16:00

Monday, March 4, 2013 Aston Villa v Man City 20:00

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