March 20, 2016 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

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News

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Dwindling D i dli Economy: E

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CPC probes consumer rights abuses in banks, hotels

Options for a return to growth path

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Vol. 6

No. 12

March 20, 2016

Rivers rerun

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N150

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4 killed, SSG, Wike ’s aide, others arrested

tackles •Poll suspended in 4 LGAs •Commissioner beaten up ASUU Oshiomhole

over demolition exercise Olumba Obu to elevate 1,500 to rank of bishop at Easter

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Voters at unit 6, ward 5 during the National and State assemblies rerun election in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday.

Army to deploy troops in ashpoints to end Agatu killings

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NCC impounds illegal broadcast devices in Enugu News

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Lady Golfers ’ President, Animashaun, dies in Govt House

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What ’s new Politics

National Assembly and politics of MTN ’s ne

Seven Days TALKING POINTS OF THE PAST WEEK March 20, 2016

The Nigerian Military yesterday said that it has discovered that female Boko Haram bombers now disguise in men ’s clothing to perpetrate their bombings. The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, in a statement through its Director of Defence Information, DDI, Brig-Gen Rabe Abubakar, said that the discovery was part of its efforts to con-

tinue to uncover and sensitise citizens on the devilish strategies of the terrorists. He regretted that in a determined effort in letting off bombs, Boko Haram terrorists were resorting to hiding their true identity. “Female bombers now dress in men ’s attire to have access to mosques unhindered to detonate their bombs.

Asset Declaration: Saraki asks Tribunal to quash charges against him

12 Wellness Good hygiene key to preventing dysentery –Expert

Regular observance of hygiene such as washing the hands after using the toilet, before handling, cooking and eating food, before handling babies, and feeding young or elderly people according to experts could reduce the occurrence of dysentery and other related diseases. When people fail to maintain the hygiene practices mentioned above they could be at risk of

been infected with dysentery, and likely find themselves in hospitalized if the ailment is taken lightly and not well treated. In an interview with Sunday Mirror, Dr. Chinedu Durugo, a medical practitioner with the Good Shepherd medical center, Ikeja Lagos defined Dysentery as diarrhea or bowel movements (stools) that are loose and watery which contains blood.

EbereAgu ACTRESS

Gunmen kill DSS operative in Rivers Less than 24 hours after an Army Major and a soldier were attacked and killed by gunmen suspected to be sea pirates in the creek of Abonema, Akuku-Toru local government area of Rivers State, another tragedy has befallen the security agencies. The latest victim is a member of the Department of State Services, DSS was on Fri-

day killed by unknown gunmen in Egi, Omoku, Ogba/ Egbema/ Ndoni local government area of the state. This is coming less that 24 hours to the National and State House of Assembly elections in the state. While confirming the incident, the Army in a statement said some hoodlums attacked a security team comprising the Army.

Nigeria ’s trade declines by 30.6 The National Bureau of Statistics on Friday released the merchandise trade figures for the 2015 fiscal period, stating that Nigeria recorded a huge decline of N7.25tn in trade from N23.49tn in 2014 to N16.42tn. It said the N7.25tn decline represents a drop of 30.6 per cent over what was recorded in the 2014 financial period.

The bureau in the report a copy of which was made available to our correspondent attributed the drop to a 40.3 per cent decline in the value of exports from N16.3tn in 2014 to N9.72tn. It, however, said that a decrease of N676.4bn or 9.2 per cent in the total imports in 2015 helped to mitigate the declining trade balance.

Nigerians who took part in bringing the new administration to power. “Including Nigeria in the Saudi Arabia Military coalition of Muslims/ Arab nations would appear that the foreign policy thrust of the current administration is to make Nigeria a satellite state of Saudi Arabia, ” the group said. “Any nation in which Islamists believe that they are sufficiently strong to exercise influence rarely experiences peace.

I try to know the schedule I have for the week; if I want to travel for shooting or for my hustling.

TUE

Eniola Aborisade

had on March 11 adjourned sitting to hear the motion filed by Saraki through his counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi, challenging the Jurisdiction of the Tribunal. However, at the resumed hearing yesterday, counsel to Saraki appealed to the tribunal to quash the charges against his client on the ground that the charges were not competent in law.

A group, the Nigerian Christian Elders Forum, has strongly condemned the recent inclusion of Nigeria in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition against terrorism. The decision to join the group was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari. Addressing Journalists in Abuja, Friday, the NCEF chairman, Solomon Asemota, said the action was a clear negation of the rights of Nigerians as well as a lack of regard for the views of non-Muslim

I decide to check on a few of my directors and movie producer friends to know if there are jobs for me because as an upcoming actress, I need to put my ears to the ground to know what ’s going on.

WED

Life has taught me to be patient –Oluwatoyin

Senate President Bukola Saraki, yesterday asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to quash the charges against him on the grounds that the charges are not competent in law Saraki is facing a 13-count charge bordering on corruption and alleged false declaration of assets. He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him. The Tribunal

Christian Elders slam Buhari over Nigeria ’s membership of Islamic coalition

I clean up my house. I do that twice a week. Also, since I ’m planning to open a hair shop for ladies, I usually drive out for market surveys.

THU

Nigeria, Reverend John Ibenu. In a message titled, “Invitation You cannot not resist, ” Reverend Ibenu questioned how prepared people are for the home calling and what legacies they would leave behind to be remembered for, saying the late Minister has lived a fulfilled life. The Clergy pointed out that death is an invitation which no one can resist whenever it comes, saying every one must prepare because at the appropriate time, it will come one day.

I finalise my plans for the week and also go to locations sometimes outside my base or within, depending on when the job starts. If my job starts, then my schedule is work mood fully activated.

FRI

Passion

Female bombers now disguise as men —Military

The remains of the Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Chief James Eneojo Ocholi, his wife, Fatimah Blessing Ocholi and son, Joshua Ocholi have been laid to rest at his country home in Ogbabede -Abocho in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State amidst tears, encomiums and accolades. The late Minister, wife and son were lowered into their graves at about 1.30 pm shortly after a homily from the Kogi State Chairman of the Christian Association

As an indoor kind of person, I relax at home, watch movies, make my smoothies and keep them in the fridge against the weekend.

SAT

MTN for continuing to retain 5.2 million unregistered subscribers on its network after the expiration of a warning grace period. The NCC said it arrived at the figure by multiplying 5.2 million by N200, which is the fine for retaining each unregistered subscriber on the network.

to embark on self defence if the FG continues to look the other way while Benue people are being killed by Fulani people. President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed shock over the killings and ordered an investigation, but the Reps said that was inconsequential as he ought to have ordered immediate action to address the sustained killings. Speaking on behalf of the caucus, at a press briefing in Abuja.

This is another clean-up day. I go to the car wash to clean my car for the week. I prepare for another week, and most importantly, for church on Sunday.

SUN

The House of Representatives and the Senate recently dabbled into the issue of N1.04 trillion fine imposed by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on the South African telecommunications giant, MTN. It would be recalled that the NCC last October slammed a fine of N1.04 trillion against

The Benue State Caucus in the House of Representatives, yesterday accused the Federal government, FG, of conspiring with Fulani herdsmen to sustain the killings of the people of Agatu and other villages in the state. The eleven representatives of the Benue people in the Green Chamber spoke with one voice, insisting that the act was genocide, and asked Benue people to get ready

Ocholi, wife, son buried amidst tears, encomiums

MON

Agatu killings: Benue Reps accuse FG of complicity

This is the day to serve God because He gives me the wisdom and insight on how to go about the week. I don ’t put my hope in man but God. *By Adaeze Amos (08023012293)

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE

Big Read SUNDAY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2016

Dwindling Economy:

Options for a return to growth path The dwindling state of Nigeria’s economy has plunged the citizenry into untold hardship with the government seemingly at sea regarding its revival. PAUL OMO OBADAN writes on this worrisome trend and explores ways by which the ailing economy can be revamped.

espite being poised for fast growth, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is currently crawling on all fours like a toddler. Politics in Nigeria as has been clearly proved by recent events is driven by political and personal interests at variance with the national economic interests. The cumulative cost of perceived political instability, record low crude oil prices, and dipping confidence in economic and financial markets has cost Nigeria something between $25 and $30 billion, experts say. As at today, the global hazy clouds and the impatience of some investors with Nigeria have brought about a market reversal in Nigeria’s financial markets and the economy. The

data indicated that the economy is going down the slope, and if corrective measures are not applied soon, by the end of the year, it will enter into recession. It is against this backdrop that the economy must be stimulated and aggressive targets set to meet the demands of teeming groaning Nigerians. Nigerians voted for change and to attain that change, there is need to do things differently, in the recognition that doing what we have always done will only result in more of the same result. That change has started with the vital offensive against corruption, which has had a huge and adverse effect on our economy. Much of the debilitating under-invest-

INFASTRUTURE, KEY TO UNLOCKING NATION’S POTENTIAL 4

ment in our infrastructure that has handicapped our economic growth has arisen because funds were diverted to enrich a few at the expense of the wider populace. At the lower levels, the waste, inefficiency and culture of non-performance have, like a financial cancer, eaten away at our core institutions. Globally, the downturn has hit all nations, rich and poor alike. The manner in which governments have intervened to protect their economies have been diverse and innovative. ‘We can transit from a commodity economy to an industrialized, regionally dominant one’ According to Tunde Ologundudu, an economic expert, the best path to follow is to invest in infrastructure that will unlock the potential in the non-oil sectors. “We can transit from being a commodity economy to an industrialized, regionally dominant one. Oil is important, but clearly, oil it not enough. Iran is a very recent and relevant example of living without oil. The sanctions that embargoed Iran’s oil led to the development of robust petrochemical and other export industries that enabled the country to survive. Iran survived without oil, made tough decisions and is now being feted by investors as the next growth story. The focus of our economic policy is to redress the infrastructure deficit, unlock the rich diversity in the economy with a determined and focused turn-around programme. For us, it CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

‘OFFICIALLY OR UNOFFICIALLY, THE NAIRA HAS BEEN DEVALUED’ 5

The Big Read

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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Infrastructure, key to unlocking nation’s potential

Buhari

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 would be a tragedy to have endured so much pain and not emerge better and stronger. The provision of a spending stimulus to the economy is critical to releasing the upside in the economy. Investing specifically in power and transportation will release the opportunities in solid minerals, manufacturing and agriculture. Growing the economy at a rate that will address the employment needs of our huge population requires a fundamental change in how government collects its revenues and spends same. The 2016 budget is deficit financed; and the fiscal house-keeping which is aggressively blocking revenue leakages and reducing costs is firmly aimed at ensuring that the borrowed funds are channelled into capital projects, rather than seeping through an inefficient financial management system. This is not only prudent economics, but it is a moral necessity, since these borrowings will be repaid by future generations. Therefore, while we focus fully on the macro-economic indicators; we must and will continue to focus on the micro factors which collectively shape and determine the larger picture. The roadmap to attaining our objectives is a tough one, and we may endure the financial pain for longer than we would prefer, but the upside is that we have actually already endured the worst part of the adjustment cycle. The outlook for oil prices is looking more positive, but we are fundamentally determined to ignore oil. One word that will resonate across all that we do in government is ‘discipline’. Financial discipline is going to be a game changer in shaping the future of Nigeria’s economy,” he said. The big questions are: Nigeria stands on the threshold, daring to move into previously uncharted territory through identifying and embracing novel economic and fiscal policy stratagems. But how far can she go? ‘Nigeria is in crunchy times’ Bismark Rewane, a financial expert in a parley with journalists recently said most Nigerians should fasten their seat belts in anticipation of the rough tide ahead. According to him, the first question that needs to be addressed is what is the current commodity crisis and is it different from previous ones? “The present commodity crisis has its origin in the unexpected slow down in China. The Chinese economy had been growing in double digits for a decade. Therefore, a decline to 7% in the last two years had major repercussions for global commodity producers. The $10.36tn economy, which is the second largest in the world, had to cut back on its demand for many primary and secondary products. This also coincided with flat-lining in the Eurozone, which is also the third largest market in the world. The EIU expects the four-year slide in agricultural commodity prices to come to a halt in 2016 – 2017. The EIU FFB index fell by 18.2% in 2015, extending average annual declines of 5.4% in 2012 -2014, but it will recover some ground in the coming two years, rising by 3.4% in 2016 and 4.9% in 2017. Tightening markets will be the prime drivers of this increase. Global demand for food and beverages will continue to grow steadily, underpinned by demographic and income trends. This is the global picture of agricultural commodities. On the other hand, we see the outlook for the oil market has deteriorated sharper than we originally anticipated. However, the consensus is that, in spite of geographical tension and the distortions created by the Saudi attitude towards forcing oil prices down, that we should see some recovery in oil prices during the year. The EIU says also that ―although the oil supply – demand balance will tighten, putting upward pressure on prices, we do not expect crude oil price to come back to pre–2014 level in 2016/2017. Despite a dip in U. S. production, global crude supply will expand further in 2016 on the back of continued output growth from OPEC and to a lesser extent, Russia, Rewane said.

He also projected revenue and foreign exchange earnings picture for Nigeria in 2016. His words: “Therefore, the revenue and foreign exchange earnings picture for Nigeria in 2016 will remain bleak to challenging. For example, the price of oil has been below 50pb for over 15 weeks. This has blown a huge hole in the budget of the FGN, but more for the states. The Nigeria budget of 2016 is based on a benchmark price of $38pb which is very conservative in real terms, but will be tested in a market that is now trading at $33pb. What does this mean to the two main economic constituencies? “The FGN has accepted that the party is over. In other words, a reality check. Luckily, the Nigerian electorate endorsed the APC government because of its lack of trust and confidence in the PDP. The APC has not shown a proper understanding of economics and is still trying to figure out what the problem is. It has run out of time, because the honeymoon is over. Now the government has to re-ignite the economy to life and simultaneously convert economic wealth into economic well-being for the people. Therefore, the key decisions that will put the economy on a path of general dynamic equilibrium require the reduction or possible elimination of subsidies. This will reduce distortions, increase government revenue, whilst empowering the government to fund the social safety net for the poor and underprivileged. The Federal Government is embarking on an ambitious fiscal programme, increasing its spending by 25% at a time when revenues are sharply lower. It is to make three critical decisions. Removal of subsidies which will reduce expenditure by N1trn or 25% of the previous budget; it will automatically increase available revenue for sharing by the same amount for the states of the federation. This singular and important decision will not only change the economic destiny of Nigeria, but also reduce its import bill by over 20% and allow the naira some breathing space. What is happening is that Government has refused to accept that market economics works in African countries. That economic reform is not incompatible with patriotism. The fundamental mis-conception that a strong currency is synonymous with a strong economy is defining the national economic narrative. Therefore, we see a Central Bank that is attempting to defend a currency at a value which is unsustainable. It, therefore, appears to send panic and frantic signals into a market that is extremely nervous. The CBN means well, but is confusing economic agents with mixed signals. Therefore, the key issues facing the government are the fact that adjustment of the naira is now imminent, inevitable and imperative. This adjustment will have huge consequences for government finances, investment flows, export values and trade patterns. There will be short term pain, but medium term gain. Therefore, what do we expect? The currency will be allowed to glide into a path of quasi-equilibrium. An initial band of 185220, will open the floodgates of demand, but will also encourage some investment inflows. Foreign Direct Investment in 2011 was as high as $8.1bn and fell to $1.4bn in 2014. However, FDI had crashed to near zero in the last few months. Nigeria‘s gross external reserves are now below $29bn and can barely cover four months of imports and payment. Therefore, any resistance to a currency adjustment and the adoption of a policy framework that allows for appreciation of the naira when the fundamentals improve and slide when conditions deteriorate will be fool-hardy. Therefore, the Nigerian public has run out of patience and now wants forex availability at a market price, instead of rationing that is open to abuse. The Beauty is that the people, the markets and the CBN have the same objective i. e. to ensure macro-economic stability. Therefore, in 2016, we expect an adjustment of approximate-

However, the FGN will need to put many things in place for this to happen, not in the least, being the hiring of capable hands and firms to help recalibrate the way government works,” concluded.

Rewane

Adeosun

Bismark

ly 10-15% of the naira, even after oil prices recover. We believe that the import bill will fall by approximately 20 -25% because of the fictitious import of refined products. These are the foot soldiers of the economy, especially, the small and medium-scale industries. They want to see government expenditure increase and translate into consumer spending and activity. They had enjoyed a subsidized exchange rate, rent seeking pricing in government contracts etc. This group will need to come to terms with a more efficient government, fiscal system devoid of ghost workers and leakages and where productivity will be the key determinant of reward. However, the FGN will need to put many things in place for this to happen, not in the least, being the hiring of capable hands and firms to help recalibrate the way government works,” Rewane concluded. Nigeria has been on the edge in recent months, as locals watch the currency depreciate against the dollar at a rapid tick on the unofficial, but hugely influential parallel markets. Even, amidst the turmoil, last week’s ride was particularly unsettling. Although, CBN’s official rate is set at 198 naira to the dollar, on the unofficial parallel markets - which dominates most currency activity here - traders took 345 naira to the dollar at the start of the week of Feb. 22. It soon dropped further, reaching almost 400 naira. But then, it strengthened and settled back near 300 naira by the end of the week. It’s now hovering around 340 naira to the dollar. In truth, these rates are imprecise and impressionistic, since they rely on informal networks of individuals and dealers responding to the forces of supply and demand. The root of the turmoil has been the drop in oil prices over the past year and a half. Oil exports generate up to 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange-based revenue. But it’s the government’s response to the problem that is causing controversy, and generating volatility. President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to ‘kill’ the naira by devaluing the currency or relaxing its fixed-rate trading band. His reasoning - as it’s been communicated so far - is that a weaker currency means a weaker country. ‘Naira has already been devalued in disguise’ However in a volte face to government inability to devalue the naira, Head of Economics Department, Lagos State University, Dr. Odubunmi Ayoola Sunkanmi said in an interview with Sunday Mirror that government had already devalued the naira in disguise. According to him, although, government is saying they have not devalued the naira, naira has been devalued, whether officially or not officially. Economic theory tells you that for any nation at all to devalue its currency, there are certain conditions that must be put in place. What is the elasticity of demand for your products that you are producing? And what is your propensity to import? What is the elasticity? And economic theory tells you that the marginal propensity to export must be fairly elastic. (When you devalue your currency, it makes the goods being produced in your country cheaper compared to other countries of the world. And when your goods are

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Big Read

‘Officially or unofficially, the naira has been devalued’ Dr. Odubunmi Ayoola Sunkanmi, is the Head of Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Science, Lagos State University, (LASU), Ojo Lagos, Nigeria. He sheds more light on ways to revive Nigeria’s ailing economy in this interview with PAUL OMO OBADAN.

For the economy to grow,

What went wrong with the Nigerian economy? How did we find ourselves were we are today? If you observe vividly, you will find out that Nigeria’s economy is monolithic in nature. I mean the economy depends on only one source of revenue, which is crude oil. And as such, if there is problem within the main source of the revenue, then definitely, the economy will suffer. That is the problem we are having today. You will observe that in the past one or two years, a barrel of oil has been selling for close to 150 dollars. But today, it is a little bit above 40 dollars. And there was even a time it went below 30 dollars. And that is the main source of revenue. 80 per cent of revenue comes from oil. The moment there is a problem with oil, there will be a problem with generation of revenue. And if revenue is reduced drastically as we have now, there is no way you can carry out the basic functions of governance. So, that is the problem we are having. Where do we go from here? It is of interest for us to look back at the structure of the Nigerian economy before now. Nigerian economy before independence depended on agriculture. And 80 per cent of revenue then came from agriculture. But the discovery of oil in the early 70s now led to the relegation of agriculture to the background. And that is the main problem Nigeria’s economy is having today. Discovery of oil has been a blessing as well as a curse. We have to go back to the basics – agriculture. It is agriculture that can give employment to 90 per cent of Nigerians. Even, when you want every other industry or sector to grow, you need agriculture because agriculture is the link. There is a link between agriculture and every other industry. Take for instance, manufacturing. The raw materials required for the manufacturing sector depends on agriculture. And as such, without the agricultural sector, there is no way the manufacturing sector can develop or thrive. And if the manufacturing sector cannot develop, there is no way the economy can move forward. As a result of this, you will find out that agriculture can gainfully employ 90 per cent of Nigerians if the right infrastructure is put in place. A lot of problems we are having today in terms of the manufacturing sector not producing up to productive capacity will not be there. Most of these raw materials that we are importing from other countries of the world can also be generated from here. That is why the government needs to tackle the problem of agriculture with all sincerity. How can the naira be strengthened? For any economy to have a very strong currency, that economy must be a productive economy. And when the industries are producing at their full capacity, they will be able to export. When they export, it generates enough revenue for government in terms of dollars. So, Nigerians are mostly into importation, not exportation. This should be discouraged. In essence, we are having balance of trade deficit. Import is a leakage to the economy. It takes away our hard foreign exchange. When you now look at it, demand for dollars is greater than supply of dollar. And in ordinary

the nation must invest in social institutions and build permanent institutional structures to tackle the nation’s problems as they arise.

What immediate steps should the government take to start revamping the economy? For the economy to grow, the nation must invest in social institutions and build permanent institutional structures to tackle the nation’s problems as they arise. The society should invest in agriculture, healthcare, good network of roads, and efficient and reliable transportation system, and tame financial instability. In the short run solutions, the Federal Government should try as much as possible to put an enabling environment for our industries to grow and produce. Ask me why? When they are producing at their full capacity, then export will increase. When export increases, we generate more money. I am not talking in terms of naira now. We generate more dollars. And that will have a multiplying effect on the economy. And beyond that, when you look at the Nigerian economy today, although, government is saying they have not devalued the naira, naira has been devalued; whether officially or not officially. Economic theory tells you that for any nation at all to devalue its currency, there are certain conditions that must be put in place. What is the elasticity of demand for your products that you are producing? And what is your propensity to import?

What is the elasticity? And economic theory tells you that the marginal propensity to export must be fairly elastic. (When you devalue your currency, it makes the goods being produced in your country cheaper compared to other countries of the world. And when your goods are very cheap, people will patronize you from other countries of the world and be demanding for your products. But the point is, would you be able to meet the demands of those people? No, because your factories are not producing at full capacity. So if at all you devalue the naira, you cannot gain the advantage of devaluation and that is what is happening now. Because if other countries of the world are demanding for our products, we cannot meet their expectations. And that is why economic theory tells you that for any country at all to gain the benefit of devaluation, marginal propensity to export must be fairly elastic. But here, it is fairly inelastic. So, government must be ready to put in place, the necessary conducive environment for our industries able to flourish. Also, the society must also invest in information technology and expose the youths to emerging technologies early in life because technology and education play vital roles in any sustainable economic growth and development process. And the society should control corruption; it has been noted that rampant corruption is a sign of institutional failure. All these affect economic activities, productivity and the health of the nation. More importantly, to prevent further erosion of confidence in the democratization process, the government should be transparent (transparency is negatively impacted by corruption and unnecessary politicization of issues). The legal system must be reformed to maintain or ensure the people’s trust in its rulings. And Nigeria should reform its decision-making process and involve the citizens in government decision-making process, and improve rural development programme. The political leaders should allow an increase in democratic participation in opposition, and promote good governance, improve national security and tame social crises, and tackle hunger and disease. Nigeria is not sinking! It needs just good governance and effective institutions as the panacea to her socio-economic problems because other issues revolve around them.

tion - true federalism, together with fiscal federalism and resource control by the owners of the resources. “In making specific recommendations for structural changes which will create an atmosphere of enduring peace, harmony and progress, there should be a clear division of power between the federal government and the state government. The federal government should exercise exclusive power in certain basic matters of general relevance and importance, leaning the bulk of the subjectmatter to the states, with a few in the concurrent list. A federal government should exercise powers exclusively only in the following areas: national defence, foreign relations, currency, exchange control, telecommunications, Immigration, Customs and Excise, copyright, patents and design, citizenship and naturalization and shipping in external waters. And other matters currently in the legislative list (federal) should be in the concurrent list (federal and state). The states and the federal government should exercise their powers in these matters in a manner that does not interfere with the jurisdiction of other authorities. In the following areas, the state must have exclusive authority except

that the federal government could lay down standards and guidelines and perhaps, make grants towards some of these subject-matters: agriculture and fisheries, education, health, labour, housing, local government, forestry, town and country planning, lands, state Judiciary, veterinary services. Similarly, the local government must be given autonomy in their own jurisdiction and state governments should hands off the control of local affairs. The Nigerian federal structure may not have succeeded in solving all its political ills, it is nonetheless, what has kept us united together. However, even non-federal systems are faced with similar problems bordering on threat to its very existence. Therefore, our inability to have stability in the political system, in spite of years of practising federalism should not be taken as bankruptcy of the system. In line with this, I come to the conclusion that the best form of government for Nigeria is the federal system with its basic tenets properly and carefully administered. A true federal system in Nigeria is possible if the basic tenets that define federalism are enshrined in the constitution,” he said.

Odubunmi

level demand analysis, when demand is greater than supply, what happens? The prize goes up. That is the genesis of the problem of Naira. The rate at which we are generating dollar, is far beyond the rate at which people are demanding for dollars. So, there is bound to be increase in the exchange rate. That is what is happening today.

‘Nigeria’s future lies in true fiscal federalism’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

very cheap, people will patronize you from other countries of the world and be demanding for your product. But the point is would you be able to meet the demands of those people? No, because your factories are not producing at full capacity. So, if at all you devalue the naira, you cannot gain the advantage of devaluation and that is what is happening now. Because if other countries of the world are demanding for our products, we cannot meet their expectations. And that is why economic theory tells you that for any Country at all to gain the benefit of devaluation, marginal propensity to export must be fairly elastic. But here, it is fairly inelastic. So, government must be ready to put in place, the necessary conducive environment for our industries to flourish. ‘True federal system is possible if the basic tenets that define federalism are enshrined in the constitution’ A public affairs analyst, Tijani Ahmed looked at the economy from a different perspective and says that true federal system will be an added advantage to the economy. According to him, the future of this country lies in only one direc-

News

Sunday March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

4•Poll killed, SSG, Wike’s aide, others arrested suspended in 4 LGAs •Commissioner beaten up

Dennis Naku

PORT HARCOURT

o fewer than four persons were feared killed during the parliamentary rerun election in Rivers State yesterday.

Also an unspecified number of persons, including the Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), Chief Kenneth Kobani and the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Special Projects, Mr. Cyril Dum Wite were arrested in their respective local governments. Meanwhile, election was suspended in four local government areas of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for security reasons. The four council areas are Andoni, Gokana, Khana and Bonny. The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, who disclosed this while speaking

with newsmen said INEC officials were prevented from entering the area with election materials. Ikoiwak also pointed out insecurity for the suspension of election in the four local government areas, adding that poll in the affected arreas would be rescheduled. Chief Kobani was arrested by soldiers in Kpor, headquarters of Gokana Local Government Area for allegedly disrupting election process in his area, according to security claims. On his part, Dum Wite was arrested by Policemen in Bori, traditional headquarters of Ogoniland in Khana Local Government Area of the state. Though, the circumstances surrounding Dum Wite’s arrest was not clear, the governor’s aide expressed surprise at his arrest. Dum Wite explained that he had gone to Bori to report the hijack of election materi-

als by some thugs when he was arrested. Also, seven others were arrested in Bori axis of Ogoniland for allegedly wearing fake security uniforms presumably to foment trouble during the process. Among those who lost their lives were a youth identified as Tambari, who was reportedly shot on the head by a soldier in Nonwa, Tai Local Government Area of the state. Details of what led to his death could not be ascertained as at press time. Also in Rumuokuta, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, a man who was on the queue to vote was allegedly hit by a stray bullet. He reportedly passed on while being rushed to the hospital In Eleme, a man was also killed, even though the report was still sketchy as at press time. The State Commission-

er for Environment, Prof Roseline Konya, was allegedly beaten to coma by security operatives, although reasons for the action could also not be ascertained as at press time. There were also reports of heavy shooting in Abalama, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of the state. Suspected militants shot sporadically and carted away election materials in Bakana, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. The hoodlums reportedly made away with election materials before a team of soldiers arrived the area. Also, in Oyigbo and Eleme local government areas, ballot box snatching was recorded. Generally, the legislative elections into the National and State Assembly witnessed low turn-out with reports of fake result sheets in Bonny and Opobo areas.

A 76-year-old Mrs Grace Wobo casting her vote at unit 5, ward 12 at Port Harcourt City Government Area, during the National and State Assemblies rerun election in Rivers State, yesterday.

APC suspends chairman, organising secretary in Kano

he All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kano State yesterday suspended its Chairman, Alhaji Haruna Doguwa, and the Organising Secretary, Alhaji Sunusi Suraj, for alleged gross misconduct.

Its Secretary, Alhaji Abbas Sani-Abbas, announced the suspension of the two officials when he addressed a news conference in Kano. Sani-Abbas said the party

took the decision in order to allow the seven-man disciplinary committee it set up to investigate the alleged misconduct. He said the party had appointed Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, the Special Adviser on Political Affairs to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje as the Acting Chairman of the party. Sani-Abbas disclosed

that the suspension was endorsed by the former and serving members of the National Assembly and all the chairmen of the 44 local governments in the state. The suspension, he added, was equally endorsed by 30 out of the 39 members of the House of Assembly, vice chairmen and secretaries of the local governments. He said the committee

had been given one week within which to submit its report to the executive committee of the party for further action. “If the disciplinary committee establishes any evidence to the fact that the suspended officials were culpable or not, it is left to the executive committee to take appropriate action,’’ he explained.

Election materials arrived late in many areas, including Port Harcourt city. Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared that INEC was not prepared for the rerun elections in the state, noting that the challenges that greeted the elections would have been avoided if the commission had prepared for the rerun elections. He regretted that some areas in the state do not have result sheets, which could lead to violence as the people suspected foul play. Speaking after he voted at Ward 9, Unit 7 in Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area on Saturday, Governor Wike said that information available to him indicated that INEC failed to take necessary measures to ensure credible polls. He said: “It is obvious that INEC was not prepared for the rerun elections. They (INEC) refused to tell members of the public the challenges they hard.” The accreditation process for the governor was cumbersome as two card readers were used before the governor was eventually passed to vote. Wike told journalists that in several polling units, information of scanned results were received, adding that there were cases of snatching of election materials in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Areas and Omagwa, noting that it was unfortunate that the challenges came up despite the time INEC had to prepare. He, however, gave a pass mark to the security agencies for maintaining law and order in the state. Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, said materials distributed at Opobo/ Okuro Local Government Area were tempered with, alleging that they were fake electoral materials. On his part, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi soon after voting at his country home in Ubima, ward 14, unit 8 alleged that APC members were being intimidated by members of the PDP. The Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, said the election was peaceful in Opobo, even as he commended security agencies and urged other local governments to emulate Opobo.

Meanwhile, the State PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah has condemned the arrest of the SSG and the governor’s aide (Dum Wite), as well as the treatment meted out to the state Commissioner for Environment, Prof (Mrs) Konya. Obuah alleged that soldiers of the Nigerian Army were led by Senator Magnus Abe to the INEC centres in Gokana and Khana to beat up PDP agents. Obuah in a statement by his media aide, Jerry Needam, alleged that soldiers hijacked all the election materials and are thump printing and writing results. The statement reads, “The Secretary to the State Government, Hon Kenneth Kobani, Special Adviser on Special projects to the State Governor, Hon Cyril Dum Wite and over 2,000 PDP across the state have been beaten, arrested and detained by the Nigerian Army, drafted to conduct the election by Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Magnus Abe and the APC.” The statement described the action of the military against Rivers people and members of the PDP as genocide. “The Nigerian Army disobeys two separate court orders, restraining them from participating in Rivers re-run election and in Rivers South-East Senatorial District of the State. The state PDP chairman condemned the action of the military and calls for a thorough investigation into their role in the election. But reacting to the allegations of ballot box snatching and rigging by the PDP, the APC said this was untrue. Secretary of the Greater Together Campaign Organization of the APC, Godstime Oluko in a telephone chat with our reporter said the areas alleged by the PDP are strongholds of the APC. Oluko said, “What the PDP is saying is absolute balderdash. There is no way the APC can indulge in ballot box snatching or connive with anyone. Khana, Gokana, Eleme and most of the areas they (PDP) are talking about are our (APC) stronghold,” he said. Meanwhile, collation of results were on-going at the state INEC office along Aba Road in Port Harcourt amid tight security as at press time yesterday with men of the Army, Police and NSCDC stationed at the entrance of the commission.

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News

March 20, 2016

Army to deploy troops in trouble spots to end killings in Agatu

hief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, says the Army will adjust deployment of troops as part of measures to end the killings in Agatu communities in Benue. Buratai, who said this during his visit to a mili-

tary tactical operational base, near Otukpo in Benue, expressed confidence that the mayhem would be contained. According to him, all logistics and other requirements have been provided for the operation. “The crisis here is un-

fortunate, the farmers and herdsmen fighting must not be condoned. I have heard from the commander about the existence of criminal elements who engage in cattle rustling. “We have observed the deployment of troops on

ground, we are adjusting our troops deployment to take care of the flashpoints and likely areas where the criminals are hiding, ’ ’ he explained. Buratai said measures had been adopted to ensure that the clashes did not repeat and the people

returned to their settlements. He, however, noted that the troops were cooperating with other security agencies to restore peace and order in the area. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Army chief met

with operation commanders on measures adopted to contain the crisis in the area. It recalls that clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Agatu and environs had claimed many lives and displaced several families.

Christians need to unite, says CAN president PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

L-R: Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), Stephen Oluwole Awokoya Foundation for Science Education (SOAFSE), Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and Founder/former Chairman, Diamond Bank Plc., Mr. Pascal Dozie, at the 21st Annual Lecture, Award of Honours and Postgraduate Scholarships of the Foundation, in Lagos, recently.

Telecoms companies call for secondary spectrum market

resident of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Lanre Ajayi, yesterday called for the establishment of a secondary spectrum market in the country ’s telecommunications industry. Ajayi , who said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos, contended that the Nigerian market was matured enough to have a secondary spectrum market. He said there were presently a large number of idle spectrums in custody of some operators, while numerous investors were yearning for spectrum to

roll out services. Ajayi said it normally took a lot of hurdles to retrieve such idle spectrum from the assigned owners. He said that it would, therefore, make sense to allow such owners sell to new buyers who might have the need for the spectrum. ‘ ‘These will benefit everyone concerned. It benefits the seller who may have challenges in rolling out after the acquisition of the spectrum. “It benefits the buyer who now has spectrum to roll out services. “It benefits the consumers who are now able to obtain services and it also benefits government that can now take in more taxes.

“However, participation at secondary market should be limited to those who obtained spectrum through competitive bidding like auction. “This will avoid a scenario where people use their contacts to obtain spectrum from government and sell in the secondary market, ’ ’ Ajayi said further. He said that the association had expressed deep concern about how the frequency spectrum was being managed in Nigeria. Ajayi said that the problem did not have to do with only the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) but other entities concerned with

frequency management, including the National Frequency Management Board (NFMB). He said that the NFMB was expected to proactively discharge its responsibility.

resident of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has stressed the need for Christians in the country to be knitted to ensure peaceful co-existence. Oritsejafor said this while addressing 87 delegates during the election of new executive members into the Niger State Chapter of CAN at the ECWA Goodnews Church, Minna. Speaking through the Director of National Issues, CAN, Elder Sunday Oibie, he noted that there was no better time for the church to pray for the unity of the country than now. On the Niger State election, Oritsejafor stated that so far it was the best election organised by CAN in the country. “If there is anytime

the church needs to come together, it ’s now. This is the time the church needs to be knitted together. Before now, the elections of CAN have the capacity to tear the church apart but God in His infinite mercy has been helping us to conduct the elections without any problem, ” Oritsejafor claimed. According to him, to avoid unnecessary petitions and court cases, it has become compulsory for the national body to be fully involved in all state elections. He charged the new leadership to embrace forgiveness and live in love. National Legal Adviser, CAN, Barrister Albert Uko, described the Niger State CAN poll as the most transparent conducted by the association in the country, while noting the need for the new exco to cooperate with the regional and national body for a better synergy.

Yobe deputy gov denies rift with boss

obe Deputy Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Ali, yesterday denied reports alleging that Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam had instigated impeachment process for his removal from office. This is contained in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Musa Alaraba, and made available to the News Agency of Nige-

ria (NAN) in Damaturu. It stated that the governor and his deputy enjoy robust and cordial working relationship with mutual trust and respect for each other. “In fact, Gov. Gaidam considers his deputy as a younger brother, close confidant and dependable ally. “The governor had continuously vested on his

deputy additional responsibilities on very key and important matters which have always been executed with high sense of loyalty and responsibility. ``It is on record that the governor had never had a cause to question the capability and loyalty of his deputy that will warrant such baseless and misleading insinuations, ’ ’ the statement added.

Tinted glass permit processing too cumbersome, say motorists

otorists in Lagos State have described as ``cumbersome ’ ’ the current online processing of permit for tinted vehicle glass. Some of the motorists, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday at the Ikeja Police Command, said the Police should have exempted motorists currently having the permits. A civil servant, Mr Eu-

gene Adaba, said the process of registration online was too cumbersome because “one has to restart the process all over, once a mistake is made. ``It took me days before I was able to print out the online registration form, because the process is too long and after that, you come again to queue up inside the sun at the command. “The police would have

made the form simple to fill online. It is very difficult, I can tell you, ’ ’ he said. A nurse, Mrs Sade Alabi, disclosed that the Police would have exempted holders of the permit and focus on new ones. “The Police should have concentrated on new applicants ’ registration and another thing is that the online registration is not easy to do, ’ ’ she com-

plained. “The period should be extended to enable people with factory-fitted tinted glass to obtain the documents, ’ ’ she told NAN. A businessman, Mr. Festus Odia, suggested that the registration should be left open all the time to those who need to acquire the permit. One of the Police officers screening the motorists told NAN on condition

of anonymity, that those complaining were motorists that were not serious about the permit. “This registration started since January. Many of them did not take it serious, until the dying minutes. “Many Nigerians do not take things serious until the last date for the exercise to be over, ’ ’ the Police officer told NAN. NAN reports that there

was a long queue of motorists at the Police State Command on Friday, waiting to be attended to by officers screening them. NAN also reports that on December 31, 2015, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, directed that holders of vehicles with tint permits should revalidate them with effect from Jan. 1, 2016, giving a three-month window until March 18.

NEWS

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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ASUU tackles Oshiomhole over demolition exercise

Henry Iyorkase MAKURDI

cademic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has convened an emergency regional meeting hosted by the Benue State University chapter chairman of the union, Dr. David Ikoni at

the instance of the national body in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

The meeting unanimously condemned the recent demolition of properties of its members at the University of Benin, Edo State at the instance of the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

FG urged to focus on aviation development, MRO facility Olusegun Koiki

he Federal Government has been advised to focus more attention on the development of aviation in the country.

Stakeholders in the sector also called for the establishment of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in the country to enhance development and reduce capital flight. The Managing Director of Toucan Aviation Support Services, Mr. Achuzie Ezenagu, made this call at the Nigerian Business Aviation Conference held in Lagos over the weekend. Ezenagu argued that aviation anywhere in the world could serve as a catalyst to economic development, including Nigeria. He advised the government to work with stakeholders and professionals in the sector in order to make the industry more vibrant and competitive. Ezenagu also said that the establishment of MRO facility in the country would save the country huge financial resources, help to train and employ indigenous aircraft engineers, make aircraft checks cost effective for Nigerian airlines and reinforce Nigeria as a hub in West Africa. He, however, noted that establishing of an MRO in the country would face some challenges, stressing that it would be costly. He posited that it required the co-operation of government and industry stakeholders to make its establishment possible. He said, “We should make the airport more accessible and make them more available. Government can encourage stakeholders to grow the sector by providing incentives. Government should also find a way to bring all the data from different sectors of the economy together because every sector works hand-in-hand with another. “MRO is costly to set up in Nigeria because of the heavy levies from govern-

ment, but this can be done. In our own company, we operate Embraer aircraft and we have stand-by engineers for line maintenance for the planes. We don’t have the facilities to get the checks done here, but government can partner with the private sector to establish a major MRO in the country.” Also speaking at the event, the former DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, said Nigeria was over-ripe to have such facility and noted that if 40 per cent of the funds spent on the re-modelling of airport facilities in the last few years were deployed by government to establish the facility, it would have been invaluable for the development of aviation in the country. Demuren noted that Nigeria loses huge resources to capital flight due to the absence of the facility in the country, adding that Nigerian-trained aircraft engineers couldn’t secure jobs locally. Demuren explained that for Nigeria to become the West African hub, it must have the MRO facility. The Nigerian Business Aviation Conference, which is held annually, is about the development of business aviation, which includes private charter services, cargo operations and others and how they help as catalyst to the nation’s economic development. In the opening speech, the Managing Director of EAN Aviation, organiser of the conference, Mr. Segun Demuren Jr., said the business aviation sub-sector of the industry had created about 5,000 jobs in the last five years. Demuren Jr. declared that unlike commercial aviation, business aviation or charter services operate into all the airports in the country and airstrips. He disclosed that as at 1988, Nigeria had only 15 privately-owned aircraft, 30 in the 1990s and by 2015, Nigeria has about 140 of such aircraft.

Dr. Ikoni, speaking to Sunday Mirror at the weekend after the zonal meeting comprising of ASUU-BSU, ASUU-ESUT, ASUU-FUAM, ASUU-KSU, ASUU-UNN and ASUUFUWUK frowned at “the brazen violation of their colleagues rights with impunity, an action carried out by Edo State Government on our members towards infringing on their

human rights”, saying “it is not acceptable to us.” The meeting was sequel to the earlier decision taken by the ASUU-NEC meeting held at Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, which discussed the affected properties belonging to the ASUU members in the University of Benin and the consequent pledge by Governor Adams Oshiomhole to compensate

the affected victims, but has reneged. Dr. Ikoni further lamented that a governor, whose duty was to ensure protection and guidance of the citizenry could suddenly refrain from a commitment, which he had from the onset entered into. He also stated that despite reneging on his promise, there are also in-

dications that more demolition of structures were still going on. The body also urged public-spirited individuals as well as corporate bodies to intervene in the on-going crisis with a view to calling on the government of Edo State to desist from arbitrarily demolishing structures of their members in the university.

L-R: Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal; House of Representatives Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari; Lagos State GovernorAkinwunmi Ambode and Senator Olamilekan Solomon, at the joint 32nd, 33rd, 34th Convocation ceremony and 40th Anniversary of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, yesterday.

NCC impounds illegal broadcast devices in Enugu

he Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) yesterday in Enugu impounded illegal broadcast and transmission devices valued at about N3.5 million in Enugu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seizure was made when the Anti-Transmission Piracy of the commission raided spots for the devices at Obiagu Road, Achara Layout and Ogui area of the city. NCC’s Director of Enforcement, Mr Augustine Amodu, told newsmen that the raid followed complaints by Multichoice Company of illegal transmission of its signals to homes by some

persons. He said that three “power houses” belonging to the illegal operators were destroyed, while 34 decoders, a television set, nine satellite dishes, two generating sets and two inverters were recovered during the clampdown. “NCC disconnected illegal connection of Multichoice Company signals in over 2,000 houses in Enugu. “The perpetrators bought decoders from Multichoice and transmitted it to neighbours through house-tohouse wiring. “They collected a fee ranging from N2, 000 to N3, 000 monthly, making Multi-

choice that owns the business to run at a loss. “The commission came down to Enugu to help curb this ugly menace of illegality which is very unfortunate,” Amodu said. He said that NCC had organized public awareness on the issue, but to no avail as perpetrators continued their activities. The director said the raid would serve as a deterrent to others who wanted to engage in the illegal business. He said that the commission was winning the fight against piracy in the country through enforcement and prosecution.

Amodu, however, said that no arrest was made in the raid in Enugu, because the perpetrators ran away and that the exercise was not done simultaneously in the state. The enforcement, he assured, would continue in other parts of the state, adding that the commission would conduct routine checks to ensure that those disconnected did not go back to the business. A Multichoice representative who pleaded anonymity said that the company got the information on the activities of the perpetrators through a routine exercise operation.

Expert raises alarm over declining family values Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

guidance counsellor, Dr. (Mrs) Bosade Ogunlana, yesterday raised an alarm over the declining moral values among the youths in the country, occasioned by poor parental care and family challenges.

Ogunlana, the publisher of Family Impact magazine, while speaking at a press conference to create awareness for Family Impact Vision and the upcoming Ibadan Family Impact Couple’s Cocktail slat-

ed for April 2, harped on the need for families to refocus in order to help reshape the society as a whole. Emphasising the importance of stabilising the family in the interest of the larger society, the founder of Family Impact Vision, said impacting homes positively resulted in building the nation. She stressed that the family which was the bedrock of the society was where moral values were promoted or demoted because it was the place where everything was modelled to the children;

good or bad She said, “These are crucial times when moral values are fast declining, especially in our nation. We not only see students cheat in exams, but parents buy exam question papers for their children. You can imagine what becomes of such children in future. “We see young ladies go into professional prostitution and they are being encouraged by their very own mothers. Just because the wrong baton has been passed on from a dysfunctional home; as such, the family impact vi-

sion is committed to a transformation agenda in homes. We believe that information leads to transformation. “We hold conferences tailored towards building homes, men’s conference, prayer conference, couples conference like this one we are about to have on April 2nd. The peculiarity of this particular event is that we are having ample time for question and answer, talk show with seasoned marriage counsellors and burning issues in homes will be addressed.

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Politics PROVIDING FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ISSUES

March 20, 2016

‘We must add value to our economy ’ –NLC President

P 37

IN PDP WE WANT THE ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR TO BE ALLINCLUSIVE. WE WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ’S ANTICORRUPTION CRUSADE, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE ONE-SIDED. CORRUPTION IN ANY SOCIETY IS EVIL AND SHOULD BE TACKLED. –PDP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, SENATOR ALI MODU SHERIFF

National Assembly and politics of MTN ’s ne

We ’re going to make teachers proud of their profession –Benue SUBEB boss P 38 Briefly Awori must play active role in politics –Balogun

he Awori indigenes of Lagos State have signified their intention to play active role in the politics of the state especially in the forthcoming local government election. In recent times, the Awori which is one of the original indigenes of Lagos state have had the cause to inform the royal fathers from their area on the need to play active roles in governance in the state rather than taking a passenger ’s seats. Addressing the mammoth crowd during a courtesy call by youth of Awori in Kosofe/Isheri- Ikosi land to the royal fathers in the area, the spokesman, Hon. Yaqub Ishola Balogun who incidentally is a local government chairmanship aspirant under All progressive Congress, APC for Ikosi/Isheri local council said ‘It is the Awori ’s turn ’ noting that for the past twenty years there has never been any visible development made by past government for the benefit of the indigenes and non-indigenes in the area . He said for the past sixteen years Ikosi/Isheri local council was founded there have been no basic facilities like recreational centers for youth, saying he intends to provide general hospital in the area through the effort and working relationship with professionals in the health sector

Benue INEC residential commissioner to address APC ’s petition

I Moolman

AYO ESAN

he House of Representatives and the Senate recently dabbled into the issue of N1.04 trillion fine imposed by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on the South African telecommunications giant, MTN. It would be recalled that the NCC last October slammed a fine of N1.04 trillion against MTN for continuing to retain 5.2 million unregistered subscribers on its network after the expiration of a warning grace period. The NCC said it arrived at the figure by multiplying 5.2 million by N200,

Dogara

which is the fine for retaining each unregistered subscriber on the network. The fine was reduced to N780 billion after series of pleas for leniency, while the network provider was given up to December 31, 2015 to pay up the fine. The reduction of the fine was arrived at by an inter-agency committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari, following a public apology by MTN. But to the utter surprise of many Nigerians, despite the reduction of the fine, before the expiration of the December 31, 2015 deadline, MTN took the Federal Government to court, challenging government and NCC ’s powers to impose the fine in the first place.

However, before the trial of the matter could proceed further and as part of the new conditions to pave the way for an out-of-court settlement of the matter, MTN withdrew the suit last month and paid N50 billion into Government coffers. The payment was seen, supposedly, as a sign of good gesture towards the settlement of the fine. The National Assembly ’s involvement is to know how the issue of the fine which was imposed late last year has been footdragging. It was gathered that the two houses of the National Assembly were not happy CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

ndependent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Residential Electoral Commissioner in Benue State, Prof. Istifanus Dafwang, has pledged to forward complaints of matters arising from last Saturday ’s senatorial rerun election in the south west senatorial district to the appropriate quarters . Dafwang made the declaration at the INEC,s State Headquarters in Makurdi, when the APC Senatorial candidate in the just concluded rerun elections, Comrade Daniel Onjeh alongside others protested the results of the elections in the state . In any case the appropriate quarters will be communicated hence i received a protest letter to that effect it will be presented to the appropriate quarters for necessary attention and considerations afterwards. He however thanked the people for the peaceful demonstration adding that where you are dissatisfied with the outcome of any electoral contest there are measures that ought to be taken to redress the wrongs.

Politics

March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National Assembly and politics of MTN ’s ne CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 with the way they were sidelined in the negotiation, manoeuvering and scheming that are trailing the payment of the fine by MTN. Penultimate week, the Senate committee on Communications organized a public hearing to review the progress made by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) regarding the implementation of the N1.04 trillion fine originally imposed on MTN for the violation of the commission ’s rules regarding SIM card registration. From the sitting which had in attendance, the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu; Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Professor Umaru Dambatta; Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ferdinand Moolman; Mr. Dayo Apata, representative of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Danladi Malami; Acting Director of Banking and Payment Systems Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris came startling revelations. It was discovered that MTN has been trying to influence officials of the Nigerian government in order to circumvent the payment of the fine. It was also gathered that they are almost succeeding in the effort. It was on the basis of that that MTN and the Federal Government began a negotiation for the settlement of the matter. At the Senate public hearing, details of what had happened regarding the effort to implement the fine came to the open. While speaking at the hearing, ViceChairman of Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Adeola Olamilekan (Lagos West) came with a document from the Office of the Solicitor- General of the Federation which detailed the commitment of MTN towards the settlement of the fine. According to the document , MTN committed that it will pay only N300 billion. A breakdown of the payment showed that, apart from the N50 billion already paid by the network provider into a recovery account of the CBN, MTN committed that it would pay another N100 via electronic transfers between December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2020. The proposal also includes another N80 billion proposed payment by MTN as a demonstration of its commitment to and confidence in the Nigerian economy, which would be subject to necessary regulatory approvals. This would come by the way if MTN Nigeria is committing to purchase N80 billion of Nigeria ’s sovereign debt issued on the international market in 2016 - 2017. Finally, MTN proposed to pay N70 billion through the provision of broadband access to the Federal Government of Nigeria (subject to excess capacity on MTN ’s fibre network) for the purchase of Government ’s e-initiatives (e. g. visa processing, public service, connecting schools, registration etc.).

Shittu

Zuma

IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT MTN HAS BEEN TRYING TO INFLUENCE OFFICIALS OF THE

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO CIRCUMVENT THE PAYMENT OF THE FINE. IT WAS ALSO GATHERED THAT THEY ARE ALMOST SUCCEEDING IN THE EFFORT.

Olamilekan said that with such a document, it was clear that the AttorneyGeneral and Minister of Justice, Malami was deceiving Nigerians into believing that negotiation with MTN on the issue of the fine was still on-going, knowing that the minister had concluded a criminal settlement terms that favours MTN to pay only N300 billion and clearly mortgaged the interest of Nigerians in the entire deal. Even though Apata who represented the AGF at the event argued that the document was just a proposal, which was still undergoing negotiations, Olamilekan insisted that Government had already concluded the deal with the network providers and was only deceiving Nigerians. He questioned the basis for the payment of the N50 billion by MTN to government if negotiation was still open. Another development that was revealed was that both the NCC and the Communications minister were kept out of the deal by the Presidency. Even, the process that led to the reduction of the initial fine of N1.04 tril-

lion to N708 billion did not in real terms involve the two public officers, it was gathered . Also, at the public hearing, both the minister and Dambatta distanced themselves from the negotiation which led to the payment of N50 billion by the MTN. They were emphatic when they revealed that the deal was done between Malami and MTN, including the decision to pay the said sum into a CBN recovery account on February 24. According to the two public officers, since MTN took government to court over the fine, both the minister and NCC were kept in the dark on the issue, insisting that it was only Malami who singlehandedly proposed the out-of-court settlement terms. Another shocking revelation in the entire deal was the decision to open a recovery account with the CBN. When the Senators asked why MTN was asked to pay the said N50 billion into a CBN account and not the NCC account, Apata who represented Malami at the parley denied knowledge of the directive. The lawmakers, it was gathered, did

not fail to show their displeasure at the action of the AGF who, all through the negotiations with MTN on the issue of the fine, failed to take other critical stakeholders like the NCC and the Communications minister along. Also, the House of Representatives last Tuesday condemned the non-appearance of the Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Mr. Ferdinand Moolman and walked out the representative of MTN, Mr. Austin Iyasere . The Telecommunications Committee had been mandated by the House to look into the N1.04 trillion settlement negotiations between MTN and the Federal Government. Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi (Oyo APC), chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications, decried the MTN ’s letter that referred the committee to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). He added that MTN ’s letter also referred the committee to the Central Bank of Nigeria and others to get the information it was seeking. The letter reads, ‘ …in this regard, we wish to refer you to the appropriate government agencies, specifically the NCC, Ministers of Communication and Justice and Central Bank of Nigeria. ‘These agencies are in a position to furnish your committee with relevant information on this issue. ’ A member of the committee, Hon. Ossai Ossai (PDP Delta) expressed his anger when he quoted sections 87 and 88 of the Standing Orders of the House. It states that the parliament could summon anyone before it and demand for information. Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma (Edo PDP) said that due to MTN ’s negligence, a lot of Nigerians had been killed because it failed to disconnect unregistered SIM cards which the insurgents used. He added that as much as Nigeria wanted investors, its law must be respected. He recalled President Muhammadu Buhari ’s comment saying that government was interested more in security rather than the fine imposed on it by the NCC. “MTN is treading on a tiger ’s back, we are here to represent our constituencies and we are talking about people ’s lives, this is no joke, ” he added. The chairman of the committee said MTN ’s CEO deliberately did not want to appear before the committee and summoned the CEO again to appear before it at a later date. Political analysts and watchers of political events in the country wondered why the National Assembly was not involved in the implementation of the fine and why the Presidency, through the attorney-general shrouded the negotiation of the fine in secrecy. They also wondered why the MTN has refused to pay the fine which was imposed on it due to its negligence and wondered why the Presidency would soft-pedal on the loan after the visit of the South African President, Jacob Zuma .

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March 20, 2016

Man in the News Stephen Oronsaye

Ex-top civil servant faces long, dark tunnel TUNDE ADELEKE

ormer Head of Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye was again in the news recently; this time, not in respect of his brilliant career in the civil service nor an outstanding innovation in the business world, but for alleged fraud. Oronsaye was docked over a secret account he allegedly opened for the Presidential Committee on Financial Accounts Task Force of which he was chairman under the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan presidency. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had dragged the former federal civil service boss to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja over the shady deal. EFCC ’s witness, Ms Ngunna Kakwagh, led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, O. Uket told the court how Oronsaye unilaterally operated an Access Bank account in the name of the presidential committee between 2012 and 2014 and received payments from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the account without the knowledge of other members of the committee. The former Head of Service of the Federation had earlier been arraigned before Justice Olatokunbo Goodluck on a fresh two-count charge bordering on fraud, but pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him. The Federal Government had accused Oronsaye of compromising his position as chairman of the presidential committee by illegally diverting N190m being part of the N240m grant the committee received from the CBN. Though Mr. Uket, the prosecution counsel had urged the court to remand him in prison pending the commencement of trial, Oronsaye ’s counsel, Mr. Joe Agi (SAN) opposed the prosecution ’s position arguing that the administration of the Criminal Justice Act, 2015 demands day to day trial after arraignment of an accused person. EFCC consequently called its first witness, Ms Kakwagh who gave a detailed account of how the nation ’s former Number One civil servant opened and operated the secret account to which he was sole signatory. “Further analysis showed that it was opened in 2012 with a request from Oronsaye to the bank manager of Access Bank which he signed as chairman. “The account was found to have had three financial transfers from CBN and N45m deposit by Oronsaye. “First transfer was N50m in October,

2012, second transfer, N90m in May, 2012 and third transfer was N9m in five places ”, Kakwagh revealed. She further disclosed that the petitioner, Stephen Jalada Alabi, a staff of the State House and secretary of the Oronsaye-led presidential committee and Francis Ifeanyi, head of Nigerian Financial all denied knowledge of the secret account. Alabi, on invitation by the EFCC was

said to have stated that the committee maintained an account with the Zenith Bank Plc. to which he is a co-signatory adding that he had no knowledge of any Access Bank account. The court had, however, admitted Oronsaye to N10m bail and two sureties at N5m each who must be at the director level in the federal civil service or retired directors who must be resident in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A chartered accountant and astute administrator, he was born as Stephen Osagiede Oronsaye on November 16, 1950 in Lagos to parents of Uhumwonde and Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State origin. Oronsaye who was appointed Head of Service of the Federation in June, 2009 joined the federal civil service in December, 1995 as director of Special Duties in the Federal Ministry of Finance. He trained with the firm of Peat Marwick Cassleton Elliot, 1973-1978 and qualified as an accountant in 1978; he became a partner in the firm in 1989. The retired technocrat was appointed principal private secretary to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, an equivalent of permanent secretary position and was later appointed permanent secretary, State House, an unusual appointment since he was not considered as a civil servant. In 2006, Oronsaye headed the committee on the review of Civil Service Rules and Financial Regulations. He was also appointed permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance on August 20, 2008. Oronsaye, on assumption of office as Head of Service swung into action with an energetic programme of reform immediately. Among his achievements were merger of the administrative and accounting functions of the State House; computerization of the processes and procedures of the State House and personnel records, accounts access and controls for the offices. As Head of Service, he established a new tenure policy limiting the terms of permanent secretaries and directors to eight years and told the newly appointed permanent secretaries that they would be subjected to continuous assessment and that their tenure could be terminated at anytime for poor performance. In a bid to curb inefficiency and boost performance, Oronsaye directed that televisions sets be removed from all civil service offices on the basis that viewing of television during office hours lowered productivity, just as he announced plans in 2009 to train 4,600 civil servants by 2010 to prepare them for higher challenges that came with the new tenure policy and to remove stagnation from the civil service. He headed the committee that pruned down the number of federal parastatals to 102 under the Jonathan presidency to cut government spending and block wastages. Oronsaye retired on 16th November, 2010 on attaining the statutory retirement age of 60 years.

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Wellness YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES March 13, 2016

Good hygiene key to preventing dysentery –Expert

ODINAKA URUAKPA

egular observance of hygiene such as washing the hands after using the toilet, before handling, cooking and eating food, before handling babies, and feeding young or elderly people according to experts could reduce the occurrence of dysentery and other related diseases. When people fail to maintain the hygiene practices mentioned above they could be at risk of been infected with dysentery, and likely find themselves in hospitalized if the ailment is taken lightly and not well treated. In an interview with Sunday Mirror, Dr. Chinedu Durugo, a medical practitioner with the Good Shepherd medical center, Ikeja Lagos defined Dysentery as diarrhea or bowel movements (stools) that are loose and watery which contains blood. He added that symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain and rectal tenesmus i.e. a feeling of incomplete defecation. “Dysentery can be caused by a variety of infections, and it is classified as a gastroenteritis disease. The mechanism is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon. The most common form of dysentery is bacillary dysentery which is typically a mild illness, characterized by symptoms such as mild stomach pains and frequent passage of stool or diarrhea. These symptoms normally come up after one to three days and usually cease after a week. The frequency of urge to defecate, the large volume of liquid feaces passed, and the presence of mucus, pus and blood depends on the pathogen that is causing the disease. In some caustic occasion, symptoms like severe abdominal pain, fever, shock, and delirium can be present. “In extreme cases, dysentery patients may pass over one litre of fluid per hour. More often, individuals will complain of nausea, abdominal pain, and frequent wa-

tery and usually foul-smelling diarrhea, accompanied by mucus and blood, rectal pain, and fever. Vomiting, rapid weight-loss, and generalized muscle aches sometimes also accompany dysentery. On rare occasions, the amoebic parasite will invade the body through the bloodstream and spread beyond the intestines. In such cases, it may seriously infect other organs such as the brain, lungs, and the liver ”, he revealed. The medic further revealed that dysentery also results from viral infections, bacterial infections, or parasitic infestations, adding that pathogens typically reach the large intestine after entering orally, through ingestion of contaminated food or water, oral contact with contaminated objects on hands among others. “Each specific pathogen has its own mechanism or pathogenesis, which may eventually result in damage to the intestinal lining, leading to the inflammatory immune response. This can cause elevated temperature, painful spasms of the intestinal muscles (cramping), swelling due to water leaking from capillaries of the intestine (edema), and further tissue damage by the body ’s immune cells and the chemicals, called cytokines, that are released to fight the infection. The presence of these pathogenesis can also result to impaired nutrient absorption, excessive water and mineral loss through the stools due to breakdown of the control mechanisms in the intestinal tissue that normally remove water from the stools and in severe cases the entry of pathogenic organisms into the bloodstream ”, he stated. Durugo said microorganisms, such as bacteria of the genus Shigella in the bloodstream secrete substances known as cytotoxins, which kill and damage intestinal tissue on contact. He added 5that these viruses directly attack the intestinal cells, taking over their metabolic machinery to make copies of themselves and attack the cells. “If shigella is suspected and it is not too severe, let-

ting it run its course may be reasonable usually less than a week. But if the shigella is severe, antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin or TMP-SMX may be useful. However, many strains of shigella are becoming resistant to common antibiotics, and effective medications are often in short supply in developing countries. If necessary, a doctor may have to reserve antibiotics for those at highest risk for death, including young children, people over 50, and anyone suffering from dehydration or malnutrition ”, he said. He recommended washing of hands after using the toilet, after having contact with an infected person, and if possible regularly throughout the day. People need to wash their hands before handling, cooking and eating food; they need to also wash their hands before handling babies, feeding young or elderly people. We must also ensure we wash our hands when we have contact with someone known to have dysentery to a minimum. It is advisable to wash laundry on the hottest setting possible and avoiding sharing items such as towels and face cloths with others. If w observe all these, we can prevent been infected with the disease. Durugo revealed that Dysentery can be treated or managed by maintaining fluids and by using Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT). “If treatment through intake of fluids and ORT cannot be adequately maintained due to vomiting or the profuseness of diarrhea, hospital admission may be required for intravenous fluid replacement. In ideal situations, no antimicrobial therapy should be administered until microbiological microscopy and culture studies have established the specific infection involved. When laboratory services are not available, it may be necessary to administer a combination of drugs, including an amoebicidal drug, to kill the parasite and an antibiotic to treat any associated bacterial infection ”, he submitted.

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Praise & Worship E-mail:cossyodi@yahoo.com G-mail:ranke2015@gmail.com

EDIFYING GOD Sunday, March 20, 2016

Set your house in order

Heed God’s instructions and live 17

Defining role of the Church in politics

QUOTE It is true that Christianity enjoys legal privileges that insulate it from state interference in its activities, but the current events in the country show that the Church is betraying the trust the constitution has in it.

–Prof Kunle Macaulay

The Lord’s great commission and Nigeria 32

14 & 15

Cover

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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Defining role of the

he Church and the State can be said to be two realms that are inseparable because they concern the same subjectmatter, namely people i. e. human; male and female, who are both material and spiritual.

It is common practice or even the expectation of the people for religious leaders to intervene or call to order, the excesses of politicians when they derail in the act of governance. Religious people, both individually and collectively, in many climes of the world, have taken up the challenge and responsibility, both in times past and currently as they bare their views on political, social and economic thinking and action. When it comes to the Church addressing political issues, there is a long history of that in the United States. Progressive houses of worship were recorded to have spoken out against political leaders like Jim Crow laws in the 1960s, and the same can be said of countries in Africa such as Nigeria where a crop of outspoken religious leaders had come up in the past to criticize the excesses of political leaders, military regimes inclusive. It is not uncommon today to hear liberal religious leaders address issues like corruption in corridors the corridors of power, insecurity, action on living wage and a host of other worrisome factors confronting the nation. On the conservative side, we often hear these clerics speak out against legal abortion and support for marriage equality. Though some of these pastors still show concern, as they go on crusades with regards to so many moral issues like legalizing same-sex marriage and others that have continued to prop up in these times and days; it is baffling that so much is still wrong in our political life, if not religious too. Unlike what was obtainable in the past, these days, most people do not regard or see men of God, as some clerics are called, as the moral voice in politics and a force in society that can check some of the more the unwholesome actions of the political elite. Many claim that these people who represent the Church (clerics), have totally shifted from being the conscience of the nation, so to say, and they themselves have either become active participants in politics or are out to speak in favour of one political candidate who is either their choice candidate or benefactor over another during elections. This notwithstanding, some people still believe that religion is the only thing that can impose some order on any national system. These people seem unfazed by what American religious writer, Rob Boston described to be the reality on ground, as he claimed that religion as it is today, has never actually succeeded in taming the darker side of politics. Boston noted that when the two merge (church and politics), the Church usually ends up being dragged down into the political muck. Nevertheless, many retain a childlike

Christian Worshippers in session

From time immemorial, the Church as an esteemed entity has always had influence on matters of state in many nations of the world; but with the recent trend and rate at which moral decadence seems to be on the rise in the world today, one cannot, but questions the rate of involvement of the church in politics and seriously probe if it (the church) still holds the high moral grounds it was known for. ODINAKA URUAKPA speaks to clerics to get their views on this. belief in the magical powers of faithbased solutions for a range of problems, state-based ones inclusive. These category of people, stubbornly believe that religion and religious leaders constitute the only force that can guarantee good behaviour in people and political office leaders alike. The idea of a truly secular ethic, and the idea of decent behaviour outside the confines of organized faith; the idea that one can be, as the American Humanist Association puts it, ‘Good without God,’ is alien to many Christians. The thinking of a good number of Christians is that any given nation, whose political system is in a mess right now, would be even worse without religion. Thus, here, the church is regarded as the moral voice in political matters and is expected to express her views on day-to-day basis in the social and political life of a nation. All these said, the question that lingers in the mind with the current worldly situation is; is the church still holding the high moral ground? According to Monsignor Gabriel Osu, Director of Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, it is necessary for the Church to be involved in the political life of a nation, adding that the Church has every right to be

It is commonly said that man is a political entity. Whatever may be his religious leaning, it is difficult to expunge man entirely from politics because it has to do with the way his

material life is managed.

Christians

are required to be actively involved as citizens of the place they domicile.

interested in how the society is governed because it (the church) is also part of the larger society. “It is commonly said that man is a political entity. Whatever may be his religious leaning, it is difficult to expunge man entirely from politics because it has to do with the way his material life is managed. Christians are required to be actively involved as citizens of the place they domicile. They are expected to be obedient and subject to the state, as long as such is in tandem with the word of God. The Church is very interested in the spiritual and temporal well-being of man who is also a spirit being. For man to be in sound health, the spirit and the body must be in sound condition. To this end,

it is imperative that the Church should be interested in how the society is governed, since she is also part of the larger society. But in doing so, she must act with constraint in order to maintain her dignity and sacredness as the vessel through which man unites with the divine”, he said. On the active involvement of clerics, particularly Catholic priests in politics, Osu said: “The Church does not usually sponsor candidates to political offices; neither does she openly canvass for candidates. She does not endorse or oppose candidates. Rather, she seeks to form the conscience of our people so that they can examine the positions of candidates and make choices based on

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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Church in politics Catholic moral and social teaching. But the Church cannot fold its arms and watch government come out with anti-people policies or make laws that do not edify the dignity of man. That is why she maintains communication with public officials who make decisions everyday that touch issues of human life and dignity. For instance, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria periodically comes out with suggestions and reactions bordering on the state of the nation. You cannot buy over the Church.” Similarly, he revealed that Catholic priests are not allowed to be partisan or seek political offices, adding that those who try to do so would have to temporarily suspend their priestly activities, as he argued that there is no way clerics can be focused and unbiased if they hold political office. Priests are meant to be fathers of all, so they need to be focused on their religious duties and avoid being involved in things that would distract them, as well as make them biased in their dealings with the people. In case of any unwarranted occurrence in this regard, the Church also has internal mechanism through which it sanctions any of its erring members”, he revealed. Asked if the church still holds the high moral ground in the way of intervening or calling to order, erring political office holders, Osu said: “Speaking for my church i. e. the Catholic Church, she still holds firm moral ground on issues pertaining to the state. Since the country’s independence till date, she has remained consistent in her views as can be seen from the various communiqué of the CBCN. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she would never shy away from her responsibility as the conscience of the nation.” Bishop Oscar Osai, General Overseer, City of Refuge Church, Lagos claimed that just as the Church cannot be separated from society; so also can it ( the Church) not be separated from politics. He added that the Church should be an avenue of changing the institutions of the world to that of God. “The Bible states that the Lord knoweth them that is His, and let those that knoweth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Iniquity has always been a threat to God and God’s kingdom right from ages past; it didn’t start today. People may want to argue that there are more carnal things being done in the world today than in the past. It could make sense, but it is not a strong ground to say that the Church is no longer holding the high moral ground as it used to be in the past. God has always worked with better minds, in every given instance; God isolates those He uses to achieve His purpose. God never works with majority. The point, therefore, is that there are those people God wants to use to change the institutions of this world for them to

be institutions of our God. The reality is righteous people are the salt of the earth, and until salt mixes with food, that salt is useless. Therefore, we cannot separate the church from society; we cannot separate the church from politics. We are in the world; the only thing is that the world should not overtake us. We are not of the world, but we are in the world. We need to practice our faith in the world. God is looking for people who can take the sins of Nigeria and make it righteous, just like serving God is righteous. God is looking for men that will take the economy of Nigeria and make it a credible economy, and respected in the comity of nations. God is looking for people who will take fashion like the Miss Nigeria thing and celebrate them. I must tell you that the devil is sitting on top of that mountain, but God is waiting for people who will go and turn such things around for Him. So, we cannot start separating ourselves from these things, claiming that we are righteous, and therefore, see politics as dirty and we are not going to be involved; that is not God’s purpose”, he claimed. Quoting the Isaiah 33 verse 22, which he claimed is the foundation scripture with which John Calvin started democracy as a system of government, Osai revealed that democracy originated from God. “I want us to know it categorically that democracy originated from God. Check Isaiah 33 verse 22 which states that God is our judge, God is our king, and God is our law giver. Those are the arms of government. That is the foundation scripture with which Calvin started democracy as a system of government. Governance is of God. There is no king that can exist, except God lets him. If kings can be ordained by God, are we saying God cannot ordain His own people to be kings? So, we need to understand; it is just a case of understanding. Righteousness renews God’s standards and we will get there in Jesus name”, he prayed. Defining politics as the art of governance, Pastor Femi Oni claimed that human authority is needed to regulate the excesses of individual persons and to direct people’s energies towards the attainment of the common good of a nation. Politics is based on the fact that individuals, families and various groups that compose the civic community are aware of their own insufficiency. Many people make up the political community and these may be inclined to diverse ways of doing things. Hence, human authority is needed to regulate the excesses of the individual persons and to direct people’s energies towards the attainment of the common good. Politicians are associated with lies, corruption, complaining about issues, noise making and all kinds of undesirable and derogatory references, espe-

I want us to know it categorically that democracy originated from God. Check Isaiah 33 verse 22 which states that God is our judge, God is our king, and God is our law giver. Those are the arms of government. cially in this part of the world. Owing to this and other things that politics is associated with, people and institutions and needed to check the excesses of political office holders, as well as call them to order, and who are better than the Church and religious leaders to do this? To understand the Church’s role or involvement in politics, I want us to know what religion is. We can define Religion as a system of beliefs and practices by which a group of people interpret and respond to what they feel is sacred and supernatural elsewhere. Religion is sacred, but this sacredness is relative, in the sense that it is the people who give or identify the sacredness of something, that can be an object or a person. This is to say that, it is the people who make things or persons sacred. Religion can also be defined as unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things that unite people into one moral community called a Church”, he submitted. Oni claimed that religion is the ultimate concern in every society, as the church is regarded as the conscience of any given nation. He added that this ultimate concern has a social dimension as well. “From a sociological point of view, re-

ligion is pragmatic in every society. The function of religion in these societies is that religion forms the basis, the core or the binding thread of all human activities. It is therefore, not easy to delink religion from political, social and psychological life of a particular community. The church will continue to remain the conscience of every given nation, even as things continue to derail the more in the world. No matter how bad things are, God will continue to raise among His chosen ones, those who would raise their voice to condemn immorality in the world. I must tell you that the church is still holding the high moral ground it is known for till date, especially in our part of the world. In every worship centre you go to, the leaders preach against corruption, violence, and every other immoral act committed by politicians and citizens alike. When the governments of some countries were pressing for the legalization of gay marriage, Nigerian and African clerics and churches were at the frontline of the war against such an immoral and ungodly act. This and other instances have cropped up where the church has continued to hold unto and maintain godly and high moral ground at every given time”, he said.

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From the

Pulpit

Set your house in order

Sunday, March 20, 2016

General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, in this piece enjoins Christians to set their house in order. Excerpts:

osh. 24:15 says, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”

Brethren, it is very important that we should have concern of what becomes of our souls and that of other Christians after this world. This is because lots have gone astray and deviated from their professed faith as a result of the things of the world. We should be disturbed by the situation of the multitude who have given themselves over to money and the things of the world. Paul the Apostle showed concern when Demas a fellow disciple in the workforce deserted him because of the love of this world. 2Tim 4:10 “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.” Paul had the concern that Demas has forsaken him because of the love of the things of the world and that was really the concern of the Apostles. We should be concerned about the behaviour of the members of our local church, friends, relations and people around us. We should be bothered for the misuse of the temple of God as our Master Jesus Christ who trying to correct the negative behavioural activities of those in the temple decided to drive them out of the church. John 2:13-16, “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise” Many have given themselves to the things that do not profit their souls thereby endangering their souls. The Almighty God entrusted every one of us with a soul of inestimable worth and preciousness, capable of being eternally saved or lost. And the gain of the whole world cannot be comparable with the loss of one precious soul. The soul loss is irrecoverable. Mark 8:36-37 says “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?36 what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” If you are in the church and have loosed focus of heaven which is the primary purpose of being in the church and now have focus your energy in what to eat, wear, and how to get the world, then you have missed the focal point. This is because those things are secondary things, for the soul is more important. The souls of those around you (wife, husband, relations) and the members of the church are more important than the whole world. So, we ought to put our houses vis-à-vis our souls

in order to avoid the wrath of God. The house of god expliaebd and reason 1Cor. 3:16-17 says, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” Our hearts and that of the people around us and our physical church, are the temples of God. The heart of all the people around you are the temple of God and the Lord is saying today ‘set your house in order’ You are the temple God, even your wife, husband, children are the temples of God, including the members of your house-care fellowship and local church. If that been the case, what attention are you giving it so that the temple of God will be in the form it ought to be. If your house is in order, your soul is in order then the house of God will be in order. But if not, God is telling you through this message to set your house in order. Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” The scripture says, it is in Him that we live and have our beings. This means, we are the house of God for God lives inside us and we live inside Him. He is the original Fountain of our life. That we live at all is His gift and our continued and prolonged existence is also His gift. He lives in every one of us, so where we are, there He is. We cannot separate from Him. Mathew 18:20 says, ‘For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.’ So here we are now, God is here because all of us here gathered in His name, so this is the house of God. Therefore, your house where you gather your children and wife to pray is the house of God. And it is your duty to keep the house of God in order. Nothing should be left undone to ensure the house of God is set in order. Jn 2:3-16 says, “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of mer-

chandise” This teaches us that our house and the evil going on in our heart irritate God for it is the house of God. So, we must do something quickly in other to set our house in order. Many people, who allow their hearts to be occupied with covetousness, love of money and things of this world are polluting the house of God in them. It is a pity to see many Christians’ heart filled with money changers, covetousness and yet they want to win souls, preach and that is why the Lord is asking you today to set your heart in order first. Some churches today have turned the house of God into business centres, and their members minds are fixed in money instead of what will make them get to heaven at last. Our Master Jesus Christ used cane and sent the money changers away from the temple, likewise we are expected to go and eradicate all the distractions in our houses, heart, offices that are making us not to pay attention to the work of God. This we must do for we should be jealous of the house of God, for the house of God must not be misused by people who claim to be Christians, leaders, pastors. Beloved, how do you see what is happening in your local churches, houses, offices and market places? How do you see the life your wife, husband, children, friends etc are living? Are you seeing Christianity in them, are their lives bringing Glory to the house of God? What is happening in their lives, is there holiness and righteousness in your house, are your house members interested in the things of God. Do they go to church in time and listen to sermon, if not, God is asking today that you set your house in order. Brethren, it’s very necessary that you put to check your wife, husband, children, yourself, and know if they are saved, sanctified and are making efforts to go to heaven, ready for rapture, serving God and doing the will of God. If you find them wanting in any of the above, set your house in order, bring them to godly focus. Be concerned about what they do and how they do it in the house of God. The Lord is telling us today to set our house in order, who knows whether it is because the trumpet is about to sound. He loves us and has seen our commitment, labour, and wants us to set our house in order before the trumpet shall sound. We must not allow the house of God to be defiled instead we must begin the purification from ourselves then affect the lives of those around us which includes our local church members. We should always keep the temple of God (our heart) pure which is our house and the house of God. Brethren, let us keep to purity for this is the injunction of God. Keep your wife pure, keep the Children, friends and members of the church pure. Purity should be our watch word. So, let’s set our house in order. Mathew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” The pure in heart will spiritually see God in Pastor Muoka this life and im-

mediately in the life to come. Those whose minds, motives, and principles are pure, and who seek not only to have the external actions correct, but desire to be holy in heart, and are so shall gloriously experience God in this life. We don’t know when the rapture will take place, so, we are advised to set our house in order. We should sanctify all that are around us and keep to purity all the things that surround us so that none shall miss rapture. And also through purity, we can produce pure and holy brethren. If we are pure, and the church is pure, when we invite somebody to the church, that person shall be established in purity. An unholy thing cannot produce a holy thing. So let us set our house in other. If you don’t care about the life of your husband, wife, children that are living in iniquity, you will definitely be affected. If your husband is not truly born again, your children are not born again they will make you to be angry and commit sin. When you come to sing your alleluia song, they will make caricature of you, and will do everything to make you uncomfortable, therefore, set your house in order. Remember God is holy and having Him in us demands a duty from us which is maintenance of holiness. 1Peter 1: 15-16 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”. If God is holy, it also entails His house must be holy. That is why He commands us to adapt to His nature of holiness. Our Lord Jesus Christ dealt with those defiling the house of God, because God’s house must be holy. And when He sent them out of the temple, the Scripture says, the lame and the blind were healed, why, because immediately the house of God was cleansed, the power of God came down to heal and deliver them. Matt. 21: 12-14 states, “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them” As soon as the temple was cleansed, the power of God to heal and deliver was availed for the sick and as many as were suffering from one ailment and another were healed. Our expected response & danger of neglect Having known what God requires from us as custodians of His house/temple, we should purify ourselves, our hearts and ensure purity on every side. We must begin from ourselves, and make sure there is purity within and outside so that we can be able to purify others. We must also ensure the purity of those with us and around us, in the house of God and in our offices by the life we live and the word of God we preach. We must show them the way to Christ, to be saved. 1Thes 4:3-4 states, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour” God has called all, including those in the church into holiness.

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From the Pulpit

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Heed God’s instructions and live

General Overseer of Omnipotence Mission of God, Prophet Joshua Daramola Oloruntimilehin, in this admonition, advises worshippers to heed God’s instructions. Excerpts:

t becomes imperative for people to thank and appreciate God for allowing them to see the day, each time they wake up in the morning. But as they wake up, they wake up with problems and difficulties. Every person is born with problems and lives with them. So, each person is bound to face challenges and difficulties in this world. A person faces physical difficulties, family and children problems, husband or wife difficulty, feeding and drinking problems and so on.

Therefore, nobody lives on this earth without facing any difficulty. Even, a wise scholar once said that nobody is happy from morning till night; no matter the position or status of the person, he or she would experience sadness before the end of the day, regardless of his or her social status; whether rich or poor. Therefore, people cannot be alive without sadness. Some people would be saddened when they look at the problems confronting them. I pray that whatever sadness people are experiencing would come to an end in Jesus name. Brethren, God provides blessing and devil provides sadness for people. If evil befalls a person, definitely devil has a hand in the evil. Death has two types, godly and evil deaths. Some years

back, I went to a burial ceremony of an old woman. She had nine children (8 male and 1 female). All the children are well to do professionals. The death of the woman was godly because the children joined hands together to give their mother a befitting burial. The children expressed their satisfaction that their mother had a pleasant and joyful life. A lot of people testified to the goodness and generosity of the woman. She rendered help and assistance to the needy and the poor. The late woman had good children because she trained her children well. In fact, the Bible says in the book of Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it” Therefore, the death of the woman was godly because she died at old age and in the arms of her children. Meanwhile, some people died young without attaining old age. Their death is that of evil. What is, therefore, evil death? This is a death resulting from disobedience; for example, a diabetic person has been instructed to abstain from eating starchy food and soft drinks, but he or she failed to heed the medical instruction. If such a person dies, then the death is that of the devil. The person has committed a sin and the Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Many people do what they like against medical, spiritual and divine instructions. If they should die in the course of their disobedience, then their death is satanic. Similarly, people that embark on ungodly journeys are bound to face the consequence(s)

which might lead to death. Imagine the man of they do not receive because their motives are God from Judah who preferred to obey and take satanic. the advice of the old prophet, he ate and drank in The Bible says in James 4:3 “you ask and do the house of the old prophet and refused to obey not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may God’s instruction. spend it on your pleasure”. He was killed by lion (I King 13:1-32). Some men The blessing of God brings about joy and and women misuse their bodies sexually. At old peace while sadness that comes from Satan age, they become sick and die, the death is satanic. brings about human destruction. Imagine the Similarly, men who are heavy drunkards and fail blessing of God for Abraham as stated in Gento desist from alcoholism, if they die from the esis 12:2 -3 “I will make you a great nation: I will drunkenness, their death is satanic. bless you and make your name great and you Those that are in haste and eager to get rich s h a l l be a blessing...” So the reward of quick, and get involved in money ritual, If they God and Satan are blessing die young due to their involvement in the act, then and destruction respecthey have died in a satanic manner. tively. A traitor that betrays would not live long. So, a traitor that dies, such person’s death is satanic e. g. Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26:14 – 16, 27:1 – 11). For further enA wife who betrays her husband and vice versa, quiries call: would not last long. Brethren, Satan gives people 08023020108, money. Currently, many people of this country 08058110288, are spending satanic money including anointed 08023991354. men of God. There are some money policies given www.facebook. to men of God that are satanic, but the monies cancom/pastorolorunnot be rejected because nobody could substantiate timilehin. the source of the money. Truly, many politicians embezzle public funds meant for development of the society. Eventually, if such politicians use the stolen money to create jobs for the jobless, that job is satanic. So, at time when people request from God, Prophet Oloruntimilehin

Sweet lies (2)

weet lies are sweet trap ends! Deadly sweet lies! The world loves lies! The world seems to reward sweet lies, at least in the short run. “Water, water, water everywhere, not any drop to drink,” exclaimed English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner written in 1798. With so much information overload in our world today, there is a lamentable dearth of dependable information out there! In frustration, someone blurted: “Sometimes, choosing the sweet lies in life can help you more than the bitter truth! Another concluded that when people assure you “it will get better;” it’s a lie. It doesn’t get better. You just get used to it! “Let God be true, but every man a liar!” (Rom 3:4). Sweet lie is when someone who doesn’t truly have interest in you makes you fall hard for him or her and you end up with a broken heart” (www.urbandictionary.com). Sweet lie is a lie I like that makes me want to be deceived. Someone cynically demanded: “Keep telling me sweet lies. No, don’t stop telling these sweet, sweet lies!” In the long run, one finds out that sweet lies constitute hatred; hatred for oneself and hatred for others! The Bible insists: “Anyone who hates his brother is a liar” (1 John 4:20). Many family relationships are false. Many people live together as if they were married, but without the sanction of marriage vows. Others have taken marriage vows, but have made themselves liars by

breaking the marriage covenant. You thought you found love, but it’s all just a lie! All those sweet whispers, sweet kisses, sweet nothings leave you more lonely and empty! What you thought was true love is sweet lie! Some have ended up married to the devil-incarnate. They are stuck in a web of lies and in a quagmire of regrets. Their futures are in jeopardy. Their unfortunate offspring are doomed to a family as limiting as a prison-house. Sweet lies became worst nightmares! Beres Hammond in Sweet Lies said: “You fell for one of them, sweet lies, the ones you don’t want to believe in. When your heart’s not hearing what your brain is saying and you’re weak in the knees. Another sweet lie. The kind you don’t want to believe. When the heart’s in doubt you got to stay out.” Don’t fall for lies camouflaged as love. The sad commentary is that there is falsehood in the church, almost as much as is found in the world! Contemporary Christians are no longer people of truth. A solid sense of truth is floundering in religious circles. Truth has been “vaporized by critical theories, obscured by clouds of euphemism and jargon, outpaced by humor and hype, overlooked for style and image, and eroded by advertising,” opined Os Guinness. There is truth decay. Ministerial training has become marketingspecialized, professionalized, and dry. Holiness is being replaced by prosperity gospel and therapeutic and managerial church growth principles. Truth is cast to the ground in search of popular theology and a crowd. Rebecca and her favorite son, Jacob, employed sweet lies to deceive patriarch Isaac and defraud Esau. The results were

harvests of deceit, discord, dissonance, destruction, and devastation (Gen 27, 32-33). Jacob’s sons exchanged lies for lies, deception for deception, and reaped bloodshed and dislodgement (Gen 34). Judah lied to Tamar about her levirate marriage and he got caught in his own web of lies (Gen 38). Prince Amnon employed sweet lies to desecrate his half sister, Tamar, and both destinies were terminated (2 Sam 13). The old Samarian prophet served the young intern-prophet a sweet stew of falsehood that led to lions tearing the unsuspecting protégée (1 Kings 13). Demas was attracted by sweet lies to the point of deserting the mission with Apostle Paul (Col 4:14; 2 Tim 4:10). Sweet lies produce the wolves in sheep’s clothing in every congregation (Acts 20:29). They are tares, but unfortunately given room to continue to grow among the wheat until the final harvest when God shall unmistakably separate the wheat from the tares (Matt 13:24-30, 3643). They are “clouds without water” (Jude 12). They are mirages and instruments of iniquities (Rom 6:13). They are unsanctified “saints” who pollute everything for everyone! We all need to repent for our own untruthfulness. That is what the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah did (Isa. 6:5; Jer. 8:14; 14:7, 20). We need to be people of the truth. One of the memorable characters in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is called “Valiant-for-truth.” His name is taken from this passage: “They are not valiant for the truth upon the earth” (Jer. 9:3). We must be valiant-for-truth in both word and action. “We must be faithful in our personal relationships, keeping our word, even in trivial matters. We must be faithful in our family relationships. We must keep our marriage vows, honor our parents, and be forthright

with our children.” [Philip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, 166]. Our praise and worship must not become sweet lies. God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). His word is truth (John 17:17). We must be devoted to reading, meditating, memorizing, and teaching the Bible. Reliability, fidelity, faithfulness, and integrity must be our hallmark in every minute detail of every matter in every place at every time. “No deviation from strict integrity can meet God’s approval” [Ellen White, Patriarch and Prophets, p.130]. “The world has a right to expect strict integrity in those who profess to be Bible Christians.” [White, Adventist Home, p. 393.2]. “Honor, integrity, and truth must be preserved at any cost to self. Our every thought, word, and action should be subject to the will of Christ.” [Ellen White, Gospel Workers, p. 447]. Job resolved: “till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me” (Job 27:5). The wise man declared: “Better is the poor that walks in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool” (Prov 19:1). God promised that “integrity and uprightness” preserves a person and his children are blessed after him (Psa. 25:21; Prov. 20:7). “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but endures forever” (Psa. 125:1). We must lament all kinds of untruth in our generation like prophet Jeremiah did (Jer. 7). We must be moved to tears by the deceptions of our age and the imminent judgment of all who practice lying. May the Lord impress us with a greater sensitivity towards worldliness and sweet lies and a sense of the sadness toward sin. Whatever hurts God’s heart must hurt ours too.s

March 20, 2016

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A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, CFR PUBLISHER All the Facts, All the Sides

SUNDAY OLAJIDE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO BEN MEMULETIWON ACTING DAILY EDITOR GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR AYO OLESIN SUNDAY EDITOR OBIORA IFOH AG ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

Time to tame the Fulani herdsmen

or many discerning Nigerians, the taming of Boko Haram, the band of misguided Islamists operating from the north eastern flanks of Nigeria, who intent on foisting Islamic theocracy on the country, has since 2009 unleashed horrendous violence on several parts of the country that left in its wake deaths, destruction and agonies, will unarguably top the list of the enduring legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari at the expiration of his tenure. His administration will no doubt garner additional plaudits if it acts expeditiously to arrest the current savagery well armed Fulani herdsmen have been unceasingly wreaking on different parts of the country. Considering the implications of this unnerving ogre of violence for the country ’s stability, the administration must consider well thought out measures to calm the frayed nerves of those injured by the herdsmen acts. While the authorities put their act together, this newspaper appeals for calm and understanding in the interest of the continuing unity of the country. Under this democratic dispensation, Nigeria has been under the throes of murderous criminalities perpetrated by well-armed nomadic Fulani herdsmen, who in the course of finding grazing grounds, have unleashed mayhems and sorrows in several parts of the country. In all the six geopolitical regions of the country tell tales of these barbarisms – murders, rape, armed robberies, kidnapping; torched homelands and farmlands; wrecked businesses and places of worship – dot the landscapes. In all the places affected, resentment and hatred have built up. Several communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State are the latest victims. Not less than 300 people were reportedly killed in the reprisal invasions allegedly carried out by these herdsmen. One of the high profile victims of this barbarism was HRM Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, the monarch of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State. He was abducted on January 5, 2016 by suspected Fulani herdsmen and discovered 15 days later

NIGERIAN LAWS FORBID REGULAR CITIZENS TO OWN OR BEAR AUTOMATIC WEAPONS, YET THE FULANI HERDSMEN OPENLY CARRY THEIRS.

in advanced stage of decomposition. Another is Chief Olu Falae, a one-time Minister of Finance, who was kidnapped from his farm in Akure on his 70th birthday in September 2015 and held in captivity for about a week before the police rescued him. All parts of the North also have their own sad stories to tell. The fact that must be well established is that clashes between farmers and cattle herdsmen are not limited to Nigeria; the development is a common phenomenon in Africa and other parts of the world. However, the disturbing trend of the Nigerian genre arises from absence of committed restraint from the authorities; the impunity exhibited by the herdsmen; the recruitment and deployment of hired militias from neighbouring countries, and forceful takeover of invaded communities as grazing grounds, in some cases. A recurring puzzle in the modus operandi of the herdsmen is the unchallenged, open bearing of automatic firearms. Nigerian laws forbid regular citizens to own or bear automatic weapons, yet the Fulani herdsmen openly carry theirs. This gives them superior fire power over their victims. The question that should be asked is why the security agencies do not move against such impunity. The Federal Government must enforce the restriction on the use of firearms, sanctioning violators without discrimination. Not doing so would force other Nigerians to resort to self help by similarly arming themselves with sophisticated

military-grade weapons. That would be disastrous for everyone and for the country. Another confounding development that defies logic is that the Fulani herdsmen, in very many instances, boisterously admit to razing down communities and engaging in mindless massacres of defenseless people. Their familiar alibi has always been that the locals stole their cows. Why the confessing Fulani leaders have never been held accountable to serve as deterrence remains a puzzle. More puzzling is the fact that foreign militias have been found to be involved in some of these localised clashes, which many believe to be responsible for the bizarre nature of the outcome. The development has serious security implications for Nigeria. It is comforting that President Buhari is showing strong concerns over the development. He has expressed his resolve to tackle it headlong, promising that roaming of cattle herds would stop within 24 months. Top on his government ’s temporary palliatives is the mapping out of grazing areas across the country. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, admitted recently that the Federal Government was importing grass seedlings to grow improved varieties of grass in Nigeria that would meet the demand of herdsmen in the northern part of the country. This is cheering news. However, this would serve as an interim measure. The long term measure would be a forceful government intervention for a smooth transition to ranching and other sedentary forms of cattle production as now done in many countries of the world. Herdsmen nomadic lifestyle has become an anachronism and should, therefore, be reformed into more sedentary vocations for current nomadic youths. Our appeal to leaders of Fulani herdsmen is that they should cooperate with the plans of the various governments to transform their craft into sedentary ranches. That is the way out of the incessant crises that are wreaking heavy toll on the country.

Reminiscences MARCH 20 IN HISTORY 1920: U.S. - Treaty of Versailles revisited A story was printed regarding the return of the Treaty of Versailles which was returned to President Wilson. It had failed Senate ratification four times the night before. This treaty was intended to mark the official end of World War I, even though a majority of the fighting had stopped in 1918. 1933: Italy - Mussolini joins in new peace plan A new plan for peace was being discussed between various European countries. This plan was being facilitated by leaders such as Premiers Benito Mussolini of Italy and Premier Ramsey Mac Donald of Great Britain. 1933: Roosevelt resolves to help America out of Great Depression Within one month of taking office, President Roosevelt set about pulling America out of the depths of the worst depression in history. He temporarily closed the nation ’s banks. He passed emergency legislation aimed at stabilising financial institutions. 1945: World War II - British troops liberate Mandalay The Japanese captured Mandalay in May 1942, and British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma from the Japanese. 1948: Australia - Workers wanted An Australian firm had put an ad in a newspaper dated this date for the recruitment of workers. They were willing to pay up to $32.00 to each employee that referred workers to the company (upon hire). 1951: Korean War - Red Army attacks U.S. soldiers Americans were fighting on the Central Korean front. While doing so, they came against a strong resistance. The Red Army (communists) attacked from hill positions. 1954: French troops defeated in Vietnam 60,000 Viet Minh with heavy artillery surround 16,000 French troops, but the French held out for a further six weeks before being overcome by the greater numbers and defeated. 1955: Japan - Americans charged with manslaughter In Japan, two Americans were charged of involuntary manslaughter after a girl was shot. These Americans were acquitted, and this situation was ruled to be an accident. 1966: England - World Cup stolen The World Cup was stolen while on display at Westminster Hall in London. The trophy was on show prior to the start of the World Cup tournament in Britain later in the year.

PASSION

A Lifestyle Magazine

APPLAUSE

‘Every woman should take good care of herself ‘ >>21

Life has taught me to be patient

–Oluwatoyin Eniola Aborisade, fabric >>20 >>20merchant

25 19

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Passion

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Life has taught me to be patient

- Oluwatoyin Eniola Aborisade, fabric merchant Though she is a microbiologist by profession, her passion for fashion and fabrics led her into what she is doing today. In this interview with ADAEZE AMOS, this amiable lady of style talks about her dress sense and her penchant for good quality fabrics. sions. As a fabric merchant, what kind of fabrics do you deal in? I sell all kinds of fabrics; both male and female fabrics and Mention tips one should bear in mind when looking out for most importantly, I’m into Aso-Ebi packaging and designing. fabrics to buy? Looking out for good quality fabrics when buying is What did you study and which university did you finish from? important. Like many of my clients know me that I don’t I studied Microbiology at Leads City University, Ibadan, settle for less. I go for quality and they always send referrals. F a b r i c s are everywhere, but good quality ones are not Oyo State. everywhere Tell us about your fabric business; for how long have you been in it and what actually motivated you into it? Do you I started selling fabrics since I was in the think university. I started with guinea and Atiku fabrics; that was like eight years ago. After my youth service, I sold some Saree before I got a job with a bank. And even while working in the bank, I still sold some guinea fabrics by the side with silk fabrics. I stopped working in the bank after two years and started selling all fabrics which include lace and AsoEbi for occa-

one’s complexion should be considered while choosing fabrics? If yes, why? For me all colours can suit both dark and light skinned, but what would bring out the beauty mostly are accessories, your hair, gele, make-up and your poise. What fabric blunders do you think so many Nigerian ladies commit? Nigerians commit a lot of blunders when it comes to fabrics. Some use light fabrics for some styles when they ought to have gone for thick fabrics. Some believe that when fabric is light, it is not a quality fabric; whereas, it is not so. Some good fabrics come light while some come thick. They all have their purpose. You studied Microbiology, how did your passion for fabrics start? Right from my university days, I had always loved business. When I started selling fabrics, none of my family members had ever delved into that kind of business. I would say I happen to be the first person in my family that started selling fabrics. I love fashion and what I would wear or my outfit is the first thing that moves me when I have occasions, even before considering other things. What thrills you most about being a fabric merchant? Seeing my fabrics on my clients or a group, like Aso-Ebi fabric designed by me. I design Aso-Ebi fabric which I give to my manufacturer to produce. So, seeing it the way I want and satisfying my customers make me very proud to be a fabric merchant What challenges do you go through as a fabric merchant? Challenges are much, but all the same, no matter the challenge I have, to keep my customers and making them smile at the end of the day are my major concern. Whenever you are watching fashion shows, what do you look out for with regards to fabrics? I look out for good fabrics, even if the style is not nice. I usually say ‘wow’, not because of the style, but because of the fabric (giggles). What lesson has life

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Applause

Sunday, March 20, 2016

taught you as a fashionista? Life has taught me to always be patient. Then, life as a fashionista has taught me never to be caught shabbily dressed. I watch the way I look before I step out. Can you define your style? My style is selling good quality materials to my clients at affordable prices. What kind of fabrics wouldn’t you mind spending a fortune on? Quality and customized fabrics What fashion items form a larger part of your wardrobe? Nothing else, but good fabrics! Fashion is about covering your flaws and flaunting if need be, your good sides. What good sides of yours wouldn’t you mind flaunting? I don’t mind flaunting my arms; I don’t have fat arms so many ladies battle with. That is why most times, I proudly slip into sleeveless styles. Which style wouldn’t you go close to, even if every lady goes for it? Styles that show cleavage, I don’t like it! What actually stands you out in the fashion world? What stands me out in the fashion world is nothing, but eye-popping fabric. My fabrics are catchy; little wonder my clients won’t stop until they buy the last of it

‘Every woman should take good care of herself’ Adaeze Amos

all her a fashion aficionado, and you are right; or a beauty pundit, you are still in order because she is a pioneer in professional beauty care. Welcome to the world of Chief (Dr) Opral Mason Benson, the chairperson of Johnson Products of Nigeria Limited. She started the Chic Afrique Beauty Company in 1980 and the Opral Benson Beauty Training Institute in 1985 when she clocked 50. She pioneered the holding of trade fairs exclusively for cosmetics and fashion industries. The IyaOge of Lagos is at home with this name “because that is my title. I’m also the patron of Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria,” she nodded. This amiable woman of style said one thing that worries her about today’s younger women is that “nudity is rampant amongst younger women unlike what was obtainable in my own time as a young lady. I still maintain that this is one major fashion blunder amongst our women that puts me off. I thank God it is gradually reducing because fashion writers started condemning it. While style pundits like me helped in advising them to dress properly. But I won’t relent until body exposure finally takes a bow,” she gesticulated. She is well over 80 and she is still strong enough to wear kitty heels, wonder what she is doing right? “The secret is that I’m a hard worker. Yes, I’m working very hard. I never relented, I never relaxed or rested. I’m ever active, always on the go,” she enthused. Always on the go to do what, you may ask. “I’m ever ready to promote the beauty industries and fashion industry. I have a non- governmental organization and I have various organizations that I do which I use to keep myself very busy. But most importantly, I don’t worry about anything,” she acknowledged. But does not worrying about anything, make a woman look good and affects her

health? “Yes, I think it helps a lot. That helps you not to develop early wrinkles. You know when you worry a lot, your whole body system is also worried and that reflects on you,” she stressed. As a beauty expert, she has some beauty rituals she sticks to, just to look good. “Are you sure I’m really looking good (looks at herself),” she asked the writer. Yes, even at your age you still wear highheeled shoes? “Okay now, I believe you. You have your eyes wide open on me. Well, I still try my best to do some little exercises. I eat well. I don’t have any special beauty routine, but whatever I need to do to look good, I do it. My life is very simple and hard work is a must in my life. That is all I do. Some women after getting married, or when they attain to some age feel it is no longer necessary to look good or be fashionable. But this amazon says that is wrong. “I don’t think that is proper. I don’t believe that should be the case. I think every woman should take good care of herself whether single or married. Take good care of yourself and look as presentable as you can all the time,” she said. As the ‘IyaOge’ of Lagos, something makes her style stand out. “My style is comfort. That stands me out. Wearing something that I feel comfortable in and that makes me appear respectful and responsible before people,” she enthused. As a woman she has always loved colours and never frowned at colour-blocking trends for once even when it was the fad of the moment. “There is nothing wrong with colourblocking trends. Young ladies are free to play with colours, provided they look good in colours of their choice,” she laughed. But has she ever had a tattoo on? “Tattoo? No, I don’t have any on me. I don’t think having tattoo on me is necessary. It is not because of my religion, but I don’t need tattoos on me,” she sulked. In her hey days, what styles was she crazy about? “My styles have not really changed much; although to some people, they would regard such styles as very conservative if compared

with today’s trends. But I think there are styles that are timeless. Dresses that have been there in the fashion radar and they are still being worn till date. Those are the styles I used to wear in my hey days. And I still wear them till date. How about minis, did she ever wear minis in those days? “Yes, I did. I wore minis, but mine weren’t as short as the ones today’s young ladies wear now. Ours were a little bit short, but never as bad as the ones today’s ladies wear. Then, in our minis, nothing was showing. But it is no longer like that now. I still repeat, there is still exposure in our fashion world. I pray our young ladies reduce their rate of nudity. A lady can be properly covered up and still look trendy. Exposing your body would not make you more fashionable, it wouldn’t make you trendier or prettier. It would rather attract the wrong kind of men to you. It’s always good to dress to appear decent and not tacky,” she said, as a matter of fact. Wonder the secret behind her smooth face? Does she still find time to exfoliate? “Yes, I do, just like others do. I don’t do anything extraordinary. I have a beauty institute. It is more than 30 years old now. It is where I teach ladies and gents how to take care of themselves. And then, I practise what I preach by doing the things I teach them, just to look good. I don’t only teach how to take care of the face alone, but how to take care of nails, skin, hair; I mean, body care generally,” she said. What thrills her most in life? “Making others happy thrills me. And whenever I’m down, I pray to God and He lifts me up. I don’t joke with prayers,” she assured. Her life philosophy? “Do unto others as you would like them do unto you,” she said. As the life patron of Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), she has a few words for the association. “I think FADAN should continue its good work. They should continue to add power to the fashion industry by training more young people. I counsel them to help promote Nigeria by helping to create jobs for the people,” she said, finally.

Opinion

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Uncensored

Sheriff Folarin

E-mail: sheffie2004@yahoo.co.uk 08094217972 (SMS only)

t is unfathomable how some Nigerians in this age of discoveries of unbelievable amounts stolen and exposure of most unlikely looters, could still be yelling at the government for prosecution of those persons that have bled the country to death! Rather than collectively upholding and encouraging the war on corruption while setting aside party affiliations and sentiments, a crop of people still prefer to reduce the patriotic fight against corruption to cheap politicking and are ready to chop off the head of the president for what they have shockingly termed “selective justice”. With a National Security Adviser busted for diverting and sharing a whopping $2.1bn (N480bn, if CBN’s regular rate is used) among only about fifty of members of the political elite, the effort should be hailed to the high heavens. With a former Chief of General Staff’s loot of billions of Naira meant for prosecution of arms capable of overpowering the terrorist Boko Haram group exposed and established, Nigerians should be jubilant in shock that the country is finally being treated of the monstrous disease of corruption. Also, the arrest and prosecution of a former Chief of Air Staff, for stealing monies meant for purchase of fighter and surveillance as well as reconnaissance choppers, among other weapons to tame the terror group n the Northeast, should again be another cause for celebration. Same applies to the case of a political bigwig, who was found to have laundered so much of his own part of the $2.1bn as well as used some to purchase choice properties in the “happening” places of Nigeria and Dubai. A media magnate with a private broadcasting organization was also found to have had a large portion of the diverted anti-Boko Haram military fund, which had made

Safety Tips with

Jonas Agwu

Email: j.agwu@Ofrsc.gov.ng Tel: -8033026491, 8077690055

Good question for the rainy season When most people buy new tyres, they tend to install them in the front axle. They give a number of reasons for doing so. Among such reasons are: With the engine in the front, new tyres should be in the front since they are stronger so should be able to effectively support the weight of the engine. New tyres will be less prone to suffer a blowout and since blowout of a front tyre is more dangerous than that of a rear tyre, it is safer to install new tyres in the front. Front tyres suffer the rigors of acceleration, braking, steering and bad road conditions more and so wear out faster than the rear tyres. So new tyres are better installed in the front. The above reasons sound logically but unfortunately following that logic would land you in serious trouble. It is downright dangerous to install new tyres in the front axle especially during the rainy season. Why? Because of a phenomenon called hydroplaning. What is hydroplaning? Hydroplaning You will observe that your tyres, if not worn out, have some grooves and channels on the treaded portion that is in contact with the ground. Those grooves and channels are designed to, among other functions, help to remove water under the tyres on a wet surface so that the

Unforgivable! him to reduce his flourishing media empire to mere mouthpiece of a mortal political party. Revelations made recently have it that over N300 trillion was withdrawn from the NNPC account in an instance alone, without any documentation or trace of who did the withdrawal or what it was meant for. Several other instances of public accounts drawn were given as the country and world watched in bewilderment how the commonwealth was arrantly looted with reckless abandon and extreme impunity. Unlike the case of arresting and prosecuting, even jailing or sentencing to death (through jungle justice or the regular courts) of petty thieves or armed robbers alone; the high and mighty, the persons of blue blood and big caps are the main culprits in this case. The unbridled acts of stealing are traced to the very top of government and for the first time in the chequered history of Nigeria, in a revolutionary manner, thieves in government houses and those in uniform, no matter their level, are exposed, dragged to the courts by regular state officials and tried. But there have been the usual and expected interjections of a section of the society, with allegations of selective justice and politicization of the anti-corruption crusade. There are insinuations that the Buhari administration is not fighting corruption, but fighting the opposition and that all those in his net are the members of the opposition party, which was ousted by the polls in 2015. Those who were not in the party are said to have been engaged to serve in one capacity or the other in the last administration. Those who were not in public office but that are also prosecuted are said to have been close friends, associates or aides of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan. The interrogation or prosecution of Colonel Dasuki, Olisah Metuh, Alex Badeh (who some have also nicknamed “Alex Badoo” or “Baddest”), Adeola Amosu, among others, has thus been described as one-sided and the persons are even being hero-worshipped as they are being given the tag “victims” of Buhari’s “witch-hunt”. The confirmed thieves, convicted or not, are also magnanimous in their new heroic status as victims of autocracy, walking majestically to the

courts and presenting a picture of someone wrongfully arrested, accused, detained and victimized. They wave at the rented crowd of supporters, smile into the journalists’ cameras and put up the looks of a Mandela that is suffering political discrimination and apartheid. The unpredictability of the Nigerian society can be baffling. After suffering years of neglect, dilapidation of infrastructure and lack of development for decades as a direct result of corruption in the highest places; and after suffering unquantifiable human losses and destruction as well as huge setback in national image because of the diversion and stealing of security votes and special allocations towards anti and counterterrorism, a section of the country could still condemn the anti-corruption fight and describe it as victimization, while according heroic status to the thieves and enemies of the Nigerian State. In a decent and civilized society, such persons will be collectively condemned for the sake of nationhood and progress. When FIFA officials, including a serving president were caught to have corruptly enriched themselves, the international football community closed ranks, to make arrests, prosecute and convict them, banning some for life and suspending the serving president while banning him from football-related affairs for six years, which is as good as forever because he is already spent and cannot return to FIFA, except he becomes a ‘Nigerian’ with no conscience or shame. In other societies such as China, with zero-tolerance for corruption, the Badehs, Metuhs and Dasukis will face the firing squad or hangman’s noose. And it does not take time or forever as it is in Nigeria. The argument therefore, that the former ruling party is being witch-hunted is lame and mediocre. It is also wicked. Who else was accommodated by the party in the stealing and sharing for at least six years of Jonathan’s rule? In a system, where the political principle is winner-takes-all or zero-sum game, it will surely be the PDP that would steal all and share all. ANPP, AC, CNPP, or any other outsider would, expectedly, be far from the “yam”, except there are PDP VIP converts among them, who are making a public show of their decamping to the party controlling the yam. Naturally therefore,

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if there is any prosecution for any stealing, mismanagement, misappropriation or diversion of public funds for private use, it is the VIP members (old brigades and converts) that will come into the picture. In Nigeria and I think Africa, political parties do not share the “national cake” (a.k.a. Yam) with the opposition parties. And in a situation whereby the administration of the day is still dealing with looted state funds, it is PDP that will be in the fry. When it comes to other financial crimes, all looters in those different categories should be duly apprehended and docked. The anti-corruption could best be described as being at a stage when freshly stolen public money is being exposed, quantified and probably recovered. And if that is the stage at which we are, no group other than the PDP would be in the picture, for the obvious reason that they were the managers of the commonwealth before now. The malicious reference to the current anticorruption fight is therefore uncharitable and diversionary. It could derail the process and return us to the status quo. It is sending a very wrong and uncomplimentary signal to the rest of the world, telling a story of how bizarre a people we can be. If indeed, we can just cast our mind back to the perennial losses our military suffered in the war against Boko Haram, the subjecting of those patriotic, innocent but poorly armed soldiers to the humiliation of the common criminals of Sambisa, the slaughtering of those air force pilots by Boko Haram bloodhounds and the general disgrace those encounters brought upon Nigeria; just because some Badehs, Amosus and Dasukis (former soldiers themselves) diverted the money meant to give the troops maximum capacity, we should be burying our petty political sentiments and affiliations and join hands in celebrating the current first ever ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ war on corruption and be vigorously and consistently, asking for the heads on a plate, of those unpatriotic and shameless men.

Sheriff Folarin (PhD), an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, writes from Sango Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Should your new tyres be installed in front or back axle? tyre will maintain adequate contact with the road surface for proper traction. A situation may arise where the channels are not able to remove water fast enough or where the channels are not deep enough because the tyres have worn out. In either situation, the tyres will not maintain contact with the road surface and will simply float on the pool of water. This phenomenon of floating on water because of lack of contact with the ground is called hydroplaning. It is dangerous and may lead to loss of control and a crash. When a vehicle is hydroplaning, application of the brakes will make matters worse! Now let us consider the effects of hydroplaning with new tyres in (a) the front axle and (b) the back axle. New tyres in the front axle. (Old tyres at back axle) New tyres, by nature, should have more tread depths than tyres in use. So the tyres at the back – because they have less tread depths – will hydroplane before the new tyres in front. With the rear tyres hydroplaning first, a situation called OVER STEERING may occur. This is a situation where the rear tyres will lose traction before the front tyres and the rear of the vehicle begins to slide. Over-steering is far more difficult to control, and in addition to the initial distress felt when the rear of the car starts sliding, quickly releasing the gas pedal in an attempt to slow down may actually make it more difficult for the driver to regain control, possibly causing a complete spinout, loss of control and a crash. NEW TYRES AT THE BACK AXLE (old tyres in front axle) When you have new tyres at the back axle, the old tyres in the front will hydroplane before the

back tyres. This may lead to UNDERSTEERING. This means the vehicle will continue to move in the straight forward direction even when you want to steer it either to the left or to the right. This is easier to control. By easing up on the gas pedal, the vehicle will slow down and make it very easy for the driver to control. Testing experience Members of The Tire Rack team had the chance to experience hydroplaning at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths - one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front, and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear. The ability to sense and control predictable under steer with the new tires on the rear, and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising over steer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven. It is better to experience this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic in a rainstorm. In case there is any doubt, when tires are replaced in pairs, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the worn tires moved to the front. Safer to replace your tyres in pairs, if not in fours When you have problem with any of your tyres and you want to replace it, it is advisable you equally replace the other tyre on the same axle with the bad tyre so that you have tyres that are exactly the same make, same age, same physical conditions, same size – the same everything – on same axle. This will make for vehicle stability, effective con-

trol and better handling. In fact, the ideal thing is to change all the four tyres at the same time. Those yellow/red lines and dots on a new tyre what do they mean? When you buy new tyres, you will observe that most of them have red or yellow lines running on top and round the entire perimeter of the tyre and red or yellow dots on the tyre’s side walls. Are those mark simply decorations or are they there for information? They are there with fascinating bits of information. Let’s start with the red or yellow dots. The red and yellow spots When a tyre is made, the weight is not perfectly uniform throughout the entire size of the tyre. There are some areas of deformity where the weight is greater than in other portions of the tyre. That point is always marked with either red or yellow dot and is called the tyre’s high point. What do you do with the dots? When you are fixing the tyre onto the rim, you should align that spot with the inflation valve stem on the wheel. The point where the inflation valve stem is positioned on the wheel is another point of deformity on the wheel (the wheels are never perfectly circular). So synchronizing both points – the yellow or red dot on the tyre and the valve stem on the rim – will even out both deformities and make for a better wheel balancing, smoother ride, longer lasting tyres and better vehicle control. In some tyres, you have both the red and the yellow dot.

•Agwu, an Assistant Corps Marshal, is Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 7HQ of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

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Opinion

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Afe Babalola: Yet another well deserved honour Tunde Olofintila

ome Friday (March 25), another colourful feather will be added to the already well adorned cap of the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, when the Advisory Board of the African Leadership Development Foundation, Inc. USA, in collaboration with the African Leadership (UK) Limited will confer on him the Congressional Commendation of the US Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and induct him into the African Hall of Fame in appreciation of his pioneering excellence and innovation in tertiary education in Africa.

The African Leadership Development Foundation, Inc. USA, and African Leadership (UK) Limited are rolling out the drums in far-away Johannesburg, South Africa to celebrate Babalola, the scholarly and urbane expert in Law, on the one hand, and honour his six-year old University which it described as “a leading Nigerian private University by all rating…” on the other. Some past notable honourees are Hifikepunye Pohamba, Former President of Namibia, Jakaya Kiwete, former President of Tanzania, Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Federal Republic of Liberia as well as John Kufor Former President of Ghana. Others include His Royal Majesty, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Former Nigeria CBN Governor and Emir of Kano,

Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Founder, Mo Ibrahim Noble Prize for Leadership; Dr. Donald Kebaruka, Former President of the African Development Bank Group and Hon. Xavie Luc-Duval, Vice Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, Republic of Mauritius, Alonzo Fulgam, International Coordinator, USAID, Oba Otudeko, of the Honeywell Group and Hage Geingob, President of Namibia as well as Congressman John Lewis, American Politician and Civil Right Activist among many others. The induction into the African Leadership Hall of Fame and the conferment of the Special Congressional Commendation from the US Legislative Black Caucus are coming exactly 379 days after the famous University of London conferred on Babalola, the dean and doyen of quality education, its Honorary Doctor of Letters at an impressive ceremony attended by representatives from 92 countries on March 11, 2015, thus making him a triple Alumnus of the University, having obtained the University’s B. Sc. (Econs) in 1959 and LL. B in 1963, all by private study. The London Honourary Award has thus made the tireless worker the first African to be so honoured with an LLD in the 179-year history of the University of London bearing in mind that former South African President Nelson Mandela received the honorary Doctorate Degree in Economics of the University in 1996 while Archbishop Desmond Tutu was conferred with the Honorary Degree in

Divinity in 2008. Babalola’s nomination for these double international honours is to a large extent predicated on his successful practice as a legal practitioner in the last 53 years and particularly because of the unprecedented and monumental educational landmarks achieved by his University, ABUAD, the fastest growing University in Africa, a pace setter in qualitative and functional education which Former Presidents, NUC and other stakeholders have publicly acknowledged and which UNESCO described as “a world class institution of Higher Education”. In a January 25, 2016 letter announcing the honours, Dr. Ken Glami, the Editor-in-Chief/CEO of the African Leadership Magazine, said: “the Board in its approval noted that as a frontline Educationist, Mentor and Leader, you (Aare Afe Babalola) have pioneered a legendary precedence in Africa’s formal education and academic landscape for which you should be commended. “The Leadership Hall of Fame is the meeting Hall for great African Leaders and achievers who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of human endeavour”. An elated Babalola is happy that people and organizations outside Nigeria are noticing what he and his University have been doing since the University commenced academic works on January 4, 2010 to institutionalize qualitative and functional education and ensure that Nigeria regains its lost glory in education.

Afe Babalola’s story reminds one of that of Niccolo Machiavelli who was born into a “moderately prominent and marginally prosperous” family in a village that belonged to the powerful citystate of Florence, Italy, in 1469. Babalola, a Cardinal in the Basilica of Jurisprudence, was equally born into a moderately prominent and marginally prosperous family in his native Ado-Ekiti about nine decades ago. But the story has since changed through his well-known determination and industry: that man with a bucolic background has become a colossus, an artist in the art of giving, building and donating multi-million Naira towering and gargantuan edifices to many institutions of Higher Education, Professional Bodies and Social Organizations in different parts of Nigeria in the last two decades. Like the rested Intercontinental Bank with the pay-off of “Happy Customers, Happy Bank”, Babalola is only happy when people around him are happy and this is being acknowledged globally. It is gratifying that the world is not only watching this plutocrat with pluralistic possibilities who is sold to humanity, it is also appreciating his deeds. Certainly, the best is yet to come and without any iota of doubt, ABUAD and its Founder, Babalola, are going places. Tunde Olofintila, Head, Corporate Affairs of ABUAD, wrote from AdoEkiti.

Reprieve for telecoms subscribers as Shittu reads riot act to operators Victor Oluwadamilare

ince his assumption of office as Minister of Communications, Barrister Abdu-Raheem Adebayo Shittu has never minced words on his resolve to judiciously serve the two most important arms of the telecoms sector, the subscribers and the operators as well as sanitizing the entire sector to enable it boost the revenue base of the country. At every forum, he says it again and again that he has come to serve all stakeholders in the communications sector including telecoms subscribers and operators and that he will not allow any of the stakeholders to be shortchanged. At the beginning of this year the minister said the various complaints of telecoms subscribers across board and the challenges besetting telecoms operators in Nigeria are been looked into holistically with a view to finding lasting solutions in conjunction with relevant stakeholders within the possible short time. Rather than abating, the litany of complaints by subscribers grows every day, hence the need for a stern warning and the minister did not let Nigerians down when on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, he read the riot act to the operators at a press conference he addressed in Abuja Reasons for his ‘final warning’ include but not limited to “ the poor quality of service, incessant dropped calls, unauthorized charging of subscribers for unsubscribed/ unsolicited messages, mandatory rollover of unfinished data bundles, under-declared revenue and profit, outsourcing and discrimination against Nigerian employees”. He said, “My office has been inundated with complaints, petitions and calls on the fraudulent and un-authorized charges by GSM Network

operators in the country. It has been alleged that these un-authorized charges have been so prevalent”. Some f the complaints listed by the minister include; 1. Extortion of Nigerian Subscribers by Telecom Operators – Many Nigerians have been complaining of unauthorized charges or deduction for unsubscribed/unsolicited messages by all the Telecom Operators e.g FUN, Music Box and Sports Den messages charged by Etisalat, Hausa Amazing Fact Service charged by Glo, N50 charged for MTN Backup every two weeks, N50 for MTN CallerFeel per month, CallerTunez, Easynews and HollaBack Tones by Airtel etc. The minister said, “The NCC is hereby directed to properly monitor Telecom operators and prevent them from imposing dubious charges for services not rendered and provide regular updates on monthly basis. Any operator found wanting henceforth will be sanctioned”. 2. Incessant Dropped Calls on all networks – It was alleged by many subscribers that this action is deliberate on the path of network operators to defraud Nigerians by charging for uncompleted calls that terminated abruptly as a result of network issue. 3. Poor Quality of Service (QoS) – This is as a result of poor signal strength on the mobile phones, poor signal quality and Call Set-up Failure occasioned by Network problems e.g Federal Secretariat Phase 1 and major cities and towns in the country. According to him,”At times, network will disappear on your mobile phones despite staying close to an operator’s site or you call and your phone tells you the number you called is not available on the network or the number does not exist. This happens repeatedly until you make several attempts before the call is connected”. 4. Dead or Silent calls and Cross talk – This happens after a call might have been connected to the other party. A subscriber initiates a call

and the other party picks the call but the caller hardly hears any conversation or hears the voice of an unknown person. “Subscribers see this as a deliberate attempt to rip them off because they get charged whenever such situation arises”. 5. Data Bundle Rollover – There is a need for all Network operators to consider rolling over the monthly unused data by the subscribers to the new month. It is unfair, I dare say, for any operator to wipe out the unused data of any subscriber. 6. Call Tariff Plans – Going forward, all tariff plans introduced by the Telecom Operators need to be properly investigated and explained to the subscriber to ensure that there are no hidden charges by the operators. 7. Deficiency in Data Penetration – It has been discovered that there is an epileptic 3G network in some cities due to insufficient 3G sites or non-availability of 3G sites in many cities thereby forcing the subscribers to make use of 2G networks ((EDGE and GPRS), EDGE – Enhanced Data rate for Global Evolution and GPRS – General Packet Radio Service) which are considered very slow. “There is an urgent need to deploy 3G sites in all our cities where only 2G networks exist and more 3G sites where there are existing 3G networks for improved data penetration”, he said. 8. Rollout of 4G/LTE Network – With the acquisition of 800MHZ Frequency by some of the operators and the recently advertised auctioning of 2.6GHZ Spectrum by NCC, the network operators will be encouraged to rollout 4G/LTE network by the second quarter of 2016 so as to increase Broadband penetration as enshrined in the National Broadband Policy (2013 – 2018) of the Federal Government. 9. Under-declared Revenue and Profit by Telecom Operators – “It has come to my notice that the Telecom Operators do not fully declare

to the government their total annual gross revenue, thereby short-changing the government in underpaid taxes and levies”, he said, adding that” The Federal Government will take advantage of new technologies to verify the amount of revenue generated by the telecom operators via government regulatory and revenue agencies like NCC, FIRS etc”. 10. Disengagement of Nigerian Tax Paying Employees by Telecom Operators through Outsourcing to Foreign Companies –“ I am aware that professional jobs meant for Nigerians are being taken over by Foreigners and even menial jobs that are expected to be carried out by Nigerian artisans were given to Foreigners. This is clearly against the intention of the Expatriates’ Quota policy. It has also come to my notice tha some companies have laid-off a high number of its Nigerian Employees in the last two years and outsourced most of its operations to Foreigners who are evading tax because of non-documentation by Nigeria Immigration Service. Some of these Foreigners came into Nigeria on visitors’ visa but they ended up working without work permit. This practice is prevalent across all the mobile operators. The Federal Government is already investigating this and any operator found wanting will be severely sanctioned”. 11. Discrepancy and Discrimination against Nigerian Employees by telecom operators. The Federal Government considers this as unfair and discriminatory to the Nigerian Employees and revenue loss to the government in form of tax payments. He promised that “the Federal Government will look into the agreement reached with the operators during the issuance of Licenses and decide whether there is any aspect of non-compliance”. Victor Oluwadamilare is the Special Assistant (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Communications

Perfect Cut

African Look Home-grown styles get hotter in fashion world

frican print styles are the vogue in the fashion world if you must know. African fabrics can now be used to design all sorts of styles including flayed skirts, mullet and frill to mention but a few. So, if you are looking for a simple African print skirt, take a closer look at these styles on this page and pick the one to go for.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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Nollywood di

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Sunday, March 20, 2016

Perfect Cut

ivas rock green, white on AMVCA red carpet Adaeze Amos

frica Magic Viewers Choice Award has come and gone, but the dust it has raised is yet to settle. Fashion was really hot on red carpet. Fashionistas in the movie world shook the fashion world down to its root. One very striking thing apparent at red carpet radar that Saturday night was colours. Two colours were mostly worn as if they planned for that. The two colours were green and white. Take a closer look at these pictures, so that if you have ever been thinking that white dress wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do the magic on the red carpet, you may need to think twice after seeing what Ini Edo wore. Amazing, right?

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Dude Style

‘I can’t wear coloured hair’

Santiago Roberts, is the CEO of QHUE Concepts, the company behind the Mr. Universe Nigeria contest, and Miss Tourism Nigeria pageant. In this exclusive interview with VICTOR UDOH, he speaks about his growing up and his dress sense. Excerpts: Tell us about Qhue Concepts?

ria brands?

QHUE Concepts was established in 2011 in response to a growing demand for creative, informative and effective communication. The QHUE Concepts team established itself as a highly specialized group of brand communication engineers, events managers, creative directors, marketers and entertainers offering a fully integrated public relations, marketing, consultancy, events and communication solution in line with our clients’ needs and requirements. We believe that you only need to add a little heat to create something that’s explosive and that’s why we deliver for any brand, no matter what the product, budget or time frame. With us, it’s all about the idea, so whether it’s developing a brand personality or bringing a product to the people, we know how to capture the imagination.

The idea is to create a contemporary showcase that is geared towards discovering, managing, and promoting ‘super talents’ who will spread their wings in the fashion, entertainment and general showbiz industry. The project is strategically designed, not just to add value to the contestants, but also in the long term, ensure they become a force to reckon with both here in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.

What inspired its establishment? Our inspiration was drawn from a strong desire to help our clients achieve their objectives through the development and execution of customized, meticulously planned special events or ideas by creating products and services that are unique, value adding while appreciating diversity.

As a model manager, what are the opportunities your company offers existing models and the prospects for potential Qhue models? The Nigerian modelling industry is fast growing; and despite its rapid growth, it leaves so much to be desired. Lack of proper structures and protocols as we see in other countries and ill-treatment of models have become the order of the day. In fact, most brands/advertisers think they are doing the model a favor by making him/ her project their brand; so much that can’t be written, but at QHUE, it’s our commitment to ensure that models earn their fair share and also, are not just respected, but also celebrated. We are in constant consultation with various major brands towards ensuring this aim is achieved. Part of this also formed the initiation of our three major pioneering brands; The Mens Fashion Week Nigeria project, Mr. Universe Nigeria contest and the Miss Tourism, Nigeria pageant.

No doubt, even though only in their 5th edition, your pageant brands have evolved with a number of concepts and achieved so much relevance, far and wide. What’s the idea behind the Miss Tourism Nigeria & Mr. Universe Nige-

Tell us about the Miss Tourism Nigeria project? The Miss Tourism Nigeria pageant is the nation’s only true tourism-oriented beauty pageant which has 36 of Nigeria’s tourism ambassadors representing the six geo-political regions of the country competing; the contest is focused at providing a broader platform for promoting tourism on a local/state level and ultimately, on the international scale, thereby drawing more tourism attention to the host city; establishing it as a premier tourist destination and also at the same time, showcasing our sponsors and partners to a largescale media eyes. It would be recalled that in 2012, Miss Tomi Salami represented Nigeria at the global edition of the Miss Tourism World event in Bangkok – Thailand amongst over 60 countries while Miss Jennifer Igwegbe did Nigeria proud when she represented the country in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea for the 2013 edition of the Miss Tourism World event which also featured about 68 nations. In 2014, Collete Nwadike who clinched that title went on to represent Nigeria amongst over 70 countries and became the 1st black girl to ever win the EXquisite face of the universe pageant. She has since become one of the most celebrated beauty queens across the continent. Striving hard to fill those shoes, our 2015 queen, Ifeoma Sharon Anya recenty became a UN Ambassador and also became the first reigning queen to become a high chief.

What distinctive differences do we have between Mr. Universe Nigeria and other beauty pageants organised by your brand? The Mr. Universe Nigeria contest is the only male contest organized by QHUE Concepts. And between it and the only other pageant brand under the company, the Miss Tourism Nigeria pageant, I would say not much because they are all geared towards the development and promotion of tourism in Nigeria, while at the same time, enabling all the contestants who pass through the pageant system an opportunity to discover that hidden potential in them and use the event as a platform to reach out to their community.

What duties are assigned to the winners of the Miss Tourism Nigeria and Mr. Universe Nigeria pageants? Winners of the pageants do not only walk away with a life time experience, a brand new car, a year wardrobe, endorsements and as faces of major brands, but also take on the responsibility of becoming role models and change ambassadors by championing charitable causes which are aimed towards human capacity building.

Where among these did you have the utmost fun? Once again, I will say each brand provided different level of fun and excitement based on the job description. While at NTA, I enjoyed having to be the

Operations Director, switching and locking in the next programs for broadcast and also, as programs director as well as producer. At Blackdove, I worked mostly as creative director to Linda Ikeji; produced the all famous style night fashion show which became the annual event on the Nigerian entertainment and fashion calendar. Then, I also became the managing director of the popular FM & B magazine. It was a tedious task, but came with its own definition of fun. So for me, each brand I have had to work with, it’s always not the same because I do not go in thinking I know… But rather, ‘What can I learn, and while at it, which way can I contribute’.

What’s your proudest achievement so far? That would be the many lives that I am able to affect each year when I tour over 18 states to select delegates for the Mr. Universe Nigeria and Miss Tourism, Nigeria pageants. It’s a thing of inexplicable joy seeing these young Nigerians who never would have thought in their wildest dreams within a month of becoming instant sensation… Celebrities in their own rights and able to speak and have people listen to them. I am proud when I see contestants from our pageant system excelling in their various states and other chosen careers after being groomed and given professional training and guidance during their 10 days stay at the pageant house.

What are your hobbies? I love to read, travel (oh I so love to fly)…I love to cook also; though these days, my ever busy schedule can barely accommodate that. I also love to hang out when I can, with my close group of friends.

How fun was growing up for you? Growing up was as fun as it could have ever been. Though I guess at an early stage, my mind was set on being the best I could be, so I spent lots of time reading when my peers were out playing ball or having fun. I was doing all I knew to ensure I was way ahead of my time… As a growing up kid, I am not sure I did most of the funny things kids of my age were doing. I also had a strict aunt who always ensured I remain the first, each academic term. So, it was quite tough, but I a m

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What aspect of your job do you like most and why? I love the creative part where I have to think create the concepts and follow it up step by step towards its execution. I love it when people come to an event which I produce and they leave smiling because they had value for their money and most importantly, they are able to wait through to the very end because there is something captivating at each stage of the event production. For me, that would be the best part of my job.

Who has impacted you the most in life and how? I will say my aunt. She taught me how to be strong in the face of adversity. She taught me the importance of integrity and honesty. My parents, Mr & Mrs Roberts; they taught me the importance and value of friendship and hardwork. Also, my pastor, Chris Oyakhilome; he taught me how to balance my spiritual life with my day- to-day living and also giving people’s life a meaning.

What is that fashion item you can’t be caught wearing? I can’t be caught wearing a coloured hair.

List one fashion item you love wearing? I love shoes. I believe they are men’s testament of style; they define a man’s true style sense.

What is that fashion item that forms larger part of your wardrobe? In my wardrobe, I believe you will see more of shoes and t-shirts.

Of all the events you’ve been part of, which one is the most memorable and why? I will say Mr. Universe Nigeria, 2012 and Miss Tourism Nigeria, 2014 - my first independent show - single-handedly produced from my pocket. Despite the many odds and challenges and betrayal, even from the closest, I was able to pull through and host a show which was rated the biggest pageant contest in Nigeria, in spite of the fact that there were similar brands; some existing about three years or more before I came on board.

What other projects should we expect from Qhue Concepts? Well for now, all we would be focused on is consolidating our existing brands to make it not just a household name in Nigeria, but also a truly international one that would make our foreign partners around the globe to want to come and see.

Where do you see Qhue Concepts in the next five years?

glad i t

Well, why don’t you ask me this same question in the next five years? By then, I am sure you would have even got the answer before me because the difference would be mountainously obvious.

all

And where do you see Santiago Roberts in the next five years?

happened the way it did.

Well, I guess there is no way the QHUE concepts brand can have branches in Accra, Johannesburg, London, New York without the ‘Santiago’ brand not growing at the same pace, if not even much faster.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 20, 2016

Pregnancy Talk with

Naughtiest Thing The naughtiest thing I ’ve ever done

Adaeze Amos ߾ࠆ߾ࠀࠁ߾߿ࠀࠀࠇࠁ ߶ࠡࠛࠡ ࠝࠜࠚࠧ߷

Anu Sosanya

Why pregnant women are antagonistic

re you pregnant and you now antagonize everybody around you especially your hubby? You are not the only one in this. You often feel miserable after seeing that you lost your shape, waistline and you look bloated due to pregnancy, not to worry. It ’s just a nine-months thing. Or are you feeling like the only non glowing pregnant woman in the world? Below are tips to ponder over. But first remember that you probably weren ’t expected to literally glow all through your nine months of gestational period. Or if the reason for being agitated is because of your nonstop peeing, the foot swelling, the possibility of stretch marks suddenly appearing in odd places...and of course, the dreaded morning sickness. Why not brace up and accept your bodily changes? Though it ’s not your fault to feel the way you are. Reason is that tons of mamas-to-be, have realized that pregnancy is not just about carrying protruded tummy around, it is inconveniencing. If you are feeling agitated and experincing dramtic outbursts, here are tips to help you out If you ’re experiencing fits of crying and anger, you can blame it on one main culprit: your hormones! Your progesterone and estrogen levels are changing drastically right now, as are other hormones, like relaxin (which helps to soften pelvic ligaments for delivery). It will all level out a bit during your second trimester, but the extreme moodiness could return with a vengeance toward the end of your third trimester. But it ’s not all hormones. Women who say they hate being pregnant may attribute their general misery to psychological factors too. Little wonder moms-tobe often have tons of new (and not always so positive) thoughts floating through their heads during pregnancy, and all can play key roles in affecting their happiness. For one, there ’s the notion that pregnancy is supposed to equal voluptuous beauty — and if you ’re not feeling so beautiful, well, the whole idea of the “glow ” seems like a farce, and that ’s enough to piss anyone off. There ’s also the pressure some women feel to live up to this mythical “perfect mom ” standard, perfect not just in actual parenting but in losing the baby weight as soon as possible too. Know it that except for a few women (whose body miraculously seemed to get hotter with each kid), that “perfect mom ” just doesn ’t exist. To add to that, it ’s common for pregnant women to start feeling detached from their bodies, says Dr. James Ukoh, a general practitioner: “As your belly gets bigger, it ’s almost like your body doesn ’t belong to you anymore. ” Sound familiar? Sure, maybe other pregnant ladies don ’t mind the fact that everyone from the home to the lady in the grocery store suddenly wants to touch their belly — but not you. And guess what? That ’s okay. How can you get through it? Remember that pregnancy only lasts nine months. Keep reminding yourself of that fact. After that, you can kiss the queasiness, the uncomfortable bloat, the embarrassing gas, and the ever-present feeling of a baby sitting on your bladder good-bye. (Now, that ’s a comforting thought …) In the meantime, try adopting to an attitude of “whatever happens, I ’ll get through it. ” Empower yourself. Never feel guilty for the way you feel. For many women, admitting that they hate being pregnant makes them feel ungrateful or unappreciative to even be able to be a mother, so they either keep quiet about how they feel or get down on themselves as a result. But that ’s not the right attitude to have. Hating pregnancy and being a good mother have absolutely no connection.

s e l d o o n d e c i p s r ‘I ate ove ’ e g r u p e m e d a m that

Make time for yourself: You can overcome by making yourself happy. Make appointments with yourself — whether it is enjoying a prenatal massage or just sitting down to do things you love and make yourself happy. Scatter little pick-me-ups throughout the week to look forward to. Surround yourself with people. Okay, being around a crowd of people might be the last thing you want to do when you ’re feeling miserable. But that is the best thing for you — as long as you surround yourself with the right people. Invite a few good friends to lunch or take a walk in the park with your best friend. Keeping yourself busy and social will help squelch many of the negative thoughts before they even have the chance to crop up. Don ’t dwell on bad feelings. Surround yourself with a support group, yes. Throw yourself a pity party, no. Make sure you don ’t cross that fine line of venting, only to constantly dwell on the negative. Keep your sense of humor. Pregnancy comes with its fair share of unsexy symptoms. The best way to deal with peeing your pants when you sneeze or waking yourself up in the middle of the night with atrocious pregnancy gas? Laugh. When should you call your doc? Knowing when you ’re just dealing with normal pregnancy emotions and when it may be something more serious can be tricky, since many common pregnancy symptoms and depression symptoms overlap. So look out for the following warning signs that may mean you ’re crossing the line and should talk to your doctor.

I considered this the naughtiest thing that ever happened to me recently because I could have stopped it from happening, but I persisted. It happened when I was with my sister and her husband in their house. We couldn ’t go to the kitchen to cook that night because we were tired or should I say we were lazy to cook even the simplest food such as noodles which we had in the kitchen. But later on in the night, we became hungry, very hungry that we needed something to douse our hunger. Guess what we did? We had to send a boy in our neighbourhood to help us buy cooked noodles around. He agreed and collected our money. We were happy that soon we would eat. The guy bought the cooked noodles, but to our surprise, he got extra peppered/spiced noodles. When I tasted it, my heart skipped. I knew we were in for trouble because we don ’t eat much pepper naturally. So, I didn ’t tell her it was very chilly, I wanted us to eat it not giving it away to the lad who bought it for us because I felt he purposely bought over-spiced one.

Also, we were desperately starving. I ate it gradually, pretending to be enjoying it; but what gave me in was the running nose I started having because of the pepper. It was my running nose that scared my sister and her husband from joining me. But I continued! Before I knew what was happening, I had already taken two big bottles of water because my throat was hurting and my tummy became bloated due to much water that I had drunk. While eating, my sister and her husband realised what I was going through and the fact that I refused to stop eating. I desperately wanted to finish it. They started making jest of me. For the next 20 minutes I wasn ’t comfortable with my tummy, my tongue and my throat. My running nose didn ’t help matters. My body system somersaulted so much that the food purged me all through the night. Can you imagine? That was something I could have prevented. By ADAEZE AMOS Anu Sosanya is Nollywood actress.

Movies & Music

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

& usic M Movies With Victor Udoh 07067124302 e-mail: victorudoh804@yahoo.com

Peter Okoye stages first solo performance in Abuja A

s the PSquare family mess lingers, Paul Okoye has lamented the absence of the calming influence of their late mother, just as his brother, Peter makes his first solo performance. Josephine Okoye died in an Indian hospital on July 11, 2012 after an illness, and their father also passed away in November, 2014. The once united family has been plagued with a bitter feud that has torn the brothers apart with one half of the PSquare duo, Peter Okoye calling for the sack of their brother cum manager, Jude Okoye while the other half, Paul disagrees. Paul lamented the absence of their mother in an emotional instagram post on Monday, March 14. The mood of his message was further stressed with the addition of crying. Their mother’s fourth anniversary is three months away. He wrote, “Now I understand what this life is without having a mother. You’ve played your part. Thank you very much, mum.

Peter

Miss you.” Paul’s outburst came less than 48 hours after brother, Peter Okoye signalled what looks like the end of the group with his first solo performance at an Abuja gig; his first, since the group hit the music scene some 10 years ago. In time past, the late Okoye matriarch has been described as the stabilizing factor that kept the group together while she was alive. But since her demise, things have never been the same for one of the most popular music artistes that Nigeria has exported to the world. In a series of tweets, Peter Okoye vehemently declared the termination of the service of their elder brother, Jude, giving his sack as the condition for the group to continue to exist as a music entity. It appears that the last has not been heard on the saga as Peter looks bent on a breakaway, perhaps to pursue a solo career.

g Majek Fashek holds thanksgivin Service in CLAM Church Fashek

conic reggae singer, Majek Fashek was back in Lagos to show his love to God and the pastor as he came to worship in CLAM church, based in Ojodu, a sub-urb of Lagos. The leader of the church, Prophet Wole Oladiyun was among those that made efforts in healing reggae star of his dreadful habit of alcoholic addiction. Now that the rain maker seems to have got a clean bill of health after a rehabilitation procedure, he has come to show gratitude. The picture of Majek Fashek at the church on Sunday, March 13, 2016 went viral online as he declared his testimony. “My testimony is that Jesus Christ is Lord; Jesus Christ is the Master, you

know before I went to Abuja for my rehab, Baba Oladiyun here came to my rescue, most church won’t do that. May God bless him and keep this ministry; materials and spiritual are two different things because Jesus Christ cannot come from Heaven to heal you. This Baba is a ‘correct’ prophet”, Majek Fashek was quoted to have said as he shared his testimony at CLAM. Apostle Oladiyun during his message described Fashek as a legend that will blossom again. He then prayed that the Lord will perfect all He had started in the life of the reggae artiste as he called on churches and ministers of God to show godly love to people, irrespective of religion, ethnic and condition.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Movies & Music

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Saheed Osupa, Muri Thunder set to thrill fans ...as Bolaji celebrates 25 years in music

ome Thursday, March 24, 2016, all roads lead to Ibadan, the Oyo state capital as the popular showbiz spot, Top One Garden, Podo Village, Ibadan, where an international music promoter, composer and marketer, Mr. Bolaji Omotosho, the big boss of Bolaji Music Promotions International celebrates his 25 years in the music industry, as it promises to be an exciting celebration and glass clicking all the way alongside music, dance and comedy. According to the convener, Bolaji Promotions Int’l, the ceremony which will be a 3-in-1 (25years in music promotions, award presentations and launching of a new music studio) will attract dignitaries from all walks of life, with over 30 music artistes billed for the event with Saheed Osupa, Olufimo (The Lord of Music) leading others including Muri Thunder, Saridoh

2 Kamoru, Adisa Lemmy, Waheed Larondo, Saheed Magic Logo, Yoyo Ife, Sodiq Akorede and Senior Prefect. Others are S-Code, Small Doctor Ibadan, Fatimo,Cinderella, Dasola Abeke and Saidat Rofiat among others. Powered by Olufimo Fans’ Club, Oyo State Chapter and YOHAIB HOFT AFRICA Culture & Arts Entertainment based in United States of America (USA), the event promises to be great. Dignitaries and Showbiz personalities expected include Hon.Wale Akinwale, minority leader, Osun House of Assembly; Chief Banjo Oloke Modakeke (a.k.a Dealer); Alfa Shasha Akure and El-Hajj Gasali (a.k.a KESCO Lagos) among others while the father of the day is Olukoyi of Ikoyi-Osun, Oba Yisau Bamitale Otunla, KODAOLU 1.

Africa Magic set to premiere Hush

n the 4th April, 2016, viewers across Africa will welcome a new and exciting telenovella to their screens as Africa Magic premieres Hush, a tale of fashion, politics and ambition which follows different members of high society as they collide. The story of Hush revolves around Bem and Arinola, power players in fashion and politics respectively. Bem, played by Richard Mofe-Damijo, is one of Africa’s biggest designers based in Lagos State, Nigeria; and Arinola, played by Thelma Okoduwa, is one of the state’s fastest rising politicians. The intrigue begins when Bem proposes marriage to Arinola, an action that sets in motion, a chain of events propelled by the secrets in their respective lives, secrets that run through the backrooms of secret societies, the corridors of the judiciary and on social media. The Director, M-Net West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “Hush is an exciting telenovella that explores the intriguing relationship between two powerful individuals, and the power tussle between players in fashion, politics, and high society. The story line is unique, even as the acting promises to be exciting, given the calibre

of the cast and crew involved. We are excited for our viewers and urge them to tune in to catch Hush.” Hush follows in the stead of Africa Magic’s recently concluded and highly popular Nigerian telenovella, Hotel Majestic and promises to keep viewers entertained with its themes of love, power, high society, betrayal and intrigue. The telenovella explores the precarious and delicate weaving between seemingly disparate worlds which co-exist in Lagos, each possessing its own eco-system based on interconnecting, seamless interaction, secret alliances and loyalty.

Richard

Ju-drum makes debut with Ju Sile video

ormer Femi Kuti drummer, Jude Osadolor, otherwise known as Ju-drum, has finally released the video of his latest single, ‘Ju Sile’. The danceable video was shot in California, United States of America. Ju-drum began his musical career by playing drums from the time he could barely reach the set. He played for churches and would go home and play more at his father’s music school, recording demos at 3face Studios. His first touring band, ‘Jah Blessings’

was signed with Afrodisia records with their hit album ‘Bongo Man’ celebrated around West Africa. Ju-drum played with many popular artistes in Nigeria before joining Femi Kuti’s band – Positive Force in the early 90s. He played and toured the world with the band, recording hit songs like ‘Bang Bang Bang’, ‘Wonder Wonder’ and ‘Truth Don Die’ to mention a few. As a singer, Ju-drum had earlier released songs like ‘Rebel’, ‘Energy’, ‘Everything gonna be alright’ and ‘Tribute Praise’.

Osupa

AHBEA holds in Houston, Texas Aug. 20

he second edition of Afro – Heritage Broadcasting Entertainment Awards, AHBEA will take place on August 20, 2016 in Houston, Texas and it will have 15 recipients which include veteran stars like Sodiq Daba, Liz Benson, Bimbo Manuel in Legend category and Desmond Elliot , Kunle Afolayan, Ayo Adesanya among others in Icon category respectively while late Ray Eyiwunmi of Eyiwunmi dynasty and Jenifer EmekaOssai will received post –humous awards. Addressing journalists last Thursday in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Afro-Heriatge Entertainment, Mr Sola Olaniyan said one of the unique features of the awards is that unlike others, it is determined not by votes or nominations, but the recipients were painstakingly selected by a team of eminent and reputable advisors. He said one of the criteria for selection is that every recipient must be of a proven integrity and must have been in the industry for not less than 30 years for Legend category and 20 years for icon category. “It is our belief that the awards will go a long way in positioning our society and Africa for better”, Olaniyan said. He said over the years, the entertainment industry has become a veritable tool to promote the sustainability of societal beliefs and customs saying it has gone beyond the episodes of ordinary merrymaking and a mere instrument to keep away idleness and redundancy . “ Entertainment has assumed a formidable pedestal in the society in promoting peace and harmony and most importantly the industry today has become a money spinning venture and take a front seat in determining economic fate of not just individuals or families but nations at large “ “Therefore it is not out of place to acknowledge those who have been committed

Adekunle Gold

to the development of the industry and significantly contributed their quotas for its growth. “ABHEA is going extra mile by not just celebrating these people but doing so in a unique way”, he said. He also appreciate the support of the Lagos State government, Lagos State Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Also speaking at the media parley, the Coordinator for the event in Africa and popular actor, Mr Yomi Fash Lanso said the annual Afro-Heritage Broadcasting and Entertainment Awards was established in 2015 to celebrate and honour eminent Africans who have contributed to the development of the race through their crafts and talents, especially in the entertainment and the broadcasting industries. He said the success of the maiden edition speaks volume for itself and that that is why “ we are taking it further this year with assurance of more spectacular event” .

Yomi Fash

Adekunle Gold denies ‘Omolade’ single

“ t has come to my notice that a song titled ‘Omolade’ by The Bridge is circulating online and is being tagged my ‘new single’. lease disregard this false information”. “The song is a cover to Flavour’s ‘Ada Ada’ which was recorded in 2013 - three (3) years ago - when I was a member of The Bridge; a boy band. Please also note that whenever I have a new song ready for release, I will announce it myself through any of my social media handles. Thank you.”

Ju-drum

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

March 20, 2016

Lessons of Life TRUE LIFE STORY ON MATTERS OF THE HEART

ADAEZE AMOS Adanneamos@gmail.com 08023012293 (sms only)

‘I ’m calling off my engagement with Maxwell ’ Josephine is a pretty girl who came from a humble background. “I grew up in the village, had my primary and secondary education in my village before I was taken to America, to Chicago precisely to be a house maid to a newly married Nigerian couple. The wife was a friend of my auntie, so when she told them about me, they sent for me. And I excitedly packed my stuff when I was told that my visa and ticket were ready. I believed life has started being rosy for me after suffering in the village with my wretched parents and siblings. I made promises to them that once life started being okay for me over there, that I would be the one God would use to wipe their tears. When Uncle Alfred came to pick me up from village, I had already packed and waited. Two days later, we arrived Lagos where we boarded a flight to America. That was my first time of coming to Lagos; also my first time of boarding a plane. I said to myself that God had actually come to me in the likeness of Uncle Alfred, ” she giggled.

hen she arrived, “I was introduced to Rosemary, Uncle Alfred ’s wife whom I chose to call Auntie Rose. She welcomed me and she told me she liked me because I was pretty and that if I should add good attitude to it that I would go places. That statement reminded me of my principal in secondary school who was very fond of me. He wanted to marry me, but I wasn ’t ready to get married at that time and settle in the village. I believed my destiny was meant to fly higher and not to be in Ikeduru village. I assured Auntie Rose I would respect her and serve her. “When I was told that I would be paid salary every month, I didn ’t know when I started dancing before the newly married couple. They asked me the skill I would like to learn in Chicago there, I told them I liked to be enrolled in a good salon/ spa where I would learn the latest trends in hair, beauty and wellness. They agreed, ” she enthused. Josephine was enjoying life overthere. She felt at home with the couple and served them, cooked for them and run every errand she was sent. Before she was enrolled in beauty salon/spa, she had started braiding her auntie ’s hair. “I was never taught how to weave and braid. I knew it back then in my village by watching others do it. So, Auntie Rose ’s friends would

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A model

come after seeing her hair styles and I would do their own. They would give me money. I was making good money from that. I didn ’t have much to do at home because they were yet to start having children. So, after cleaning the house and cooking, I would have enough time to visit my clients and do their hair. The couple was indeed nice to me, they gave me freedom somehow, and I never abused it, ” she recalled. What Josephine enjoyed so much about the couple was the fact that they were happy together and enjoyed their lives. “They behaved as if they were campus sweethearts. They used to dine out at times and attended parties and night clubs a whole lot. They always loved to dance and knew the latest in music. I used to watch them and admire them, and I would imagine in my heart that I would find a good Nigerian who was based overthere to marry me some day. Though they were the cynosure of my eyes, but I noticed that Uncle Alfred had a particular shortcoming. He was extremely jealous of his wife and had the tendency of hitting her because he had serious anger. Whenever his wife annoyed him, he would be destroying things in his house. There was a night he punched a wall mirror in the living-room, it got broken and pierced his palm. But he dared not laid a hand on his wife because he would be dealt with overthere, “ she said.

But, there was an incident that happened one day that brought the marriage to an appropriate end. “Same incident that brought me back to Nigeria unprepared and I started from where I stopped. The only good thing I benefited was that I didn ’t go back to my village. I remained in Lagos and opened a weaving centre and I had customers who paid my bills. But that very incident had been in my memory and somehow, still haunts me, ” she said. …to be continued

Michael, 33, needs a lady between 22-26 for a serious relationship that will lead to marriage. 07031138330. Moses, 27, needs a serious relationship that can lead to marriage. She should be between 21 and 28 years old. She should be a workingclass, dark-skinned and beautiful. She should be living in Lagos -07087764057. Ola, needs a girl of 18-25 for friendship. 08054836335 I ’m Sunday, dark, 35 years old and 6ft tall. I ’m a civil servant from Ondo State. I need a God-fearing lady between 25 and 32years old. She has to be a working-class from any part of the world -07031151927. My name is Agbamue Samson, 2 7years old and a working-class. I need a sugar mummy between 30 and 40 years of age -08061540752.

NOTICE: Please note that we don ’t do personal connections outside this column. Calls to connect privately are not allowed. Just send an SMS or email and we ’ll get your request published. The request is published on first come first served basis. Thank you!

RESPONSES

RE: ‘Life has been unfair to me ’ Dear Sandra, Your experience is indeed a case-study for many married women. You were happily married to Eugene and God was gracious to you, as you got pregnant without delay. However, due to your hasty and extrovert nature, you sneaked out of the hospital, when you noticed that the rupture had ceased. It was after four days, you started experiencing severe contraction. You eventually had the baby, who died after two days and you were infected. Your husband maintained another wife secretly in the village, who already had two children for him. You fought your husband seriously, hitting and injuring him, while he kept quiet. He eventually sent you back to your parents, with evidence that you fought and injured him. Unfortunately,

you could not justify your action. My wife had similar experience, when water started coming out, she went to the hospital, but returned home in the evening when the water stopped. After four days, contraction started; the baby died inside the womb, but God had mercy, the dead baby came out without any surgery. Sandra, I would advise you to accept the second wife, be remorseful and prove to your husband that you have changed and willing to live with him harmoniously. At 45, you can still ovulate and have children. In addition, you must acknowledge God in your life and abhor violence. PATRICK ADIASOR SURULERE, LAGOS TEL: 08033452087

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Destiny Hour with Pastor Femi

Lanre-Oke

‘

herefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come’ 2 Corinthians

5:17

We have the tendency to assume a whole lot of things. We assume we know when we don’t, assume we can when we can’t among many others. One very essential thing that men and women all over the world assume is salvation and I want us today to prayerfully study one or two biblical truths on salvation. The salvation of your parents can only be a stepping stone to your salvation; it does not guarantee your salvation. Every man/ woman stands as an individual when faced with the issues and when faced with eternity. Listen to me, you stand accountable for whatever happens to you; your investments and decisions in life determines your outcome and not that of your parents or your relatives. Your personal decision to say yes to Jesus determines the outcome of your life so never think that the fact that your parents are saved guarantees your salvation. The prayers of your parents will work for you but ultimately, you stand accountable for what you do with your life. I am talking

Priesthood House with Pastor Bola

“

Bello

here are two aspects of the last day harvest. The first one spans from the period of the Pentecost with an unprecedented deliverance of souls from power of darkness to the kingdom of the dear Son of God (Col 1:13). “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son”. This is the dispensation of redemption in which the Gentiles world would come to the knowledge of the salvation of God. In this season of harvest, the gospel of the kingdom would spread through every nook and cranny of the nations where Christ is yet to be preached, and gospel will multiply from side to side until Christ is preached to all the nations. Apostle Matthew put it this way; “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the entire world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14). The word “end” does not denote annihilation of the earth, it however, implies the loss of the opportunity to be saved from darkness and from the impending wrath of God. The second aspect of the last day harvest is, when the angels of God shall appear on the scene of the earth to harvest the entire earth. This is an unparalleled harvest that precedes the white throne judgment, but with the seeming confrontation between the angels of God and the saints of God on one hand, the anti-Christ and his cohorts on the other hands. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, behold, the Lord comes, with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Salvation (1)

to someone today who is of the opinion that the present outcome of his life is as a result of the actions of his parents. I am saying to you that Jabez was called Bitter by his Mother in 1 Chronicles 4 but he turned his destiny around through a personal relationship with God. Let your own salvation be the determinant of your life. That you are born in a church or you go to church regularly or that you serve does not make you a born again. These are activities that in themselves do not amount to much. True Christianity is defined as being Christlike not just being activity mindful. In Acts 11:19-26, the Apostles were first called Christ -like when they displayed the attributes of the life of Jesus. The attributes of the life of Jesus are deeply rooted in the fruits of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23, these attributes are not just things you can fake or assume, they are not things you can decide to do instead they are displayed in you by the Spirit that woke Jesus up at resurrection. The church you go and still keep malice with that usher that is still in the habit of stealing and committing fraud at work is not displaying the characteristics of Jesus. Your service to God is an addition to your salvation not a guarantee of your salvation. Confusion about the state of your salvation means you need to re-dedicate your life to Jesus because you cannot be for Christ and not know it. Romans 8:16 states clearly that the Holy Spirit bears witness or testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. So if you are confused of your salvation

then it is time to say yes to Jesus. Check yourself now for the assurance of your salvation, check for the witness of the Holy Spirit in your spirit man. If it is not there then ensure that this article does not end without you coming to Jesus as your Lord and personal savior. There is no category of sinner that Jesus cannot save. For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God Romans 3:23, Isaiah 1:18 says your sins may be as red as scarlet but God wants to make it as white as snow. The enemy of our soul has so blinded the minds of people that some believe that the level of sins committed cannot possibly be forgiven by God. That is the lie from the pit of hell, I dare you today to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior irrespective of your actions in the past; the sin, the murder, the abortion, the hard drugs, the fraud, the lies, the occult involvement etc. Jesus is ready to save you and turn you around into a new person. Finally, let it be known that the unsaved man suffers on earth and suffers in eternity. There are provisions made for every child in the Kingdom of God. Provisions such as sound health, the mind of Christ, favour, peace of mind etc. However, they are only available to children of God not by profession but from the depth of their beings. Secondly, every sinner’s lot ends up in hell fire that has been made for the devil and his

demons. Hence, any man who is not born again not only suffers on earth but eternally, such will burn in the fires of hell. It is time for you to escape the torments you are presently suffering on earth and also escape the torments that wait in hell. Listen to me, God has done His part by sending Jesus to die for you and I and He will be justified on that last day if the reason why you are burning is simply because you refused to say I do to Him. I want you to carefully consider what you stand to gain or lose with or without salvation and make your decision now. If you are ready to say yes to Jesus, the process is simple: Believe in your heart that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary paying the price for your sins and rose from the dead the third day to establish your victory • Confess with your mouth that Jesus is lord and saviour. • Repent of all sins before the Lord and forsake them. • Welcome into God’s family. Please locate a Bible believing church and share you new birth experience with the church leaders. •For further prayer & counseling, Please contact: Pastor Femi Lanre-Oke, Jesus Praise Evangelical Ministries International, Plot A22 Power Crescent, Arab road, Kubwa. Abuja, +2348030752799, +2348053695097, Email: femi_lanre01@yahoo.co.uk

Church as God designed it – The harvest of the last day (10) and all of their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him (Jude1:14-15). The record track of evangelical movements, from the Pentecost day of the Apostles, to the time of Catholicism, then, the Azusa street revival in which there was outpouring of the Spirit with renewal of tongue speaking, and recently the reformation were all parts of the programs of the last day harvest. Each of this movement witnessed both upturn and downturn. The upturn of each of it is the mass response of people to the gospel. In the days of Apostle Peter, about 3,000 people were saved in a single sermon of Peter. The major sickle used for harvest in most of these movements is the sickle of the Holy Spirit. The utterances were majorly provoked by the Holy Ghost; and such utterances became irresistible unto people. However, the downturn of it was envy from religious zealots who were opposed to the new dispensation. The opposition to the apostolic movements was fierce and brutal in approach. The Pharisees, the Scribes and the High Priest were losing members to this movement and the Apostle became the target of death, mocking, persecution and imprisonment. Most of the Apostles fled Jerusalem to Rome, especially those ones that were spared. People like Peter were executed upside down, James was killed, and many were sawn into pieces. It was a gory sight. However, the persecution of the Apostles became a bait to spread the gospel to the Gentile peoples. Thus, the fulfilment of Colossian 1:13 and that of Luke 1:77. The brightness of the light of those days was the reason why the Prince Constantine of Rome received the gospel. Before then, Emperor Domitian of Rome threw John into a cauldron of boiling oil. When John could not be killed, John was sent to the island of Patmos, which is near the coast of Asia Minor and the city of Ephesus. It was at this period that the book of Revelation was revealed to John around 95 A. D. In other words, every movement witnessed both

upturn and downturn and the downturn of each leads to another most powerful movement. The apostolic activities of the twelve Apostles were stopped by the incursion of Prince Constantine, when he claimed that he had become a Christian. The claim of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity was, but to better the fortune of his political ambition, and to control the activities of Christians who were spreading up across the kingdom of Rome. The unimaginable turn of events, where Christianity is taking over the land was too much for Constantine to swallow. Though the faith was persecuted throughout its first three centuries, but such persecution had nothing to show for the persecution of the Church. Hence, the popular saying, “if you cannot beat them, you join them”. This accounted for the reason why Constantine joined the Christian fold and it became a major setback and terrible disaster for faith. So many Romans occultism and paganism which were alien to the operation of Christian faith were introduced to the faith. His imperial policy, operations and the mode of worship, which were the culture and lifestyles of Rome, were brought into the Church. Maxentius, who was in control of Rome before the reign of Constantine, was so powerful in magical operations and his army ranked the best in Rome. Therefore, Constantine sought the help of God through the Church. He believed ammunition and soldiery should be less important than the help of the invincible God. He, therefore, considered the God of John, who the late Emperor Domitian could not kill with boiling oil, would fit into his present need. Accordingly, Constantine called on God with earnest prayer to reveal to him who He was and stretched forth his right hand to seek for help in his present difficulties. It was in his entreaty of God that a most extraordinary sign appeared to him from heaven which was the sign or the emblem of cross.

In his own earthly wisdom, he inscribed the emblem of cross upon his sword and calve many small crosses and distributed it to all his soldiers. Amazingly, Constantine won the battle and brought the culture of cross image to the Church. The cross is a spiritual symbol of vicarious blood sacrifice, crucifixion and forgiveness of sins to those who trust on the cross which represents the death of Christ to save the world. The import of this sign was deeper than what Constantine took it to be and this becomes the beginning of the movement of the Catholic Church. Thus, all kinds of emblems, which are the culture of Rome, were brought to the Church. The image of the child and mother were also introduced to the Church. He introduced the clergy and laity to the Church – a representation of ruling class over the ruled. He designed the clergy garments as against the traditional casual dresses of the followers of Christ. Thus, the Catholic became a universal church as a result of the power of Rome over the entire earth. The low-key life of the people of faith was entirely disrupted. Monasteries were created and a different training, different culture and behaviour were introduced to the Church. Thus, rather than Jerusalem, Rome became the headquarters of faith and the pilgrimage of worship. The direction and liturgical instructions came from Rome. Bible could not be accessed except those who were trained to speak Latin Language. Of course, holding or reading of Bible was limited to only the clergies. The word of God became scarce and only what the clergy says was what was believed. It was the moment of darkness for the faith. However, light came again to several clergies even among the monks. We shall look at how another movement came forth next week.

• Please worship with us at Power and Glory Tabernacle, FUTA, South Gate, Akure. You surely rejoice you do. Pastor Bola Bello – 08033704564

From the Pulpit Learn with Kunle

Macaulay

Email: profkunlemacaulay@ yahoo.com (08023032698, sms pls)

he Lord’s great commission is a Christian lingo that represents divine mandate of Jesus Christ. Before the ascension of Jesus Christ, he gave this mandate to every disciple of his and today, the same mandate is given to every believer of Jesus Christ until he returns to establish his perfect kingdom.The great commission is a personal command given by Jesus Christ to all believers of human generation that decide to follow him. It is a mission of all Christians and not for a particular denomination or a group of people.

The church, no matter the name, is an instrument of God to prepare people who will go into the world to make the world know the power in the name of Jesus. The major work of the church of Christ is to make him known to the world. He said to his disciples, “…..you will be my witnesses… and to the ends of the earth”. The message is very simple, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...” Matt 28:19. Mark said “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. Mk. 16:15. Matthew confirmed this message, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”. Matt 24:14. In the first Christian church, there were two forms of preaching namely: proclamation and teaching. Many Christian leaders do not understand the difference between the two. While proclamation is the missionary preaching to the whole world and its contents concern the crucified and risen Lord and his return to earth; “Jesus Christ died for our

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The Lord’s great commission and Nigeria sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve”. I Cor. 15:3-5; this message is about the redemption of man, the teaching is directed to the congregation of believers. Every early Christian service of worship began with:(1)teaching of the apostles, followed by (2) fellowship known as the table - fellowship and then (3) the breaking of bread – the Eucharist and finally (4) the prayers. The teaching of the apostles contained (a) preaching and (b) other facts that the congregation must know about morals, sacrament, the last things Heb 6:2 and information concerning the life of Jesus Christ. Sincerely and spiritually speaking, no church or denomination can be spiritually successful, just because it is having branches all over the world, its properties are getting more elaborate, the church service has a large congregation in attendance and its financial resources are enlarged. A successful church or denomination is recognized when its many ethnic and racial groups are living out the great commission and when every member is involved directly or indirectly in the commission. Nigeria is a “secular” state. It is a nation with a promise of religious tolerance that is backed by a constitutional guarantee of freedom of worship and assembly. Our experience in Nigeria is that churches are not instrumental to what Christianity stands for. Many Christian leaders in Nigeria extract large donations from their followers, duping them into believing that their financial contributions to church would relieve their sufferings and provide prosperity. The mind control through coercive and powerful techniques of brainwashing like psychological dis-orientation and suggestibility by the modern church leaders makes it possible for us to suggest that many people who profess to be Christians are not

Christians at all. The highly commercial activities of the modern church which include the sale of salvation as a commodity are very disturbing. Some of the worries of Christian theologians today about the different doctrines, methods of worship and messages of many churches in Nigeria that do not glorify God are that they take attention away from the real message (Great Commission), beliefs and practices and focus on processes and methodologies. What I actually want to prove here is that Christianity when properly taught and practised will produce spiritual development, provide communal living and provide improved health and longevity. Christianity is concerned about the mental, spiritual and physical well-being of people of the world. The message of God is for the whole world. God has not sent people out to Christianize the world, but with a message of redemption. As much as I believe in the freedom of religion and I respect the secularity of our nation Nigeria, I still want to state that the freedom is being abused by some Christian leaders. A Christian leader of recent was sentenced to death by a court of law because of his activities in his church. There are many spiritual leaders who should face allegations of financial misconduct, sexual impropriety and faking miraculous cures for life-threatening illnesses like cancer, diabetes and HIV-AIDS. They extort a lot of money from these innocent people who believe in their attractive and persuasive advertisements. It is true that Christianity enjoys legal privileges that insulate it from state interference in its activities, but the current events in the country show that the church is betraying the trust the constitution has in it. I believe that our security needs to intervene decisively. Moreover, professional bodies with specific responsibility should involve law enforcement agencies in clearing fake and illegal institutions that affect their professions. Examples are unli-

censed medical maternity homes inside a church that is registered for worship, teaching and spreading the Word of God and the authenticity of many Christian leaders and church founders who practise occultism and perform inexplicable rituals and ceremonies. This is the time that Nigeria must experience a change which includes the regulation of real and imagined abuses and excesses, cults (churches) that brainwash vulnerable people in the name of God, militancy that threaten our democracy and terrorists and agitators who carry out atrocities in the name of religion. I call on Christian leaders, especially the executives of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Pentecostal Commonwealth Christian Association of Nigeria ( PCCAN) to reassess their evangelical and pastoral policies, provide code of ethics for members and demand for authority to sanction any erring member. It will be unfair if I fail to warn Nigerians that we are still in a time of severe stress, full of peril and pending disasters. When we consider the present human situations in this country, our situation is still hopeless (the fuel scarcity, the naira / dollar problem, girl-child marriage, Bokoharamism and unemployment). All state governments including the federal government are struggling to put things right. Our faith is being subjected to the ultimate test; so, we need to depend on God and live a Spirit-governed and directed life. Faith sees that God and his plans cannot be moved and cannot be destroyed. Many of us need to spend more time on our knees. Together we need to stand and rebuild Nigeria. Let us pray for wisdom for our political leaders, spiritual power for our spiritual leaders and patience and understanding for Nigerians. •Prof Kunle Macaulay is the Director of Studies United Bible University, Lagos Phone: 0802 – 303 – 2698: email : profkunlemacaulay@ yahoo.com Twitter : KunleMacaulay1

News

Kumuyi assures of God’s unlimited power …as Deeper Life holds Easter retreat

t has indeed been another season of revival and supernatural visitation for the participants at the on-going Sunday evening revival services embarked upon by the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor W. F. Kumuyi recently in Lagos. The programme is the first in the series, aimed at taking blessings of God to the people. It is being transmitted live from different old groups in Lagos State to various parts of the country, Africa and beyond. The event is also another opportunity for people to look beyond their problems and draw closer to God who is able to proffer permanent solution to their predicaments. Besides, there is also another on-going monthly life-transformingn programme organised by the Church which has really impacted positively on the lives of participants. This, no doubt, demonstrates that Deeper Life Bible Church is committed to ensuring that Nigerians achieve their aspirations through righteousness. It is, however, interesting to note that the Church has concluded plans to hold its annual national Easter retreat scheduled between Thursday, March 24th and Sunday, March 27th, 2016 at the Deeper Life Conference Centre (DLCC) on KM 48, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Pastor has assured all would-be participants at the retreat, which will come under the theme, ‘Experiencing the Power of His Cross’, of God’s special intervention in all spheres of their lives. He also said that the programme would take place simultaneously in all the states’, region and local government campgrounds within Nigeria, other locations in Africa and beyond. In a statement he personally signed, Kumuyi, who has devoted all his life to the preaching of the gospel and to the liberation of the depressed and oppressed across the globe through the unstoppable power of God, assured that just as the curtain of the temple (in Jerusalem) was torn into two from top to bottom, the earth shook and the rocks split the moment Jesus breathed his last on the rugged cross, even so shall all participants have their life challenges torn asunder and uprooted at the retreat. “All around us, we hear stories of anguish, terror, sadness and of hopelessness. Frustration is written on the faces of many people; there are dashed elevated expectations, misery and confusion. It has become clear to many people that there is no solution from man. We hear about kidnapping, assassinations, bare-faced wickedness, and we experience insecurity and extreme poverty. Many people, who placed their trust and

hope in earthly authorities, have had their hopes dashed. The world, we can safely say, is in turmoil. These are the fulfilments of the scriptures. Yet, in Christ’s Cross lies the ultimate solution to the temporal and eternal challenges of mankind. The Bible remains our compass in these perilous times. We are comforted by the assurance that the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits,” Kumuyi said. The cleric also advised all people, especially Nigerians not to be despondent to the point of seeking solutions to their problems in the wrong quarters, saying “The point at which we are in the country demands divine intervention. That may not be quick in coming, unless we all intercede for Nigeria and resolve to do things in a better, different way. We need not shed innocent blood in our desire to ‘make it’ in life. The awesome power of God that resurrected Jesus from the dead is still very potent to deliver those who put their trust in him.” The General Superintendent emphasised that beyond seeking a prosperous life here, every human creation of God should rather concern him/herself with the life hereafter. “Worldly attainments will fade away, whereas the word of God remains forever. Therefore, as Christians and sincere and earnest seekers, we

must constantly feed ourselves with the word of God, which must be our guide, and by so doing, live a life that pleases God, leading genuine followers of Christ into the Portals of heaven ultimately. No matter what we are in life, it cannot be compared to a life that has no end, which is as blissful as it is glorious with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That is our ultimate goal,” he said. The retreat, the statement added, would be streamed live via satellite from DLCC to other centres in Nigeria, Africa, Europe, America and other continents of the world where the Church has its branches. “Like the previous editions, the event will meet the diverse needs of participants, as testimonies of supernatural deliverance have always been a commonplace at the event,” the release stated. It would be recalled that last year September, Deeper Christian Life Ministry in collaboration with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) held Lagos citywide crusade where thousands of people gave their lives to Christ. An official of the church, who is a member of the Church’s media/publicity committee, said that many of those who gave their lives to Christ at the crusade are still doing fine in their Christian experiences, and also in the church.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Church is silent on economic matters, says Baptist pastor The Pastor of Union Baptist Church, Agege, Lagos, Rev. Isaac Oladimeji speaks on his over 10 years in the Church, why the Church has failed to address some economic matters and what God said about Christians faithful in politics among others. Johnson Okanlawon brings excerpts of the interview. What informed your decision to enrol at pastoral school? I sensed the call of God on me that He wanted me to become a pastor. Initially, I struggled with my spirit whether I should take up the call or not; but after some years, it dawned on me that I needed to do the will of God. So, I engaged in the process of becoming a trained pastor. So, it was not out of self will or choice, but the will of God that I should become a pastor. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have wanted to become a pastor at all! Why? I had my personal dream; my dream was to go into academics and settle down as a university lecturer and later rise to the rank of university chancellor, leading a university. That was my dream personally. But God said, ‘He had something better for me.’ Left to me alone, I wouldn’t have become a pastor. As a church man and a member of a local church, I have been opportuned to be a member of church council in several churches at different periods. So, I have experienced of how pastors were treated, humiliated… I wouldn’t have loved to become a pastor, but since there was evidence that I have to be a pastor, I have nothing to do again. Personally, I will say the church is more than a church for me. Actually, it has been a school. I see myself as coming to a school to learn; it has been a place of learning for me because I have learnt so much and I have experienced so much. It is not just a church I pastor; it has been a school where I learn. Why did you see the church as a school? I have seen it all - both negative and positive. When you are in a school setting, there are times when your teacher behaves one way or the other and you take him to be a personal friend, or a time when same teacher behaves and you think, why is he so wicked or cruel? So, I have tasted both the hot and the cold in this church. I have experienced both the pleasant and the unpleasant. I have seen cases of where I almost opted out, but God stood by me. So, it has been learning, different experiences. When you are a pastor and you are pastoring different flocks of people with different minds, orientations, understanding, exposure, you are bound to face some serious battles and I have experienced different cases of attacks, persecution and so on. I have also experienced cases where people admired my way of handling some things; it has been a period of mixed feelings for me. Looking at Nigerian society today, you find Christian faithful in dubious engagements; how do Christians holding political office should behave? I want to advise Christians that have gone into politics to be very careful about their involvement in politics. Actually, a Christian should be a Christian; going into politics may not be a sin, but it becomes a sin when you lose Christian focus; your Christian integrity. Many Christians today, have lost their integrity; testimony because of their involvement in politics, which should not be so. In other countries of the world, we have seen Christians who have gone into politics and today, they are still Christians. I can remember Bill Clinton was a Baptist; he was even a member of the choir when he was a governor of Lancaster before he went to Washington to become the President of United States. So also, Jimmy Carter. Most of the Presidents of Unites States are Christians and they have not lost their Christian testimony because

Pastor Oladimeji

of their philosophy and principles. Most of our Nigerian Christians are not principled, the love of money has eroded their Christian philosophy and it has overtaken their Christian ideal. That should not be, as whoever wants to go into politics must remember that he is a Christian, a child of God. No matter what happens, you must keep your Christian status, maintain the integrity because when you are going into politics, actually, you are mixing up with people of the world, you want to serve the country in the midst of canal minded people, the unbelievers. So, you have to be more careful because you are not in a church setting or on a holy mountain doing politics; you are in the world doing politics. The Bible says that even when you are in the world, you are not of the world. I will advise that whoever wants to go into politics must remember where they are coming from; their background as Christians. They should remember that it is a tenure situation, that after some time they will leave the stage of politics. They should always remember that they will come back to the church environment. But many of them, because they have messed up themselves in the midst of politics, lost their courage and come back to the church environment after leaving politics. That should not be. In the 1970s, we had good Christian leaders. But today, the story is different; could we say that churches are not breeding good leaders again? In yesteryear, there was discipline. Almost in every sector of the economy, there was discipline. For example, in education, three, four decades ago when most of us were in the primary, secondary schools, there was discipline. Teachers were respected and allowed to train students. In fact, in those days, parents were not as important as teachers. If a teacher disciplined a student, the parent dared not take any action. But the opposite is the case today; it is the parent that will be telling the teacher: ‘don’t touch my child. I have paid the school fees; if my child does anything wrong, report to me.’ The same thing that is happening in education today has affected other sectors of the society, including the church. Even the church has failed to address some issues; it has decided to remain unduly silent about some economic matters. Since when have you heard messages that address obeying the law of the land in the church today? How many

times have you listened to messages that teach integrity, discipline and obedience to government authorities, parents, elders… all we preach today is money, money and money! It is true that we have to preach that people should work so that they will not suffer. Prosperity is biblical, quite okay, but it should not be to the detriment of other aspects of human life that the pastor must emphasize. The problem is that our pastors feel that if I don’t preach this, they will stop bringing money to the church and they may feel offended. So, in order not to feel offended, let me preach in a way that they will feel happy, so that the tithe and offering will increase! We should remember that we are working in the Kingdom of God, the idea of becoming a pastor is a Kingdom business; it is not a worldly affair. We must remember that one day, we are going to give account to the one who called us to the ministry. So, the problem is that the church has crept into the world and the world also has crept into the church. So, the whole thing is now mixed up. When you get to a church arena, you will hardly find a thing that will encourage you to be a church member, today. Even the way the church members behave or even the pastor talks, you will be amazed whether you are in a church or not. In fact, what is happening in Aso Rock today where members of the National Assembly are fighting is not all different from what is happening in the church today. You begin to wonder whether we are actually worshipping God! When you come to the church, you see some people outside the auditorium discussing in groups and you see few in the auditorium worshipping. The whole thing is in a mess; I hope God will come in and do the right thing for us. What is your message to the Union Baptist Church? They should seek the face of God, not deceiving themselves; not allowing sentiments or the manifestation of the flesh to get a new pastor. A pastor is a servant of the living God. There are pastors and there are pastors. The members of the search committee should not allow sentiments to override their deliberations and decisions. They should seek the face of God and do the will of God. Whoever God has chosen, young or old, let them allow the chosen man of God to lead the flock. It is not a matter of age, but the will of God. That should be their understanding and the philosophy of getting a new pastor. When God says no, he means no; when he says yes, they should agree. That is the way forward. In the past 10, 15 years, the church has made some mistakes which they too are now regretting. That should not continue. They should do everything with utmost sincerity and complete transparency. Let the will of God prevail. If the pastor is coming into the church through some groups or is riding on the wings of some sections of the generality of the church, there will be problem. Let him come neutrally, be original, and do the mind of God; the church will move forward. If they fail to do that, what has happened before will repeat itself. But if they don’t want that to happen, they should get it right.s

From the Pulpit

The voice of wisdom

with Dr. David

Oyedepo

e live in a wicked world where our destinies are at risk without empowerment. This is because power is the only language the wicked (the devil and his cohorts) understand and respect. Therefore, empowerment is not an option, but our guarantee for triumph over the powers of the wicked (Psalms 66:3; 1 John 5:19).

We must also understand that we are in the last days, which are the days of God’s power; and as redeemed children of God, we are empowered to manifest our sonship. As it written: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12; See also Luke 10:19; Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:16-20; Psalms 110:1-3). However, it is important to know that the Resurrection of Christ is the ultimate power of God and it is made available to God’s children. The Bible says: And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over

Let’s go

BIBLE with Favour

Tioluwani

Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

’m a Christian who believes more in love than bringing in spirituality into every issue. My sister was going out with a guy for over three years and finally decided to settle down with him, thereby planning for their wedding. However, my parents said before giving their consent (even though they have been seeing them together for some time), they have to pray about it. They went to three different ministers of God only to come back and tell us that the two of them cannot be together because they are not meant for each other. This affected my sister so much that she was hospitalized, though she is now out of the hospital, but she is not yet her normal self. For them to have been in that relationship for over three years with no strife, what else? To me, it’s just not fair; my parents should just allow love to prevail. Yes the God factor, but we have to find our love before God favours, according to the Book of Proverbs. What do you think Ma? LOVE yes. Love must prevail; we must do nothing to stop love. There is even nothing we can do to stop love from prevailing. Love is above all. Love rules and reigns over all situations. The first thing to consider here is the issue of love. The different Kinds of love mentioned in the Bible are as follows: 1. Agape (verb) is a special word representing the divine love of God toward His Son, human beings in general and believers. It is also used to depict the outwardly focused love God expects believers to have for one another. This special type

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Encounter with the Power of His Resurrection! all things to the church (Ephesians 1:19-22). This means that every redeemed child of God is ordained to manifest the power of the Resurrected Christ. But, how do we encounter this Power? First, it is important to know that the Holy Spirit is the custodian of the power of Resurrection. As it is written: But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11). Therefore, the Resurrection power of Christ is the Holy Ghost at work in different dimensions and we can access that power through the following: Revelation: This is our gateway to encountering the power of Christ’s Resurrection. It is our divine insight into the rudiments of this power that guarantees our access. For instance, Apostle Paul said, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:10). Thereafter, it was said of Him: The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men (Acts 14:11; see also Obadiah 1:21). This helps us to understand that the power of Christ’s Resurrection will manifest through the saints of God in these last days as never before. However, we must know that access to revelation requires prayer and fasting. That is the reason Paul prayed thus: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what

is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20). The devil will do anything to block our access to the revelation of Christ’s Resurrection. This is because revelation establishes our dominion over the devil’s kingdom. As a result, we need prayer and fasting to enforce our access (Psalms 119:18; Jeremiah 33:3; Isaiah 58:6,8,10; 2 Corinthians 4:4). The Blood of Jesus Christ: The power of Resurrection is the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. This is because Resurrection was at the cost of the Blood of Jesus. As it is written: Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant (Hebrew 13:20; See also Revelation 12:11; John 19:30; 1 Corinthians 6:20). Furthermore, the Bible says: As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee (Zechariah 9:11-14). This helps us to know that there is no force in hell that can resist the power of Christ’s Resurrection. In addition, we understand from the scriptures that the Blood of Jesus is God’s last card for man’s redemption and glorification. As it is written: And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague

more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether (Exodus 11:1; See also Exodus 12:1-13; Zechariah 9:11-14; 1 John 5:78). Therefore, by the Blood of Jesus that was shed on the Cross of Calvary for you and I, I see God breaking every stronghold over your life and setting you in your high places, in the name of Jesus Christ! You are blessed! Are you born again? If you are not, you can say this prayer and you will be born again: “Lord Jesus, I come to you today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and Satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!” For further reading, please get my books: Possessing Your Possession, Walking In The Newness Of Life, Exploring The Riches Of Redemption and All You Need To Have All Your Needs Met. I will continue this teaching next week. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, PMB 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Love is above all, I believe of Christian love, “whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings; it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” Reflecting the fact that human marriage is modelled after the divine relationship between Christ and the Church, husbands are told to love their wives with this kind of out-going, selfless love (Ephesians 5:25,31-32). This kind of love is, perhaps, best expressed in Jesus Christ’s statement in John 15:13, “Greater love [agape] has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus Himself perfectly exemplified this kind of love throughout His life time, continually giving of Himself and His time and energies to serve others and ultimately offering up His life as a sacrifice for all of humanity. This is the kind of love God wants each of us to exemplify in our lives and particularly in our marriages. 2. Phileo (verb) means “’to have ardent affection and feeling’ - a type of impulsive love” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1995, “Love”). This is the natural, human type of love and affection that we have for a friend and is often defined as “brotherly love.” In John 21:15-16, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him with the agapao type of love and Peter responded that he had the normal human phileo type of love for Him. However later, after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to genuinely demonstrate agapao-type godly love, serving others throughout his life time and making the ultimate sacrifice in martyrdom. 3. Eros (noun) refers to sexual, erotic love or desire. True love, as explained in the Bible, isn’t focused on oneself and one’s feelings or emotions (just like the last two types of love), but is instead

outwardly focused on others - wanting to best serve and care for them. True love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (NIV). It is clear from even a cursory reading that the Bible stresses the importance of love. The Bible even says that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16 ESV). It would not be an overstatement to say that every action that is pleasing to God is motivated by love. And if He himself is love, what then can prevail against Him. He is in charge of everything; without Him, nothing works. However, what many so-called Christians of this generation call love is not love, but LUST. They are just after what they can get and enjoy now. How are you sure that what your sister had with his supposed fiancé was not just lust. Lust is like a bitter pill coated with sweetener. It takes some time before you can lick off the sweetener, but immediately it’s off, you are left with the bitter part. At first, lust looks perfect, but it’s just for a short period, it will soon wear off. What your parents did was what your sister should have done three years before - taking a very good time to pray and seek the face of God in relation to this guy. Your sister, even before getting to a marriageable age should have started praying for her future partner. A lady must start committing this into the hands of God from about 18 years of age (for some it is even too late, they prefer to start earlier). The question here is, why? 1. Pray so as not to pray. It’s always better to talk to God why your mind is at peace and you are calm, for you will be able to receive clearly from

Him, rather than when your heart is troubled; you are anxious not knowing what will happen the next minute. At that time, you won’t be able to hear clearly from the Lord, thereby stretching your period of prayer and anxiety. 2. You can only receive when you ask. Matt.7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” When you ask, the one that knows you more than yourself will arrange the best to come your way. Don’t forget that one of the most important tools the devil uses to destroy people’s future is getting them into a wrong marriage. A person in a wrong marriage has lost 90 per cent of his life. Ask God for direction, all that dwells on this earth is the Lord’s; He knows the right person for you, don’t jump into it because of what you will gain NOW. 3. You can’t do it alone: - “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:4-5.) You need God, you can’t do it alone, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Prov. 14:12. Any step taken out of the flesh or taken according to advice from friends, big aunts, even families might lead you to your downfall. Let God do it. •You can send in your QUESTIONS and the Holy Spirit will be set to give you the ANSWERS. Barr. (Mrs.) Favour Tioluwani Tel: 08050272259 or 07062738213. Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kingdom speed (2)

Miracle Arena with Bishop

Theo Ugochukwu

n the 1st edition, we discussed the Biblical meanings of the above topic and some of the surprises and unusual things that are associated with it. This edition will focus on major Bible Heroes who did their kingdom work here on earth with kingdom speed. They are those who put in their all and worked according to God’s dictates to accomplish their divine assignments here on earth within the shortest time possible. They avoided all distractions and worldly entertainments so as to deliver on their kingdom jobs. They include:

1) Jesus Christ: The Lord Jesus Christ Himself set the pace of working with kingdom speed. His work here on earth is a clear casestudy in what working with Kingdom speed is all about. Jesus founded the Gospel Church worldwide, introduced the Kingdom message, recruited and trained the first set of kingdom workers (The 12 Apostles and 70 disciples); delivered the captives; revolutionized the Jewish tradition and custom; confronted the Jewish system intellectually and established a new order and finally submitted Himself for the supreme sacrifice which is the ultimate end of His divine mission here on earth. All the above great accomplishments were made by Jesus within a short time frame of 3½ years. Although at 12 Jesus started displaying unusual knowledge and wisdom, by engaging the old time Jewish philosophers and teachers in intellectual discourse; he never began His real kingdom work until He was 30years old. Luke 2:46-47 say “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both

nd ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). That statement was made by Jesus to stress how important the truth is. There is a power of freedom inherent in the truth and knowing the truth grants access to this power. The truth we are talking about only has one source which is Jesus. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:14&17). As you can see that the truth is a power that flows from Jesus and that is the reason you can be free when you know this truth. The truth is the mind of God for your life and the mind of God is of good, not of evil to give you a glorious feature and beautiful end. Because the word of God endures forever, His good mind towards you will not ever change; that is the truth you must know and should sink down to your heart. Isaiah 40:8 says the grass withers; the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever; as you can see, the truth of God’s word concerning your life stands forever. The power of truth cannot work or perform in a life except you BELIEVE the word that conveys the truth. It is your believing in the word of God conveying the truth that releases the power of truth into your situations and brings the needed or desired change. Your believing the truth is like sowing a seed into the soil. A seed cannot germinate to produce fruits until planted. The woman with the issue of blood heard news about Jesus which she believed and when she touched Jesus, she was able to access the healing power from Jesus because she believed in what she heard about Him. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague(Mark 5:27-29). You too can draw out power from the Lord by believing the

From the Pulpit 35

Sunday, March 20, 2016

hearing them and asking them questions. And all that hear him were astonished at his understanding and answers”. There is this unsubstantiated argument by Bible scholars and Theologists that Jesus spent his 30 years on earth to prepare Himself for His Kingdom mission on earth such as undergoing formal education and studying the Jewish system. Thereafter, He began and finished His kingdom work with an unprecedented kingdom speed. 2) John the Baptist: Another Kingdom worker who gave his all and accomplished so much within a very short time is John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a fore-runner of Jesus. The age space between him and Jesus was just six months. His mother, Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy for him when Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she visited Elizabeth. So, since Jesus whom John the Baptist was ahead of to clear the way for Him was trailing him behind, John the Baptist had no time to waste. He worked with kingdom speed in order to meet up. Perhaps, for the purpose of avoiding distractions, John the Baptist restricted his movements and activities within the wilderness. He denied himself the good things of life so as to devote all his time to doing the kingdom work he was assigned to do. People went to the wilderness to hear him and as many as came in contact with him never remained the same. Before he could be arrested and beheaded by King Herod, he was already done with his work. He was able to get his work done before Jesus came on the scene within a short time because he worked with kingdom speed by staying focused on his mission. 3) Apostle Paul: Paul, formally called

Saul was a devoted Jewish lawyer who defended the Jewish tradition and custom with an uncommon passion. He went to the extreme in championing the cause of his fatherland by wreaking havoc on the early Christians. On his way to Damascus in continuation of his destructive activities against the early Christians, the Lord arrested him. He was converted and made to work for the Lord. As a preacher and Kingdom worker, Apostle Paul became more zealous than ever. He did his kingdom work with a lightning speed. Within a very short space of time, Apostle Paul took the Gospel message out of Jerusalem to the remote areas of Israel, and even to Rome. Apostle Paul was not only a fire brand preacher of the Kingdom message, but he was also a prolific writer of the Gospel messages. Apostle Paul wrote much more books of the New Testament than all the other Apostles put together. It is the Spirit of Kingdom speed that propelled him to accomplish so much in a short time in his kingdom work on earth. 4) Elijah: Elijah was a fire brand prophet. He worked for God at a very dangerous period in Israel – the time when King Ahab was on the throne and doing all manner of wicked things including murdering in cold blood the prophets of God. At a swoop, Elijah murdered 450 false prophets of Ahab. By this singular act, Elijah in a space of one day put an end to false prophets and their false prophecies in Israel. This is a typical case of destroying evil in a country with kingdom speed. Again, 1King 18:45-46 tell us that Elijah ran with kingdom speed to outrun and overtake King Ahab and his chariots to avoid being beaten by a heavy rainfall. “Meanwhile, the

sky grew black with cloud, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel”. What happened in this physical race between Ahab and Elijah in their bid to avoid danger symbolizes what often happens in the spiritual kingdom race. Overtaking is allowed. It takes the power and grace of God for one to overtake his fellows in the highway of the kingdom race. The Bible says that the Spirit of God came upon Elijah and he was empowered to overtake and outrun Ahab despite the fact that Elijah was running on feet while Ahab was on his chariot. This is exactly what the kingdom race is like. With the spirit of God at work in you, you can overtake and outrun anybody ahead of you, no matter how long he has been running before you and the means by which he is running. Today, receive the power of God like Elijah and run with kingdom speed to overtake your enemies in Jesus name. In the next edition of this series we will discuss what it takes to work and move with kingdom speed. Till then, stay tuned to our message every Sunday in this same paper. I LOVE THIS GOD! •For more information, contact: Bishop Theo Ugochukwu – General Overseer, Miracle Assembly Bible Church, a.k.a. The City of Joy, 80, Ajose Street, Mende, Maryland, Lagos; Tel: 08033461482. Email: bishopgracemiracle@ ymail.com

The power of truth

truth you have heard about Him and trusting the unchanging word of God concerning your situation. Whatsoever unpleasant condition you are experiencing now, there is a truth of God’s word about that situation and all you need to do is to believe the truth against the fact and you will be positioning yourself to draw out power for change of situation. Whatsoever God has said concerning your life will not come to pass except you believe it. Virgin Mary said to the Angel that brought the word of truth unto her “…behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…” That was a statement of a woman that believed what has been said unto her. When you believe the truth and take some steps according to the truth; then it can be said that you are a woman or man of faith. Now faith is the action that demonstrates your belief and as you launch out by faith, the following performing power of truth are released upon your life:

1. The Power of True Worship: Many people in the time of Jesus’ physical ministration on earth were serving God that they didn’t know and Jesus made us to understand that such act of worship is not sought for by God. The people that their service and worship could be accepted are those that worship God in spirit and truth. So you see, you need the power of truth to give God true worship. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:222). This is the reason why anyone who is not a Spirit-filled person cannot truly worship God, for there is no means to connect to God except through His Spirit. If your own human spirit cannot connect God’s Spirit, then that worship is false.

Opayinka

2. The Power of Light: Anyone who is not in the truth is automatically in darkness. A man cannot know the light until you know the true word of God. It is the truth that brings the light. The Bible says in John 14: 6 that “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And in chapter 1 verses 1-5, we understood that Jesus is the light of men, so you can see that without the truth which comes from Jesus, a man will remain in darkness. 3. The Power of Freedom: Just as I mentioned earlier in this write-up, the freedom you are seeking is in the truth that you know – the word of truth that is rightly applied. Many people are in bondage because they are ignorant of what the truth of God’s word says about their situation. Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst (Isaiah 5:13). The knowledge here is referring to what the Lord wanted them to do and they failed to do it. The truth is,the true freedom you are seeking comes from the truth of the word

of God you know. 4. The Power of Salvation: The power that brings salvation lies in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. No man can be saved without believing this truth. Apostle Paul said in the book of Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”(Romans 1:16). For anyone to experience the power of salvation, he/she must first believe the truth of the gospel that Jesus is the only Saviour. 5. The Power to Possess: The more the truth you know about yourself, the more the possession of God you can have. The Spirit of truth will lead us into all truth said about Jesus to open our understanding to the truth that the more revelation you have, the more you can access anything from the treasure house of God. In John 16 from verse 12-15, Jesus is revealing to us how the Spirit of truth will lead us to possess our possession in God through the revelation of God’s truth. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. Bishop Joshua Kolawole Opayinka is the Presiding Bishop of Glorious Tabernacle International located behind Ondo State Cultural Centre, Akure, Ondo State. Share your testimonies and prayer points with me at: O8060297831 joshuakolawoleo@yahoo.com

From the Pulpit

Chapel of Holiness and Testimony with Pastor K. I.

Bona

Continued from topic 1 of last week

he place and or locations they fell they made their abode and built their strongholds. Their names were changed from angels to angels of darkness or demons. Those who fell in the waters took the name of marine spirits.

Where does these marine spirits reside? They reside in the bodies of waters where they have built their strongholds and kingdoms. Unknown to many, what happens in the marine kingdom goes a long way in affecting human existence here on earth. Their strongholds are called their kingdoms. Marine spirits have no gender difference. There is no male or female among them. They are just spiritual beings. They have no sex organs. However, in order to carry out their evil schemes and deceptions against humanity they create artificial ones. Although they have their kingdoms inside oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, streams and every other bodies of water, their impacts and activities are felt strongly every day in the world of men. There is hardly anyone who have not suffered directly or indirectly from the arrows, and manipulations of these water spirits. Ninety seven percent of everything happening in this world, originated from the water kingdom. I may not know your challenges. A closer study of what you are going through either in marriage, career, health, or business could be traceable to the manipulations of these marine powers. These marine powers are so influential and very opt to control. Hardly could you see in the black continent, a family that has nothing to do with marine powers. It might have entered such family either through the father’s lineage or through the mother’s lineage. Infact as far as African countries are concerned with particular emphasis in Nigeria, it is a foundational problem. There is no one desiring to have an accomplished or fulfilled destiny in Nigeria who would treat this topic with levity. If you are weak in prayers or you are not good in fasting please be strong in them. This is because ninety five percent of

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Marine spirits (2) people’s wealth, destinies, careers, and marriages are all caged in the water. However, the good news is that our Lord Jesus gave assurance that he has actually put all things under our feet in his name by walking on the surface of the water. By so doing he assures us that all the powers in the waters has been subdued by him; meaning all those who are born again in Christ, over powers marine spirits. Marine spirits have no more power over them. Matthew 14:25-30” And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” Dear child of God, have they told you, your case is marine spirit attack, do not be afraid. Jesus walked on the sea, for us to walk over attacks and harassment of marine spirits. In Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Pray these prayer points 1) Any covenant I made consciously or unconsciously with marine powers be broken by the Blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus 2) Marine spirit covenant, I inherited through my father’s blood line or through my mother’s blood line Blood of Jesus delete it in the name of Jesus. 3) Anything I have in common with marine spirit because of sex I had in my dreams or the food I ate in my dreams, Blood of Jesus flush it out in the name of Jesus. 4) Fire of the Holy Ghost burn every property of the marine spirit in my life, marriage and destiny in the name of Jesus. 5) Today I break out from the clutches and domination of marine spirit in the name of Jesus. The secrets of marine spirits You need serious spiritual preparations and alertness to gain insight and have

maximal benefit and deliverance from this subject. This subject is so important that as you closely study this message you ought to gird yourself for serious spiritual warfare. Your success in this warfare would deliver to you lots of testimonies you would never had shared in your life. I have already mentioned earlier in this teaching that ninety seven percent of all that happens here on this planet earth are controlled and manipulated from the marine world. When you battle with powers from the marine world who are responsible for almost all challenges you go through in life. With Jesus giving you victory, you would imagine the level of success you would accomplish in your life career. There is a burning desire by all believer to engage in a warfare with these powers and spirits in the water who for ages and centuries have kept countless men and women under perpetual bondages. They have had their destinies caged, and their visions, hopes, expectations, and or peace and health in their families, homes and marriages trunked. However, it is not all categories of believes are qualified for this battle. It is only the (Hewis). Hewis is a Greek word for sons. The sons are those categories of believes you are really born-again and have had regenerational experience leading to salvation. The sons are the matured Christian who are able to chew the strong bones of the word of God. Not these baby Christians who are still being fed with the milk of the word of God. In John 1:12 “But as many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” The sons according to the scripture are given powers. Powers from above. Power of the Holy Spirit. They are those who have received the baptism of fire. Not just water baptism. Those whose words command attention in the realm of the spirit. The fact that they were given power, made them sons. They are the trustees of heaven on earth. These are the qualified to fight battle with marine forces. Their presence in the battle field leaves marine spirits with great number of casualties. Which is why the powers in the marine kingdom avoids open and direct confrontations with them. In Jeremiah chapter 51:21-24, God speaking about the sons said

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“And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.” The sons are formidable weapons in the hands of the Lord. They are the battle axe of the Lord. Heaven does not play with them. God holds them in great esteem. It is a very great honour in the sight of God for one to live his/her as a son. In the realm of the spirit, there is no gender difference. Both males and females answers sons. To be a son, there is always a process for qualification. In John 1:13 “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Testimonies – chains of deformity broken My name is Sister Comfort, I worship in this church. But my baby was not dedicated to this altar. I have given birth to this baby before I joined Chapel of Holiness & Testimonies Ministries, I noticed that for a year and six months my daughter could not sit well, or move any part of her body. Every therapy and medication given to her yielded no fruit. I brought her to the man of God who prayed for her. In the evening of that day I noticed a great change. My baby could hold something and stand up, before that week ran out, my baby began to walk. Today, yoke of deformity is broken in the life of my baby, praise the Lord! Sis. Comfort Address: Pastor Kingson I. Bona, General Overseer Chapel of Holiness and Testimonies Ministries, No. 6, David Egbetuyi Street, Fagbile Estate, Ijegun, Ikotun, Lagos. Tel:08023404926,08075598531,08038 206508 Website:wwwchapelholiness.org facebook: pstbona@chapelholiness.org

News

Christians mark Palm Sunday

hristians and indeed Catholics the world over will on Sunday, March 20, 2016 mark the feast of the Palm Sun-

day.

Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. According to a release by the Director, Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Msgr. Gabriel Osu, “Palm Sunday is one of the Major Feasts of our Lord, and it is the day in which the Lord Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem as a King, riding o¬n a donkey and a colt, the foal of a donkey. Accordingly, the crowds with palm and olive branches, who joyfully chanted “Hosanna, Son of David”, greeted Him. On this day also, we receive and worship Christ in this same manner, acknowledging Him as our King and

Lord.” He explained further that Palm Sunday also marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent, and the week in which Christians celebrate the mystery of their salvation through Christ’s Death and His Resurrection on

Easter Sunday. The Holy Week starts from Sunday and will run till Good Friday, March 25, 2016. A major hallmark of the feast is the celebration of the Holy Mass followed by a procession of the faithful carrying palm branches, representing the Jews

who celebrated Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Here in the Archdiocese of Lagos, the Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace Alfred Adewale Martins is expected to lead thousands of the faithful in Palm Sunday procession through the streets of Lagos Island and environs.

BARCCI holds Easter camp meeting

he Born Again Revival Church of Christ International presents a fiveday power-packed 2016 Easter Camp tagged “The Saviour.”

The programme holds from Thursday, March 24 to Monday, March 28, 2016 at the church Camp Ground located at 65, King’s Avenue, Opposite Bemil Nigeria Ltd., Ojodu Abiodun, Berger, Lagos. Ministering at this special camp are anointed men of God including the Gen-

eral Overseer, Pastor Emmanuel Akinbobola. Immediately after the camp, the church will hold its three-day quarterly prayer meeting tagged My Cup, Runneth Over at the church auditorium located on same address. The theme is which shall also commence from Sunday, 3rd – Tuesday, 5th April, 2016 by 10p.m. daily. The Church also has its branch situated at 14, Opeyemi Street, Off New Koye

Road, Koye-Oke, Lambe, Ogun State which just concluded a three-day powerpacked outside revival titled: God’s Love in Christ Jesus (John 3:16), that took place at its Auditorium from Wednesday, 16th – Friday, 18th March, 2016. The General Overseer however, appeals that members of the public should come for their individual miracles as the Lord is ready to meet everyone.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

March 20, 2016

We must add value to our economy –NLC President

have since had two of such. The first one was on high cost good governance and the second one, which took place in Lagos, was on the issue of electricity tariff and subsidy. We are going to look at the issues of economy and insecurity next. We have come up with this initiative so that our members can be well informed and so that we can be ahead of the issues to make strong defence for the Nigerian workers.

This month, Nigeria Labour Congress President, Comrade Ayaba Wabba is one year in office. In an interview with select newspapers in Abuja, he bares his mind on various national issues, including the efforts being made by the union to protect the interest of Nigerian workers against antilabour practices both in the private and the public sectors Olufemi Adeosun was there. The election that brought you to power was contested by other candidates within the NLC. It is now one year that you assume office, has the dust raised by the election settled down eventually? Several efforts have been made by the veterans to ensure that everybody is on the same page concerning the outcome of the election. What happened during the election was not knew and we have internal mechanisms to address whatever issue that arise within our folds and we have been employing that. Basically, we have done that in good faith, our veterans have worked assiduously. We have addressed all issues. What it remains is to present the outcome of the reconciliatory moves to the National Executive Council. However, let me restate that the position is that, the election that brought me to the office cannot be controverted. That is the position of the elders and it is documented. I am committed to that. While that is ongoing, we cannot sit down and fold our arms. Problems are meant to be solved. If we had been docile, the issue of lack of payment of salaries in some states would have been a monumental issue. The first thing I did on assumption of office was to go give an order to the state councils to commence indefinite strikes in the states where workers salaries were not paid. And they complied. May I also emphasize that part of the mandates of the NLC is to protect, defend and promote the right and wellbeing of the Nigerian workers. And to also ensure a Nigerian state that is transparent, where policies and programmes of government are tailored towards wellbeing of Nigerians. This is our broad mandate and we cannot allow internal bickering to dissuade us from doing that. I am happy that Nigerian workers know there leaders. When we call them, they respond. When others call, you see nobody. They know we represent their interest and they know we have all that it takes to pilot the affairs of the union and that is why we are not finding things difficult. You can be in the comfort of your home and claim to be a leader, but you can only lead members of your family, not the people you need their mandate to exercise power.

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WE WERE IN LAGOS DURING THE WORLD INDUSTRIALISATION DAY AND WORLD DECENT WORK DAY WHERE WE VISITED SOME FACTORIES AND LIBERATED A LOT OF WORKERS. WE VISITED CHINESE AND INDIAN COMPANIES THAT HAVE ALSO ENSLAVED NIGERIAN WORKERS. One year in office, how has been your experiences, challenges and holding power? Don ’t forget that I had led one of the biggest unions in the country before becoming NLC President. By records, Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, is the biggest affiliation to the NLC and for the 10 years that I presided over the affairs of the union, it prospered from what level to another. Before I left, my union was one of the most organised unions in the country. In terms of affiliation, we paid N527million within four years and that has impacted on the union. When I came in, the number of our delegates is 9, from there 75 and to above 100. During the last congress, we had over 500 delegates. We achieve this feat through diligent organisation. I was also the Treasurer of NLC for eight years. Although, it may be a different office, I believe the issues are the

same. Issues pertaining to workers are the same, the challenges are the same. The only difference is that we came at a critical stage in the nation ’s history, when economy is seriously in a bad shape. This places extra responsibility on us. Before now, the monthly payment of workers salary was not an issue. Now, you have to struggle. There are also competing interest to be met, especially by politicians who want to recoup what they had invested. Private and public employees are coming up with new devices to undermine the interest of workers and that entails more work for the labour movement in Nigeria. We need to intensify our engagement and come up with new strategies. For instance, the idea behind our bi-monthly policy discourse was conceived to enable us tackle specific issues and proffer alternative winning methods. We

Your agitation in Imo State led to the recall of over 3,000 workers whose employments were unlawfully terminated. Are you planning to have such intervention in other states where workers are being treated with disdain in breach of relevant labour laws? We did not only intervene in Imo, we did in other states where we had challenges. As I ’m talking now, workers in Ogun State are on industrial action. We are looking at how to engage the process. You are aware of that of Osun State. Whereas the employers have different tendencies, there are some that go into the extreme to ensure that the welfare of workers is not even given any attention. Those are the places we would insist our laws must be respected. We would also clampdown on states where workers are disengaged without due process, like that of Imo State. Even the bailout that was given to states was a product intervention which came up as a result of agitations we made that workers should not be made to suffer the challenges in the economy. In most states, it was judiciously utilized. In the few states where it has not been well utilized, we have also risen up to the challenge, including requesting that investigations should be conducted. You are aware that recently, the antigraft agency arrested some key officials in Imo State. All employers of labour now realise we will not take the issue of undermining the interest of workers lightly. We are also beaming our searchlight on the private sector. Recall we were in Lagos during the World Industrialisation Day and World Decent Work Day where we visited some factories and liberated a lot of workers. We visited Chinese and Indian companies that have also enslaved Nigerian workers. All of these are taking place concurrently so that workers can have a new lease of life. Would the intervention include making demands for the review of the N18,000 minimum wage? We have never made any pretense about that. The law envisages a five year circle within which the minimum wage is due for a review. Not only that, the inflationary trend in the country makes the review more compelling. I will not disclose any figure now until we tidy up things with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC). They have submitted their own proposal, we have submitted our and one committee is working on it. Once work is done on it, we will make it public. CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

Politics

March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We ’re going to make teachers proud of their profession –Benue SUBEB boss Dr. Philip Tachin is the chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Makurdi, Benue State. Tachin told Sunday Mirror ’s Henry Iyorkase that about 2,755 primary schools in Benue State have been earmarked for renovation and supply of equipment and warned that his leadership would not compromise on the project specifications. He also spoke about the welfare of primary school teachers and other issues affecting basic education in the state. Excerpts: Within the few days you have assumed duty as chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board, Makurdi, the Benue State Government has paid a counterpart fund of N3.8 billion at a time that other sections are not dreaming of any assistance of this nature. Why is this so? Thank you very much for that question. Let me begin by emphasizing what is very, very dear to the hearts of Governor Samuel Ortom and the President, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari. As far as I have read from the body language and the speeches of these two great leaders, you will see that education is paramount in their minds. They have seen education as an antidote against ignorance and all forms of crimes that are happening in this country. So, they have placed emphasis more on education. Now, when you come to Benue State, particularly, you will discover that primary school education that is supposed to be the foundation of education at the worst level. And you know that in any structure, when the foundation is not good enough, you can expect any terrible thing to happen and we have experienced this in our tertiary institutions. You can see how young people in the universities and other colleges of education express themselves. Sometimes, it is something that you can just put your face down in shame. The problem is because the foundation has crumbled. When I came on board, I discovered that what has affected the foundation of education in the state is not just one problem; complex problems have contributed to bring our primary schools to where they are today. Number one, you look at the issue of infrastructure; it is so glaring. Any visitor that comes to Benue State and is passing and looking at some of the schools by the roadside or happens to go into the hinterland to see structures that are called our primary schools, will believe that this place is one of the most backward of human societies because the schools have been destroyed, they have crumbled, deteriorated and you can just use any kind of negative word to describe the state of infrastructure. Children will not find it very, very amusing

our time. We will make sure that we see to the letter that all these projects are executed fully.

Tach hin

WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW DUE PROCESS IN ALL OUR CONTRACTS AND IT IS GOING TO BE

VERY TRANSPARENT FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE. I AM GOING TO READ THE RIOT ACT TO ALL THE CONTRACTORS, SO THAT ONCE YOU DO YOUR PROJECT, YOU MAKE SURE THAT YOU MEET OUR SPECIFICATION BEFORE YOU ARE PAID.

or happy to sit under structures that have cobwebs and rats and lizards are walking here and there; there is no roof on them, and there are no seats. So, you can see that the situation is one of the most critical areas; that alone can have a psychological effect on the children. And not just the children, even teachers, because everyone wants to sit in a place that is very conducive in order to perform. So teachers won ’t find this very, very conducive to spend a lot of hours teaching these children. Therefore, it calls for a very quick arrest of the situation. Having analysed all these, what do you think can be done to mitigate the situation? I have said before that we have to construct, renovate and provide facilities in all our primary schools. I think the money the state has invested is N3.8 billion, while the Federal Government has already approved her N3.8 billion; we are going to use it judiciously. I mean no one is going to manipulate, no one is going to come out with a very clever way to corner any single money out of this

fund. We have spelt out all the projects that will be done with this money and we will make sure that these funds are applied directly on these projects and accounted for, both to the state and to the Federal Government. Again, I want to also emphasise that we are insisting on quality delivery of these structures. When contractors get projects that they are going to do, they shouldn ’t see it as political money has come (to be eaten); it can never happen under my watch. We are going to follow due process in all our contracts and it is going to be very transparent for everybody to see. I am going to read the riot act to all the contractors, so that once you do your project, you make sure that you meet our specification before you are paid. When I came on board, I discovered that some of the projects that were done in the past never met specifications and yet, they were paid for. For instance, some boreholes that were paid for, if you go there they do not even exist; some of them are there without water, maybe, proper geophysical survey was not done or proper drainage was not done. And so, we are not going to allow that kind of thing to be done in

What situation did you meet as concerns welfare of teachers, so that when you invest infrastructure, teachers are motivated enough to give you the quality teaching that you need? Actually, it is not as if this government is insensitive to the motivational aspect of teachers, in terms of their remuneration. I think we just want to see to the end of decay in infrastructure in our schools, which is very, very critical, very bad and laughable. If people are passing and taking pictures, that is the first thing that they would see. That one we have addressed and we are going to make sure that we address it very well. Concerning the remuneration of teachers, the government is very, very conscious of that. I have been discussing with His Excellency, on some of these issues. He has a plan to make sure that teachers feel so happy and so proud of their profession again in Benue State. What this means is that when money start coming in so well, when the budget is passed and the governor is able to get other sources of income, we are going to look at the situation of teachers. Actually, as I am speaking to you now, we have done a review of teachers ’ promotion. I am not just waiting until the money comes; we have done the exercise and those political promotions that were done in 2011 that are not what I am talking about. We have really seen all the teachers that deserve to be promoted; we have worked that out and have a comprehensive list. When the governor gets money; in fact, when I spoke with him about it, he was very positive and assured that once money comes in well, we will implement those promotions. Once we implement these promotions, teachers will feel very happy. We are also giving them constant training so that they will continue to update their knowledge and teach so well; they will be very confident when they step into a classroom situation. And even, when a supervisor is standing there, the teacher wouldn ’t be shivering because he or she doesn ’t know what to teach because we have already mapped out some training programmes and strategies. Already the state government organised training that dealt with the attitudinal aspect of teachers. Once we get money, we are going to pay teachers salaries up to date and ensure that teachers are not lagging behind and then, we will implement the promotions so that they will feel so happy. Right now, if we just jump up and go and announce the promotions, we are actually putting a cart before the horse which will not be right because the money is not there to implement. So, we will be doing the same thing that was done yesterday in the previous government. We want to do something that is very realistic and people will believe in us that yes, we mean so well. Once the funds are there, we will do exactly what we are supposed to do with the teachers; we want the teachers to feel so happy.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

March 20, 2016

‘NNPC reforms must involve dialogue with us ’ start production. We need to add value to our economy and eliminate all forms of wastages. Secondly, in our trade agreement, we must always protect our national interest, instead of protecting the interest of a few. Thirdly, it is also important for us to plan for the rainy day, especially in getting our manufacturing sector into active production.These are the things I think we can do to rejuvenate our economy, otherwise will continue to go in a circle. One of the suggestions analysts have put forward in the race to address the falling value of the Naira is its devaluation? Would Naira devaluation serve the interest of the common man? Certainly, no. I use this opportunity to salute the courage of Mr. President. He has openly rebuffed the move, despite prompting from the IMF and its internal collaborators. The internal proponents of devaluation are those who have dollars in stock. Recently, Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) announced that we have $2bn stocked in various accounts in Nigeria. It is about economy of interest not that of the common man. Even what is happening in the money market in Nigeria is externally influenced. But because the government has consistently rejected devaluation, things are shaping up there. Certainly, I think the President has taken the right decision to protect our economy and to protect the common man. As a leading economy in Africa, we can withstand the shock if we make the right decisions.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

Do you think the present administration would be favourably disposed to wage increase in the face of the present economic challenges? The fact is that until you make a demand, nobody gives you your right on the platter of gold. All through history, wages of workers have always been gotten through a process of collective bargaining. Which means, a worker must make a valid demand, putting the facts to justify his demand on the table. And a process of negotiation takes place through which negotiating parties strike a balance. That is why convention 87 and 98 provide the right of a trade union to represent the interest of workers through the process of collective bargaining. The first increment we got in 1999, was not given to us by Obasanjo on a platter of gold. Demands were made, issues x-rayed and we then negotiated the figure we got, same in 2000. What we are doing is not a new thing. We are aware of the challenge of the economy. However, we have instances where the best way to get the economy moving is to ensure there is production and that people have purchasing power. If you produce and no one to buy, the economy will still be in a standstill. Apart from dwindling pump price and fall in the value of the Naira, another disease that has eaten deep into the Nigeria ’s fabric is the endemic corruption in virtually all our national lives. Do you see this administration succeeding in confronting the menace? The fact is that Nigeria has never been a poor country. In fact, the nation is one of the most endowed countries in the world in terms of natural resources. It is also blessed in terms of what it takes to drive development. We ought not to be where we are today, if the right thing has been done. Basically, our fundamental problem is corruption. Some days ago, one of the managing directors in the construction sector told me that in the past years, any road contract awarded in Nigeria, 40 per cent of the contract sum was being shared by those managing the process. You can draw from that scenario that our basic problem is lack of good governance brought about by high level corruption. It has assumed alarming proportion that all you hear this day is billions and trillions. As part of the efforts to fight the menace, the first thing we did when we came in was to orgainse a national rally for good governance and anti-corruption. The rally took place across the country to sensitize Nigerians. From $2.1m arms deal to N3.3trillion that has not been remitted to the nation ’s money, the nation bleeds under the weight of blind looting. Imagine what this huge amount would have been able to do if deployed to infrastructure development. Also look at the almighty power scam where over $40bn was said to have been committed to rejuvenate the power sector, yet we have continued to live in darkness. The investigation into it has not been completed till date. This justifies our call for the introduction of capital punishment for the looters of our treasury. If stringent punishment is not put in place to serve as a deterrent, Nigeria may not survive it.

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HOWEVER GOOD A POLICY IS, YOU NEED TO CARRY THE STAKEHOLDERS ALONG, YOU NEED TO DISCUSS THROUGH THIS POLICY, LOOK AT THE NITTY-GRITTY, THROUGH A PROCESS OF DIALOGUE AND CONSULTATION.

What is your take on the charge that the current fight against corruption is one-sided? Even the stealing is one-sided, it is not every Nigerian that has stolen. It is being perpetrated by a few. The beauty of it is that, if you are covered today, another people will come and expose it tomorrow. The issue is that, let us have a standard for the fight. Has any of those that have been mentioned in connection with the money denied it? That one-sided argument, to me, is just to water down the essence of the fight. It is our duty as Nigerians to insist that the process continues and that it is not limited to either Mr. A or Mr. B. What do you think the present administration can do to address some of the current challenges confronting the nation? There is no doubt the fact that we have economic challenges and they are caused by two major factors. One is the massive looting of the national treasury that has taken place and second,

the challenge of the fall in oil price. You know that we have over relied on revenue from the a single oil source. With these two factors playing out, we need to think out of the box. I am happy that the substantial part of the funding for the 2016 budget is projected to be gotten from non-oil sector. Especially the introduction of the Treasury Single Account(TSA), where over N2trillion has been saved is good for our economy. This is the money that would have gone into private pockets. Most of the revenue generation agencies in the past generate revenue, but often failed to remit them into the national account. Certainly, for us to get out of the wood, I suggest three things. Firstly, we must continue to patronize made-in-Nigeria goods. This is because our foreign reserve has depleted. If we continue to strive for foreign goods, it means we have to look for dollars to do the importations. For instance, why do we not use textiles made in Nigeria? Why can ’t we produce our army uniforms in Nigeria? If we put the the policy in in place, many foreign countries will come to Nigeria to

The Federal Government last week announced the unbundling of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC). According to the government, doing so would achieve more operational effectiveness and eliminate wastages. Do you support the decision? Our position has been very consistent in line with the unions in the oil and gas sector. First is that, however good a policy is, you need to carry the stakeholders along, you need to discuss through this policy, look at the nittygritty, through a process of dialogue and consultation. This, to me, was not done. It was pronounced without discussion with the relevant stakeholders and that is why, our affiliates in the oil and gas had to down-tools. No doubt, NNPC needs a need impetus to be able to deliver because it is clear from what has been happening that NNPC has been the warehouse for corruption. And therefore we will agree to do what is right to be able to deliver no make sure that those corrupt practices are eliminated. But, the process must take place with the context of dialogue so that can be on the same page to push the reforms and the agenda. I want to encourage the government to imbibe the culture of consultation before rolling out reforms. Various agencies and ministries must identify critical stakeholders continue to discuss policy alternatives with them before rolling out. Even the same approach was adopted in the tariff increase. No consultation was made, they never invited us, including the critical stakeholders. What they claim was consultation was the one they did with their families, cronies and interested party. I is one area that is lacking.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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STORIES THAT TOUCH YOU March 20, 2016

How aspiring retiree met untimely death OBASOLUYI TELEWA

enultimate week, No. 12, Oluwadare Street, Shomolu, Lagos and its environs were thrown into serious mourning following the death of one of their own, Mr. Teslim Sanusi, an engineer with a popular pharmaceutical company based in Lagos. The sad event took place about 9:14pm on March 6, 2016 around Ogudu axis of the Alapere/Oworonsoki Expressway while on his way home from where he had gone to visit his elder brother at another location in the Centre of Excellence. His death resulted from a ghastly motor accident occasioned by technical fault, according to police authorities. Had he known that death was lurking around, waiting for whom to devour, the engineer would probably not have gone out that fateful evening. Sunday Mirror findings revealed that he was on the verge of retiring from the company he was working for before the cold hands of death snatched him away in a most gruesome manner. According to sympathizers that spoke to our correspondent at the scene of the accident, the man from Oyo in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo State would not have died if he had been attended to on time by his assailants who ran for dear life when they discovered that an ablebodied man was lying critically mangled under the escort car they were driving which suddenly veered off the road. “It was painful seeing a fellow man gasping for breath and trying to muster some courage to get up from beneath the vehicle in vain. He tried to open his mouth to speak without success ”, they lamented. Already, his death has sparked off controversy among family members and friends alike, who suspected foul play. According to a family source, the death was suspicious because for someone who was planning to retire soon to have died that way left much to be desired. Our correspondent, however, learnt that efforts made by the Nigeria Police, Ogudu Area H Division to unravel the cause of his death may have put paid to the earlier suspicion as an elder in the family, Pa Adebayo Adigun, disclosed to Sunday Mirror that the police had done an excellent job regarding the case. According to him, contacts had been made between them and those responsible for the death, but nothing concrete had been achieved, he said. Narrating how Teslim met his death to Sunday Mirror that night, an eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Lekan, stated that he was making a call

Sanusi before his death

Escort vehicle that crushed Sanusi

beside the road when two men appeared from his front and one of them stopped nearby to urinate while the other took some steps away from him. According to him, an escort vehicle coming from the Third Mainland Bridge suddenly rammed into the man urinating. The man reportedly screamed loud and stopped while the occupants of the vehicle scurried away from the scene in another car to avoid mob attack. The witness who suspected the accident was aimed at him said those that saw him on the spot before it happened had presumed him dead, and thanked God for the narrow escape. “But when they saw me among the crowd that gathered, they congratulated me for escaping death by the whiskers ”, he told our correspondent. Giving his account, Pa. Adigun, the senior brother to the deceased stated that his brother was killed by an escort vehicle. Adigun who was visibly shaking narrated the story to Sunday Mirror thus: “That night at about 9:14pm, I was accompanying my brother to the bus-stop on his way back home to Shomolu when death sneaked in. “Very close to the expressway, my brother told me he wanted to urinate and I took four steps away from him; he had not settled down when an escort vehicle rammed into him and trapped him under the vehicle. It was so painful because he had not finished doing it when he was hit by the vehicle and fell violently ”, the 87-year-old man said.

“When I saw my brother under the vehicle, I did not know what to do again because the people that caused the accident ran away when they discovered that they had killed someone. They abandoned the vehicle they were driving and joined another in a hurry probably to escape the wrath of the people. “After a while, sympathizers came as I was shouting and we took him to a nearby hospital, but he was not attended to because they requested for police report which we did not have at the time because the accident was still fresh. “The delay by the hospital to attend to him further aggravated his condition as he was bleeding profusely. It was when sympathizers that had gathered threatened the hospital that they opened their gate eventually for him to be brought in after over 40 minutes of lying on the ground in front of them. “By then, it was too late to revive him. From there he was taken to another hospital where he eventually died ”, Adigun further explained. He also disclosed that the latest accident that claimed his life was the second they were involved in together. The first, he said, was in 1982 in Shagamu, Ogun state in which several lives were lost, but he and Sanusi survived. This time around, according to him, his brother was not as lucky as the previous one. Recalling his last moments with him that night, Pa Adigun said his brother was full of hope and planning to retire soon, since age was not on his side any

longer. He lamented that the deceased could not fulfil the dream adding that the development saddened him because he was a nice person who loved all his people dearly, saying the late Teslim could not do without visiting him always. One of Teslim ’s sons, Ibrahim Sanusi, expressed great shock at the death of his father. According to him, the news about his father ’s death was shocking because some minutes back, he had called that he was on his way home and the family was expecting him back only to learn about his sudden demise. ”The unexpected news made the wife collaps. It took a while before she was revived ”, he said. He described his father as an easy going person who had the interest of the family and the people around him at heart. According to Sunday Mirrors investigation, the escort vehicle that snuffed life out of the engineer belonged to the pastor of a popular Pentecostal church in Lagos. The vehicle, it was gathered, has been detained at Area H Police Station, Ogudu with the plate number removed. However, the family has demanded for justice, warning that the case should not be swept under the carpet because of the nature of the death which was described as murder. Confirming the incident to Sunday Mirror, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Sup. Dolapo Badmus, disclosed that the escort vehicle suddenly lost control at a sharp bend, off the expressway around Ogudu which led to the man ’s death eventually. According to the police image maker, when the news got to the command, the police mobilized its men immediately to the area to forestall a breakdown of law and order and to secure the place. The case, she said, was under investigation. As the Sanusis bemoans their loss; waiting for justice to prevail, the late Teslim Sanusi, due to no fault of his, has quietly bowed at Atan Cemetery in Lagos, where he is having his final rest without fulfilling his aim of retiring peacefully to Oyo to spend the rest of his life with his family.

March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kogi CJ releases housewife, son, ve other inmates WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

36 year old housewife, Mrs Hajaratu Ibrahim and her 17 years old son, Muhideen Ibrahim were among the seven lucky prison awaiting trial inmates that were granted unconditional release by the Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Nasiru Ajanah. It was tears of joy for the mother and her son who have been detained wrongly. The inmates who have been detained for sometimes without adequate trial and lack of evidence regained their freedom when the Chief Judge of

Kogi state, Justice Nasiru Ajanah was reviewing 25 cases of awaiting trial inmates during the Prison decongestion exercise at Kabba Medium Prison in Kabba/Bunu Local Government of Kogi state at weekend Mrs. Hajaratu Ibrahim and her son were arraigned before an Iyara Upper Area court for allegedly stealing N4,000 belonging her boss, Mrs. Janet Babalola at Ayere town in Ijumu Local government area of the state. She told the Court that she was at her house on Sunday when her boss, Mrs. Babalola called her to report to her place of work, stressing that she

has to abandon her plan to attend Sunday service and headed to Babalola ’s house. “When I arrived at my boss house, Mrs Babalola told me that armed robbers had burgled her house and scattered her belongings. She now told me to rearrange the house for her which I did. “When I finished I parked some of the little items including her purse and gave to her, this where my boss raised alarm that N4,000 was missing in her purse. I told her that I saw N4,000 on the floor while I was arranging the house and I kept the money in a book on the table in the room and took her

to see the money. But she insisted that the money was taken away from her purse. “This is how Mrs Babalola started abusing me. Then I left in annoyance. When I got home I told my son, Muihideen that this is what my boss said I did and I have not stolen her money. My son became very furious and asked for money to by recharge card to call Mrs. Babalola which I did and he subsequently called her, saying that “she should never call his mother a thief because she has never stolen any from the house since she has been working with you, ” Hajaratu explained

This, it was gathered infuriated Mrs. Babalola, who called the police on Monday to arrest Mrs. Ibrahim who had reported for work, her 17 year old son arrested and subsequently arraigned before Iyara upper area court without investigations. The Upper area Court Judge who was also present at the prison told the Chief Judge that the court was about to adjourn for the day when the two accused persons were brought to court and could not do otherwise than to detained the suspects because the son was

National Assembly set to pass Peace Corps of Nigeria bill –Lar BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

L-R: Representative of Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Dr. Femi Hamzat; FRSC Corps Marshal, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi; representative of Enugu State Governor/Commissioner for Education, Prof. Uche Eze; Commandant, FRSC Academy, Mr. Kenneth Nwaegbe and Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Bisi Kazeem (right) during the Corps Marshal Strategic Session in Udi, Enugu State.

Al-Makura imports technical equipment to boost skills acquisition IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

overnor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state has acquired 28 containers of technical equipment from Singapore to boost made in Nigeria goods. This was even as he declared that the state government will adopt a policy that will encourage patronage of local artisans in Nigeria.

When inspecting the equipment yesterday at the Government House Lafia, Al-Makura said the equipment will be distributed to technical schools across the state as part of measures to create employment and encourage patronage of made in Nigeria goods. Consequently, he explained that the state government will introduce train the trainers programme that will impact

knowledge on both the staff and students of all technical and vocational institutions across the state. He said: “As part of measures to ensure the full utilization of the equipment, government has concluded arrangements to bring experts from Singapore to compliment government effort in training the teachers on various skills acquisition fields. ” The governor assured

that the state government will patronize graduands of the technical schools after completion of their training to encourage private sector entities to also engage them. He said that his dream was to make the state a poll of experts and artisans where people from the neighboring states, especially the FCT, will patronize locally made materials and artisans from the state.

trying to evade arrest. After reading the Police First Information Report to the hearing of the court, it was discovered that all the allegations upon which the mother and her son were detained could not be found in FIR. Therefore, the Chief Judge, Justice Ajanah ordered the unconditional release of the Mrs. Hajaratu Ibrahim, her son Muhideen Ibrahim, admonishing the Upper Area Court Judge to always verify the facts of the case before an accused person is remanded in prison custody.

ational Assembly yesterday restated its readiness to pass the bill seeking to establish Peace Corps of Nigeria, PCN, presently pending before both legislative chambers. The bill for an act establishing the Peace Corps of Nigerian has passed through the second reading at the House of Representatives and presently at the public hearing stage. Speaking yesterday at the Passing Out Parade/ Commissioning of Cadets of Peace Corps for Osun State command at the NYSC Orientation Camp, a member of Senate Committee on Interior, Danjuma Lar, said government was aware of the need to get youths in the country productively engaged, saying PCN is one of the avenues this can be done. He commended the discipline and dedication the cadets showed in their display during the programme and urged them to be peace ambassadors in their various communities. Commenting in similar manner, representative of House of Representatives ’ committee Chairman on Interior, Hon. Umar

Farouk, who is the sponsor of the bill, said public hearing on the bill will be held by first week of April and reinstated the commitment of the lower chamber to pass the bill into law as soon as possible. In his remarks, Osun state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said men and officers of Peace Corps have been partnering with his administration in handling security across public secondary schools in the state. As part of measures to cement the relationship, the governor, who was represented by the permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Sunday Olajide, said office of the secretary to the state government recently issued a directive that all schools in the state must cooperate with the corps. Earlier, the National Commandant, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Amb. Dickson Akoh, said the organisation has empowered over 198,000 youths across the country. He explained that 9 states participated in the one month camping exercise and commended Governor Aregbesola and other paramilitary agencies in the state for making the exercise a success.

Business

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FRESH BUSINESS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sunday, March 20, 2016

CPC probes consumer rights abuse in banking, hospitality sectors Olufemi Adeosun ABUJA

he Consumer Protection Council, CPC, has launched investigation into the various consumer rights abuses in the banking and hospitality sector of the economy. Its Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, disclosed this in Abuja during a stakeholders’ workshop as part of activities to commemorate the World Consumer Rights Day. Atoki said owing to the

rising complaints in these sectors of the economy, the council was determined to pursue the protection of consumer rights with vigour. According to her, while a lot of successes had been recorded in the food and beverage sector in protecting the rights of the consumers, other sectors had yet to feel the regulatory impact of the council. She said the success recorded under her watch since her assumption of office needed to be repli-

cated in the financial sector because of the widespread abuse of consumer rights. Her words: “In view of the widespread abuse of consumer rights in the country, I elected on assumption of office to embark on sectoral interventions as opposed to resolving only individual complaints. “The reasoning is that the modification of the conduct of a major industry player resulting from such investigation would set the standards for other industry

players in that sector to follow, thereby guaranteeing consumer satisfaction at a faster and wider spread. “Without doubt, this has yielded enormous benefits to consumers in the food and beverage sector. Currently, complaints about half-filled cans and foreign substances in drinks, including rusty bottle tops have been greatly reduced. “There are ongoing investigations in the banking, finance and hospitality sectors and the effects would

soon be felt. My resolve is to take the ongoing reforms to many sectors as we can in spite of all odds. “The council is determined to continue to pursue the protection of the rights of consumers with vigour.” Atoki disclosed that the council within the next few days would be carrying out aggressive advocacy of consumer rights.

Dangote Sugar grows sales, nets N11.5bn profit Johnson Okanlanwon

L-R: Head, Consumer Channels, Diamond Bank Plc, Nnena Achife; Chief Executive Officer, Moneygram, Alex Holmes; Head Transaction and E-banking, Diamond Bank Plc Rob Giles; Vice President, Moneygram Africa, China and Mongolia, Herve Chomel and Head, Money Transsfer Services, Diamond Bank Plc, Chekwube Ohaeri, at the Awards and Recognition of Moneygram agents ceremony in Lagos recently.

Shippers Council seeks creation of coastal shipping system Olufemi Adeosun ABUJA

he Nigerian Shippers Council has sought for the creation of coastal shipping services in Africa to enhance trade across the continent. This is even as it disclosed that Nigeria and other African countries

lose 50% of it trade volume due to the non--existence of coastal shipping service in Africa. The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello stated this in Abuja during a Sub-Regional Workshop on Transport Cost and Connectivity of African Countries. Bello, who described as,

non-existent, coastal shipping service said: “Shipping coastal service in Africa is non-existent. There is no coastal shipping service between African countries and it is very bad. For instance; if people from Cote de Ivoire want onions from Nigeria, Nigeria has to transport it to Spain and from there to Cote de Ivo-

ire because there is no link between African countries and imagine the high cost of transportation.” The council, while advocating a link between African countries noted that the link would boost Nigeria’s economy in the face of the present economic hardship and also enhance diversification.

Guinness Nigeria restates need for responsible drinking habit Adejuwon Osunnuyi

uinness Nigeria has reiterated the need for revelers to always drink responsibly any time they choose to take alcohol because of its harmful nature to the body. Guinness Nigeria, Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Sesan So-

bowale made this known during DRINKiQ training programme for media. He said the DrinkiQ workshop, which promotes responsible drinking, is aimed at empowering key influencers (Media journalists) with requisite knowledge on the responsible use of alcoholic beverages. According to him, bev-

erages containing alcohol have been consumed for thousands of years, and if treated responsibly it is associated with enjoyment and celebration. He noted, “At the heart of our organization is a desire to make a positive contribution to the societies in which we operate, and we envision our Responsible Drink-

ing initiatives to be a key component in fulfilling this desire.” Speaking further, Sobowale noted, “As part of Diageo, the world’s leading alcoholic beverage company, which promotes the celebration of life every day, everywhere, we are aware of dangers posed by excessive and inappropriate patterns of alcohol consumption to consumers.

“Consumers are, therefore, are urged not to just grumble among themselves but to complain when their rights have been breached,” she added. Chairman, Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria, Mr. Okey Akpa, called for a multi-sectoral consumer education to adequately address the issue of rights to information of consumers.

igeria’s largest sugar producer, Dangote Sugar Refinery, has recorded an increased in its sales figure for the year ended December 31, 2015, resulting in 11 per cent increase in its turnover. It also increased its dividend payout to its shareholders to 50 kobo per share as against the 40 kobo paid in the preceding year, according to a company statement at the weekend. The company also recorded an increase of eight per cent on its profit before tax (PBT) to N16.55 billion for the full year ended December 31, 2015 as against N15.27 billion at the preceding year. According to the financial report released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the sugar group revenue went up by seven percent to 101.06 billion compared to N94.86 billion in 2014. Gross profit increased by 11 percent to 20.73 billion, while profit after tax stood at N11.54 billion. Commenting on the result, acting Group Managing Director, Abdullahi Sule said: “2015 ended with remarkable volume pickup in the fourth quarter as our strategy to reduce margins in September by 28 per cent and the addition of 100 trucks to our fleet improved delivery to customers. As a result we gained market share from competition and smugglers. I am glad that we were able to grow our revenue by 11 per cent and improve sales volumes

compared to 2014 despite the current macro-economic challenges which we face in Nigeria, with an especially difficult first and second quarter. “To improve efficiency, we have redeveloped our sequencing strategy to self-sufficiency through the production of refined sugar from cane and remain zealous in our efforts to execute the “Sugar for Nigeria” project, which will replace our current production in the next 4-5 years as we execute the first phase of our backward integration plans, which now includes the Savannah rehabilitation, Guyuk and Zaria projects.” Dangote Sugar is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar with 1.44 million tonnes of refining capacity, with the ability to supply most of the country through an extensive network of distributors. The refinery at Apapa imports raw sugar from Brazil and refines it into white, Vitamin A fortified sugar suitable for household and industrial uses. Savannah Sugar factory located near Numan, in Adamawa State has an installed capacity of 50,000 tonnes of sugar. Covering 32,000 hectares in extent, the Savannah estate has considerable opportunity for expansion which is underway. Dangote Sugar has the strategy is to become a global force in sugar production, working within Nigeria’s National Sugar Master Plan to end importation and produce 1.5 million metric tonnes of sugar from cane to sell in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

March 20, 2016

NUEE tasks electricity companies on service delivery JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

lectricity companies have been urged to take advantage of the recent energy sector privatisation in the country to showcase their readiness to serve Nigerians, especially in the area of power generation, transmission and billing system. National Secretary of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, who gave the challenge at the weekend in Jos during a visit of the national leadership of the union to the corporate headquarters of NESCO Nigeria Limited, also urged the companies to emulate the Josbased private firm which has been providing steady power supply to residents

for the past 87 years. NESCO Nigeria Limited has been a private electricity generating company in Nigeria based in Jos where the company has been generating, transmitting and distributing electricity power to consumers in Jos and its environs for the past 87 years. With the presence of the private company in Jos, residents of the state have the option to get connected to the private power generating company or get connected to the Federal Government ’s electric power source. Many consumers in the state, particularly residents within Plateau northern senatorial zone prefer NESCO that has been so consistent and committed to service. So far, it has proved to be more effective in power

supply to its customers than government ’s own electric power company. With the privatisation of the PHCN, more private investors have become involved in the generation and distribution of electricity in the country. Ajaero, who said he led his executive to NESCO to commend them for their exemplary style of business, disclosed that the union now appreciates the efforts of NESCO when other private companies joined in the power business and are not making headways. Said the NLC factional leader: “Some investors took over government properties, structures and offices to manage but still fail to impress electricity consumers, but NESCO built their own from scratch and they are doing

well in Plateau State. “That is why we felt the management of NESCO deserved our commendation for consistency of effective service to citizens of Nigeria and to also use the opportunity to call on these new investors in the power sector to tap from the experience of NESCO which has been in the business for 87 years. “These new investors are increasing tariff, exploiting consumers without improved service; they have disappointed Nigerians already. I urge them to come to NASCO and seek ideas on how to run the sector. “The situation where the new investors will impose a blanket tariff increase is not acceptable to the union and Nigerians; that is exploitation, we expect the power sec-

tor managers to provide meters first to every consumer to allow people pay for what they consume. “These are the same investors that promised efficiency of power supply

when they took over and for three years now Nigerians have not seen any improvement and they are trying to force people to pay 45 per cent tariff increment. ”

Lady golfers ’ president, Animashaun, dies in Plateau Govt House JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

he golfers ’ community in the country was yesterday thrown into mourning following the sudden death of the National President of Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria, LGAN, Mrs. Tima Animashaun. Animashaun who was the former LGAN zonal Vice-President, South West was elected president of the association in December last year. Shortly after her election, she had pledged that the association would synergise with the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) and other bodies to move golf forward. A reliable source informed Sunday Mirror in Jos yesterday that the president arrived in Jos from Lagos to participate in the ongoing Ladies Golf tournament at the Lamingo Golf club

in Plateau State but died in her sleep at a Government Rest House in the state capital, where she was lodged. Participants who had already gathered at the Lamingo Golf club for the two-day tournament expected to end today were devastated when the news of her sudden death filtered into the club. The development prompted the organisers to quickly discontinue the tournament Lady Captain, Lamingo Golf Club, Tina Micah, when contacted was not willing to speak about the matter saying that she was yet to get details of the issue. However, her counterpart at the Rayfield Golf Club, Martha, confirmed the death to our correspondent. She expressed shock at her demise saying she was full of live the previous day.

Embrace internal democracy, Bauchi ex-dep governor tells PDP supporters EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

L-R: Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, FMIT/I, Dr. Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah; Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; MD, Ning Bo Jin Sheng Co. Ltd., Shi Zeng Chao and Director, (Investment Promotion) FMIT/I, Mr. O. M. Olanipekun, during a courtesy call by the governor to the minister in Abuja, recently.

NGO urges governments to build public toilets EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

ater, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Media Network in Bauchi State at the weekend called on governments at all levels to put in place public toilets in all public places to curb the menace of open defecation. Its Coordinator in Bauchi, David Ayodele, made the call while addressing journalists on plans for a facility tour in the state. “We observed with dismay that all our public places such as motor

parks, schools, shopping malls, mosques, churches etc have no adequate and maintained toilet facilities, that is why people use any available open space to defecate. “Not having proper toilet, whether you defecate in the open or use bucket or rudimentary pit latrine which leaks, means you have no way to prevent your faeces from contaminating your environment. “This is a one-way street to illness; you should also know that one gram of faeces carries up to 1 million bacteria and 10 million viruses. When

faeces are let loose in your environment, they contaminate your hands, food, water and spread diseases ” he said. Ayodele explained that, that was why they were calling on Government to construct toilets in public places to reduce the menace of open defecation, adding that all toilets and urinary should be maintained and disinfected. The WASH coordinator also called on government to adopt the WaterAid Sustainable Total Sanitation (STS) approach and models of new affordable latrine package that meets

the needs of low income rural households and that are affordable, especially to the government. “Now is the time to ensure that the sight of people squatting along road paths to defecate, men and women pulling down their clothes to urinate along the streets, citizens squatting on waste dumps to defecate, and students entering bush paths to defecate, becomes history. With individual and collective action, open urination and defecation can become a thing of the past ”, Ayodele counselled.

ormer deputy governor of Bauchi State, Abdulmalik Mahmoud, yesterday challenged Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stakeholders in the state to embrace internal democracy Mahmoud made the statement during the party ’s stakeholders meeting in Bauchi said, the observation become imperative following the failure of APC administration The party chieftain had regretted the abysmal failure of the PDP in 2015 elections and attributed same to lack of justice and internal democracy among members According to Mahmoud, it ’s time the PDP should put its house in order preparatory to the party ’s convention at all

levels Similarly, he had urged them to shun their differences and embrace unity. “Nigerians are to blame for the current poverty the nation finds itself since the emergence of APC with their claim to deceive the people through change mantra, ” said Mahmoud. Speaking also, Senator Abdul Ningi, cautioned against anti-party activities. He said that was the major challenge faced by PDP in the past. The senator tackled the ruling party for linking PDP with insurgency apparently to divert people ’s attention for their claim to effect a change. He stressed that the party can wrest power from APC only when members stopped character assassination as was the case in the past.

South

March 20, 2016

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lawmaker bemoans relocation of companies from Nigeria Olumba Obu to elevate 1,500 ABIODUN NEJO ADO-EKITI

ouse of Representatives member, Hon. Segun Adekola, has bemoaned the continued relocation of companies from Nigeria over epileptic power situation. Adekola, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Youth Development, said the development, in addition to the negative impact on the economy, had worsened the unemployment situation in the country. The lawmaker representing Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1 said in a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday that the Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, declare

a state of emergency in the power sector to salvage the economy from total collapse. According to him, any government intending to revive a dying economy like Nigeria ’s and as well lay solid foundation for development must face power sector improvement as a matter of necessity. Adekola, who had moved a motion to that effect at the National Assembly, stated that power sector remained a very important ingredient of any nation ’s economy, thus, efforts to revive the economy without attending to it would come to naught. He lamented: “It is unfortunate and disheartening that all reforms being geared towards reposition-

ing of the sector for better efficiency are being frustrated by some individuals. “As part of the efforts to revive the sector in the past, the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was unbundled in November 2013 into 18 Companies - six generation companies, one transmission company and 11 distribution companies. “In 2014, the Federal Government released N213 billion to the new investors as intervention fund, but despite that, the power situation in the country has remained nothing to write home about, ” he stated. Adekola charged the present administration to tackle the country ’s de-

teriorating economy by making concerted efforts to ensure improved power situation. He said: “It is unacceptable and shameful for a country like Nigeria to be struggling on how to generate 4,000 mega watts of electricity while countries like South Africa and Iran which were at the same level of power generation with Nigeria as at the country ’s independence in 1960, have gone beyond 40,000 mega watts as at today. “Therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari must look inward and declare a state of emergency in the sector in order to salvage the economy, even in the exploration of the crude oil, electricity plays a major role.

to rank of bishop at Easter RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

bout 1,500 top politicians, retired and serving military men and business moguls are to be elevated to the rank of bishop by the leadership of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, which is headed by His Holiness Leader, Olumba Olumba Obu, for steadfastness and commitment to kingdom ’s work. Among the one thousand five hundred who made the bishop list were adherents in their early and late twenties who were unmarried; school goers or just beginning life, including several nonNigerian worshippers who made the list of newly appointed bishops by the leader of Olumba fold. Olumba Obu who is highly respected and revered by his followers is often addressed as the King of kings and Lord of

lords had on last year Easter consecrated over 400 bishops in a grand style and decided to continue with choosing of the new bishops early this year. According to the Dean of the Brotherhood College of Bishops, Archbishop Bassey Imowo, the new bishops-elect were properly screened and went on pilgrimage in Biakpan, Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, birthplace of the founder of the spiritual organization, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu, for special retreat and orientation. Imowo maintained that the Brotherhood of Cross and Star, which has its world headquarters in Ambo in Calabar South Local Government Area of the state and followership running into millions, will consecrate the 1,500 new bishops next week in a ceremony to mark the fold ’s Easter convention.

Why Nigerians should be more security conscious –Expert n Osun-based security expert and chairman, Head, Harmonised Vigilante Group in Osun, Alhaji Rilwan Hussein, yesterday demanded better security consciousness among Nigerians to avert danger. Rilwan gave the advice in Ede, Osun state while speaking with the newsmen on the state of the nation. Hussein, who maintained that vigilance on the part of the citizenry, has become very necessary at the moment with the rising cases of security breaches in the country and African continent. Hussein also suggested a more robust synergy between the police and the general public to help the law enforcement agents in discharging their obligations of protecting

people and their property better. He maintained that the only way Nigeria can survive the present security condition was to come out strongly and in unison to fight insecurity to standstill. “It is paramount to maintain utmost vigilance as individuals in our respective abodes, security of our lives and property is too important to be left in the hands of security agencies alone. “It is my candid opinion that the police should initiate an effective and strong community policing, the kind that ensure robust relationship between the people and the force. “Obviously, it goes beyond a slogan that police is your friend, it must be practicalise to the extent that the public will have absolute confidence in the police and always ready to work with them ”, Hussein said.

vestors from the country. According to him, some 11 men in cars rushed to his church premises and urged him to pray for a sick person in a car, but unknown to him they were kidnappers.

He narrated that when he came out of the church premises, the young men pointed a gun at him and ordered him into one of the cars and immediately took him to an unknown destination.

BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO.

L-R: Executive Secretary, Lagos Motor Boat Club, Mr. Ladi Mumini; Treasurer, Dr. Dapo Majekodunmi; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas and Rear Admiral Afolabi Macaulay (rtd) at the induction of the Navy boss as a member of the club in Lagos, yesterday.

Abductions: Police train school guards in Lagos, Ogun

he police in Lagos and Ogun states have embarked on the training of security guards in schools in order to beef up security around their premises. CSP Adebowale Lawal, the spokesperson for the Police Zone 2 comprising Lagos and Ogun, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos. “The exercise com-

menced in Ogun where some Divisional Police Officers met with security guards and schools management. “Mr Bala Hassan, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, has also directed all the DPOs in the zone to embark on regular enlightenment meetings on security with school principals and proprietors. “The DPOs are to lecture them on security tips they

need to beef up security around and within their schools following recent abductions, ” Lawal said. He advised the management of schools to install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in order to monitor movement within and around school premises. “There is the need to install CCTV cameras, so that at all times they will be able to monitor those entering the compounds.

“The gatemen should not concentrate on the gate alone; they need to patrol at all times and see what is happening as the CCTV will assist them. “The AIG also directed all DPOs within the commands to ensure regular patrol of all schools in their area, ” Lawal said. The police spokesperson urged schools with low fences to raise them while those without fences needed to build one.

Clergyman urges govt to equip security agencies to ght crime OLUSEGUN KOIKI

he General Overseer of God Deliver Me Bible Church, Prophet Samuel Ayelabola, has called on state and federal

governments to effectively empower security agencies to enable them combat the menace of kidnapping and other social crimes in the country. Speaking at an event marking the 20th anni-

versary of the church at its headquarters in Otta, Ogun State recently, Ayelabola said although he believed in repentance, but the law of the land must be allowed to take its course criminals especial-

ly kidnappers. The clergyman, who narrated his unpleasant experience in the hands of kidnappers, decried that if government did not take the issue security seriously, it would scare away in-

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CCL: Enyimba lose at Vital’O, advance on 6-3 aggregate

Sport

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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PAGE 46

KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SPORTING NEWS SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2016

Champions League: Domenech writes off City, blasts Toure PAGE 47

or Peter Osaze Odemwingie, wearing the number 27 jersey, on Saturday must have felt very familiar. The Nigeria frontman will have found himself turning out at Craven Cottage against Fulham on many occasions during his time in the Premier League, with West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City and Stoke City. However, when the 34-year-old came on as a half-time substitute, the circumstances were very different, as Odemwingie, for the first time since 2010, found himself playing a league game outside the EPL. Having moved to Bristol City on loan until the end of the season, the Super Eagles hitman finds himself in very unfamiliar territory; an unforgiving relegation scrap at the base of the Championship. City enjoyed an eight-point cushion until recently, separating them from the danger zone in the second tier. However, such is the intensity and the volatile nature of the division, that Lee Johnson’s side’s advantage has steadily been whittled away to four points over a few testing weeks. It could have been worse had Bristol not come from behind at Craven Cottage to secure a 2-1 win, ensuring they end the weekend three points above Fulham, the side directly below them in the table. After the match, Johnson was praised for his boldness at half-time, introducing Bobby Reid and the debuting Odemwingie for Luke Freeman and Jonathan Kodija. Indeed, while the young coach will have been keen to begin to steadily introduce Odemwingie to his first team, there were no guarantees that the forward will find his feet so quickly. The veteran attacker had been a bit-part player at Stoke during the first portion of the campaign—playing just 101 minutes for the Potters over five substitute appearances in the EPL and having gone over a month without competitive football before Saturday. “I’m looking forward to working with him,” Johnson told City’s official club website when the move was confirmed. “I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring someone of Peter’s quality in; he’ll provide us with experience and hopefully goals in one form or another.” Can Odemwingie bring his WBA goalscoring form to Ashton Gate? That’s the question many are asking. There was certainly evidence against Fulham that Odemwingie can be a key asset for Bristol, even if he will be looking to increase his influence with the Robins between now and the end of the campaign. The forward was a threat from wide areas, and with one key pass, he showed how he could be fine oil for the likes of Jonathan Kodija and Aaron Wilbraham over the coming weeks. Beyond the obvious desire to avoid suffering relegation at this late stage in his career, Odemwingie will surely be aware that every minute he features for Bristol is an opportunity to impress his enduring talents upon prospective suitors. The forward’s contract at parent club Stoke comes to an end in the summer, and even before his loan move away, the attacker’s chances of securing a new deal under Mark Hughes have been dismissed. “Pete is in a situation where he’s at the end of his contract and isn’t going to be re-contracted here,” the Welsh manager admitted to the Stoke Sentinel. “There was an opportunity to allow him to go out and play football and his opportunities here from now until the end of the season are going to be few and far between.” No future for Pete at Stoke, says Hughes It’s hard to judge exactly what level Odemwingie can still play at following several years of near-non-activity and debilitating injury. Even before his peripheral role at Stoke this term, he managed only seven outings of which only one was a start last season, with the first half of his campaign a write-off due to injury. His move to Bristol City is, therefore, not merely a welcome fillip for the struggling Robins, but also an end-of-career audition for the forward. He’ll surely never return to the kind of goalscoring form he once enjoyed at West Bromwich, where he bagged 31 goals in 90 games, but the intelligent attacker still has the opportunity to demonstrate that he still has a role to play as a smart, creative forward.

Is the end near for Odemwingie?

Sport

Sunday, March 20, 2016

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GOtv boxing night: Organisers pledge adequate security

Dream team star in action at the recent CAF 23 Championship

Ekpai, Osimhen named in U23 squad

igeria under-23 coach Samson Siasia has selected 20 players, including Ubong Ekpai and Victor Osimhen, for the international friendly with the Brazilian Under-23 side scheduled for next Thursday. Both teams are using the test game to prepare for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and it will take place on the 20th anniversary of Nigeria defeating Brazil in the semifinals of the football event of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Nigeria went on to win the gold

medal defeating Argentina in a very entertaining final game. The list has nine home-based players and 11 foreign-based players to complete those who will make the trip to South America for the friendly. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel and Sincere Seth have been recalled from the Super Eagles squad to beef up the squad. Barcelona B’s Godswill Elohor Ekpolo headlines a list of foreignbased players which includes Anderlecht’s Imoh Ezekiel, Junior Ajayi from CS Sfaxien and Taiwo Awoniyi

from FSV Frankfurt. Emmanuel Daniel, Yusuf Mohammed are goalkeepers. Defenders: Godswill Ekpolo, Segun Oduduwa, Chizoba Amaefule, Ndifreke Effiong, Agboyi Ovbokha, Musa Mohammed, Sincere Seth Midfielders: Stanley Dimgba, Saturday Kaego, Sodiq Popoola, Ubong Ekpai Attackers: Victor Osimhen, Nathan Oduwa, Junior Ajayi, Taiwo Awoniyi, Imoh Ezekiel, Theophilus Solomon, Iyayi Believe

CCL: Enyimba lose at Vital’O, advance on 6-3 aggregate

igeria champions, Enyimba went down to a 2-1 defeat against Vital’0 Football Club of Burundi in the second leg of their CAF Champions League First Round fixture in Bujumbura on Saturday, but the People’s Elephant still progressed to the Second Round of the competition on a 6-3 aggregate scoreline.

Enyimba who won the first leg 5-1 last weekend at their makeshift home ground in Port Harcourt, started the game brightly with Mfom Udoh getting close to scoring for his side as early as the fifth minute. Hussein Shaban had the hosts first shot on target three minutes after that, but the ball well saved by

Enyimba goalkeeper, Theophilus Afelokhai. Enyimba took the lead in the 28 minute through Ikechukwu Ibenegbu. The midfielder rose above Vital’0 defenders to put home Joseph Osadiaye’s cross for his first goal for the club since his move from Warri Wolves.

ans coming to watch top class boxing action at GOtv Boxing Night 6 have been assured of adequate security in and around the venue of the event. The assurance was given by Jenkins Alumona, Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Flykite Productions, organizers of the tournament. Alumona explained that top-class security, which has been a feature at every edition of the event, will not be relaxed. “This edition falls on Good Friday and we are expecting families to come and enjoy boxing. Security will be tight as it has always been. One of our partners, KSquare Security, is the leading provider of security services for big events in the country. Fans have nothing to fear. The security arrangements will be top-notch,” he said. GOtv Boxing 6 holds on 25 March at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos. It guarantees the best boxer on the night a cash prize of N1million. The event will feature two title fights and three national challenge duels. The biggest of the fights will see Nigeria’s Abolaji “Afonja Warrior” Rasheed

take on Ghana’s Adjei Sowah in a West African middleweight title fight. In the other big fight, crowd favourite, Olaide “Fijaborn” Fijabi will attempt to win the West African light welterweight title when he takes on Djamiou Ekekpo of Republic of Benin. Also, there will be a national lightweight challenge bout between Otto “Joe Boy” Joseph and Hogan Jimoh Jnr., son of former champion, Hogan Jimoh aka Atomic Bomb. The three remaining fights will parade five of the graduates of the GOtv NextGen Search, who will make their pro debuts. Michael “Show”Rolland and Nwoye “Lion” Prince will face each other in a national lightweight challenge contest, while Saidi “Attacker” Lawal will take on fellow graduate Samuel “Godspower’ Elegbede in a national super middleweight challenge duel. Another super middleweight challenge contest will see Matthew “Wizeman” Obinna take on Yusuf “Koste” Moshood. The event, which kicks off at 5pm, is sponsored by GOtv, and supported by MultiChoice. It will be broadcast live by SuperSport in 47 African countries.

Ooni of Ife, others for Ikeja Captain’s Day Tourney

is imperial majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Babatunde Ogunwusi is expected to be the special guest of honours at the at the 2016 Ikeja Captain’s Day competition; a weeklong tournament put in place to mark the end of tenure of Air Commodore Tokunbo Ajomale (rtd), the captain of Ikeja Golf Club. Oba Ogunwusi will lead other traditional rulers and prominent Yoruba sons and daughter to the closing ceremony on Saturday Marc 26TH. Meanwhile, the captain’s day tournament will tee off on Monday March 21 with the Caddies and Staff of the club

taken their turn on the course. On Tuesday, it will be the turn of Professionals who will file out alongside veterans golfers as the competition continues. It will be the turn of the ladies on Wednesday before the special Captains kitty on Thursday. Friday will see amateur golfers take turn on the course in the opening round of their two-day competition. The golfers will return on Saturday, March 26th for the closing round. Later Saturday evening, a special closing ceremony where prizes would be given to excelling players has been

put in place. While thanking God for seeing him through his tenure, Air Cdre, Ajomale (rtd) said he belief that those coming behind will continue to contribute to the development of the club. He also uses the opportunity to thank members for their support throughout his tenure. “I have enjoyed my time here; I have done my bit and believe that other coming behind me will continue to contribute to the development of the club. I also want to thank all those who stood behind throughout my twelve months services, Ajomale added.

El-Kanemi hopes to bounce back against IfeanyiUbah

ormer Niger Tornadoes striker Samson Adeleye has stated that ElKanemi Warriors must pick up the pieces and prey on FC Ifeanyi Ubah at the Karkanda Stadium on Sunday. The Borno Army lost 3-1 to MFM FC in their last league outing, Adeleye feels they have learnt their lessons

and are ready to fire on all cylinders against the ambitious Nnewi-based outfit. “After the setback in Lagos we all resolved to prey on FC Ifeanyi Ubah,” the ex DSS FC attacker told Goal. “We shall make sure we make use of the passionate support of our fans be-

cause victory is what the squad wants. “We all worked hard in today’s training and played to our coach’s instruction.” “I have a lot of respect for FC Ifeanyi Ubah and I am certain that the match will be tough, unpredictable and exciting for the neutrals to see.”

Olaide “Fijaborn” Fijabi (L) and Djamiou Ekekpo of Benin Republic getting ready for their WABU title challenge

Pacquiao’s right hand now stronger, says Roach

s the April 9 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley approaches, famous trainer, Freddie Roach says that his right hand is now stronger than the left just as he announced that the Filipino superstar is also overcoming the shoulder injury he carried into the “Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather last May. According to him, the future Hall of Famer is in a good position to score a knockout against Bradley

in the third and final fight which Pacquiao has repeatedly described as his final fight. “I don’t know what the surgeon did with Manny’s right shoulder but he is firing his right with authority and strength. I never thought I would say this but I think it’s stronger than his left,” Roach said. Meanwhile Pac man has promised to give the fans an exciting fight, noting that if the opportunity comes, he will go for a knockout.

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Euro Sport

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Nadal

Indian Wells: Nadal to face Djokovic in semis

afael Nadal beat a top-10 player for the first time this year as he saw off Kei Nishikori to reach the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals in Indian Wells. Fourth seed Nadal, the champion in 2007, 2009 and 2013, won 6-4 6-3 against Japan’s world number seven. The Spaniard will face world number one Novak Djokovic, who beat seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2). “I beat a top-10 player and that is something that is important for my confidence,” said Nadal, 29. “I feel I am strong mentally and I have the right energy. I am able to fight for every ball and I now believe in myself the whole match.” Four-time champion Djokovic was pushed hard by Tsonga but the Serb proved stronger in the tie-breaks than the Frenchman, taking his record for 2016 to 20 wins and one defeat.

Champions League:

Domenech writes off City, blasts Toure

ormer France coach Raymond Domenech has written off Manchester City’s chances of overcoming Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals and slammed Yaya Toure, calling him a “centre-circle-to-centre-circle midfielder”. City will make their first appearance in the last eight of the competition when they travel to the Parc des Princes for the first leg on April 6. However, Domenech – a PSG player between 1981 and 1982 believes the former Premier League champions have no chance of progressing. “This is the best draw, especially from a psychological standpoint,” he is quoted as saying by Le Parisien. “It’s a great name, glitzy, a beautiful tie, but when you see the results and the performances, there is no comparison. “Manchester City cannot qualify against Paris, not even in their dreams.” Domenech cited key injuries in the City ranks, Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne are both sidelined and Sergio Aguero’s struggle for form as key factors behind his belief. But it was Toure who came in for the most scathing criticism from the 64-year-old. “Those who could do something are injured Aguero is not at his best,” Domenech added. “Yaya Toure? Before he was a box-to-box midfielder, now he’s a centre-circle-to-centre-circle midfielder.”

Toure

Martial eyes long United career

nthony Martial has no intention of leaving Manchester United any time soon and feels the Premier League is the best competition in the world. The France international joined United from Monaco at the start of the 2015-16 campaign and has since developed into a key figure at Old Trafford, scoring seven goals in 23 Premier League appearances, while also netting twice in six Champions League games. Louis van Gaal’s men are in danger of missing out on Champions League football next season, but Martial has stressed he is happy to stay in Manchester. “The Premier League is more physically demanding than Ligue 1. I love English football, it’s the best in the world in my opinion, and I hope to stay here for many years to come,” the 20-year-old told Sky Sports. “It’s true that the atmosphere here is quite different from the one in France, people live and breathe football here, and that’s what I like, every footballer wants to play in the Premier League. “In France it’s easy to know which team is going to win the game, where as in England anywhere you play, you know it’s going to be difficult.”

Ronaldo needs freedom, he’s not a striker –Ancelotti

arlo Ancelotti considers Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo to be the greatest forward in the history of football, but suggested he needs a free role to be at his best. Ronaldo has faced some criticism this season, particularly for his performances in matches away from the Santiago Bernabeu, despite scoring 40 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for Madrid. The Portuguese was beaten to the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or award by Barcelona great Lionel Messi in January, losing out after winning the accolade for 2013 and 2014 while coached by Ancelotti The Italian, who will take charge at Bayern Munich next season, says Ronaldo will not produce his best results if used as a central striker, despite receiving praise from Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane for his performance in the position in the 4-0 win over Roma in the Champions League on March 8. “He is one of the best players ever, the best forward in the history of football. I have

Ronaldo

never coached a better player than him,” Ancelotti wrote in his column for Sina Sports. “There is an offensive position that is not the best for Cristiano Ronaldo – the centre-forward role. “Cristiano did not like playing with his back to goal, he prefers to find space on the flanks and attack the opposition goal. “Cristiano will always be able to find his place, because he has a special talent for getting around the pitch.

Redknapp tips City to beat United

F Martial

ootball pundit, Jamie Redknapp has tipped Manchester City to beat Manchester United in their derby today. He says City have the better individual players to beat United and open up a seven-point

gap over them on Sunday. City lead United by four points in the race for the top four ahead of the Super Sunday clash at the Etihad, but both sides are in indifferent form of late. Redknapp, who also believes Louis van Gaal will not be in charge at Old Trafford next season, is tipping City for the three points on Sunday, which would stretch United’s winless run at the Etihad to three seasons. “Neither side are in great form, but the bragging rights will be so important,” Redknapp said. “United obviously lost to Liverpool in the Europa League, and although their second leg show was better, but the first was not good enough. “I can’t see Louis van Gaal keeping his job next year, but

N I G E R I A I N F I G U R E S -The sum 55 -The profit DanNigerians stole gote Sugar netted in eight years. in 2015.

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E-mail: jimunahlive@gmail.com Jim Unah is Professor of Philosophy, University of Lagos

with Jim Unah

ith the anti-graft, no nonsense posture of President Muhammadu Buhari, you would expect Nigerians in various organizations, ministries, agencies and departments and from different walks of life to be changing in the right direction gradually, but inexorably. As Mr. President is sweating it out all over the place to uproot insurgency, battle the nose-diving price of crude oil in the global market and compel a return of stolen funds back to the nation’s treasury, you wanted great changes to be taking place in Immigrations and Passport issuing office, the driver’s license issuing office, police relations with members of the public everywhere and at check points and every other institution of society where Nigerians yearn for change. Sadly, none of these is happening. Now, assuming for the sake of argument that Mr. President eventually successfully reins in insurgency and high profile corruption, and restores the prostrating economy to erect, healthy and buoyant position, how can the narra-

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Are people changing? tives of endless extortion, exploitation, and shortchanging of the people by a corrupt bureaucracy be checked and brought to an end? How can the average Nigerian be assisted by the state to get respite from regimes of incompetence that inflicts undue hardship and avoidable pains and loss on the populace? The ruling party should know that Nigerians are living in very agonizing circumstances and traumatizing conditions and subjected to complicated, difficult and most inhuman administrative processes whenever they are required to procure official documents in public offices. It takes between six to ten months or even more to procure or renew an international passport, a driver’s license or just to obtain a government permit for a simple business operation. The time, financial cost and process of doing business in public agencies or departments is so much and so cumbersome that many people with options would prefer to keep away. A public relations culture of this nature is not clement for business and not favorable for investment. As a rule people do not put their money where there are booby traps and impediments for the recoup of investment. People want to invest in organizations where processes are simplified and where you would not be embarrassed with beggarly greetings soliciting for

tips or outright bribes. In nine out of ten cases, this is the scenario you would find in most places that you go for official transactions. Recently, for instance, Richard Branson, the British tycoon, lashed out at his Nigerian associates in Virgin Atlantic, threatening to pull out because of endless demands for bribes in the course of doing business. Whether at a lower or higher level, you encounter an embarrassment from people; begging for money and support to meet one need or the other, outside the traditional colony of beggars that accost you everywhere you go. And this is often solicited from total strangers! It is so bad now that people are suspicious of greetings and pleasantries: not knowing whether the intendment is to be accosted with one embarrassing request or the other. Even for dressing well, you are expected to part with cash as gift or tip for compliments. In the past, in the early days of nationhood, public officers were alleged to demand 10% for any contract awarded and executed, being that the principal sum was used to do the job to satisfactory completion. Incrementally, public officers began to graduate from the collection of 10% to inch more and more into the contract sum, in addition to over-invoicing, padding and outright guzzling of entire

Super Eagles can be unbeatable, says Oboabona

he defender believes the Super Eagles are favourites ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against their Egyptian opponents No team in African football can beat Nigeria when they play at their best, according to defender Godfrey Oboabona. The Super Eagles host seven-time African champions Egypt at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on March 25 for their make or break 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier before traveling to Alexandria for the return leg four days later. However, the Çaykur Rizespor defence lynchpin is in no

doubt that the Super Eagles will once again show why they are a force to be reckoned with in football when the Pharaohs visit Kaduna. “Sentiments apart, Nigeria are still a strong force in African football,” Oboabona told Goal . “Placing second behind Egypt does not im-

ply that we are pushovers. You should not forget that the north African side have failed to appear at the last three [Africa] Cup of Nations.

project or contract fund. That is how the nation got to the era of yearly budget rituals and release of funds for public projects that are never executed; foisting regimes of social infrastructure deficits on the populace. It is the cycle of repeated contracts which failed to perform that has brought the country down to its knees, warranting the ascendancy of President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle down and uproot. The concern in all of this is how Buhari alone is expected to fight corruption single-handedly and come out in one piece, successfully. There are too many people that are neck-deep in and tongue-tied with corruption, even in the corridor of power. How can Buhari alone wage this antigraft war when the change in attitude on the part of the populace necessary for a successful top-bottom cleaning of the Augean stable is not forthcoming? My take is that as Buhari is tackling the corrupt elite—the powerful, the high and mighty—the ruling party should recruit the media and civil society organizations to investigate and reform the agencies of state that interface daily with members of the public, to get public officers to perform conscientiously and help exterminate the corruption syndrome from the psyche of the average person. Let the Buhari change happen now, top and bottom, everywhere!

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