Thursday 13, September 2012

Jonathan yet to visit First Lady

PDP blasts ACN, says party lacks integrity

...as wife spends third week in Germany

OUR CORRESPONDENT Dame Patience

Vol. 2 N0. 447 FELIX NWANERI AND OMEIZA AJAYI

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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he United States Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other embassy staff have been killed in an attack at the consular building in Benghazi, by militants denouncing a USmade film insulting Prophet Muhammed.

The unidentified armed men, who stormed the consulate on Tuesday night, shot at the building and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

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resident Goodluck Jonathan is yet to visit the ailing First

Lady, Dame Patience, almost two weeks after she CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Tukur

Tinubu clears air on US trip P.13

US ambassador killed in Libya Thursday, September 13, 2012

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...we’ll seek justice, says Obama FG puts Army, police on alert Somalia’s President survives assassination attempt P.51

Egyptian protesters on the walls of the US Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. Inset: Slain US Ambassador to Libya, Amb. Christopher Stevens.

L-R: Deputy Group Chief Executive, Oando PLC, Omamofe Boyo, Senior Vice President, Toronto Stock Exchange, Ungad Chadda and Group Chief Executive Oando PLC, Wale Tinubu, during the listing of Oando Energy Resources on the exchange yesterday in Toronto, Canada.

Govs undermine judiciary –CJN Adoke accuses SANs of sharp practices NNPC, Ajuonuma’s family conclude burial plans

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News

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Governors undermine judiciary –CJN EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

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he Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, has raised the alarm that some governors treat the judiciary as an appendage of the executive.

She, therefore, warned that the development could affect justice delivery system in the country.

Justice Mukhtar also deplored the current situation whereby the state judiciary relied heavily on the executive for the provision of infrastructure and welfare of judicial officers.

She described as regrettable the practice where state chief executives were responsible for the welfare of magistrates and other lower courts judges.

The first female CJN raised these concerns at the swearing-in of 25 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, at the Supreme Court in Abuja yesterday.

As a way out of the “lingering menace”, the CJN, who was performing her first major assignment since her appointment, called for partnership between the judiciary and the executive arms of government “with a view to repositioning the system and setting it on the part of recovery.”

To chart a new course for the judiciary, Mukhtar declared that henceforth, the National Judicial Council, NJC, would issue a policy

guideline, making it compulsory for judicial officers to be computer literate.

She stressed that computer literacy would be a pre-condition for the appointment of “prospective judicial officers”.

The CJN said: “It is regrettable that some state executives treat the judiciary as an appendage of the executive arm.

“By Section 121 (3) of the Constitution, any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned.

“Today, one of the major problems confronting the administration of justice in our democracy is inadequate funding for the judiciary, particularly at the state level.

“Inadequate funding and inaccessibility of funds appropriated to states’ judiciary in the budget is the bane of administration of justice in the federation.”

Mukhtar called for the implementation of “community service, non-custodial sentences and probation” to tackle prison congestion as it obtains in other countries.

An estimated 40,000 inmates are languishing in various prisons across the country awaiting trials, with about two-thirds not convicted.

Also, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mo-

hammed Adoke (SAN), has accused lawyers, especially SANs of corrupt enrichment through unethical conducts.

Delivering a speech at the inauguration of the new Legal Year yesterday, Adoke shed light on some of the challenges besetting the legal profession; chief of which he said, was “the declining ethical standards and discipline at the Bar.” According to him, “It is a matter of regret that lawyers, including some SANs routinely engage in unwholesome practices unbecoming of members of this noble profession.”

He also criticised lawyers for “deliberately misleading clients on the strength of their cases to appropriate unearned professional fees; tempering with clients’ money; criticising judges in the media “even where it is clear that they have not read their judgments in order to determine the reasoning of the courts and commenting on matters that are subjudice.”

The AGF, therefore, charged the new leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, led by Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), to “put the issue of professional ethics and discipline to the front burner.”

“We must reinvigorate the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to deal with the growing number of cases of misconduct that have been referred to

it,” the AGF said.

Others who spoke on the occasion were a former AGF and Chairman, Body of Benchers, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) and Wali.

The event was witnessed

by Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).

Also present were the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; justices, friends and family members of the newly-inaugurated SANs.

The new SANs include Prof. Yemi AkinsheyeGeorge, Prof. Dakas Clement James Dakas, Mrs. Joy Okungbowa Adeshina, Chief Connie- Ean Aremu, Mahmud Abubakar Magaji, Ogwu James Onoja, Garuba Usman Tetengi, Henry Oghogho, Selekeowei Larry and Abenny Mohammed.

Others are Charles Nwanne Obishai, Lime Chuwudi Illogu, Francis Chuka Agbu, Paul

Ananaba, Akinlaja Dayo Moses, Ahmed Raji, Adekunle Theophilus Oyesanya, Femi Falana, Rotimi Oluseyi Oguneso, Oluseye Samuel Opasanya, Aduroja Cladius Olumuyiwa, Aliyu Umaru, Illo Katune Sanusi, Rotimi Jacobs and Ndukwe Nnawuchi.

Meanwhile, a newlyappointed SAN, Mr. Abeni Muhammed, yesterday dedicated the legal practice award to the Nigerian human rights community.

United States Consulate in Benghazi in flames during a protest by an armed group.

Protesters in Cairo

US ambassador killed in Libya as FG puts Army, police on alert CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

threw home-made bombs into the compound.

Reports from Libya said Ambassador Stevens and his staff were reportedly trying to leave the consulate building for a safer location after it was attacked when the gunmen launched an intense attack, apparently forcing back security guards.

A Libyan official in Benghazi told Reuters news agency that “the American ambassador and the three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets in their direction.”

Among the embassy staff killed was Sean Smith, a father of two, who was

employed as an information management officer.

The names of the remaining two victims have not yet been released.

The Libyan doctor who treated the late envoy said he died of severe asphyxiation, apparently from smoke inhalation, with no other injuries, and that he had tried for 90 minutes to revive him.

It was also reported that attackers raided the empty consulate building yesterday morning, with passersby freely walking in to take a look at the damage.

Walls were charred and a small fire burned inside one of the buildings.

A Reuters reporter saw

chairs, tables and food lying alongside empty shells.

Some blood stains were also seen in front of one of the buildings. Three cars were torched.

The attack came a few hours after protesters also attacked the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

The protesters breach the embassy wall and tore down the US flag, which was flying at half-mast to mark the 9/11 attacks.

President Barack Obama condemned the killing and said the US will seek justice.

“I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, includ-

ing Ambassador Chris Stevens”, he said.

In a televised speech at about 0230GMT at the Rose Garden, flanked by the Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, President Obama vowed to bring justice to the attackers, calling the killings “outrageous and shocking.”

He added: “We’re working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats. And make no mistake; we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.

“Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States.

Throughout the Libyan rev-

olution, he selflessly served our country and the Libyan people at our mission in Benghazi.”

Hilary Clinton also condemned the attack, saying there was no justification for it.

“We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. Some have sought to justify this vicious behaviour as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet.

“The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.

“Chris was committed

to advancing America’s values and interests, even when that meant putting himself in danger.”

Meanwhile, the US government also yesterday said it was taking added security measures to protect its citizens and has ordered a tightening of security at the country’s diplomatic posts worldwide after the attacks.

“I have directed my administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe,” Obama said in a statement.

Part of the measures is CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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Photo News

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Professor of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, United States, Prof. Wayne Loel (left) and Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, at the 4th Emmanuel Egbogah Leagcy Lecture Series on Petroleum Economies, Policy and Strategy at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday.

Division President, Sub Sahara Africa, MasterCard Worldwide Mr. Daniel Monehin (right) and Head, e-Banking, UBA Plc, Mr. Adeyinka Adedeji, during the visit of MasterCard International to UBA Plc on the introduction of new UBA -MasterCard products in all UBA offices in Africa, recently.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Representative of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Pascal Joseph; Convener, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Mr. Debo Adeniran; Guest Speaker, Primate Olapade Agoro and civil rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, during the 5th Anniversary and Annual General Convention of CACOL in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

L-R: Chairperson, Senate Committee on Gas Resources, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu; Mrs. Ananaba and new SAN, Paul Ananaba, a Phd student of Babcock University among the recipients at a reception for him in Abuja, yesterday.

National News

FG okays inclusion of military retirees in NHIS A •Approves 44 projects for Niger Delta states

Crisis looms as INEC ‘breaches’ Section 73 TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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he Federal Government yesterday approved the inclusion of military retirees and their immediate families in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) benefit package with the sum of N3.6bn per annum in the first year for the Defence Health maintenance organisation.

Addressing journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said that the approval followed the recommendation of the technical sub-committee set up by ministries of Finance and Health to include the

military retirees in the NHIS in order to enhance the performance of serving military officers and men.

Maku said that 75,000 military retirees were to start the scheme, while their biometric data had been captured earlier in the year.

He said that the non-inclusion was posing a challenge in the military health facilities as the retirees continue to frequent hospitals, requesting for free medical care as stipulated in the armed forces harmonized terms and condition of service while it was also negatively affecting the morale of hose still in service.

Speaking further on the issue, Minister of State

for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, said that just like what is obtainable with the civil service, the Navy, Airforce and Army personnel and their spouses as well as four children under the age of 18 would benefit from the scheme.

Obada said: “When the NHIS was introduced by the Federal Government to ameliorate the hardship

by Nigerians in accessing healthcare, the military retirees were excluded from the scheme despite the fact that in the Armed Forces Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS), Chapter 19, Section 19 stipulates that all retired officers shall be entitled to free medical treatment in

armed forces and government hospitals.

“However, the retirees have been left out; and to ensure that we appreciate them for the services rendered to the nation, we have brought this memo to Council and it was approved and they have been included also” Also approved yesterday

by FEC was the execution of 44 projects across the Niger Delta states of Cross River, Akwa Ibom, River, Delta, Imo, Abia and Ondo under the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) mandate.

Speaking on the projects, Maku said that the government would improve infrastructure in the Niger Delta region with the construction of bridges, roads and others.

s the country buckles up for the 2015 general elections, Nigerians may grapple with crisis bothering on a breach of Section 73 of the 1999Constitution by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The section of the Constitution says that INEC must, after every 10 years, re-adjust (delineate) federal constituencies and senatorial districts.

But 13 years after democracy returned to the country, INEC is yet to carry out the assignment.

The purpose of the section is to make sure a change in the demography of the senatorial districts and federal constituencies is accommodated by partitioning and rearranging the wards and sections making up the districts.

An earlier motion brought before the House of Representatives by Hon. Beni Lar had sought the immediate execution of the sections by INEC. The lawmaker had queried the delay by INEC in performing this constitutional obligation, after 13 years of the country’s democracy.

She said if not quickly and timely done, the issue of constituency delineation could spur a constitutional crisis and even litigations.

Ms. Lar raised the motion as a response to the recurring violence that has been confronting Plateau State since 2001.

Ms. Lar, the eldest daughter of second Republic Governor, and former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Lar, has been a member of the House since 2003.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Jonathan yet to visit First Lady CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

was flown abroad for medical treatment at a German hospital.

There were speculations that the President would use the opportunity of his visit to Malawi and Botswana to make a quick trip to Germany to visit his wife at the

Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden for a first-hand assessment of her current state, but he returned to Abuja on Tuesday without making the trip to Europe.

The President, however, presided over the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting in Abuja yesterday and did

not show any sign of stress.

He reportedly told some of his aides that his wife is alive.

The Minster of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke, who was also rumoured to be receiving treatment for a potentially serious health condition, was also at the meeting,

dressed casually in jeans and appeared to be in high spirit.

The continued silence about the condition of the usually visible First Lady had led to a rash of speculations in the media with her poor health attributed to several reasons, including food poisoning and appendicitis.

L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim; Vice-President Namadi Sambo and President Goodluck Jonathan at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

Some reports said she had a surgery to have a fibroid removed. Another version said she underwent a tummy tuck operation.

National Mirror, however, learnt that the President had refused to visit his wife in order not to give any credence to the speculations about her health condition that had gained attraction in the media and on social networking sites.

When the information about the First Lady’s hospitalisation emerged about a fortnight ago, the official line was that she went abroad to rest and recover from a hectic schedule during the African First Ladies’ conference held in Abuja.

The media team at the Presidency is also reported to be in a fix as they have been rendered powerless on the matter following initial security concerns.

National Mirror learnt that the Presidency was

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deeply concerned about the competence of doctors attached to the Aso Rock Villa Clinic after it emerged that they apparently misdiagnosed the First Lady’s ailment even when her condition turned serious.

Mrs. Jonathan had been flown to Wiesbaden, Germany, as her condition grew worse shortly after returning from Dubai and was diagnosed and treated for “food poisoning”.

Hospital sources at Horst Schmidt Klinik had said that the First Lady had successfully undergone an operation to remove the ruptured appendicitis and she had been placed on a course of antibiotics to treat a potentially serious infection.

The situation is similar to the information blackout in 2009 when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua fell seriously ill and was treated in Saudi Arabia and later at the same Horst Schmidt Klinik before his death.

US ambassador killed in Libya as FG puts Army, police on alert CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

deployment of a marine anti-terrorism team to Libya to bolster security, a US Defence source told reporters in Washington.

Violence has threatened to spread to other Muslim countries. As at last night, 24 hours after the attacks in Egypt and Libya, police were firing teargas at angry demonstrators outside the U.S. embassy in Tunisia.

And to avoid the rage spreading to Nigeria, the Federal Government yesterday put the police on red alert.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, directed police formations to ensure a foolproof security of foreign embassies and their personnel.

The order is to forestall the likelihood of violence in some parts of the country where peace has been fragile due to a continued rise in Islamic insurgency.

A statement signed by the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said: “Following the recent violent demonstrations in some parts of the world linked to a recent US film believed to have offended a section of some religious faithful, the Nigeria Police Force has taken immediate proactive security

measures to ensure that no similar violence is replicated within our country.

“Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has placed all police formations across the federation on red alert.

“The AIG in charge of Intelligence and commissioners of police in charge of the various Police Special Squads such as the Counter- Terrorism Unit (CTU), Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Special Protection Unit (SPU) have been directed to ensure that their personnel are strategically deployed to prevent and nip all potential crises in the bud.”

The police boss assured law-abiding citizens of the readiness and capacity of the force to provide adequate security for life and property. They also warned potential troublemakers to stay off the streets, saying the security agencies “will bring to bear, the full weight of the law on all laws breakers.”

Meanwhile, a top security chief, who spoke with an online news agency, Saharareporters, said that military commands in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Borno, Bauchi, Plateau, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kebbi, Niger and Katsina states had also been put on red alert.

He said they were instructed to bar any open demonstrations by religious groups or political activities that could provide an opportunity for hostilities.

The security chief added that US citizens on official assignments in troubled parts of the North had been alerted to be security-conscious and to take precautions.

The report also quoted a diplomatic source, who did not want his name mentioned as saying that other embassies in Nigeria, particularly those of the Western countries, had also taken similar measures.

The “offensive” video, produced by a 52-year-old Israeli-American, Sam Bacile, has only been partly released online, with many Muslims describing it as blasphemous.

It will be recalled that a Danish newspaper ignited protests across Islamic nations in 2005, when it printed cartoons lampooning Islam and the Prophet.

One of cartoons depicted him wearing a bomb in his turban.

The images touched off riots across the world, including Nigeria, in which at least 50 people died.

Stevens was the American envoy to the Benghazi-

based rebel movement that overthrew the late dictator, Moammar Gadhafi last year. He had earlier taught English in Morocco before joining the Foreign Service where he worked in the Middle East and North Africa.

A speaker of Arabic and French, he was among the first US diplomats sent to Libya in 2007 when the US resumed ties with the ousted Gadhafi regime.

Stevens’ death is the first time a US envoy is being killed in the line of duty since 1979, when the country’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, was kidnapped and killed during an attempt to rescue him.

Before then, Ambassador John Mein had been shot dead by rebels who ambushed his car in Guatemala City, Guatemala, in 1968, while Ambassador Cleo Noel Jr. was killed alongside senior US and Belgian diplomats by the Black September Palestinian militant group, after being taken hostage in Saudi Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1973.

Libya’s interim leader, Mohammed Magarief, has, however, apologised to the US over the killings, which he called “cowardly criminal acts.”

Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur said Stevens was “a friend of Libya, and we are shocked at the attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi.

“I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere,” Abushagur said on Twitter.

Also condemning the attack, Libya’s ruling party described it as a “criminal and cowardly act” and vowed to “track down the perpetrators and to maintain the country’s security and the safety and security of its guests.”

“The Libyan security forces came under heavy fire and we were not prepared for the intensity of the attack,” said Abdel-Monem Al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya’s Supreme Security Committee.

UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said the killings were “brutal and senseless.”

“These diplomats were serving not only their own country but the people of Libya and were working for the peace and stability of Libya in the future,” he said in a statement.

The United Nations, UN, described the attack as “horrific and tragic,” add-

ing that it further spotlighted the security challenges facing Libyan authorities.

“The United Nations rejects defamation of religion in all forms. But there is no justification for violence such as occurred in Benghazi”, UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, told the UN Security Council during a regularly scheduled briefing on Libya.

Libya’s Deputy UN Ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, had earlier told the Security Council that an investigation was underway to bring those responsible to justice.

“This attack in no way serves the interests of the people or the Libyan authorities and cannot be considered as a defense of Islam. This attack gravely damages the image of Islam,” he said.

Polish President, Bronislaw Komorowski, said AlQaeda may have played a role in the killing. “It’s possible that what happened is tied to worrying developments in Eastern Libya and probably also in Egypt where we see extremist activities by Al-Qaeda playing on peoples’ emotions,” Komorowski told reporters, citing an intelligence report by Poland’s interior ministry.

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National News

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

EFCC lacks political will to fight corruption –Official

Education for all by 2015 not feasible –NCCE

LEONARD OKACHIE

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he Principal Detective Superintendent of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Pascal Joseph, has said that the perceived ineffectiveness of the commission in the fight against corruption was as result of its lack of political will.

He disclosed this yesterday, while representing the Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Larmode, at the fifth anniversary/annual general convention of the Coalition Against Corrupt

Leaders, CACOL, at the Event Arena, Oregun, Lagos.

Responding to questions by participants on why some people who have been indicted in several corruption cases have not been prosecuted, Joseph explained that EFCC could only investigate cases, but could not at the same time perform the duty of the court.

He said: “EFCC cannot perform magic. We are human beings. We should also contribute to the performance of EFCC. When your relation is invited

or investigated, don’t go to court to get injunction.

That is not helping EFFC. We must have to gather information to enable us do our work very well. We need the cooperation from the society.”

Earlier in his keynote address, prominent politician and religious leader, Primate Olapade Agoro, said that the only way to win the battle against corruption in Nigeria was for the government to first of all divorce itself from all elements of corruption.

Agoro spoke on the topic: “A flurry of corrupt practic-

An accident scene at Bolingo junction on Olusegun Obasanjo Way in Abuja, yesterday.

es, Bouquet of probes, torrents of scandals, litany of Indictments, near-nil punishments: What hope for Nigerian anti-graft drive?”

He said: “We are yet to find a government that will face the decent of governance in the interest of the common masses. Corruption could be nipped in the bud by a leader that is desirous and committed for the well being and welfare of the masses. Corruption is the worst enemy of humanity. It is even worse than death. I will say it is the worst of human rights abuse.”

PHOTO: NAN

MOJEED ALABI igeria may not be able to achieve the vision to get all Nigerians educated by 2015 because of lack of adequate teachers.

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, Prof.

Muhammed Junaid, said this yesterday as the guest lecturer at the 36th convocation lecture of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos.

He said research had confirmed that Nigeria needed about 1,320,135 more teachers to effectively fill the vacuum created by the dearth of skilled teachers.

Junaid, who spoke on the theme; “Teacher Education: Quality, Standards and Control in Nigeria’s Transformation Agenda,” said Nigeria produced 64,000 teachers annually, adding that taken into consideration the needed figure it would take about 20 years to reach the target.

He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to provide more facilities for the existing colleges of education to increase their carrying capacity to increase enrolment.

The NCCE executive secretary said his commission, since he took over the

mantle of leadership in 2007, had introduced many measures to improve the quality of teachers and the curriculum to meet the modern classroom requirements.

He said: “Our engagement with the colleges of education has also brought out the need to keep in closer touch with the colleges on especially matters that relate to the quality of teaching and learning.

“Our once-in-a-while accreditation exercise does not give us sufficient ground to guarantee the potential employers of NCE graduates that they have been thoroughly prepared for the job of teaching in our schools. To be able to do this more effectively, we introduced a number of quality-enhancing initiatives to the teacher education programme.”

The event, which was chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics and Research), University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, Prof. Babajide Alo, preceded the main convocation scheduled for today where 800 graduates would be awarded national certificate of education.

The Provost of the college, Dr. S. O. Olusanya, appealed for more funding to enable the college better perform its statutory roles.

FG votes N1.6bn for meningitis Reliance on oil, cause of Nigeria’s Jonathan hosts Paralympians, Falconets Saturday economic woes –RMAFC eradication –Agency he Revenue Mobili- erty rates in the country. that all athletes were im-

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he Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHDA, Dr. Ado Mohammed, has disclosed that the Federal Government would spend N1.6bn on the vaccine against meningitis tagged MenAfriVac immunisation campaign.

Mohammed said this in Abuja yesterday at a stakeholders’ conference on MenAfriVac. He said the money would be used to procure vaccination cards, vaccines, injection materials, waste disposal materials and Adverse Events Following Immunisation, AEFI, kits.

“In 1996, Nigeria had 15,000 death cases from meningitis; in 1999, 25,000 cases while in 2011, 1,000 cases were recorded, proving the fact that epidemics of meningitis have reduced rapidly in the country.

“Thousands of people die of meningitis annually, hence the total target population for MenAfriVac in Nigeria is 80 million and the estimated annual vaccine to be made available is 17 million.

“This time around, the Federal Government wants the disease to be totally eradicated in the country, especially the most vulnerable states,” the executive director said.

Mohammed disclosed that the vaccine would be given to persons between 16 and 29 years old and would last for 10 years, unlike the 1996 conventional vaccine which was for three years.

He urged stakeholders to use all effective means to sensitise the public to the need for immunisation, adding that the aim of the programme would be defeated if enough awareness was not created.

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sation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, yesterday attributed Nigeria’s rising debt profile and budget deficit to the country’s inability to diversify its economy.

RMAFC said this in Asaba at a two-day advocacy workshop for Nigerians from the South-South zone with the theme: “Economic Diversification and Enhanced Revenue Generation.”

The communiqué issued at the end of the workshop and signed by Chairman of RMAFC’s Diversification Committee, Dr. Casmir Anyanwu, condemned the dependence of all the tiers of government on allocations from the Federation Account.

It said that failure to diversify the economy had also accounted for infrastructural decay, high unemployment and high pov-

The communiqué added that although tourism business was capital intensive, it had enormous potentials to “rake in huge revenues” for the country if properly exploited.

The communiqué reads in part: “To strengthen the nation’s economy and diversify its revenue base, priority attention should be given to agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals and tourism sectors.

“Agriculture in the country has over the years been bedevilled by poor policy designs, absence of prioritisation and duplication and inconsistencies in policy formulation and implementation.

“The Federal Government needs to evolve policies that will promote “small holder farmers” and to pursue agriculture in line with the concept of agro-business.”

ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has promised to host members of the Team Nigeria Special athletes at the just-concluded Paralympics Games in London, to a special reception at the State House on Saturday.

The President also promised to host the Falconets for their brilliant performance at the FIFA Women U-20 Championship in Japan where they came fourth.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who disclosed this, said the President was delighted and impressed by the superlative performance of members of the Team Nigeria Special athletes and asked all cabinet ministers to attend the reception.

He said the reception would send a clear message

portant.

At the London Games, the Nigerian Special athletes won 13 medals, made up of six gold, five silver, and two bronze medals.

On the overall medals table, Team Nigeria finished 22nd in the world, and placed third in Africa behind Tunisia and South Africa who placed first and second.

Maku noted that that the special athletes brought smile on the faces of Nigerians who were seriously hurt by the poor performance of the able-bodied athletes.

He said: “They have wiped away our tears. The message they have sent is that we need a greater passion in what we do. Their performance confirms that every citizen is important.

The reception will send a clear message that all is important.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Court bars INEC from deregistering NCP K AYODE KETEFE

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federal high court sitting in Lagos yesterday restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from deregistering the National Conscience Party (NCP).

This restraining order was given as an interim measure by the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang, while ruling on NCP’s application for interlocutory injunction to restrain INEC from deregistering any political party pending the determination of the suit challenging the power of INEC to do so.

The restraining injunction is made to be operative till the final determination of the suit.

The judge, however, qualified this restraining order by stating that other political parties who are not parties in the suit cannot benefit from it.

Justice Abang said; “The order of the court is only binding on the parties before it.”

The judge also said the order must be endorsed with Form 48 (Notice of consequence of disobedience of court order) and should be “served personally” on INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

The implication of this is that if the respondents fail to obey the restraining injunction, they would be liable to be charged for contempt of court which might lead to terms of imprisonment.

INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Adeniyi Lawal, however, gave an undertaking that NCP would not be deregistered pending the determination of the suit.

The judge said; “Based on the consent of all parties, an order of court is hereby made restraining the third defendant (INEC), its agents or privies from deregistering the first plaintiff pending the determination of the substantive suit.”

Counsel for the National Assembly, Mr. Wahab Shittu, had earlier withdrawn his preliminary objection to the suit and his opposition to the granting of the interlocutory injunction.

National News

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Crisis as Imo FMC rejects patients

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STF arrests three armed robbers in Jos

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he military Special Task Force (STF) on CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI Jos crisis yesterday paraded three armed robore than 60 pabers who were said to be tients have so far specialists in car snatching. been reportedly One of them was identurned back at the Federal tified as a student of the Medical Centre (FMC), Ahmadu Bello University, Owerri, for lack of admisZaira. sion space in the hospiParading the suspects yestal following the refusal terday at the STF’s headquarof hospital personnel in ters in Jos, spokesman of the state-owned hospitals to task force, Captain Salisu work.

Mustapha, said the suspects National Mirror learnt were arrested on Tuesday at that the FMC has between about 11.00 pm by men of the special Task force at Dogon Karfe area of the city.

He said his men received information from one Mr. Nandom Nazing of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) that his car, a white Peugeot 206, was snatched at gun point at the British America Junction of the Jos North Local Government Area by suspected armed robbers.

Mustapha further said that his men while pursuing the robbers called the checkpoints along the route and the car was intercepted in early hours of yesterday at the Police Staff College check point Bukuru Expressway by men of the STF. Captain Salisu, who gave the names of the suspects as Jeremiah ThankGod, 26 Cross section of Senior Advocates of Nigeria during their swearing in ceremony at the Supreme Court in Abuja, yesterday. INSET is ; Elijah John and Gabriel PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA Chief Femi Falana (right) and Chief Francis Agbu, during their elevation as Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

Dakup, 20, said they were found in possession of two locally-made pistols and two handsets and are un3.00 pm on Thursday, Sep- that the burial ceremony stance. We are also taking dergoing preliminary inUDEME AKPAN tember 13, 2012, with a ser- was a success. active part in the burial.” vestigation. vice of songs at Harbour Spokesman of the corHe said the suspects and he Nigerian Nation- Point, Ahmadu Bello Way, poration, Mr. Fidel Pepple, items recovered along with who confirmed the develal Petroleum Cor- Victoria Island, Lagos. the owner of the car will be She said the final burial opment said: “The NNPC poration (NNPC) handed over to the police and the Ajuonuma family rites and interment will has performed statutory for further investigation have concluded plans for take place on Friday, Sep- roles expected of it in line and prosecution. the burial of late Dr. Levi tember 14, by 12.00 noon with its conditions of serThe STF further called Ajuonuma, the former in his home town, Awalla vice. It is not proper for on members of the public to spokesman of the apex oil autonomous community us to mention figures. It continue to provide it with near Isiekenesi in Ideato- is sufficient to say that we company this weekend. useful information to nip in A visit to the Ikeja home South Local Government have performed our statuthe bud criminal activities tory roles in this circum- Levi of the late Ajuonuma yes- Area of Imo State. in the state.

A family source said: terday showed that everybody was busy carrying “The family mood is gett least one man tions Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ra- for robbery operations. out one assignment or an- ting better than before.

“The gang was also rewas killed while phael Uzoigwe, said the susother. Only one riot police- Everyone was sad when four others were pected robbers were those sponsible for previous robman and other security the incident took place, personnel were seen at the mainly because his body injured yesterday as a gang who killed two vigilante beries and kidnapping opwas not recovered. But of armed robbers engaged members at Ogidi in Idemili erations in Nkpor, Umuoji, compound.

A family source, who with the collection of the members of the state Anti- North local Government Ojoto and Nnobi.

“Sometimes, they operdoes not want his name in corpse, family members Robbery Squad (SARS) in Area, earlier in the day.

He said pump action ate between Abatete, Neni, print said: “There is no- were relieved to now work a gun battle in Agulu combody at home now. Madam toward giving him a befit- munity in Anaocha Lo- guns, which were stolen Agulu ,among other neighfrom the deceased vigilante bouring communities. cal Government Area of was around but she has ting burial.”

Investigation showed Anambra State.

“Our target is to get night men, were recovered by the just gone out to do some that the NNPC has paid life back in Anambra, esThe News Agency of Ni- police from the gang. things in town.”

Uzoigwe said that other pecially during the forthWhen contacted, the his financial entitlements geria (NAN) learnt that the widow of the deceased, to the family and the fami- police killed one of the rob- items recovered from the coming Christmas period Mrs. Sophie Ajuonuma, lies of other victims who bers while four others were gang include one AK-47 and we must do it; that is riffle, three magazines, 16 the target of the Police Comsaid in a telephone inter- died in the Dana air crash. arrested.

Confirming the incident, rounds of ammunition and missioner, Mr. Ballah Naview that the funeral cer- The corporation has also emony will commence by taken active part to ensure the state Police Public Rela- a Mitsubishi L-300 bus used sarawa.”

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13 to 15 wards including an amenity ward, but our source said the wards are no longer enough to accommodate the influx of patients from both state-owned and referral hospitals in the state.

The Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), Orlu, under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee of Health Workers and health personnel at the General Hospital, Umugunma have been at loggerheads with

the state government over irregular payment of salaries, a situation which had paralysed health services in the state.

It was gathered that the unresolved development has now overstretched the facilities at the Federal Medical Centre thereby resulting in the FMC management to reject patients in the hospital.

Efforts made by our correspondent to contact the Medical Director, Dr.

(Mrs.) Angela Uwakwem, proved abortive as she refused to answer her calls.

However, a close source to the management, who would not want his name mentioned, confirmed the story, saying that there was a case of a woman whose husband was brought to the hospital yesterday, “but there was no space to admit him even though her husband’s situation was very pathetic.”

NNPC, Ajuonuma family, conclude burial plans

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One killed, four injured in gun duel with police

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South West

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

I’ve no hand in N47.1bn theft, Akingbola tells court FRANCIS FAMOROTI

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ormer Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank), Erastus Akingbola, yesterday broke his silence when he stepped into the witness box of an Ikeja High Court and denied all the criminal charges preferred against him.

Looking unruffled in the box, Akingbola said he did not authorise any agents or

employees of the distressed Intercontinental Bank to transfer any funds on his behalf or on behalf of any company.

The former bank chief had been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, along with one of his close aides, Bayo Dada, with fraudulent practices and alleged stealing of about N47.1bn.

Akingbola, who testified for the first time yesterday, said “the allegations

are false... because I never posted, received or authorised any such amount and I did not receive or see any money”.

He absolved himself of any culpability in the theft of the multi-billion Naira said to have been siphoned through fraudulent transfers to his foreign accounts.

Led in evidence by his counsel, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN), Akingbola, who is the fifth defence witness in the proceedings,

told the court that he did not convert Intercontinental Bank Plc funds fraudulently to Tropics Securities Limited.

Admitting that prior to his trial, he was the chairman of Tropics Securities, he said he did not authorise, sign or pay any money to Tropics Finance and he was not aware of the transactions or purchase of shares that led to fraudulent practices.

The witness told Justice Habeeb Abiru that he was

not involved in the day-today running of the company and he was not the executive director in charge of shares in Intercontinental Bank.

He said: “Intercontinental Bank has 200 branches within Nigeria, 57 in Ghana and many subsidiaries.

So there are about 10 executive directors that have autonomy and are checked through countersigns by other executive directors.”

Akingbola said the alleged transactions were

carried out by the Executive Director in charge of Investments and Subsidiaries, Mr. Yinka Adebiyi, who he had not seen since he left the bank on August 14, 2009.

He, however, said that he was reliably informed that Adebiyi had been declared wanted by EFCC. Abiru adjourned further proceedings till September 26, to enable the EFCC counsel, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), cross-examine Akingbola.

Ajimobi seeks law to protect women, children against violence KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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L-R: Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar; Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, and human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), shortly after the inauguration of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria at the Supreme Court in Abuja, yesterday.

Review Lagos traffic law, groups beg Fashola TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

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he Federation of Informal Workers Organisations of Nigeria, FIWON, and the United Okada Stakeholders Forum yesterday called on Lagos State Government to review its traffic law.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos, GeneralSecretary, FIWON, Comrade Gbenga Komolafe, urged the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola to review some parts of the law in order not to inflict pains on the masses.

He said: “The penalties imposed on infractions of these laws are also rather highhanded. When a law imposes a fine of N20,000 and above, more than the minimum wage and/or jail term of three years for simple road contravention, there is an open invitation to corruption for the personnel of the implementing agencies and penury for the people. Whatever the good intentions of the government might be, these penal-

ties are rather draconian.

“We therefore plead that the state government should return this law to the state House of Assembly for a comprehensive review during which all stakeholders including commuters and ordinary members of the public, apart from transport unions, would be encouraged to make useful inputs.

The hush-hush manner, under which this very important law was enacted in the first instance, leaves much to be desired.”

In his address, the Protem Chairman of United Okada Stakeholders Forum, Tony Keroro, also called for review of the law.

He said: “We call on Lagos State Government to

urgently review downwards the number of routes from which we have been banned by returning the bill to the state House of Assembly for a more inclusive, participatory parliamentary process at the end of which we would have a more acceptable law that will truly serve the best interests of the largely majority of Lagosians.”

Zenith Bank, Visafone begin mobile money services

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enith Bank and Visafone Communications Limited have launched EaZyMoney to consolidate their leading roles in the evolving cashless society project of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Peter Amangbo, said it represented a remarkable step in the bank’s drive to play a leading role in the emerging cashless society being spearheaded by the CBN. According to him, mobile money services through EaZyMoney have

the potential to serve as the easiest route to the financial inclusion of the unbanked segment of the economy.

He said: “We are proud to be working in strategic partnership with Visafone on this mobile money initiative and we feel that the combination of innovation and customer focus for which Zenith Bank is so rightly recognised, combined with the financial strength and trust with which the bank is held will be a unique and successful partnership.”

Amangbo said the partnership with Visafone was

in line with the bank’s promise of working in the best interest of customers of both organisations in providing them with innovative financial services and a platform that delivered convenience, safety and accessibility to customers.

Also speaking, the Chief Operations Officer, COO, of Visafone Communications Limited, Mr. K. V. Srinivasa, said “the launch represents a remarkable opportunity for our company to provide a secured and dependable platform to drive the cashless society project”.

overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that his administration would send a bill to protect women and children against violence to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

Ajimobi said this yesterday at the opening of a twoday national summit of the Oyo State Officials’ Wives’ Association, OYSOWA, at Kakanfo Inn, Ibadan.

He said the bill had become imperative as a legal instrument to guard against violence against women, children and other vulnerable people.

The governor, who said there had been no rampant cases of violence against women and children in the state, disclosed that the bill would serve as a pro-active measure against such unwholesome practices.

He expressed regret that the African tradition regarded women as weaker vessels and objects of use.

Ajimobi, however, said the 1995 Beijing Conference had redrawn the map of women participation in affairs of their different societies.

The governor said that despite social, cultural and religious inhibitions on the

Gov. Ajimobi

way of her ability to flourish alongside her male counterpart, the woman had, since the conference, risen to a position of reckoning in global affairs.

He said in Nigeria today, there was now a great leap in the perception of the place of the woman.

The governor said his conviction about the importance of women in the family, society and the nation, explained the prime of place women occupied in his administration.

Ajimobi said beyond appointment, his administration had empowered more than 1,000 women to boost their economic status and activities, adding that the state health programmes had also placed emphasis on women, especially on maternal and child health.

He said the summit would serve as an auspicious moment for his administration to express to the whole world its commitment to the cause of women and its modest contribution to global affirmative action of gender sensitivity.

The governor commended the organisers for their efforts at mainstreaming the cause of women and contributing their quota to the advancement of the society.

The governor’s wife, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, said OYSOWA was created to synergise the efforts of wives of all political and public office holders in the state to complement the activities of their husbands and to advance the cause of the womenfolk in the state.

She said the summit with the theme: “Developing the total woman through care,” aimed at celebrating the exceptional gifts of womanhood.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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Ekiti council workers protest, begin indefinite strike ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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ocal government workers in Ekiti State yesterday declared an indefinite strike following the refusal of the state government to accede to their request for the payment of N19, 300 monthly minimum wage and other welfare packages.

The council workers, under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) who came in their numbers from the 16 local government areas of the state, converged on the state NULGE Secretariat at Ado Ekiti, the state capital, before they marched on the streets.

However, the peaceful protest took another turn

when riot policemen, in a bid to prevent the placardcarrying protesters from accessing the Governor’s Office, attempted to disperse the protesters with tear gas canisters.

Among inscriptions on the workers’ placards were: “Fayemi, Don’t Use our Money for Foreign Investment”; “Fayemi has forgotten his Promises to the

Masses”; “Fayemi is Crippling Local Governments in Ekiti State” and “Fayemi is not a Friend of the Masses.”

State NULGE President, Comrade Dele Augustine Ajayi said: “We demand for our right. We demand the minimum wage which is being paid other categories of civil servants in the state in the past five months.

“Our health and medical workers deserve CONMESS and CONHESS payable to their counterparts at the state level.”

Ajayi said the indefinite strike became necessary following the refusal of the state government to accede to the council workers’ demand. “We have followed the due labour dispute requirements of giving notices for 21 days, 14 days and seven days”.

Ajayi, whose agitation for the workers’ rights, was

echoed by NULGE National Officer, Chief Oluyemi Esan and Ekiti State Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Comrade Ayodeji Aluko, said the workers would not renege until their demands are met.

This is as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the state, compelled by the situation, called on Governor Kayode Fayemi, to resign from office following his “inability to perform his roles and abdicating his responsibilities.”

South-West CNPP flays national honours’ list KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

T Osun State Immunization Officer, Mrs. Adeosun Francisca, immunising an intending pilgrim, during the immunization exercise marking the final preparation of airlift of Osun pilgrims in Osogbo, yesterday.

Ondo PDP drags Chief Judge to court HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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he People Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has dragged the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Seinde Kumuyi, to court over his alleged membership of the Labour Party (LP).

In the writ of summon filed by the party through its counsel, Dapo Agbede, the party wants the chief judge to stop adjudication in matters involving the party and its members.

The party in the suit was challenging the continued

stay of Justice Kumuyi in office as the chief justice of the state despite allegedly being a member of a political party.

Similarly, the opposition party sought a “declaration that the alliance between the chief justice and the governor of the state to prevent the governorship candidate of the PDP, Chief Olusola Oke, from canvassing for votes through an ex-parte order is contrary to section 40 and 221 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Electoral Act 2010.

In the originating sum-

mons filed by a team of lawyers, the court was asked to determine; “Whether having regard to the office of Justice Kumuyi and active member and sponsor of Labour Party, it is lawful for him to enter an agreement with Governor Mimiko to employ judicial process and in particular ex-parte order to castrate, inhibit, frustrate and restrict the plaintiff ’s candidate from campaigning and canvassing for votes under its platform.”

The party called the attention of the court to section 87 of the Electoral Act

and sought from the court to determine if it is within the powers of any court in Nigeria, including high courts to interfere in the domestic affairs of a political party.

In his deposition before the court, the Director of Publicity of the party, Mr. Ayo Fadaka, said there were plans by some renegades of the PDP to secure an injunction to stop the candidate of the party.

He alleged that there is “unholy alliance” between the LP and the chief justice to derail the electioneering campaigns of the PDP.

he South-West chapter of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), yesterday faulted this year’s national honours’ awards list as recently released by the Federal Government.

Also, the group rejected the planned introduction of N5, 000 notes into the economy by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The South-West CNPP, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, the state capital, at the end of its monthly meeting and signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Yinka Olona and Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Adeniji, respectively, said that this year’s national award was not in any way based on merit.

According to the CNPP, it was unfortunate that the Federal Government had deviated from what used to be the criteria for qualification for the award.

“South-West CNPP condemns in totality this year’s national honours’ award

list. The body described it as a “show of shame by the Federal Government considering the makeup of the list,” it said.

The conference further said that there was the need for the Federal Government to defend the list of beneficiaries of the 2012 national honours award, saying, “We challenge the Federal Government to spell out the criteria used for the national honours award.”

“It is unfortunate that merit is no longer celebrated in Nigeria but mediocrity and that is why honours are being shared between the Federal Government and their cohorts,” it noted.

On the planned introduction of N5, 000 notes, the CNPP urged all wellmeaning Nigerians to speak out now and condemn the planned introduction in the overall interest of the nation.

It maintained that the planned introduction of the N5, 000 notes was against the wishes of the Nigerian masses and should be rejected by patriotic Nigerians as it would work against their welfare.

Low knowledge of HIV/AIDS worries Ogun govt Stakeholder wants governors to emulate Aregbesola

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gun State government yesterday expressed worry over the low knowledge of HIV/ AIDS among residents while stigmatisation was high in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka, spoke in Abeokuta at a programme tagged: “Dissemination of Ogun State HIV and AIDS Epidemiological and Sexual Behavioural Survey Findings.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2010 sentinel survey in Nigeria indicated that an estimated 75, 142 people

were infected in 2010 while the figure rose to 124, 000 in 2011.

The commissioner said the state had always depended on the National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey (NARHS) for relevant data.

He, however, said that the state would henceforth rely on the Enhancing Nigeria’s Response (ENR) document to bridge the gap.

Soyinka said the nonconduct of the NARHS had made the response to the pandemic challenging.

The commissioner also said that the HIV/AIDS

programme team in consultation with DfID agreed to multi-round survey NARHS methodology.

“The study is now called the State-specific AIDS Reproductive and Child Health (SPARC) survey which was last conducted in 2011,” he explained.

He added that the survey would henceforth be carried out every two years.

The Director of the state Action Committee on AIDS (OGSACA), Dr Ranti Oladehinde, said knowledge of HIV was 14 per cent while stigmatisation rate was 97 per cent.

WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

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hairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Niger State, Alhaji Ibrahim Isah, has called on state governors in the country to emulate the developmental programmes of the Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.

Isah, who made the call yesterday in Osogbo, while speaking during a courtesy call on the governor, said the call became imperative in view of the regenerative economic revival pro-

grammes being executed

by Aregbesola.

According to him, the feat achieved by Aregbesola in less than two years in office with meagre resources was one that can only be achieved by a gifted politician with exceptional natural ability.

Buttressing his submission, Isah said the conferment of leadership award on the governor by CNPP in May this year was based on merit through a thorough assessment process that singled him out among

the 36 governors of the federation.

He also commended the governor for his ethical revolutionary initiatives locally referred to as the ‘Omoluabi’ concept, which is geared towards creating a new generation of patriotic, selfless and disciplined leaders that are required to achieve a rebranded Osun State and Nigeria.

His words: “The CNPP annual award is our own way of encouraging and putting our elected public officers on their toes.”

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South East

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Three found dead in 14-feet underground tank

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he Obinato Community in Amesi, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra, was on Tuesday thrown into mourning, following the mysterious death of three persons in a 14-feet underground water tank.

An eye-witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that a fourth person escaped death in the incident which occurred at about 9 am in an uncompleted one-storey building allegedly owned by one Alex Muorah, a Lagos-based businessman.

The witness, who gave his name simply as Chukwuebuka, named the deceased as Augustine Dimude, 33, a carpenter; Onyebuchi Ezemokwe, 22 and Chidebere Ezendu, 21.

He said that Ezemokwe and Ezendu, who were contracted to wash the tank with some chemicals bought by Muorah, died of suffocation.

“I am frightened and worried because we have never seen this type of death before in this town,” Chukwuebuka said.

The Chairman of Umudim kindred, Mr. Gilbert Obidiegwu, who also confirmed the incident, said shortly after Ezemokwe went into the water tank, he shouted, prompting

Ezendu to go for his rescue.

“Ezendu, who was also trapped, shouted for help which attracted Dimude, a passer-by near the building to go for his rescue, but he too was also caught up.

“The fourth person, Ebere Oraekwe, collapsed on the ladder while trying to rescue the three other trapped persons who later died,” Obidiegwu said.

Obidiegwu said that it took the effort of yet another rescuer who covered his nose with clothes before climbing down the tank to bring out the victims who were rushed to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.

He, however, noted that Oraekwe was receiving treatment at the National Hospital, Mkporogwu, while the corpses of the deceased were deposited at Visitation Mortuary, Umuchu all in Aguata Local Government Area.

The community which had yet to recover from the shock, however, said they suspected foul play in the death of the three young men because such incident had never happened in the village.

They appealed to the police to arrest Muorah, whom NAN learnt left for Lagos that morning, for investigation to help unravel what actually happened.

They wondered why

ENUGU

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eputy Leader of Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon John Ukuta, has said that the location where the crude oil is being drilled by Orient Petroleum is within three communities in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state.

Ukuta, who hails from Iga, where the oil was allegedly deposited, is representing Uzo-Uwani state constituency.

He flayed the Anambra State Government for claiming the ownership of the location, in-

CD wants Elechi investigated for alleged corrupt practices CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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he Campaign for Democracy (CD) has called for investigations into the alleged corrupt practices leveled against Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi and his deputy, Chief Dave Umah.

The group also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to remove his name from the list of those to be honoured by the government.

In a statement made available yesterday to National Mirror in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the CD Chairman in the SouthEast, Dede Uzor A Uzor, said the corruption and irregularities in award and execution of contracts lev-

L-R: Managing Director of Eminite Nigeria Limited, Mr. Alberto Tenorio; Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji and a director in the company, Mr. Jeo Okorafor Nwogu, during a visit to the governor in Umuahia, yesterday.

Anambra can’t claim ownership of crude oil location –Lawmaker DENNIS AGBO

Muorah should purchase what they termed “dangerous chemical” and failed to supervise the cleaning of the tank personally, even as the building was unoccupied.

Meanwhile, the caretaker of the uncompleted building, Ferdinand Ezendu, has been detained at the Umuchu Divisional Police Station.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Raphael Uzoigwe, who could neither deny nor confirm the incident, promised to contact the Umuchu Divisional Police Station on the incident.

As at press time, however, no contact was established with Uzoigwe.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

sisting that the oil was discovered in 1952 by his grandfather who was a parliamentarian in the First Republic.

Ukuta said the oil deposit was specifically located in three communities of Iga, Ojo and Asaba - all in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.

The lawmaker said: “Enugu State and Anambra State governments had, at a meeting organised by the National Boundary Commission in Akwa, made their submission to the commission.

“Given the contentious issues in the submissions of the two parties, the commission

advised them to wait for its finding before taken further action.”

Ukuta, however, said that Kogi State had now joined Anambra and Enugu for the agitation for the ownership of the land because the three states have contagious borders He advising all parties to wait for the report of the commission rather than resulting to self help.

Ukuta said Enugu State had boundary documentary evidence to buttress its legitimacy to the land, calling on the Federal Government not to cede the location to Anambra.

eled against Elechi should be investigated.

The statement reads: “We are disturbed at the monumental corrupt allegations leveled against Governor Elechi, the oldest governor in Nigeria, who supposed to be leading by example.

“CD wants to call on anti-graft agencies to investigate the alleged award of contract for the dualisation of a section of Enugu/ Abakailki Expressway to the company allegedly owned by his deputy, Chief Dave Umahi, to the tune of N7bn without any evidence.

“It is also worrisome that Ebonyi State could be extorted and dragged into perpetual indebtedness by the present administration by borrowing N20bn from the capital market while the state government has failed to execute the projects initiated by it.

“Most worrisome is the alleged award of contract for the reconstruction of Ogbaga Road to the governor’s firm, M&J. The contract was initially awarded to the governor by his predecessor, Sam Egwu, which Elechi allegedly re-awarded to himself to the tune of N2bn.”

CD, however, called for the removal of Elechi’s name from those to be honoured by the Federal Government, saying: “Time has come when Nigeria should stop celebrating corruption.”

Enugu distributes N780m equipment to health facilities DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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overnor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has flagged off the distribution of health commodities worth about N780m to health facilities.

The commodities were donated by Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2).

The health commodities included 24 units of 40 KVA generating sets, air conditioners, blood banks and laboratory equipment, among others.

Speaking at the distribution of the commodities, Chime, who was represented by the Commissioner for Poverty Reduction, Mr. Godwin Ogenyi, stressed the need for beneficiaries to put

the facilities to good use.

The Commissioner of Health, Dr Fidelia Ugwu, said that the occasion was the most recent intervention in the area of health commodity support from the PATHS2.

According to her, PATHS has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Health since 2003, adding that the partnership had been instrumental to activities such as the development and structuring of the District Health system, health commodities support and capacity-building.

Dr. Ugwu said: “The interest of Governor Sullivan Chime’s administration in the health sector has provided the much needed atmosphere for collaborative work which has encouraged

partners such as PATHS2 to continue with its partnership in health sector reform.”

The Team Leader of PATHS2, Dr. Onivo Efe-Aluta, said that PATHS2 and its predecessor programmes, the PATHS and Health Commodity Project (HCP) “stand out in working closely with the state Ministry of Health” According to him, through PATHS and HCP, the Department for International Development (DFID) Provided health commodity support worth over £2m spread across three phases.

He said: “This resulted in the initiation and implementation of Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) scheme in 278 health facilities, including public and faith-based clinics.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Thursday, September 13, 2012

DESOPADEC board’s dissolution pitches lawmakers against Uduaghan

•Assembly can’t sack us –Board members SOLA ADEBAYO AND PRINCE AMOUR UDEMUDE

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he fragile peace between the executive and legislature in Delta State snapped yesterday following the dissolution of the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, by the House of Assembly.

The action had pitched the lawmakers against Governor Emmanuel Udu-

aghan.

DESOPADEC is saddled with the responsibility of managing 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation component of the state monthly revenue earnings from the Federation Account.

The dissolved board headed by an Itsekiri, the governor’s kinsman, Mr. Oritsuwa Khogho, was inaugurated in August 2011 for a renewable term of three years.

The House sacked the board yesterday without recourse to the executive, cit-

Crime: Bayelsa security outfit arrests 100 suspects EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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arely three months after its establishment, the Bayelsa State special security squad codenamed: “Operation Doo Akpo,” said it had arrested at least 100 suspects for engaging in criminal activities in the state.

The Commander of the security outfit, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bello Ahmed, disclosed this yesterday in Yenagoa when Governor Seriake Dickson visited men and officers of the Operation Doo Akpo at its operational base.

He said the suspects had been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

Ahmed said over 200 distress calls from inhabitants of the state led to the arrest of the suspects.

The commander noted that personnel of the outfit were redeployed from the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Bayelsa, Lagos, Rivers and Borno states, the Marine Police, including 40 civilian drivers.

Ahmed expressed the determination of the outfit to tackle the security challenges in the state, just as he solicited for more logistics such as the construction of observation towers, repair of generating set of the outfit and provision of identity cards for members for easy identification.

Earlier, the governor, who spoke through his deputy, John Jonah, urged officials of Operation Doo Akpo to conduct their activities in a manner that would improve the image of the police.

Cautioning the outfit against pitfalls of its predecessor, “Operation Famou Tamgbe,” established by the former administration, Dickson said government was poised to implement a zero policy on crime and violence to create a conducive environment for socio-economic activities in the state.

He said: “We have acknowledged a reduction in cult and other criminal activities in Yenagoa and its environs.

ing gross incompetence by the management of the commission.

But members of the board have refused to comply with the resolution of the Assembly.

The House, in a motion

by Mr. Eric Joe from Isoko South Constituency 1, which was unanimously adopted, asked members of the board to hand over to the Secretary of the agency, Mr. Ede Oghoro.

But it was gathered that Uduaghan has directed members of the Khogho-led board to ignore the House and go about their normal duties without fear of intimidation or harassment.

Findings yesterday indicated that Uduaghan was unhappy that the House acted independently.

Government House sources told our correspondent that Uduaghan was upset that the lawmakers acted

beyond their ambit as dictated by the law establishing the agency and that it sent a wrong signal to some of his key loyalists on the board.

The governor’s position doused the tension generated by the action of the House as stakeholders in the state initially assumed that the dissolution had Uduaghan’s backing.

The belief was that the House, which comprises loyalists of the governor, lacked the courage to take such action without support of the executive.

However, members of the board were seen in their offices in Warri at press time yesterday, obviously repudiating the resolution of the House.

One of them, the Commissioner representing Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, Mr. Michael Diden, said the resolution of the House was not binding on the board, adding that only the governor could dissolve the board.

11

Delta north begins campaign for 2015 governorship AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

A

head of the 2015 governorship election in Delta State, the people of Anioma, Delta North senatorial district have concluded arrangements to begin campaign across the 25 councils in the state.

A legal practitioner, Mr. Alex Onwuadiamu, said in Asaba yesterday at the launch of a signpost and symbol of “Anioma Agenda,” the group championing Delta North governorship cause, that all was now set for aggressive campaign to every nook and cranny of the state.

He said: “By this commissioning, we are flagging off the campaign for 2015 for the Anioma Agenda and our campaign shall be a non-stop campaign until an Anioma son or daughter is installed as the governor of Delta State come 2015.

“Yes, it is the inalien-

able right of the Anioma people to occupy the office of the governor of the state in 2015, but very importantly, we cannot achieve this without the support of our brothers and sisters in Delta South and Central.”

Appealing for support, cooperation and understanding from the two senatorial districts on the quest by the Anioma ethnic nationality, Onwuadiamu disclosed that the group would soon organise seminars, workshops and symposiums on “Hope, Unity, Togetherness and Love,” and the need to support the Anioma Agenda.

Earlier, before cutting the tape, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Chief Donald Ugbaja, and the leaders of the group, committed the 2015 Anioma Agenda to God. Ugbaja said it was already sealed in heaven, even as he appealed for the unflinching support and understanding of the other two senatorial districts.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Transport, Mr. Austin Odiete; Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Ben Igbakpa and Director of Administration, Mr. Amos Okafor, at a stakeholders’ meeting on the ban of operations commercial motorcyclists in some major cities of the state, in Asaba, yesterday.

Flood alert: We’ve nowhere to go –Residents South-South must produce Defence Minister –Group

D

espite an immediate evacuation order issued to communities living on the plains of the River Niger, the residents of floodprone areas in Delta State said they would not relocate.

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on Monday issued an immediate evacuation order to residents living along the plains of River Niger.

It warned of the risk of unprecedented flooding of the

River Niger plains due to water from the Kainji and Jebba hydro dams.

The agency urged the residents of the communities to move to higher grounds for safety and listed Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Anambra and Delta states as those at risk.

But at Cable Point in Asaba, a community located in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State, several residents said they were not aware of the imminent

flood warning.

On the bank of the River Niger at Cable Point, several young men dredged sand from the riverside into a waiting truck, popularly called “911” or “tipper”.

Oblivious of the announcement by NEMA, a middle-aged woman, apparently owner of a kiosk by the river-bank, was busy selling bread, cigarette, alcohol and other items to the sand dredgers.

EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

T

he Chairmen Forum of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the eight local government areas of Bayelsa State has called on the Federal Government to cede the vacant position of the Defence Minister to the SouthSouth geo-political zone.

The group appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan not to appoint a northerner

as the minister, since he had already picked one as the National Security Adviser, NSA. The Chairman of the group, Michael Ogbere, made the call in an interview with our correspondent in Yenagoa.

Ogbere said it was improper for Jonathan to appoint all his security aides from the North, noting that the President should not succumb to pressure from the North and the PDP.

He said the South-South region was concerned about the President’s decision to balance the equation with a fair and competent hand to take charge of affairs in the Ministry of Defence.

Ogbere praised the NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), for his efforts since he assumed duty.

He recalled that the NSA was a former aide-de-camp to former military President Ibrahim Babangida.

12

North

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Two killed, DPO injured in Kwara bank robbery attack WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

A

bout 10 suspected armed robbers yesterday attacked a branch of one of the first generation banks in Share, Ifelodun Local Government area of Kwara State, killing two members of a local security outfit.

Eye witnesses said the

suspects, who operated in three vehicles, stormed the bank at about 10.30 am.

They carted away undisclosed sums of money.

The witness said the community was thrown into panic for about the two hours that the robbery attack lasted.

Many residents were said to have been injured in the process as the sus-

pects shot sporadically in all direction.

It was learnt that when the local police division could not contain the robbery attack, the Oke Oyi Police Division in Ilorin East Local Government Area was quickly contacted to help block the suspects’ escape route The robbers, however, engaged the police in a gun

battle that left the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) with gunshot on his left arm The police spokesman, Mr. Femi Fabode, confirmed the incident, adding that two vehicles, a Sienna bus and another brand of vehicle, with a long range rifle, were abandoned by the suspects before they escaped.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Flood submerges 178 houses in Kaduna A ZA MSUE KADUNA

H

undreds of peoples were rendered homeless yesterday in Kaduna metropolis, following a downpour that destroyed their homes.

It was learnt that no fewer than 178 houses were destroyed by the rain.

The victims have, however, vacated their homes to stay with their relatives in safer places.

Executive Secretary of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Ishaku Dogo Makam, said

178 houses were affected without casualties.

Makam identified flood flash point areas as Abubakar Kigo Road, Rafin Guza, Nasarawa, Bashan Road, Tudun Wada and Unguwan Rimi GRA. He said: “After our assessment of these areas with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Red Cross, we confirmed 178 homes submerged. We have not heard of any reported death or injury. We are writing a report to the government, so we can be helped to set up camp for victims.”

Why jail break persists –Prisons boss PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

T

L-R: Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Shadrack Barub; Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Mr. Bala Ngilari and other officials, at the donation of relief materials by Yoruba community to Adamawa flood victims in Yola, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

he Assistant Comptroller-General of Prisons in charge of Zone D, Alhaji Abubakar Falke, has attributed the persistent attempted jail break by prisoners to neglect by the 36 state governors.

Falke, who stated this while decorating senior officers recently promoted with their new ranks, said the neglect was also responsible for the dilapidated facilities on the prisons nationwide.

He said the Nigerian Prison Service was left unsupported by the governors, adding that most of the prison structures in Nige-

ria were built in the 1800s by colonial masters.

Commending the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, for donating two vehicles to the prison service recently, Falke appealed to the state governors to assist the service particularly with operational vehicles as done to other security agencies.

He said: “I personally solicit for assistance to Nigeria Prison Service. I urge the governors to see the sacrifice we are doing and give us new vehicles as they are doing to other security agencies. At least, we should have our old vehicles refurbished for effectively service delivery.”

2015: Na’abba can’t speak Plateau generates N4.5bn in seven months for North, says Group J A A ZA MSUE KADUNA

A

group under the aegis of Democratic Advancement Option (DAO) yesterday warned former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Gali Umar Na’abba, to stop speaking for the North ahead of the 2015 presidential election.

The group was reacting to a report credited to Na’abba in which he claimed that 2015 would be disastrous for President Goodluck Jonathan if he contests the presidential election against the North.

The group, in a statement signed in Kaduna by its Executive Director, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba, asked the former Speaker to exploit internal dispute resolution mechanisms within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rather

than heating up the polity.

The group said investigation revealed that the Federal Government is currently handling all issues surrounding the 2011 post-presidential election violence, including provision of succor for victims and their families.

The group said: “We therefore urge Na’abba to desist from being confrontational and that as a member of the PDP, he ought to have explored all channels, including seeking audience with the highest hierarchy of the party to advise them on his observations.

“But because he was affected by the post-election violence, he chose to go public to blackmail President Jonathan into compensating him alone, contrary to what is currently being planned for all the post-election violence victims.

AMES JOS

BRAHAM

T

he Plateau State Government generated N4.5bn from January till July this year, an official has said.

Chairman of Plateau Board of Revenue (BIR), Dr. Rauta Jat, told journalists yesterday in Jos, the state capital, that the feat was “very remarkable.”

Jat said: “We are happy that we are maintaining the monthly collection of above N600m in our drive to hit the N1b monthly revenue targets.”

The statistic shows that the bulk of the revenue came from Pay as You Earn (PAYE) of N2.99bn with the highest, N826.5m recorded in March.

Jat said Ministries, Departments and Agencies

(MDAs) generated N640.4m.

She said that the board was leaving no space to defaulters and would record 100 per cent compliance by tax payers.

Jat said: “Another plus for the board was the liaison offices we opened at Lagos and Abuja, where we got some substantial amount of money.

“We are still working towards opening a liaison of-

fice in Kaduna soon, while others will come in due course towards improving our collections.”

The chairman added that ground rents and capital gains would soon be introduced towards improving the revenue profile of the state.

She said: “I am sure by the time such taxes are introduced; we shall no doubt surpass the N1bn target we set for ourselves.”

Remodeled Jos Airport terminal ready Nov JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

T

he multi-billion naira remodeled terminal building of the Yakubu Gowon Airport in Jos will be ready by November, the Airport Manager, Mr. Jim Opotu, has said.

Opotu told journalists yesterday in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that when completed, the building would give passengers the desired comfort to fly in

and out of the airport.

He said: “The remodelling of the terminal building is part of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

“The contract was scheduled for completion in June, but the rain and security challenges made that impossible. Now the deadline is November.”

The airport manager said that plans were underway for the establishment

of an airport village where various kinds of businesses would be carried out.

Opotu said that already, some corporate organisations had indicated interest to partner with the airport in that respect.

He named the corporate bodies to include First Bank plc and Globacom Nigeria Limited, expressing hope that the partnership would boost non-aeronautical revenue bases.

The manager said the

airport had enough land that private companies and individuals could develop or utilise to establish businesses such as hotels, filling stations and gardens.

He said: “We also hope to meet with tour operators and consultants to partner with them on tourism development, which will bring in chattered flights.’’

Opotu stated that the main goal was to generate more revenue for the airport and shore up its fortunes.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

‘Shettima adopts seven en o’ principles to run Borno’

Controversy, Nigerian politicians and national honours award

14&15

16

US trip: PDP blasts ACN, says party lacks integrity OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

F

ireworks between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) over the claims of former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu that he was invited by President Barrak Obama to attend the convention of the US Democratic Party continued yesterday as the PDP asked ACN to apologise to

Nigerians for taking them for a ride.

In a statement by the PDP national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party advised ACN to rise above roadside sophistry and accept that the party and its national leader traded on fraudulent claims when they lied to Nigerians that Tinubu was sent a gold card invitation by the Democratic Party of the United States to attend its recent national convention.

Reacting to a statement by the ACN national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that Tinubu did not err when he claimed he was given gold card to attend the convention, PDP challenged ACN to deny reports that its national leader actually paid $5000 to purchase an invitation card.

The PDP also advised the ACN to apologise to Nigerians for embarrassing the nation and for briging them

to ridicule before a foreign political party.

PDP said: “The ACN tried to force its dish of lies down the throat of Nigerians on the imaginary international exposure and connection of its national leader. This attempt by the party to ingeniously tap from the credibility of an American political institution through a spurious claim backfired.

“The Democratic Party Convention officials would

have none of that and wasted no time in denying the ACN and Tinubu. The implication of this on the image of Nigeria and on the pride of our good people is wantonly damaging.”

“However, this matter will become clearer if one ponders the following questions and their answers: Did Bola Tinubu receive an invitation or did he buy it at $5000? He bought it; did the Democratic Party send him an invitation as the leader of the opposition in Nigeria? The answer is a resounding No as nothing to that effect exists in the records of the Democratic Convention.”

He added: “When the ACN spokesman attacked the PDP on the issues of integrity and relevance in his statement, he clearly forgot that such sensitive matters

often revolt at the consistent knockings of history.

Who should talk of integrity; the PDP, the ACN or its national leader? We leave Nigerians to judge.

“Lest we forget however, the ACN is evangelising on integrity when the state of origin of its national leader is still shrouded in controversy and when his academic records, to use the common Nigerian lingo, is traceable to “Toronto”.

“The ACN is moralising on integrity when Lagosians are groaning under its leader’s insatiable greed, with his companies in almost every business pie; collecting shylock taxes on mind-bugling commissions; indeed, when he is either the owner, buyer or agent of every choice property in Lagos. Where is integrity?” He asked.

… Tinubu clears air over Democratic Convention OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Nwabueze Okafor (right) and National Legal Adviser, Idris Gobir, during National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

PDP grants Fayose waiver • Appoints 32-member committee for Ondo guber OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

R

eprieve came the way of the former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday formally re-admitted him into the party.

The party after its 315th regular meeting held at its national headquarters resolved to ratify the readmission of Fayose into the PDP with effect from September 14, 2011. The NWC also approved a waiver for Fayose in line with the provision of Article 8(a) and Article 17.2 (g) of the PDP Constitution

with effect from September 14, 2011.

The party said: “By this action, Fayose is cleared to enjoy all rights and privileges of a member of the PDP without let or hindrance.”

The NWC also approved the constitution of a National Campaign Committee for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

The 32 - member committee has the Vice-President Namadi Sambo, as Chairman while the National Legal Adviser, Barrister Victor Kwon is the Secretary.

The Committee shall be inaugurated by the National Chairman, Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur in due course.

No going back on sale of govt property – Aliyu

T

he Niger State government has said there is no going back on the planned sale of government houses in Minna, the state capital, insisting that its decision is in the best interest of the people of the state and in line with government existing policy on monetisation.

Government’s stand was restated at a stakeholders meeting held at the Government House conference hall in Minna on Monday.

A statement by Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo stated that all those present at the meeting includ-

ing commissioners, special advisers, directors general, heads of boards and parastatals and selected senior special assistants as well board members gave their backing to the move to sell off the government buildings.

The buildings to be sold, constructed as far back as 1978 housed commissioners and state lawmakers.

Ndayebo said that the meeting agreed with the monetisation policy of the government and resolved that only the governor, his deputy, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Chief Judge and the state Grand Khadi are entitled to houses.

F

ollowing the furore generated over the attendance by the national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, penultimate week, the media office of the former governor of Lagos State, has cleared the air over the controversy.

In a statement made available to National Mirror yesterday, the media office said that for most parts, the reports of the invitation “were inaccurate, slanted and laced with deliberate ploy to deceive the public.”

It stated that the facts of the matter was that as a long-standing supporter of the US Democratic Party, a senior member of the party invited Tinubu to the convention, an invitation that earned him a place in the VIP section, a fact it said is verifiable from the DNC security list.

The Media Office said that contrary to erroneous report, it did not in anywhere made claims that President Barrack Obama personally signed a letter of invitation or issued a gold card to Tinubu, adding that the gold card referred in the release only inferred a VIP status.

Debunking media claims that money was paid to obtain card, the media office said: “The decision of the leading members of the Democratic Party who invited Tinubu to the Convention is no doubt informed by the recognition of his long standing relationship with top members of and support for the party.

“Tinubu attended the Convention in his right as the national leader of Nigeria’s second largest party, the ACN, and most importantly, his status as a leading voice for change in the country and indeed as a former senator of the Federal Republic and former governor of Lagos State for eight years.”

14

Politics

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Controversy, Nigerian politicians The national honours’ list as released by government on Sunday has continued to generate controversy, especially, with the number of politicians included in the list.

OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU writes on why the issue has continued to generate controversy.

P

oliticians have become the major figures in the National Honours award list in recent times. This year’s list comprising of 149 Nigerians has 37 politicians. They include four serving governors and one former governor, one serving deputy governor and one former deputy governor, six serving senators and seven former senators, four members of the House of Representatives and one former member of the House, one serving minister and one former minister, one former national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and two serving national chairmen of political parties, two former Secretaries to State Governments (SSGs), among others.

One peculiar feature of the last two National Honours award list superintended

by President Goodluck Jonathan has been the conferment of the second highest honour in the land, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) reserved only for vice presidents, Senate presidents and chief justices of Nigeria, on businessmen – Aliko Dangote (2011) and Mike Adenuga (2012).

The highest award to any politician went to a philanthropist and chieftain of the PDP in Edo State and father of a former governor of the state, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who bagged the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).

Topping the list of serving governors is the governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan who led his other counterparts from Delta, Ebonyi and Taraba states, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Martin Elechi and Suntai Danbaba respectively to bag the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). Other politicians who bagged the CON award are former governor of Bauchi State, Ahmed Muazu; Senate Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; his deputy, Abdul Ahmed Ningi, chairman of Senate Committee on Works, Ayogu Eze; chairman of Senate Committee on Marine Transportation, Zaynab Abdulkadir Kure; chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Emmanuel Bwacha and his Public Accounts counterpart, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan.

Former senators who bagged the CON award include: Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, Bala Mohammed (the Minister of the Federal capital Territory (FCT), Hamisu Musa (also a former minister), Bello Jibrin Gada, Adamu Ajuji Waziri (also a former ambassador), Emmanuel Azu Agboti and Mike Ajegbo.

Others politicians who completed the CON category were: former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Ina Ciroma and the immediate past national chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje.

Taraba State deputy governor, Sani Abubakar Danladi and the immediate past deputy governor of Lagos State, Sarah Adebisi Sosan are to be honoured with the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).

Other OFR awardees include the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, who missed the speakership by the whiskers, Mulikat Akande Adeola, members of the House, Sulaiman Kawu, Halims Agoda and Bashir Adamu. The national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Dan Nwanyanwu and former SSG in Plateau State, Goben Gobak completed the OFR list.

The national chairman of the African Liberation Party (ALP), Emmanuel Okereke led former member of the House, Musa Ibrahim Ahmadu, Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Administration, Matthew Osayaba Aikhionbare and former SSG in Delta State, James Bukohwo Erhuero in the Officer of the Order of the Niger category (OON).

Four other politicians bagged the Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) award and they include: Godspower Umejuru Ake, Hassan Sule Gwagwa, Zephania Jisalo and Mohammed Adam; while Yakubu Haruna was awarded the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

One feature of the political awardees of the national honour was that they are prominent members of the ruling party and put to question the criteria used in arriving at the list. Apart from the national chairmen of the LP and the ALP and former deputy governor of Lagos State, almost all other awardees are of the PDP. Besides, the former governor of Bauchi State, Muazu, who was awarded CON, has corruption charges hanging on his neck by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). About three years ago, Muazu was declared wanted by the EFCC. Although, accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law, it is also against international norms and standards to give a national award to someone with a case to answer on alleged corrupt practices.

He was one of the key figures in the Jonathan/Sambo campaign structure in the prelude to the 2011 presidential election.

Observers also question what qualified four PDP governors for the honours, while no other governor from other opposition parties qualified for the award.

They opined that what is good for the goose is equally sauce for the gander. But apart from that, the criteria for arriving at this year’s list has remained shrouded in mystery, as political analysts are yet to see anything on ground that qualifies many of the awardees as deserving of the honour.

Meanwhile, mixed reactions have continued to trail the list. While some gave kudos to President Jonathan, others out rightly condemned the list.

The spokesman of the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Yinka Odumakin, said he was not surprised by the list, since Nigeria’s honour’s list have for a long time become populated by dishonourable men and women.

Suswan S Sus wan

Uduaghan U du

Elechi

Muazu

Nwanyanwu

Danbaba

He said the award lost its relevance the moment men of honour started to reject the honour.

His words: “The Nigerian honours list today is not what it used to be. It is a list of dishonoured people and it shows that we are a society where anything goes. It definitely a list of dishonourable people actually.

“In other climes, when they roll out their honours lists, one discovers that they are made up of heroes, icons and honourable men and women who have impacted positively on their societies and worthy of celebration, but unfortunately the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

To the former governor of old Kaduna State and Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, some awardees deserved the honour, while so many others were mere government cronies.

He said: “The national honours award has been bastardised on political lines, friends and business associates not for the interest it was meant for. Although some

merited the national honour but some are purely a political reward for friends.

“The honour should not be based on political patronage but on how people make positive changes on the lives of the people or the country.”

To the General Overseer of the Resurrection Praise Ministries (RPM) International, Archbishop (Prophet) Samson Mustapha Benjamin, the criteria for the selection of honourees are only discernible to the selectors. He also complained about the unwieldy of the number of the honourees.

He said: “I have witnessed the Phoenix award in the USA, which is the highest award in that country, about two or three times, the highest awardees have not exceeded seven in number and you won’t have to search too far to know why they are awarded the honour. But unfortunately, the case is different in Nigeria and it boils down to the fact that we are not practising true democracy in this country.”

Others who have strong condemnation for the list as released included the CPC Na-

POLITICIANS IN 2011 HONOURS’ LIST Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker, House of Representatives - CFR Jeremiah Useni, former minister - CFR Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida - CFR Governor Peter Obi -CON Governor Liyel Imoke - CON Governor Adams Oshiomhole - CON Governor Patrick Yakowa - CON Governor Ibrahim Shema - CON Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu - CON Governor Rotimi Amaechi - CON Governor Godswill Akpabio - CON Governor Sule Lamido - CON Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Anambra former governor CON Adeniyi Adebayo, Ekiti former governor - CON Saidu Barda, Kaduna former governor - CON

Olusegun Agagu, Ondo former governor - CON Isiaka Adeleke, Osun former governor.senator - CON Lamidi Adesina, Oyo former governor - CON Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Yobe former governor - CON Rufus Ada George, Rivers fomer governor - CON Clement David Ebri, Rivers former governor - CON Ben Ndi Obi, former senator – CON Bello Hayyatu Gwarzo, Senate Chief Whip - CON Emmanuel Pauka, senator - CON Grace Folashade Bent, former senator - CON James Ebowu Manager, senator - CON John Wash Pam, former senator - CON Joy Emodi, former senator - CON Maina Maji Lawan, senator, former Deputy Chief Whip - CON Mohammed Girgiri Lawan, former senator - CON Smart Adeyemi, senator - CON

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Thursday, September 13, 2012

15

and national honours award

Ndoma-Egba Nd doma-Egba

Muhammed Muh M uh ham am amm mm med ed

Sosan Sos So o a an n

Baraje Eze

Adeola

tional Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashaki, elder statesman, Junaid Mohammed and expectedly, the opposition Action Congress on Nigeria (ACN).

Fashakin said: “The national honours scheme has become bastardised. Little wonder, great Nigerians that have impacted positively on the nation’s image internationally are shunning these awards.”

Mohammed dismissed the awards, saying particularly that the timing was wrong, given the spate on insecurity that pervades the nation.

He said: “This is not the time for such irresponsible indulgence. We should first get the country out of the situation it finds itself before such a jamboree. There is nothing wrong in honouring people but now, is definitely not the time. It makes us look like fools, which we are not,” adding that what should be the priority of the government is how to end the crises threatening the country’s corporate existence.

The Lagos State chapter of the ACN also slammed the Federal Government for the

unwieldy manner it has been awarding national honours to Nigerians with questionable character and integrity.

Speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, the ACN said that the latest list of awardees is an indication that “the present administration is not listening to the opinion of Nigerians on how to redeem a process that has been so seriously abused that Nigerians do not attach any value to it again.

“Going through the names of the newest awardees of various categories of national honours, one notices that those that compiled the names see the honour as reward for their friends, associates, business fronts, party men and nothing more.

“It is clearly regrettable that the government did not take into consideration recent expressions of disappointment of Nigerians with the award and make necessary amends in the current list.

“We would have expected that the massive public outcry against the list of awardees last year would have forced this regime

POLITICIANS IN 2011 HONOURS’ LIST Uche Chukwumerije, senator - CON Udoma Udo Udoma, former senator - CON Olusegun Aganga, minister - CON Chukwuemeka Wogu, minister - CON Godsday Orubebe, minister - CON Mrs Dieziani Allison Madueke, minister - CON Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker,- CON Nuhu Aliyu, former senator - CON Kayode Adetokunbo, SAN, former minister - CON Alhaji Shu’aib Kazaure, former minister - CON Farouk Lawan, Rep - OFR Mutu Nicholas, Rep - OFR Agunwa Anaekwe, ex-Rep - OFR Babaginda Nguroje, member House of Representatives - OFR Jacob Tilley Gyado, former senator - OFR Emmanuel Nyong Nsan , former minister - OFR

Ayantayo Ayandele, former chairman, Ogbomosho LGA - OFR Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu - OFR Mrs Cecilia Akanu - OFR Venmark Dangin, former senator - OON Dr Stephen Sinikiem Azaiki, former SSG, Bayelsa OON Chief Mathias Chikeluba Ekeremadu, politician OON Jimi Agbaje - OON Istifanus Gbana - MFR Baba Shehu Agaie, Rep - MFR Mrs Monye Rajis-Okpara - MFR Martins Agbaso - MFR Mrs Titi Osen - MFR Bello Mutawalle - MFR Elizabelth O. Bens - MON

to ensure the adoption of strict guidelines in arriving at subsequent list of awardees but our hope for improvement has been dashed again by the current list.”

Also, a civil rights activist and the coordinator of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, castigated President Jonathan for doling out the awards to those he said had not contributed much to the development of the nation, saying that the award has become patronage to those who had supported the anti-masses policy of the Federal Government.

But elder statesman and Second Republic presidential adviser, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai and Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak commended President Jonathan for the awards to deserving Nigerians.

Yakassai praised the decision to confer the award of GCON on business mogul, Mike Adenuga, saying that Adenuga’s award would spur other Nigerians to work harder in their chosen fields in order to be recognised.

Hear him: “The names on the list are prominent Nigerians who have been nominated by their various states and screened.

Most of them deserve to be honoured. If any of them have been indicted by one committee or the other, I think the courts are in the best position to decide their fate and I hope the recognition will spur them to greater accomplishments.”

Gulak also explained that Adenuga’s award was informed by his contribution to the growth of the nation’s economy, saying: “You will remember that only last year, Alhaji Dangote was awarded the second highest honour, the GCON, because of his contribution to industrialisation of the nation.

“We know what Globacom brought to Nigerians; we know his investment in banking, petroleum, shipping and a lot more. This is to show that Mr. President appreciates entrepreneurs and will do everything to encourage them.”

The Nigerian national honours was instituted by the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964, in the First Republic, with the aim of honouring Nigerians whose services to their fatherland have been of immense benefit to the nation.

The national honours are a set of orders and decorations which are conferred on deserving Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. As at 2011, 3,924 awardees have received the national honours.

Last year’s awards were nearly marred by controversy, especially, with the award of the GCON to Dangote and as things stand, this year’s awards would no less be controversial.

Accepting the criticism that had trailed the selection and nomination processes, President Jonathan had directed “the appropriate departments to note the concerns that have been expressed and to take steps to ensure further improvement so that the National Honours award can continue to serve its purpose.”

But with the nominations for this year’s award, especially as it concerns politicians in the honours’ list, it is discerning that the presidential directive was either not followed or totally ignored.

Earlier in July, the House of Represen-

tatives passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of national awards to questionable characters, especially bank chief executives who were found culpable of corrupt practices.

In this category are people like the former Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, the former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola and a former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun. Ibru was convicted in 2010 of bank and securities fraud while Balogun bagged six months jail term for money laundering offences in 2005. Akingbola is still facing charges in the court.

National honours ordinarily, and in civilised climes, are given to individuals who have contributed to national development in divergent areas like security, peace, culture, economy (both private and public) and politics and have impacted on the lives of the people and “not in short, blinding bursts, but steadily, over the course of a lifetime,” according to United States of America’s President Barack Obama. Obama said this early in the year during the presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony.

It is also the norm all over the world that for political office holders, national honours are given to them only after the expiration of their tenures as a mark of appreciation for their services to their fatherland.

With the way and manner Nigeria’s honours’ list has been degraded, it no longer command any regard from the majority of Nigerians. Analysts and observers have expressed grave concern over the unwieldy number of awardees every year. Last year, 365 people were awarded national honours while this year, it is 149.

Also, that discredited people, either in the economic or political life of the country are now making the honours’ list accentuated the decadence and corruption that have permeated the national psyche.

Recipients of the national award today are political office holders or their stooges and cronies and associates, who have been instrumental to their electoral successes.

Others who make the list are money bags who have the money to throw around to ‘buy’ the honours.

This has been the grouse of many Nigerians who have rejected this honour in the past. Professor of literature and renowned author, Chinua Achebe has twice rejected the national honour – first in 2004, for what he described as government’s inability to adequately and frontally tackle the myriad of problems confronting Nigerians and also last year for similar reason, saying the problems facing Nigerians have been multiplied, especially with the insecurity of lives of and property.

In 2011, Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila rejected the CON award offered him because according to him, “many of those on the list of awardees were men of dishonour.”

Former Petroleum Minister, Tam-David West not only rejected the award, but questioned the rationale for the award of highest honours to those who never matched his records of service to the fatherland.

As it is, the honours have lost its allure and many who actually merited it and have received it can no longer be proud of it.

16

Politics

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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‘Shettima adopts seven principles to run Borno’ Isa Umar Gusau is the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. In this interview with journalists in Abuja, Gusau bares his mind on what he called Shettima’s ‘seven principles’ central to the success of his administration. OMEZA AJAYI reports How is Governor Shettima handling the persistent security situation in Borno State?

I would crave your indulgence not to speak much on this matter so that I do not contradict an appeal made by my boss last month. You may want to recall that in a Sallah message after the Ramadan, Governor Kashim Shettima had pleaded with the media not to publish efforts being made concerning the need for a peaceful resolution of the crises through dialogue. The governor has been consistent on the call for dialogue since 2011 when he was elected, even before his inauguration. He pioneered that call, really. What I can tell you is that Governor Shettima regards the restoration of peace and security in Borno State as his number one priority and he is working to achieve that.

How has the governor’s experience as an accomplished banker helped Borno State?

Residents and indeed those who have visited Borno in the last one year, especially those closely monitoring trend of governance appreciate changes going not only on infrastructure but importantly on the welfare of people. Let me summarily add that from my own review, Governor Shettima adopts seven wise principles, which summarise his style of governance that is already producing results.

First, Kashim Shettima is a listening and highly consultative governor who respects professionalism and sense of responsibility; he is not ‘Mr. Know Everything’, he loves to listen to ideas and opinions of those responsible for particular subjects, he also acknowledges and strongly commends people with good ideas while he sometimes takes immediate action where he is satisfied with the ideas or he makes very wide consultation after passionately thanking whoever initiates such ideas. As you know, many leaders don’t have the patience of listening to those working under them, they mostly give instructions only. Look, you do not win Shettima’s heart with sycophancy; he is more attracted to brainpower than anything.

Secondly, he is scientific in making policies, programmes and projects. He relies so much on research. For instance, when Borno State recorded poor result in WAEC exams in 2011, the year he came in, he set up a silent committee that went round all the secondary schools to do some

Gusau

investigation including physical headcount of pupils and teachers as well as number of classrooms, examine learning atmosphere, curriculum, etc. It was discovered that the three senatorial zones had varied problems; in the central and northern Borno in particular, there were empty classrooms and teachers without pupils; in the southern part, there were pupils without classrooms and adequate teachers but generally, there was lack of task force to supervise teaching and learning, there were problems of improper feeding.

So, there is a high-powered feeding committee with highly respected people, designated to each of the three zones, there is a quality assurance inspectorate taskforce to monitor educational activities made of effective and efficient educationists, and at the moment, classrooms are being built so that there wouldn’t be more than 40 pupils in a secondary school class, the culture of night studies is being restored. In summary, massive projects are going on in Government College, Maiduguri, Government Girls College, Yerwa and many others spread across the state.

So, without cosmetics, Governor Shettima is laying a fresh and solid foundation of education which is bedrock of any society that seeks to progress. On industry, for instance, government resuscitates collapsed industries and owners pay back with products of fixed industries and employ an agreed number of people. In the area of poverty alleviation, Governor Shettima initiated a skills acquisition programme where youths are trained on how to make bricks, roofing tiles and interlocks with all raw materials

sourced from suppliers in the state while the youths get paid. What happens here, is that youths are trained and empowered, suppliers of raw materials are patronised, class rooms are built, learning is made more conducive and education is enhanced, that is scientific.

The third principle of the governor is that he runs an invitational, accessible and lobbyist government, making Borno the business of many capable individuals and institutions within and outside Nigeria. He has opened the doors of the state to willing associates and partners. Shettima goes in search of intelligent hands regardless of where they come from. In Abuja, he goes to meet heads of key federal establishments to win them to have focus on helping Borno. He identified leading professionals including professors of high repute like Professors Emeritus Umaru Shehu, Nur Alkali, Dili Dogo and had them to agree to become his honourary advisers on primary healthcare, education etc. He has assembled the best hands any governor can get as his commissioners and advisers.

Fourthly, as a focused and visionary leader, he has set out a target for himself with a vision to attain and no one changes his direction. From onset, he focused on agriculture as his main thrust to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and he has firmly been working towards that and with the right people in the right places.

He also makes supervision a religious duty, because of his belief that the difference between success and failure in the private and public sector is the presence of supervision in the private sector and absence of it in the public sector. For instance, many teachers in private schools earn less than their colleagues in public schools but those in private schools do more and better work because they are supervised to ensure they do what they are paid to do which is not the case in the public sector. So, Governor Shettima closely monitors all key projects. He has since held the habit of waking up and visiting project sites within Maiduguri and any of the 27 local government areas and this makes both contractors and ministry officials to be on their toes.

The governor also assigns his special assistants and in some cases relocates them to project sites to give him daily reports of projects and training programmes in particular.

This is independent of briefs he expects from commissioners. In addition, he makes regular enquiries from members of host communities where projects are being sited to get their impressions on ongoing works.

His sixth principle is that Governor Shettima has a flexible and unity-based approach to governance which makes him effectively manage diverse socio-political interests to forestall too many distractions that can derail government.

Shettima’s seventh principle is that of sincerity of purpose. Everybody in Borno is convinced that the governor wants to rebuild Borno State. Everybody knows that the governor has a clear goal and this makes it easy for all to commit themselves to a shared goal.

Ordinary Americans lift up Obama, Michelle AYODELE OJO

U

nited States and Nigeria are miles apart. These pictures say much about both countries: ordinary citizens lifting up Barack Obama, the most powerful president in the world, and his wife, Michelle at different functions.

In the far right picture, a 46-year-old member of the opposition Republican, Scott Van Duzer, gave Obama a bear hug, carrying him off the ground as the president marveled at the man’s strength and enthusiasm in Flor-

ida on Sunday.

“I was overwhelmed when I saw him,” Van Duzer said after he left Obama off his embrace.

Because of this, he said Obama had his vote.

In the other picture, Michelle was picked up by U.S. Olympic wrestler Elena Pirozhkova, while greeting Team USA Olympic athletes at the London Olympics.

But are these events possible in Nigeria? Definitely no! Is it possible for an ordinary Nigerian to give a local government chairman a handshake, talk less a governor or president? Maybe in the heat of electioneering!

Pirozhkova carrying Michelle in London.

In this clime, the citizens are far from the rulers. It is near-impossible for a Nigerian to lift President Goodluck Jonathan or the First Lady on his shoulders. This is a clime where the state of health and the whereabouts

of Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience are kept away from the public.

In the U.S., the leaders are accountable to the people and the citizens have access to their leaders, but in Nigeria the reverse is the case.

Duzer lifting Obama up in Florida.

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

17

Jonathan’s lost opportunity PROFESSOR NNAJI EXISTENTIAL HUMANISM

FRY

NDUBUISI fryndubuisi@nationalmirroronline.net (08023016709 SMS only)

T

he shocking forced exit of Professor Barth Nnaji from the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan is to say the least, regrettable. This is so because the power sector, such a troubling sector, has suddenly begun to show hope of revival under Nnaji’s charge. When Jonathan came on board the sector was in total disarray with generation capacity as low as 2400MW. Not surprisingly therefore, the President made power sector reforms top on his transformation agenda. He saddled Professor Nnaji, a thoroughbred professional, with the responsibility of midwifing the reform. He did a good job and brought life back to the sector. At the time he was forced to disengage, power generation had hit 4800MW. The circumstances that led to Nnaji’s exit are quite regrettable. His company, Geometric Power Limited, was said to have joined a consortium bidding to purchase the Enugu Distribution Company, one of the firms unbundled from PHCN and which is up for privatization. In what is seen as uncommon demonstration of

O

WAS FIGHTING AGAINST POWERFUL INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INTERESTS THAT WOULD STOP AT NOTHING TO SHOOT DOWN THE POWER REFORMS AGENDA due process and transparency, he excused himself from the meeting of the National Council on Privatisation, thinking this was the best way to absolve himself of the likely charge of conflict of interest.

The hounds after his blood thought otherwise. He resigned to save his integrity.

It is cryptically clear that the power sector is about the most difficult sector to handle in this country. This is a sector that you not only have powerful and self serving trade unions that are out to do anything to protect the interest of their members no matter how fraudulent, there are also eternal forces that have direct and subterranean interests in the sector that they have established a bridge with the internal unionists. It was apparent Professor Nnaji was fighting against powerful internal and external interests that would stop at nothing to shoot down

the power reforms agenda.

It is more troubling that the leadership of the ruling PDP shows no more than a cursory interest in the saga that consumed Nnaji. This is most despicable.

Equally curious is President Jonathan’s lack of fighting spirit as demonstrated in the cavalier manner he treated the resignation of Nnaji. I have seen no autonomy of will by him and a firm control of his administration.

The involvement of the firms that Nnaji has interest in the privatization programme may be questioned on moral grounds, but on a proper exegesis that he was in the first place invited because of his demonstrated competence in that field, does it make good sense for his power firms that have shown such past competence not to participate in sorting out the nation’s power problem on competitive basis? In our kind of environment where there is dearth of morality in business and public service there might be curious issues raised against such involvement, but if there is respect for merit and competencies with clear empirical parameter for assessing and evaluating things, the conflict of interest issue might not be as impracticable as we see it. I challenge the accusers of Professor Nnaji to search their consciences very well to see if it is their personal interest or national interest they are out to protect.

I am worried that President Jonathan has lost an egghead in his administration.

It is believed that Professor Nnaji was pas-

sionate about resuscitating the power sector, which was why the pressure on him to perform was monumental. His exit has caused quite a stir at home and abroad.

The general concern is on the fate of the nation’s power sector without Nnaji.

At a recent meeting with the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Ishaku and officials of the World Bank, United Nations International Development (UNIDO) and European Union, there was manifest apprehension about the power reform without Nnaji.

President Jonathan needs to be wary of the enemies of this country. They are those that want this country to be big for nothing and keep crawling like a cursed baby.

They are ready and willing to quench the fire of progress wherever they see it. That is exactly what is happening in the power sector. The re- constitution of the committee on power by Mr. President is quite in order, so also is his charge to the members to ensure that there is no relapse in the improved supply of electricity across the country. The panacea to the power crisis in Nigeria lies in outright privatisation.

This requires a man with expertise, passion and granite commitment. That is what President Jonathan has lost in the exit of Nnaji. To restore credibility to that enterprise, he must go out for a suitable replacement.

Professor Ndubuisi, an attorney at Law, is of the Dept. of Philosophy, UNILAG

Putting recent Lagos armed robbery in perspective

n Sunday, September 9, 2012, the city of Lagos came under siege as daredevil armed robbers invaded it from all directions. The gun-toting men carried out-simultaneous dastardly robbery operations in Ijesha area of Osodi Apapa Expressway, Adekunle in Yaba, Pen Cinema in Agege, Gbagada, Anthony, Maryland, Ojodu Berger, and Falolu/Aguda in Surulere of the metropolis.

Whether it is the same group of gangsters or several pockets of loosely associated mega formation of marauders that perpetrated the heinous crime, nobody could say till now. Nine persons including two policemen were killed, while at least 10 other persons sustained injuries.

When certain things happened (something queer and odd), questions are abound to be asked. Looking at this tragedy in perspective, the cogent question is whether or not we have security forces that can respond to any emergency.

The magnitude of the robbery operations in broad daylight, covering many population high density areas, the sheer gut and rapacity of these criminals, the utter success of the operations, with millions of naira snatched, the one-sided casualty rate, and the supine, ineffective responses of the policemen, pointed to one unsavoury conclusion: We are yet to have a collective security system to entrust the safety of our lives and properties. If suicide terrorists have out powered our security forces, certainly one would not expect that common robbers should also defy them simply because they are wielding AK-47 guns.

Lagos is the economic nerve centre of Nigeria and it conduces to good reason

that a considerable amount of resources be deployed in the city both in terms of human and hardware. So, it is very baffling that the multiple open street robberies would take place for several hours without the security agents successfully crushing them. According to reports, the rampaging robbers won on all fronts of the war, killing and maiming innocent Nigerians and making cannon fodder of some security personnel themselves in few places they were offered challenges.

It is simply unfathomable that armed robbers would have a field day for several hours in a metropolis like Lagos that is not only the headquarters of Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, but also boasts of many area commands under the state police command. This is not to talk of the ubiquitous heavy artillery like Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) strategically placed all over the city.

Within the Agege, Oshodi, Ikeja axis, there are no less than three APCs. Now with the Global System of Mobile (GSM) revolution, which could enable the people to reach the widely publicised “police hotlines” or ease internal communication within the security forces itself, should these marauders have been successful in their operations in broad daylight? What if the robbers had operated during the night? We are already used to stories of robbers laying siege to a whole area and operating throughout the night for four or five hours with no police intervention!

Is this tragedy an exhibition of the now too familiar police inefficiency or a combination of unspeakable incompetence with the fifth columnist phenomenon within the police hierarchy? Are

IF SUICIDE TERRORISTS HAVE

OUT-POWERED OUR SECURITY FORCES,

KAYODE

KETEFE

CERTAINLY ONE WOULD NOT EXPECT THAT COMMON ROBBERS SHOULD ALSO DEFY THEM these robbers some subterranean spirits from the bosom of the earth, who carried out their nefarious activities and retired into some recesses underground, or are they human beings in material forms like you and me who planned, strategised, executed the raid and then escaped materially? These are some questions the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abubakar Umar Manko, should answer.

Perhaps, he himself should ask his subordinates the same questions. The IGP, Mohammed Abuabakar, was so shocked by the incident that he issued a peremptory order to both the Lagos State Police Command and Zone 2 Command, which has its headquarters in Lagos, to “wake up from their slumber” “You have mobility, you have support, you have allowance from the state government; you must not allow people of Lagos to be terrorised by robbers. It can never be accepted anymore.” Abubakar fumed.

kketefe@nationalmirroronline.net 08032147720 (SMS only)

By the way, this writer has often witnessed policemen huddled together at the check points on a spot while carrying out stop and check operations and thereby offering themselves easy targets for guntoting armed robbers to execute a clean wipe-out through a lavish spree of bullets.

The reason for this counter-intuitive practice is that they are distrustful of one another and would want to witness “live” the collection of bribes from the motorists in order not to be short-changed by their greedy colleagues!

The recent incident is yet another sad reminder that we are yet to solve even the basic problem of the most primitive sociopolitical formation - security.

It is high time we planned how to put in place a police force worthy of its name.

Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.netmirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs.

Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

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Huge spending on malaria, scant result

T

he Global Fund’s grant of $225 million ( about N36 billion) to assist Nigeria fight the deadly malaria scourge has once again highlighted the urgent need for value-for-money audit of foreign and domestic funding to ascertain the nation’s degree of success or failure in the battle against Africa’s number one killer disease. The Federal Government recently in Abuja, signed the funding agreement which brings the total Global Fund assistance to Nigeria to about $1.5 billion since 2004 when $971 million grant was approved.

The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the grant heralded a new way of addressing the nation’s fight against malaria. He stated that about N27 billion of the first grant would be disbursed to the 36 states of the federation and Abuja through public and private sector agencies.

Provision of imported insecticidetreated nets in the phase two of the initiative would gulp N8 billion. The FG, Chukwu said, would provide N1.6 billion counterpart funding for the exercise.

However, the international community (of donors) seems worried that Nigeria has become a bad case because their financial assistance to battle malaria does not achieve the intended goals.

Officials of the FG, according to reports, pocket the foreign donations. The ailment claims the lives of an estimated 300,000 people in

Nigeria alone and one million in Africa, every year. Added to the casualty figure are billions of lost man hours, school absenteeism, and general debility that reduce the productivity of the working population. Perhaps most vulnerable are children under the age of five years, as well as pregnant women.

In the Konduga Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, for example, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 80 per cent of the children and pregnant women are under the threat of being decimated by high malaria infestation. Yet, husbands in the area have reportedly refused their wives and children access to protective malaria immunization.

In effect, ignorance appears a major challenge to routing malaria in the land. The government at all levels, however, has recorded insignificant public enlightenment efforts to arrest the malaria (parasite) epidemic from wreaking maximum havoc on the populace. Worsening the situation appears the fact that Nigeria has no definitive policy on malaria control, despite the establishment of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP). If the contrary is the case, the FG, particularly, should make public its major policy goals: prevention or curative, other than mere rhetoric. The global donor community has not been comfortable with Nigeria’s faltering malaria con-

GLOBAL SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE DUBIOUS DEPLOYMENT OF DONATED ANTI-

MALARIA FUNDS

IN NIGERIA WAS ONCE ECHOED BY

DEBREWWORK ZEWDIE, A DIRECTOR OF THE GLOBAL FUND trol policies and the monumental corruption perpetrated by government agencies, officials and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) through which malaria control funds are channeled. In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) lamented that Nigeria and the war-ravaged Republic of Congo accounted for 30 to 40 percent of malaria-related deaths worldwide. Without taming malaria, WHO has predicted gloom for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the country. Besides, the Roll-Back Malaria global launch in Abuja about 10 years ago is yet to yield any appreciable result. The Organization had in 2008, voted $1.2 billion to fight malaria in Nigeria and Congo.

Global skepticism about the dubious deployment of donated anti-malaria funds in Nigeria was once echoed by Debrewwork

Zewdie, a director of the Global Fund. Zewdie, however, stated that Global Fund wanted to prove skeptics wrong that Nigeria was a bad case; and would therefore put in place a mechanism to monitor the utilization of disbursed funds to ensure accountability and transparency, two key ingredients vital for further inflow of foreign assistance from multilateral and bilateral agencies to reverse the high malaria morbidity and mortality rates in the country.

Consequently, the federal, state, and local governments should design a comprehensive policy for the eradication of malaria if the nation is really determined to frontally confront the malaria scourge. Public enlightenment on eradicating the sources of mosquito infestation and preventive environmental sanitation, using sanitary inspectors, seem to have become imperative. There is likewise the need to research and develop local and exportable herbal recipes for malaria as the Chinese do, instead of relying wholly on imported therapies some of which are faked.

Research has shown, for instance, that 80 per cent of antimalaria drugs in Nigeria are impotent; while imported insecticide-treated mosquito nets hardly achieve the desired results as they are sold in urban markets at exorbitant prices instead of being distributed free to rural communities as intended by the government.

ON THIS DAY September 13, 2007 The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. the UN described the declaration as setting “an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool towards eliminating human rights violations against the planet’s 370 million indigenous people and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalisation.

September 13, 1989 Largest anti-apaetheid march in South Africa was led

by Desmond Tutu. Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born October 7, 1931) is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).

September 13, 1971 People’s Republic of China: Chairman Mao Zedong’s second in command and potential successor, Marshal Lin Biao, fled the country via plane after the failure of an alleged coup against Mao. The plane, however, crashed in Mongolia, killing all aboard. Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung, and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), was a Chinese communist.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

19

Education Today Rufa’I calls for stakeholders’ support on literacy campaign

I

n 2011, when Lagos State Government conducted the junior basic secondary certificate examinations, about 37,000 pupils performed very poorly. The development, according to the Head, Press and Public Relations of the state’s Ministry of Education, Mr. Lanre Bajulaiye prompted investigations into both the remote and immediate causes.

According to Bajulaye, government discovered that the scanner machine used for marking the answer sheets could not identify light shading.

To prevent reoccurrence of such in subsequent examinations, the state government developed a new system called Optical Mark Reader (OMR) to detect malpractices and ensure accuracy.

In preparation for the implementation of the new system, Bajulaiye said an intensive training was held in April for all school authorities at the examination board office along Iyana-Ipaja road, in Agege. He said participants were tutored on the use of the new answer sheets and the need for each subjects to be answered on the different scripts provided for them.

The Chairman of Private School Owners Association in the state, Prince Ayo Shonubi, however denied knowledge of such training, claiming his association had advised the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, to postpone the use of the new system to give more time and allow adequate training and practice among the pupils and their invigilators.

The state government, however, felt otherwise and the examination held in May with the OMR answer scripts provided by the state government to all the candidates. Alas! When the results were released in August, a lot of discrepancies were observed which was said to be worse than that of 2011.

This development angered many parents as their wards either failed subjects like English Language, Mathematics, Basic Technology, or they were recorded to be absent from examination centres.

A parent who pleaded anonymity could not just understand how her very brilliant son could perform so poorly in the examination.

“I am so convinced that my son could not have performed so poorly and when I carried out personal investigations I discovered that the discrepancies are across the board as numerous schools also besieged examination board office to lodge complaints about the results.

Many candidates who were absent from the examination as a result of death or ill health were awarded high marks for an examination they never took.

“Brilliant students were found to have failed the examination while many of those below average were awarded outrageously high marks. The director of the examination board personally

22

Revealed! How Lagos JSS 3 exam was bungled

•Proprietors blame govt for shoddiness • Errors caused by schools, Govt says

The recently released results of the junior basic secondary certificate examinations in Lagos State were reportedly marred by discrepancies; a development that has created rancour among the state government, school owners and parents. In this report, MOJEED ALABI writes on the situation as it is, featuring arguments and accusations of all the concerned parties.

Lagos State Gov Fashola and Commissioner of Education Edu

BRILLIANT STUDENTS WERE FOUND TO HAVE FAILED THE EXAMINATION WHILE MANY OF THOSE BELOW AVERAGE WERE AWARDED OUTRAGEOUSLY HIGH MARKS confirmed to me that the Optical Mark Readers (OMR) sent to schools were not properly completed hence the wrong scores awarded many candidates in various schools across the state,” she told National Mirror.

This time again, the examination board in conjunction with the education ministry found out that the affected schools had wittingly or unwittingly failed to fill in correct bar codes, subject codes or even examination numbers.

“We brought out the answer scripts of the affected schools and found out that many of them did not use the OMR sheets, some used photocopies while others used the sheets meant for English Language for other subjects. Some even erased the original bar codes and wrote new ones. In fact, some students who copied their mates also copied their examination numbers.

“And if we are going to probe further why is it that only the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Basic Sciences and Basic Technology affected? Does it mean there was an attempt to perpetrate fraud? These are issues to be raised,” Bajulaiye observed.

To resolve the crisis and protect the interest of the affected pupils the board decided to organise a re-sit examination for the affected subjects but they were to pay new examination fees of N2,000 each. This new charges infuriated both the schools and their parents as many decided to petition the board by writing Governor Fashola to express their grievances.

The Association of Private School Owners has also kicked against the new charges accusing the examination board of incompetence. According to Shonubi, the schools that used photocopies of

OMR did so when there were not enough materials and that government had already overtaxed the candidates and so cannot ask for more money.

“It is unfortunate that this situation has emotionally affected many students who never committed a crime.

In the first instance, candidates were charged outrageous examination fees as each student paid N6,000 while those schools on Continue Education Centres status were charged above N9,000. This is even more than what WAEC charges and when you compare the quality of the materials the candidates were given you would wonder if these people have conscience,” Shonubi said.

Following this development, the resit examination earlier slated for last Thursday had been postponed indefinitely as there are signs that if government does not rescind its decision on the new fees the private schools may stage boycott.

When asked of what becomes the fate of the affected students if they do not write the re-sit examination, Shonubi simply asked rhetorically; “what do they do with the junior school examination result?”

However, Mrs. Coker has said for logical conclusions to be reached, management of the affected schools should be sanctioned for not following instructions from the board. She told National Mirror that if truly the interests of the “innocent pupils should be protected the leadership of the schools must be held responsible.”

In the case of the public schools who did not pay the initial examination fees, government says those to write re-sit examination must also pay the new charges; the development many parents have seen as a case of extortion.

While this matter continues to generate debates what agitates the minds of observers is: what is the fate of these innocent pupils, whose results may hinder their progress to the senior classes, or at the very least, bar them from enrolling in their preferred fields of study?

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ccording to the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, for Nigeria to reap from her abundant potentials, all efforts must be on deck to checkmate the huge capital flight to foreign countries.

The Minister, who accused Nigerians of engaging in the passing fad of frequent junketing abroad for foreign products and services, especially education and health, said the culture of distrust among Nigerians and the massive corruption in high places constitute major clogs in the wheel of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Duke made this disclosure last week when he paid a visit to the Babcock University and its newly commissioned teaching hospital at Ilishan-Remo, in Ogun State. Marveled at the level of development in the faithbased institution, the Minister showered encomium on the university’s management and used the occasion to emphasise the important roles of private organisations, religious and business bodies in the provision of important services in major key sectors of economy.

True to the Minister’s words, it is important to note that on yearly basis, Nigeria loses hundreds of thousands of dollars to neighbouring Ghana through university education as thousands of Nigerian students constantly flood the Gold Coast for education. Just last week also, the authorities in the United Kingdom sent a signal to all international students at the London Metropolitan University including about 400 Nigerians to either look for other universities to absorb them or face being forcefully shipped out of the country by December 1.

In a similar development,

It was meant to be an ordinary courtesy visit, but it eventually turned out to be a turning point for the country’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, who was dazed by the facilities and the international networks so far developed by Babcock University (BU), Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State for its newly commissioned teaching hospital. MOJEED ALABI reports the importance of the initiative as enumerated by the Minister.

L-R: Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Makinde, Minister of Tourism, Culture & National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke and Senior Vice-Chancellor/Provost, College of Medical Sciences, Prof Iheanyichukwu Okoro during the inspection of facilities on the campus

the former Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Oshotimehin, not long ago while commenting on the effect of Nigerians’ frequent trips to India for medical treatments and check-ups, said the country loses over 14 million dollars annually to India as a result of the practice. The development, he termed ‘medicotourism,’ he said, can only be curbed when private investors invest in healthcare delivery service sec-

allam Zungeru, a former student of yours at the Government College, Wushishi, Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State where you were the

Idowu

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Babcock Varsity Teaching Hospital can curb medical tourism abroad –Tourism Minister

To my best

TEACHER M

Thursday, September 13, 2012

tor in Nigeria.

It was, therefore, a thing of joy for Chief Duke last Thursday when he saw the huge investment in the university’s medical school and its teaching hospital named after the renowned surgeon and author, Dr. Ben Carson.

“There is a light that has been lit in this community. The work that is being done here and the vision here may today be a tiny light but it would surely radiate

Mallam Haza Zungeru ‘Former Principal, Government Teachers’ College, Wushishi, Niger pioneer principal has remembered you for good and has credited his success in life to God almighty and your contributions to his academic career at the foundation level.

The said student, Mohammed Yahaya, who is now a professor and former lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, was also once the Secretary to the Niger State Government and currently the Chief of Staff to Governor Babangida Aliyu. He was one of the pioneer students in the school in 1975 when, he said, he was reluctantly posted there after the common entrance examination, but surprisingly he said you made his stay in the school a worthwhile experience by shaping his future path through your commitment and dedicated leadership as the school’s helmsman.

His message to you reads thus: “We had many brilliant, committed and passionate

to every part of this continent and the world in the nearest future. I consider myself lucky for having the privilege to visit this great institution,” Duke said.

The Minister, who promised to intimate the Federal Executive Council (FEC) further on the bright prospects of the institution, also pledged to facilitate international exchange programmes with other institutions and ensure Babcock is well

teachers, who were always desirous of our success in academics, as well as other areas of life. The pioneer school principal, Mallam Haza Zungeru, was very fantastic. He was a disciplinarian. He was not only my teacher; I learnt a lot from him, including the spirit of servant leadership. As a matter of fact, I can boldly say that today, I owe a lot to him as a man who in the course of climbing up the ladder of life early in my academic career, I singled him out as a pillar of support, a model and hero who was worthy of emulation.

One significant thing happened when we were in the school and that was when we protested against the school management’s decision to draft us to the school farm and the compound to engage in weeding and bush clearing. We were not happy with the situation and we decided to report the case to Mallam Zungeru, the principal. When we got to the principal’s lodge very early

represented in the next cabinet meeting to secure other necessary approvals for other programmes being offered by the institution.

The ivory tower’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. James Kayode-Makinde while appreciating the Minister’s visit, urged government to expedite the approval of graduate medical programmes for the university to enable the institution actualize its dream of becoming the benchmark of excellence in medical profession in the country.

He said the MBBS/PHD programme became necessary because of the need to replenish the depleting state of medical research in the country. Beside the seven-year MBBS/PHD programme, the school also runs the undergraduate (direct entry) five to six-year programme for students without a first degree in Medicine.

“Babcock is not just a flagship of education, but it is a symbol of hope for Nigerian education.

We are aware of our challenges, but they are the real spices that keep us going. This Ben Carson Senior Medical School is presently collaborating with over 40 medical experts from the United States of America to offer the best of training and medical services to Nigerians and those in the neighbouring countries.

We, therefore, seek the support of everyone for this divine dream,” the VC said.

in the morning on that fateful day and presented our grievance before him, he simply replied us that he too was a labourer and that such task was not to dehumanize us but to prepare us for the future challenges. Right there and then we couldn’t do anything again. That was how we were dispersed and that settled the matter permanently. That experience really humbled me till date and I have built the same culture in my children.

If you can read this, then you have a reason to be grateful. Show your appreciation to your best or favourite teacher in this column. Send us a ‘Thank You’ note, including your full names, current status and the years you were taught by your teacher. You can also send us your current picture plus that of your teacher where possible. Write to the Editor, To My best Teacher Column, National Mirror, P.M.B. 10001, Marina Lagos or e-mail: eferaro@yahoo.co.uk

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ow does it feel being the SUBEB chairman in a state like Lagos?

Well, this is an important question. It is important because when people appraise the state of education in Nigeria they refuse to put into consideration that the challenges facing each state are different from others. Being a SUBEB chairman in a densely populated state like Lagos could therefore be very challenging. It is not unknown to everyone that all sectors of the nation’s economy had degenerated beyond repair before the advent of this democracy and worse hit particularly in Lagos was education.

So to fix these issues of collapse in education would therefore require sleepless nights from all concerned stakeholders and being on the wheel as the driver of basic education in Lagos State, I think I can tell you that things are not really rosy but we thank God almighty and the administration of Governor Fashola for the support.

For how long have you been in the saddle?

It is now over four years that I have been here as the chairman.

I actually came on board on August 1, 2008. And glory be to God almighty, it has quite been interesting working on how to shape the future of the country but like I said earlier, it has also been very challenging too.

What specifically was the state of education in the state before now?

Before now, things were so bad that almost on a daily basis series of letters were addressed to our office complaining of the terrible state of one school or the other.

Virtually all public schools in Lagos suffered infrastructural decay, lack of adequate workforce and many of them are usually flooded during raining seasons. Things were so bad that it was shameful for anyone to claim his or her child attends public schools because most schools were still using the structures put in place by former Governor Lateef Jakande which were just like makeshifts meant to temporarily address the problem of overcrowding. I can say this because before I joined the board I had been a permanent secretary in the state’s civil service, so I have firsthand information and that has helped us a lot in the course of rebuilding these schools.

How have you now been able to address these challenges?

I think we have been able to record modest progress in our efforts but the cost has been very much too. When I first resumed into office the role of the board was to focus mainly on primary and early secondary school education, which according to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) law covers basic one to nine, that is, the first six years in primary

Education Today

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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Long years of rot: Challenge to education development in Lagos –SUBEB boss Mrs. Khadijat Dawodu is the Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). In this interview with MOJEED ALABI, the former permanent secretary in the state’s civil service recounts the board’s efforts to reform basic education in the state and bring back its lost glory. Excerpts: school and the next three years in the junior secondary school. But along the line it was modified with the addition of the pre-primary and the early childhood care covering age three to five in almost all our schools. Because the state government is concerned and passionate about ensuring that we have quality education in the state which we understand cannot be attained easily the governor has always emphasised the need for sound and proper education to achieve and sustain the urban renewal efforts and job creation for our youths. Therefore, with the support of the governor and his cabinet members we have concentrated efforts on provision of infrastructure for these schools.

Right from the outset what we did was to decide how we can address the multifaceted problems. We observed that most of the pupils had no books; parents and guardians had neglected their responsibility of providing basic needs for their wards and they look unto government for almost everything. We then concluded that these problems were too enormous to be faced at once and we agreed to address them in phases. Therefore, the state government decided to utilize the allocation to SUBEB and the pool of resources from other sources to purchase books in large quantity and so all pupils in Lagos state including those in pre-primary classes were given four core textbooks and all the students in junior and senior schools were also given text books. So that was the very first step to address some of the challenges we met on ground. This was apart from the money we have on an annual basis in the budget which covers so many outstanding arrears. Also, all junior secondary school III students have the fees for their practicals paid for by the state because we noted that the N300 charged to procure reagents and other practical materials were so difficult for these pupils to provide and government felt if paying for them would enable them to remain in schools we should do that. And that alone for the first year in 2009 cost us about N25 million. This has always been on the increase since then.

But why did government choose to give purchase of books priority rather than fixing the collapsed infrastructures?

Thank you very much. In Lagos State decisions are not just taken haphazardly; they are products of intensive deliberations and before

part fund while others cannot justify the one they earlier collected. What is the situation in Lagos State?

Thank you very much. I must tell you that one major achievement I can lay claim to that we have achieved over many other states is that all backlogs of our arrears of allocation with UBEC which were not accessed between 2008 and 2010 have all been cleared because we always account for our expenditure and the state government too usually and promptly make available its counterpart fund. Up till now I don’t think Lagos State has any allocation arrear with UBEC. In fact what we have even pleaded with the Commission to do for us is that at our end we are almost done with infrastructure and would no longer want to abide by the rule of 70:15:15 for infrastructure, teachers’ training and procurement.

Mrs. Dawodu

IF LAGOS DEVOTES ITS WHOLE BUDGET ON EDUCATION, WE CANNOT ADDRESS ALL THE PROBLEMS any project is executed it passes through lots of stages. We knew schools were bad; pupils had no books and reading materials; teachers were not adequately trained, among other issues. However, we felt if we had beautiful classrooms without reading and writing materials what is the essence of those classrooms? Would it not be better to offer those necessary tools first before focusing on the big projects? That exactly was what we did which actually paid out. Essentially our major source of fund comes from the counterpart funds by both the state governments and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), and when I came on board, there was the 2006 arrears of our allocation from UBEC which was what we could access. Immediately we were able to secure that we devoted 70 per cent to upgrade of infrastructural facilities which included rehabilitation and building of new classroom blocks and we made furniture; another 15 per cent was devoted into teachers development and the remaining 15 per cent went to the procurement of reading and writing materials in addition to what the state government’s annual budget has been

used to address.

Like how many schools have been touched with this facility upgrade project?

There are lots of schools because at a time we also benefited from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) which we also devoted specifically to the provision of 13 newly constructed blocks of classrooms in 13 schools. But later we found out several schools were still not covered with the furniture provision and we conducted survey and teachers from various schools brought in their reports which indicated another big request. But between 2009 and 2011 a total of 99,027 dual desk and benches were produced for our primary schools, which was the phase one and we continued from there. We must emphasise here that we have still got some schools in some areas where they haven’t gotten enough furniture and we are addressing that area.

There are usually allegations that many states haven’t accessed their fund from UBEC due to the facts that their states have not paid up their counter-

But if all your claims were to be correct why has Lagos not been singled out by UBEC to be rewarded for performance as we have seen Katsina and Rivers State being rewarded for judicious use of UBEC fund?

To be realistic with you that is a sore point for me personally. I want to believe that because this is Lagos where we have hundreds of thousands of pupils and hundreds of schools in bad shape it is usually difficult for efforts to be noticed. Things had gone so bad in the past and when you consider the rate at which Lagos population is growing you can see that facilities made for 200 pupils have suddenly been overstretched by the influx of children from other states. This has made things difficult to manage but overall I think for being able to manage the situation to this level despite the challenges I have enumerated earlier I think Lagos State deserves a special reward. What is the population of Katsina State and how many schools does it have? There is hardly any family in Nigeria without a relation in Lagos, either distant or close, yet Lagos is not given special attention by the Federal Government. I think there is need for that to address the socioeconomic crisis facing the state. If Lagos devotes its whole budget on education we cannot address all the problems but when you look at where we are coming from and where we are today I think this administration deserves credit for the work done so far.

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History, Yoruba now compulsory in Lagos schools MOJEED ALABI

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he Lagos State Government has made the teaching of History and Yoruba language compulsory in all the secondary schools in the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye made this disclosure yesterday at Alausa, Ikeja, when she

held a town hall meeting with the principals and their deputies from all the public secondary schools and technical colleges in the state.

According to the commissioner, the state has made the two subjects compulsory for students in secondary schools because of their importance to the societal development.

Oladunjoye said while

the study of History would enable students have a good knowledge of the society they belong, that of Yoruba would help them not only to speak the language effectively but also to have a sense of identity.

“Yoruba language must not go into extinction and therefore parents who are Yoruba indigenes should know that it is not a pride but shame to have children

who cannot communicate effectively in their mother’s tongue, which is Yoruba,” she stressed.

While appealing to teachers to shelve their plan to embark on strike over unpaid allowance as the state government would soon implement it, the commissioner urged them as well as the school administrators to work harder so as to lift up the education stan-

dard of the state to an enviable height.

She said the 59.4 per cent improvement the state recorded in the last SSS 3 results released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) which ranked the state seventh position in the country was not good enough, urging all hands to be on deck to enable the state meet up with the 90 per cent target for

next year.

Speaking on behalf of others, the state chairman, Association of Conference of Principals of Secondary School (ANCOPSS), Mr. Albert Phillips, asked the government not to renege in its efforts to improve on the schools’ infrastructural development and provision of other teaching aids, as well as teachers’ welfare.

We won’t increase tuition fees –KADPOLY rector A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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L-R, Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo and Representative of Tutor General, District 4, Mrs. Soname Aderinsola at town hall meeting by the commissioner with the principals and vice principals of public secondary schools and technical colleges in the state in Ikeja yesterday.

Council hails VC over varsity’s accreditation status CAROLINE CHUKWUKA

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he Acting Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Prof. Fola Tayo, has commended the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, for recording 100 per cent success at the university’s 2012 accreditation exercise carried out by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Tayo, who said this in a chat with newsmen recently, stressed that the management, staff and students of the university would forever be grateful to God for his grace as the chief architect and to the vice-chancellor and members of his management team for their commitment towards achieving the university’s aim of producing globally competitive graduates “equipped with marketable literary, technical, entrepreneurial and leadership skills and as well grounded in faith.”

“The 100 per cent success our university recorded at the accreditation exercise was not a surprise to us, given Prof. Olujoku and members of his team’s competence, capacity to work diligently, qualifications and experience as well as their amiable and humble personalities,” Tayo said.

He, therefore, urged the VC and members of his team to keep up the level of their commitment to the desire to take the

institution to greater heights and carry on the good works that have endeared the university to the generality of Nigerians.

He also expressed optimism that Caleb University would continue to be great, considering the monumental changes effected in the system and availability of facilities like state-ofthe-art laboratories, studios, lecture rooms and an e-library in the institution.

he newly appointed Rector of the Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna State, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Ibrahim has pledged his commitment to embark on quality projects in line with the Federal Government’s transformation agenda, just as he promised the students that the school will not increase tuition fees anytime soon.

Bello, while calling on stakeholders to join him to consolidate the task of reforming the institution, said innovations would be created to generate more

revenue.

The polytechnic was, sometimes ago, enmeshed in staff and management crises which led to the closure of the institution for almost seven months over allegation of corruption and maladministration.

However, the new rector, who took over the mantle of leadership last week, has promised to run a transparent administration that would remedy the current challenges facing the institution.

“In a bid to consolidate the task of reforming this institution, I humbly call on all the staff to redouble their efforts and ignore intrigues and rumours so that we can

find solution to whatever challenges confronting the polytechnic. With our determination to protect and advance this great institution which is one of the heritages, of our founding fathers, the Federal Government‘s transformation agenda will be achieved here too. I pledge that we won’t increase tuition fees,” Bello said.

Earlier, the outgoing Acting Rector, Alhaji Aliyu Mamman advised his successor to adopt strategies that would do away with crisis and also called for improved infrastructural facilities and capacity development trainings for staff and students.

Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission in Ondo State, Mrs. Mary Wakawa, discussing with students during an enlightement campaign on school bus standadization for safety in Akure recently.

Rufa’I calls for stakeholders’ support on literacy campaign IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

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s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s Literacy Day, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I has called on various state governments to support mass literacy campaign strategy of the Federal Government towards reducing illiteracy rate in the country.

The minister, who made this call in Abuja, said

in line with the theme“Cultivating Literacy for Peace”- of this year’s World Literacy Day, Nigerians had witnessed the interrelationship between peace and the level of literacy in the country.

Rufa’I noted that Nigeria had all it takes to manage the level of illiteracy to meet the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets on literacy rates if all stakeholders contributed their respective

quarter through public enlightenment and realistic investments in access to education at all levels.

According to her, the recent World Bank and UNICEF reports on Nigeria literacy level across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, showed that the educationally disadvantaged states are in the most prone areas of the North with about 40 per cent of the population of ages 6-16 out of school.

She added that while this was obtained in the north, the southern part of the country recorded about 10 per cent of its children in the same age bracket that are out of school with some in recording less than 3 per cent.

The minister, however called on the stakeholders, especially the states commissioners for education, states universal basic education boards and parents to do more by promoting reading

culture and providing the required infrastructure to ensure increase access and improve learning environment in the country.

“This will not only raise literacy level in the country, it will also promote a peaceful coexistence of people of the country irrespective of tribes and religious affiliations.” she said while assuring Nigerians that in few years’ time, half of the population will be illiterate.

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Alma Mater

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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Alumnus set to launch school’s biography TEHR AGBEDEH

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ld and current students of the Baptist Girls College, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, will join one of their own, Mrs. Oyeronke Alake Lawoyin, to launch a book on the history, growth and contribution of the school to both individual and community progress.

Mrs. Lawoyin, author of a 326-page book on the school, which she titled: Idi Aba: Down Memory Lane said the book

Lawoyin

would be launched at the Shepherd Hill Baptist Church Hall, Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, Lagos, on October 4 by 11 a.m.

She described the book project as a way of showing gratitude to the school that helped to mould and shape the future of many students. She recalled that until the idea of publishing the book came, she had always felt insufficient in showing gratitude both to God and her the Alma mater.

The author said proceeds from sales of the book would be used to build a modern library in the school while urging everyone to show sincere gratitude to God, parents and teachers for their contributions in their life. She said the initial thought of writing the history of Idi Aba as part of activities marking the school’s 100 years, later metamorphosed into the book, which she said chronicles some of the old students and teachers’ testimonies about the female school.

“When the Idi Aba Old Students Association (IBOSA), was planning for the celebration of the school’s centenary anniversary, I thought writing the history of the school should be part of the activities.

After agreeing to the idea, I set a target of getting the book out before 2009 when the school would turn 100 years. But the challenge of collating contributions from old students slowed down the time for the publication of the book,” she noted.

Lawoyin said the uniqueness of Idi Aba as a school, is its spirituality as it teaches the virtues of Jesus Christ, which is a message of truth and transforming students into children of God. This message, she said, is still alive in every old student of the school.

She however observed that there were still some problems especially when government took over missionary schools in the country. She assured that there would be a revised edition in future that would cater for those who could not get their messages published in this current edition.

Director of Studies, Global Business and Transport Management School, Mrs. Akpu Nkechi presenting certificate of attendance to a participant, Mr. Samuel Mbaike after a workshop recently.

School introduces French translation course, others BANKOLE FAMUYIBO

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private business school, Global Business and Transport Management School (GBTMS), Lagos, has introduced certificate and postgraduate diploma courses in English Language and French translation and interpretation to increase the figure of trained translators in the country.

The institution, which was founded in 2009, was according to its management introduced to provide modern business tools to Nigerians and non-Nigerians inclusive who are willing to develop their careers particularly in transport and general business sector.

According to the school’s Director of Study, Mrs. Akpu Nkechi, through

the advancement in the use of technology the world has become a global village, “hence translation has become an indispensable field of study.”

“However, Nigeria does not have enough number of trained translators as necessary for her huge population.

That is why the Global Business and Transport Management School has developed such programmes to give students in-depth knowledge in today’s modern business and transport world.

“This initiative which is equivalent to studying International Relations in universities is to help students meet the needs of the growing and highly modernized global business world. We also offer other management courses in various other business and management studies,” Nkechi said.

Ex-students, colleagues extoll virtues of late principal MOJEED ALABI

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he Principal of Ilobu Muslim Association’s Junior Secondary School, Ilobu, in Osun State, and former classmate of the author of the popular English Language textbook- A1 in English, Mr. Dele Ashade, at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), OAU, Ile-Ife, Mr. Fatai Olatunji is dead.

His former students and colleagues have expressed their shock at his sudden death, which they described as a bad development to the educational growth in the whole of Irepodun Local Government area and its environs.

Olatunji, who was an English Language teacher for several years at Saint Paul’s Grammar School, also in Ilobu, was recognised for his mastery of the subject and the flawless manner with which he taught his students.

In his reaction to his death, an admirer of the late teacher and Principal Counsel, Lekan Oladapo and Company, Mr. Olekan Oladapo, described him as one out of many. He commended the late

Late Olatunji

principal for his contributions towards demystifying the dreaded English Language examination by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

“To Mr. Fatai Olatunji, like a brief

candle you sneaked away without waiting to say goodnight. Your life, though short, had imparted invaluable knowledge in those who benefitted from you as teacher and dedicated son of Ilobu. May your soul rest in peace,” Oladapo wrote.

Also, one of the close students to the teacher while alive and now a graduate of OAU also, Mr. Shina Alabi, described the death of his former teacher as a great loss to the world of teachers. “It is quite unfortunate that he could not break the shackle and get out of the spiritual ‘black box.’ He was a talented English Language tutor with capacity of becoming an international repute in his chosen career but the wicked ‘unseen hand’ double-crossed his way. Anyway, he made his marks; he shared with me his priceless knowledge. F Olatunji, Adieu!”

“The man whistled, but in the dark.

Only those who could adjust their iris saw him with his God- given talent. An epitome of knowledge he was; a grammatical analyst par excellence! I am elated to have been under your tutelage for a while. He would say that if I farted; find a means of writing it down, it will

be useful for you. For those who passed through you, they will never forget your grammatical prowess, eloquence and analytical skills. I realised the agony you passed through in marking our so called essays and the way you wrote of models for us. You came; you saw but could not conquer. We weep not for you, but for those who did not know what F. Olatunji encompassed. We, your ex-students will imortalise you in our hearts as your memories shall linger on forever,” another former student, Olaniran Mutiu sent in this from Kano State.

Abdul’amid Kamar is today a microbiologist who dedicated his fluency in English Language to Olatunji. He said; “If not for him and God, my grammar would not have been better. He planted this foreign language in me and his impact is being felt everyday in my life.”

According his colleague and English teacher at Ansar-ur-Deen Grammar School, Erin-Osun, in Irepodun Local Government of Osun State, Mr. Dare Alabi, Olatunji died last week Friday after a brief illness that only kept him away from his duty post for just three days.

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

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FROM OTHER LANDS

British teachers set to down tools over pay

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Teachers during their protest

Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years STORIES BY FAMUYIBO BANKOLE WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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housands of Chicago teachers walked away from their duty posts on Monday for the first time in 25 years, after union leaders announced they were far from resolving a contract dispute with school district officials.

The walkout in the nation’s third-largest school district posed a tricky test for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said he would work to end the strike quickly.

“This is not a strike I wanted,” Emanuel said Sunday night, not long after the union announced the action. “It was a strike of choice ... it’s unnecessary, it’s avoidable and it’s wrong.”

Some 26,000 teachers and support staff were expected to join the picket. Among teachers protesting Monday morning outside Benjamin Banneker Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side, eighthgrade teacher Michael Williams said he wanted a quick contract resolution.

“We hoped that it wouldn’t happen. We all want to get back to teaching,” Williams said, adding that “wages and classroom conditions need to be improved.”

Contract negotiations between Chicago Public School officials and union leaders that stretched through the weekend were resuming Monday.

“I would like all the parties to do right by our children,” Emanuel said. “Our kids belong in the classroom. The negotiators belong at the negotiating table, and should finish their job.”

Officials said some 140 schools would be open between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. so the children who rely on free meals provided by the school district can eat breakfast and lunch, school district officials said.

City officials acknowledged that children left unsupervised — especially in neighbourhoods with a history of gang violence — might be at risk, but vowed to protect the nearly 400,000 students’ safety.

“We will make sure our kids are safe, we will see our way through these issues and our kids will be back in the classroom where they belong,” Emanuel said.

The school district asked community organizations to provide additional programmes for students, and a number of churches, libraries and other groups plan to offer day camps and other activities.

Police Chief Garry McCarthy said he would take officers off desk duty and deploy them to deal with any teachers’ protests as well as the thousands of students who could be roaming the streets.

Union leaders and district officials were not far apart in their negotiations on compensation, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said. But other issues — including potential changes to health benefits and a new teacher evaluation system based partly on students’ standardized test scores — remained unresolved, she said.

“This is a difficult decision and one we hoped we could have avoided,” Lewis said. “We must do things differently in this city if we are to provide our students with the education they so rightfully deserve.”

Emanuel and the union offi-

cials have much at stake. Unions and collective bargaining by public employees have recently come under criticism in many parts of the country, and all sides are closely monitoring who might emerge with the upper hand in the Chicago dispute.

The timing also may be inopportune for Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff whose city administration is wrestling with a spike in murders and shootings in some city neighborhoods and who just agreed to take a larger role in fundraising for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

As the strike deadline approached, parents spent Sunday worrying about how much their children’s education might suffer and where their kids will go while they’re at work.

“They’re going to lose learning time,” said Beatriz Fierro, whose daughter is in the fifth grade on the city’s Southwest Side. “And if the whole afternoon they’re going to be free, it’s bad. Of course you’re worried.”

The school board was offering a fair and responsible contract that would most of the union’s demands after “extraordinarily difficult” talks, board president David Vitale said. Emanuel said the district offered the teachers a 16 percent pay raise over four years, doubling an earlier offer.

Lewis said among the issues of concern was a new evaluation that she said would be unfair to teachers because it relied too heavily on students’ standardized test scores and does not take into account external factors that affect performance, including poverty, violence and homelessness.

She said the evaluations could

result in 6,000 teachers losing their jobs within two years. City officials disagreed and said the union has not explained how it reached that conclusion.

Emanuel said the evaluation would not count in the first year, as teachers and administrators worked out any kinks. Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard said the evaluation “was not developed to be a hammer,” but to help teachers improve.

The strike is the latest flashpoint in a very public and often contentious battle between the mayor and the union.

When he took office last year, Emanuel inherited a school district facing a $700 million budget shortfall. Not long after, his administration rescinded 4 percent raises for teachers. He then asked the union to reopen its contract and accept 2 percent pay raises in exchange for lengthening the school day for students by 90 minutes.

The union refused.

Emanuel, who promised a longer school day during his campaign, then attempted to go around the union by asking teachers at individual schools to waive the contract and add 90 minutes to the day. He halted the effort after being challenged by the union before the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

The district and union agreed in July on how to implement the longer school day, striking a deal to hire back 477 teachers who had been laid off rather than pay regular teachers more to work longer hours. That raised hopes the contract dispute would be settled soon, but bargaining continued on the other issues. Culled from CHICAGO (AP)

chools in England and Wales are facing a rolling programme of industrial action this autumn in an ongoing dispute with teachers over pay, pensions and conditions.

Members of the National Union of Teachers and the NASUWT teaching union, which represent nine out 10 teachers, backed the action short of a strike.

Action will start on 26 September and continue until the dispute is resolved.

The government said industrial action would disrupt pupils’ education.

The unions said teachers had been calling for the education secretary to resolve the ongoing dispute but no progress had been made addressing their concerns.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, said Michael Gove had “recklessly disregarded” her members’ warnings.

“At every turn, the secretary of state shows contempt for the teaching workforce.

“What happens to teachers directly affects the quality of education for children and young people. Teachers and their pupils deserve better.”

New York students suspended for cheating

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dozen Stuyvesant High School students have been suspended and more than 50 others are facing suspension because of new evidence that has emerged in a continuing investigation of cheating during final exams in June, school officials said Friday.

Previously, the bulk of the students in the episode, which involved cell phones and embarrassed one of the country’s most prestigious public schools, faced only the loss of some class privileges, including the right to leave school for lunch or join the Student Union, an important college résumé-building activity.

But now, in addition to the 12 already suspended, 54 others who officials said were involved are facing possible suspension for up to five days.

The 12 received suspensions of up to 10 days, the most severe form of the punishment, and will begin serving their punishments next week after hearings, Connie Pankratz, a spokeswoman for the New York City Education Department, said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Education Today

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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Ajimobi donates bus to UI students’ union HAMMED HAMZAT 200L, UI

with Mojeed Alabi mojeedalabi2@yahoo.co.uk or mail@mirroronline.net

‘FEDPOFFA Rector reiterates importance of peace BANKOLE FAMUYIBO

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he Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State, Dr. Mufutau Olatinwo, has attributed various achievements being recorded in the institution to peaceful coexistence among members of the management, staff and students of the institution.

He made this assertion at the recent Peace and Reconciliation Commemoration Day organised annually by the polytechnic.

While commending the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in the polytechnic’s activities, he praised students and workers of

the institution for their contributions to the growth and development of the 20-year-old citadel of learning.

Recalling the past, especially between 2003 and 2007 when the institution was faced with serious internal crisis that threatened its peace, Olatinwo explained that the celebration of peace annually by the institution was to provide a platform whereby the polytechnic community will appraise itself for sustained peaceful co-existence.

While expressing delight over the polytechnic’s achievements in the past few years, he said: “The fact that our collective achievements are being recognised by stakeholders and bodies in and outside our immediate

environment is gratifying and points to the fact that we are indeed on the right track as an institution.”

The rector noted that the most striking achievement recorded is the enthronement and sustenance of peace in the institution as all other achievements came into being largely as a result of the existing peace He, however, tasked the stakeholders to continue to work for peace in the institution so as to sustain and improve on the feats recorded so far. He also urged the industrial and students’ unions in the institution to continue to embrace dialogue rather than confrontation as a means of resolving issues with the management.

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n his appreciation of what he termed the maturity of the students’ union of the University of Ibadan, the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi has donated a bus to the union to ease its transportation problems.

Ajimobi, announced the donation recently when the students paid him a courtesy visit in his office and thanked the students for always conducting themselves in a very peaceful manner.

While announcing the donation, the governor saluted the courage of the union leader, describing him as eloquent and disciplined. He noted that the university is a pride to Oyo state and Nigeria as a country, “therefore, we must do everything within our capacity to sustain not only the institution, but also the people of the institution.”

The students, led by the union president, Edosa Raymond Ekhator, had stormed the governor’s office shortly after this year’s edition of the annual students’ union week activities was declared open by the institution’s Vice-Chan-

cellor, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

Adewole, who was happy with the ways and manner the students have been conducting themselves since the union had been reconstituted, said; “this is the second year of experimenting students’ unionism in our university after it had been banned for exhibiting some excesses and I hope we will not have cause to regret our decision.”

He enjoined them to be of good behavior and always engage the university authority in dialogue whenever there are

issues to be raised. He tasked them to use their time wisely by engaging in academic activities such as researches to contribute to the world pool of innovations.

Meanwhile, series of activities were held as part of this year’s celebration including debates, workshops, health awareness campaign. A 200 level student of the Department of Communication and Language Arts, Nwachukwu Nancy, emerged the winner of this year’s “Miss UI” pageant competition.

Ajimobi

Ekiti Varsity takes grains to market MOJEED ALABI

T Students of the Department of Drama, University of Lagos, during their performance on the campus recently

he Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, has disclosed its preparedness to open up its farm to the members of the public who may be interested in purchasing its abundant maize production.

The university’s farm, under the management of the Faculty of Agricultural

Sciences, has disclosed that the development is part of its efforts to venture into commercial farming and return the state to the old glorious days when agriculture was the pride of the people.

The Dean of the Faculty, Prof. A S. Fasina disclosed this during the university’s Vice-Chancellor’s visit to the 10-hectare maize

plantation.

The VC, Prof. Patrick Oladipo Aina commended the faculty and advised that the issue of internal revenue generation was dear to his administration.

The plantation, located at Irasa village, is one of the several areas the faculty has been exploring to raise the university’s revenue base.

OAU medical college remembers late lecturer, student SIKIRU AKINOLA 300L, POL. SCIENCE, OAU

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he 31st professional induction of graduates of Medicine and Dental Sciences of the Obafemi Awolowo University recently held amidst mixed feelings.

The graduands who were meant to be 202 in number had lost one of them to the cold hands of death less than three months to graduation.

Oyelami Ifedayo was said to have died just in the last weeks of his stay on the campus.

Similarly, a lecturer in

the Department of Pharmacy in the same college and former Chairman of the university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof.

Otas Ukponmwan, died about three months ago.

However, this did not take away the joy of the moment as the 201 inductees,accompanied by their families, friends and well wishers thronged the Amphi Theatre, venue of the induction ceremony, decked in their academic gown in anticipation of what the labour market holds for them.

The provost, College of Health Sciences, Prof.

Solomon Ogunniyi, while congratulating the new doctors and dentists who are graduating at a time the university and the college are celebrating 50th and 40th anniversaries respectively, charged them to maintain links with their Alma mater and strive to keep the flags of the college and the institution flying wherever they are.

He expressed gratitude to them for the ongoing construction work on the 500-seater lecture theatre and four seminar rooms

within the teaching hospital complex. He did not fail to acknowledge the microscopes earlier supplied to the hospital by the university management.

“Lastly, to my young colleagues, you should be aware that you have responsibility to our country; to use the knowledge and skills that you have acquired for advancement of our country and to set good examples of moral behaviour,’’ Ogunniyi said.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Bamitale Omole in his address advised the newly inductees

to use their acquired skills for the advancement of the country’s health system.

He said their patients, relations and other loved ones must be treated with consideration adding that; “appropriate explanation and kind words of encouragement can make a big difference.”

In his own submission, the Chairman of the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Onipede, said he was delighted that they have passed through the ‘crucible of fire’ which he said the medical programme epitomizes. “With

the many challenges, obstacles, hills and valleys that you had to contend with right from the time the dream of becoming a physician rose in you to this very moment of your induction ceremony I salute your courage and commitment and advise you to use your knowledge to the advantage of your patients.”

According to the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that the college, since inception, had graduated over 3,400 medical doctors and dentists including the latest inductees.

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Grammatical headaches

ATURDAY PUNCH of September 8 welcomes us today, starting with a front-page asymmetrical kicker: “God is speaking for us in London, say ‘Paralympics’ athletes” Just like Olympics/Olympic: Paralympic athletes. “…Nigerian politicians and those who have ‘seen’ a bit of money run abroad at the mere hint of headache.”

Medals: a headache or headaches.

Lastly from ‘the most widely read newspaper’ “Ronaldo’s son watches father scores (score)” THE NATION ON SUNDAY of September 9 failed to defend our lexical freedom: “Ire brick industry re-opens (reopens) next month” “Governors biting more than they can chew” (NIGERIAN Compass, June 29) A rewrite: Governors biting off more than they can chew “I am immuned from litigation, says Dimeji Bankole” (THISDAY, June 24) Just like “opportune”, the only inflection “immune” takes is “immunity”.

Therefore, this columnist is not immune from criticism.

A subscriber to this column sent a message to me last weekend on the correctness of “wake” and “wake-keep”.

There are no such words as “wakekeeping” and “wake-keep”. The right expression is “wake.” Virtually all funeral announcements in this part of the world disseminate this blunder in blissful ignorance. And for clarity or emphasis: Christian wake.

“He is frank to the point of recklessness and does not bath (bat) an eyelid about sensibilities.”

“Successful candidates in the exam are placed into (in) universities depending on their performances and choices.”

“The picture one is likely to get is that of lawmakers yet to come to grip (grips) with the seriousness of what their duties entail.”

EITHER LAST TUESDAY OR TUESDAY, LAST WEEK. ‘LAST WEEK TUESDAY’ INDICATES LEXICAL IGNORANCE “Both palatable and heart-rending news are (is) most often broken there.”

‘News’ is uncountable. “…his skin must have toughen (you mean toughened?) such that nothing can stir his emotion as to make him cry.”

“They were, in their primes (prime), sent on a journey from which nobody returns.”

“Its police, too, began investigations culminating into (in) arrest of some suspects.”

“Since last week Tuesday....” Either last Tuesday or Tuesday, last week.

‘Last week Tuesday’ indicates lexical ignorance. “…our politicians should realise that if they can hold the country into (to) ransom for their jumbo pay, then footballers should not be blamed if they do same (the same).”

“Wayne Rooney girds lions (loins) for Man U and Johnson stems-up for record” For sports journalists (who cherish language abuse), phrasal verbs do not admit hyphenation.

“In Nigeria, it was designed by the military dictators as bait to divert the attention of the people from the enormity of their loots.” No questions: ‘loot’ is non-count. “…it was seen as a child of necessity aimed at restoring the primary education sub- sector which was in crisis then back to a sound foundation.”

Scrap ‘back’ to avoid being charged with word abuse. ‘Restoration’ has taken care of the verbiage.

“All that we have in the present Ni-

gerian society is an hostile (a hostile) environment for the youths and children.” Either youth or the youth.

“Having succeeded in intimidating their opponents at primaries, the electorate became a work-over....” A time to learn: walk-over.

“A nearby police station in Benin has (had) rebuffed the request for a police report on the ground of jurisdiction.”

Simply put: on grounds of jurisdiction.

“Anyone who monitored the mobilization of women in the last fifteen years in Nigeria could imagine positive results that could have been achieved if the First Ladies have (had) been sincere.”

“We do not have to wait for this sporadic attacks by foreign armed bandits to metamorphose into a full blown (a hyphen, please) security threat.” Why the discord (this attacks)? And, of course, banditry without arms? Vide a standard dictionary.

“Because of an improved revenue base, the governor said that the government is (was) in a good position….”

“What stops us from returning to the heydays (heyday) of the school.…”

“This does not mean that a lady should not be congratulated for (on/ upon) a safe delivery.” “…many of the specie (species) had run amuck simply on the suspicion that another woman is nipping at the apple.”

“Industry players blamed the high cost of borrowing from the money market to (on) a number of factors.” Alternatively: Industry players attributed… to.

“It is high time we make (made) such people pay....” “…especially with regards to human development.” This way: as regards or with regard to. “…as the North would be placed on an even keel or competing favourably

with their kiths and kin in the South.”

Fixed expression: kith and kin.

“Tears of instability of power has (have) caused many Nigerians to turn their attention to alternative sources of power supply.”

“The most cheering news item in recent times is the marching order given to the NPF....” Stock phrase: marching orders.

“The police strenght is inadequate to cope with the security of a large population of 150 million Nigerians.” Spellcheck: strength. Similarly: straight.

“News from reliable sources tend (tends) to portray a government tendency itching (do you mean inching?) towards sustenance.…”

“Ex-head of states, who have cracked and liquidated the nation’s coffers are to be paid or are receiving N350,000 every month.” Building a new nation: Exheads of state.

“Vocational equipments, basic infrastructures and qualified personnels must be given priority in our scheme of things.” Uncountable words: booty, equipment and personnel.

“The news of the death of…via a ghastly motor accident recently came as a rude shock to us.” Advert condolence: fatal (not ghastly) motor accident. Beyond the correction, since the man died, there was no need for the inclusion of the mode of mishap. Simply a motor accident. Got the point?

“But suffice it to say that those rooting to unseat a recalcitrant lawmaker should be abreast with (of) the legal bottleneck rather than arm-twisting.”

“It is very easy for a moneybag (sic) who has….“ ‘Moneybags’ (plural unchanged) (especially informal and derogatory) is a rich person. (Source: OXFORD Advanced Learner’s DICTIONARY) “Moneybag” is a bag for containing money.

Covenant varsity Alumni to honour Oyedepo MOJEED ALABI

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he Covenant University Alumni Association, Ota, in Ogun, said arrangements have been concluded to organize the David Oyedepo Day of Service as part of activities to mark the institution’s Founders’ Day. The President of the association, Mr. Olumuyiwa Fadugba, who disclosed this recently, said the Day of Service was one of the three major activities put in place by the association to honour the legacies and contributions of the Chancellor for his service to humanity, as the university prepares to mark its 10th anniversary in October.

“This month end, which will coincide with the Chancellor’s birthday, we shall be holding what we call the David Oyedepo Day of Service, which is basically to interact and honour his legacies and contributions to the development of humanity.

“The bishop is someone who has made significant contributions in the education sector and other

spheres of human endeavour, and for us to show our gratitude to what he has done over the years, we have decided to come together and give honour to whom honour is due,” Fadugba said.

He further stated that the programme is patterned after the celebrations of other global heroes like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr. and others for their contributions to humanity, “so we also want to acknowledge our chancellor as one who had touched our lives.”

He said that in addition to this, he had mandated all the branches within the country and in the Diaspora to work towards commissioning a major project as contribution to the development of their respective communities.

“We are mindful of the fact that we owe it a duty upon ourselves to live up to our mission as new generation of leaders and change agents, which has been the core value of our university. There is, therefore, the need for us to put in everything we have to live up to our responsibility by ensuring that we affect lives positively and contribute our quota towards nation

building. ``The project that these graduates are expected to embark on could be anything ranging from painting the streets, tree planting, community service, building bus stops and many others,” he said.

The President said that already the association had also concluded plans to donate a physical structure to the university as a means of honouring the chancellor.

Fadugba added that on October 13, the association would also organize a career fair which would involve partnering with corporate organizations like Jobberman and many others.

“Also on October 14, we hope to organise a concert for `HOPE,’ our non-governmental organization, in order to create an opportunity for partners in both corporate and individual, in furtherance of the vision of this NGO. “This NGO has already adopted a Lagos Model college to train students on issues concerning national development, leadership, entrepreneurship and character development,” Fadugba said.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

2012 ACCMW qualifier: Pillars, First Deepwater pick final round ticket 30

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Sport

Everything is now well in place and we are focused on a successful National Sports Festival - Lagos State Sports Commissioner, Wahid Oshodi

Jonathan hosts Paralympians, Falconets YEMI OLUS

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resident Goodluck Jonathan will on Saturday host the Nigeria’s Paralympic Team to a reception at the Banquet Hall of the State House Villa in Abuja.

National Mirror learnt that the president would also host the Falconets who came fourth at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which ended in Japan on September 8.

The Paralympic team which returned to the country on Tuesday placed 22nd out of 164 countries that participated in the Games having won six gold, five silver and two bronze medals and came third in Africa behind Tunisia and South Africa.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Labaran Maku, said in Abuja that the president had re-

solved to give both teams a befitting welcome.

“The Falconets’ performance was scintillating while the Paralympians wiped away our tears after a poor performance by the athletes at the main London 2012 Games,” Maku said.

Cameron in Hillsborough apology

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ritish Prime Minister, David Cameron, has issued a profound apology to the families of the 96 football fans who lost their lives in the disaster at Hillsborough in 1989.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Cameron also said that the Hillsborough Independent Panel report revealed that Liverpool fans were not to blame for the disaster at the FA Cup semi-final.

Lagos loses boxing head coach

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he preparation of Lagos State boxers for the forthcoming National Sports festival has suffered a setback following the loss of the state’s head coach, Victor Eyinka on Tuesday.

The Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association’s Assistant Coach, Wasiu Bisiriyu, disclosed that Eyinka Ikechukwu Uche (r) vying with Guinean defender, Mamadou Djouldi, in the ill-fated AFCON 2012 finals race, hopes to redeem Nigeria in who was aged 55, died after battling whooping cough for the 2013 race some years.

Bisiriyu told NAN that he was shocked on hearing about Eyinka’s death, describing the death as a great loss to the association. He described Eyinka as a sportsman and someone who had a big vision for boxers in Lagos State.

He said, “He was a colleague, a complete gentleman NFF spokesman, Ademola Olajire, in Abuja to win the Afcon ticket next and a great sportsman who meant well for the associaAFOLABI GAMBARI told National Mirror yesterday that the month,” Olajire, who said the NFF Gention but his death was so unfortunate. federation’s President, Alhaji Aminu eral Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, ``He died at a time that we needed him most, his death will affect the preparation of boxers for the sports feshe Nigeria Football Fed- Maigari, believed that the impending also hoped on Nigeria’s qualification, tival, I pray that God should grant him eternal repose. eration (NFF) yesterday ex- Calabar encounter would settles the further said.

In a related development, the NigeReacting to his death, Olaide Fijabi who is a boxer pressed confidence in the Su- scores between Nigeria and Liberia in ria Football Federation has charged the former’s favour. told NAN he was perplexed when he heard of Eyinka’s per Eagles to fly over Lone Star of “The NFF will provide every support the Golden Eaglets to remain focused death, adding that the association had lost a rare gem.

Liberia in next month’s second leg “I did not believe the news but it later dawned on me final round qualifier for the Nations for the team to ensure it qualifies for the ahead of the African U-17 ChampionAfrica Cup of Nations,” Olajire said, ship billed for Morocco next year. that it is true, we lost a rare gem”, Fijabi said.

Cup 2013 finals in South Africa.

Chairman of the NFF’s Media and Another boxer, Joseph Otto, also said that he would Eagles will host Lone Star in Calabar adding that the federation would also miss the coach so much, noting that they had been pre- on October 13 in a match that the NFF count on the support from President Publicity Committee, Chief Emeka Inparing together for the sports festival. Gabriel Francis believes the home side will win easily Goodluck Jonathan to berth in South yama, said yesterday that the junior national team should consolidate on its 4-1 said that he was so sad when he heard the news of the to put Nigeria back on African map af- Africa.

“It is the federation’s belief that defeat of Niger Republic last weekend coach’s death. ter the country failed to make it to the Eyinka became the head coach when the former last finals in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea the Eagles will reciprocate the recent in the first leg of the first round of the visit of Mr. President to their training AYC qualifiers. coach, Femi Babafemi, retired in 2011.

2012, the first absence since 1986.

AFCON 2013 ticket: NFF banks on Eagles to deliver T

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Sport

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Gunners in Drogba chase

Wenger cools Diaby inj

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eports yesterday revealed that Arsenal wants to prise striker Drogba away from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.

The Gunners are ready to offer Didier Drogba an escape from his China crisis.

The 34-year-old former Chelsea striker has been caught up in a boardroom power struggle just three months after signing a £200,000 a week contract with Shanghai Shenhua.

The Gunners, desperate to fill the void left by Robin van Persie, have made enquiries with the Chinese club to see if there is a way of bringing Drogba back to London, according to the reports.

Liverpool and Real Madrid are also ready to pounce if Drogba indicates he wants to leave the Chinese club.

Drogba

Ferguson

Fergie gets RVP injury assurance

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Robin bin van Persie

Aguero raises City hope

win over Belar Tuesday as a r but Gunners Wenger said y day: “He has pain on the hi the sartorius cle. It doesn’t serious at all t He even has a chance to pla Saturday.”

Diaby has b the season in form and repo France sugges will miss Ars game on Sat game but retu time for Tue opening Cham League clash ag Montpellier.

Ferdinand loses driver’s licenc

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anchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, has been handed a six month driving ban after he was caught speeding three times in five weeks on the same road.

The former England captain was snapped in his Jaguar XJ speeding through a 30mph zone as he drove to and from training.

The 33-ye tried to beat a b pleading he n his licence to tak two sons to scho But the argu was rejected by ford magistrat Greater Manche “By repea choosing to b speed limits he out a worrying dangerous mess Spokesman Ri Coteau said.

Fletcher nears United XI

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anchester United striker, Sergio Aguero, has returned to training with Manchester City as he continues his rehabilitation following a knee injury.

City has published a series of photographs of the Argentina international doing work at their Carrington training ground.

The pictures show Aguero, who sustained the knee problem in the Blues’ Barclays Premier League opener against Southampton on August 19, stretching and running with a club physio and doing some ball work.

City had been optimistic, following the results of a scan on the injury, that the 24-year-old would be back in action by midSeptember.

olland coach Louis van Gaal has played down concerns over the fitness of Robin van Persie after the Manchester United striker was replaced at half-time during Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying victory over Hungary.

Van Persie was forced out of the 4-1 win in Budapest after suffering a knock to his thigh, with Klaas Jan Huntelaar brought on in his place, but the Oranje boss insisted he was merely erring on the side of caution.

“We took off Robin for precautionary measures. It doesn’t seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn’t want to take any risks,” Van Gaal said yesterday.

The 29-year-old, who has scored four goals in three games for United, also found the net in Holland’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win against Turkey on Friday .

F Van Persie’s injury scare came after the Dutch had already lost af Arjen Robben to a groin strain A in the warm-up, with the Bayern Munich winger’s misfortune allowM ing in Jeremain Lens into the starting eleven. el

rsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, has played down the seriousness over Abou Diaby’s latest injury, claiming the midfielder could be fit for the club’s Barclays Premier League game against Southampton this weekend.

Diaby, who spent almost the whole of last season on the sidelines, hurt his hip after scoring the winner in France’s 1-0 victory in Finland on Friday.

The 26-year-old missed his country’s

Aguero

anchester United midfielder, Darren Fletcher, is closing in on a first-team return for the club after completing 90 minutes for the reserves on Tuesday night.

The Scotland international hasn’t played a competitive game for United since November after being diagnosed with a chronic bowel condition.

But Fletcher could soon be available to manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his third run-out for United’s second-string this term.

The 28-year-old, who was named in

United’s squad for their Champions League campaign, starred alongside Alexander Buttner–the summer signing from Vitesse Arnhem–and Federico Macheda.

But despite Macheda opening the scoring, the trio couldn’t help United slip to a 2-1 defeat at non-league Stalybridge Celtic.

It was feared Fletcher might not play again but speaking earlier this month, Ferguson said yesterday, adding, “Darren’s back to his normal weight from two or three years ago and it’s a case of wait and see.”

Fletche

jury

rus on result, boss yesterslight ip, on musseem to me. small ay on

begun n fine orts in st he senal’s turday urn in sday’s mpions gainst

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Golf: Nigeria Cup elevates children

Tit bits...

Fabregas

A FOLABI GAMBARI

Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique, says teammate Cesc Fabregas is happy despite the rumours suggesting the opposite.

The former Arsenal player has not started the season well and media reports have suggested that he is unhappy at the club due to not being guaranteed a starting place.

“The world of football is too impatient and tries to knock you down for the slightest thing,” Pique said.

O

rganisers of the 15th Nigeria Cup Golf Tournament have said that the event will tee-off on September 22 with the children taking to the 18-hole Ikoyi Club 1938 (Golf Section) course.

Chairman of the competition’s Organising Committee, Mr. Tayo Babalakin, told National Mirror yesterday in Lagos that the committee had resolved to honour the kids with a one-day opportunity to jostle for honours.

“We have opted to spice this year’s event with this variety and we are convinced that it would be worth the effort,” Babalakin said, adding that the prize giving ceremony would also hold later that day.

Caddies competi-

Hodgson

England coach, Roy Hodgson, insists that his side deserved its point against Ukraine.

Hodgson says he was delighted with some of the football played at Wembley, despite the fact the Three Lions needed a late penalty from Frank Lampard to rescue a point.

Ukraine went ahead just before half-time through Yevhen Konoplyanka’s brilliant curling effort.

Djourou

Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, insists that Johan Djourou is still part of his plans at the club.

Swiss international Djourou, who has yet to start a game this season and played just 14 times last term for Arsenal, was in the off season linked with a move to Serie A side Napoli but nothing came through.

“I didn’t let Djourou leave as I love him as a player and he loves the club,” Wenger said.

Walcott

Juventus is reportedly seriously targeting unsettled Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.

Reports yesterday said the Italian Serie champion is willing to pay £10m for the 23-year- old.

“Juve has been interested in Walcott for some time but the club is coming to the decisive moment,” a Juventus insider said.

Walcott recently reached a short term deal with Arsenal but the player could still leave in January if talks are not conclusive by Christmas.

Kagawa Manchester United striker, Shinji Kagawa, has eased fears over the back injury that saw him miss Japan’s World Cup qualifier against Iraq.

“It’s not that serious and I don’t think it will keep me out for long,” Kagawa assured yesterday.

The classy attacker is confident the problem is not serious and does not expect to be on the sidelines for too long.

29

tion, Ladies competition, Nigeria Cup Independence Kitty involving four clubs, Professional and Semi professional Invitational, Guests/ Veterans competition and the Nigeria Cup grand finale will hold September 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 respectively while a dinner and presentation night will hold at the club on September 30.

Meanwhile, the organizing committee chairman has said that about 60 professional players are expected to participate in the weeklong event.

They include Gbenga Oyebanji of the IBB Club, Abuja, Gift Willy of Air Assault Club Port Harcourt and the Ikeja Club duo of Femi Olagbenro and Lateef Lasisi, among others that will excite the Heineken-sponsored annual tournament.

Aligekwe (right) with team mates, Esther Oyema and Joy Onaolapo, who won gold medals and an Olympic official

Aligekwe makes Rio 2016 pledge YEMI OLUS

A

s the final batch of athletes which represented Nigeria at the Paralympic Games returned to the country on Tuesday, Team Captain Obioma Aligekwe has promised that the squad will surpass its current feat at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The first set of athletes returned to the country on Monday and the team was received by the National Sports Commission (NSC) Liaison Officer, Tayo Oreweme, and hosted to a reception at the O’Jez Restaurant inside the National Stadium, Lagos.

The team returned with 13 medals made up of six gold, five silver and two bronze medals, finished in 22nd position on the medals table and third in Africa behind Tunisia (14th) and South Africa (18th).

Aligekwe, who competed in the men’s -100kg category in powerlifting, is confident that early preparation would see Nigeria shining at the Rio Games.

“Our team performed very well so I’m very happy we achieved this result because we prepared very well for the competition,” he told National Mirror yesterday, adding, “We are confident that we can perform even better in Rio if the necessary things are put in place.”

Despite leading the contingent, Aligekwe failed to win a medal after he was placed in fifth position with a lift of

225kg in his first attempt. The second was cancelled while he didn’t make a third attempt.

“I was injured and now that I’m home, I will go for surgery because I believe that my inability to win a medal is not the end of the world. I felt bad not to improve on the silver medal I won at Beijing Olympics but life goes on,” he further said.

L-R: Media and Public Affairs Manager Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Edem Vindah, the Chairman Organising Committee Nigeria Golf Cup Ikoyi Club, Mr. Tayo Babalakin, Brand Manager Heineken, Mrs. Kehinde Kadiri and Corporate Communications Manager Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Patrick Olowokere during an event to herald Nigeria Cup 2012 Golf Tournament in Lagos yesterday

Ekpo targets Glasgow glory

N

ational weightlifter, Felix Ekpo, has shrugged off his failure to win a medal at last month’s Olympic Games in London and set sights at the Commonwealth Games scheduled to hold in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014.

Ekpo came second in his Group B pool with a total lift of 331kg but despite finishing eighth overall, he set a new African and Commonwealth Games record in the 77kg class. His compatriot, Mariam Usman, who competes in the +75kg could not conclude her event after she sustained an injury.

The African champion, who spoke to National Mirror in Lagos yesterday, berated the National Sports Commission for failing to prepare the athletes on time.

“We all know what happened during the Olympics where the athletes did their best but it was not enough as it was not possible to defeat people who had prepared for the past four years while our training spanned just a few months,” the lifter said, adding however that his performance had proved disappointing.

“I set a new African and Commonwealth

record but I know that my performance could have been better. How can Nigeria not win medals in a sport like weightlifting?

“It was really sad but my next focus is the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I want to break as many records as possible when the time comes. The 2016 Olympics is still far so I cannot make any promise as regards that,” he said.

Ekpo had competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where he finished 15th overall in the 325 kg category.

Felix Ekpo competing during the London 2012 Olympics

30

Sport

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SLAMMING AND E-mail: folashayoezekiel@yahoo.com Phone: 08027536696

DUNKING

With SAYO OGUNDEJI

2012 ACCMW qualifier: Pillars, First Deepwater pick final round ticket

N

Blazers’ Williams undergoes Achilles’ surgery

P

ortland Trail Blazers guard Elliott Williams will need surgery to repair a torn left Achilles’ ten-

Williams

don.

No date for the surgery has been set.

A timetable for his return will be established once he has the procedure.

The Blazers say Williams tore the tendon on Tuesday during a voluntary workout at the team’s practice facility.

Williams missed his rookie season in 2010-11 after surgery on both knees.

Last season, he averaged 3.7 points in 24 games before a shoulder injury that required surgery on March 30.

The 6-foot-5, 183-pound guard was the 22nd overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Memphis.

igeria’s men and women teams, First Deepwater and Kano Pillars basketball clubs, at the weekend proved that they are forces to be reckoned with in Africa at the recent concluded Africa Champions Cup Zone-III qualifier in Liberia as they led their respective groups to qualify for the final round of the competition scheduled for Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire between October 19-29.

The Nigerian teams finished best clubs in the zones that comprise Nigeria, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

The Oil & Gas ladies opened the qualification campaign with a 54-52 point’s victory over former Nigeria women champion and two-time winner of the continent biggest women basketball competition, First Bank Basketball Club but lost it second game to Abidjan Basket Club of Cote d’Ivoire by 43-50 points in a highly explosive match.

Kano Pillars were also in superb form as they lead the men qualify-

ing series with a 5-1 record while Nigeria’s second women representative at the qualifier, First Bank finished in a distant third position.

Pillars who were the runnersup of the Nigeria DStv premier league shook off last Tuesday 6170 points loss to Abidjan Basket Club to go top of the four-team men qualifying log with a 6640 points win over the Ivorian strong side to lead the qualifying series on a head-to-head rule.

Deepwater walked-over CDelta Basketball Club of Liberia when the latter pulled out midway into the competition while it finished off K-Delta Basketball Club of Liberia in a superb form with a 109-24 points victory to book a place in the final round.

Coach of Deepwater, Lateef Erinfolami, though expressed satisfaction over his side’s performance at the competition but however added that the team needed to work hard ahead of the final round showdown which would be much tougher.

The former Nigeria international stated that the technical

crew will work on some lapses discovered at the tourney in order to improve and get the players ready psychologically and physically.

The coach, who disclosed that the team’s preparation for the Abidjan tourney would start immediately because of the time frame, stated, “We are happy to make our third final round of the Champions Cup, but we are going to work hard in other to give Nigeria a credible representation in the final round in Cote d’Ivoire.

“Picking the final ticket is our target, which is why we are not going on break in order for us to have enough time to perfect our strategies and improve in certain areas we believe we have not performed to our best potentials.

“The tourney is usually tougher than the previous one at this stage but I am very optimistic about our chances of picking the final ticket and I am sure the players will be ready psychologically and physically by the time the event kick off.”

Moore

Harding, Moore scoop WNBA award

L

indsey Harding of the Atlanta Dream and Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week presented by Boost Mobile, respectively, for games played Sept. 3 through Sep. 9.

This marks the first season that Boost Mobile – the WNBA’s leaguewide marquee partner – has presented the WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week awards.

For Harding, the Player of

Harding

the Week award presented by Boost Mobile is the first of her career.

Harding led Atlanta to a 2-1 record for the week as the Dream improved to 16-14 overall, third best in the Eastern Conference. In the process, the sixth-year pro ranked second in the East in assists (6.3 apg), tied for fourth in scoring (19.3 ppg), and tied for fifth in steals (1.67 spg), while leading the conference in minutes (36.3 mpg).

First Deepwater guard (r) Atosu Upe challenging an opponent during the recent Africa Champions Cup Zone-III qualifier in Liberia

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

31

Business & Finance Broadband Internet availability in Nigeria remains very high in the priorities of the Commission

Mr. President has set the transformational economic agenda for our country and our role is critical to the success of that agenda. We must ensure that we play our own part in delivering sustained economic growth and jobs.

Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah

MINISTER OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT, OLUSEGUN AGANGA

FG seals $1.1bn facility deal with China Exim Bank TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

T

he Federal Government on Tuesday in Beijing, China sealed a $600bn loan agreement with China Exim Bank to finance two high priority projects namely, Abuja Light Rail and the Galaxy Backbone ICT infrastructure projects in the country.

The Abuja Light Rail project will cost $500m while the Galaxy Backbone ICT infrastructure will be financed with $100m. The two projects are expected to be completed by 2015 Similarly, the commitment of the Chinese bank to the financing of the third project – the construction of four state-of-the-art airport terminals in four cities across the country – was secured by the Federal Government. The agreement is expected to be signed within the next few weeks. The terminals which will be located in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu are also to cost $500m.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, which gave details of the financing deal indicated that the signing of the agreements was the culmination of a process which has been on for several months, including the approval of the Fed-

eral Executive Council and a visit to China last February by the governemnt’s delegation.

Explaining the rationale for prioritising the projects, Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was quoted as saying that the projects are targeted at making a difference in the lives of Nigerians across socio-economic segments.

“President Goodluck Jonathan is keeping his promise to Nigerians through these important projects. The light rail in Abuja will improve transportation for all resi-

dents, especially the working class.

“The backbone will help to improve service delivery in areas like education and health while empowering the youths with better connectivity to the rest of the world. And the four new airport terminals will like the others create jobs and also ensure that Nigerian air passengers enjoy the services and convenience that their counterparts in other parts of the world take for granted”, she said.

The statement added further that the facility was obtained on

highly favourable concessional interest rate terms of 2.5 per cent over 20 years with a moratorium of seven years.

“The light rail project in the Federal Capital Territory which is at 25 per cent completion will cost $500m. When completed, the project will significantly improve the lives of Nigerians especially those in the lower socio-economic groups who have to travel great distances from their homes on the outskirts to their places of work in the city.

N

igeria’s foreign reserves have hit $41bn highest record in the year, rising by $4.65bn or 12 per cent on September 10 from $36.5bn month

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Arik Air Los-Abj: 07:15, 09:15, 10:20, 15:20, 16:20, 16:50, 18:45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Abj-Los: 07:15, 09:40, 10:20, 12:15, 15:15, 16:15, 17:10, (Mon-Fri/Sat); 12:15, 15:15, 16:15 (Sun) Los-PH: 07:15, 11:40, 14:00, 16:10, 17:15, (Mon-Fri) 07:30, 11:40, 15:50 (Sat) 11:50, 3:50, 17:05 (Sun) Abj-PH: 07:15, 11:20, 15:30 (Mon-Fri) 07:15, 16:00 (Sat) 13:10, 16:00, (Sun) PH-Abj: 08:45, 12:50, 17:00 (Mon-Fri) 08:45, 17:30 (Sat) 14:40, 17:30 (Sun) Abj-Ben: 08:00, 12:10 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 08:55, 12:10 (Sun) Ben-Abj: 09:55, 13:30 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 10:50, 13:30 (Sun)

Aero Contractors

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Benue State University, Prof.. Muhammad Bello and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Nicholas Ada, during the 2012 Etisalat Merit Awards regional prize presentation ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday.

Foreign reserves surpass N40bn mark ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

earlier.

The reserve has been rising risen by $3.35bn or 9.20 per cent to $39.76bn as at September 9 from $36.4bn a month earlier.

Analyst attributed the increase to the rising crude exports, which hit a record high of 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) on August 1, this year.

According to Financial Dealers Market Association, the steady rise could be attributed to strong oil prices and foreign

Senator stops FAAN from recovering over N7bn Arik debts

34

exchange inflows from the nonCentral Bank of Nigeria sources to the official market.

Also, FSDH Securities Limited, an investment firm, said, “The volatility in oil price at the international market may pose a risk to the foreign exchange earnings of Nigeria, but the robust foreign reserves, in addition to the managed float strategy of the CBN should keep foreign exchange rate stable.”

The Chief Executive, Part-

Los-Abj: 06:50, 13:30, 16:30, 19:45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 12:30 (Sun) 16:45 (Sat).

Abj-Los: 07:30, 13:00, 19:00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat) 10:30, 14:30, 19:30 (Sun) 18.30 (Sat) Los-Ben: 07:45, 11:00, 15:30, (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12:30 (Sun) 15:30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Ben-Los: 09:15, 12:30, 17:00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat/Sun) 17:00 (Sat), 14:00 (Sun)

EXCHANGE RATES

nership Investments, Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi, said that an increase in foreign reserves will significantly reduce the pressure on the CBN to meet the country’s foreign currency demands, adding, “This will help shore up the value of the naira.”

The firm, however, said that market liquidity will remain tight in spite of the N5.1bn expected to be injected into the money market this week via the Open Market Operation.

WAUA

234.6271

USD

155.84

CHF

159.2642

SDR

235.0535

CFA

0.2924

GBP

244.1701

EURO

191.3715

OIL / GAS FUTURES ICE BRENT

$123.39

-0.78

NYMEX

$108.45

-0.11

OPEC BASKET

$122.86

+1.16

NATURAL GAS

$2.83

-0.03

Bombings: New shopping malls defining changing Stakeholders call for better protection of ICT taste of consumers facilities

35

37

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Business & Finance

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

IFC to support CIBN’s corporate governance drive in banking sector TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

T

he Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria has unveiled a new partnership with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, in its ongoing drive towards enhancing corporate governance in the banking sector.

Giving the hint in his welcome address at the opening session of the ongoing 6th Annual Conference of the institute in Abuja, the President of the institute, Mr. Segun Aina, said the under the arrangement the Corporation would offer support to CIBN’s capacity-building initiative in area of corporate governance as part of its global best practice goal.

The CIBN boss said sundry other measures were being embarked upon by the leadership of the Institute, including strategic partnership with global development partners and relevant bodies like the Alliance of African Institute of Bankers (AAIOB), in order to professionally equip bankers to play their roles in national development and ensure high ethical standards in the sector.

He explained: “I am happy to announce that one of the results of our recent discussions

with reputable national and international organisations is that the IFC has expressed its willingness to help enhance corporate governance in the banking sector.

“The institute had also interacted with and conducted benchmarking trips to various high ranking professional banking Institutes in Europe, Asia and North America in furtherance of its global best practice goal.

Outcomes of theses engagements are being strategically rolled out and it includes new professional banking examinations structure, introduction of new certification programmes, technology-driven flexible and convenient learning and examination process and so on.

“Furthermore, CIBN continues to play a leading “foundermember” role in the evolving Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB) due for launch in 2013 during the World Congress of Banking Institutes billed for Kenya”, Aina said.

While restating the increasing critical roles banks will continue to play in the development of global economies through increased financial intermediation and regional regional redistribution of resources in the form of foreign direct investments amongst others, the

Mobile Money operators record 4m accounts KUNLE A ZEEZ

M

obile money operators licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to drive financial inclusion may have opened about four million mobile money accounts for Nigerians.

National Mirror investigation revealed that though activities of a large number of the 16 mobile money companies, some of them have commenced operations in earnest in close environments with their current combined services users hovering between three to four million.

The mobile money were licensed last year by the CBN to provide mobile phone-based financial services to Nigerians as part of the apex bank’s move to deepen financial inclusion to complement its ongoing cashless policy initiative.

As such, 16 companies were issued licences to run mobile payment business in the country by the apex banks.

This is in addition the deployment of Point-of-sales terminals, Automated teller machines, web, among other boost electronic transactions and ultimately developing e-commence in the

country.

It was gathered that some of the players, especially those backed by the commercial banks are leveraging their banks’ existing customers to provide mobile money services to them while those run by private individuals, apart from the banks, are deploying their services in closed environment to business organisations, churches, among others.

Confirming the gradual uptake of mobile money services in the country, The Managing Partner, One Network, an organisation established to provide a roll-out platform for the mobile money operators, Mr. Sola Bikersteth, said the sixteen licensed operators have started acquiring customers.

According to Bikersteth, “A number of them are doing serious transactions already because they are operating in a closed community.

“Some church members use mobile money services now to pay tithe and you will be shocked at the level of transactions that take place in those kind of environment. Some are focusing on campuses and some are simply extending their platforms to existing bank customers.”

L-R: Chief of Staff, Enugu State Government House, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo; Commissioner for Culture & Tourism, Mr. Ozo Joe Mmamel; Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi; Group Head, Public Sector, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Nwanneka Okolo and others, during the presentation of cheque in support of the 2012 Enugu State Cultural Fiesta in Enugu, yesterday.

seasoned banker said the theme of the conference ‘Transformation of African Economy: Financial Services Industry as Catalyst’ was chosen to as part of the body’s attempt at capturing the role of the in effectively impacting on economic development of the country.

“I would like to emphasise

that the theme of this year’s conference was specially selected both for its significance and relevance in driving the African economy towards providing a better quality of life for all Africans.

“It is my firm belief that this conference would provide a unique opportunity for play-

ers and service providers in the financial services industry in Africa to critically explore, share experiences and identify strategies to be pursued in ensuring that financial services effectively play its expected roles in the transformation of the African economy”, the president said.

MAN unaware of closure of 800 businesses STANLEY IHEDIGBO

T

he Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) yesterday said it was unaware of claims made by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), that 800 companies had closde shop in two years in Nigeria, between 2009 and 2011 due to harsh operating business environment.

President of MAN, Dr. Kola Jamodu, who spoke at the media presentation of blueprint for “The accelerated development of manufacturing in Nigeria”, in Lagos, that they are not aware of the figure disclosed by the its umbrella

body on the number of organisations that went out of business in the country.

Declined in giving any figures irrespective of his own, Jamodu said that while business environment in country could be said to be harsh, the Federal government had really supported the manufacturing sector through various reforms include the intervention funds.

According to him, government has remains committed to good governance and sustainability of the current reforms, which has contributed and bring improvement in the manufacturing sector.

However, the MAN President

urged the Federal government to reduced corporate tax to 20 per cent in order to encourage the manufacturers to thrive in the country.

He added that the manufacturing is critical sector that needed to be empowered in order to employed more people and grow the nation economy.

Commenting on the position of the MAN at the figure of the companies that close shop in two years in Nigeria, a manufacturer who did not want to be named accused the present leadership of the organised private sector as pro-government that don’t see anything wrong in the poor state of the economy.

Again, FAAN ejects Customs agents from Lagos Airport OLUSEGUN KOIKI

F

or the second time in two months, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria yesterday evicted Customs agents at the hajj and cargo area of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos for security reasons.

Information gathered by National Mirror indicated that the ejection took place yesterday night when the

agents had already close shop for the day’s operation.

Also, our correspondent learnt that there was a joint security meeting on Tuesday where it was agreed that FAAN should implement the eviction of the agents. The security meeting comprises Aviation Security, State Security Services and the Nigerian Police.

Speaking to National Mirror on the issue, the Deputy General Manager, Public Af-

fairs, MMIA, FAAN, Mr. Victor Arisa said that the eviction followed the agreement between the two parties earlier in the year.

According to him, leadership of the Association of National License Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) both agreed to relocate their operations from where they presently operate.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business & Finance

Thursday, September 13, 2012

33

IGI, Citi Trust await PenCom’s decision on licence revocation OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO

T

he fate of two funds administrators, IGI Pension and Citi Trust Pension is now being decided by the regulatory body, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), following an expiration of a 28-day notice to revoke their operating license.

The notice to revoke their licenses came as a result of their inability to meet the commission’s directives to raise their minimum capital requirement from N150million to N1billion shareholders fund unimpaired by losses by June 30, 2012.

Head, Communication Unit,

Mr. Emeka Onuora in a telephone interview with our correspondent disclosed that the commission will reveal its decision soon.

Onuora affirmed that the 28 day revocation notice has since expired last week.

A source at IGI Pension said the company has met the requirement having resolved all the administrative problems.

He, however, disclosed that the management of IGI are waiting for the regulator to come out with its final decision.

He said, “We have met the requirement on capitalisation. The problem we had has to with some administrative issues and it has been resolved. We are presently

waiting for PenCom to decide”.

On the part of Citi Trust Pension, it is uncertain whether the requirement has been met as efforts to speak with the managing director were unsuccessful as at press time.

The commission had issued a 28-day notice of its intention to revoke their operating licences in category D, pursuant to the provisions of Section 54 of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.

The commission urged members of the public, particularly the contributors of the two affected PFAs not to panic and assured of the safety of their pension fund assets in the event that their licences are revoked by the

commission.

It added that assets of the affected institutions were safely in the custody of Pension Fund Custodians licensed and strictly supervised by the commission in accordance with the PRA 2004.

The regulator had said that only six PFAs were verified to have met the minimum capital requirement.

They include ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited; Leadway Pensure PFA Limited; Premium Pension Limited; Sigma Pensions Limited (Sigma); Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited and Trustfund Pensions Plc. However, 12 PFAs were confirmed to have met the minimum

capital requirement after the issuance of the circular subject to capital verification.

These categories of PFAs include, AIICO Pension Managers Limited; APT Pension Fund Managers Limited; Crusader Sterling Pensions Limited; Fidelity Pension Managers Limited and Future Unity Glanvills Pensions Limited.

Others are, IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Limited; NLPC Pension Fund Administrators Limited; Legacy Pension Managers Limited; Oak Pensions Limited (Oak); Pensions Alliance Limited; Penman Pensions Limited and Royal Trust Pension Fund Administrator Limited.

Manufacturers want professionals’ assistance in cutting operations cost MESHACK IDEHEN

C

L-R: Manager, Retail Marketing, Nokia West Africa, Mr. Olajide Adeyemi; highest top score winner in the Nokia Danfo competition, Miss Olivia Obi; Manager, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Ita Calix and second top score winner in the competition, Mr. Christian Obi, at the final prize presentation of Nokia Danfo Reloaded Competition in Lagos, yesterday.

Association seeks review of loan procedure to farmers MESHACK IDEHEN

A

ll Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), an umbrella body of farmers in Nigeria, has urged the Federal Government to review structures and procedures for accessing agricultural loans in order to enhance food production by rural farmers.

According to the association, easier access to loans by rural farmers have the capacity to arrest rural urban drift and help people to engage in other agricultural related activities that would assist the nation’s drive for food self-sufficiency and industrial growth.

The Financial Secretary of the association, Dr. Tunde Arosanyin, in a telephone interview with National Mirror on Wednesday, said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had in 2011, established a N200bn Commercial Agriculture Intervention Fund to be disbursed as loan to farmers.

He added that though the bulk of Nigerian farmers are illiterates living in the rural areas, the pro-

cesses for the opening of accounts have been a little bit complex for the average farmer to understand.

Arosanyin expressed regret that most farmers in the rural areas, whom are responsible for the bulk of food production in the country did not have access to the Federal Government’s loan facilities due to the processes and conditions.

“With all the terms of opening an account, servicing it and so on; including the criteria of having to have 10 per cent to 20 per cent deposits in such accounts before farmers can even apply have closed the door to the bulk of farmers in the rural areas. They cannot even access the loans with all the compromises and terms,” he said.

He explained that the CBN scheme, which was meant to promote commercial agricultural enterprises, and later expanded to accommodate small-scale farmers, has not met the challenges facing rural farmers, while only 18 out of 36 states have so far accessed the N1bn allocated to each state.

According to him, the Federal Government should use commodity associations to disburse loans and farm inputs to enable

rural farmers to benefit from the system.

“Most of the commodity associations know their members and they can be very responsible.

They all have national structures - from national to states, to local governments and the wards and to the villages.

“If such programmes come through the commodity associations, definitely they are going to have a better impact than what we have now. Once a loan is allocated to the national body with strict conditions to guarantee equity and fairness, definitely it will drip down to their membership in the wards and in the villages.”

However, he commended the distribution of seeds to farmers under the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), adding that the association had monitored some of the programmes in the middle belt, particularly Kogi, Benue and Kwara.

He added though that the seeds given to farmers in some states were okay, saying however that most farmers got the fertiliser before the seeds, a situation he said should have been the other way round.”

ost management experts, and other professionals such as architects, structural engineers and fabricators have been urged to devise better methods that can assist manufacturers and other operators in the real sector.

Furthermore, manufacturers in the same vein have also been advised to always engage professionals that can target the best cost advantage experts in order to expand their business The Managing Director of Nigeria Gas and Steel Limited, Mr. Hasib Moukarim, in an interview with National Mirror on Wednesday, said further that the ability of manufacturers to utilise experts in procuring the right quality of steel products for the construction of warehouses and buildings will go

a long way to boost industrial growth.

According to him, with the utilisation of professionals, the manufacturers will get the cost saving methods that can further drive his business, while the experts on the other hand will get the credit for contributing towards economic growth Moukarim said National Gas and Steel Limited which is into manufacturing and marketing of steel pipes and tubes for the construction and furniture industries, has been able to produce steel materials that are used in the construction of airport terminals and shopping malls that were hitherto imported into the country.

According to him, the HSS type which the company is producing in Nigeria is the first choice in the construction industry because of the big save and superior strength.

Federal Government urged to cede roads to state governments DAYO AYEYEMI

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or effective maintenance of federal roads across the country, the Federal Government has been urged to cede some of its roads within each state to state governments for prompt repair and management.

Justifying the call while speaking to National Mirror in Abeokuta on Wednesday, Ogun State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Lekan Adegbite, an architect, said some of the federal roads in all the states of the federation are enormous saying it would be difficult for the federal authority to monitor them.

Rather than dissipating its energy on the repairs of these roads, he advised the Federal Government to channel it towards the provision of rail transportation and other infra-

structure to grow the economy.

He called the federal authority to hand over all roads within its jurisdiction to the state authorities for prompt rehabilitation and maintenance.

It is no longer news that some of the federal roads in the country are in a state of disrepair while billions of naira is being spent every year for their maintenance without commensurate results.

Worthy of mentioning among these roads are the popular Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Shagamu-Ore-Benin Road, Enugu-Onitsha Road, Abuja-Lokoja Road and East-West Road.

Dragging home his points, the commissioner for Works in Ogun State said, “It will be difficult for one to sit in Abuja and identify federal roads in Owode-Abeokuta. It will be difficult for such a person to identify problems on Ilaro-Abeokuta Road.”

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Business & Finance

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Senator stops FAAN from recovering over N7bn Arik debts OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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ational Mirror has uncovered how a senator stopped the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), from recovering the over N7billion debts allegedly owed by Arik Air from aeronautic services.

A personal letter signed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodimma written on the 2nd August, 2012 and addressed to the Managing Director, FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi, and copied the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah warned FAAN from taking any hasty decision that is capable of destabilising the industry.

The letter titled: “Indebtedness of Arik to Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria,” stated that there was a need for the two

organisations to reconcile their accounts following discrepancies in the accounts of the two companies.

The letter reads in part, “The attention of the Senate Committee on Aviation has been drawn to the above subject matter wherein you claimed via a letter to Arik Air dated July 30, 2012, that the airline is indebted to you to the tune of about N7billion.

“On the other hand, the management of Arik in their reply to you dated the same July 30, 2012 claimed that their indebtedness is only to the tune of N1.6billion “It is clear from the foregoing exchanges between your two organisations that you will need to reconcile and agree on the exact indebtedness of Arik Air to FAAN. Our committee therefore enjoins you to immediately hold a reconciliation meeting with the management of Arik air, to

agree on the exact indebtedness.

“We must add that FAAN should not take any hasty measure that is capable of destabilising the industry and/or cause avoidable anxiety among air passengers, until this reconciliation is concluded.”

In a telephone interview with our correspondent the spokesman for Arik Air insisted that the airline had been paying all its charges accordingly.

A source told our reporter that the debt on the IATA billing platform was just for the most recent debt and that the airline has owed FAAN even before they entered into agreement with IATA to act as clearing house.

He said that the debt to FAAN was over N7billion and that anytime FAAN wanted to recover its money from airlines, they would run to their protectors in Abuja to stay the hands of the airport authority.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kwara Shonga Farms sign MoU to export cassava WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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he Zimbabwean farmers in Kwara State otherwise known as Shonga Farm Holdings Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an Australia based Company, Austrava, to export 500,000 tonnes of cassava chips annually.

Chairman of the Farm, Mr. Tope Daramola who made this known on behalf of the company on Tuesday said the agreement would last for a period of five years.

The agreement, according to him would serve as a good way of driving the economy through agricultural business.

Daramola added that apart from stimulating the economy positively, it would also go a long way towards generating employ-

NLC holds security, peace summit next week MESHACK IDEHEN

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L-R: President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Chief Kola Jamodu; Vice-President Small/Medium Industries Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Stella Okoli and Director-General, MAN, Mr. Olayinka Akande, during the media presentation of the blueprint for accelerated development of manufacturing in Nigeria, In Lagos, yesterday.

New port charges, practising fees split freight forwarders FRANCIS EZEM

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reight Forwarders operating in Nigeria’s maritime industry are currently singing discordant tunes over the decision of the Federal Government to impose additional charges on imported goods as well the introduction of practising fees on the freight forwarders and clearing agents operating in the country.

Minister of Transport, Mallam Idris Umar, had in a letter dated July 3, 2012 announced a new range of port charges on goods imported into the country through the air, sea and land borders to fund Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria created by the CRFFN Act 2007.

Under the new fees, import-

ers will pay N1.50 per kilo of every air cargo, N1, 000 per 20foot container, N2, 000 per each 40-foot container, N500 per car or Jeep imported into the country sand N1,000 per every truck or 20-foot equivalent.

Others include N2, 000 per truck or 40-foot equivalent, N3.50 per every ton of general cargo imported into the country and N1.00 per ton of every dry bulk cargo handled in any of the nation’s seaports as well as collection of practicing fees from agents.

President of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, the biggest freight forwarding association had in protest resigned his membership of the governing board of the CRFFN, insisting that his members would rather go to court to challenge govern-

ment’s decision to imposed the new charges.

However, in what appeared a new twist to this unfolding drama, factional president of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr. Festus Ejiofor in an undated letter addressed to the minister of transport, said the association is solidly in support of the new range of charges.

The letter reads in part: “It is indeed a welcome development that the good intention of the government to ensure the sustenance of the hard earned approval for the collection of transaction fees from freight forwarders at our, air, seaports and land borders by the CRFFN could lead to the resignation of ANLCA president, Prince Olayiwola Shittu from the governing board of CRFFN.

ment opportunity and injecting money into local economy.

He expressed gratitude to the State government for its support in that regard pointingg out that the agreement would encourage exploitation of benefits inherent in home grown crop to its fullest and stimulate production.

In his remark, the Managing Director, Austrava, Mr Robin Ehumar said he was excited to partner Shonga Farm Holdings, while the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bode Olayemi described the agreement as a watershed in agricultural development of the State.

Olayemi added that the agreement was in tune with the government’s commercial agriculture initiative, expressing optimism that it would stimulate production of cassava by farmers.

he President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, has said the congress will hold a programme geared at proffering solution to the security challenges in parts of the country.

Tagged, ‘Labour for Unity, Peace and Development’, the NLC president said the decision to hold the summit was informed by the deteriorating security situation in the country despite of the measures taken by the government to bring peace.

In a statement that was made available on Wednesday, NLC will organise the national peace summit and rally in Abuja on September 18, 2012.

He said assassinations,

armed robberies, bombings, communal and sectarian violence, have led to painful loss of lives, massive displacements, injurious interruption of productive activities with prospect of acute food shortages, and destruction of properties estimated at billions of naira and capital flight.

According to him, “what is more worrisome about the insecurity in the country is the general panic in the land that calls for the dismemberment of the country largely due to concern about government’s capacity to deal with these challenges.

“Deeply saddening, is the growing perception of tacit or complicit support for some of these horrendous crimes by some of our elders who have suddenly found comfort in reduced space.”

APCON, BSG hold seminar on alcoholic beverage sector ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

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he Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), in partnership with the Beer Sectorial Group (BSG) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and international Centre for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) is to meet at an international summit on the beverage industry in Nigeria next week.

In a release yesterday signed by the APCON Registrar, Alh. Garba Bello Kankarofi, the event is aimed at addressing the management of the potential impact of alcohol beverage marketing and marketing com-

munications on the society.

APCON said top global and industry experts expected at the event are Mr. Stephan Loerke, the Managing Director of World Federation of Advertisers, Belgium; Mr. Jimi Awosika, Managing Director, Insight Communications Nigeria; Mr. Udeme Ufot, frpa, Chairman, SO&U Saatchi & Saatchi, Nigeria; Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as well as Mr. Ositadinma Chidoka, Corp Marshall, Federal Road Safety Commission, Nigeria while other key discussants includes advertising industry sectorial group heads.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Info Tech

Thursday, September 13, 2012

35

The last week terrorist attacks on telecoms facilities in some parts of northern Nigeria, where about 30 base stations of major telecoms operators were bombed, has, again, reawakened industry advocacy for Information and Communication Technology facilities to be legally pronounced as critical national security infrastructures, reports KUNLE AZEEZ.

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f the Federal Government has yet to recognise telecoms facilities as critical national security infrastructures then, stakeholders have said the recent terrorist attacks on telecoms facilities in some parts of the north should reawaken government consciousness on the exigency of telecoms equipments as critical national security infrastructures status.

The attacks which occurred in the early hours of September 3 and 4, 2012 resulted in severe service disruptions in the areas primarily affected, with close to 30 base stations reported to have been torched by the hoodlums.

The attacks which happened in Borno and Yobe State left about 30 base transceiver stations, BTS, belonging to different operators destroyed with resulting in excruciating experience for the subscribers on the networks of MTN, Airtel and Globacom- whose facilities were chiefly affected by the attack.

Ironically, the attack on telecoms facilities happened at a time key stakeholders in the telecoms sector and security agencies converged in Lagos to brainstorm on solution to the frequent damages to telecoms infrastructures and to chart the way forward on the need to accord ICT facilities and critical national security infrastructures.

The forum, chaired by the former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, with other top captains of the industry in attendance, after several deliberations, expressed its overriding submission in a communiqué.

The communiqué commission called for urgent need by the Federal Government to pronounce telecoms facilities as critical national security Infrastructures, pending the time necessary laws are enacted to protect ICT infrastructures such as cables, towers and others in the country.

According to Ndukwe, “The time has come for the passing into law of the National Security Bill pending in the National Assembly which must be made all-embracing by giving telecoms industry a critical mention in the bill.”

Reiterating the critical role of ICT in the modern society, the former NCC boss said, “ICT has become a national resource which should be protected just as the railway, and electricity infrastructures are protected by the laws.”

In his submission, the President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, noted that the persistent damage to telecoms optic fibres along the expressways and road in the country required urgent government attention.

“In the light of the key position of ICT in today’s modern societies as an enabler of economic growth and development, I will say the rising spate of vandalism and wilful damage of telecoms equipment required the Presidency intervention through appropriate legal frameworks,” Ajayi said.

Though, there were initial speculations that effected operators might shut down their operations in the areas until normalcy returns to the areas, the operators through their umbrella association, the Association of Licensed of Telco ms Operators of Nigeria, (ALTON), has debunk such insinuation, saying they would rather reinforce their commitments to improve service quality for their subscribers in the affected areas.

However, the development has heightened calls by stakeholders in the nation’s telecoms sector on the need for telecoms facilities to be declared national infrastructure.

National Chairman of ALTON, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, who expressed the association’s regret on the attacks and destruction of telecommunications BTS and other infrastructure in Northern Nigeria, said the impacts of the at-

A telecom tower

Bombings: Stakeholders call for better protection of ICT facilities ALTON SPECIFICALLY URGED THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO PASS INTO LAW RELEVANT LEGISLATION TO ENSURE THE PROTECTION OF

ICT

AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS A MATTER OF URGENCY tacks have also been felt in other parts of the country particularly in the North, adding that the attacks had limited the ability of millions of Nigerian subscribers to access telecommunications services.

“The unfortunate incidents are against the common good of all citizens of Nigeria, as ALTON members and millions of Nigerians affected, have suffered severe difficulties with communication, financial and other losses as a result of the attacks.

“However, our member companies have resolved to ensure that they deliver and sustain the best quality of service under the present circumstances to their subscribers nationwide,” he head.

Adebayo, however, called on the Federal Government to declare all ICT and telecommunications facilities and infrastructure and infrastructure as a critical National security infrastructure, with immediate effect.

According him, “It is imperative for the Federal Government to provide the necessary protection to such facilities in the national interest. The infrastructure built and owned by the telecommunications industry is the springboard to an ICT revolution in Nigeria and they are essential for Nigeria’s socio-economic advancement.”

ALTON specifically urged the national Assembly to pass into law relevant legislation to ensure the protection of ICT and telecommunications infrastructure across the country as a matter of urgency.

He said: “This will ensure the appropriate legal framework for infrastructure protection and thereby ensure that growth and development objectives which leverage on the seamless availability of telecommunications infrastructure are more efficiently achieved.”

Adebayo, who lauded the law enforcement agencies, the NCC for their support since the attacks and the host communities whose vigilance and support have prevented further attacks to infrastructure within their communities, said, “We assure all telecoms subscribers that our members will continue to do all within their means to restore services to the affected areas at the earliest possible time, and we thank our subscribers for their understanding.”

In the same vein, the telecoms industry regulator, the NCC, has also raised its voice in support of the call for constitutional declaration of telecoms facilities, whether publicly or privately-owned, as critical national security infrastructures, attacks on which should be seen as criminal offence against the state.

Speaking at the annual Nigerian Telecoms Development lecture organised by Logica Media Group in Lagos last week, the Executive Vice Chairman of Dr. Eugene Juwah, pointed out that the challenge of quality of service which has remained topical for some time now, and for which the Commission was taking various has taken various steps to address has stemmed from the current poor electricity situation in the country and vandalism of telecoms infrastructures.

For instance, National Mirror gathered that apart from cases of stealing of equipments at their sites, multiple taxations, telecoms operators in the country, with specific reference to MTN, records an average of 70 fibre cuts on a monthly basis and industry analysts say the latest bombings of telecoms facilities, was like declaring war on the industry.

As such, Juwah, said the latest attack telecoms infrastructures has propelled the Commission to continue urging the National Assembly and the executive arm of government to take every necessary step to confer the status of national infrastructures on telecoms facilities across the country.

He said: “Telecoms facilities are of critical importance to the socio-economic development of the nation that we cannot leave them unprotected from vandals. The efforts towards the passage of the bill on critical national infrastructures should be vigorously pursued to its logical conclusion as the challenge of vandalism in the telecoms industry is assuming very dangerous dimension.”

Meanwhile, other stakeholders have emphasised that, apart from the advocacy for ICT status as critical national infrastructures, another major challenges has been the spate of multiple taxations.

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Info Tech

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Nigeria’s indigenous mobile chat platform debuts KUNLE A ZEEZ

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he first home-grown instant messaging platform specifically designed as a unifying platform for feature or low-end phone and smart phone users in Nigeria has been developed and introduced into the nation’s telecoms sector for over 100 million telecoms subscribers in the country.

The chatting application platform christened Simply Beep was developed by Elcomserve Nigeria Limited, a network of professional telecommunications, security and information technology consultants and engineers who specialise in providing value added telecoms, IT and security Solutions.

With over two decades of relevant experience developing cutting- edge solutions for its clients,

Elcomserve is licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission and registered member of Nigerian Professional Security Association.

Simply Beep is a home grown, affordable unique instant messaging solution created by Nigerians for Africa and the world which provides a unifying chat platform that cuts across all spheres, and caliber of people as it can be deployed on a simple Java-enabled phone, mid–range Feature phones and the highly-sophisticated smart-phones.

It is a subscription-based service that provides unlimited messaging exchange for a weekly or monthly fixed fee. It provides an easier way of communicating between two or more people and allows real time, high level interaction.

Speaking on the solution in a statement, the Chief Executive

Officer of Elcomserve, Mr. Bolade Daranijo, said, Simply Beep is a simple, cool, trendy and exciting platform that enables subscribers to connect with family, friends and loved ones at an affordable rate. It offers presence which is the ability to know when your friends, family members and colleagues are online and available to interact.”

Speaking on the unique features of the platform, Daranijo said it is an indigenous application, created by Nigerians for Africa and the world which is capable of being deployed across Africa and globally.

Other features include its support for the local lingua of the home country; locally-produced emoticons designed to fit the local environment and expressed in acceptable, universal local language, Pidgin English; availability of a slang dictionary and its ability to support a wide range of low end feature phones, smartphones and very soon Blackberry, Android phones among others.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tech Box Visafone’s Huawei Ascend C8655

Unique Android-powered smartphone

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uawei, in conjunction with Visafone, has introduced a new mobile phone handset, called the Huawei Ascend C8655 CDMA smart phone, into the Nigerian market.

The CDMA device, which is built on Android solution, is a sleek mobile phone with creative components, smooth user-interface, fast functions and simple interactions.

With an operating system that is powered by the ever-increasing popularity of the Android family, it sports an Android 2.3Gingerbread, which integrates with a 3D graphics accelerator with 800MHz CPU, offering a smooth 3D gaming experience, he said.

The ‘Hard-Screen’ provides visibility for up to 178° viewing angle when tilted, thereby expounding on the real-time response, which is especially designed for moving images. The device boots in 5 seconds flat, giving users a ready-to-go device that even when it is depleted, it can be fully charged in 90 minutes. It has an easy setup for Social Network Systems (SNS) and group contacts, powers fluidly.

The smooth contact link allows users to import and share contacts details, extending to batch contacts import, allowing for stronger integration of SNS

with contacts.

Chairman of Visafone, Mr. Jim Ovia, who co-hosted the launch, noted that the company came to Nigeria to support the local economy and empower the populace as there would be business chains that would generate employment for the teeming populace.

He said the company, which holds a significant share of the wireless market and is advantageously positioned in the Internet Protocol (ALL-IP) convergence era (Mobile, Fixed and Software Solutions), aimed to enrich life through communications, by addressing common challenges faced by customers.

Avira Free Antivirus 2012

Upgradable security software for PC users

A L-R: Former Minister of Communication, Chief Olawale Ige; former Minister of Information, Chief Alex Akinyele and Secretary General, Nigerian Telecoms Awards, Otunba Ajiboye, at the 8th edition of the award in Lagos on Saturday.

CWG wins outstanding award in CSR KUNLE A ZEEZ

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n indigenous Information and Communication Computer Warehouse Group Limited has been declared winner in the Ctru Concepts Corporate Social Responsibility Awards, as recognition of its increased investment in CSR initiatives in the country.

At the recently-concluded award, CWG brought reputation to the Information and Communication Technology world by emerging winner as ‘The Company with the Most Outstanding Achievements in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), 2012ICT Company.’

The CSR Nigeria award was established in 2011 to recognise the judicious works been carried out by Nigerians and multinational companies in order to im-

prove lives and enhance the civic environment where they operate.

Speaking at the event, Chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Prof Olu Akinyanju, said the award was designed to annually recognise and celebrate the achievements of reputable organisations that have been exceptional in its CSR activities, noting that one of such companies is Computer Warehouse Group Limited.

He noted that CWG has remained committed to promoting and encouraging academic excellence and would continually make significant investments in personal and community development.

The received by the company’s Head, Human Resources and Administration at CWG, Mrs. Olapeju Ayo-Fisher was presented by the wife of Lagos State governor, Mrs. Abimbola

Fashola, who confirmed CWG’s exceptional performance in CSR initiative.

Fashola, while commending the organisers of the event said, “It is said that no nation can survive without one form of support or the other to the citizens from corporate organisations or the government. Every organisation owes the society social sustainable responsibility and CWG is set to encourage, appreciate and re-ignite the passion on giving back to the society.”

Meanwhile, CWG, which in 2011 also won the CSR award, has reiterated its commitment towards the growth and development of ICT in the educational sector of the country.

According to Ayo-Fisher, this was reaffirmed during the official presentation of computer notebooks and immediate employment of the best graduating students of the Computer Science Department of the University of Lagos.

vira Free Antivirus 2012 is a cut-down version of its commercial product and there are plenty of suggestions as one uses it and can upgrade to the pay-for version.

The main control panel is functional enough, though with few frills. It consists of a main adjustment pane, with a menu of options down the lefthand side.

Some are greyed out and available only in the full version, but you do get System Scanner, Realtime Protection, Web Protection and all the admin options.

The System Scanner is unusual, as it offers a number of preset scans, as well the option to target individual drives or folders. Presets include local drives – hard drives or removables – Windows system directory and My Documents. Real-

time Protection lists the last malware file detected and Web Protection does the same for contaminated Web pages.

Under Administration, user can check what’s quarantined, look at listed ‘events’ and scan reports, and set a schedule for automated scans. The Configuration button brings up individual settings for various aspects of the application, such as picking threat categories.

Using this, it appears to be able to protect yourself against jokes and games, among other things.

Running a scan on our 50GB test set took just over 54 minutes and Avira Free Antivirus 2012 looked at 413,992 files. Although the file scan rate is a very healthy 127 files, a second scan of the same files took just as long as the first, indicating there’s no attempt to fingerprint files as scanned and safe.

Against that, the program has very low system impact.

Copying a 1GB file while running a scan only increased the copy time by 23 percent, the lowest we’ve seen by quite a way.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Brands & Marketing

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New shopping malls defining changing taste of consumers As Nigerian economy continues to widen, the growth of retail shopping malls is beginning to change Nigerians’ shopping habits, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

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n the last decade, Nigeria has experienced rapid growth of retail shops beyond the traditional supermarkets just as the consumers buying habit has changed. The nation’s open border to foreign investment after enthronement of democracy has bore on the consumers a new sense of shopping habit which many producers and marketers are fast grappling to explore to get their brands register in their minds.

Beyond the incursion of foreign retail chains, Nigerians have also been observed globally a nation with penchant for imported and sophisticated goods such they are easily found on the street of Dubai, London, USA shopping.

A recent news report by The Guardian of London early this week reveals that Nigeria’s shoppers rival Russia and the Middle East for West End spending. Though, the paper observed that the “high local prices and middle class desires are driving Nigerians to London in search of bargains.

“Holidaying or visiting relatives abroad is increasingly open to millions of middle class Nigerians, with the number of visitors to the UK increasing by more than 50 per cent to 142,000 a year in the decade ending 2011,” according to the office for National Statistics.

“Daily flights plying the lucrative route between Nigeria and the UK have ballooned in the last decade. British Airways permits almost double the normal baggage allowance for the six-hour haul,” the Guardian reports.

But those who could not travel outside to shop have pitched their tent with chains of retail shopping malls flooding the country, of which Shoprite, a South African retail chain whose bait catch-phrase More Low Price Deals Than Never Before has endeared the retail giant to the heart of growing middle class. The African-based discount supermarket giant is said to be pouring $205m into its current three outlets in Nigeria, while the US hypermarket Walmart sees scope for 50 outlets in the country.

A cross section of people who spoke to National Mirror said they have reduced patronising the traditional supermarkets for the foreign entrants because of the convenience and discount they offer. “Most local retailers have failed to understand change in consumer’s habit as they still put their stuffs in the old small shops with unattractive displays unlike the way shops in local firms like Shoprite, for example display goods,” said Yinka Agbede, an upwardly mobile citizen. Also, Mrs. Ikem Okonwko, a working mother of four said the shopping malls offer convenience and class while the low pricing system has relegated her choice of shopping on the street super mart.

With the rapid growing interest in shopping home and abroad, a report by Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s (CAI) Industry and Business Unit, stated that, “Nigeria’s retail sector which accounts for 17 per cent of the local economy and has seen a favourable change over the last years. Although small local/informal markets remain important within Nigerians’ shopping experience, political and economic conditions have, however, facilitated the formalisation and sophistication of the country’s retail sector, offering great opportunities for both the seller/investor and the buyer of retail goods.”

As a result, Nigeria is said to be in the process of joining South Africa and Kenya in the group of African countries with a dynamic consumer culture while Lagos City Mall,

A shopping mall in Ikeja

MOST LOCAL RETAILERS HAVE FAILED TO UNDERSTAND CHANGE IN CONSUMER’S HABIT AS THEY STILL PUT THEIR STUFFS IN THE OLD SMALL SHOPS WITH UNATTRACTIVE DISPLAYS UNLIKE THE WAY SHOPS IN LOCAL FIRMS LIKE SHOPRITE, FOR EXAMPLE DISPLAY GOODS Silverbird Galleria (with a multi-cinema complex) also in Lagos and the Ceddi Plaza in Abuja (six-story building covering 20,000 square meters) have taken advantage of the demand for retail space. The Tinapa Mall in Calabar, Cross River State – partially operative – with an investment of US$ 450m offers tens of thousands of square meters for retail and entertainment Dubai style. Other upcoming mall projects include the Ikeja City Mall in Lagos, the Polo Park Mall in Enugu State and a planned shopping centre in Ilorin, Kwara State.

“Growth and relative stability of the Nigerian economy over the past years has contributed to the expansion of the country’s middle class and the attraction for foreign investors. As the most populous country in Africa with close to 160 million inhabitants, the 7.85 per cent GDP growth reported in 2010 and the equally favourable estimate for 2011 (Morgan Stanley projects a 8.4 percent growth to reach US$ 268 bn compared to $46bn 10 years ago as well as the important jump of income per-capita from $390 in 2001 to $1,541 in 2011 reflect the relevance of the growth and potential development of Nigeria’s retail activities,” stated CAI. As a result, Renaissance Capital observed that the pool of middle-class citizens is said to have expanded to 37 million and has created an additional source of demand for retail products. The disposable income of this emerging middle-class, generally educated and ambitious, is considered crucial to continue pushing the Nigerian economy forward, not only through its impact on the local retail sec-

tor, but also on other sectors of the economy like banking and finance, tourism and telecommunications.

But with the new shopping mall revolution, Nigerian shoppers have become more disposed to the mall shopping experience as it allows them to access a wide variety of high quality products in a clean environment and at competitive prices. Similarly, retailers are also attracted by the mall experience as it gives them the opportunity to concentrate on their own businesses without being distracted by accessorial issues like building maintenance or electricity and water supply.

Hence on yearly basis, commercial nerve centres such as Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ilorin and Kano are continually experiencing new sprawling shopping malls like The Palms in Lagos’ Lekki Peninsular which was said to be the first western-style mall in Nigeria and the entry point for Shoprite and Game. According to report, “it opened its doors in 2006, counts with approximately 70 shops distributed in 23,600 square meters and receives, on average, close to 25,000 shoppers every weekend.”

Apart from large supermarkets/retailers, consumer goods companies like Nampak and SABMiller have projections of increasing their capacity and sales in the most populous country of Africa to explore and exploit opportunities in the country.

But report, however, foresaw a decline in the growth.

According to CAI report, despite the significant growth of Nigeria’s middle class, its economic impact is not entirely warranted. “In fact, global economic conditions and the possibility of lower economic growth rates may force Nigerians to trim their expenditures or to buy second-hand goods, whereas construction companies could delay their building projects. This could be exacerbated by the potential fall in the naira, which should push up the price of imported goods, thus discouraging the purchase of those products.”

Inflation is said to be another variable that could prevent a rapid development of the local retail market. “In addition, the absolute figures of middle class growth and higher salaries do not clearly reflect the still existent inequality of income distribution that plagues the local economy and that could restrict future economic growth projections.

“In addition, it is estimated that the average Nigerian spends 85 per cent of his/her earnings on food, transport, shelter and energy, which leaves little for discretionary spending.”

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Brands & Marketing

Thursday, September 13, 2012

CaratMP global network elevates two senior managers to strengthen leadership STORIES: ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

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egis Media, the global network of Nigeria’s Carat Media Perspective has promoted Grant Millar and Richard Morris to the leading management roles of Global Brand Director, Carat and Managing Director, Vizeum UK respectively.

The world’s leading media and digital communications networks Carat, Vizeum, Isobar, iProspect and Posterscope said the newly created role of Global Brand Director for Carat reports to Nigel Sharrocks, Chief Executive Officer, Aegis Media Global Brands.

Millar will become part of the global Carat leadership team, collaborating with Carat’s teams worldwide.

Carat was recently assessed by independent media agency benchmarking group RECMA as the number one network in 12 countries globally.

The creation of the role reflects

Carat’s ambition to consolidate on this position and further develop the Carat brand globally, the result of which gave Carat Media Perspective a competitive edge to win the MTN Nigeria pitch early this year after it lost the Nigerian Breweries account last year.

Before being appointed to the role, the report said Millar was MD of Vizeum UK for seven years, successfully delivering the agency’s rebranding under Start from a Different Place and doubling agency billings.

Recent client wins include, William Hill & Air New Zealand and the agencies also numbers Coca-Cola, ABInBev, 20th Century Fox, BMW and Heinz among its clients. Prior to joining Vizeum, Millar spent seven years at BT rising to become head of planning.

Nigel Sharrocks, CEO Global Brands, Carat & Vizeum said: “I’ve worked closely with Grant for a number of years and it will be great to reap the benefits globally of his vast knowledge

of our group, its operating businesses and the challenges facing clients in the new era of media. I know Grant will play an important role in our efforts to continue to grow and develop the Carat brand around the world.”

As Managing Director of Vizeum UK, Richard Morris will report to Rob Horler, CEO Aegis Media UK. Prior to his appointment, Richard worked at Carat UK in various planning roles since joining as a graduate in 1994, rising to become Deputy Managing Director in January 2011.

Rob Horler, CEO, Aegis Media UK, said: “Richard Morris has been an integral part of Carat UK’s success for 18 years, demonstrating time and again his ability to inspire and lead both internal teams and client brands with fantastic results. We have ambitious plans to continue Vizeum’s growth story, and I know that as its new MD, Richard will bring these to life for our clients and people alike.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Etisalat offers 30MB free data monthly with Easylife 3.0

E

tisalat Nigeria has once again made good its promise to provide its customers with value added propositions with the introduction of Easylife 3.0.

The latest offering gives new and existing customers free 1MB data daily when they opt-in to the package and they can make calls at 20kobo per second to all networks in Nigeria, US, UK landlines, Canada, India and China, for a N5 daily access fee. In total, an easy life 3.0 subscriber will get 30MB free data in a month to browse from their mobile phones.

Explaining the new tariff plan, Chief Commercial Officer at Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar said the Easylife 3.0 is being introduced to encourage increased mobile data usage by customers. “Etisalat is passionate about the growth of broadband in Nigeria. We have noticed an increase in mobile data usage on the network, so we decided to offer our new and existing customers who opt-in to the package free MB to browse daily and cheaper call rates to Etisalat and other networks. This additional data will enable subscribers enjoy more browsing time on our super-fast 3.75G HSPA+ broadband network,” he said.

George Thorpe for Posterity Media forum

T

he Managing Consultant, MarketSpace and Nigeria’s foremost marketing doyen, Mr George Thorpe is set to deliver a keynote address at a business forum convened as part of activities to celebrate Posterity Media 5th anniversary in Lagos.

Brand Manager, Colas, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Mr. Olufemi Ashipa, signing the Believe Wall at the official launch of Coca-Cola’s Billion Reasons to Believe in Africa at Habour Point, Victoria Island.

LASAA record 300% increase in signage/ billboard structures after enumeration

T

he Managing Director of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA) Agency, Mr. George Kayode Noah, has said that the agency has recorded a 300 per cent increase in signage/ billboard structures in Lagos state.

Noah dropped this hint at a recent sent-forth ceremony organised for the agency Enumeration Project Team who participated in the enumeration of the signage in the state. ‘’From the reports compiled by the Enumeration Project Team, we now have on our database over 300 per cent increase in signs not previously captured on our books. Similarly, we have recorded huge increase of 70 per cent

in the number of billboards (Third Party structures),” he said.

Noah affirmed that the enumeration has confirmed an earlier assumption that signs and outdoor structures on the agency books were enormously understated in March 2012.

“Similarly, we have recorded huge increase of 70 per cent in the number of billboards (Third Party structures). ‘’From the reports compiled by the Enumeration Project Team, we now have on our database over The enumeration exercise was embarked on to capture data of all paid and unpaid signage and outdoor advertising structures embarked by LASAA in March 2012 has now come to an end.

“The enumerators were required to evaluate all signs and outdoor structures in the State. A dedicated software was provided for this purpose to enable the enumerators capture and categorize data in terms of image, GPIS location, size, content and chargeable rate”. He went on further: “the outcome of this report will provide a veritable platform for regulatory efficiency and revenue optimization without increasing our rates,” said Noah.

The project, a key component of LASAA’s Outdoor Masterplan, was aimed at making the Agency operate efficiently as possible while it involved verifying, collating and evaluating a detailed robust and structure signage/ outdoor database.

In a statement yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mr. O’Femi Kolawole said the keynote address at the event would be delivered by the internationally-respected marketing expert, on Building Globally-Recognised Nigerian Brands in the International Marketplace: The Challenges, The Opportunities, The Strategies.

The release also stated that a coffee table book, Enterprising and Influential: Business Chiefs Who Changed Nigeria’s Economy Forever, which celebrates Nigeria’s most distinguished business leaders, will also be presented to the public.

The book features icons like Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President Dangote Group; the late Chief Adeola Odutola, the First President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN); Dr. Mike Adenuga, Chairman, Globacom Limited, Mr. Pascal Dozie, Founder, Diamond Bank; Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman, Troyka Group, and Mrs. Florence Seriki, CEO, Omatek Computers among others.

According to Kolawole, the ceremony would be chaired by Dr. Christopher Kolade, Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

He explained that in a challenging business environment like Nigeria, where new businesses hardly reach their fifth year, Posterity Media is glad to be celebrating its 5th anniversary even as it confidently looks to the future with its limitless possibilities.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Brands & Marketing

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Edo State to commence regulation of outdoor advertising & signs ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

T

he Edo State government has put all measures in place to check the indiscriminate deployment of outdoor posters, banners, signs and billboards across the state.

The government has set up a working committee under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities to carry out regulation of the deployment of outdoor signs and billboards in the state.

According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Mr. Mallam H. Ikhelowa, “The committee will work in collaboration with consultants,” adding that “government will no longer allow its efforts in urban renewal and infrastructural development to be undermined by the arbitrary deployment of outdoor advertising in the public domain in the guise of promoting business

activities.”

As a follow up to this, a meeting of key local stakeholders including churches, business owners, fashion designers, sign writers, printing press owners, school proprietors, hotels/beer parlour owners, restaurant owners, political parties, marketing companies and music/movies promoters held on Friday in Benin city where stakeholders were presented with the state government’s impending policy.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, the purpose of the meeting was to avail the public of the position of the state government on the deployment of signs and billboards from henceforth, noting that government considered the practice of indiscriminate posting of banners and posters to publicise church programmes, movie and music as a hindrance on the efforts to clean up the environment.

Also, the lead consultant to the Edo State Government on the regu-

lation and management of outdoor advertising, Mr. Roland Oriakhi, noted that while the government was in no way against the activities of the invited groups, the responsibility falls on all to keep the state clean of posters, banners and other publicity materials which are abandoned after the programmes for which they were mounted leaving the environment dirty and unsafe for the general citizenry.

The meeting which was attended by the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), representatives of the Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria, (PFN) as well as groups representing the interests of several small business owners is a prelude to a larger meeting of stakeholders representing the professional sector of the outdoor advertising industry including the Outdoor Advertising Association Of Nigeria (OAAN), the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) and the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN).

Cowbell Choco team registering kids for Summer camp 2012 in Lagos, recently.

Consumer perception determines brand rating

T

he role of consumer perception about any brand cannot be under estimated. No matter the brand positioning, what the consumers say go a long way to determine the fate of such brand. This is the reason why one views the action of the government on Dana Airline as one that gives more challenges to the brand. The major issue here is that of perception as regardless of what the government does, perception of people cannot change about the airline.

People already have a stereotyped opinion about Dana Airline and this has come to stay.

The perception of consumers is key to the continual existence of brands. Companies can do anything to improve their service quality but unless public perception is positive, nothing translates to reality. This is why brands will

continue to struggle to convince customers. In the case of Dana, how would passengers be convinced to fly the airline again? A dipstick research I conducted to gauge people’s perception about Dana Airline revealed a lot. The perception some of the respondents have about Dana Airline is that of a flying coffin and death.

Others expressed concern about their safety while a larger percentage stated their perception is dominated by fear. The action of the government creates more image problem for Dana brand and that is the gospel truth. Dana Air may never fly in the minds of consumers again.

The social media is a veritable platform to dissect and analyse the Dana brand. This is because people obtained quantum information about the service of the airline through the social media.

ad VA NT AG E icon

M

rs. Hannah Oyebanjo, the Principal Partner at Redwood Consulting is one of the few women leading in the Nigeria marketing communication landscape.

The multi-award winning professional is one of the finest brand communication strategist, whose Midas touch has turned around ailing brands back to their healthy product circle.

“As an international award winning professional, I developed and executed the strategies that turned around ailing brands, grew brand affinity and market share which generated multi-million dollar sales increases. I directed integrated marketing plans, applied creativity, astute planning and leadership to achieve corporate goals,” she said.

Oyebanjo, armed with an MBA in Marketing from Delta State University, a BSc with Honours in Chemistry from Bendel State University, Ekpoma in Edo State and a Management course at Pan African University, Lagos Business School, has worked at top level managerial position.

She was a Marketing Director at GSK, a leading pharmaceutical and healthcare firm; Chief Operating Officer at C &F Porter Novelli and Account Director TBWA/Concept before she moved solo with a Redwood Consulting, a new player in the Nigerian Public Relations industry and has already garnered some key clients.

Brand X-Ray with Ayodeji Ayopo Tel: 08023448199 E-mail: mayomipo@yahoo.com The opinions of several people were formed through information made available to them on the social media. The question is how then can the perception of the people change about the airline four months after?

In my column on this issue previously, I stated that Dana Airline has not focused on the importance of consumer perception of its services before the crash. The first major issue for the company to understand is what these opinions are, what do the consumer think about the services and how does the perception compare to the competitors and the wider industry?

Brand owners believe they

39

have accurate understanding of their brands, the positioning and what the brand messages should be. However public perception may not correlate to their own understanding of their brand. Perception is reality and whatever people are thinking and saying about the brand is what the brand is.

Consumer opinion is more significant than any other thing in determining brand perception. Brands and their custodians should re-evaluate their brands and sharpen the brand in line with the thinking of the consumers.

This clearly explains the role of research in gauging consum-

Oyebanjo

WE SET OUT TO PASSIONATELY ASSIST DISCERNING AND SERIOUS BUSINESSES WITH WHAT WE KNOW BEST TO DO “We set out to passionately assist discerning and serious businesses with what we know best to do. Provide them with proven business growth ideas and customer engagement tactics that make them sleep better,” said Oyebanjo.

She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and National Institute of Marketing in Nigeria. ers’ perception and obtaining concrete feedback. Some of the key questions to focus are: How people perceive the brand, brand share of voice compare to competitors, what are the sentiments attached to the brand and what services are most talked about?

It is important to understand the differences between the perception of the services and perception of the brand.

To achieve desired result, social media is a fundamental to generate insight. Social media has been responsible for the largest shift in brand perception and the easiest way to change what the people think of any brand is through the social media platform. This is a food for thought for the Dana Air brand. The brand needs to engage in a serious brand building to regain customers’ confidence. This is because huge negative capital has been deposited in the image bank of the brand with the crash and the inability to manage the resultant effects.

40

Global Business

Thursday, September 13, 2012

July consumer prices unchanged as United States’ pricing power wanes T he cost of living in the United States was little changed in July for a second month, showing companies lack pricing power.

The unexpected reading in the consumer-price index capped a 1.4 percent gain over the past 12 months, the smallest year-to- year increase since November 2010, the Labor Department reported yesterday in Washington. The median forecast of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for an increase of 0.2 percent. The core index, which excludes volatile food and fuel costs, rose less than forecast.

Companies may find it difficult to charge more while joblessness hovers above 8 percent. Tempered inflation makes it possible for Federal Reserve policy makers to take additional steps if needed to revive the economic expansion when they meet next month.

“The fact that the economy was so weak in the first half of the year means there’s probably less pricing power,” said Omair Sharif, U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “It’s going to be tough to push prices through to the consumer who’s already very weak

Obama

and shown an appetite for discount shopping,” said Sharif, who correctly forecast the increase in core prices.

“If you’re the Fed, inflation is the least of your concerns right now,” he said.

Manufacturing in the New York area unexpectedly contracted in August for the first time since October, indicating

factories are cutting back amid the global economic slowdown, another report yesterday showed.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to minus 5.9 from 7.4 in July. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 7.0. Readings less than zero signal contraction in the so-called Empire State Index, which covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.

Treasuries securities trimmed earlier losses after the reports, putting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 1.76 percent compared with 1.74 percent late Tuesday. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in September fell 0.2 percent to 1,398.8. in New York.

Declining prices for a broad-range of goods and services, including hotel rates, airline fares and new and used cars helped offset rising costs for medical care and rents, the report showed.

Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from unchanged to a gain of 0.4 percent. Economists forecast a 0.2 percent gain in the core index, according to the survey median.

China can meet growth target on positive signs, Wen says

C

hinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the country is capable of meeting this year’s growth target as positive signs emerge, even as “downward pressure” remains on the world’s second-largest economy.

“We have the conditions and capabilities to fulfill this year’s economic and social development target,” Wen said during a two-day inspection tour to eastern Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

China National Radio cited Wen as saying economic downward pressure remained “relatively large” and that difficulties may continue for some time, while China Central Television reported him saying that rising prices continue to ease and that there’s “growing room for monetary policy operation.”

Wen’s comments come after the country’s export growth and new yuan loans

trailed estimates in July. Zhejiang, an export base, is among the hardest hit by the economic slowdown, with its gross domestic product growth trailing only southern Guangdong province.

“Policymakers have made it clear in recent weeks that supporting economic growth is their central concern,” Qinwei Wang, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd., said in an e-mail. “We continue to think that more policy support will be announced soon, including a further cut to the required reserve ratio, and that more infrastructure projects proposed by local governments will be given the go-ahead.”

The reports didn’t specify the 7.5 percent GDP expansion target. Policy makers had lowered it from the 8 percent goal in place since 2005, Wen said he is trying to reduce China’s reliance on exports and boost consumption as he hands power to a younger generation of leaders this year.

Wen

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Australians’ confidence wanes, wages gain in conundrum

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens

A

ustralian consumer confidence fell by the most in five months even as wages climbed, sending mixed signals on the economy as the central bank weighs whether to hold interest rates at a developed-world high.

The sentiment index dropped 2.5 percent to 96.6, according to a Westpac Banking Corporation and Melbourne Institute August 6-10 survey of 1,200 consumers released in Sydney yesterday. A government report showed the wage-price index, which measures hourly pay rates excluding bonuses, rose 3.7 percent in the second quarter from 12 months earlier as mine workers’ pay surged.

The acceleration in wage gains was “a material surprise, and raises the uncomfortable prospect that wage pressures may have troughed,” said Alvin Pontoh, an Asia-Pacific strategist at TD Securities Inc. in Singapore. “The surprise fall in consumer confidence in the face of a generally positive backdrop casts doubt on the sustainability of the pickup in consumer spending we have seen of late.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia, which lowered interest rates by 1.25 percentage points from November to June to 3.5 percent and paused at the past two meetings, has indicated wages need to remain contained and productivity improve to ensure inflation stays within its target of 2 percent to 3 percent. Traders are pricing in a 67 percent chance the RBA will keep the benchmark on hold when it meets next month.

Powering growth is Australia’s biggest mining boom since a gold rush in the 1850s. The latest bonanza -- for iron ore, coal and natural gas -- is bringing investment projects the government estimates to be worth A$500 billion ($524 billion).

BOE drops reference to rate cut as it considers policy options

B

King

ank of England policy makers dropped a reference to interestrate cuts this month as they voted to keep their bond-purchase target unchanged and said they will assess the need for other stimulus measures.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 to hold the target at 375 billion pounds ($587 billion), according to the minutes of the August 1-2 meeting, published in London yesterday. It also voted 9-0 to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.5 percent.

“Over the coming months, the committee could take stock of the impact of

the Funding for Lending Scheme and the implications this had for other potential policy options,” it said, without mentioning rates. While for some members this month’s decision was “relatively straightforward,” others saw a “good case” for more asset purchases, it said.

The central bank said last month it may review the merits of a reduction in borrowing costs once it assessed the impact of the FLS, which is aimed at boosting credit to companies and households.

Investors increased bets on a cut after the comments before Governor Mervyn King lowered expectations, saying on August

8 that it may do more harm than good at present because of damage to some banks’ margins.

“Interestingly, there was no discussion of an interest- rate cut that some analysts have called for,” said James Knightley, an economist at ING Bank in London. “We have long doubted that such action would happen given the” central bank’s concern “about what it would mean for interest margins and bank lending.”

Sonia forward contracts show that a rate cut isn’t priced in through July next year, according to data from Tullett Prebon Plc.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, September 13, 2012

41

42

Capital Market

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Investors switch back to stocks as earnings soar JOHNSON OKANLAWON WITH AGENCY REPORTS

F

und managers have been switching into stocks from bonds, hoping that strong earnings and new rules on the bourse will drive them up 25 per cent this year.

The main market index, which has been hovering around a 59-week high hit last week, has gained 19.

82 per cent so far this year, after shedding 17 per cent in 2011.

It has also outperformed its emerging market peers, which gained on average just under seven per cent.

Head of FSDH Limited, Mr. Mayowa Ogunwemimo, a fund manager, which manages N50bn said, “Our target for (holdings of) stocks this year is around 60 per cent and 40 per cent in bonds.”

Pension funds and asset managers are targeting an index level of 26,000 points

by year-end, from 20,730.2 points at which it opened the year, as bond yields fall and the naira stabilises.

The naira has over the last month firmed to around N157 to N158 to the dollar, a three-and-halfmonth high, driven by buoyant oil prices and by foreign investors buying up assets.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves jumped to a 29-month high of $41.16bn as at September, 10.

“Yields on bonds have fallen in the last few weeks because of liquidity from foreign investors, making stocks more attractive,” Ogunwemimo said.

Bond yields, which were at 2-year high last month, have started to fall, shedding 300 basis points on the 10- and 20-year notes, after JP Morgan said it will add Nigerian debt to its emerging government bond index from October.

“I believe it’s a real ral-

ly and stocks can find support at current levels, so we are moving our exposure to 10 percent in equities,” said Adeniyi Falade, head of Crusader Sterling Pensions.

Falade said his fund favoured Nigerian banks because the sectors’ earnings have recovered from a 2009 crisis. Most of the lenders were trading at price to book values of less than 1x earnings, compared with pre-crisis levels of 2.5x, he said.

Guaranty Trust Bank posted a 63 per cent rise in half-year pretax profit to N53.6bn.

Analysts have put “buy” recommendations on most blue-chip banks and consumer goods stocks since the start of the year with price targets double current prices, anticipating a recovery.

New trading rules coming into effect at the bourse in two weeks could drive the index further,

brokers say.

The bourse last week said it will start securities lending, permit short selling on stocks and kick-off market making by September 18.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said on Monday in Lagos during the market making, securities lending and short selling workshop that the Exchange will penalize any securities lending agent that plays against the rules guiding market making.

Oscar said the Exchange will not hesitate to suspend or terminate defaulter privileged.

“The planned commencement of market making is a plus factor for a rally. Investors are taking positions in view of a market structure that will have significant impact to trading volumes,” one stockbroker told Reuters.

Equities turn green on banking sector gains JOHNSON OKANLAWON

T

he banking stocks performance mostly halted two days bearish trend in equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, returning the benchmark index to green.

The All-Share Index rose by 1.10 per cent to close at 24,839.87 points, compared to the decline by 0.67 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 24,568.58 points.

Market capitalisation appreciated by N86.4bn to close at N7.90trn, in contrast to the decline

by N32.8bn recorded the preceding day to close at N7.82trn.

The banking index gained 2.21 per cent to close at 395.09 points, followed by the NSE-30 index with 1.27 per cent to close at 1,166.91 points.

The Lotus Islamic index appreciated by 0.71 per cent to close at 1,475.77 points, while the consumer goods index increased by 0.70 per cent to close at 2,116.36 points.

The oil and gas index rose by 0.67 per cent to close at 165.36 points, but hte insurance index dropped by 0.45 per cent to close at 123.66 points.

Sterling Bank Plc led the gainers’ table with six kobo or five per cent to close at N1.26 per share, followed

by United Bank for Africa Plc with 21 kobo or five per cent to close at N4.41 per share.

LafargeWAPCO Plc gained N2.30 or five per cent to close at N48.32 per share, while Union Bank of Nigeria Plc appreciated by 31 kobo or 4.99 per cent to close at N6.52 per share.

Roads Nigeria Plc rose by 42 kobo or 4.99 per cent to close at N8.84 per share.

On the flip side, Eterna Oil Plc dipped by 11 kobo or 4.87 per cent to close at N2.15 per share, while Neimeth

International Plc shed three kobo or 3.85 per cent to close at 75 kobo per share.

UTC Plc dropped by two kobo or 2.64 per cent to close at 53 kobo per share, while Custodian Insurance Plc fell four kobo or 3.57 per cent to close at N1.08 per share. Julius Berger Plc declined by 95 kobo or 3.17 per cent to close at N29.00 per share.

Transaction volume in equities increased by 207 per cent, as a total of 816.08 million shares valued at N3.31bn were exchanged in 4,885 deals, compared to 265.77 million shares worth N2.57bn traded in 4,955 deals the preceding day.

Otudeko becomes chairman First Bank Holdco JOHNSON OKANLAWON

T

he board of First Bank of Nigeria Plc has appointed Dr. Oba Otudeko as chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria regulation.

A statement from the bank yesterday said that Mallam Bello Maccido was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the FBN HoldCo.

Otudeko had retired as the bank’s chairman in December 2010, while Maccido was the bank’s Executive Director, Retail North, until his appointment.

Other members of the board include General Garba Duba (rtd), Mr Oye Hassan-Odukale, Mallam Abdullahi Mahmoud and Alhaji Tijjani M. Borodo, who will also serve as Company Secretary.

The statement explained that the bank opted to adopt a holding

company structure in compliance with the new regulations introduced by the CBN in 2010, repealing universal banking.

“Having obtained the required regulatory approvals, shareholder approval is being sought for transfer of ownership from First Bank of Nigeria Plc, to the holding company FBN Holdings PLC, at the Court Ordered Meeting (COM) scheduled to take place on September 24, 2012,” the statement

read in part.

It stressed further that FBN Capital will be the primary vehicle of the investment banking and asset management business.

“First Registrars is in the process of being divested in compliance with the new regulation, while FBN Mortgages will divest its equity investments in real estate in accordance with CBN rules and the mortgage activities will be transferred to the bank,” it added.

Source: NSE

NIBOR QUOTES 11 SEPTEMBER & 12 SEPTEMBER 2012 25.00 24.00 23.00 22.00 21.00 20.00 19.00 18.00 17.00 16.00 15.00 14.00 13.00 12.00 11.00 10.00

11-Sep-12

12-Sep-12

Source: FMDA

Market indicators All-Share Index 23,105.05 points Market capitalisation 7,354 trillion

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

STERLNBANK

1.20

1.26

0.06

5.00

UBA

4.20

4.41

0.21

5.00

WAPCO

46.02

48.32

2.30

5.00

UBN

6.21

6.52

0.31

4.99

ROADS

8.42

8.84

0.42

4.99

INTBREW

11.77

12.35

0.58

4.93

ASHAKACEM

11.17

11.72

0.55

4.92

DANGSUGAR

4.52

4.74

0.22

4.87

UPL

4.37

4.58

0.21

4.81

NASCON

4.95

5.18

0.23

4.65

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

ETERNA

2.26

2.15

0.11

-4.87

NEIMETH

0.78

0.75

0.03

-3.85

UTC

0.55

0.53

0.02

-3.64

CUSTODYINS

1.12

1.08

0.04

-3.57

JBERGER

29.95

29.00

0.95

-3.17

7UP

40.00

39.00

1.00

-2.50

GOLDINSURE

0.51

0.50

0.01

-1.96

JAPAULOIL

0.60

0.59

0.01

-1.67

CONTINSURE

0.65

0.64

0.01

-1.54

FCMB

3.00

2.99

0.01

-0.33

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Day

37,489.76

14.05

20-Sep-12

182-Day

63,730.99

16.21

19-Sep-12

364 -Day

-

-

-

Open Market Operations TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

-

-

-

-

139-Day

63,730.99

16.21

19-Sep-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$200m

N/A

$200m

12-Sep-12

$180m

N/A

$180m

10-Sep-12

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Thursday, September 13, 2012

43

Stock exchange daily equities summary Equities as at September 12, 2012 1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

1st Tier Securities No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

44

Chisom Amarakwe

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Daniella Okoye

Nonso Unomah

Chineze Ibeagi is Charming Princess 2012

Chineze Ibeagi

...Daniella, Little Miss World Nigeria 2012 STORIES: LEONARD OKACHIE

C

hineze Ibeagi 12, has been crowned the Charming Princess 2012 /2013 at the 6th edition of Little Charming Prince and Princess Festival of Beauty and Talent held at the Best Southern Hotel, Lekki, Lagos.

In an highly competitive event that had 40 contestants, Daniella Okoye , 9, also won Little Miss World Nigeria 2012, while Chisom Agbarakwe, 14, emerged Teen Charming Princess.

The boys were also not left out as Nonso Unomah, 12, was adjudged the Most Liked Charming Prince; George Louise, 12, was the Most Handsome Charming Kid and Favor John, 12, was the Cutest Charming Prince.

The annual festival, which brought

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

together children and teens from all over the country, was a celebration of talent, beauty and intelligence, as they displayed dance, singing to the admiration of their parents and guests.

Parents added colour to the ceremony, as the contestants’ mothers simply described as Charming mums had their parade .The audience roared in laughter, when these mothers displayed their dancing skills, proving that age is never a barrier. Mrs. Rose Etumudon, emerged Mrs. Charming and was rewarded with some gift items.

The Little Charming Prince/Princess Festival, an event created to help touch lives of children and teens in Nigeria and overseas positively, was culled from Charming Kids, a registered Nigerian company to carry out activities relating to children and their welfare.

Winners from the different age categories (3-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15) who are called princes and princesses, are obligated to touch the life of at least a child.

Interestingly, four winners from previous Charming Kids festival participated in the Little Miss Planet held in June 2012, in Bulgaria and came home with crowns, trophies and certificate, as well as gifts from sponsors. They included Anita Etumudon (Princess of the Planet), Freda Ann Eko (Little Miss Photogenic), Glory Becky (Little Princess of the Planet) and Victoria John Etumudon (Little Miss Planet) Speaking with Young &Next Generation, founder of Charming Kids organisation, Mrs. Frances Oho, said thus:

“Whoever wins as queen or king must touch the life of a less privileged child during the reign through providing scholarship. So it is not just a beauty pageant; it is a way to reach out to less privileged children.

And while the princess is reaching out to the less privileged child, she gets the opportunity to interact with children outside the country. The winners also get sponsorship and one year scholarship.

They open a child’s saving account with our sponsored bank and have the chance to travel abroad.”

She said winners from the last pageant would participate in the forthcoming Junior Princess of the World and Junior Prince of the Universe competitions, adding, “I always have confidence because I know that when people see Africans, they are very excited and so when we are displaying our talents, we always know that there is something special about us that always make to them to invite us for pageants.”

PRAWA trains youths on illegal migration awareness DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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s a way of creating awareness aimed at redirecting Nigeria youths on the consequences of illegal migration to countries overseas, the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), has commenced trainings of 100 youths as peer educators who will help create awareness among others nursing the ambitions of travelling outside the country without cogent reasons.

The youths randomly selected from different tertiary institutions, are expected to create awareness and increase the knowledge, advocate for and support prevention of illegal migration among Nigerians and increase the number of youths trained on

positive life planning skills, including career guidance and alternative to violence skills.

Tagged; “Illegal Migration Awareness Project” (I-MAP), the first phase of the training is taking place in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu and is conducted by PRAWA in conjunction with AVP, M-Power, NYSC, Nigeria Immigration Services and British High Commission.

Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr. Uju Agomoh, challenged the youths that the projects were conceived and effective implementation also rests on their shoulders.

She stated that the expected output of the project would be the training of the youths as peer-educators/youth on effects of illegal migration and life planning skills, including career guidance and al-

ternatives to violence and crime.

According to Dr. Agomoh,more than 3,000 youths will be sensitised on the effects of illegal migration and positive life planning skills through community outreaches and youth support groups.

The planned activities include supporting special youth outreach on the scheme through career fairs and concerts. The activity will feature role models/ mentors and true life stories/cases of persons who have been negatively affected by illegal migration.

There will also be establishment of sustainable in-school and community-based youth platform, including clubs and networks for implementing follow-up youth sensitisation on effects of illegal migration and life planning skills in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Young & Next Generation

Thursday, September 13, 2012

45

A book for every Nigerian child achievable –Tosin Jegede • 'I’ll still come back to music' PADE OLAPOJU

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ormer singing child prodigy, Tosin Jegede has set up an educational initiative to complement the efforts of government in the Millennium Development Goal 2 by aiming to put a book in the hands of every Nigerian child. Tosin, who became famous singing as a juvenile in the 80s, said the aim is to stamp out illiteracy and arrest the falling standard of education in Nigeria Sponsored by the Tosin Jegede Foundation, the project, tagged 1Child 1Book seeks, among other things, to give each child a storybook of their own; get children reading, get them enquiring about new words, reading new books and gaining more knowledge; and also to encourage children to learn, express themselves and write their own stories.

Also, the 1Child 1Book project will encourage the participation of Nigerian publishers and child-friendly businesses, as well as stimulate and build an early foundation for the love of reading books in children so as to acquire knowledge to improve the future of Nigeria. This is her own way of giving back to the society who accepted her and gave her fame as a child in the 80s.

Speaking in Lagos last week, Tosin Jegede said her foundation is working hard on how to improve the education of the Nigerian child by distributing educational materials that will add more value to their lives. “The materials we are giving will encourage them and improve their reading culture from primary school, they will be better educationally,” she said.

Towards achieving this, she said the project, which targets mostly public schools, will kick off in Lagos with three schools.

According to her, “based on our findings, we discovered that those that really need the educational materials are the students of public schools.” Private schools in underprivileged areas, she added, w i l l a l s o benefit from the

Tosin Jegede

project.

Tosin said her foundation would be using the visitation, distribution and follow up methods on the three public primary schools where the project will kick off in Lagos State between September and October this year.

The foundation will first visit and access the needs of these schools, then revisit them to present books and spend time with the children. Also, the foundation will follow up to monitor and evaluate the use of the books and progress of the children’s ability to read.

“In addition to this, we marked UNESCO World Literary Day on September 8 by launching a reading workshop. These workshops will be held at three locations across Lagos. The locations are Jelly-Las Primary School, Agege on September 8; Lots Charity Foundation, Dustbin Estate, Ajegunle on September 15 and the IBC on November 12, 2012.”

“We strongly believe that when children are exposed to books from a young age, they will be able to build early interest in reading, from foundation of primary education; their creative minds will be encouraged as they travel through the storms and they would be able to form creative writing in their book review,” Tosin said.

The major problem to this project, she admitted, is finance. She said the foundation has been getting funds through family members, friends and her friends on facebook, adding that the foundation will try to involve more publishers, sponsors and partners in the project.

She appealed to civil society groups, corporate organizations and charity groups to cooperate with the Tosin Jegede Foundation to achieve its target of one child one book so as to eradicate illiteracy in Nigeria.The foundation also encourages Nigerian publishers and organisations that are involved in child-friendly businesses to participate in the project.

Asked whether she has abandoned music, the medium with which she achieved fame in the 80s, Tosin said she can never abandon music. She said she will eventually go back to music, adding that she will work on her old albums first.

‘For now, music is secondary, but I’m still in it,” she said.

Tosin, who became a celebrity at a tender age, said she took some time off to grow. She’s been studying and working in England. Now she’s back as a lady as an adult and hinted she’s in a relationship for now.

Tosin as a child star being interviewed by the press in the 80s

Participants at the maiden YCW regional games

YCW regional games end in Lagos

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he five-week Lagos Regional games of the Young Christian Workers (YCW), which brought together young workers from five deaneries in the Catholic Archdiocese, culminated last Saturday, with Apapa deanery emerging the overall winners.

The games, which began on August 12, 2012, with theme “One Game, One Goal, One Glory” saw the five deaneries of Agege, Apapa, Badagry, Ikeja, and Mainland, compete in four events that included: Volleyball, Football, Table Tennis, and Lawn Tennis.

Mr. Andrew Esan, Regional President of YCW Lagos, said recent reports showed there was need to bring young workers who had spent a large percentage of their time, talents, and resources to work and become productive, yet had little time to exercise and stay fit.

He said: “YCW conforms to its international body’s statues of seeing the reality of the effects of sedentary living among young working class people. We object to the steep decline in healthy living of young people; their focus and energy have moved to the pursuit of wealth and employment to the detriment of their health, especially with little room for exercises and fitness, hence, the idea to institute sporting events every year”.

Esan noted that the trickle-down effect of job insecurity and economic instability is impact on young workers more than t any other group and that they were often at the bottom of the rung and therefore need avenues to relax and take their minds off the stress of work.

Rev. Father Michael Omughele, Assistant Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Ajegunle, said the games attracted the parish support to appreciate the efforts of the young workers in their individual and collective contribution to the development of their environment.

He acknowledged the spirit of sportsmanship that was the pinnacle of the success of the games, and emphasized that the YCW society endeavours to keep that bond stronger and embrace younger people into her fold, to experience the benefits of belonging to a community of like minds.

Chairman of the sports committee, Mr. Emmanuel Amolo, thanked those who that turned out at the sporting event, stressing the need for more corporate and private sponsorship to encourage and expand them to reach and accommodate a larger group of young people.

“Young people must take up the cause

of paying attention to their physiological and psychological state, while continuing the struggle to improve their working and living conditions. They should also look out for one another and give help when the avenues provide themselves; they must act as agents of change”, he said.

Amolo also emphasised that young people between the ages of 25 and 45years in Nigeria make-up 55 per cent of the population; a majority who deserve to be very cautious in their ways of living. He advised them to take keen interest in staying fit and maintain a balance in mental and physical exercises, as their input in the work force and any milieu is pivotal to growth and development.

The YCW was founded in 1925 by Cardinal Joseph Cardjin from Belgium, who believed that “Young people are worth more than all the gold in the world.”

The YCW is a movement for young people, that is run by young men and women, who are at work, in study-work situations, unemployed or in short term, insecure or casual work. The YCW calls young people together, out of their isolation, into groups so that they can come to know their true worth and dignity. It arrived in Nigeria in 1956 and had grown to become a Non Governmental International Movement actively present in over 51 countries of the world.

Dora takes the fun to Nigerian kids

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igerian primary school kids can win a special visit to their school by children’s TV heroine, Dora the Explorer, thanks to Nickelodeon.

From September 2012, global entertainment phenomenon, Dora and her monkey pal Boots, will visit five schools in Dora’s Back to School Tour - entertaining children and teachers with fun sing-along.

Dora’s Back to School Tour, is part of the Access Early Savers Financial Literacy for Kids campaign, which aims to teach children 4-9 about financial literacy.

The tour follows the Dora Fiesta in Lagos in December last year, which was a huge success, attended by over 4,000 adoring Dora fans. The event prompted hundreds of requests from kids and parents to have Dora the Explorer visit their schools.

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Media

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

New Media will redefine ownership in Africa –Ndukwe STORIES: LEONARD OKACHIE

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ew Media will redefine the concept of media practice and redefine ownership on the continent.

It will encourage citizen journalism and give the ordinary folk the ability to talk and contribute to issues.

Those were the words of pioneer Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, at the 8th edition of the Nigerian Telecoms Awards, held Saturday at the Incubator Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Ndukwe in his keynote speech entitled “ICT Development and the Media” emphasized, that the New Media will diffuse ownership of the media, albeit removing it from the dominance of a few.

He said: “When some Naval ratings mugged up a young girl on Lagos streets a few years ago, the first pictures came from mobile phone recordings which were strong enough to be beamed on global media, and it became a major hit on the internet.

“When that plane landed on the Hudson River in New York, with passengers standing on the wings, the first global pictures would come from mobile recordings of a casual observer. And when Challenger rocket exploded in 1986, the only station that got the live pictures was a small minnow in Atlanta, the only one at the time which believed that anything was possible on TV, including 24-Hour

news network. It was the first major scoop by CNN. New Media will redefine wealth distribution and give voice to the citizenry.

On the other side, some have argued that it would be disruptive to established democracy, create more cyber criminality and among others, endanger the safety and social equilibrium of societies.

Instead of one too many, New Media facilitates a user-to-user interactivity, and creates what Vin Crosbie, described as Individuation Media.

That is where the threat is: media in the hands of many. But as long as technology continues to advance, and personal communication tools are fitted with state of the art communications, as long as humanity continues to seek for alternative technology to drive down cost and empower the majority, and as long as it is possible to receive TV and radio on mobile devices, New Media will always be advantageous beside being a threat.”

Ndukwe extolled the Nigerian media for its major role in the success of the telecom revolution, saying: “For example, the landmark frequency spectrum auction in January 2001 would not have had the level of international acclaim and recognition for transparency it enjoyed, if not for the role of the media in the pre-auction stage, the auction stage and the post-auction stage of the DML auction. One of the major success factors of that DML auction that commenced on the 17th and ended 19th of January 2001, was the fact that the process was monitored by interested parties locally an

Ndukwe

internationally. Recognition must therefore go the indomitable media team that ensured that this happened. From that unique beginning, the relationship with the Nigerian media in ICT development has been that of an essential partnership.

“Over the years we have witnessed the emergence of several magazines and publications such as Telecomnews Logica, IT & Telecom Digest, Africa Telecom & IT, Communications Week, IT World, e-World, e-Business Life, IT Edge News. com etc. These are supported by an array of internet based publications and TV magazine programs and presentations.

They have combined to keep the industry stakeholders and general public, well informed about the industry.”

He noted that the broadcast media is going through a life-defining moment in history, stressing that the technology is being migrated from analogue to digital, thus creating opportunities for more people.

He maintained that most countries are ending their migration this year, but Nigeria has put a 2015 date, even as he queried the preparedness of media practitioners to benefit from the opportunities that will be created.

Media urged to focus

Delegates at the opening session of 16th Highway Africa conference.

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he 16th edition of the Highway Africa conference, an annual gathering of African journalists and communications experts, ended Tuesday with a call on the

media of post independent Africa, to focus on the ugly side of the continent and its leaders.

The three-day conference which kicked off September 9, 2012, at Rhodes University in

Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, had hundreds of media professionals, academics and activists taking part in the discussions around the theme "Africa

Rising? How the media frames the continent's geopolitics, trade and economic growth".

Director of the Global Forum for Media Development, Bettina Peters welcomed participants from more than 100 countries to the global forum for media development, by reminding them that “the role of the media in building a democratic society should not be forgotten.”

Director of Highway Africa, Chris Kabwato, reminded delegates of the range of partners who came together to make the summit possible, including ABSA, Telkom, MTN, the Department of Communication and international development organizations like the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSISA).

Kabwato, while explaining the conference theme noted that, the Economist magazine

in 2000, referred Africa as “The Hopeless Continent. A decade later, in 2011, the magazine proclaimed, “Africa Rising.”

He said: “Our question is what has changed from 2000 to 2012? A lot you would say, when looking at the average economic growth rate of 6 percent , the emergence of a middle class (over 300 million) and the evident technological boom.”

“But how the African journalists are viewing all these changes is a key question requiring urgent and serious thinking and deliberation. Let’s hear what they and others have to say.”

The Nation Media Group's Newspaper Division MD, Tom Mshindi ,in his key note speech, criticised the inability of the press to interrogate manifestos by political leaders especially during election periods.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Media

Thursday, September 13, 2012

47

Nigeria media GOtv cuts subscription rates in Kenya second to none G –Fasehun Media Abroad

AYO ESAN

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shouting”, he said.

The interactive media roundtable focused on the economy, the N5, 000 note and the currency restructuring of the Federal Government, evaluation of the cashless policy in Lagos, James Ibori’s $15 million and the corruption canker worm, as well as President Jonathan’s performance Contract for ministers.

It also discussed the Lagos state traffic law and violence against journalists, as well as implications for the Freedom of Information Law (FOI).

ounder and president of the pan Yoruba Socio Cultural group, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, said the Nigeria media are second to none in the world.

Dr. Fasehun, said this while giving his opening remarks at the Dr. Fasehun 4th quarterly interactive media round-table which took place in Lagos recently.

He told participants at the conference, that Nigeria is drifting towards the brinks, saying that through their thinking, thought and actions, Nigerian journalists can bring the expected changes to move the country forward.

He lamented that the country is facing a lot of afflictions, but that journalists are the last hope for the masses.

He condemned the recent violence against journalists, describing it as undesirable and called on them not to be discouraged. “If you are talking to the deaf, you do not get discouraged, but keep on Fasehun

on ugly side of Africa He said: ““For 50 years, the media has not been sufficiently angry about the squalor and deplorable state of Africa.

"When leaders choose to break election promises, watch as its people are brutalised by draconian regimes, when corruption is encouraged by the leaders, the media have been lukewarm in demanding accountability.

They have also not done a very good job of explaining the interconnections between poor governance, squalor and poverty that condemns millions of Africans to no-life.”

Mshindi stated that small sized media businesses have been particularly vulnerable and were often threatened with closure or more dire consequences forcing them to become timid.

"It was easier to turn away

from the reality of impunity and largely entertain the masses. Media that voiced resistance paid a high price,” he maintained.

Since 1996, Highway Africa has been at the centre of Africa’s debates on journalism and the new media. The annual Highway Africa Conference is the world’s largest gathering of African journalists.

For fourteen years, the Highway Africa conference has been at the centre of debates on journalism and new media. The conference has over the years become the largest annual gathering of African journalists. In the last six years, it has evolved into a multi-pronged programme, with the following components: Research, education and training, News Agency and conference.

Otv, a pay television service in Kenya has slashed its subscription fees as part of growing its market share, even as the country is implementing the migration from analogue to digital television.

Following the announcement, a GOtv decoder is retailing for KSh 2 199, a 29% reduction from the previous price.

The move is aimed at ensuring

more Kenyans access quality entertainment and information on the digital platform.

"Our aim is to deliver great digital television entertainment on the advanced DVB-T2 network using our one-year old brand which is offering an affordable digital pay television service with local and international channels at a price that everyone can afford," says GOtv

general manager, Felix Kyengo.

Recently, GOtv slashed the price of its decoders and monthly subscription after the Kenyan Government waived duty from decoders to make them more affordable. GOtv is positioning itself as a leader in the digital arena and intends to play a pivotal role towards accelerating Kenya's digital migration process by end of 2012.

Pardoned Swedish journalists leave Ethiopia

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wo Swedish journalists who were imprisoned for over a year in Ethiopia have left the country and taken to an undisclosed location, their families and supporters said on Tuesday.

Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were arrested on July 1, 2011 and sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of aiding an armed rebel group.

On Monday, they were among about 1,950 prisoners who were pardoned on the occasion of the Ethiopian new year.

"We are very relieved and happy that they are free and that we will soon be reunited,’’ their

families said in a statement.

The two were on Monday taken from prison to the Swedish embassy in Addis Ababa and escorted on a flight out of the country by ambassador Jens Odlander.

Persson's father, Johan Persson, told Swedish Television that the two needed to rest for a few days to ``get rid of the buzz in their heads’’ after spending over a year in a crowded prison.

The decision to pardon them had been approved by late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi before his death last month.

The two reporters were

ANIC announces finalists

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orty (40) pioneering digital journalism projects have been shortlisted as finalists in the inaugural African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC) that Google launched in May this year.

The project will provide grants from US$12 500 to US$100 000 for projects aimed at strengthening and transforming African news media.

The challenge welcomes proposals that improve data-based investigative journalism, mobile news distribution and new revenue models. Grantees will receive technical advice in carrying out their projects.

There were 153 applicants that were screened by a techinical review team that evaluated projects that have the potential to strengthen and transform Africa news media.

Projects were assessed for their potential to be replicated by media elsewhere in Africa, or to be scaled up across the continent, to create wide and sustained impact.

"We are thrilled with the broad range of innovation and ideas among the finalists," says ANIC manager, Justin Arenstein. Arenstein is a Knight International Journalism Fellow, who leads the initiative as part of a wider digital inno-

vation program with Africa's largest association of media owners and operators, the African Media Initiative (AMI).

"The teams with the strongest links to newsrooms and technology partners had an advantage, as did those that could already point to some proofs-of-concept."

Short-listed finalists include proposals to improve data-driven investigative journalism and the security of journalists or their sources, as well as improve audience engagement, mobile news distribution, data visualization, new revenue models and workflow systems.

"The finalists are also all projects that haven't lost sight of the core focus for the initiative: quality journalism," says Arenstein. "There is a danger in any innovation program that we get blinded by gadgets and hype. The technical review panel therefore focused on projects that demonstrated a keen commitment to journalism itself."

Finalists will attend a TechCamp in Zanzibar, in partnership with the Tech@State program, where they will have the opportunity to refine and defend their proposals witht he assistance of leading media technology strategists, including experts from the U.K.

found guilty in December on charges of supporting terrorism and illegally entering Ethiopia.

During the trial, they admitted to having entered the country illegally from Somalia, but denied the terrorism charges.

They said they were in Ethiopia's restive eastern province of Ogaden to investigate alleged human rights violations in the restive region.

They were in the company of members of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front while travelling in the area where the media is not allowed access.

Guardian's data team, Mozilla's OpenNews initiative, Google, previous Knight News Challenge winners, and the World Association of Newspapers.

Source: Bizcommunity

Reagan-Fascell democracy fellowship open

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he Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program, organised by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), aims to enable democratic practitioners, scholars and journalists to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change.

Journalists worldwide who wish to learn more about democracy can apply for a fellowship.

Fellows maintain full-time residence at the International Forum for Democratic Studies, NED’s research arm located in Washington, D.C. The Forum hosts 16 to 20 ReaganFascell Fellows every year.

Each fellow receives a monthly stipend for living expenses, plus health insurance and reimbursement for travel to and from D.C., at the beginning and end of the fellowship period.

The deadline to apply is October 15.

Cocktail

48

Thursday, September 13, 2012

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (1)

Determine your future; settle what you are going to do and then make every day pay tribute. **E. W. Kenyon * * * Determination Is It! I will forever love the quote I came across sometimes ago.

It says the best way to predict the future is to create it. When we are truly determined to do whatever it will take to see our dreams come true, it will happen!

Determination is key to any meaningful progress in life.

No one will enter Life' s Hall of fame without the history of determination.

TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

M th finds Mother d ‘Li ‘Live F Frog’’ iin packet k t of washed Waitrose salad

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mother feels ‘absolutely mortified’ after she discovered a live frog in a bag of washed salad she bought from a high-end supermarket.

Christina Carrington, 50, had already eaten some of the salad leaves before her youngest daughter, Daniela Toale, noticed the amphibian lurking in the bag.

The frog had survived despite being trapped in the plastic packaging for more than 24 hours.

Mrs Carrington, a health care manager from

Chandler’s Ford near Southampton, Hampshire, bought the mixed leaf bag from her local branch of Waitrose.

She ate some of the leaves for her lunch, but the green and brown frog was only spotted when Miss Toale, a 20-year-old university student, prepared dinner that evening.

Mrs Carrington said: ‘I’m absolutely mortified to think I ate the leaves at lunch time when clearly the frog had been in the same bag.

‘I feel repulsed.’

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

Living life to its fullest: Conjoined twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel

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hey face non-stop challenges every day, but conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel don’t let anything faze them.

The 22-year-olds, who star in reality TV show Abby & Brittany, jetted into London during the latest installment of the series and looked as though they were having the time of their lives as they took in the sights.

Abby and Brittany, who were joined by their best friends Erin and Becca, were seen boarding a London sightseeing bus, having ‘high tea’ and snapping photos of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace before taking a ride in the London Eye. The mischievous twosome also learned how to row during a visit to Maidenhead Rowing Club and laughed hysterically as they paddled across the water, with each twin maneuvering a separate oar.

‘They are like two separate people, they are really nice,’ two English children remarked after chatting to the girls.

The show, which debuted last month, chronicles the next part of their journey

as the girls take the leap from students to young professionals via a summer travelling through Europe with their friends.

In the first episode of the show the twins, who share one body fused at the torso, were shown celebrating their 22nd birthday, graduating from Bethel University in Minnesota and getting ready for job interviews.

The girls first captivated the world in 1996 when they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the cover of Life Magazine.

Since then they have lived a quiet, normal life with

their family in Minnesota, keeping away from the media spotlight until they agreed to appear on a documentary for TLC when they turned 16.

The network has since given them their own show.

When the Hensel twins were born on March 7, 1990, in Minnesota in the United States, doctors warned their parents Patty, a registered nurse, and Mike, a carpenter and landscaper, that they were unlikely to survive the night.

But that prediction was to prove wildly wrong.

When growing up, they, like many twins, had very different personalities and tastes.

Abigail, the feisty, stubborn one, liked orange juice for breakfast, while Brittany, the joker of the family, would only touch milk.

They also stunned doctors with their astonishing coordination while playing the piano, with Abigail taking the right-hand parts and Brittany the left.

They enjoyed sports such as bowling, volleyball, cycling, softball and swimming.

And on their 16th birthday they passed their driving test, a mind-boggling feat of teamwork with each twin using one arm to control the steering wheel.

TLC’s Abby and Brittany show charts the next chapter of the twins life as they graduate from college and travel across Europe with their friends.

PHOTO: EXPOSUREPHOTOS.COM

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

Community Mirror Court to rule on €6,000 fraud suit

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“It is only in Nigeria that fraud of high magnitude takes place and our government is doing nothing about it.”

FORMER MILITARY PRESIDENT, MUHAMMADU BUHARI

WIDOW OF KILLED YOUTH LEADER LAMENTS:

‘My late husband was not a criminal’ OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

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idow of the late Ajayi George, popularly known as Abela who died last week from head injuries he sustained after a brawl with a police corporal at Ogbese in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, has said her deceased husband was a peacemaker.

Mrs. Joy George, a mother of five, said her late husband was never involved in any criminal activity, even as it was gathered that a detachment of policemen had gone to arrest a man alleged to have burgled a shop, but when they could not see the suspect, decided to raid people in the area.

The raid was said to have resulted to a riot with the youths chasing the policemen away and snatching two rifles from them.

Being the youth leader, George, who was said not to have been at venue of the incident, was reportedly invited to intervene and appeal to the youths for peace to return to Ogbese.

Community Mirror gathered that after pacifying the rampaging youths, George retrieved the two rifles and personally took them to the police station.

The police officer in charge of surveillance at Ogbese, Inspector Moses, was said to have commended the deceased as it

was not the first time the late George would assist the command, but a corporal was said to have insisted that he be arrested and detained.

Sources said an argument led to a fight between the corporal and George with the latter hitting his head on a culvert, resulting to serious injuries.

It was gathered, that the deceased was rushed to the Federal Medical centre in Owo, but later referred to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, where he died some days later.

Recalling the moment before the death of her husband, Mrs. Joy Judge said: “My husband was at home watching the semi-final match between the Falconets and the USA. I was at the backyard doing some chores. Suddenly a man came to inform him of riot in the town and that he should come and intervene. My husband, being someone who likes football, ignored him.

“Shortly, another person came to tell him that one of the youths had been shot. He then left for the venue of the riot. A few minutes after I saw him on a motorcycle with two rifles and going towards the police station. Just 15 minutes later, someone came to tell me the police had killed my husband.

“I rushed to the police station, where I found my husband lying on the floor and one of the policemen fanning him. When

he managed to speak, he said he could no longer raise any of his hands. Realizing his situation was serious, he was rushed to the FMC, Owo, where he was later referred to the UCH, Ibadan.

The widow called on the state government to come to her aid and those of her children, saying she is finding it difficult to take care of her five children.

“I am appealing to the state government to come to our aid.

I have five children and four of them are in school. How will I feed and pay for their education?

I don’t know why the police decided to kill my husband as he was neither an armed robber nor a drug dealer,” she lamented.

The corporal, whose action led to the death of George, is

currently being detained at the Criminal Investigations Department, Akure, as he is reportedly helping detectives to unravel the mystery behind the death.

The police spokesman, Mr. Adeniran Aremu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the incident occurred when George allegedly attacked the police corporal.

Mrs. Joy George (Inset): Late George

Man docked for fighting in a bar CAROLINE CHUKWUKA

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33 year old man, Sunday Ekpo, has been arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, for allegedly biting one Obuo Patrick on the forehead, causing him bodily harm.

According to the charge sheet, the incident, which took place in a drinking bar, started after the two had consumed some bottles of beer.

The offence was allegedly committed on September 8, 2012

at Ikota Estate, Ajah, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

According to Police prosecutor, Corporal Ayeni Olumide, the accused was said to have requested for a drink from Patrick who bought it for him.

Corporal Olumide, told the court that when Patrick was about leaving the bar, the accused blocked his way and demanded he moved no further.

This resulted into a fight in which the accused punched up the face of the complainant, even as he was subsequently ar-

rested and detained at Ajah Police Station.

Ayeni argued that the offence is punishable under section 171 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

When the charge was read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by Magistrate Matins Owumi in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in the like sum.

Meanwhile, a 37 year old man, Fatai Semiu, has been arraigned before Tinubu Magistrate’s court for allegedly conspiring with others (now at

large) to steal.

The accused person was alleged to have broken into a shop and stole one generator valued at N12,000, a Sharp coloured television valued at N14, 000 and one home theatre music set valued at N35,000.

Other items allegedly stolen were assorted types of textile materials valued at N150,000 and various types of female shoes valued at N25,000, bringing a total value to N236,000, property of Kemi Arogun.

The offence was said to have been committed in May 2012 at

Onosa Area of Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State.

Prosecutor, Corporal Babalola Owojaiye argued that the offence is punishable under section 409,308 and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

When the charges were read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by Magistrate Martins Owumi in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties which must have three years tax clearance.

The case has been adjourned till 8th October 2012.

50

Community Mirror

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LASAMBUS official dies after arrest FRANCIS SUBERU

A

n official of the Lagos State Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS, Jimoh Fasasi on Monday night died in a controversial circumstance, few minutes after he was arrested by some police officers attached to Surulere Division for riding a motor bike on a prohibited route. Community Mirror gathered that Jimoh, a LASAMBUS driver was returning from work in the evening,

when he was arrested at Barrack Bus Stop along side 13 other Okada riders who also violated the new Lagos traffic law.

The deceased was said to have suddenly slumped and was foaming in the mouth and ear, as he was rushed to a public hospital where he was confirmed dead.

Some LASAMBUS officials whom Jimoh called on phone immediately after his arrest, alleged he was assaulted by the policemen who hit him on the head

with gun butts, but the police claimed the deceased fell and injured his head in the process of arguing with them.

According to a LASAMBUS official who pleaded anonymity, “Jimoh was one of our drivers. After close of work, as he was riding his motorcycle home to Mushin wearing his official uniform, he was accosted by police officers at Barrack Bus Stop, but he was able to call our chief pilot who said he only heard

the deceased shouting that a policeman was assaulting him. He and few others, immediately left for the scene, and on getting there, saw the lifeless body of Jimoh on the floor with his phone on his chest. He couldn’t have slumped and died if he was not assaulted,” the official said.

However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, DSP Ngozi Briade, told our correspondent that those who arrested Jimoh were

unarmed traffic officers on duty, denying the possibility of anyone hitting the deceased with an object.

According to her, the police arrested other Okada riders who violated the Lagos traffic law just like Jimoh.

She said: “He was not the only one arrested at the time, but was pleading with the policemen to release him because he was a staff of LASAMBUS. They did not accept his plea and he

was told to wait. He later slumped and started foaming in the mouth. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, but was confirmed dead minutes after admission.

The preliminary medical examination by doctors revealed that he was injured in the head. He probably hit his head on a hard object when he fell. The police officers who arrested him were not armed at the time and couldn’t have hit him with gun butt.”

Chamber of commerce builds fair complex JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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he Katsina State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA), says it has commenced construction of a permanent trade fair complex at the cost of N10 million.

Before now, the state’s chamber of commerce used a rented complex to organize yearly trade fairs with the rent ongoing for past 27 years after the state was created.

President of the chamber, Salisu Mamman, who stated this, said idea to construct the permanent site followed allocation of 11 hectares of land to the chamber by state government.

Mamman said, the chamber has commenced development of the land through direct labour, which will cost N10 million, and that it had been using its resources before soliciting for government intervention.

He said the state chamber of commerce is the only one in the northern part of the country to embark on construction of a permanent trade fair site without the intervention of the state government.

The chamber president, who commended the government’s assistance, however called on public spirited individuals to cooperate with the chamber toward achieving the set goal.

Sand dredging at Cable Point on the bank of River Niger at Asaba, Delta State.

PHOTO: NAN

Court to rule on £6,000 fraud suit WALE IGBINTADE

J

ustice Mufutau Olokoba of a Lagos High Court judge has fixed September 14 to rule on an application brought

by Skye Bank Plc, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear a N100 million suit filed against it by an editorial consultant to Abuja Digest, Odafe Atogun.

The claimant (Odafe) through his lawyer; Pascal Ememonu, had accused the bank of negligence by paying £6,000 [six thousand Euros] meant for him to an impostor.

But, the bank in a counter affidavit had challenged the jurisdiction of the Lagos High Court to adjudicate on the suit, arguing that the transaction arose from money transfer agreement between one

Kevin Fuller and Western Union in the Republic of Ireland.

But, the claimant in his reply, argued that he was the bona fide beneficiary of the £6,000 sent by Kevin Fuller, alleging that the defendant (Skye Bank) was negligent as trustee in paying out the money to an impostor.

The claimant maintained that the money transfer form filled in Ireland by Kevin Fuller, does not oust the constitutional and statutory jurisdiction on Lagos High Court to determine the suit.

He urged the court to dismiss the defendant’s application with substantial cost, describing it as frivolous, vexatious, incompetent and abuse of court process.

The claimant in his statement of claim, had alleged that on November

3, 2008, one Kelvin Fuller, who is the sales Executive of Hudson Killeen sent the sum of £6,000 [six thousand Euros] to him, through Western Union Money Transfer from Ireland and to be received in Abuja for the purpose of establishing a printing press in Nigeria.

The claimant added that before sending the money, Kelvin Fuller filled a Western Union Money Transfer form which included questions on the city and country where the money is to be collected.

The claimant added that Kelvin Fuller, further disclosed to him, the transfer control number and test questions and answers that will enable him collect the money from any bank operating Western Union Money Transfer in Abuja, only and nowhere else.

However, since Nigerian banks do not offer Western Union Money Transfer to their customers after 4pm and the alleged £6,000 was sent at about 5.28pm Nigerian time, the claimant decided not to go to the bank on the day the money was sent.

But, at about the few minutes past eight the next day, the claimant allegedly went to Ecobank Plc on Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja to collect the money, only to be told that the said money transfer control number may not exist or may have been used.

The claimant alleged that after two months of continuous enquiry, the Western Union Money Transfer office in Ireland discovered that the said money was paid out at 6.22pm Nigerian time on November 3, 2008, by the

defendant’s branch office at 1, Forestry Road Benin City, Nigeria to a wrong person who impersonated as the claimant.

He accused the bank of negligence by paying the money to an impostor at 6.22pm which was outside banking hours, a violation of regulatory guidelines by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He further alleged that as a result of the negligence, his Irish partners have lost faith in him and with Nigerian business environment and consequently terminated his appointment as their representative.

But the bank in its statement of defence, prayed the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction as it averred that it is not indebted to the claimant for general or special damages as alleged.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

51

World News

Filmmaker in hiding, ‘upset’ by US envoy’s death

52

SAM OLUWALANA

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

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here has been a suicide attack at the gates of a hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where the new president was staying, eyewitnesses told the BBC. The bomber and four security officers were killed, one witness said.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who has been based at the Jazeera hotel near the airport, is reported to be unharmed.

The al-Qaeda-aligned group al-Shabab said it had carried out the attack, reportedly involving two militants.

On Tuesday, the group said the president’s election, which is the latest step to end decades of war, was organised by the “enemies of Somalia”.

“There has been a blast around the hotel where the president was. The president is safe. All the people who were inside the hotel are safe,” Col Ali Houmed, a spokesman for the African Union force in the country, known as Amisom, told the AFP news agency.

One witness told the BBC Somali Service that two militants

“I ask God to give the Middle East its much desired peace, with respect for legitimate differences.”

– Pope Benedict XVI

Suicide bomber targets Somalia President’s hotel

Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

parked a vehicle near the hotel and walked towards the building.

One man blew himself up at the gate, killing two Somali soldiers and two Amisom members as the second man ran into the

hotel firing a gun which wounded a policeman, he said.

The second attacker was shot dead before there was a further explosion, the witness said.

Just over a year ago, al-Sha-

bab was largely driven out of Mogadishu by African Union forces and Somali government troops.

But militants still stage occasional attacks in the city.

South Africa army put on ‘high alert’ for Malema rally

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he South African military was put on high alert as firebrand politician Julius Malema addressed disgruntled soldiers in the Johannesburg area.

It was the first time since South Africa became a democracy in 1994 that the government issued such an order.

Mr Malema told the soldiers to mobilise in a disciplined way to save their jobs.

Earlier, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula accused him of trying to “mobilise against the state”.

Mr Malema has been touring mines since the 16 August Marikana killings, calling for a national strike and for mines to be made “ungovernable”.

“They are all indications that this is counter-revolutionary,” Ms Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Branded a demagogue by his critics, South African youth leader Julius Malema is using the Marikana killings - the most deadly police action since white minority rule ended 18 years ago

- to resuscitate his political career.

Mr Malema is hoping that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party will oust President Jacob Zuma as its leader at its national conference in December - and reverse the decision taken in April to expel him for sowing divisions in the party.

Mr Malema is exploiting the killings - which saw police shoot dead 34 striking miners at the Marikana mine on 16 August - to

reinforce his image as the champion of poor black South Africans, though he also has some support in black business circles.

He moves with ease between the two groups, toyi-toying (a revolutionary dance popularised during the anti-apartheid struggle) at rallies in shack settlements, before slipping away to leafy suburbs for all-night parties with the nouveau riche.

Johannesburg-based political

Julius Malema told the soldiers that South Africa risks becoming a dictatorship

analyst William Gumede argues that Mr Malema is similar to politicians in Zimbabwe’s ZanuPF party, led by President Robert Mugabe.

The soldiers Mr Malema addressed were suspended from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) after rioting in the capital, Pretoria, in 2009 to demand higher wages.

Mr Malema said he would never conspire to unseat the government through undemocratic means.

However, South Africa was showing the symptoms of a dictatorship and the constitution was under threat from the executive, he said.

The decision to put the army on high alert was an over-reaction and showed the same instinct that led police to kill 34 miners at the Marikana platinum mine on 16 August, Mr Malema said.

The soldiers were suspended from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) after rioting in the capital, Pretoria, in 2009 to demand higher wages.

WORLD BULLETIN Mt Kenya to get electric fence to stop wildlife straying Kenya’s government is to inaugurate a project that will encircle much of the country’s highest peak with an electric fence to stop wild animals straying.

It is being designed to stop wildlife, particularly elephants, on Mt Kenya from destroying crops on nearby farms.

On completion it will be about 400km (250 miles) long, stand 2m (6ft 6in) high and extend a metre underground.

The charity building the fence, Rhino Ark, believes it will take five years to complete.

“It is going to encircle 2,000 sq km (772 sq miles) of indigenous forests on the mountain, and a source of many, many rivers and outflows in all directions from the mountains,” Colin Church from Rhino Ark told the BBC. According to the charity, it is being done in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service and with the support of the Kenya Forest Service.

Mt Kenya, at 5,199m, is Africa’s second highest peak and the mountain and its forest were designated as a World Heritage site

by Unesco in 1997.

The fence, which will have five electrified strands, will discourage wild animals from straying from the mountain’s forests.

Love tussle tarnishes Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai A legal bid by a former lover of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to stop his wedding on Saturday has laid bare a messy private life and damaged the political reputation of the main rival to long-serving leader Robert Mugabe.

Locardia Karimatsenga, 39, filed a High Court injunction to block Tsvangirai’s wedding to fiancee Elizabeth Macheka, arguing that she was his wife under the former British colony’s “customary marriage” law.

Judge Antonia Guvava ruled on Wednesday that the wedding should go ahead, but Karimatsenga’s lawyer said he would appeal, meaning the saga could yet take another twist.

The case has sparked a frenzy in Harare newspapers, which have plastered their front pages with headlines such as “Tsvangirai wedding war”, “Plot against PM intensifies” and “D-Day for PM Wedding”.

Having the nuptials blocked would be a major embarrassment for Tsvangirai, who had been expected to invite Mugabe, his partner in a fractious coalition formed after a disputed 2008 election, and some foreign leaders to the ceremony.

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World News

WORLD BULLETIN Hillsborough papers: Cameron apologises over ‘double injustice’ David Cameron has said he is profoundly sorry for the “double injustice” of the Hillsborough football disaster. Speaking after an independent report into previously unseen documents about the tragedy, the prime minister said police had failed to do enough and had also tried to blame Liverpool fans.

Ninety-six fans died after a crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s ground in 1989.

Campaigner Trevor Hicks said a faster response from the emergency services could have saved lives.

Mr Hicks, who lost two daughters at Hillsborough and is a member of the family support group, said it would now press for criminal action against those involved in the disaster.

He said: “We feel a breakthrough has been made. The truth is out today and the justice starts tomorrow.”

The victims’ families have always challenged the original inquest, which concluded all the victims were dead or brain dead 15 minutes after the game had kicked off at 15:00.

Dutch vote overshadowed by euro zone debt crisis Voters in the Netherlands are going to the polls in an election overshadowed by concerns about the eurozone debt crisis.

The result is expected to be a close contest between the centreright VVD Liberal party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the centreleft Labour Party.

Mr Rutte wants to bring down the Netherlands’ deficit and stimulate the economy by investing in infrastructure.

Labour’s Diederik Samsom is promoting spending on job-creation programmes.

Pollsters said turnout at 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT) was at 27%, the AFP news agency reports.

Hours before voting was due to start, the main party leaders took part in a final TV debate on Tuesday night with opinion polls putting the two pro-European parties almost neck-and-neck.

BAE, EADS, in merger talks UK defence contractor BAE Systems has said that it is in talks with European aerospace firm EADS over a possible merger.

“Both companies would operate as one group by means of equalisation and other agreements but would be separately listed on their existing exchanges,” BAE said in a statement.

In a potential tie-up, BAE would own 40% and EADS 60% of the new firm.

Speculation that talks were ongoing sent BAE shares up 8% on Wednesday.

BAE and EADS said that a merger “offers the prospect of significant benefits for customers and shareholders of both companies”.

EADS, which is a consortium of aerospace and defence manufacturers from France, Germany and Spain, owns the planemaker Airbus.

On Wednesday, shares in EADS dropped 5.6%.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

death family Filmmaker in hiding, ‘upset’ Alps ‘heartbroken’ over ‘shocking crime’

by US envoy’s death T T he director of a film that sparked protests in the Middle East is “upset” at the death of the US ambassador to Libya and has gone into hiding, a consultant on the project said Wednesday.

“He’s very upset that the ambassador got murdered,” Steve Klein told AFP, adding that he had spoken to filmmaker Sam Bacile by phone earlier in the day, but did not know his location.

When Bacile was told about the death of US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, “he melted, he fell apart,” added Klein, who said he was one of some 15 people behind the film, “Innocence of Muslims.”

Bacile – not his real name, according to Klein – is concerned about family members in Egypt.

“They’re underground too, in hiding, he said.

He added that the reported Israeli-American director could suffer the same fate as Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was assassinated in 2004 after trigger-

Attackers on the US Consulate in Libya pulled down flag of the United States

ing protests with an anti-Muslim film.

Asked if Bacile could be killed, he said: “If he goes public I’m sure he will.”

Klein said he had only known the director by the name he gave when they first met, Sam Bacile -

reportedly a real estate developer, but whose name comes up blank on internet searches before the film row erupted.

“I’m sure it’s something else,” said Klein. “I have no idea why he picked ‘Sam,’ I have no idea why he picked ‘Bacile.”

German court backs euro zone’s ESM bailout fund

G

ermany’s top court has rejected calls to block the permanent eurozone rescue fund - the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - and the European fiscal treaty.

Leader Angela Merkel called it “a good day”, while markets rallied in relief.

But the Constitutional Court imposed conditions including a cap on Germany’s contribution, which it said could only be overruled by the German parliament.

Critics had argued that the ESM commits Germany to potentially unlimited funding of debtridden eurozone states.

Some 37,000 people had signed a petition to the court asking it to block the ESM, and make it subject to a referendum.

Since Germany is due to contribute 27% of the fund, it cannot proceed without German ratification.

But, after weeks of deliberation, the court’s Chief Justice An-

dreas Vosskuhle said it “rejected the injunctions”, since there was a “high probability” that the ESM did not violate the constitution.

You could see the relief clearly: charts for stock prices jumped the moment the judgement was made public.

The positive sentiment was as much about what didn’t happen as what did. If the panel of judges had blocked the ESM, there is little doubt that it would have halted the bailouts of eurozone countries in difficulty, and financial markets would have taken it badly.

The judgement, though, is qualified. The most significant string attached is that any raising of Germany’s contribution could only be done with the full consent of parliament.

In the current political climate, there would be much opposition to any more money from Berlin.

A recent poll showed that more than half of Germans wanted the judges to block the ESM, so there

The judges want a guarantee that Germany’s financial liability will not rise

is no mood for digging deeper into pockets, should it be necessary.

However, he said ratification of the treaty could only be allowed under certain conditions.

He continued: “No rule of the treaty must be interpreted in a way which would result in higher payment obligations by Germany, without the consent of the German representative.”

Correspondents said that meant that any future increase in the size of the 500bn-euro (£400bn) fund, or of Germany’s contribution, could only be permitted with the express agreement of Germany’s parliament.

he relatives of a British man and his family killed in the French Alps last week have said they are “heartbroken” by the “shocking crime”.

A Foreign Office statement from the family said they hoped the perpetrators would be “brought swiftly to justice.”

Saad al-Hilli, 50, was shot with his wife, mother-in-law, and a passing cyclist while on holiday.

His two daughters survived the attack.

The victims’ bodies have now been returned to their families.

Speaking for the first time, Ahmed al-Saffar - a close relative - said in an FCO statement: “The victim’s family and I are heartbroken by this shocking crime and we have been touched by the expressions of sympathy from people all over the world.

“The victim’s family are of Iraqi-Arabic origin. We are very grateful for the support provided by the British, French and Iraqi authorities during this difficult time. We hope that those responsible for the deaths of our loved ones are brought swiftly to justice.

“In the meantime, we would ask that the media understand that as a family we need time to grieve and we would therefore request that they respect our privacy at this intensely difficult time.”

Forensic examinations of the corpses have now been completed and the bodies returned to their relatives.

French investigators, assisted

by British police officers, started examining the Claygate home of Mr al-Hilli, 50, on Saturday as part of an attempt to establish a motive for the murders.

A French investigating judge and a prosecutor are due to join them in the UK on Thursday.

US calls for ‘cooler heads’ in China-Japan islands row

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he US has called for ‘’cooler heads to prevail’’ as tension intensifies between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. China sent two patrol ships to islands - known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - on Tuesday.

This came after Japan sealed a deal to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner.

Washington will not take sides in the matter, said Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

The region, he said, was the ‘’cockpit of the global economy’’ and it was ‘’of utmost importance’’ that peace and stability be maintained.

‘’The stakes could not be bigger and the desire is to have all leaders to keep that squarely in mind,’’ he said, in answer to questions at a debate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Mr Campbell is America’s top diplomat on East Asia.

China’s defence ministry has issued a strongly-worded statement against Japan’s move to buy the islands, Chinese state media reported.

“The Chinese government and armed forces stand firm and are unshakeable in its determination and will safeguard sovereignty over the nation’s territories,” ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Boko Haram: JTF not ready for dialogue –CDS INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

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hief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin, yesterday said it is not for the nation’s security forces to determine if there should be dialogue with the Boko Haram sect, noting that the armed forces do not even have the competence to dialogue.

The CDS was in Maiduguri yesterday along with the Inspector General of Po-

lice, Mohammed Abubakar, to commission one of the nine boreholes built in the town by the military Joint Task Force (JTF) as part of its community relations programme.

He said the nation should be ready to fight terrorism in the long run and should not think it is something they can get over with easily.

Petinrin’s words: “We must continue to manage the situation here, there is nothing like everything is over we have to go home and

Kigo Road new extension in Kaduna flooded by River Kaduna.

relax, there is nothing like that again.

“The issue of terrorism, the issue of criminality, once introduced into the society, the society continues to be on the guard, it is like armed robbery, after the civil war armed robbery started in the country and till now it is still with us.

“What is now required is that everyone should be aware of their environment and continue to monitor their surrounding so that no one comes to destabilise it;

all of us should be involved in it.”

He cited the case of the 9/11 attack in the United States that has made the people to be alert to terrorism. He noted that it was a wake-up call for Americans and they are seriously conscious of it now and have continued to manage the situation well since.

The CDS commended the security agencies over the successes recorded so far even as he said the government and people of Borno

State should be praised for the assistance to his men, noting that without their cooperation there would have been no such record.

On why the JTF are still in Borno when there is serious agitation for dialogue, Petinrin said: “Federal Government is the Federal Government, they own everybody and everything, if they decide to dialogue, they can dialogue, but what I am saying is that as far as the security forces are concerned ours is to ensure peace, nobody has told us to dialogue with anybody and we work based on orders.”

Residence of Ononiwu Crescent on Kigo Road moving out their property after a downpour.

Youth empowerment, job creation, our target –Ahmed Vandalism: According to the gover- state government consulted 000 youths, absorbed 1, 430 wara State governMilitary team ment’s Shared Pros- nor, the centre will, through widely with the National into the mainstream of the sets ablaze six Consultative state civil service and brovocational Employers perity Programme modernised Association (NECA) and kered 10, 000 public work training, premised on world (SPP) of creating high qualtrucks ity technical and vocational class standards, turn senior others in the business com- jobs through the Federal

K

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ix trucks seized from suspected oil pipeline vandals have been set ablaze by a combined team of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Kogi.

Three of the trucks were set ablaze yesterday at Ajogu village in Ajaokuta Local Government Area while the other three were set ablaze in Lokoja, the state capital.

The six vehicles were set ablaze with their content estimated at about 198, 000 litres.

The content was suspected to have been siphoned illegally at Adogo in Ajaokuta Local Government and Osara in Okehi Local Government Area of the state.

The Commander of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt.-Col. Gabriel Olorunyomi and the state Commandant of the NSCDC, Dr Christopher Oluchukwu, supervised the exercise.

experts for the West African sub-region received a boost on Tuesday with the foundation laying ceremony of the International Vocational Centre, Ajase-Ipo in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking at the occasion, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, said the N1.4bn first phase vocational centre is part of his administration’s resolve to “create a new generation of highly employable artisans and prosperous youth entrepreneurs through the provision of market relevant skills under our Share Prosperity Programme.”

secondary school leavers, polytechnic and university graduates into well trained artisans ready to create jobs and contribute to our collective prosperity.

Governor Ahmed said graduates of the vocational centre, who would be awarded globally recognised certificates and diplomas moderated by the London-based City and Guilds will, on completion of their courses, be marketable and employable youths while the state will become a reputable hub for vocational and technical skills in West Africa.

He explained that the

munity as part of efforts to make the vocational centre of world standard.

The governor added that the centre would run on a good mix of practical and theoretical learning with well equipped classrooms and practical skill development areas, especially in marine and port operation, agriculture, hospitality, catering as well as engineering, construction skills fashion design and textiles.

Governor Ahmed, who said the centre would widen the frontiers of job opportunities, recalled that his administration has created job opportunities for over 2,

Government.

He noted that his administration’s youth-friendly policies were borne out of the realisation that youths in the society need to be successful economic actors because they constitute over 70 per cent of the population.

The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka Onimago, in his remark, assured Kwarans that graduates of the vocational centre would be well equipped to compete with their counterparts from Korea, China and other developed countries.

NLC warns Yuguda over 1% workers’ salary deductions EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

T

he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has warned Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, to rescind his decision to deduct one per cent from the salaries of workers in the state for the establishment of an agency for disabled children.

The union said it would do everything possible within the law to stop such policy, which it described as undemocratic.

NLC Chairman in the state, Comrade Hashimu Gital, made this disclosure in Bauchi while speaking with journalists.

He said NCL’s opposition was to safeguard the interest of civil servants from being subjected to harsh economic condition.

Gital expressed regrets over the recent threat by the state government to sack 15, 000 workers in the state or forfeit 10 per cent of their salaries from September to December.

The NLC said should Yuguda go ahead with the planned deduction, labour will be left with no other option than to embark on strike to protest the plight of its members.

According to Gital, NLC had no choice than to agree to the deduction of 10 per cent from the workers’ salaries to ensure industrial harmony and prevent the sacking of 50 per cent of civil servants even when it was not consulted over the issue.

Asked why the NLC is kicking against the deduction of one per cent from their salaries, Gital said it has never been done anywhere that civil servants’ salaries would be used for the establishment of an agency of government.

Nasarawa Poly domesticates SIWES programme IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

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he Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, has domesticated the Federal Government’s Students Industrial Works Experience (SIWES), orientation programme for its students.

Acting Rector of the polytechnic, Engr. Emmanuel Jatau, stated this yesterday during the opening session of the 2012 SIWES orientation programme in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

According to him, in order to produce skilled manpower, in line with the Federal Government’s policy,

the institution considered it a duty to organise SIWES programme which must be attended by all ND 1 students who are qualified to participate in the exercise.

Jatau’s words: “The orientation exercise will provide a platform for our students to be properly and officially orientated by the

Industrial Training Fund (ITF), before they finally leave for their respective placement.”

He added that the Federal Government’s solemn resolve to give recognition to SIWES by providing students with opportunities to acquire industrial skills and experience for post gradua-

53

tion work situation cannot be over-emphasised.

The acting rector urged the students to take advantage of the newly introduced courses in mechatronic and autotronic engineering technology in the polytechnic which are basically entrepreneurship and skills based.

54

Insight

Thursday, September 13, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

London 2012 Olympics: More than Since Barcelona ’92, the 30th Olympiad held in London was the only one Nigeria returned from without winning a medal. Sports Editor, EVEREST ONYEWUCHI, who covered the Games, writes that Nigeria’s hopes were dashed once Sprinter Blessing Okagbare failed in the women’s 100m final.

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an we continue to refer to the past when talking about our best outing in the Olympics?”

With the above question, the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on July 5 at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, raised hope that Team Nigeria to the 30th Summer Olympic Games held in London from July 27 to August 12 would win medals.

The minister at the Send-Forth ceremony for the Nigerian contingent reiterated his earlier pledge that the London 2012 Games would not be a jamboree for Team Nigeria and the entire official delegation.

To back his resolve with action, Abdullahi unveiled a 116-man delegation comprising of 55 athletes, 12 coaches, 29 administrative officials and nine medical personnel, who were cleared at the conclusion of the Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) handled by the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).

In the list also were names of six secretariat staff and five contingent officials, including the minister as the Leader of Delegation, NOC President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa; Director-General of the NSC, Chief Patrick Ekeji, as Chef de Mission; NOC Secretary General, Mr. Tunde Popoola and Mr. Alhassan Yakmut as the Deputy Chef de Mission.

“We must prove at the London Games that our country is not only about football,” Abdullahi had said, while the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Mr. Geofrey Ali Gaiya, said emphatically that Team Nigeria would win “not less than three gold medals.”

Now, if you had believed the Minister that there would not be a large Nigerian party in London, you were dead wrong because as usual, there were more “officials” and other hangers on and bag carriers than the competing athletes.

Members of the National Assembly Sports Committees, top politicians from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Directors and top civil servants from the NSC and even “spiritual leaders” were on the “Official Delegation” list who benefitted from the N1.9billion the Federal Government released for the Olympics.

Many of them were flown to London direct from Lagos and Abuja, while some even flew Lagos-London-Jeddah and were given free lodging, board and full estacode. What Olympic event was

D’Tigers forward, Ike Diogu, dribbling an opponent in a match

MOST OF THESE “OFFICIAL DELEGATION” MEMBERS WHO WERE ALLOCATED

OFFICIAL DELEGATION TICKETS DID NOT LEAVE THEIR HOTEL ROOMS TO WATCH A SINGLE EVENT scheduled for Jeddah?

A member of the National Assembly chose to rent a classy Mercedes Benz car at £75 an hour instead of making use of the 2012 BMW 5 Series car allocated to him by the LOCOG. Most of these “Official Delegation” members who were allocated Official Delegation Tickets did not leave their hotel rooms to watch a single event, yet thousands of Nigerians in London faced difficulties buying “Black Market” tickets to watch Team Nigeria competitions.

It was so shameful that the parents of athletes, who usually receive complimentary tickets to watch their wards compete, lay siege to the Games Village Gate, abusing Nigerian officials out of frustration arising from their inability to get the tickets. “My wife and children can’t get tickets to watch wrestling bouts,” Canadian Olympic gold medallist and Nigeria’s wrestling coach, Daniel Igali, bitterly told our correspondent.

At the Games Nigeria participated in eight sports -

athletics, basketball, boxing, canoeing, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

Before the athletes hit the mats, courts, rings and track, the minister reiterated glowingly that “we are here for the athletes. Their interests come first before that of any other member of the delegation.”

Events later, however, proved that the assertion was empty talk and a ruse to ginger the athletes to give their best, even without concrete motivation. A dairy company, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, had promised on departure that it would pay N1.5million for each gold medal, N1million for silver and N500, 000 for bronze medal.

No word came from the Ministry of Sports/NSC in that direction, and when the chips were down, members of the Team Nigeria embarked on strike action because their pre-games and games’ daily allowances were not paid fully despite the N1.9bn released by the

federal government.

The athletes accused the officials of divide-and-rule, complained in hushed tones and subtly that sprinter Blessing Okagbare and Team Nigeria captain, Chika Yagazie Chukwumerije, were favoured in terms of welfare.

In the run up to the London 2012 Games, Okagbare, a long jump bronze medallist at the Beijing 2008 Games had shown so much promise, even winning the pre-Olympics Monaco and London Golden Leagues’ 100m ahead of Carmelita Jeter of the USA and Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica that athletics buffs believed that she would bestrode the London Olympic Stadium’s track like a colossus.

Okagbare was synonymous with hope for Nigeria. Like Jessica Ennis, who was the poster girl of the London 2012 Games and face of Team Great Britain, Okagbare was the face of Team Nigeria.

Ditto, Chukwumerije, who also won taekwondo bronze medal in Beijing.

PREVIOUS OLYMPICS Tokyo ’64: Nojim Maiyegun, boxing (bronze)

Munich ’72: Isaac Ikhouria, boxing (bronze)

Los Angeles ’84: Peter Konyegwachie, boxing (silver) Sunday Uti, Moses Ugbusien, Rotimi Peters, Innocent Egbunike, 4x400m, relay (bronze)

Barcelona ’92: Richard Igbineghu, boxing (silver) David Izonritei, boxing (silver) Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi

Imoh, Kayode Oluyemi, Osmond Ezinwa, 4x100m relay (silver) Beatrice Utondu, Christy Opara-Thompson, Mary Onyali, Faith Idehen, 4x100m relay (bronze)

Atlanta ’96: Chioma Ajunwa, long jump, (gold) Joseph Dosu, Emmanuel Babayaro, Celestine Babayaro, Taribo West, Uche Okechukwu, Sunday Oliseh, Teslim Fatusi, Abiodun Obafemi, Wilson Oruma, Garba Lawal, Tijani Babangida, Emmanuel Amuneke, Nwankwo Kanu, J.J. Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Daniel Amokachi, Kingsley Obiekwu, Mobi Oparaku, Football (gold). Bisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf,

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Insight

Thursday, September 13, 2012

a jamboree for Team Nigeria

55

Tokyo ‘64: 2 bronze Munich ‘72: 1 bronze Los Ageles 84: 1 silver, 1 bronze Barecelona ‘92: 2 silver, 1 bronze Atlanta ‘96: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze Sydney 2000: 2 silver Athens 2004: 2 bronze Beijing 2008: 1 silver, 3 bronze London 2012: No Medals

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (m) trailing her rivals, (l) Shelly Fraser-Pryce (winner) and Carmelita Jeter of the USA in the women’s 100m final, which Okagbare finished last with 11.01secs

QUOTE ME, NSC HANDED OVER TO US

N50MILLION OUT OF THE N1.9BN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY

RELEASED

L-R: Losers all, President, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Sani Ndanusa; Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, and National Sports Commission Director-General, Patrick Ekeji, explaining Team Nigeria’s disastrous outing at a press conference in London

When the aged table tennis quartet, Segun Toriola, Olufunke Oshonaike, Aruna Quadri and Edem Offiong, crashed out, followed by the ill-prepared three boxers and Jonathan Akinyemi, who did a yeoman’s job in slalom, canoeing, other failed were expected.

But once Okagbare came off the block late in her 100m heat, but still managed to win with 10.92, before faltering and finishing last in the final with 11.01, Team Nigeria and the entire delegation were shattered. And for Nigeria, the London Games ended on Saturday, August 4.

RECORD Charity Opara, Falilat Ogunkoya, 4x400m Relay (silver) Mary Onyali, 200m (bronze) Falilat Ogunkoya 400m (bronze) Duncan Dokiwari, boxing (bronze)

Sydney 2000: Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Sunday Bada, Enefiok Udo Obong, Nduka Awazie, Fidelis Gadzama, 4x400m (silver) Gloria Alozie, 100m hurdles (silver) Ruth Ogbeifo, weightlifting (silver)

Athens 2004: Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Aaron Egbele, Deji Aliu, 4x100m relay (bronze)

James Godday, Musa Audu, Saul Weigopwa, Enefiok Udo Obong, 4x400m relay (bronze)

Beijing 2008: Ambrose Vanzekin, Emmanuel Ekpo, Chibuzor Okoronkwo, Dele Adeleye, Ebenezer Ajilore, Efe Ambrose, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Monday James, Oladapo Olufemi, Chinedu Obasi, Olubayo Adefemi, Onyekachi Apam, Peter Odemwingie, Promise Isaac, Solomon Okoronkwo, Victor Anichebe, Victor Obinna, football (silver) Chika Chukwumerije, taekwondo (bronze) Blessing Okagbare, long jump (bronze) Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, Halimat Ismaila

The men and women relay quartets went on strike over unpaid allowances the next day. “It is true the athletes embarked on strike.

But the allowances are not only for the Olympics, but outstanding ones from the African qualifiers held in Port Novo, Benin Republic,” AFN president, Chief Solomon Ogba, explained.

He added that NSC official had returned to Abuja to bring money.

Shame! So because the athletes were not winning to receive enhanced bonuses, the officials had shared the money among themselves and had swooped on the beautifully adorned shopping malls in London to close them down Nigeria way.

An angry NOC secretary-general, Popoola, blurted out while speaking with National Mirror, “Quote me, NSC handed over to us only N50million out of the N1.9bn Federal Government released for the Olympics. What are they doing with the money?”

With morale down, not much was expected from the remaining weightlifters, wrestlers and even captain Chukwumerije and his taekwondo mate, Isa Mohammed.

However, the men’s basketball team shone even though they were unsuccessful in their medals bid.

D’Tigers The only bright side of Nigeria’s

participation in the London 2012 Olympic Games is the accomplishment of the D’Tigers, the male senior national basketball team, the only team sport in which Nigeria competed.

D’Tigers must not be judged by their results in Group A – Nigeria 60 Tunisia 56, Lithuania 72 Nigeria 53, USA 156 Nigeria 73, Nigeria 79 Argentina 93 and France 79 Nigeria 73 – but their professionalism, grit and resilience that ensured their qualification in Caracas, Venezuela for the Olympics.

The team comprising of Tony Skinn, Ekene Ibekwe, Ike Diogu, Al-Faruq Aminu, Ade Dagunduro, Chamberlain Oguchi, Koko Archibong, Richard Oruche, Ejike Ugboaja, Derrick Obasohan, Alade Aminu and Olumide Oyedeji has succeeded in putting Nigeria’s name in the dunking game’s world map.

“Now people have started writing to us on how to sponsor our basketball,” says Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi.

The future Total re-organisation of the sports sector imminent even before President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the reorganisation of the sports sector in the wake of Nigeria’s failure at the London Olympic Games, the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdullahi, had vowed to turn things around.

At the end of the Federal Executive Committee (FEC) meeting on August 15, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said, “President Goodluck Jonathan today ordered for total and comprehensive re-organisation of the sporting sector, following the disappointing performances of Nigerian contingent to the London 2012 Olympics. ``The president accordingly directed for a national retreat which will involve state governments as well as the private sector to re-order priorities in the Nigerian sporting sector. ``He said what took place in London must be the beginning of a new momentum to place Nigerian sports at a level that will enable this country to return to the level it was hither to known for in the area of sports.”

Maku explained that the reorganisation process would be comprehensive and would include the nation’s sporting policies.

Earlier at a press conference in London, the Minister of Sports, Abdullahi, had disclosed his determination to make drastic changes in the sector.

“We will start asking the right questions and make drastic changes,” he said, adding that the re-organisation would begin with the upcoming Eko 2012 National Sports Festival in November.

WORLD RECORD

Largest physics lesson Vol. 02 No. 447

Thursday, September 13, 2012

N150

The largest physics lesson involved 5,401 participants during a presentation by Steve Spangler Science (USA) at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA, on 7 May 2009.

Newswatch: Let us bring back the glory

O

ne of the most unforgettable moments in my undergraduate days at the University of Lagos was the day Newswatch magazine published an article titled A Hollow Ritual. It was published on February 3, 1986.

Dr. Olatunji Dare, one of my finest journalism teachers, used to bring copies of Newswatch to the class as part of his ways of indoctrinating us into the world of journalism. Most of us already had copies of the magazine before coming to class. Four of us classmates –– Bunmi Ajibade (now lecturer at the UNILAG’s Mass Comm. Department), Mumini Alao (now MD, Complete Communications), Kunle Bakare (Publisher, Encomiums) and Jide Jimoh (who teaches journalism as Lagos State University) – used to contribute money every week to buy copies.

In just 10 or 12 paragraphs, Ray Ekpu, in that classic piece, tore the trial of the political leaders, whose ineptitude led to the fall

F

ormer WBA and IBF Light Welterweight champion and WBA Welterweight champion, Ricky Hatton, will announce in Manchester tomorrow when he is expected to announce his return to the ring.

Hatton has not fought

Guest Columnist

Bolu John

Folayan

of the Second Republic into shreds. He was later arrested, detained and charged with contempt of court. But that piece fundamentally helped in the course of justice.

The routine was the same whenever his colleagues, Dele Giwa, Dan Agbese or Yakubu Mohammed wrote. They were the icons of Nigerian journalism. When it comes to using biro to paint discourse, they were in A-class. If anyone asked us to give them commensurate chieftaincy title, we would probably suggest Wole Soyinka of Nigerian Journalism.

Twenty-seven years down the line, things have changed dramatically. Dele Giwa was murdered. His death obviously took a heavy toll on the magazine. Several years later, things began to get worse; then it became worst. Newswatch lost its grip on the magazine market. A magazine that once sold 300,000 copies a week began to sell less than 3,000 copies. When sales were high, it had hit 8,000 copies. Advertisers began to look the other way. Increases in cover price created more problems because it did not match expectations of readers in terms of content. The accounts were in the red. The brand became sick, but the patient still put on a Gorgio Amani suit and a Peirre cardin tie.

At that point, the owners faced the brutal fact: they needed to get in someone to invest heavily to turn it around. After hopping up and down for years without a buyer - (even government hospitals reject barely

AS A TURNAROUND EXPERT, IBRAHIM KNEW SOMETHING FUNDAMENTAL HAD TO BE DONE TO RESCUE THE COMPANY ill patients, much less one in coma), Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, who probably was in the secondary school in the magazine’s days of glory, decided to rescue it. He purchased 51 per cent shares in the company. It was a business transaction, not one of his philanthropic gestures.

Ibrahim did not do most of the common things in the business world whenever acquisitions are made, laying off of staff, out of compassion for the enterprise. Until most recently, he did not sack the staff and board. He only brought in some of his own financial engineers. When acquisitions took place in the banking industry, including the most recent ones, no one complained when fundamental changes began to occur in the management of these companies, but if Ibrahim did it, something must be wrong with him. After all, he did not need to move the company to profit. He had excess money to throw around.

But few weeks ago, some disgruntled

staffers went to the streets and faced the press to complain of four months delay in salary. After the new investor cleared seven months of unpaid salaries he had inherited, the company still could not generate enough money to pay its salaries and print the magazine. Rather than plead with the new owner, the staff, remotely controlled, chose to revolt. Nothing angers an investor more than a disloyal staff. As a turnaround expert, Ibrahim knew something fundamental had to be done to rescue the company. He began his surgery and his decisions did not go down well with the former owners, who had thought it would be business as usual: Bring in the money and we lavish it. To my dismay, the former owners still thought they remained the owners of the company.

That exactly is my worry and the essence of this piece. And I am not joking.

I am afraid that when I grow as old as my heroes in journalism, I might begin to wane in my ability to think well and reason rightly. If I sold 51 percent of something that belongs to me, I should know that it no longer belongs to me. This is especially so, when I have only six percent, another 35 percent unalloted shares remained in the equity, meaning that technically, the owner of the 51 percent potentially owns 51 percent of that 35 percent. Secondly, I should be able to look at issues on the facts of the matter and not on sentiments.

Hear what Mr. Ray Ekpu said recently at the launch of one of his new books: “We thought Ibrahim came to journalism to help journalism, not to harm it. We thought he came to support journalism, not to scuttle it. We thought he came to buy and build and not buy and bury our dear magazine…when you kill a publication, you kill the hopes and aspirations of millions of readers, advertisers, distributors, vendors, researchers and the general public”.

Dr. Folayan is Executive Director, Newswatch, Daily Newspapers Ltd.

Sport Extra

Boxing: Hatton braces for ring return since his second-round defeat to Manny Pacquiao in May 2009 and he officially announced his retirement in July 2011.

But the 33-year-old Mancunian, who devoted him-

self to his burgeoning promotional work since then, now appears to have been tempted back into the ring after shedding almost three stones in training this year, sparking rumours of an im-

minent comeback expected to take place at the MEN Arena in Manchester on November 24.

Hatton had a 45-2 record as a professional when he hung up his gloves, his only

defeats coming against boxing greats Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and will soon re-applying for a boxing licence with the British Boxing Board of Control.

Barring any recent medical issues, it is unthinkable that the ‘Hitman’ would be rejected.

Ricky Hatton

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