Sunday, February 3, 2013

Big Read News

THE

P. 3-6

Pipeline Vandalism: Big business, bigger risk

NEWS

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AFCON 2013 quarter final:

Super Eagles battle star-studded Ivorian team What the stars, analysts are saying www.nationalmirroronline.net

Vol. 3 No. 8

N150

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Pension fraud judgement

More troubles for trial judge

P. 9

Case goes before NJC Commission decides Justice Talba’s case next month

L-R: Wife of the Indonesian President, Mrs. Ani Yudhoyono and her husband, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, during the visit of Yudhoyono to the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

Photo: State House

Suspected immigrants nabbed in Kaduna ...as soldiers intercept nine trucks

Lagos, South-West axis affected Problems owing to activities of vandals Merger fallout: Borno Gov, Sheriff, others set to defect to PDP P. 9

News

NNPC distribution system collapsing ...loses N165bn P. 9

P. 49

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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What’s new

TALKING POINT OF THE PAST WEEK FEBRUARY 3, 2013

My big break came from someone I never met –Theodora Theodora Ibekwe is synonymous with Nigeria’s entertainment industry in the United Kingdom, UK. She is an actress, movie producer, event promoter and is considered by many as the best Nigerian publicist in the UK. In this interview, she speaks about her works and how she rose to stardom through sheer hard work.

Wellness

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Why screening is essential in prevention of cancer –Dr. Olaleye A study conducted by the international community shows that the number of cancer deaths in Nigeria is very high. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that 75 per cent of new cancer cases come from developing countries.

Statistically, one in 25 Nigerian women has breast cancer. For cervical cancer, one woman will die in an hour and that is about 10,000 women in a year.

Ezekwesili’s allegations because of her World Bank experience and as Special Adviser to the President on Public Procurement as well as a two-time minister in the past.

At a lecture she delivered at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, recently, Ezekwesili had alleged that the squandering of $45 billion in foreign reserves account and $22 billion in Excess Crude Account by the two regimes was “the most egregious” instance of Nigeria’s failure to make the right developmental choices.

State of the nation: Southern leaders insist on national conference The Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly, SNPA, has called for the convocation of a national conference for the resolution of some of the problems threatening the existence of the country.

The SNPA also declared that the ongoing constitutional amendment by the National Assembly was akin to usurping the sovereign rights of

Nigerians to produce a peopleoriented constitution.

Arising from its second General Assembly in Enugu, the SNPA also said that with the recognition of the six geopolitical zones by the constitution as the federating units, the creation of states and local governments should be the responsibility of the zonal federating units.

Boko Haram backs down, agrees to ceasefire After negotiating a peace deal with the government, members of the Jama’atul Ahalis Sunna Lida’awati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, have agreed to lay down their arms.

The deadly Islamic sect has been terrorising some states in the North, particularly Borno, for some years now.

The agreement was reached after a group suspected to be members of the sect claimed to have had a closed-doors meeting with the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, top government officials and religious leaders from the state. Borno State government confirmed the development.

Okah: FG replies MEND The Federal Government has reacted to the threat of breakup of the country by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, following the conviction of Mr. Henry Okah by a court in South Africa. The government said it expected MEND to have become a patriotic rather than destructive organisation.

Okah was convicted over his role in the October 1, 2010 bomb blasts at Eagles’ Square, Abuja.

Edmund Ebiware, who claimed he was an associate of Okah, was also sentenced to life in prison by an Abuja court for failing to avail security agencies with information about the pending bombing.

Tokumbo Odedina CEO, DREAMS CAPE PRODUCTIONS

MON

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The House of Representatives has set up a panel to investigate the alleged mismanagement of $45 billion in foreign reserves and $22 billion excess crude fund.

Former Vice-President of the World Bank where the foreign reserves are kept, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, had alleged that the Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan regimes depleted the foreign reserves accumulated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

In his motion, Umar Bature (PDP, Sokoto) said the House needed to dig into

given by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN).

Responding, however, to enquiries from journalists on the implication of a letter written by a lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, threatening to commence private prosecution of the embattled lawmaker, the AGF through his lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), said: “I will not react to the matter”.

Mondays are my resting days. When I wake up, say my prayers and take three glasses of water, off I go. I hardly take breakfast. When I get to the office, I usually have two major meetings on Mondays.

When I get back home, I help my son with his homework, after which I shower, eat dinner and watch movies till I sleep.

TUE

Applause

Reps probe Presidency over spending of N67bn reserves

The Federal Government will begin the prosecution of the suspended Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Hon. Farouk Lawan, over the $620,000 bribe-forclearance deal involving him and businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola. Lawan’s arraignment and subsequent trial will be effected under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000.

Indications to this effect were

I jog from my gate to the closest bus stop from my house.

I come back, take a shower and I’m ready for my appointments for the day. This is the day I keep the appointments of the week.

WED

Rumblings of discontent in the midst of ex-militants

pany called SY-A Global Services Limited.

Yusufu was on Monday convicted and sentenced to a two-year prison term by Justice Abubakar Talba of an Abuja high court.

The sentence was based on a guilty plea to a threecount charge of conspiracy and stealing of police pension funds to the tune of N32.8 billion. The convict however walked away after paying the N750,000 fine option on the spot.

Wednesday is for my rehearsals, especially for upcoming stage performance. I go for my photo shoot and then head back home after.

THU

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the remand of the convicted Assistant Director, Police Pension Office, John Yakubu Yusufu, in prison custody.

Justice Adamu Bello gave the order following the rearraignment of the convict by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a fresh four-count charge.

The charge bordered on the convict’s failure to disclose his assets in a com-

FG to arraign Lawan over $620,000 bribe this week

I call all my Project Management Team (PMT) to plan and strategise on my events for this year, and other people’s events we have to work on. Also on Thursday, I go out to see my clients in advertising agencies to see if there are jobs for my models and artistes.

FRI

Convicted pension boss remanded in prison

Chief Edwin Clark is the Leader of Ijaw Peoples Forum, IPF, and one of the cochairmen of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA). In this interview, he tells the reasons and benefits for the formation of SNPA when the southern leaders met in Enugu recently.

Politics

Seven Days

Friday is for my catwalk lesson class, which normally takes place at the Artistes Village. After this, I go to salon to fix my hair, get my pedicure and manicure done and get ready for the weekend.

SAT

Clark: Why would Jonathan not rule for eight years?

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On Saturdays, there must be one event or the other to attend.

If I’m not there as a guest, I’ll go as part of the organisers or perhaps my models are there working or my artistes are there performing.

SUN

Interview

Saturdays and Sundays are almost the same, apart from the fact that on Sundays, I must be at the church first. When I’m done with the church, I go straight to swim at least for an hour. After that, I will go back home to prepare for an event. *By Adaeze Amos (0802 301 2293)

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE

Big Read SUNDAY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

February 3, 2013

NSCDC with suspected vandals and their loot

Vandals scooping fuel from a ruptured pipe

Arepo pipeline fire

Vandals scooping fuel with a tanker at a dug well

Pipeline Vandalism:

Big business, bigger risk Pipeline vandalism is unabating, at least for now. The vandals are well connected, wellarmed and ready to kill. Since they first hacked into the nation’s oil pipelines to siphon petroleum products, it has been tales of woes for both communities and country. Often, there is fire outbreak in the process of stealing the oil, leading to loss of lives – vandals and the innocent alike – with property worth millions burnt while billions of naira is wasted in replacement. How do these criminals carry out their operations? What are the risks involved and how do they source for the market? Head, Special Investigations, Isioma Madike, in this report, attempts to unravel the mystery behind the oil theft

I

t is no longer news that Nigeria pipelines are targets of vandals out to siphon fuel and make good business.

But, all these come at a cost to government and also the vandals. Apart from millions of naira in losses to government, the vandals also play a deadly game, with most losing their lives in the process. From the creeks of the Niger Delta in the South-South to the Arepo community in the South West, it has been tales of woes.

Oil theft is a very lucrative business in Nigeria. So is the attendant risk. Many people are involved - from Nigerians to foreigners. Apart from ordinary and highly connected Nigerians, Ghanaians, Russians, Filipinos and Indians

have joined the illegal occupation. It started in the Niger Delta region, where illegal oil refineries have sprung up like mushrooms. However, it has spread to almost all parts of Nigeria, leaving unquantifiable sorrow, tears and blood in its trail.

Though the pipelines are buried deep inside the ground with many in swampy areas, the vandals have devised various ingenious methods to breach them. Once this is done, trucks are loaded to be sold to willing buyers in the black market. The buyers could be owners of filling stations or other dishonest Nigerians acting as middlemen for end users. When it is not convenient to use trucks, drums or jerry

‘LAST YEAR, JTF ARRESTED 1, 945 VANDALS, DESTROYED 4, 349 ILLEGAL REFINERIES’

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cans are used, and then taken in large quantities to secret places where the buyers come to take delivery.

However, many Nigerians have met their untimely death through sudden and devastating explosions resulting in huge infernos. Men, women, old and young, even toddlers have been roasted alive. These activities are carried out in the wee hours of the night, away from the prying eyes of the security operatives, often times in concert with some elements of host communities. It is in the process of siphoning these products that ‘avoidable’ fire incidents occur. But, this has not deterred the vandals, rather, due to the seeming ‘ease’ of stealing petroleum products, the business has somewhat become an all-comers’ game.

Incidentally, those living around or close to the pipelines have often been accused of aiding and abetting this heinous crime, according to reports. And those engaged in vandalism have, in the opinion of some, formed terror gangs or cartel to keep themselves in business. For many years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots at different locations around the country have suffered product shortage due to the activities of vandals, who destroyed the pipelines feeding the facilities.

In Lagos State, for instance, the vandals have employed different ways and strategies of scooping petrol otherwise known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Some of the notable areas, where the NNPC pipelines are buried had become the den of vandals where millions of naira worth of fuel are siphoned, refined and sometimes sold at ridiculous price. Armed with instrument such as rubber pipe, kegs and drums and some other tools, which they used to scoop fuel, the oil thieves appear to have perfected their mode of operation. Though, their strategies and ways of scooping fuel vary from location to location. At times, they dug wells, where fuel and the other products are fetched like water. At other ends, a long pipe is fixed to the pipelines and buried in the ground to siphon the fuel, several metres away from the NNPC tubes. This is done secretly to avoid suspicion from anyone.

But, these activities are becoming dangerous by the day in both the metropolis and the city’s suburbs as the vandals are also ready to kill or maim anyone who challenges their operation. Many law enforcement agents and concerned citizens had been killed or maimed by these criminal elements.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mrs Bada Kehinde, the Corps had in January alone arrested over 65 vandals in various notable spots in the state.

“They are becoming more sophisticated daily as they usually engage the NSCDC officers in gun duel,” she said.

Just last Tuesday, the vandals engaged in gun duel with the NSCDC officials for more than 30 minutes at 7th Avenue, FESTAC Town, Lagos. Sighting the operatives, the criminals, she said, opened fire and attempted to set the pipeline on fire. Numbering about nine, the vandals were said to be siphoning petroleum products from a broken pipeline when the operatives swooped on them; they manCONTINUED ON PAGE 4

‘VANDAL FOOT SOLDIERS ARE USUALLY PARADED’

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The Big Read

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Gov Amosun and his entourage on a spot assessment of Arepo pipeline vandalism

Debiro

DG, NSCDC, Ade Abolurin

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Allison-Madueke

Fefegha

Morris

‘Last year, JTF arrested 1, 945 vandals, destroyed 4, 349 illegal refineries’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 aged to escape, though. The NSCDC operatives recovered 286 litres of jerry cans filled with about 10,000 litres of PMS. Kehinde explained that her men got wind of the vandals’ operation the previous day and consequently mounted surveillance at about 7p.m (Tuesday) till 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Following a tip-off, our men laid ambush for the vandals, who have been vandalising NNPC pipelines at 7th Avenue FESTAC. While a team was at FESTAC, another laid ambush for the vandals at Ije-Ododo area. On sighting our men, they opened fire but we overpowered them and forced them to abandon their looted fuel,” she added.

Apart from Lagos, five suspected oil pipeline vandals were also paraded by the Ondo State Command of the NSCDC. This was revealed by the Ondo State PRO of the NSCDC, Kayode Balogun, on Wednesday, January 30. Balogun said the suspects were arrested in a Toyota car with number plate FD 848 LSR at Omotosho village on the OreSagamu expressway. According to him, the people were carrying items suspected to have been used in vandalising oil pipelines, which included two pumping machines, one big generator, one welding machine and other tools. He added that the arrest was made possible based on the synergy among the security agencies in the state as the suspects were arrested by men of the 19 Battalion of the Nigerian Army. The suspects include John Olivia, Damilola Ogunyemi, Olusegun Ogunduboye, Ayo Omoba Omogbehinmi, and Alhaji Oloruntimilehin Owalele.

Akute, in Ogun State is also a notable spot where vandals engage in deadly attack of the security agents, who dare to challenge their operations. The area was in the news again last week, for the same reason. Before the Akute incident, Arepo, another notorious spot for the vandals had been in the news, also for the wrong reasons. In recent times, the activities of pipeline petroleum vandals had increased in these areas to the point of painting the entire state in bad light. Before then, tragedy had struck when three officials of NNPC were shot dead by suspected oil pipeline hackers also in Arepo village. Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Fidel Pepple, confirmed the incident. He said a Deputy Manager in charge of Pipelines Right of Way and two others, who were staff members of the Pipelines and Products

Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, had gone to effect the repair of a damaged portion of the NNPC pipeline when the hoodlums opened fire on them.

On January 23, many lives were reportedly lost to the inferno in the Arepo pipeline area. That was the second within two weeks. Prior to that incident, there had been allegations and counter-allegations between the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and the leadership of NNPC over the attack on system 2B belonging to the corporation at Arepo in Obafemi-Owode local government area of the state. Apparently dissatisfied with the situation, Amosun accused officials of NNPC of aiding and abetting the dastardly act when he paid an on-the-spot assessment to the scene.

The governor said the incident brought the state to its knees while top management of the corporation was sitting in Abuja blowing, according to him, “unnecessary grammar” of inefficiency. “We are our own enemies because this is clearly a failure of governance. We have NNPC there, indeed, I have to say it here and I am saying it with all sense of responsibility that, NNPC by their inaction is aiding and abetting the vandals. I want to believe that they are part of this pipeline vandalism with their inaction because you can’t have somebody there as GMD, NNPC and they will allow this to be happening. How can few vandals put everybody in this nation into problem?” he asked.

Earlier on Friday, January 11. The illegal operation, according to reports, was already on when disagreement ensued among members of the gang, necessitating one member to fire a shot at the pipeline. That ugly incident resulted in the fire that claimed the life of about five members of the gang, necessitating Amosun to bemoan the poor security arrangement put in place to guard the facilities. “Non-readiness of the entire management of the corporation to provide the needed modern day security gadgets for effective policing of the facilities has made the NNPC culpable in the crime. Look at where they said they have the security watchtower, who will go and stay there to watch anything? This is not good for us as a nation. Any public thing, nobody looks after it. We should do the right thing. This is multi billion naira investment. Why can’t we spend some money to take care of the investment?” the governor asked.

But, NNPC in a swift reaction to Amosun’s accusation, expressed shock that the governor could engage in blame shifting game “when he ought to know the importance of government assets in his custody and do everything within his power to protect same from vandals.” The General Manager, Governmental Relations, Tumini Green, disclosed that the government of Ogun was yet to respond to its proposal to collectively proffer security measures to the facilities, stressing that the government has no justification to point accusing fingers at it. “It is sad that the Governor of Ogun State, who should know the importance of national assets like pipelines and do everything in his power to protect them is engaging in a blame game when every responsible Nigerian citizen is wondering why Arepo, which is in his domain has become such an attractive spot for oil thieves and pipeline vandals,” she said.

The NNPC, however, urged Amosun to emulate the Abia State government, which has mobilised security measures to protect pipeline and petroleum products facilities within the domain of the state and also sustain product supply to the state rather than engage in ‘unnecessary rhetoric’.

Speaking with Sunday Mirror on the way forward, the Ogun State Commandant of NSCDC, Aboluwaye Ebenezer, noted that the Arepo situation has been a recurring issue for quite some time but that the vandals are becoming too violent and very wild. He stressed that the terrain in which the vandals operates posed a greater challenge to officers of NSCDC. Ebenezer did not stop there. He recommends that NNPC should reinforce the security arrangement on ground before these incidents. According to him, the NSCDC had engaged the services of native hunters, who served as guard for the facilities and also provide security tips on the activities of the vandals. “They assigned them to some certain pipeline areas whereby they were able to give security information to NSCDC, but what I heard was that these native hunters have not been paid for some time now and that makes the vandals to enjoy unhindered operations. Again, most of these vandals are from the riverine areas, according to available statistics. If you want to attack them, they will just jump inside the water and they have the ability to stay underneath for about an hour or more and they know the terrain very well and can CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The Big Read

Sunday, February 3, 2013

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NNPC lost N165bn in four years – Ibrahim, Group Manager, Media Relations Department Omar Farouk Ibrahim is the Group Manager, Media Relations department, Group Public Affairs Division of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He says in this interview with Isioma Madike and Chidi Ugwu that communities as well as other Nigerians should take up the challenge of securing NNPC’s installations nationwide, especially the petroleum pipelines to ward off vandals.

How would you evaluate the activities of pipeline vandals nationwide?

It is a very serious matter I must tell. In a matter of months, if care is not taken, our distribution system would almost collapse, particularly from Lagos to Ibadan.

In Arepo area of Ogun State, the system 2B, which was destroyed last August, two weeks ago and even a couple of days ago, carries one third of national consumption of our products and it is in the course of looking at all of this that we found that there were hundreds of points where vandals have punctured and were siphoning products.

The corporation faces the biggest problem of vandalism along the system 2B axis. And if you put all of these together, it will run into colossal sums of money that NNPC and, indeed, the nation are losing. It is a very disturbing trend.

What is the corporation doing to curtail this dastardly act by criminals?

Well, the corporation is doing its best by collaborating with various security agencies in various states of the federation. However, it must be noted that the business of protecting the pipelines is the responsibility of all well meaning Nigerians and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the ugly development is put to a stop. In that regard, more efforts is demanded from the federal, states and local governments, including local communities through which the pipelines travel to do more in the area of securing the facilities. NNPC is also considering a lot of options in order to put a deterrent, including laying the pipes deeper into the ground or covering them with concrete in order to make pipeline vandalism unattractive to criminally-minded individuals. The next phase of pipeline projects would be fortified in such a way that criminals will not be able to tamper with them. When the pipelines were being laid, the tendency for vandalism was not considered because such anomaly had never hap-

NNPC GMD, Engr. Andrew Yakubu

pened before. But, over time, the temptation to break into pipelines, because people saw that as the easiest way to make money, became manifest.

Has there been any other strategy?

Sometimes mid last year, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, called the security agents to brainstorm on the way forward, JTF was instrumental to that. After that, NNPC gave all the support that the security operatives needed to work. But, it is the responsibility of government to secure life and property through the security agents nationwide. Part of the resolve from that brainstorming was also to secure what we already have on ground and to take steps to making sure the facilities are unattractive to vandals by employing su-

perior technology to help save the pipes.

How can you quantify the cost of these nefarious activities of hoodlums?

It is no longer hidden that the nation has lost over N165 billion to vandalism between 2009 and 2012. Between October and December 2012, the NNPC recorded 774 different points of hacking into its products pipelines from Atlas Cove in Lagos to Ilorin in Kwara State. If that is invested back into production, the return on them will be so much and this will reflect on what the NNPC pays into the federation account. As it is now, it also reflects negatively in the same account. It breeds shortages, which in turn push up cost of PMS. Most of the time when these pipelines are vandalised, we resort to trucking, which is a more expensive mode of transporting the products.

NNPC officials have often been accused of collaborating with the vandals. How true is that?

To the best of my knowledge, our officials do not collaborate with vandals. Although, we have about 11, 000 workforce, and it may not be right to assume that all are saints. But, we have our in-house mechanism to check and investigate such accusation and I can tell you right here that we have never found that to be true. However, because we have always preached that communities should step up their vigilance and report the activities of these criminals, who we believe live with them, some people are using that as an opportunity to accuse the NNPC officials. Such insinuation cannot be correct.

How exactly would you want the communities to come in to effectively safeguard the pipelines?

Community leaders in some states have taken it upon themselves to mobilise their people to help secure the installations of NNPC because they know the value. Aba in Abia State is a very good example in this regard. Because of their exemplary behaviour, we went in to rehabilitate the damaged installations there last year and it’s working now and the community has also assured us of maximum security there. There is a limit to what the police, for instance, can do; if nothing else, they need information to work. This is what we want other communities where vandalism has become the order of the day, to emulate.

1, 498 pipelines breached between August and January 2013 –NNPC CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 maneuver.”

However, Ogun State is not the only one habouring this illegality. In Bayelsa State, oil pipeline vandalism activities by community youths are as old as the state itself. The situation has been generating concern among the multinational oil firms, state and federal governments. But, the security operatives such as the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) have said that it is working tirelessly by conducting patrols in the creeks and waterways

Arrested suspected vandals

to reduce the menace. The Commander of the task force in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Bata Debiro, told Sunday Mirror that his men conduct daily patrols of the pipelines along the creeks and water ways.

Debiro, who spoke through the Media Coordinator of JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said ruptures of well- heads and pipelines have been severally detected in the course of patrolling the creeks. In his views, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Markson Fe-

fegha, regretted that pipeline vandalism in the state had caused some economic sabotage to the federal government, since oil is the main stay of the nation’s economy. Fefegha disclosed that government would soon come up with a definite policy on pipeline vandalism as it had done on kidnapping activities, which now attracts a death penalty in the state.

On his part, the Project Officer of the Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Bayelsa State, Alagoa Morris, said the incidence of pipeline vandalism could be curtailed if certain measures were taken. According to him, these measures could be from government, oil firms and the communities. “The oil companies should manage their information well with a high sense of responsibility. They should also follow up to know if their contractors are doing the right things in the field. They should not close their communication channels. The companies should also not be hasty in defending their contractors or staff when we report that such company officials were implicated in incidence of sabotage,” Morris advised.

Another environmentalists and rights activist, Tari Dadiowei, said empathy, personalities and aggression were some of the reasons behind grievances in the communities.

According to him, rather than those in authority to address the conditions as to bring

on peace and improved conditions of living, they are using coercive power to bully the people to submission which always led to violence instead of addressing the situation.

In Rivers State, the task force comprising of Army, State Security Service (SSS), Navy, and NSCDC have been active in combating the menace of illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism. In 2012 alone, the security agents carried out 7,585 raids and arrested 1,945 criminals involved in the illicit trade. The outfit also destroyed crude oil cooking ovens, which are used for the processing of the illegal products. But, these impressive operations have come with a high price; the JTF lost nine of its operatives to these unrepentant deadly oil thieves in three separate incidents last year.

Last Tuesday, a vessel transporting illegally obtained crude products was impounded by men of the outfit in Bonny Town, and the crew has been detained and are undergoing police interrogation. The JTF has also seized about 15, 000 barges, boat and sundry equipment used in the transportation of these products out of the sores of this country. “One of such efforts is the reconnaissance of SPDC and NNPC pipelines conducted early in 2011. Aerial over-flights and ground patrols of pipeline networks are regularly conducted to deter CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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The Big Read

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Foot soldiers, not the godfathers are usually caught and paraded’

A vandalised pipeline

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 vandals from sabotaging the pipelines. Similarly, most critical oil platforms have troops deployed in them 24 hours per day, seven days a week to enhance their protection.

Meetings are also held with the stakeholders in the oil industry to share information and evolve ways of checkmating sundry oil crimes. These proactive measures and efforts resulted in the lowering of total deferred production of crude oil from about 9.5 million barrels in January 2011 to about 1.5 million barrels in November 2011.

“In 2012, JTF conducted 7,585 illegal bunkering patrols in the region resulting in the arrest of 1, 945 suspects, and destruction of 4, 349 crude oil cooking ovens commonly referred to as illegal refineries. These robust patrols also led to the arrest of 133 barges, 1, 215 Cotonu boats, 185 tanker trucks, 178 illegal fuel dumps, 5, 574 surface tanks and 638 pumping machines used for siphoning illegal crude oil. There were 18 vessels arrested also while engaging in illegal oil bunkering activities in the creeks. As we commenced 2013, over-flight, waterways and ground patrols have been intensified and carried out in conjunction with some oil firms on swamp area pipelines from Brass to Odioma, Nembe, Obama, Ogboingiri, Azuzuama and Tebidaba communities of Bayelsa State.

“Patrols on the waterways are intensified, within January alone, 362 illegal refineries were located and destroyed while three vessels, seven barges, 75 wooden boats, all indulged in illegal oil bunkering were intercepted in Opobo riser, Bonny local government of Rivers State and Tomkiri in Brass local government of Bayelsa State; Ogbokodo creek and Ugbokolo areas of Warri South West of Delta State, and 175 suspects were as well arrested during these operations,” JTF spokesperson said.

It is the same story in Imo State. The Special Adviser to Imo State Governor on Niger Delta Affairs, Eric Nwanom, told our correspondent that pipeline vandalism is what the people of the state have been battling for long. He noted that the people of Asa, one of the oil communities have lost lives, properties, farm lands and domestic animals due to the activities of these crimi-

A victim of Arepo pipeline fire

nals. “We have set up a strong network for the apprehension of pipeline vandals in the area,” he said, warning those perpetrating such dastardly act to desist forthwith or face the law.

Andrew Yakubu, NNPC GMD, has put the number of pipeline breaches between August and early January this year at 1,498.

He said, “between Atlas Cove and Mosimi depots, the NNPC recorded 181 break points; from Mosimi to Ibadan, it had 421 ruptured points; and from Mosimi to Ore, it recorded 50 vandalised points. Also between Ibadan and Ilorin, it had a total of 122 break points.”

Yakubu decried the unending incidents of pipeline hacking and product theft, which, he said, were currently posing great danger to the efficient distribution and supply of petroleum products in some parts of the country. He said if vandalism was left unchecked, the activities of pipeline marauders could cripple the smooth operation of the downstream sector of the industry.

Last week, the PPMC said the economy had lost over N165 billion in the last four years to pipeline vandalism. This, according to it, includes the cost of repairs and products theft. Haruna Momoh, the MD of PPMC, also noted that “the activities of vandals at Arepo and products theft across the country had become a recurring national.”

Since the first fire incidents occasioned by the activities of vandals in Jesse, near Sapele in Delta State, on October 17, 1998, where an estimated 1,200 people died, many more people have gone the same way, particularly as a result of the activities of pipeline vandals. Try as the government may, with constant advertisement in the media pointing to the dangers inherent in scooping fuel from burst pipelines, nobody seems to be listening or perturbed. But, a probe of the owners of several mansions that dot these landscapes around the pipelines could lead to some startling discoveries.

Most of these mansions could have been built from the proceeds of this crime.

There are stories about some unscrupulous Nigerians who have built houses inside villages and settlements close to pipelines route. Such houses usually go with high walls to keep prying eyes at bay.

Inside these high walls, they bring oil tankers under the cover of darkness to take fuel siphoned from burst pipelines which are then neatly stored in huge storage tanks in the houses waiting for buyers. This is why, many believe, that security agents must do more of intelligence gathering in order to unmask these enemies of the nation. In a society where money is worshipped and where poverty is widespread, the tendency to look the other way when these crimes are being committed is always there. Each time

pipeline vandals are paraded on network television, it is usually the foot soldiers from the dregs of the society, who run errands for the barons that get caught. The godfathers usually lie low, while their stooges are being paraded half-naked in public.

Additional reports from Sam Oluwalana (Port Harcourt), Femi Oyeweso (Abeokuta), Emma Gbemudu (Yenagoa), Chris Njoku (Owerri) and Muritala Ayinla (Lagos).

This Day in African American History

In celebration of Black History Month, the U.S. Consulate General has partnered with the National Mirror to showcase a daily note entitled This Day in Black History. The note will commemorate prominent black figures and recount historic events in African American History that have contributed to American progress. The theme of this year’s national black history month as announced by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is At the Crossroads

of Freedom and Equality: the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington. Read below to learn what historic event happened today in African American history.

February 3: On this day in 1870—Amendment XV Secured Voting Rights for African Americans!

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to

vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (i.e., slavery). It was ratified on February 3, 1870.

In practice, of course, it would be another 100 years before African Americans were really able to vote more-or-less freely and Jim Crow laws as well as anti-Black customs, ubiquitous in both “The North” and “The South,” would prevent Black Americans from enjoying even second class citizenship for many decades to come.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Dateline SHAPING THE FUTURE WITH THE PAST FEBRUARY 3, 2013

The late Ajasin

The late Omoboriowo

Ondo election: Governor, deputy’s duel that turned bloody K AYODE FASUA

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n Friday, August 12, 1983, a day before the governorship election in Ondo State, the governor, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, was resplendent in his white Agbada embroidery at the Oke-Eda Government House, Akure; although palpable anxiety could be read all over him. If he had fears, he apparently tried to conceal them, as he threw banters at some of his aides and commissioners present. Nonetheless, it was an occasion for stock-taking and serious planning. For the following day, the governor, who was gunning for a second term in office, would face his former Deputy, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, in what promised to be a gruelling governorship contest.

But as the group stayed glued to their strategic plan, mapping out areas of strength and weakness, a lackey suddenly rushed in, dangling a sheet. “Your Excellency!

Your Excellency! The unthinkable has happened, it has happened!” He kept on with the refrain, as he pranced infectiously, to create effect. “Talk now, are you struck dumb with NPN juju?” One of the UPN chieftains asked him. “No sir,” he replied, thrusting the sheet in his hand on the table for everyone to read what it contained.

The sheet the lackey brought was a big surprise to all, as it reportedly contained the stamped result of the governorship election that was to hold the following day, and it was issued on the letter-head of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the body responsible for conducting elections into all political offices in

the country.

But how did the ‘miracle’ happen? The man, apparently a Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) mole in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) then related how the NPN chieftains threw a bash at Ire, an Ekiti community, over gourds of palm-wine, and there shared copies of ‘the result of the coming election in which Omoboriowo defeated Ajasin with a landslide!’ At that stage, Ajasin knew that a more hostile dimension to the battle had begun. Sources said he told his aides, “If this advancing miracle can come to pass, Omoboriowo will spot maggots inside salt.”

Genesis of crisis Ajasin had been a long-standing acolyte of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the chairman and presidential candidate of the UPN. Their relationship dated to the 1950s when the Action Group (AG) party of Awolowo was formed in Ajasin’s living room in the latter’s Owo countryhome. Ajasin, a school teacher of many years, was known as reticent and one that dotted the mien of a lamb. However, he was also reputed for being inwardly strong as he was principled, and could be unbending in his course of action.

When the military yielded power to the politicians in stages as from 1978, Ajasin naturally joined the UPN of Awolowo and without stress, the former was favoured to bear the party’s flag in the then young Ondo State.

The state was created in 1976 by the military administration of General Murtala Mohammed, out of the Western Region. Its headquarters was in Akure, com-

prising of other divisions of disparate ethnic groups, namely Ilaje, Ikale, Ijaw, Ondo, Owo, Akoko and Ekiti.

As for Omoboriowo, he was in the youth wing of the UPN. He was a trained lawyer but was working at the administrative department of the University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State).

Often, Awolowo would send him on errands, to deliver classified letters to top chieftains of the party in different parts of Yorubaland. Reports say of all the young UPN politicians of the 1978/79 period, Omoboriowo was Awolowo’s favourite, as he had absolute confidence in him. On that strength, however, Awolowo, named him as Ajasin’s running mate. Omoboriowo, an Ekiti man , hailed from Ijero-Ekiti.

However, shortly after Ajasin became governor, he took ill, forcing his being flown abroad for intensive medical attention. While away, his deputy, Omoboriowo was the acting governor. And being a younger man with suave appeals, and having begun to carry out populist projects in some communities with intensified publicity, he thus turned a folk hero. But while all these lasted, Ajasin was being duly briefed by his loyalists in government.

So, when Ajasin eventually recovered from his ailment, he staged a dramatic return to the state as he was treated to a tumultuous welcome. An account said Omoboriowo was not even informed that his boss was coming back home. At that stage, things reportedly started going awry between the two politicians to the extent that there were instances of juju scare at Government CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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Dateline

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 House with the Ajasin and Omoboriowo camps pointing fingers at each other.

Nevertheless, Omoboriowo appeared favoured by many members of the state’s House of Assembly and would have had Ajasin impeached at one point or the other but for last-minute political lobbying and horsetrading. Awolowo reportedly invited the two combating leaders to his Ikenne country home for resolution of the dispute to no avail. Awo, as Awolowo was fondly called, also visited the state on many occasions to broker truce but as one of the politicians put it, it was like flogging a dead horse.

There was a time Ajasin was summoned to the House over a petition from the Omoboriowo camp, that he allegedly embezzled N9, 500 allocated to all the 17 local government areas for party affairs. Each council was to share N500. Ajasin stood for hours before the lawmakers to clear his name.

As the ding-dong persisted, the time drew near for another election and Omoboriowo told Awolowo that he was going to contest on the grounds of Ajasin’s frail health and old age. Awo was undecided at the initial stage, by an account said Awo secretly assured Omoboriowo of his support, unknown to Ajasin. Eventually, a kind of primary election was held involving resonant voices in the party, under the watchful supervision of Awolowo and Ajasin was declared the party’s standardbearer. At that intersection, there were reported moves to whip the state’s lawmakers back to line, to either support Ajasin or risk losing their second term tickets.

At that stage, Omoboriowo sensed that first, he would be impeached as deputy governor and secondly, it was as sure as death that he would not be picked as running mate to Ajasin. He, as a result, resigned his position as deputy governor.

He was replaced with Chief Nathaniel Aina, a commissioner in Ajasin’s cabinet, who also became the governor’s running mate for the second term run.

Afterwards, the NPN leadership began to discuss with Omoboriowo, which led to the latter defecting to the party. However, since Omoboriowo wanted to be governor and the NPN had already got a governorship candidate in the person of Mr. Wole Familoni, there happened to be a logjam. But it was soon resolved as Familoni was persuaded to step down for Omoboriowo with a promise of another juicy appointment. Insiders said Omoboriowo’s defection was like a thunderbolt to Awolowo who believed that it was too pedestrian for someone to leave his party for another, on the basis of political ambition. Awo, it was said, reasoned that he was disappointed that Omoboriowo did not leave because of ideological difference but because of his inability to become governor.

The crisis Ajasin, after the exit of Omoboriowo from the UPN, was thus faced with the reality of facing his ex-deputy in the governorship contest of August 13. While the state government took advantage of its electronic media which was Ondo State Broadcasting Service (OSBC), the NPN hurriedly established ‘Radio Nigeria’ in Akure, to counter the UPN propaganda and advance the cause of Omoboriowo. Though the election held with pockets of crises and irregularities here and there, it was a mere child play to the mother of bloodshed that lurked in the corner. Owing to logistic problems, the result of the poll could not be declared immediately, as results were still being expected from the riverine areas. However, the politicians had begun collating the results and were getting feelers on where victory would sway.

At long last, in the early hours of Tuesday August 16, 1983, the voice of the General Manager of Radio Nigeria, Mr. Sanya Oyinsan, came on air, as he announced the election result. In the poll, as released by FEDECO, Omoboriowo was declared winner. Immediately after the announcement, a particular song of Sunny Okosun, intended as innuendo to taunt the ‘losing’ UPN, rent the air. It goes thus: Baba ti bawase, baba ti bawa seo, oun to jawa laya, baba ti bawa se (the Almighty has done it for us; what had constituted fear for us, He has

The late Awolowo

Shagari

Governor, deputy’s duel that turned bloody surmounted it).

Greatly angered, the UPN camp, which had been monitoring the electoral drift, declared total war on anything NPN, be it human, property or animal. Sources said what smoked the fire of hate the more was the Ire-Ekiti result sheet that was obtained a day before the election, which tallied with the official result declared

by FEDECO after the poll!

Besides, it was learnt that heavily armed political thugs with broad chests, had been imported to the state by the UPN leaders, few days before the election.

The first casualty of the enraged political goon was Oyinsan himself who announced the result. His tasteful building in Lafe area of Akure was set ablaze. Eyewitnesses said the arsonists helped one of the tenants of the house, a white woman to pack out her property before the house was torched. The worried woman was given a chair on which he sat crying and cuddling her pet, a cat. Oyinsan’s library, said to be the best in Akure at the period, was not spared also, as it went up in flames. But Oyinsan, sources said, only made a recorded broadcast, as he fled the state immediately after the announcement.

Elsewhere in Akure, in the home of Hon. Olaiya Fagbamigbe, a member of the House of Representatives who defected from the UPN to NPN, it was a gorier scene of horror. Attackers simply went in, dragged him out, stripped him, ringed him round with disused tyres, poured petrol on him and set him ablaze. His family members managed to escape but one of them was not so lucky as he was hacked down with a machete.

As for Chief Robert Agbayewa, a successful businessman and an Akure-based erstwhile UPN chieftain who defected to the NPN, efforts to kill him, according to eyewitnesses, initially proved abortive. His voice was heard in his house alright but he could not be seen.

But a certain voodoo woman was said to have chanted incantations leading to his being sighted. He was immediately hacked to death and set ablaze along with his house. The crowd of killers also tried to kill one of his wives. Reports said the woman had been stripped, bathed with petrol and ringed in disused tyres as usual, but an helicopter was hovering in the sky, making the attackers to disperse. They thought it was a military chopper which could release gunfire from above. Seizing the lifeline, the naked woman ran the race of her life

and rushed into the premises of a Catholic Church. She was later pursued there by the killers. But the church’s priest, a white man, let off some gunshots which scared off the crowd, thus saving the life of the woman.

Another pathetic case was that of Hon Kunle Agunbiade, a member of the state’s House of Assembly who was UPN’s Majority Leader before he crossed to NPN, in solidarity with Omoboriowo. He had been forewarned that it was unsafe to leave Ijapo area of Akure where the NPN leaders haboured, under tight security; but he reportedly declined the warning, saying he was a man of the people. But as Agunbiade made to drive into his house in Akure Township, he was intercepted by blood-thirsty political thugs. He was first beaten to a pulp before someone reportedly pierced him with an arrow and he bled to death. Then the team beheaded him and staked his head on a long stick, hoisting it as they danced joyously to the Government House, to show Ajasin “the big conquest.”

A terrified Ajasin reportedly feigned boldness by saying, ‘Oh, Agunbiade, when you come to this world again, you won’t play Judas to deserve this.’

But immediately the crowd of killers departed, Ajasin wept.

The governor then went on air over the state’s radio, to appeal to his supporters to stop the orgy of arson and killings. The governor assured his supporters that he would explore all legal remains to recover his stolen mandate.

But before then, close to 1,000 persons across various communities in the state had been killed while hundreds of houses had gone up in flames. In Akure, the state’s capital, a day after the carnage, corpses littered the streets as mongrel dogs feasted on them.

Legal contest Eventually, Ajasin went to court. He won at the state’s High Court which declared him winner; the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, then Bendel State, upheld the verdict. Same as the Supreme Court in Lagos. Omoboriowo afterwards congratulated him but when President Shehu Shagari sought to compensate Omoboriowo with a ministerial appointment, he reportedly declined offer. He, instead, nominated one of his supporters, a former commissioner in the Ajasin cabinet, Dr. Bode Olowoporoku, for the job.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Sunday February 3, 2013

Pension fraud judgement

More troubles for trial judge EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

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part from the condemnations that have trailed the judgement of Justice Abubakar Talba in the case involving the Assistant Director, Police Pension Office, John Yakubu Yusufu, there are still more troubles ahead for the judge.

Sunday Mirror investigations have revealed strong indications that the National Judicial Council, NJC’s, meeting scheduled for March, will devote substantial time to deliberate on the judgement of Monday, January 28.

It would be recalled that Justice Talba had on the said day convicted Yusufu to two years imprisonment with a N750,000 fine option, which attracted unparalleled public disapproval.

An impeccable source in NJC told Sunday Mirror that the “contentious” judgment - described by many as “ridiculous” and “a slap on the wrist” of the pension convict, would come under “matters of urgent national importance”,

given the dust that had since accompanied it.

According to the source, “Though the March meeting dates had been fixed, his Lordship’s judgment, which seems to have generated a lot of interest, may likely enjoy reasonable attention.

Asked if the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, had queried Justice Talba, he simply said, “but there has to be a petition”.

When Sunday Mirror sought to know whether prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, had lodged any complaint with the NJC, he responded thus: “I don’t know, because I’m in Lagos now”.

The anti-graft agency had prosecuted the convicted Assistant Director on a 3-count charge of stealing pension funds to the tune of over N23 billion.

Specifically, the convict pleaded guilty to counts 18, 19 and 20 where he was alleged to had connived with others still standing trial to convert the sums of N24.2 billion, N1.3 billion and N1.7 billion respectively, Nonetheless, the convict was tried under section 309

of the Penal Code.

The offence, according to the commission, was committed between January 2009 and June 2011 at Abuja Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

Seemingly dissatisfied, the Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC) re-arraigned Yusufu on a fresh 4-count charge of failure to disclose some assets in his company named SY- A Global Services Limited.

Consequently, trial judge, justice Adamu Bello, ordered that the convict be remanded in prison custody till March 1, when trial would commence.

Justice Bello, however, directed defence counsel, Theodore Maiyaki, to bring a formal application for bail before the aforesaid date.

In the fresh charge, prosecution insisted that Yusufu failed to declare his interest in N250,000,000 domiciled in a fixed deposit account with Zenith Bank, as well as another N10,000,000 traced to First Bank of Nigeria Plc; all in the name of SY -A Global

Services Limited.

It further contended that the Assistant Director did not declare his interest in the sum of N29,000,000, which was fixed on his instruction by one Danjuma Mele in his company’s account with Diamond Bank.

The offence is punishable under Section 27 (3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment, etc.) ACT CAP E1 2004.

Attached to the charge sheet is a list of witnesses, exhibits - including statements of the accused person - as well as proof of evidence to establish a prima facie case.

Counts two and four of the fresh charge read: “That you John Yakubu Yusufu on or about 14th February, 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets and liability in the Declaration of Assets Forms filled by you, by not declaring your interest in the N250,000,000 (two hundred and fifty million naira) you lodged in a fixed deposit account with the

Zenith Bank in the name of SY -A Global Services Limited, a company in which you are the sole signatory to its account and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27(3) of the Economic and Commission Crimes Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act CAP E1 2004.

“That you John Yakubu Yusufu on or about 14th February, 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets and liability in the Declaration of Assets Form filled by you, by not declaring your interest in the sum of N29,000,000 (twenty nine million naira) which was fixed on your instruction by one Danjuma Mele in his company account in the name of Jidag Technical Services Ltd with Diamond Bank and for your benefit and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act CAP E1 2004.”

NNPC distribution system collapsing, loses N165bn •Lagos, S’West axis affected •Problems owing to activities of vandals CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it lost over N165 billion to vandalism between 2009 and 2012.

The corporation also disclosed that between October and December 2012, it recorded 774 different points of hacking into its products pipelines from Atlas Cove in Lagos and Ilorin in Kwara State.

The Group Manager, Media Relations Department, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, who disclosed this in an interview with Sunday Mirror, noted that the corporation faced the biggest problem of vandalism along the system 2B axis.

Ibrahim, who bemoaned the activities of the vandals, lamented that

such actions had almost crippled the corporation’s distribution system.

“It is a very serious matter I must tell; in a matter of months, our distribution system would almost be made to collapse, particularly from Lagos to Ibadan.

“In Arepo area, and this system 2B, which was destroyed last August, last two weeks, and a couple of days ago, carries one third of national consumption of our products and it is in the course of looking at all of this that we found that there were hundreds of points where vandals have punctured and were siphoning products.

“And if you put all of these together, it will run into colossal sums of money that NNPC is losing and by implication the nation also,” he said.

Ibrahim described vandalism as a national trag-

L-R: Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta/Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, with the President, National Association of Niger Delta Students, Comrade Michael Tombara and other executive members during the presentation of an award of Most Outstanding Appointee of President Goodluck Jonathan from the Niger Delta, to Kuku in Abuja on Friday.

edy, which if not properly checked would amount to monumental losses from the nation’s economy.

According to the NNPC spokesman, even though the corporation is doing its best by collaborating with various security agencies, the business of protecting the pipelines is the responsibility of all well-meaning Nigerians and all hands must be on deck to ensure that the ugly development was put to a stop.

He, therefore, called for more efforts from the fed-

eral, states and local governments, including local communities through which the pipelines travel to do more in the area of securing the facilities.

Ibrahim said NNPC is considering a lot of options in order to put a deterrent, including laying the pipes deeper into the ground or covering them with concrete encasement in order to make pipeline vandalism unattractive to criminally-minded individuals.

He said the next phase of pipeline projects would

be fortified in such a way that criminals would not be able to tamper with them, stressing that hacking into the pipelines does a lot of harm to future generation of Nigerians.

According to him, when the pipelines were being laid, the tendency for vandalism was not considered because such anomaly had never happened before.

“But, over time, the temptation to break into pipelines became manifest because people saw that as the easiest way to make money,” he added.

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Soldiers arrest suspected immigrants in Kaduna AZA MSUE KADUNA

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ine trucks conveying hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants have been intercepted by men of the Nigerian Army at military checkpoints around Ungwar Kaji on KadunaZaria Expressway, Kaduna.

The suspects, who were entering Kaduna metropolis from the Zaria axis in about nine open trucks had been detained at the spots by the soldiers since Thursday this week, it was gathered.

Although, efforts to get official reaction from the Army authorities failed, residents of Ungwar Kaji told Sunday Mirror that the suspects had been detained at the checkpoints since Thursday.

According to an eyewitness who identified himself as Shehu Yusuf, “I noticed the people on Thursday evening when I came back from the townand I just walked away with the thought that, it is normal soldiers’check, thinking that the people and the trucks carrying them would be released after normal check.

He continued , “But to my surprise, I met them when I came out to observe my Juma’at prayer yesterday again. And now, the soldiers are harassing people who go close to that scene”, he said.

Meanwhile, when newsmen visited the scene to obtain the real reason behind the detention of the people, soldiers chased them out of the scene after identifying themselves as journalists, even as efforts to take photographs of the trucks and the passengers were prevented by the soldiers.

The stern-looking soldiers hollered upon sighting the reporters, “This is not a place for pressmen.

Get away now before we descend on you”.

However, a man who claimed to be one of the passengers of the truck spoke with our correspondent. He said they were detained on accusation that they boarded trucks that had been prohibited from carrying passengers.

He also narrated that the arrested trucks were originally nine, but three were released since their owner companies didn’t forbid the trucks from carrying passengers.

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News

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Boko Haram: Panic-stricken residents flee as Sambo visits Borno INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

L-R: Minister of State for Defence, Olusola Obada; couple, Tope and Tunde Surakatu; Chairman, Refinery and Petrochemicals Plc, the Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akinruntan, and Deji of Akure, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, at the wedding reception of the daughter of Obada in Lagos, yesterday.

still.

“This is a sad day for me.

The security has blocked all the roads and there is no business going on,” a 65-year-old charcoal seller, Abba Musa Yaro, told reporters.

“This day is not like the good old days when Sardauna, Azikiwe or Tafawa Balewa were eager to meet the people. In this one, we were asked to leave our businesses and we stood at a distance watching as he came and left. What type of democracy are we witnessing,” he wondered.

The VP thereafter was accompanied by Governor Shettima and other dignitaries from within and outside the state as he commissioned and inspected projects within Maiduguri, the state capital.

Among them was the laying of foundation stone of Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno Teachers’ Village, opposite the Trailer Park along Pompomari bypass road, and the 144 heavy duty trucks and drilling rigs recently purchased by the present administration which were parked at the trailer park.

He also commissioned the newly constructed Maduganari bypass road and the renovated popular Maiduguri Nursing Home, which is now named after

the late General Muhammad Shuwa, who was assassinated by terrorists towards the end of last year.

Alhaji Sambo also paid a courtesy call on the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, in his palace where he received traditional blessings.

At the Shehu’s palace, the royal father thanked the VP for the visit and called on the Federal Government to reduce the military check points on the streets of Maiduguri.

According to him, the security situation had improved in the state as he therefore called on all to continue to pray for restoration of normalcy in the state.

Sambo assured the Shehu that the Federal Government was committed to the protection of lives and property as well as the enhancement of socioeconomic development of the state.

He stated that, last year alone, the Federal Government had spent about $75 million for the ongoing oil exploration along the Lake Chad Basin, pointing out that about 1$00 million had been earmarked and approved by the government for the same exercise this year.

He said with these huge

amount spent on the oil exploration, about three oil blocks had been identified in the state, and reassured the Shehu and the citizens of the state that the Federal Government was happy over the recent declaration of ceasefire by the Boko Haram sect, adding that, government would soon enter into dialogue with the sect to see to the end of the violence.

Sambo also paid a courtesy call on Governor Shettima at the Council Chambers, Government House, Maiduguri.

Shettima called on the Federal Government to assist the state government in its fight against poverty, which he noted was the major factor that led the youth to engage in criminal activities such as the Boko Haram insurgency.

Shettima explained that the state had invested heavily in agriculture, which had provided employment to some of its teaming jobless youth.

The VP while commending the state government for its developmental strides and the execution of people-oriented projects, assured the governor that the Federal Government would support the state to achieve meaningful development and peace.

Adherence to values, key to solving security challenges –Fashola

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agos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has canvassed adherence to proper values as a more viable means to ensure security in the country saying other factors that could fuel insecurity such as corruption, religious and political intolerance were consequences rather than causes of improper values.

Governor Fashola, who spoke last week at the

Jurisdiction: Court rules on suit against Aregbesola Feb 7 EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

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usiness and other socio-economic activities yesterday virtually came to a halt for about 10 hours when the VicePresident, Alhaji Mohammed Namadi Sambo, paid a one-day official visit to Borno State.

The state, which has been in turmoil following the Boko Haram sect insurgence, was hosting the Vice-President for the first time since Governor Kashim Shettima assumed leadership in 2011.

Our correspondent learnt that about 90 per cent of the residents who would have naturally loved to welcome the nation’s second citizen were scared off the streets, and stayed indoors, as a result of the presence of many gunwielding security men who were armed to the teeth.

The security men also reportedly restricted commuters and pedestrians from plying all routes leading to where the Vice-President was expected to follow.

Sources also revealed that the panic-stricken residents stayed away from receiving the VP for fear of possible open confrontation between the government security guards and the Boko Haram insurgents.

Namadi, who arrived at the Maiduguri International Airport at about 11:20 a.m., was practically welcomed in the streets full of fierce-looking security operatives.

At the airport, security officials suspected to be State Security Service (SSS) personnel brutalised some journalists and said “the Vice-President’s visit does not require coverage from the outstation media as he has his own crew that will do the job from Abuja”.

Residents who spoke with newsmen about the visit lamented that it was a bad day as business activities were brought a stand-

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Two-Day Peace and Security Summit of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) with the theme, “Comprehensive and Sustainable Peace and Security in a Plural Society: Extreme Challenges to Nigerian Internal Security”, said where proper values are practiced, corruption, religious and political intolerance could be reduced to the barest minimum.

Referring to the title of one of the presentations at

the Summit, “The Role of Corruption, Political and Religious Intolerance in Fueling Insecurity in Nigeria”, Governor Fashola told the gathering of eminent jurists, including the Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar “If you permit me, I will rephrase the theme of this Summit by suggesting that

we discuss the role of proper and improper values in fuelling insecurity in Nigeria because corruption, religious and political intolerance are consequences rather than causes of improper values.

“Where there are proper values, it may not eliminate corruption, and I have not seen a country that has disbanded its Police or judicial institutions because it can say it is corruption-free...”

ustice A. R Mohammed of a Federal high court sitting in Abuja has fixed February 7 to rule on whether or not he would assume jurisdiction over a suit filed against the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

A non-governmental organisation, The Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission Africa, is seeking to determine the health status of Aregbesola.

The presiding judge directed plaintiff ’s counsel, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, to address the court on what injury the plaintiff will suffer if the suit was transferred to Osogbo, the Osun state capital, where the cause of action was said to had originated.

Ajulo’s efforts to address the court orally was unsuc-

cessful, as Mohammed ordered him to so do by way of a motion to show the court why the suit should be heard and determined by the court sitting in Abuja.

Listed as defendants in the suit are the governor’s personal physician, Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director General, State Security Service.

Counsel to the respondents, Mrs. Victoria Awomolo, had earlier urged the court to dismiss the suit.

Stating his disposition to remitting the suit to Osogbo, Justice Mohammed held thus: “The fact of the pleadings instituted in this case arose in Osun State with the 1st and 2nd defendants residing in Osun State”.

Gunmen shoot PDP Vice Chairman, Elumelu in Delta •Two policemen killed SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

T

he security situation in Delta State worsened yesterday as the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South/South, Dr. Steve Oru, was shot by some gunmen in the state.

Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives, who represents Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, was shot in another encounter with some hoodlums in the state.

Oru, who was said to be fatally injured in the deadly encounter, was on danger list at Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, last night. Medical practitioners were battling to save his life at press time last night.

However, Sunday Mirror learnt that his police orderly was unlucky as he was shot dead by the rampaging gunmen, who also escaped with his service rifle.

Also yesterday, Elumelu was shot by unknown gunmen at Eku, Ethiope Local Government Area of the state.

Although details of Elumelu’s encounter with the gunmen were sketchy yesterday, it was gathered

that the federal lawmaker, who is the Chairman of the House Commitee on Health, escaped unhurt.

It was not clear if the policeman, who was killed in Eku yesterday was attached to the lawmaker, who headed the disbanded controversial power probe committee of the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

Sunday Mirror gathered that Oru, who was also a former National Deputy Secretary of the ruling party, encountered the gunmen along the East/West Road at Agbarho in Ughelli North Local Government area of the state. Oru hails from the community.

The destination of Oru was not clear at the press time yesterday. But findings by Sunday Mirror showed that Oru and his dying police orderly were abandoned at the scene of the dastardly act as the gunmen fled the area.

Sunday Mirror recalls that just two weeks ago, a former Federal Commissioner, Maj.-Gen. Osio Obada (rtd.) also escaped death in Agbarho, when he was attacked by some unknown gunmen. Although Obada escaped unhurt, his driver was unlucky as he was shot by the bandits.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

11

Sunday, February 3, 2013

STORIES THAT TOUCH YOU FEBRUARY 3, 2013 said he was about to sleep when the rain, which was heralded by whirlwind started.” I couldn’t sleep anymore and before we knew what was going on, the roof of the Vicarage had been completely blown off and thrown into a far distance. I was trying to run out of the house when I was hit by an object.

“I couldn’t move again and was slightly unconscious; it was my wife who dragged me out of the rubble. Though I am better now, the rain destroyed so many things within the church compound” he said.

But Bishop Adegbite called on the state government and private individuals to come to the aid of those affected by the rainstorm, saying so many people had been displaced as they had no place to call their shelter again. He also called for assistance in rebuilding the church and the Manse that was destroyed during the storm.

The principal of the St. Catherine Anglican Grammar School, Mrs. Yinka AruOne of the affected houses wajoye, also solicited government help in rebuilding the students’ dormitory and the FIRST 2013 RAIN IN ONDO COMMUNITY… school laboratory which were affected by storm, explaining that the students had to be moved to another dormitory temporarily and that the population of the students in the hostel has double causing overcrowding.

Also speaking, the member of the House of Assembly representing Owo constituency 1, Hon. Ayo Arowele, noted that many of the people no longer had shelter and appealed to the Federal Government, the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), the state government and other eas while some trees were also uprooted concerned bodies to assist the people in HAKEEM GBADAMOSI by the rainstorm which destroyed many their quest to rebuild the destroyed houses AKURE cars. Some community leaders were seen and shops. monitoring youths in the town clearing the However the NEMA team led by the s lightening glimmered, followed debris from the roads in order to allow free agency’s coordinator in the South-West, by claps of thunder, and then heavy flow of vehicles.

Iyiola Akande, visited the ancient town on A visit to the town by our correspondent Wednesday to assess the level of wreckage rainfall, residents of Owo in Owo Local Government area of Ondo State heaved showed that commercial activities were caused by the storm and confirmed that a sigh of relief. They were exultant, that the halted as many commercial centres were over 250 houses were affected by the rainfirst rain in 2013 would usher in a refresh- also affected. It was, however, a sort of har- storm that ravaged parts of the ancient ing breeze, to dissolve the harmattan haze. vest season for carpenters in the town as town while no fewer than 5,000 residents But that was not to be, as what started as most of them were seen busy either remov- of the town had been displaced. a normal rain soon turned to nightmares ing or fixing roofing sheets of some the The NEMA coordinator informed that affected buildings and shops. Carpenters the agency would soon embark on the comwith the way it came with heavy storms.

The downpour destroyed properties were seen in some areas like Oke-Ogun, pilation and computation of the affected worth millions of Naira and rendered hun- Iloro, Uka Aruwajoye, Uro, Ehinogbe and houses and the victims to know what the dreds of residents homeless. That was on some other places. government could do to cushion the effects Speaking on the wreck done by the rainJanuary 21.

By the time the two-hour rainstorms storm, the State Commissioner for Special were done, over 250 houses had been de- Duties, Mr. Niran Sule-Akinsuyi, lamented stroyed around the ancient town, which the extent of damage caused by the storm include public and private buildings like during an inspection to the affected areas schools, churches, shops and stores In the and called on relevant authorities and last count, 5,000 persons had been rendered agencies of government to come to the aid homeless while vehicles were not spared in of the affected people as many of them had been rendered homeless. the wreck.

The Methodist Bishop of Owo, Bishop Some of the affected buildings within Solomon Adegbite, also described the imthe town include St. Michael’s Methodist pact of the rainstorm as a terrible one, sayChurch; some buildings within the palace; ing a lot of properties were destroyed. He the oldest school in the town, Imade Colwas grateful to God that no lives was lost; lege; the General Hospital; Owo township but said the church’s Presbyter was not as stadium; St. Catherine Anglican Girls’ lucky as he was hit by a heavy object durGrammar School, among others. ing the rain.

Electric poles were not spared. This Recounting his ordeal, the Presbyter, led to total power outage in the town. The Very Rev. Aderotimi Marcus Ogungbade, Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko electric poles blocked roads in some ar-

250 houses destroyed, 5000 rendered homeless •I was struck by a strange object and I became unconscious –Cleric

A

of the incident. “We have moved round the affected areas and have interacted with the victims. We saw that it affected both the private and public buildings like schools and hospitals.

“We have equally seen that the storm damaged electricity poles and cables leading to power outage in most parts of the town, if not all parts. We are going to write our reports based on what we saw on the ground,” he assured.

The coordinator, who visited the traditional ruler of the town, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi, during the assessment tour, stressed the importance of tree planting, calling on Nigerians to plant trees around their houses to serve as wind breakers in case of storm.

Akande, who observed that most buildings affected by the Monday’s storm in the town have nothing to protect them from the wind whenever it comes and called on the Ondo State House of Assembly to expedite action for the passage into law of the Ondo State Emergency Management Agency (OSEMA).

The NEMA coordinator recalled that the agency had submitted and defended a memorandum during the public hearing on the bill last year but expressed surprise that the bill had not been passed into law, despite its importance.

The state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Alli Olanusi, however visited Owo town last Wednesday, describing the incident as unfortunate, with a promise to put smiles on the faces of the displaced residents The deputy governor instructed those affected to make available the photographs of the affected building and passport photographs and other proofs and submitted it at a center created by the state government saying speedy action would be taken by the state government to help the displaced victim of the rainstorm.

Also on a solidarity visit was the chairman of the Traditional Council in the state, the Deji of Akureland, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, who sympathised with the people of the town over the incident and prayed against such occurrence in the state and the nation as a whole.

He said “some calamities are unavoidable but we thank God no life was involved in this destruction. I believe”

12

February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Interview ENCOUNTER WITH A NEWS MAKER FEBRUARY 3, 2013 that out of the 36 governors you do not have to condemn all of them. Some of them are very good. He has shown his selflessness, his commitment to his people. Enugu is not his state but he was able to say that in the absence of the governor of Enugu State, ‘I will stand for my people’ and he is doing that with the resources from Anambra State. Others would have said no ‘I will stay in my state’.

So the meetings have already succeeded.

Will the Southern Assembly redefine the postulations of 2015 elections, especially since the Igbo want to produce the next President?

2015 is still very far away. We should now be talking how to employ many Nigerians; we should be talking how to develop the country. We don’t have to gather like this in order to plan 2015; we are not here because of 2015.

Clark

Clark: Why would Jonathan not rule for eight years?

Chief Edwin Clark is the Leader of Ijaw Peoples Forum, IPF, and one of the cochairmen of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA). He tells Dennis Agbo in this interview the reasons and benefits for the formation of SNPA when the southern leaders met in Enugu recently.

What is the purpose of this newly formed Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA)?

Nigeria is a federation, not only that, Nigeria is a country with many ethnic groups, tribes, religion, and again like any other country, it is divided into South and North, like the southern states of America and the northern states. So in Nigeria, we have the same thing.

We had met about two times now, in Uyo and Enugu, because we believe that we have not performed very well in putting everybody together in the South due to our disunity. When the 19 northern states are meeting, we the 17 in the South will not be meeting. When the 19 governors are meeting in the North, our 17 governors will not meet. So the idea came and it’s never too late. Let us also meet and by meeting, we build bridges of understanding. Anytime the South has anything to discuss

with the North, we will go with a united front. Similarly, if they want to discuss with us, they will not say they want to go and discuss with the Igbo alone; they will discuss with the 17 states, which is weightier. The purpose of this is not to divide anybody or the country but to cement the bond of this country.

For instance, we are talking about national conference and another simple way of doing it is to say, okay let the South bring 1,000 people, let the North bring 1,000 people and we meet. Call all the ethnic nationalities, over 300 of them in the country and it will be easier to meet. The idea of knocking the head of one southerner against the other will be far removed because we now understand ourselves. If Governor Peter Obi had not come to speak with us here in the Enugu meeting, we wouldn’t have known that this is a great young man,

But speakers have said that there has been injustice in the polity?

They were expressing their views. For real, that is not what we are discussing here, but I can tell you my own personal views as a leader. This country belongs to all of us. In 1979, we all belonged to NPN, Sheu Shagari was not better than myself but we all gathered together at a cinema house in Yaba (Lagos) where we all agreed that Shagari should be the presidential candidate. He ruled.

The constitution at that time provided for two terms for a president and in 1983 he took his second term and I also became a senator. But (Gen. Muhammadu) Buhari and his group, for reasons best known to them, thought that at the end of Shagari’s rule of a second term, he would either hand over to Laex Ekwueme or to Adisa Akinloye and so they staged a coup, drove him away and imprisoned all of them. Who took over? Another northern. Then Babangida said you’ve had enough and he took over from Buhari. Abacha took over from Babangida and for even one day MKO Abiola was not allowed to rule. He (Abiola) was rather driven away and killed.

Abiola was one of the wealthiest men in Africa but he was driven away. Then Obasanjo came and he ruled for eight years and Yar’Adua was going to rule for eight years. Why would Jonathan not be allowed to rule for eight years? If you want to rule for eight years and Nigerians don’t want you, leave it for the people of Nigeria to decide, not one individual, not a group of people no matter where they come from. That is the answer to that question but that is not what we came here to discuss.

But quote me that they have no right because the constiB ttution of Nigeria says a president will contest election ffor two terms and remain in office for eight years, four years at the first and another four years for a second. A y President died and somebody had to fill the post because P tthe constitution says you don’t count that one as if he had contested an election. Swearing-in has nothing to h do with the provision of that constitution. d Cohesion among the people of the South had been difficult but what makes you think the cohesion will work this time round?

I’m not a pessimist and I’ve not started one that failed. We have started this one, I am one of the three coordinators and it will succeed. If you listen to the Governor of Anambra State, Ekwueme, Gbonigi and me, if you are a pessimist, good luck to you. All we are saying is; let’s come together as one country and build bridges. We are 17 states and they are 19 states, when your opponents know you are strong, they will respect you the more. This is our second meeting and the most important thing is that we have agreed to come together.

We are not here to campaign for anybody and Nigeria belongs to all of us. We are not fighting anybody but we want to be recognised.

14

Interview

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The National Chairman of the Accord Party, Revd Isaac Adeniyi, in this interview with a select group of journalists at his Lagos country home, reviewed the last governorship election in Ondo State, explaining why the party could not present a governorship candidate for the poll. He also expressed his views on parties’ deregistration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the proposed merger plans by some political parties and the future of the Accord Party. Deputy Editor, Kayode Fasua, was there. Excerpts: Can you comment on the recent deregistration of some political parties by the INEC? I fully support the action. This is because political parties are now over 60 in number and most of them did not give credible account of why they are political parties. We welcome the decision and appreciate it.

That will put the parties on their toes, that they should not just go to sleep, enjoying the status of being called political parties.

Suppose the Accord Party which you chair had not performed and it was affected…

Why not? They can deregister us if we don’t live up to expectation as a political party. Why are they calling us ‘party’? They call us ‘party’ so that we can make impact. So that we can reach out to people beyond the shores of our immediate environment. If we are called a party and we cannot perform, it means we deserve the treatment meted out to the parties affected by the INEC scrap. So, I support INEC, 100 percent, on their action.

During the last election in Ondo State, did you field any candidate for the governorship election?

We would have fielded a candidate. But the candidate that should have emerged came up in the late hour. So we did not field any candidate. What actually happened is that the young man, Mr. Olawale Ojo, who is now parading himself as our candidate was endorsed at the state level at a late hour. When they brought his name to the national level of the party, it was too late. It was like medicine after death. We rushed to INEC knowing that submission of candidates’ names had closed. We only wanted to try our luck, but no way. INEC said it was too late in the day.

So how come he came out to contest the last governorship election on the platform of your party?

Well, when we heard that despite knowing that we had no candidate in the Ondo governorship election, he still came out to contest on our platform, we left him alone because we felt he was only testing his popularity ahead of future elections. So he is not our candidate. We fielded nobody for the governorship election.

But he is at the election petition tribunal, contesting the victory of Governor Segun Mimiko Well, if he is there, he is on his own. He is not representing the Accord Party. As far as his action goes, we do not know him. If you follow up what is happening in Ondo, you will see that our state chairman has gone on air on so many occasions to puncture his claim, of representing our party in the last election. We all know what happened and we would not join the man in acting against our conscience. This is a scenario of a 419 thing and we won’t allow anybody to tarnish the image of our party. We are not in support of him.

And we have let the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party know, that he is not our candidate. We have stressed it that the INEC didn’t recognise us for the Ondo election because we came in the late hour. So, in all respects, INEC did not make any mistake by not including our name among parties contesting the October 20, 2012 election in Ondo State, because we came in the late hour. So, he is not our

Adeniyi

Ondo governorship: We didn’t actually field any candidate –Adeniyi, Accord Party chair candidate. We didn’t field a candidate. Therefore, the Accord Party doesn’t have any problem with Labour Party in Ondo State. I wouldn’t know what problem Ojo has with the Labour Party, to warrant his going to the tribunal.

How would you describe the last governorship election in Ondo State? Would you say Governor Mimiko actually won the election?

Everybody in Nigeria, especially in the Southwest, knows that Mimiko did well. Because he knows his people, what they want and he is giving them. In Yorubaland, this is the type of a leader that we want. Since we lost Chief Obafemi Awolowo, there is no strong political leader that we can all come under his banner.

But Mimiko, with the way he is coming up, has demonstrated that he can fill the vacuum. Another person like that is Senator Rasheed Ladoja (former Oyo State governor). He and Mimiko are two people the Yoruba can look up to for credible leadership. So, Mimiko has done well and we are in support of him.

Supposing Governor Mimiko asks your party to join him in running the state in his second term, would you accept the invitation?

If he knows that we can be useful to him one way or the other, why not? The truth is that he is in control of the state. He knows what is good and what is bad.

If he calls in the Accord Party to run the state, we will accept.

Plans are underway by some political parties to form a mega party. What is the stake of the Accord Party in the proposed alliance?

I have been discussing this with so many other political party leaders. We don’t have interest in forming

merger. If God can give us the way, we want to show samples of what we can do, staying alone. Because most of the parties we are seeing now are totally different from us in orientation and ideology. Some of them, when they get to power, know what they want; they no longer do the wishes of God, which are their sacred vows to the electorate. So, if we merge together, they merge you along with their wrong notions, and the essence of you going into politics will be defeated.

So, those people who are the leaders of the merger will now be in control and suppress the other parties which they consider as ‘small’.

I prefer to be developing the party from state to state, to make sure that God uses me to do what is good for Nigeria. It is better than going to merge with the people that will crush you.

So, what is the input of the Accord Party to the Constitution review exercise going on?

Normally, there is nothing wrong with the constitution. It is we that are using the constitution that are bad. For instance, if we review this constitution again, will that debar thieves from stealing the wealth of the country? We only need orientation, to change our character. So, we need to review our corrupt nature, not the constitution.

What is the latest on the working arrangement between the Accord Party in Oyo and the ACN-led Governor Ajimobi administration?

There is no arrangement between us and Ajimobi.

What only happened was a political understanding between our leader, Alhaji Ladoja and Ajimobi; it has nothing to do with the Accord Party per se. You know Ladoja is a strong political figure in Oyo State. So, it ends there.

15

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics PROVIDING FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ISSUES FEBRUARY 3, 2013

WE NEED TO ARRIVE AT A GRAND CONSENSUS THAT WILL MOVE THIS NATION FORWARD RATHER THAN A PANEL-BEATEN SYSTEM THAT SATISFIES NO ONE EXCEPT THE TEMPORARY HOLDERS OF POWER –EX-MILITARY PRESIDENT, GENERAL IBRAHIM BABANGIDA

How realistic is the Boko Haram ceasefire offer? P 16, 41

Dokubo

Jonathan

Tompolo

Rumblings of discontent in the midst of ex-militants SAM OLUWALANA (BUREAU CHIEF (SOUTHSOUTH)

W

hen recently some Niger Delta ex-militant leaders expressed their disenchantment with President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Nigerians were of the view that the ex-armed agitators were only throwing tantrum as usual and that their outburst also represented the feelings of the other comrades-in-arm.

However, recent developments have shown that there is a marked division among the group. It is now as clear as day that they are divided between contrasting interests to the amusement of Nigerians and the international observers. This is also to the chagrin of other Niger Deltans who are at a crossroads as to the general interest of the region which the agitators have always professed to be representing or protecting.

The tone for the present conflicting situation was set by certain ex-camp commanders comprising Chief Ateke Tom and Mr. Ebikabowei Victor Ben, a.k.a. Boyloaf in advertorials in some national dailies, which attacked President Jonathan. They had claimed that the Bayelsa State-born leader had squandered the goodwill that paved way for

his ascendance to the number one seat in Aso Rock two years ago. They thus threatened to withdraw their support for Jonathan’s re-election bid in the upcoming 2015 presidential election.

Prior to this public showing and vituperation by the anti-Jonathan component of the Niger Delta armed agitators, a frontline ex-militant warlord, Alhaji Murjaheed Asari-Dokubo, who is the president of Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Front (NDPVF), regarded as the frontrunner of the other militant groups in the region, had lambasted the President for his neglect of the people of the region. Asari-Dokubo had frowned at Jonathan’s purported untoward behaviour towards the armed agitators who he claimed had laid down their lives and helped to install him in office, first as the Vice-President, and later as the substantive President, following the demise of his erstwhile boss, President Umaru Yar’Ardua.

The anti-Jonathan force under the aegis of the Izon Ikemi, led by notable Niger Delta activist and environmentalist, Tony Iruata, is actually to counter the pro-Jonathan elements of the militant bloc. Sunday Mirror reliably learnt that this group held a well-publicised parley at the Lagos residence of top ex-militant leader, Chief Ateke Tom. Our correspon-

dent gathered that the meeting which was supposed to have in attendance Asari Dokubo, Boyloaf and Egberipapa was, however, attended by only Boyloaf, Paul Erics (Ogumbos) and their host, Tom Ateke. The trio were said to have discussed various issues which included the performance of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke and that of her counterpart in the Niger Delta Ministry, Elder Godsday Orubebe, the 13 per cent derivation fund and the immediate implementation of recommendations of the Ledum Mitte Technical Committee on Niger Delta.

Despite all the reasons given as their grudges, observers in the region wonder that rather than for the welfare of the people of the region, the militants are merely clamouring over preferential treatment being accorded the notable Gbaramatu ex-warlord, Chief Government Ekpemukpolo, a.k.a. Tompolo, who heads the other faction of the bloc called Oporoza House, and whose loyalty is towards the Federal Government.

Tompolo, who was seen to be more reliable and better organised of all the ex-warlords during the struggle, enjoys substantial patronage from the Federal Government. This is to the envy and anger of his colleagues, who hitherto CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Briefly Obi’s wife restates pledge to welfare of the aged

Wife of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra, Mrs Margaret Obi, at the weekend reiterated the government’s commitment to the wellbeing of the elderly citizens in the state.

Obi gave the assurance at the 2012 International Day of the Elderly, tagged: ‘Longevity: Shaping the Future’, organised by the state government in Awka.

Elderly persons, numbering about 3,000 most of who were retired civil servants and drawn from the 21 local government areas of the state, witnessed the occasion.

She noted with gratitude the contributions of the senior citizens, especially those who had served the state meritoriously during their active days. ``In furtherance to improved quality of life, this administration will surely add more years to the life span of our older citizens by ensuring their welfare and happiness,” she said.

Represented by Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Social Re-orientation, Mrs Mitchell Onugbolu, Obi appealed to the aged to continue to pray for the government and give out concrete advices to the youth.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Oseloka Obaze, said the government would continue to work hard to ameliorate the sufferings of the aged. ``Our government will not relent in its drive to see that the old people of the state are adequately cared for. ``We will continue to show them how much they are loved by the state government. ``We leaned on their shoulders, we should endeavour to take care of them because someday, we shall all get old,” he said.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Prof. Chinyere Okunna, said government had schemes to manage the old people of the state from 75 years and above by providing their daily needs.

Also speaking, Mrs Henrietta Agbata, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, noted that the government organised the event to celebrate the senior citizens that spent their productive years serving the state.

Mrs. Obi

Ebonyi gets kudos for providing infrastructure President of the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS), Mrs Nkechi Mba, at the weekend commended Ebonyi State Government for encouraging girl-child education.

Mba told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki that the Technical College for girls in Agba Local Government Area was a landmark achievement by the administration. ``For me, this college which is the first in the country is the biggest achievement of this government. ``This will afford girls the opportunity to learn skills that were hitherto open to boys. ``The structures and the facilities in this school are world class and worth emulating,’’ she said.

Mba also lauded the state government for the massive rural road infrastructure development and urged citizens to reciprocate the gesture by maintaining public utilities in their domain.

The National Vice-President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Chris Isiguzo, commended the government for transforming the state.

Isiguzo specifically lauded the synergy among the various tiers of government that resulted in the numerous achievements being inspected by the National Good Governance Team.

16

Politics

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

OUR REPORTER

O

n several occasions, the Federal Government had stated its resolve to engage members of the islamist sect, Jama’atul Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram in dialogue. On each occasion, such efforts had been futile. Again, past declarations of a ceasefire by the sect had often been taken with a pinch of salt as the government could not explain why bombings and other violent attacks would still be going on in some parts of the North despite the declaration of a truce by the sect.

The recent announcement of a ceasefire by a faction of the sect has continued to generate ripples in the polity, not just among the citizenry but also on the side of the government as well as that of the sect. For instance, while the Federal Government is said to be studying the offer and waiting to see the commitment of the sect to its declaration in the next 30 days, there have been a counter to the offer from among the ranks of the sect’s leaders.

Last Sunday, one Muhammed Abdulaziz, who claimed to be the organisation’s second commander (southern and northern Borno), had in a statement announced a ceasefire after what he said were talks with the Borno State Government. He consequently advised members of the sect to lay down their arms, or risk being arrested by security agencies.

“We are going to comply with the ceasefire order,” he added, and then went ahead to proudly announce that “once top members of our group, including Imam Abubakar Shekau, are in support of the need for a ceasefire, other smaller factions can be dealt with easily.”

But, barely 48 hours later, one Mujhahideen Marwana, who also claimed to be another second-in-command to the Boko Haram leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau, dismissed the offer purportedly on the grounds that federal troops had of recent allegedly killed at least 47 Boko Haram emissaries in failed dialogue efforts.

Late on Tuesday, an online news portal, SaharaReporters, had said it was in possession of an audio interview which Marwana granted a foreign journalist by phone in Hausa language.

Marwana had reportedly called for the release of four sect members whom he said are being held in Kano State as a precondition for any dialogue.

“Many people have called us for dialogue many times but the government is fooling itself, thinking they are clever but [are] deceiving themselves. They are insisting they don’t know us. It is false. We have met their representatives many times but because of their evil plan, they kept denying (us) because of their greed and wickedness,” he reportedly stated.

Explaining how security operatives had allegedly killed some of his members, he said: “We were six in Shehu’s palace in Borno. From there, we were 40 that met in Damaturu and only three of us survived. We went to Kaduna and met in Arewa House; out of 11 of us, 10 were killed by special squad of security agencies around Tafa on Abuja highway. With all these, who is a cheat and CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

enjoyed juicy government patronage but have been ditched by the government following accusations of disloyalty and non-compliance with contractual terms.

Observers also believe that the recent threats and ranting of the ex-militants are to hoodwink and blackmail President Jonathan thus making him renew their pipeline security contracts which run into billions of naira.

They also observed that the aggrieved ex-militants were loose and uncoordinated when executing the pipeline security contracts as they abandoned the region and resorted to hibernating in the comfort of big cities such as Lagos and Abuja, far away from the region, leaving their aggrieved followers to resort to criminal activities such as kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and all sort.

This sentiments were also echoed by one of Tompolo’s loyalists, Chief Bibopiri Ajube a.k.a. Shoot At Sight, an Arogbo-Ijaw ex-militant leader, who referred to the aggrieved leaders as people saddled with leadership roles but who had resorted to smear campaign against the Federal Government and some of its officials.

In paid advertorials ostensibly placed to counter those of the antigovernment group, Ajube said the recent activities of the opposing group were designed to mislead and misinform the nation. According to him, having been a member of MEND, the umbrella body for all the armed struggle of the Niger Delta freedom fighters, he has inside information as to the activities of the ex-militants. “As one of the former key commanders of the defunct MEND, I cannot but be properly drenched in its activities, operations and actors. I am, therefore, in a

Abubakar

Lamido

How realistic is the who wants trouble? We sat with Governor Sule Lamido, former minister of defence, Haliru Bello and Sheik Dahiru Bauchi. This is what we want our Muslim Ummah to know.”

However, indications emerged in Abuja that security agencies in the country have started mounting pressure on the Federal Government to discountenance the offer of a ceasefire by the sect, describing the offer as phony and selfish. The security services are said to be treading with “serious caution” on the offer which is seen in security circles as a grand deception.

Sunday Mirror investigations revealed that although the government was keen on negotiating with the group, security agencies in the country are of the belief that the offer did not emanate directly from the sect.

A security source in Abuja said although he learnt that the sect was ready for a ceasefire, the purported offer by one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez “is nothing other than mere fabrications”.

On November 1 last year, the lis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jih former Head of State and presid Progressive Change, CPC, Gener six prominent northerners to me Federal Government.

Spokesman of the group, Ab who claimed to be the Second-in er, Imam Abubakar Shekau, wa intention known in a tele-confer guri. A top security source in A known to the media, said these t logue were made by the same pe “Why did he not call for the across Nigeria, a long-term dem claimed leader of the sect, Abu loathed the government so much

Disenchantment, outbur

good position to know the truth (sic) in times like these, particularly regarding a few comments or statements credited to some of my compatriots,” the statement read.

He accused some militant commanders of inflating the actual number of disarmed youths under them or shamelessly defrauding such youths by shortchanging them in their due through illegal deduction of certain sums from their monthly allowances.

Ajube also revealed that some of his colleagues had abandoned their communities and followers and resorted to taking solace in the comfort of Abuja and Lagos.

On contracts awarded the militant leaders by the nationally-owned Oil Company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), he accused his colleagues of failed leadership.

His words: “They decide to show the failed side of leadership in this noble direction because in spite of the millions of naira paid to them by the NNPC, they refused to justify the huge payments.”

Ajube consequently accused certain militant leaders of casting aspersions on certain government officials “who have decided to distance themselves from the scam they (Asari and others) have visited on a hitherto noble idea”.

Investigations by Sunday Mirror revealed that Ajube, apart from being an ally of government, Tompolo is also a relation of the Special Adviser to the President on the Amnesty Program, Kingsley Kuku, and it is believed that his posture is influenced by these relationships.

A former warlord who was sited Delta Development Commission (N ror that all the factions of the ME with the others are all fighting for t of the people of the state. He advi nored. The militant leader also ac pampering certain groups over the ficials always preferred to capitulat the war drums at every turn.

He said: “The Federal Governme event will have a chain of reactio these people are broke they will thr will see government officials runni ify them. Some government officia because they benefit from them by on settling them. All of us are part are following due process and ensu people and sharing in their daily st He blamed both leaders of the ex of kidnappings and other crimes b ing to neglect and abandonment of warned of dire consequences if th what he referred to as its “divide an garded as lesser participants in the

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

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

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MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOLAJI TUNJI

SUNDAY EDITOR

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COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

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CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

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ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

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HEAD, GRAPHICS

Chief Emeka Anyaoku at 80

ormer Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Nigeria’s Chief Emeka Anyaoku, clocked 80 years old recently. Anyaoku, reputed for his eloquence, articulation and excellent public speeches, made remarkable impacts on international affairs as a diplomat, especially through the British Commonwealth.

He was finesse personified in his diplomatic relations and deep knowledge of international affairs, some of the attributes that equipped him to efficiently and effectively manage the Secretariat of the Commonwealth. He was elected the third Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital in 1989, and was re-elected at the 1993 CHOGM in Limassol, Cyprus’ second largest city, for a second fiveyear term that commenced on April 1, 1995. Hitherto, the Commonwealth was perceived as a neo-colonial institution and one of the sad reminders of Nigeria’s colonial past. Indeed, some Nigerian intellectuals had, at a time, campaigned for the country’s withdrawal from the organisation. Chief Anyaoku’s tenure, however, made the organisation relevant to African and, especially, Nigerian affairs. While in the saddle, the Commonwealth Secretariat had sleepless nights because of the declining prospects of democracy across Africa, on the one hand, and the ascendancy of authoritarian and sittight leaders, on the other.

As fate would have it, however, the then General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military regime’s endless political transition project, and the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election offered the Commonwealth under Ayaoku sufficient grounds for a decisive and principled intervention in the quagmire back home. Babangida had annulled the poll which would have been won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, an election widely acclaimed locally and internationally as the fre-

est and fairest in the country’s political history. The annulment led to the incarceration and eventual death of Chief Abiola, the perceived winner of the poll, following his insistence, alongside civil society and human rights groups, on the sanctity of the election.

Before the death of Abiola in rather questionable circumstances, however, his detention attracted the wrath of virtually the entire populace, leading to mass protests, rallies and civil disobedience on a large scale.

These shook the nation’s security and stability to their foundations and grounded its economy. In face-saving desperation, the military resorted to cruel repression, unlawful detention without trial, assassination of political opponents, closure of media houses and pervasive human rights abuses to contain the widespread protests.

It was at that point that the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Anyaoku, differed with the Nigerian military junta on the annulled poll and the accompanying rights abuses. The Commonwealth’s principled position drew the flak of the Gen. Sani Abacha junta, which sacked the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government (ING) hurriedly put in place

by Babangida before he ‘stepped aside’ amidst the intense heat of public protests; but which could neither stabilise the polity nor pacify Nigerians’ insistence on the declaration of the June 12 presidential election results.

The country’s foreign minister under the Abacha government, Chief Tom Ikimi, we recall, derided the Commonwealth’s position with uncomplimentary remarks. The cumulative effect of Ikimi’s undiplomatic temperance, utterances and conduct was the heightening of the tense relations between Nigeria and the international community.

The cruel, high-handed, defiant, arrogant and authoritarian posture of the Abacha regime eventually led

to the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth in November 1995; shortly after the execution of Ogoniborn environmental activist, Ken SaroWiwa, and eight of his kinsmen 10 days after they were convicted of the murder of four leaders of the Ogoni ethnic community by a kangaroo tribunal in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Chief Anyaoku played a prominent role in the processes leading to the suspension. He had met with the Maximum ruler, Abacha and sought to meet with the holder of the June 12 mandate, Abiola, too; but was denied access to the detained politician who later died in detention. The country’s suspension exerted immense pressure on the Abacha junta, including the diplomatic isolation of his government by some countries. Indeed, the development largely contributed to the emergence of the speedily prosecuted political transition of the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that succeeded the Abacha government on the latter’s sudden death on June 8, 1998.

Chief Anyaoku, through his career in the Foreign Service, stands out as an astute, disciplined and charismatic diplomat. He has distinguished himself through diplomatic shuttles to conflict regions in the Commonwealth.

He is a detribalised Nigerian who has built bridges of friendship across ethnic and statist lines. Quite recently, he served as the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Prize, meant to celebrate the rare leadership attributes of the late sage and first Premier of the Western Region, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo. He is a down-toearth community figure and holds the traditional title of ‘Ichie Adazie’ in his native Obosi community in Anambra State. We are proud of celebrating him in his lifetime and wish him even longer life, good health and sound mind to the benefit of his native land and the international community.

Reminiscences FEBRUARY 3 IN HISTORY 1904: Brigadier-General Lugard captures Kano

Brigadier-General Frederick Lugard’s West African Frontier Force breached the 50-foot high walls of Great Kano and captured the city, one of the main centres of the Sokoto Caliphate.

1947: North America records coldest weather

Snag, Yukon recorded the lowest temperature for North America of −63 °C (−81.4 °F).

1966: Soviets land first on the moon

The Soviet Union successfully accomplished the first controlled landing on the moon. The unmanned ship Lunix 9 landed in the Ocean of Storms area on the moon’s surface.

1985: Tutu emerges 1st black Anglican Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu became the first black Anglican Archbishop of Johannesburg.

1986: India – Pope visits Mother Teresa

The Pope met Mother Teresa, and visited her refuge for the sick and dying.

Her Missionaries of Charity order then had 4,500 sisters in 133 countries, providing food, shelter and hospices for the dying.

1994: Clinton lifts trade embargo on Vietnam

President Bill Clinton lifted the trade embargo that was placed on the Republic of Vietnam. Trade restrictions were established ever since the capture of Saigon

by North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War.

2012: Motorola enforces patent injunction against Apple

Motorola decided to enforce a patent injunction against Apple, forcing the company to pull certain iPad and iPhone models from its online store in Germany.

Apple stated that the devices would still be available at their retail stores or authorised resellers in Germany.

2006: Egyptian ferry sinks, 1,400 people on board

An old ferry, “The Al Salam Boccaccio”, sunk following fire breaking out in the choppy waters of the Red Sea. It had more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia.

2010: U.S. - Avatar becomes highest grossing film

The box office movie success, Avatar, became the highest grossing film in the U.S. and Canada and surpasses two billion dollars mark in worldwide sales.

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Opinion

Sunday February 3, 2013

Uncensored U nc

Sheriff S Folarin

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

W

hat is going to happen tonight in South Africa, as the Super Eagles of Nigeria lock horns with the Elephants of Ivory Coast?

What will the Confederation of African Football (CAF) under Nigeria’s Number One soccer enemy, Issa Hayatou be up to this time? I hope it refreshes your mind though, to hear this: Against all odds, and against any act of injustice, ineptitude, conspiracy (if there is any), and human error, Nigeria (I mean, the Super Eagles) will fly on top of Ivory Coast’s Elephants to win this evening’s match and progress to the Semi-Finals of the African Cup of Nations!

Why am I so optimistic? This set of Eagles will win because they have their hearts in what they are doing. They want to win; they work hard for it; they do not do showmanship like their recent forebears. Their determination and hard work, coupled with their patriotism and selflessness will work for them. They can be annoying sometimes, but this team appears different as they seem mindful not to break the hearts of Nigerians.

But why am I so skeptical about CAF? Today, Nigeria is the unsung giant in African football because of the design of the men in the Confederation of African Football (CAF). I started watching the AFCON since 1988. That year, Morocco hosted it. The likes of Henry Nwosu, Bright Omokaro, Yisa Sofoluwe, Rashidi Yekini and Stephen

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What does CAF have against Nigeria?

Keshi were the stars of that great team.

Nigeria was bound to win as Henry Nwosu scored a fantastic goal through a header. But, for only-God-knows-why, the centre-referee disallowed the goal.

As a teenager, I was hurt because I did not see any reason for that decision.

Unfortunately, that referee’s act led to a hurtful loss to Cameroun whose goal came through a very cheap penalty.

I later understood the politics of Nigeria’s undeserved loss to Cameroon: the CAF President, Issa Hayaotu, is a Cameroonian and African referees could be as petty as trying to please their boss to guarantee them a permanent call-up at AFCON mundial.

Mauritanian referee, Idriss Sarr had navigated the route for Cameroon to win by awarding that controversial penalty, which was converted by defender, Emmanuel Jerome Kunde. Anyway, Nigeria was the sacrificial fowl for that year for Hayatou’s Cameroon’s vain glory.

Fast-forward to AFCON 2000. This was the year CAF, still under Hayatou, gave hosting rights to Nigeria and Ghana (two soccer power-houses) to share.

Ghana had been ousted by South Africa in the quarter-finals, but the other half of the hosting team, Nigeria progressed to the very final. It was played in Lagos before a capacity crowd. The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, were yet again, helped by the centre-referee, to beat the Super Eagles 4-3 on penalties. At the end of a tactically absorbing and emotionladen match, the match had ended 0-0, both in regular and injury time. The Tunisian referee had not only circumvented the laws of the game to satisfy his whims and caprices and that of his boss, Hayatou, during the game; he also cancelled two penalties taken by Sunday Olieh and Victor Ikpeba, claiming that the well-taken shots that crossed the

goal lines and hit the net for an unfortunate but clear rebound outside goal, were no goals. Hayatou had fled the stadium that night for fear of what would be his nemesis in Lagos.

In 1998, when the world was expecting the African Player of the Year award to go to Jay-Jay Okocha of Nigeria, for his soccer exploits at the World Cup and at club level in Europe, it was Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji CAF gave the award to. Two more cases of robbery were to follow in 2003 and 2004 when CAF and Hayatou would give the award to Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, when it was clear that Nigeria’s Jay-Jay Okocha deserved it for all his accomplishments for club and country that time. Eto’o had not neared him in exploits then.

Even Drogba was closer; but definitely, not Eto’o. Eto’o later deserved it in 2005 and 2006; but Nigeria had to again pay the price for CAF’s incompetence or Hayatou’s vain glory.

In 1998, Nigeria did not feature in the AFCON in Burkinafaso. CAF had banned it for not showing up at the 1996 edition in South Africa, which was caused by a diplomatic row between Nigeria and South Africa. CAF did nothing to accomplish its philosophy of uniting Africa by even daring the odds and wading into the crisis to achieve the objective of bilateral settlement; it went hurriedly and excitedly to ban Nigeria from AFCON that year. At least, the threat to Cameroon and other favoured nations would steer clear for minnows to win. True to expectation, a minnow, South Africa got to the final and nearly won the second time, if not for Egypt.

Just few days ago, CAF’s pathological ineptitude or fraudulence was exposed when Nigeria took on Zambia. A softphysical-contact ball contest outside the 18-yeard box of Vincent Enyeama

was adjudged penalty by the Egyptian referee, who raced to the penalty spot like another Usain Bolt like someone who had been desperately seeking the slightest opportunity to even things between the Eagles 9who had been leading by one goal) and Zambia, the defending champions. Hayatou was peeping from under the stands watching proceedings.

Like it has always been, whenever the CAF Dictator-for-Life was present when the die is cast for Nigeria, the Eagles must be cheated.

CAF has demonstrated enough that it does not want Nigeria on the victory podium in all AFCON tournaments.

1998 to 2013 is a long time. I expect high profile confrontation from Nigeria, and I look forward to when Nigerian “CAF politicians” who can play “the game”, and can also open the eyes of the old friend of Paul Biya, will begin to make these big cheats from poor small neighbouring countries realize that they cannot test the power and will of our great nation.

I look forward to a great game tonight. I like to see my dearest soccer idol in the world, Didier Drogba put up a decent show with (not against) his Chelsea compatriots on the Nigerian side. I like to see a healthy rivalry between the two West African nations; a beautiful soccer match devoid of Hayatou’s “abracadabra”. I look forward to Nigeria’s victory tonight, announcing the return of the good old days for the Super Eagles. And

by God’s grace, the Super Eagles will triumph over the Elephants and others in this For all the nation’s shame in football, we shall receive double!

•Dr. Folarin is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Political Science/ International Relations, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Who manages Nigeria’s image?

BANJI OJEWALE

I

t was a question posed for debate on the occasion of the 50th birthday of Nigeria’s leading perception manager, Yomi Badejo Okusanya (YBO). To assist concerned Nigerians tackle the poser that YBO believes is crucial to understanding and addressing the challenges of the day, his outfit CMC Connect staged a colloquium for the citizens to jaw-jaw and churn out ideas.

He brought in ex-military governor and one-time foreign affairs minister, Major General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), who surveyed the contemporary history of Nigeria and concluded among many other things that “the promotion of material self interest by the elite and the ruling class to the detriment of the welfare of the people … is a threat to the management of the image of Nigeria”.

Nwachukwu condemned what he termed “the primitive acquisitive tendencies” of the “leadership group” and “monetization of the politics” of our age and said they “impede social development.” By the time the retired General coupled these with the “violence all over the place,” he made these hold-all observations: Nigerians are not treated well abroad because of our poor image;

leadership group should work on it for a positive change; the media should examine their strategy of reporting negative trends while not covering up criminality and impunity; they must strike a balance; government alone can’t be saddled with managing the country’s image; individuals should imbibe right values and be “good” ambassadors of Nigeria abroad.

Leadership must play serious international politics, tackle corruption and accelerate economic development; finally, the leadership group must work out policies to “make what we have better”.

YBO also sought the help of former Information minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, whose stand was that Nigeria must find a way of fixing the image question because foreign “investors are scared by what they read and see in the media”. She said: “Communication is power. Managing our image is every body’s responsibility.”

Her successor, Mr. Labaran Maku, was represented by his special assistant Mr. Kingsley Osadolor, who mildly criticised Nwachukwu for glossing over the military’s purge of the civil service in 1975 and its introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1985, which he claimed were harbingers of the current bad boy image of Nigeria.

YBO’s constituency also came in tow,

with practitioners issuing a diktat; brand in product plus image. Flowing from this, they argued, we must put a moratorium on spending money to attract investors till we put our house in order so we can wear the right image. Invoking Act 16 of 1990 that established the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, they urged that the management of the image of Nigeria should be the responsibilities of reputable and recognised PR practitioners. “If we do it right, image will be right,” their spokesman concluded.

The debate reignited by Mr. BadejoOkusanya - whose responsibility is it to manage Nigeria’s image? - can’t be a one affair because of its inherent dynamics and the interconnectivity of perception and reality. As ex-chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Audu Ogbeh, said during his famous war of words with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, “perception is reality”. So it is an ongoing debate. We must agree with that dictum if we are to seriously address the image dilemma in Nigeria. What we see and hear and read in the media – local or foreign – has a powerful impact on our inflection and actions. No matter the texture or nature of these reflections and actions, we must be careful not to fix our gaze in the direction of the media for blame. For, the

journalist can’t but be faithful to his job: reporting what he sees faithfully.

So the kernel of the dialectics at work is to “tamper”, as it were, with what goes on in the society, since what goes on in society is what the reporter sees to report.

He can’t manufacture or concoct what is not there. True he sometimes exaggerates. But again you embellish what is on the ground. You don’t adorn what isn’t happening.

Those who gathered at Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos to consider the issue as they honoured YBO were aware of this link between (mis)governance and image and therefore submitted that image management is not an abstruse enterprise disconnected from reality. In that case, it must be said that what we refer to as reflection or image is nothing but the totality of what the citizen derives (benefits) from his government. It is equally the reaction of that citizen to governance.

Vice versa, it is government’s reaction to the citizen’s perception of its actions. Who manages this friction-laden intercourse?

Or isn’t it more instructive and practical to ask: how do we manage the inevitable friction?

•Ojewale is Lead Writer at WriteConsult, Ota, Ogun State.

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Applause LIFESTYLE, FASHION & ENTERTAINMENT

My big break came from someone I never met –Theodora FEBRUARY 3,, 2013

Theodora Ibekwe is synonymous with Nigeria’s entertainment industry in the United Kingdom, UK. She is an actress, movie producer, event promoter and is considered by many as the best Nigerian publicist in the UK. In this interview with Vanessa Okwara, she speaks about her works and how she rose to stardom through sheer hard work.

Mama in London’. Of course, I worked with Omotola and Van Vicker in ‘Amina’; Lanre Balogun, Anthony Monjaro and Rita Edochie in ‘Shattered Hearts’; the fabulous veteran, Julie Coker, in ‘Ikpaya’ and, of course, Jibola Dabo in ‘Life is a Journey’.

What was growing up like?

I had a wonderful childhood; I am from Imo State but grew up in Edo State. I was with my three siblings, my ever loving and caring parents who instilled a lot of discipline in us and, of course, gave us all the education that any child would have ever dreamt of having.

What is the Nigerian entertainment industry like in the UK? Nollywood UK is a growing industry; more and more Nigerians are interested in appearing in our films, which is quite encouraging. There are some talented filmmakers and we have definitely gained a foothold here and I am also proud to be one of the new wave of Nollywood producers in the UK building the Nigerian Entertainment profile.

You mentioned you are also into public relations; do you act as an artiste promoter?

PR is what I do best. I have a knack for it and have a good relationship with many magazine publishers – paper and online, in addition to having contacts in television – Ben TV, OH TV, Nollywood Movies, etc. It has given me a kind of leverage to successfully promote any individual or event that I am approached for.

You are known as one of the Nigerian big girls in the UK. How did you get to the top of the London entertainment industry?

I would never say that I have arrived, there is so much more to achieve. I reckon that I have gained recognition as a result of my early television work – working with Dayo Olomu who is an accomplished motivational speaker in the UK; having a part in the OBE soap, Everyday Life, then becoming founder and organiser of the Miss Elegant beauty pageants. Of course, as a public relations person, I have helped to publicise numerous personalities and events, being a catalyst of their success. I thank God for His grace, mercy and faithfulness, always.

What made you choose acting as a career?

I had always wanted to be an actress but my academic record meant that I would follow a different path. When I was a child, I was considered a genius. My discipline was the sciences even though I had a flair for acting even as a young child. I studied Education in Auchi Polytechnic before studying Accounting in University of Lagos. After my studies, I left the country to England. When I got to the UK, I didn’t even have acting in mind, I wanted to go back to school and do a post graduate course, but it was expensive so I got jobs to make ends meet. One day, I received a call that I was invited to be a TV presenter in a job I never even applied for. It was later I found that it came from the veteran speaker, Dayo Olomu. It was my work as co-presenter with Dayo Olomu on Passion TV that launched me into the Entertainment world in the UK. That is why I tell peo-

‘WHAT I DID WHEN I HAD HEARTBREAK’

ple that what you are going to be can be delayed but never denied. This offer came on a platter of gold from someone I never met and that gave me the big break I needed in the entertainment industry.

Can you mention some of the movies you have featured in?

My first film ‘Heavy Mama in London’ was shot in 2008, ‘Shattered Hearts’, ‘Amina’ and ‘Ikpaya’ were released in 2012 , “Life is a Journey” and ‘Heartless Carer’ to be released in 2013 and finally I will also feature in the movie I will be producing called ‘Shameful Deceit’ to be directed

by Ruke Amata from February 1, 2013.

Have you done anything big with any of the Nigerian Nollywood big names?

Apart from doing PR for Nollywood stars such as Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, I’ve worked with Jim Iyke on ‘Heavy

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How can we position Nollywood movies to fit into the international scene of movie making?

We do have good story lines exploring social issues. However, we need to concentrate more on these rather than supernatural issues, which portray us as superstitious and backward. Good training of all levels of filmmaking is necessary, from acting to directing, editing and post-production, marketing and distribution. It is time that Nollywood restricted movie running time to less than two hours except in exceptional epics; four VCD’s with different titles just won’t do anymore. Our sound editing and mixing has improved and we use sophisticated camera equipment. We are on the right path.

Tell us more about the beauty pageant you organise in the UK. I started Miss Elegant in 2009; the 1st pageant was called Miss Nollywood. Miss Elegant is a different kind of pageant. We don’t look for slim people alone, everybody is eligible to apply. We look out for beauty, brains and poise.

Miss Elegant international is pageant where people from all over the world are eligible to participate, there is also no age limit or if you are married. I’m thinking of organising Miss Elegant Nigeria which will be strictly for the Nigerian public.

What challenges do you encounter in the course of your job CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

I KNEW FROM AGE SEVEN THAT I WOULD BE A QUEEN –SISI EKO

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Applause

Sunday, February 3, 2013

‘What I did when I had heartbreak’

June Ebube is the Chief Executive Officer of Joon Clothing Nigeria. She has a passionate interest in fashion and making people look elegant. This style aficionado, who received a degree in Literature and English from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, reveals to Adaeze Amos in this interview what she does when she is heartbroken.

You took a degree in Literature but you are into fashion, how did this start?

Fashion for me started with the need to fill in the gap for my friends.

I would take my time to style them and they would come out looking dashing. What I used to do was to sketch the styles I needed to design for them, buy fitting fabrics and take them to a tailor. That was how I started and over time clients started coming to me for sketches and style ideas. I later discovered that I became quite passionate about seeing them smile after a design was made for them. It grew from that point onward.

Did you ever nurse the ambition of being a super designer from childhood?

Growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer, then it changed to my wanting to be a writer. That was why I went to study Literature in the university. My parents however thought I would opt for music as I was always involved with the choir anywhere I found myself. But fashion took over in my final year in the university.

What is your style?

I love the vintage look, most especially inspiration from the 60s. But I love to mix it up with Ankara or African prints to show that I am an African. I do have street styles as well for everyday activities.

How do you prepare for a red-carpet event?

Red-carpet for me is glamorous; a proper hairdo, a fitting flowing gown with fitting accessories. I love the natural make-up with nude lip colour.

What inspires your designs?

My designs are mostly inspired by vintage fashion from the 40s 50s and 60s. But I love to add Ankara and a modern twist to my designs.

How do you think life would have looked like without fashion?

Fashion makes the world go round. Designers all over the

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world draw inspirations and ideas from one another. They create innovations and networking. Fashion allows people to create their own sense of style, even without being a fashion designer. In fact, without fashion the world would be a boring place.

Placed in a scale of preference, what are five fashion accessories you love?

Five accessories I love are shoes, bracelets, handbags, belts and earrings.

What wouldn’t you be caught dead in?

I wouldn’t be caught wearing colourriot dresses, from head to toe. For example, I would be seen wearing a red dress, with a red handbag and red pair of shoes with red nails.

Who are the fashionistas you admire?

I admire Eku, Genevieve Nnaji and Stephanie Okereke because they can wear anything and still look gorgeous in them.

What is that accessory you wouldn’t mind spending a fortune on?

That would be a gorgeous pair of shoes.

What’ your beauty routine?

I use fruit extracts both morning and night for a fresh face. I dance a lot to keep fit and I take evening walks everyday.

What are the qualities of your ideal man?

My ideal man must love God with everything in him. He should be tall, dark, handsome, hard working, with dream and aspirations.

When you had a heartbreak, what did you do to wriggle out of it?

I cried my heart out, ate ice cream and chocolate then I sat down and wrote poems. I document most of my poems on heartbreak.

What advice do you have for single ladies who are overripe for marriage?

Getting married is not the end product but staying married is what is important plus finding your purpose in life. Knowing who you are is what is most important in life.

What words do you have for Nigerian fashionistas?

Be open to ideas. Wear what fits and keep looking gorgeous.

What thrills you about fashion?

In fashion, I love the use of colours to create something innovative and beautiful. The end product, for me, is the smile on a client’s face.

‘I’m quite a warm and approachable person’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 and how you manage it?

There are many challenges, the usual rivalries, jealousies, the glass ceiling where women are still shut out. But I am blessed; I am driven and never back down.

I am also a hardworking person. When I have an idea for anything, I am relentless and I do manage to win through. It’s never been easy but I love a challenge. I have been able to compete for PR assignment on a level playing field.

How do you relax?

I love to party. Of course, my status means that I am invited to most Nollywood movie premieres, award events and parties. I go clubbing with my friends and dance the night away. While chilling at home, I get engrossed in Nollywood movies and Facebook. I also love to go out eating when I am not in the kitchen cooking different delicacies.

Have you ever been heartbroken in a relationship?

Never.

Are you married?

I am not married yet but God has the right man for me and who knows, it might just be very soon (laughs).

How do you cope with advances from men?

I am quite a warm and approachable person. I make friends easily with both sexes but quite cautious when it comes to dating. Men come on to me all the time but I try to let them down gently, especially when I am dating already.

If you ever get the chance to rule Nigeria for a year, what will be the urgent thing you will like to do for your country?

The Nigerian presidency is a poisoned chalice and I would not take on the challenge. However, being a PR guru, I will love to run a PR campaign to improve Nigeria’s image in the world.

What puts you off people?

Lies, betrayal and unrepentant people, although I am very forgiving.

Describe Theodora in one word Blessed.

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Cocktail Whispers

Stories by Olumide Segun-Oduntan

0818 941 8761 e-mail: lumidezy@yahoo.com

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Chief Michael Adeojo’s young wife, Taiwo, gives birth to twins These Th are certainly happy times for the Chairman of Elizade Motors, Chief Michael Adeojo. In fact, as you read this, there is excitement in his household.

And before you start wondering what could possibly have added to the happy moments he already enjoys as a successful businessman, let’s inform you that the billionaire, whose company is the biggest distributor of Toyota vehicles in Nigeria, has become a dad again.

According to the latest information reaching Cocktail Whispers, Chief Adeojo, who will turn 75 in June, and his young wife, Taiwo have been blessed with a set of twin babies – a boy and a girl.

Cocktail Whispers gathered that pretty Taiwo delivered the twins at a London hospital a couple of days ago.

Just so you know, Chief Michael Adeojo married Taiwo, his former secretary, after the death of his first wife a few years ago.

Supermodel Oluchi acquires 2013 Range Rover Vogue

Omatek boss, Florence Seriki, builds multi-billion naira factory If the th information i f ti att Cocktail C kt ill Whispers’ Whi ’ disdi posal is to be believed, then it seems that the CEO of Omatek, Mrs. Florence Seriki has built a multi billion naira factory.

According to a source, the celebrated businesswoman, whose company is into computers and laptops, recently acquired an industrial complex on Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja in Lagos and transformed it into an ultra modern new factory.

Cocktail Whispers learnt that Mrs. Seriki spent millions of naira to purchase the industrial complex and further spent several millions of naira to turn it into an ultra modern factory that would house her company, Omatek.

It was also gathered that in a matter of days when Florence Seriki’s multi billion naira factory will be commissioned, President Goodluck Jonathan will be present at the event.

One celebrity who knows how to pamper herself so well is supermodel Oluchi Onweagba. And if you think the popular fashion icon’s idea of pampering herself is limited to designer clothes, then you need to have a rethink.

Having graced the covers of several editions of international magazines such as the Italian Vogue dressed in popular designer outfits, the 1998 winner of Mnet Face of Africa may have got tired of pampering herself with designer wears.

So, Oluchi opted for an exotic state-of-theart vehicle. According to the gist made available to Cocktail Whispers, she recently took delivery of a 2013 Range Rover Vogue.

A source told Cocktail Whispers that the modeling star purchased her latest wonderon-wheel a few days back and she is very excited about it so much that she is literarily shouting it out on social media for anyone who cares to listen.

Maureen Ahize holds baby shower

Does the name Maureen Ahize ring a bell? Well, in case you are not in the know, she is the wife of celebrated Lagos businessman and nightclub owner, Charles Ahize.

It will interest you to know that Maureen Ahize entered the final stages of her pregnancy a few days ago and guess what; she decided to hold a baby shower to celebrate her forthcoming child. The exciting gig was held at her residence in Lagos a few days ago.

Cocktail Whispers gathered that the baby shower was well attended by friends of Maureen who brought lots of gifts for her and the coming child.

It would also interest you to know that Maureen is currently out of the country to deliver her child.

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

& ovies Music M Stories by Olumide Segun-Oduntan 08189418761 e-mail: lumidezy@yahoo.com

WapTV acquires state of the art satellite equipment Despite the calm, quiet appearance of its edifice situated in Ajao Estate, Lagos, there is celebration in wapTV as the popular TV Channel has just acquired a new set of high-tech satellite broadcasting equipment to further improve its operations to the delight of its viewers, advertisers and ontent providers. According to the Managing Director of wapTV,

Wale Adenuga Jnr., “With the new satellite broadcast equipment, viewers should expect live Programmes, live coverage of various types of events, as well as an increased exposure on wapTV now that it has the necessary facilities required to enable simultaneous transmission on several Satellite Television Providers.”

Since its debut on October 1, 2012, wapTV has

Jim Iyke set to begin reality TV show

Nige

rian

Idol

It h a s been a hardwon battle to make it to the top 30 for the Nigerian Idol contestants. They have struggled with exhaustion, nerves and against thousands of other hopefuls also looking for their ticket to fame, stardom and $100,000 grand prize up for grabs.

The audience and viewers at home have the third chance to pick three more contestants to join the six already in the Top 12.

The third 10 performers have had their chance to catch your attention.

It was a tough night for the contestants and they need your votes to make it to the next round. Who will join Safeeyat, Debbie Rise, Vicci, Oreoluwa Liyeli, Kome and

Top 3

0 ro

und

III: M

Do you want to see Nollywood star actor, Jim Iyke in ways that are totally different from what you see of him in movies? Well, if your answer to that is yes, then be prepared to stay glued to your television set soon as M&M can reveal that the controversial role interpreter is set to launch his own reality show titled Jim Iyke Unscripted.

The new reality television show, Jim Iyke Unscripted is a joint production of Africa

eet your

contest a

quickly grown to become one of the most popular digital TV channels in the country due to its strategically planned programming which includes past and fresh episodes of Superstory, Thislife, Papa Ajasco & Company, Nnena & Friends, Odd World and Binta My Daughter. wapTV is also a favourite amongst TV viewers nationwide because it airs selection of Nigerian movies, soaps, comedies and music videos which cut across different social and age groups.

Magic and Oh Africa TV (UK).

When completed, it will be aired on both channels, and syndicated to several other media outlets.

Jim is currently in Nairobi, Kenya with a crew, for three days of shooting and when finished, they will head on to Abuja, London, Amsterdam, Sweden, and then Ghana.

It will also interest you to know that Jim Iyke seems to be doing a lot of charitable activities these days.

Just s o m e weeks ago, he was spotted in Kenya supporting the Make a Change Campaign and he was also in Abuja for the same charity work.

NGMA honours outstanding Nigerian gospel artistes

Nigerian gospel spel musicians mu musi usi sici ici cian ans who wh ho disdisdi stinguished themselves with uncanny industry excellence and impressive impact in the music industry last year were deservedly honoured at the Nigeria Gospel Music Awards (NGMA), which was held at the NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos recently.

The event was organised by the Academy of Gospel Music in Nigeria. The annual event, which marked its second successful edition with pomp, glitz, glamour and celebration, was well attended by people within and outside the country.

Celebrities such as DJ Gosporella, USA based gospel act Femi Oyeleye, Eben, top Comedian, Obus, C.E.O of Christian Talent Club, Ify Chukwu,

Executive Exec Exec Ex ecut utiv uti ive Producer ive Prod oduc duc ucer er of of the th he Market Market Place Ma (STV) Mike Abdul, Assistant Coordinator of the multiple award-winning, Midnight Crew, Monique, the red-hot wavesmaking Oba Gbogbo Aye fame, Linda Etukudo of the Double Grace fame and a host of others graced the colourful event.

During the awards night, 21 winners emerged from the 21 competitive categories. Some of the top winners included: Frank Edwards who “stole” the show when he won three distinguished awards.

These included, the Artistes of the Year, Best Male Vocalist and Song of the Year which his smash hit double CD album, Unlimited deservedly earned him.

He was closely followed by Emmanuel Benjamin popularly known as Eben.

Eben took away two awards; the Best Gospel Rock Artiste category and the Al-

Mo at T

It w at the mittee (NEC) Spe of SLU

nts

Job Emmanuel Idoko? Who will you choose?

Port-Harcourt-based singer, Abasiakan Hanson is a lover of soulful and passionate music.

With the Idol platform, he hopes to break the norms of the music industry internationally.

Former season two contestant, Onoja Godwin (G-Circuit) is back for one more shot at his destiny. G-Circuit hopes Nigerians will realize that with this platform he can create a difference in the world at large.

Samari Peter is the twin from the ancient city of Benin. He is a self-described P Square adduct. Mere auditioning in the competition is a dream come true for him. He sees Nigerian Idol as the biggest thing that can ever happen to him.

If yo ous, wit then be as Roya movie t Prod isong, Weeken mond E know t like; G Ini Edo wu, Bry Naya, U Umoh a The hinde J Bola Ad

by Eme for scre

bum of the Year category.

Other winners included; Wole Oni (winner, Best Music Producer), Asu Ekiye (winner in the Best Indigenous Contemporary category).; Joe Praize (winner, Alternative category), Onos (winner, Best Female Vocalist), Henri Soul (winner New Revelation of the Year), Femi Oyeleye (winner, Best Male Artiste in Disapora) and Lyn (winner, Next Rated Artiste) Kayode Olusoji (winner, Traditional Gospel Act).

In the non-competitive categories a special recognition award was awarded to Evangelist Sunday Jolayemi, the CEO of Winners Entertainment Label, Gospel Zone with DJ. Gosporella of Beat FM, X2D, the renowned gospel music and lifestyle channel and Kingdom Africa DSTV channel.

Under concerts/events category, the Delta State Yaddah received NGMA crown for its impact. In addition, the legendary duo of Pastor J.A Adelakun (Ayewa) and Brother Martins of the Mushin Olosa fame were also honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Knowing the right way to walk –Pastor Samuel

Praise Worship E-mail:richardeghaghe@yahoo.com

E-mail:titusanyanwu.2012@gmail.com

EDIFYING GOD

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Sunday February 3, 2013

Child sex abuse: Church apologises to victims • Sacks Cardinal who shielded randy priests

A

uthorities of the Catholic Church at the weekend tendered apologies to victims of child sex abuse linked with some of their priests in the United States.

Subsequently, a Los Angeles cardinal, Roger M Mahony, was also stripped of his duties after the church released documents showing that he shielded priests who abused children from investigation, a report said.

Cardinal Mahony, who was archbishop of Los Angeles until 2011, was relieved of his remaining administrative and public duties, his successor, Jose H Gomez ,was quoted as saying.

The church, according to reports, tried for years to suppress documents dating from the 1940s to the present that show it attempted to thwart police investigations into allegations of abuse, the report said.

It was thus compelled by a court order to release the documents at the weekend. ``I find these files to be brutal and painful reading,’’ Gomez said in a statement. ``The behaviour described in

Cardinal Roger Mahony

these files is terribly sad and evil,’’ he said, before apologizing to the victims. ``There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed.’’

One of the documents was a letter written by a priest in the 1980s on how to stop police investigations of clergy accused of abusing children.

Its author, Thomas Curry, that acted as an adviser to Mahony over the allegations, went on to become Bishop of

Santa Barbara, and has now resigned from that position.

The released documents were part of a 660-milliondollar settlement with abuse victims reached in 2007.

The church, reports said, tried to keep the names of the top officials’ secret until this week.

Insurgent attacks: Be steadfast, fearless, Christians urged SEGUN ADIO

C

hristians in the country have been urged to remain steadfast and unshaken in their faith in the face of persecution in spite of the security challenges besseting Christendom.

Giving this charge over the weekend, was Special Apostle Adebola Akinsulie, Head, Department of Paediatrics, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), while delivering a lecture at the opening ceremony of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, at DeHall, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

Apostle Akinsulie, who admonished religious leaders fanning embers of chaos and

disunity with their sermons, told delegates at the conference that Christians in the country, especially Seraphs, should be fearless with all the threats to the practice of their faith.

His words: “The current threats to Christians in the country, especially in the northern part, is a passing phase. Followers of Christ should know the kind of cross they will have to bear before they are called the sons of God. But let me say this, that there is no acrimony between the practitioners of the two major religions in the country. What we are seeing is the handiwork of some people who want to settle political scores,” he said.

Apostle Akinsulie, however, urged Christians in trouble spots in the country to con-

tinue to embrace dialogue and exhibit friendliness with their Muslim neighbours.

In his opening remarks to delegates, Supreme Head of the Church, His Most Eminence, Baba Aladura Abel Olujimi Akinsanya, said the church would continue to play pivotal role in the nation, as it has been doing from time immemorial.

According to Baba Akinsanya, the C&S, as the church of the end-time, will also continue to make its voice heard on burning national issues, especially the menace of Boko Haram in the northern part of the country, which he claimed had eaten deep into the nation’s fabrics.

Akinsanya, while welcoming the purported truce of the dreaded sect, however,

GOD IS ANSWER TO ALL YOUR PROBLEMS, SAYS PASTOR OKEREKE

26

cautioned the Federal Government to be cautious in the unfolding scenario.

He appealed to members of the church in trouble spots in the country to remain lawabiding citizens.

His words: “If it is true that the Boko Haram group is talking about peace now, it is welcome, but there is need for caution. What we are doing as a church is to continue to pray for peace in the country.”

Special Apostle Olusesi Sowande, Chairman of National Executive Council of the Church also berated religious leaders that are promoting religious disunity in the country, saying God has his reason for allowing divergent religious groupsto thrive in the same environment.

Briefly ‘Our archbishop stole N7m property’ A businessman, Ignatius Ozorumba, at the weekend told a Lagos High Court in Ikeja how a self-acclaimed archbishop, John Okeke, 59, allegedly stole his land worth N7 million.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ozorumba made the allegation at the resumed trial of Okeke before Justice Aishat Opesanwo.

Okeke, founder of God’s Pentecostal Ministry World Wide, Iba, Lagos was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a nine-count charge bordering on stealing, forgery, uttering and impersonation.

Testifying in the case, Ozorumba, who was led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mrs Atinuke Daramola, said he was a former member of the defendant’s church.

He said sometime in 2005, Okeke informed him that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had instructed all persons allocated plots of land in Festac Town to pay their land rents.

Ozorumba, who is the director of Immortal Impex Limited, said he asked the archbishop to help him process the payment so that the land would not be revoked. The witness said:``I gave him N200,000 to help me pay eight years rent at a cost of N25,000 per year, for my land known as “Plot H1”, located on 2nd Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos. ``I also gave him photocopies of the Title Deed and other relevant documents to facilitate the process”.

He said the defendant later told him to bring the original documents for “sighting” purposes by the authorities of the FHA and he complied.

Church begins summit tomorrow A nationwide quarterly programme of prayer, praise and preaching summit, courtesy of The Way of Reconciliation Evangelistic Ministries (TWOREM) Int’l Lagos, tagged, “Bojuwomi” (God, look kindly on me from your throne) with the theme, “The Unchangeable God”, holds on Monday, February 4 at Sekunderin Int’l Miracle Prayer Mountain, New Ife Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ministering, is Prophet Oladipupo FunmiladeJoel (Baba Sekunderin) and other anointed men of God. The event will also feature prominent gospel musicians like Evangelists Toyin Ilori (Akoko-Mi-To), Bukola Akinade (Senwele) and others.

Sunday Mirror/Babcock University Bible Quiz: • Current and past winners can collect their prizes from the office of the Editor, Sunday Mirror, 151/161 Broad Street, Lagos anytime from Monday to Friday. Participants should always indicate their names when sending their entries.

Prophetic utterances turn around every situation that is beyond everybody’s understanding and make it positive.

–Pastor Bamidele

‘HALF OF NIGERIAN CHURCH LEADERS ARE INSANE’

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Praise & Worship

Sunday February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thou shall be called, Sought out –Apostle Utibe-Abasi General Overseer of The Rock of Salvation Church Ministries,Iju, Lagos, Apostle Utibe-Abasi Emmanuel exhorts on the many ways through wish God can seek out his beloved but that it is incumbent obn the child of God to be obedient at all times. Excerpts:

I

saiah 62:11-12 states “Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh, behold his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, the Holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and thou shalt be called, sought out. A city not forsaken.”

God appointed men for his work, he sought them out from different parts of the world and made them special. No longer commoners; peculiar people, an holy nation, the redeemed of the Lord. God sought out Abraham amongst his brethren. Gen. 12: 1-3 states “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

David was sought out among his brethren in 1 Sam. 16:14-15.

The Bible says, “He did that which the Lord spake, God so honoured him that people trembled at his sight.” Joseph brethren hated him because they saw God’s favour in him, despite all he went through in the hands of his brothers he still came out a great ruler because he was soughted out by God. What about Jephtah, the son of a prostitute? In Judges 11:1-9, his brothers drove him away, took possession of his inheritance, but when God sought him out he became a great leader. Let’s look at the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

Luke 6:12-16 states, “And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and continue all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples and of them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles. Simon (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphacus, and Simon called Zelotes. And Judas the brother of James and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”

So many were called, what about David the least in his family, God saw him tending to flocks, a shepherd boy. God sought him out amongst mighty men and crowned him king, the mightiest in all Israel which generation came Jesus Christ. When you are sought out by God, He’ll give you honour and make you the head.

Many were called and God was with them, he never left them in the middle of the road, one thing I

want to bring to your attention is, God called these people, but before they left for their calling, they left behind all they were holding in their hands, they forsook their fathers’ gods and their canal belief before they fully accepted God. Peter and Andrew his brother were fishermen; they left their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

Abraham left his family’s house, his father’s gods and followed Jesus that made God bless him mightily, Abraham was so blessed that the whole world today wants to be called after his seed.

David left his belief of being a shepherd, they all succeeded and achieved their greatness because they left everything, they came to God with a clean heart. Today, God has called many to serve him from all walks of life, some are fresh believers, some cultists, from different places because he has seen a potential in them but the problem now is, some are still holding onto what was in their hand, they don’t want to forsake, reject or abandon the gods of the land, some believe they won’t succeed without these gods, they don’t believe in the power of God. What amazes me is, how a man that can read and understand, studies and know the power of God can on the other hand believe that cultic power that is controlled by marine spirit or any talisman that a man will make with his hand and give to you to bury in the ground or wear on your hand as a ring or bracelet or wear on your body as a singlet or an handkerchief can give success or increase the church, give you power or make you famous, forgetting that God is the maker of all things even the devil. I ask you, ‘how can a subject be more powerful than his maker?’

It’s a shame on ministers that parade themselves as the ministers of God, but are involved in one cult or the other. Once a minister wrote that smoking, drinking of alcohol and masturbation are not sin, which I opposed, some weeks ago another minister says, tattoo and plastic surgery are no sin. Lev. 19:28 states, “Ye shall not make any cutting in your flesh for the dead, nor print any mark upon you, I am the Lord.” Cutting of marks and printing of images on any part of your body is a sin before God because it’s like telling him he did not create you well.

Whatever you love or worship, you must try to satisfy it.

If you are for God, you try to satisfy God, if you are for the devil them satisfy him openly, don’t hide yourself behind God, why are you ashamed to be known with him if you really believe he’s good to you? Profess him openly and stop deceiving people and even yourselves. Rev. 22:1819 says, “For I testify unto every

man that heareth the word of prophesy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

I beg you all to be very careful about what you teach or preach in the name of the Lord so you don’t receive damnation and condemnation upon yourselves and your families. Matthew 12:32 says, “And whosoever speaketh against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world nor in the world to come. “ When you blaspheme against the word of the prophesy of this book (The bible) which was inspired by the spirit of God, you have no forgiveness in life, that’s why you see ministers dying untimely, some maggots feast on their flesh, when they are still alive while some terrible sicknesses, sometimes you ask, why should a man of God suffer such? You lead the sheep that God gave you to tend astray. Matt.

15:14 states “Let them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind and if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch.”

When you follow a blind leader, it means you are also blind and the punishment bestowed on that leader, the same will you receive because he can never teach you about the principles of Heaven.

So how can you make heaven when you cannot even please God on earth? The bible tells us in 1 John 4:1, it says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirit whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world”, the last of verse 3 says, “Even now already it’s the world.” The bible says they are here now, they are already with us, don’t look far, start from where you are and examine, antichrist is coming, his spirit has possessed many greedy ministers to prepare you for his coming. I will always tell my children, ‘don’t follow me blindly, fast and pray, ask God to show you the foundation of where you stand’. Pray about the foundation of any church you attend so you don’t partake in the punishment of the wicked, because God will surely judge them. Hell is real my fellow ministers, let go the assignment of the devil, suffer him not to speak to you. The bible says in Isaiah 2:20-21, “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and gold, which they made each one to worship, to the moles and to the bats. To go into the clefts of the rock and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the

Utibe-Abasi

Lord, and the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”

Now it is not too late, don’t wait, don’t give deaf ears and blind eyes to the punishment of those ministers that were as ignorant as you today, for the second coming of the Lord will be so dreadful, he will not spare you, you will face judgement and be condemned, but remember your punishment will start now in this world, you will receive torment and torture, your cult, herbalist, all the gods of this land will not be able to deliver you from the torment of the Lord, then you will know that God is God, by then there will be no more repentance, because the bible says there is no repentance in the grave, one will say “He’s not yet dead so he can still repent” but I tell you when the furious hand of God is upon you, grave will be your first wish but it will not come because you must suffer before grave.

Hear my word today and repent from your evil ways, there will be any escape, don’t say I’m not a cultist I only have a little ring in my hand, God sees it no matter how small, he sees the smallest of ants, knows them by name and number, how much more man which he created in his own image, he sees you in the deepest and darkest place.

In 1998, I suffered from cholera for more than two weeks, I was so lean and weak, but I refused to take drugs or any form of medication by then I was working for a white man, my master said to me, ‘let me take you to the hospital’. I replied him ‘my God will heal me’ he said ‘why didn’t your God heal before now, and what makes you believe that he can see you amongst the multitude of people in the world? I replied ‘if he can see the smallest of ants, then he can see me and heal me’ Immediately, I said those words of faith, I heard something come inside of me like a cold, I shivered, right

there I received my healing, I told my master that God has seen and healed me just now as I’m talking to you’, he thought I had gone mad, I left him, went home to wash myself and came back to work, he (my master) was surprised. I received healing immediately because of my words of faith and because I knew God was watching and listening to our conversation.

2 Chr. 16: 9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.” When you believe and trust in the Lord he will always be there to show himself strong on your behalf. I’m not only referring to the ministers, if you are an elder, deacon, deaconess, usher, evangelist, chorister, whatever position you may be occupying in the church know you are soughted out by God and he needs your full service, don’t disappoint him make useful your calling. If you are just an ordinary member of a church without any position or not useful in any form and not a tithe paper, know you are not soughted out by God and as you are not useful to man or to God, he will spit you out of his mouth. Start today; make yourself useful in the house of God. Finally, I besiege you my fellow ministers and brethren, turn back to the Lord who called you for his service forsake Satan and his false gifts and promises, for at the end, he will fail you and cause you sorrow and pain. Job 34:21-22 say, “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his doings.” There is no darkness or shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. There is no hiding place repent now, turn from your evil ways to God for the salvation of your soul.

•For enquires, call 0803-718-7775

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday February 3, 2013

Praise & Worship

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Bring God’s dimension to your situation, says Pastor Adewumi Insightful Senior Pastor of House of Prayer, Pastor Segun Adewumni, reveals the dimension of knowledge that is not often preached in churches. Excerpts:

I

n this edition, we will focus on the superiority of the spiritual power at the disposal of believers over the power of demonic agents. To understand this teaching, some basic things that are not often taught in the church and without which one cannot properly understand the way of the Lord, would be unravel. An average Christian is probably that person who believes in what he or she does not understand.

First we need to know that: •Every physical object animate or inanimate also exists as a spiritual entity. This implies that it has a spiritual dimension.

•Every Association, marital, group or township, the moment they are formed become a spiritual entity.

We all know that prayer is spiritual. Anything and any situation that prayer can affect exist also in spiritual realm. This is the basis of Matt 18:18: “Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Man is a spirit being that has a soul which lives in the flesh.

The earthly man is positively dead since the betrayal of God by Adam. This means, the spirit man that is “the real man is a state of coma or unconsciousness. It requires the spirit of God (Holy Spirit) or that of Satan (demonic spirit) to bring man into consciousness. He has the consciousness of his physical environment but has no consciousness of his spiritual environment whereas he lives in the two realms. The demonic agents take advantage of this situation to lift ordinary man out of body at sleep and take him to where his life is manipulated to steal, kill and destroy him.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matt 13:25 But true and real believers are empowered not only to resist the devil but dash him with iron rod and like potters vessel.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Adewunmi

Psalm 2:9.

This is accomplished through the empowerment of the Guardian Angel. We shall introduce here the identity of the Guardian Angel to you.

Guardian Angel

A Guardian Angel is the dimension of God in man. It forms the higher nature of the believers that guards him to accomplish the assignment that God gives him.

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Exodus 23:20” Until we achieve Christ’s consciousness, we are guarded by the Angel assigned to us. Anointing has no other meaning than assignment of the Guardian Angel. Angels mean Messengers. They are spirit beings with enormous powers to do as God desires. For example only one Angel killed 185,000

soldiers of Senacherub. What Angels have in common with man and God is that they are intelligent beings. They also have volition which means ability of choice.

Every man of God is chosen

by God to accomplish a purpose in the plan of God. God normally assigns an Angel with the power to see such a one through in his assignment.

Example of Joshua

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, what saith my lord

unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place where on thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15” Joshua became the custodian of the captain of the host of heaven. That means a power that was higher than any power on earth.

“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Joshua 1:5” We need to note that in Joshua 1:1-9, Joshua was tutored about his assignment and what precautions to take when the assignment commenced. He was told clearly in verse 6 that he would not only posses the land but shall divide the land to various tribes of Israel.

“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Joshua 1:6” The precautions he needed were courage and strength and to achieve this, he must mediate day and night in the word (Law and Precept) of God and do always according to the word.

I will cite a very important instance of encounter between believers and the demonic agents to illustrate this topic. This can be used as Spiritual Authority by the readers to establish their supremacy over their demonic tormentors. It is indeed a prayer reference for those that are presently held down by Ancestral or Generational Curse or Household Enemies. The testimonies of how God truncated the enemies of his people are our meditation for a successful prayer.

“I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

Psalm 119:99 “Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Jer 5:14”

But by my name Jehovah

Moses and Aaron met with Pharaoh to demand the release of the people of Israel. Rather than releasing them, Pharaoh added to their burden. The elder of Israel complained to Moses who in turn met with the Lord.

Then the Lord revealed a new dimension of himself to Moses, I am Jehovah.

“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. Exodus 6:3.”

Jehovah means “He causes to become”. It is about absolute and

limitless power. The implication is that Moses was spiritually upgraded through the assignment of the captain of the host of heaven. This situation reflected in the contest with the magicians of Pharaoh who at plague four became powerless and had to complain to Pharaoh that Moses was operating beyond their level (finger of God) Exodus 8:18-19 records, “And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”

While demonic agents represented by the magicians of Pharaoh fell at number four, Moses and Aaron went up to number 10 where God killed all the first born in Egypt (Exodus 12:29-35) this led to the release of Israel by their oppressors.

Readers of this message who are still held down into spiritual slavery by their household enemies and are unable to make headway in life are with this Prophecy hereby released. We must at the same time ensure that the enemies are permanently disabled so that they will never pose danger to the children of God. This was why God let Pharaoh regret the release of Israel and was deceived to believe that Israel was stranded in the wilderness. He pursued them and perished in the Red sea. By this authority I decree here that every Pharaoh in your life will perish. God actually said to Israel, ‘You will not see these enemies again’.

The Bible spoke in that vein in the book of Exodus 14:13, “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, standstill, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.

We shall continue next week with the divine encounter that will make you to recover your stolen or lost destiny. We shall kill every Jezebel and blindfold every Elymas the sorcerer to restore back all that are yours with interest and commission.

Just like it is contained in 2nd King 8:6 “And when the king asked the woman, she told him.

So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.”

•For counseling contact the minister via email: pastorsegunadewumi@gmail.com

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Praise & Worship

Sunday February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

God is answer to all your problems, says Pastor Okereke Founder and General Overseer of Global Success Ministries, Pastor Chima Okereke, in this message justifies God’s mightiness. He exhorts that no matter how mighty your problems might appear; the ‘Almighty is mightier than all’.

Excerpts:

I

n John 5:1-9, “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ The impotent man answered him, Sir; ‘I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.’

Jesus saith unto him, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: ‘and on the same day was the Sabbath’. This story is reminding us of two groups of Nigerians.

•Those who waited before something good happened in their lives; although they might still be experiencing some needs as humans in certain areas yet at least they are feeding well today; some who were sick before are healed now. Some are heartbroken before but are healed, etc. But there is another group that had waited for a long time for a particular issue to be taken care of in their lives and up till now, they are still waiting. If you are among this group, I want to assure you that the end of that ugly situation has come. Whatever that is given you restless mind shall become history very soon in Jesus’ name.

Why do we say that God is the answer to all the problems? It is because God is the Almighty, which means no matter how mighty your problems might appear; the Almighty is mightier than all. Ecclesiastes 5:8 made us to know that God is higher than the highest. Know also that the Almighty is mightier than all your problems because in Isaiah 49:24-26; the prophet first asked a question by the spirit of God saying, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob”. The King of kings is simply telling us through Prophet Isaiah that even if you have been in captive by any evil mighty power; surely you shall be delivered by the one called the

Almighty God. The lawful captive means even if you are in captive because of your past mistakes; it doesn’t matter, your deliverance is assured in Jesus’ name. There are several examples of those the Almighty delivered, or healed or blessed, giving them new lives and hope to live again. No matter whatever you are going through now; your tomorrow is better than your today. The best thing in life is not to surrender to sorrow but to fight the source of sorrow until victory is achieved. If you read the history of many who are successful today, you will discover there was a time they thought that it was going to be the end of their lives but glory be to God today they are celebrating. In the name above all other names, you must rejoice more than ever before this year in Jesus’ name. In John 9:1-7; the Bible tells us of a man that was born blind; so for close to 40 years of his life on earth, he had never seen how his parents looked like; his other brothers and sisters he doesn’t know how to describe their facial outlook; he can’t work because no one needed the services of a blind man.

But when he met Jesus, he had a reason to rejoice. There is someone reading this sermon now; this year you will celebrate as never before in Jesus’ name. Let’s look at the example of the man at the pool of Bethesda, our text for today (John 5:1-9).

First of all, the Bible tells us that he waited for 38 years; the major reason for this delay was because he hoped in the wrong source for his healing. Jeremiah 17:5 says, “Thus saith the Lord; cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord”.

Check very well who or what you are trusting for your miracles, healing, deliverance, promotion, political appointment, winning of election; sometimes people win but die in office or are thrown out by courts. Who or what are you trusting for your tomorrow? The impotent man was not wrong by waiting for healing beside the pool because some people had been healed; but not by the pool but by God who sends the Angel that troubles the water. Who or what you are trusting for your employment or to become the next governor or president matters a lot. here are basic needs, no doubt, about it, like you should be rich to spend for the campaign, you will have a political godfather as it is in Nigerian politics. The outgoing president or governor may favour you but who told you that you are sure of winning or finishing your tenure? Many people have been disappointed by most trusted friends. There were one or two great politicians in Nigerian history who had all it took to rule Nigeria but they never ruled. In fact, one along the line, won an election but he did not rule until he died and because he is dead, it is impossible for him to rule Nigeria again. In Psalm 57:7, the psalmist said, “My heart is

Okereke

fixed….. All who trusted God in the days of old were not disappointed. Genesis 21:16 told us that after Abraham trusted God for many years, he later had a son called Isaac. 1Samuel 1:20 told us that Hannah had her first son, a great prophet, after waiting for many years. There are several examples; Exodus 12:40-42 told us that after 430 years of waiting, Israel finally left Egypt because they trusted God and kept on calling upon Him. God is the answer to all your problems, no matter your physical qualification. There are many graduates in Nigeria that have no jobs; some people that were rich before; are now struggling.

There are people who trust on their parents to become who they want to be; which is good but not perfect; because anything can happen. Some trusted their friends

but were disappointed; some trusted even themselves because of one or two reasons but later things did not go as expected.

Brothers and sisters, trust God to solve your problems. There is someone reading this message now, this year shall be one of remembrance in your life for the blessings of God upon you in Jesus’ name. The Lord shall give you a new name; when the Lord gave Abraham a new name, he had a son at 100 years of age. It is your turn to testify.

We shall treat more on the significance of name as promised by His grace.

•For more enquiries, please send text messages only through the following numbers: 08067802407, 08054076402 for prompt attention.

Briefly

Divine visitation at GSM

The first Holy Ghost Wonder service, of the year by Global Success Ministries (GSM), Festac Town, comes up on Thursday, February 7, 2013, with the theme: “Divine Visitation” (1 Sam. 16:1-13). The special service, which will be presided over by the founder and spiritual head of the Church, Pastor (Dr.) Chima Okereke is programmed to hold every Thursday for three weeks, beginning from Thursday February, 7, 14th, and finally on Thursday February 21, from 7.00am prompt, each day at the main auditorium of the church on plot 34, Global Success Street, FESTAC

Link Road, Amuwo Odofin.

According to the spokesperson of the church, Sister Nkechi, the programme will feature powerful ministration praise and worship session, special deliverance, healing and anointing for ‘Greater signs and wonders’ throughout the year. Meanwhile, a power packed international Crusade, tagged: ‘Time For God’s Favour’, as revealed in the book of Genesis 41:39-44, will be hosted by the church on Saturday, February 16 and Sunday February 17, 2013. It is expected to attract participants from all nooks and crannies of the World.

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Praise & Worship

Sunday February 3, 2013

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Lessons from Adam’s sin, by Oloruntimilehin In his recent message, Founder of Omnipotence Mission of God, Pastor Oloruntimilehin takes a look at the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; saying that the overriding lesson to learn from it is for all sinners to reconcile with God. Excerpts:

I

t is pertinent to reveal a little secret to a lot of people. In the Book of Genesis 6: 6, God was sad and regretted that he created human beings. Human beings were the first living creatures to be created by God. He created Adam first, then Eve and put them in the beautiful garden.

God commanded Adam and Eve, the first humans created, not to eat from the fruit of life and the fruit of knowledge; but Adam and Eve rather disobeyed that command. Consequently, God instructed the Cherub to send them out of the garden into this world where they had mixed up with the children of God. The Bible said Adam met his wife Eve and gave birth to Cain and later Abel. Owing to disobedience and the accompanying curse in the blood that had been transferred to the children, Cain developed a stubborn heart and eventually killed his brother, Abel, out of envy.

It was a curse and they were multiplying and growing in population. The children of God mixed with human beings, the male children were marrying the females of the human beings.

The curses on human beings were also affecting the children of God. The secret is that, God was saddened and pained to the heart. For example, if a child offends his or her father, it saddens and pains him to the heart. Thereafter, the child repents, abstains from the offensive act and begs his or her father. What will the father do? He

will forgive the child.

This is what was left for human beings to do and it’s the secret. They were to repent and desist from committing sin but they continued in their sinful ways. In another time, God decided to destroy the people but saved Noah whose wife and children were in sin; He showed him mercy.

God told him to build a vessel that people who heed Noah’s warning would not be part of the destruction but would be saved.

Truly, many people failed to heed Noah’s warning and they perished because they belittled and disregarded God. Likewise, many people today do not have regards for God and his prophets; yet they want to grow in everything. There is no way one can really get to the peak if the person does not give due regard for God. Some people believe they have the grace of God to do some things, especially when the man of God tells them to do something. Those who enjoy the grace of God are those that abide by the commandment and will of God. Grace actually emanates from God and Satan. Both God and Satan have their angles and prophets in this world.

Human beings must learn to be remorseful, repent and desist from disobeying the commandment of God. For instance, when a child put his father to shame by stealing, and the father, so humiliated, could decide to leave home, travel overseas and refuse to come home after several pleadings and

begging from the wife and other children.

If the child later pleaded with his father, begged for forgiveness and promised do desist from the act and if the father noticed in his discussion with the child that he had changed, the third day, he could come back home.

Similarly, the story of the prodigal son in the Bible Luke 15 verse 11 – 24 goes thus, “And the son said to his father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight am no longer worthy to be called your son…”

Anyone that desists from committing sin will live a good life, with all his requests granted. What was expected of Adam and Eve was to go to God to beg Him, repent and forsake their sinful ways.

I believe God would have forgiven them.

Some people promise to abstain from their sinful ways but within a short time, they go back to their sinful ways.

Brethren, God loves us and we are children of God. Some people think they are wise to be ignoring God’s messages but they are not wise at all. For anyone to be wise, he or she must be loved by everybody and be friendly with your enemies.

Finally, the Bible says in 1John 3: 1 – 6, “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God,

Pastor Oloruntimilehin

and it has not been revealed what we shall be. But we shall be like Him, as He is and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness.

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sin and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.

Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him”

A prophet is God’s microphone, says Pastor Bamidele Within your easy reach are some instruments you can use to deal with satanic afflictions that make a mess of your life. Discover the instrument in this message by Pastor Lai Bamidele, General Overseer of Christ Glorious End-Time Evangelical Church.

L

et me show you one major instrument you can use to humiliate the devil in the course of a man’s life.

Number one keypoint is what we call prophetic utterance. In the book of Ezekiel 37:1-7, God said to prophet Ezekiel, “ prophesy to the dry bones,” and Ezekiel began to imagine that dry bones can rise again.

Also in the book of Ezekiel 2: 2-4, prophetic utterances are heavenly utterances. A prophet opens his mouth if he hears what God has said. Every time a prophet says, “Thus said the Lord,” God is the one speaking. He only uses the prophet as a microphone.

Through prophetic utterances, mountains bow. If you look at the book of Psalm 29:4, it says, “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Prophetic utterance will cause your day-star to arise. Prophetic utterance brings forth a change of position. Hopeless situations bow down to prophetic utterance; that is why I title this message, ‘Prophetic Utterance, Instrument of Humiliating Satan.’

A prophetic utterance can humiliate any satanic agenda in a man’s life. It can give life to a dead situation, like what happened in Ezekiel 37:1-7. Prophetic utterance turns worthlessness to exceeding greatness. Every time a prophet opens his mouth to speak, God confirms the words of his servant.

When a word of prophecy is declared, gates are lifted up and what looks as impossible becomes possible. Two years ago, I was in Calabar to minister; and I had the privilege in the course of that programme; God opened my eyes to bring out a medical doctor whom the situation addressed. He looked more or less a roadside artisan; but when the word of prophecy was declared over his life, that what was holding his glory bound must be loosened. Right there in the open, I made a prophetic declaration. I asked him how much his salary was.

And the man told me he was earning N80, 000 per month. The Lord spoke to me and I told him in the midst of

the congregation that in the next three months from now, he would get a world-based job in Abuja and his salary would be between N900, 000 and N1.5 million per month.

Two months later, I was on my way to Maiduguri and at the airport when he called me that he had got the job, a world-based job and they gave a salary of N1.2 million per month. I am talking about prophetic utterance. Prophetic utterance can change what everybody thought is finished and irredeemable.

When a prophet speaks as long as he is genuinely called, God confirms the word of His servant. That is why there is power in the tongue. Prophetic utterances turn around every situation that is beyond everybody’s understanding and make it positive. Prophetic utterances can devour any opposition.

Number two keypoint is the power of the anointing oil.

The anointing oil is another blessing. We have seen it producing terrific result. If you look at the book of James 5: 14-15, the anointing oil is not a chemical product; anointing oil is the spirit of God mysteriously put in a bottle. It is the power of God in your hand to humiliate Satan.

Anointing oil carries power and can break every yoke. It can destroy foundation of curses. Once a word is released into the bottle of oil it not an ordinary oil again, it becomes anointing oil. And any time you anoint yourself with the oil, it is the time you are distinguished amongst your colleagues. List, the anointing oil destroys all discomfort of life. It carries a mysterious virtue. If you look at the book of 1Samuel 16:13, the bible emphasizes how God rejected Saul and David was anointed as a king. He was a sheep rearer but the anointing oil brought him from the bush and took him to the palace.

So the anointing oil can turn hopeless situation into a sweet situation. Like I said the other time, no devil can resist the authority that is loaded in the anointing oil.

It you look at the scripture, particularly in Mark 6, the Bible speaks there concerning the power that is in the anointing oil. It says, “And they went out and preach

that men should repent; and they cast out many devils and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

So the anointing oil can devour all kinds of afflictions and sickness.

The anointing oil can make barrenness to become fruitful. One woman came to me few years ago. She told me that she had been married for some years. Medical doctors told that her she could give birth until she operated her fibroid.

I prayed with the lady and I told her that it was the report of the devil; there is power in the anointing oil.

I told the lady to go out a bottle of anointing oil and she did. Right in her presence, I opened the oil and placed a word; I said, ‘Lord, every wrong pronouncement of the medical doctor, whatever they have called it, fibroid, I command fibroid to turn to fine boy.’

And the following year, she carried her fine boy in her own bosom. There is power in the anointing o •For counselling contact: pst_lai@yahoo.com, phone 08074484415, 08027502864 and 08161285586

Bamidele

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Praise & Worship

Sunday February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Some of the foreign mission Pastors of The Lord’s Chosen

Of Muoka’s epic crusade against nation’s sorrow RICHARD EGHAGHE

I

f we are to use what has been happening in every international deliverance programme of The Lord’s Chosen as a yardstick to measure what is expected of today at the grand finale of the annual international programme of the church, then it means that tens of thousands of participants that will grace the occasion will not only have their sorrow turned to joy but the entire nation will sooner than later begin to experience peace and joy.

The event is titled, ‘From Sorrow To Joy’, taking place at the Revival Ground of the ministry along Oshodi- Apapa expressway

by Ijesha bus stop, Lagos. This is because God will not only turn their sorrow to joy but will also turn their misery and depression that have refused to depart the nation all this while to a thing of the past.

The General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, who will preside over the programme, has declared that as from today, the sorrow of the people and this nation shall be no more. “If you will present all the sorrow you have been going through before the God of the chosen, it shall be no more from today in Jesus’ name”, he said.

The programme, yesterday, witnessed the demonstration of the power of God in an unequal and unimaginable dimension.

The blind saw, the deaf heard, the crippled walked and the sick received their healings, all at the issuance of prophetic commands by the minister of God, Pastor Muoka, who presided over the ministration. It was a harvest of miracles as soon as the cleric began to declare freedom to all the afflicted from the pulpit during deliverance ministration. Those that came in crutches threw them away and started walking unaided while those with pains were praising God for relief. And there was jubilation all over the revival ground of the ministry that expanded more than one kilometre. Today, the same operation of the Spirit will be at work to deliver the people from sicknesses, diseases, afflictions and turn their sorrow to joy.

Pastor Muoka has assured the participants that nobody will go home empty-handed in today’s grand finale. This is because according to him, God Almighty has heard their cry and seen the hopelessness they are

subjected to and therefore has scheduled the crusade to turn all their sorrows to joy.

“The era of sorrow will end after this power parked crusade”, Muoka said.

Quoting from the Scripture Exodus 1:13-16 which says, “13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.”

Pastor Muoka said that the above have summarily narrated the afflictions the children of Israel suffered in the hand of the Egyptians, for many years. During this period, all the Israelites, irrespective of the age, sex and status were terribly oppressed. In fact it was recorded that, they were in bondage of sorrow and thus became weary of life, through the severity of their servitude. It was a life of the most painful servitude, oppressive enough in itself, but made much more so by the cruel manner of their treatment while performing their tasks. And, upon it all, Pharaoh passed a decree which permitted the Egyptian midwives to kill at birth every male of the children of Israel.

Then, as a result of the ugly situation experienced, the children of Israel cried unto the Lord and the Lord heard their cry and decided to deliver them as written in. Exodus 3:7-8, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites” At the above set time, deliverance was determined for the children of Israel. God heard their cry, saw their oppression and endurance. At this time, whether the Egyptians liked it or not, God has determined to deliver Israel. As it was in the days God saw the affliction of His people and delivered them, so

shall it be in this grand finale. The cleric said that same thing is applicable to the participants and the nation in general during the crusade. He declared, “I do not know how many years the enemy has kept your family and business under bondage. And every situation in your life looks like an insurmountable mountain. You may have been under torment for many years and now have lost all hope for deliverance but today your sorrow will be turned to joy”.

He said that the participants are coming by divine invitation and must receive divine touch because their deliverance has been determined by the God of the Chosen, the God that answers prayers. And their presence is not going to be a coincidence, but a divine privilege.

According to him, it is never the will of God that they or the entire nation should remain under any affliction or despair. Nigeria must be free and they must be delivered. He averred that it does not matter the extent of the affliction against their lives, families or businesses but assured that God Almighty will do something in their lives in this crusade. A new experience of peace and joy will come their way. This is because when God determines to do a thing, nothing can stop Him. Human beings cannot stop Him. Herbalists cannot afford to stand on His way. He is the all powerful God. He is the only one that says it and it comes to pass.

Pastor Muoka is asserting that nothing shall hinder the deliverance of the people in this crusade. Hear him: “You may be in secret society or even be the leader. You might be occupying an elevated position in a society that does not glorify God. And all the while, you are looking for a way to renounce your membership. You may have been involved in one demonic plan or another and cannot abandon it because you have been yoke into it and threatened with death if you leave.

Now as a result of God’s intervention in today’s program, your deliverance is sure. God has determined to deliver you. He has seen your pitiable condition and has come to instil courage and wisdom in you. He has come to give you hope and joy. Those elements that beclouded your sense of knowing the truth and righteousness in Christ Jesus shall be banished away.

“He will remove spiritual or physical blindness in you and today, you will have your total freedom. He will not deliver you half way. He will not deliver you and you will

Pastor Muoka

remain in sorrow, torment and be begging bread. Since the goodness of God is without repentance. He will free you from all forms of poverty and set you into plenty, into joy and perfect health. That contract they denied you shall be re awarded to you and where you were disappointed earlier shall be where you will be appointed, for God will make a way for you and your failure shall become your success. Everything they have projected against you shall be cancelled.

Barrenness, moving object in the body and other form of sicknesses, hindrances, disappointments, poverty, lack of employment and promotion shall all be cancelled in Jesus name” Pastor Muoka said that yesterday been the first day of the crusade was just a tip of the iceberg of what is expected to happen today being the grand finale. He is begging everybody with one sorrow and another to come today and turn the sorrow to joy. And if you are not opportune to be present physically at the crusade venue, the Pastor said that other options are available to you as the program is streamed live on internet and satellite station of the ministry on view Africa Network.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday February 3, 2013

Praise & Worship

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A

way can be defined as a method or manner of doing things. It also refers to a part, root physical means of moving from one place to another. It is a route, manner or character to be followed by someone to a desired destination.

Within the Christian context, the Bible speaks of two ways and two destinations: heaven or hell fire. And the way and manner a Christian chooses to practice the Christian faith is what determines which destination the believer would get to.

In other words, character formation and the quality of a believer’s strict adherence to the character, which the Bible prescribes for all Christians, actually define the way a particular believer is following.

There are two ways

The Bible speaks of two ways: the broad and the narrow ways, in the book of Mathew 7:13-14; “Enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life and few find it.

Let us take time to understand attributes of the narrow way. It is so narrow that many find it uncomfortable to tow the part. One needs to put in a lot to journey through the narrow part of discipline, total obedience, commitment, sacrifice and endurance that is entailed in faith Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it is the way of righteousness; it is God’s prescribed; the ancient way and only life style worth living and at the end of the day, it leads to life.

On the other side is the broad way. And the Bible describes as a way of sinner; there is high traffic of people on this road because it offers abundance of liberty on the road; people may walk through this road with all their lusts, appetites and passion without checks and meet plenty companions in their way to do evil.

A significant attribute of the broad way is that people on this highway walk in the way of their own heart and according to the sight of their own eyes. But hear me, there is a warning that this way leads to destruction. This is what the Bible says about candidates of the broad way, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremonger, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their parts in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

Dilemma of today Christians

Perhaps we should be reminded that your predecessors in the faith, even in the face of tribulations and high persecution, made the right choice and followed the narrow part, the way that leads to life.

Our society today brandishes different brands of churches. On every street, nook and corner, there are more churches than there are institutions of learning.

And loudly, the churches are in the business of baking Christians of varying standards of adherence and practices.

However the crops of believers that are being churned out evidently have little or no regard to the sanctity of that mode of conducts that made the early apostles to be described as Christians in the city of Antioch. Though the churches continue to witness influx of new believers, many people in the churches remain patriot of the broad way.

There is a solemn and divine call for all to make inquiry about the part in Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus said the Lord, Stand in the ways and see, Ask for the old part...”

You may want to know what the old part really means.

It simply means the way and manner by which people get right with God including their daily walk with him.

As a believer Satan will always tempt you, to make you fall away even as you are walking in long suffering.

But the Bible enjoins us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

What then is the right way?

God expects true believers to accept his chastening and discipline. The Bible also tells us that true believers, who walk in the right way or on the old part, possess the requisite character to be like Jesus. Moses speaking in the Book of Deuteronomy 28:1 hints of the right way, “And if you will faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord thy God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Galatians 5: 22-23 adds, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Against such things there is no law.”

Knowing the right way to walk –Pastor Samuel To discipline oneself, in the way and commands of God is the only way to victorious Christian living. Any other way that smacks of compromise and disobedience to God’s word can only lead to destruction. Presiding minister of Global Grace Church, Pastor Samuel Daniel, in this message, urges children of God to seek Holy Ghost empowerment to walk in that ancient path that leads to life. Excerpts: The way of destruction

And in Hebrew 3:12-19, Christians are warned, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God. But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end. As it says, “O, that today you would listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? And against whom was God provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.”

Attributes of candidate of the broad way

A true believer is supposed to be like Jesus Christ in character, conduct or behaviour. Cheaters, liars, 419, a proud person and a fornicator are not candidates of the narrow way. So also adulterers, idolaters, people that love the things of the world more than God, the ritual killers, armed robbers cannot make the narrow way.

Even Christians who keep malice, have unrepentant heart, cult members and anyone who still lives in sin no matter how this people confess that they want to go to heaven, they cannot make it until they genuinely repent.

Are you a Christian, you still collect and give bribe,

steal , embezzle public money; you are a candidate of the broad way and hell fire is your destination, except you turn a new leaf. The same fate awaits lovers of money, womanisers, and seekers of fame instead of right standing with the creator.

Turn to the God of second chance

Brethren, our God is a God of second chance. I urge you, if there is anyone who is going after immorality and all manners of ungodliness, to turn around and follow Jesus. He says, “If you love me, leave your family, carry your cross and follow me. In the book of Mark 11, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour, turn from your evil ways. Come to Jesus so that you can pass through the narrow; he will give you the grace to do so. Child of God stop saying , ‘It is very hard to be a Christian, I can’t stop fornicating, drinking, hanging out with wrong friends, taking kick-backs and forwardkicking, staining your hands with the sin of depriving helpless people of their fair share of the national cake.’

Go and ask for the Holy Ghost, if you pray very well, you will be baptised Holy Ghost; then you will walk victoriously in the old part which is the part of life. If you are a true believer, God will make a way for you.

•For counseling contact Prophet Samuel via globalgracechurch@ymail.com or phone 08060143296 and 08164392405

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Praise & Worship

Why do you choose to be called a music minister instead of a gospel artist?

I don’t like to be called a gospel artist because these days, a lot of people have watered down the essence of that appellation. The word ‘gospel’ is good news but these days, they even say they are motivational singers.

I am a music minister. I am a messenger of God through music. That gives me a sense of direction and dedication to what I am doing.

Whether there is food on my table or not, I have to do the master’s bidding. A lot of gospel artists today have deviated just to satisfy the belly. People wonder why I have not joined the bandwagon and I say it’s because of He who called me. The one who called me knows how to take care of me. In view of this, I am not so bold to do something else or combine ministerial assignment with another business. A lot of people have advised me to cut down on this God-factor but I told them that if I do so, then there is nothing else to sing about. Also, my message is not only to those in Church; it is to everybody, no matter the race, gender or creed. That is where the authority comes in; I can stand before anybody. I can go to companies to lead them in worship; there you have Muslims and traditionalists and they all come for the worship programme. That is why I say I am a music minister.

Why do you bear this uncommon name, “Oba”, even where it is not an abbreviation of a compound name in your baptism name?

A lot of people have asked this same question. When I was in the university, one of the things I was known for, apart from singing was, ‘that sister that is always going to the mountain to pray. Very early in the morning, 5am, I would go to the mountain because AdoEkiti had lots of mountains where you can hide in meditation and prayers. It was in one of those prayer moments that God gave me the name and He said, “I am giving you the name Oba as far as ministry is concerned.” I queried, “How can a woman bear the name?”

It means King and also refers to the male gender. The Lord said, “My people have been created as kings and priests to worship Him.

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is what God desired of me, I have been able to stand my ground with the name and people have come to accept God’s word concerning my life and calling. Some people queried why I have to bear such a name but I told themYou were not there when God spoke to me.

Today, the name has come to stay. Over the years, it has been tried and tested.

And how does your husband take it?

I have always put everything about my life before God in prayers. So, when I met my husband, God had told me way ahead that he was going to be the back bone of my ministry.

So, when he came, he didn’t have any issue with it. It was like he had gone to meet with God and he just settled for it. Even now, he reminds to always “Remember who you are.

You are not just an ordinary woman. You are a king. Let it reflect in whatever you do.

“Oba”, in Yoruba language means ‘King’. That is the name Bamike Adeyemi, a petit female gospel crooner chooses to adopt in her ministry and she has created wide acceptability and impact with it, both at the local and international scenesstrange enough, she is not from a royal background, neither is she married to an oba. An embodiment of talent and robust musical skill, Oba has become an inspiration to many in ministering and propagating the word of God through her brand of music. Only recently at the famous Maryland Business Plaza, she added another feather to her Christian life with the soul-changing book, “The Trial of faith: the journey so far.”

The event coincided with her 40th birthday and the official launch of her new gospel album, “Akoda”.

In this encounter with Senior Correspondent, Richard Eghaghe, the ‘Oba’ of Gospel music, spoke about her Christian life, marriage and calling as a gospel musician.

Excerpts:

Bamike Adeyemi

There is no gender when it comes to royalty, as far as the kingdom of God is concerned.

So, I am giving you this same thing so that every time you stand to minister, to preach or sing, you stand in the capacity of the oracle of God and authority and power will show forth. Ecclesiastes 8 vs. 4 was what

sealed the conviction. It says, “Where the word of the King is, there is power and who can say to Him, what doeth thou?” That was what sealed off the debate back then. Since then, people have been calling me “Oba”. Of course, there were confrontations and oppositions but because I am persuaded that this

For how long have you been in the ministry?

I have been at it for the past 25 years of my life but if you want to look at it professionally and in terms of full time ministry, I would say 10 years ago and that was with the release of my first album.

So how has it been these 10 years, considering that this is what you and your husband do for a living?

Like I said, it has been rough. It has not been rosy. If you are to compare me with my counterparts, it’s not been easy. Materially and otherwise, I may not have what they have but like the Bible says, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added unto you.’ That is what I have enjoyed. You also have to understand the principles of God, which says ‘line upon line, precept upon precept.’ God is a God of process and He has been taking us through the process. There were times I delved into bead-making, sewing but my husband cautioned me. In fact, he called a senior friend of ours in South Africa and said, ‘Talk to your daughter. She is now using her anointing to sew clothes.’ I argued that Jesus Christ was a Carpenter and Paul the Apostle a tentmaker, hence there has to be something apart from ministry for me to fall back on.

You can’t serve God and serve sicknesses –Pastor Olusore Pastor Israel Olusore of Livinglight Church International, in this soul-inspiring message, warns against self-adulation common with some people, as he underscores the place of genuine service to God and man. Excerpts:

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nother kingdom behaviour expected of us is stewardship. God will minister to only servants; only servants are blessed in the Kingdom. You find the relevant scripture in Exodus 23:25, “You shall serve the Lord your God and the Lord shall bless your bread and water. And I God shall take away sickness from you.

What does that tell us? That means when you are serving God, you can’t serve sickness. You can’t serve two masters; it is either you are serving God or you are serving other things. But you can’t serve God genuinely and be nursing sickness. Verse 26 says, “And there shall be nothing cast their young nor be barren in the land.”

You won’t have miscarriage. Job 36:11 says, “If they obey and serve Him they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasure.” Coming to church is not serving God. What you do outside church is service.

And Galatians 5:13, enjoins us to serve one another, with love. God wants us to serve one another; read it. “For brethren you have been called to liberty, but don’t use this liberty as opportunity for the flesh; but through love, serve one another.

When we come to the church, we are contributing our quota for the service of the kingdom. When we leave the church, there are people that God will bring our

way that he expects us to minister to.

That is service. We come to church to be empowered. Because it is the house of God, there are certain requirements expected of us.

God is a spirit; you can’t expect otherwise. He is not physical; so, you cannot expect the spirit to be sweeping the church. No; it is a physical thing. Therefore, somebody must physically sweep the church. Somebody must physically open his or her lips to lead praise and worship.

Somebody must handle camera recording of church proceeding; another will see to the teaching of the saints of God. Likewise, other ministers should take up the task of evangelism, welfare, church planting and other services. That is how it should be in the house of God. You must position yourself to possess the kingdom. It does not matter who is doing it or who is not doing it. The important thing is that you know where you are going and what you ought to do. You are not there because of somebody else; but you are there because God has assigned you to be positioned to possess your possession.

I was serving sickness, Asthma. But when I got to church, I got to know that you must serve the Lord your God. It is a covenant of service; then I settled down and I began to do the thing. I am going to

tell you something. If you do not serve Him, you will serve something else.

Look at Mark 10:42, “But Jesus called them to Him and said to them, ‘you know that those who are recognized as governing and are supposed to rule the gentiles, the nations, lord it over them; ruling with absolute power, holding them in subjection and their great men exercise authority and dominion over them. But this is not to be so among you.”Now look at what it says in verse from 42, “And yet it shall not be so among you, but whosoever desire to become great among you shall be your servant.”

There is no way I will be what I am today if I did not submit myself to service.

There are things in you that will never find expression, there are places you will never get to until you have condesceded so low and start serving others. Somebody came to share a testimony the other day, about how they were told to start serving and she went to start washing the toilets.

She needed a toilet but she had to go and clean the toilet with her bare hands.

Many will say, “Me? The hands that I eat with, that I should use it to wash somebody’s ‘pooh-pooh’?” You are not ready to get there.

Verse 44 says, “And whoever of you to be first shall be slave of all.” That means it is by your determination. It is a deci-

Olusore

sion you make. “For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. He that keeps his life shall lose it and he that loses his life for His sake shall find it. That is the way we behave in the kingdom. You can’t say you want to be a pastor and you are not serving in that place you want to pastor.

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Nigeria will lift Nations Cup, says Prophet –Prophet Marcus •Advises Jonathan against 2015 ambition RICHARD EGHAGHE

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oday, at the Elesha Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ on 1-8 Celestial Way, off Musa street, Ajegunle-Alakuko area of Lagos state, the acclaimed Nostradamus of Africa who is also called ‘Tibetan of Celestial Church in Nigeria’, Prophet Marcus Korede Oluwatosin (MKO), will be on song as he performs the public launch of yet another prophetic book for year 2013.

As a teaser, the renowned prophet, who made history when he correctly predicted the death and burial date of former President Musa Yar’Adua, affirmed at a world press conference last Tuesday that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will not only qualify in the group stages in the on-going Confederation of Africa Cup championship in South Africa, but would emerge eventual winners of the soccer competition and lift the coveted cup.

To back up his prophetic declaration, he cited the case of the shepherd boy, David, who was least expected to be crowned a king over Israel amongst the children of Jesse but was summoned by the prophet of God, Samuel, to become king. “On the on-going African Cup of Nations, it is going to be between Nigeria and the referees and not the players alone because we are going to be playing 11 players against 12 (11 players plus the referee) for not subscribing to the television rights.

I have predicted it before that we are going to qualifier in the group stage and win the competition. The cup belongs to Nigeria this year. That is what the Lord says. You remember the life of David in the book of 1Samuel 16:1-4 where he was anointed to become king over Israel and the book of 1Samuel 17:45-50 where David killed Goliath. We are the giant of Africa”, he said.

A rave review of the 2013 edition of the prophetic book bill for launch today, unfolds a lot of astonishing events in every area of the world and human existence. It touches on the government, the banking and financial sectors, oil and energy, the judiciary, personalities, people and places and what have you.

Point blank, the top seer made it clear that this year, “the Lord is going to pass through

the country (Nigeria), and He is going to make sure He disgraces those people who have been looting Nigeria’s money and who believe they have settled the judiciary and that nothing will come out of it. Remember 10 years ago, I told the people that Governor Ibori that they were parading as governor was stealing all the money and that it was the same Ibori who was an ex-convict. It happened that he was convicted again for stealing.

Another highlight of the book is the warning to the president to forget about seeking reelection in 2015. According to ‘Tibetan’, the prophet, “Jonathan cannot go before God for 2015 election, because the spirit of the dead and the spirits of the living will derail him. I Marcus earlier said it that Jonathan is not the origi“Somebody whom they sacked from the nal president for Nigeria and that we are goCentral Bank for theft now goes to theology ing to be in a pack for five years with his elecschool in Spain and then comes back to set up tion and here we are, today. It is in my earlier a church in Ughelli or Asaba or elsewhere in published book. The Goodluck he was named the country, then you say miracle is rolling in is to his father and not to Nigeria. I can call that church. Sir, there is no miracle anywhere; my son whatever name that suites me. What you eat what you sow with your hand because I am saying in essence is that the problem prayer cannot remove the cap on your head or Jonathan is going to have this year will make the ear rings on your ears. him run out of Aso Rock. The prophet also “2Thesalonnians7:10 says “the hands that predicted that some places in Lagos State are refuse to work must not eat.” Then in the going to be bombed. “Even the government book of Genesis 14:10-16, it says, “don’t give will bomb some of the places to build housme money, the Lord has made a promise to me ing scheme there”, he asserted. that He is going to make me great.” When He Interestingly, the new prophetic book also was coming back, the Lord blessed Him, and gave graphic details of how cheating was He now pays tithe. Now, the church has blindperpetrated during the last National Sports folded virtually all the departments of NigeFestival, concluded in Lagos State, recently. ria. Somebody will work from January to DeSpeaking on the church and church leadcember; the company will give you one week ers in Nigeria, Prophet Marcus reiterated to go and rest. You will see them in camp. He that “What I said about the churches in the will be there till December 31. Then by Janucountry seven years ago, that Nigerian ary 2, he resumes again. They have used this churches are money-making machines and Christianity in Nigeria today to detach the are not preaching about heaven again but original family and join them to the fake one. prosperity, has come to public glare.

When you get to some of these Pentecostal “If the church can go to the bank and churches today and you see the ladies thereloan money to set up a parish, automatically, 47, 51 years old, they are still looking for futhat church is into business”, he maintained ture partners-somebody who was deflowered while pointing out that all Nigerian General in 198? Who is fooling whom?

Overseers (G.Os) need deliverance. “It was “So, if the churches are not working well, in the paper but they said, ‘Oh! He is a radithe nation cannot see the light and the Bible we cal prophet. You see, these people you called are carrying everyday is a C-caution. If your ‘your fathers in the Lord’, you don’t know car does not break down on the way, you don’t about their background. What is happening need to bring out the C-caution”, he argued in the government circles is also happening The prophet of God lamented that some in the church now.

pastors in Nigeria have four jets whereas their family background is nothing to write home about.

“Again they have chains of accounts abroad in the names of their girlfriends.

There are some church leaders in Nigeria, their respective wife died, not up to two years, they went back to their former girlfriends.

And they say a 60 years old woman is a virgin. So you can see, half of Nigerian church leaders are insane but I don’t fear them. Jeremiah 1:1-5 says I am a Prophet because a prophet is born and not trained. When they took me to the Police Station at Ijebu-Ode to lock me up, I warned them that if they dare put me behind the bar, they are finished. They ignored my warning, but when they tried to open the cell to throw me in, the key got broken and there was big commotion in the station. That was how I was set free. A similar incident occurred at the Idimu Police Station.

I was thrown into the cell wearing my sultana dress. I met 47 inmates there and on recognising me, they started singing for me: “Jesu ti jo oba…” They pulled off all they were wearing and spread it on the ground for me to lie down. There we had a vigil from 9:00pm till 3:00am. The Lord spoke to me and I gave each of them their prophecy. The DPO ran away, his deputy ran away also and I went home the following morning to join the church.

“I said half of Nigerian church leaders are insane because the Lord put it in their care to shape the nation, now they want money,” he lampooned.

How to overcome poverty, by Pastor Chidi Pastor Chidi Anthony of Kings in Christ Church, in this episode titled ‘five keys to prosperity’, says knowledge of the word of God and the determination to fully obey the word are the actual keys to success. Excerpts:

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ast Sunday, God made us to understand what poverty is all about. We discovered that the first prayer point of every human being should be, “Oh Lord, remove poverty in my life.”

And when we talk about poverty, there are levels. If you have seen where a poor person calls another a poor person, then you understand this level dimension. When a known poor man calls another person poor, then you know that the other person’s level of poverty is greater.

Poverty is a great evil that makes someone to serve a younger sibling. Poverty makes someone to think aloud even while walking along the road. If you place poverty and the

dreaded disease, HIV, side-by-side, many people will choose HIV affliction than becoming poor.

Poverty makes someone to reason like a small child, but when one’s hands touch money, even if the person lacks taste, people around would sharpen his taste. But the truth is that everyone has taste; only the power of the purse often defines the limits.

That is why the first enemy Jesus decided to destroy is poverty. Come with me to the book of Luke 4: 18 and 19, “The spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor… The first mission Jesus set out to achieve was to minster the good news to the poor; knowing very

well that a poor man can destroy himself at any moment. Therefore, his mission was to liberate that man with good news; to bring changes to the life of that man.

And I prophesy to you that every demon of poverty that has frustrated your life, after today’s service, you shall see it no more.

The question is, how do we overcome poverty? Let’s go to the book of Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein, that thou mayest observe to do accordingly in all that is written therein; for then thou shalt , make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Many of us can read the scripture but

Chidi

most of us do not meditate on it. We read the bible like a novel. That is why we can read it times without number, we can read it every day without it profiting us. God called Joshua and told him to ensure that the book of law should not depart from his mouth but he should meditate on it day and night and do everything that is in the bible and He emphasized that it is only then that he would make good success.

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The essence of womanhood (1) Family FORA wit Pastor N. C with

Amaefula

E-mail: familyfora@yahoo.com Phone:08060315052,

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enesis 2:22-23; “And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a Woman, and He brought her to the Man. Then Adam said, This (creature) is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, She shall be called Woman, because She was taken out of a man.

The Bible’s paradigm for womanhood is totally consistent. Her nature is different but beautifully unique without contradiction. It presents the Creator’s plan for fulfilling her purpose of being.

The woman originated as an offshoot after the creation of man. Emerging as a rib among the many ribs of the man yet strategically positioned in the heart of the man as indispensible. She shares nature with man but explicit in existence.

By having her nature like that of man, her creator establishes the unity of the human race. This creative act guarantees

the dignity and worth of the woman and harnesses an exclusive and permanent kinship between the man and the woman.

The woman is distinct among all other creatures. While others were created or called out, she is the only creature said to be “built” by God. She was built from the raw material derived from the man’s rib. This indeed is a pointer to the real essence of a woman. It takes a builder to build and only a builder can produce another builder.

In building the woman, God structured her to build her home and children. “Every wise woman builds her house; but the foolish plucks it down with her hands” Proverbs 14:1. A woman is a builder by nature. Just like no house can stand without a foundation, the creation of the man and woman became the foundation upon which a woman builds the family. The man and woman are created in the ‘’image of God” and on this basis, a woman receives what it takes to nurture and build a baby who she births after her gestation period.

By her divine make-up, she has the grace to retain and the birth to another life. No child stands without the role of a woman. No nation is built without a woman.

Therefore every woman should understand that she is a co-labourer with God.

You as a woman have been built that you may build everything around you. Begin with building your character in your immediate environment. By so doing, you can build the character of your children who turns out to be positive members of the society at large. Suffice it to say that whatever a woman builds in her family, she releases into the society and the nation at large.

If a woman in fulfilling her purpose for being can give birth to lives then in essence she also has the capability of giving birth to great ideas for nation building. I make bold to say that any nation that neglects this role of womanhood will conceive ideas void of retainer ship. A woman with a good understanding of her essence for being will position herself as custodian of great lives via the nurturing of great minds that will produce such ideas. Any idea shared to the understanding of a woman is an idea shared to a whole nation because she will use her position of influence to penetrate the hearts of men and children alike selling such ideas as hot cakes. Do not forget that the woman is an object of interest in the heart of a man, indeed he can hardly live without her. In the same vein, her children crave for her attention and compa-

ny. She plays an indispensible role in the life of each one of them, the man and the children alike. This role, though not visible, is powerfully noticeable whenever she has gained grounds.

Judging from the above exertion, God is really depending on the role of the woman to strike a balance of stability in this nation and the whole world at large.

Every woman should join the crusade.

Enough of quest for equality with men.

Your mentality must change to enable you be the ideal woman God intended you to be before your creation. The divine order in creation can never be thwarted by mere creatures. The global crisis today is an offshoot of man’s rebellious attitude to divine programs. The Creator designed all that he created for his pleasure and purpose. The only way a product can live out its usefulness is by strict adherence to the instruction of the manufacturer. Any breach of such rules and regulations is always regrettable by the offender. However, the manufacturer will always give out a warning via the product’s manual.

•For Counseling and Prayers: Email: nneomamaefula@yahoo.com or call +2348060315052, +2348187464031, +2348052157173

Nature of man regarding marriage –Rev. Izuchukwu Success in marriage is one area where humanity still struggles. Everywhere in the world, failure of the institution of marriage has thrown homes into shambles; and society at large daily cringes at the injuries inflicted on it because the architect of the marriage institution has not been allowed in a failing home. Reverend Izuchukwu Chukwudebelu of Assemblies of God, FESTAC 11, in this episode explains that except a man’s spirit is tuned towards God, success of marriage would remain a mirage. Excerpts:

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he Bible, speaking in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 declare, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Basically, there are three components of man – spirit, soul and body. According to the scripture, God intends to give adequate attention to all. None is to be given undue or partial attention. Both require holistic approach, recognition and attention. When all are cared for, you will begin to enjoy heaven in your marriage, depending on one’s understanding and application. It takes understanding for anything {including marriage} to be outstanding. A proper understanding of components of man shall undoubtedly make any marriage outstanding, the present day societal hazards and threats notwithstanding.

The first component of man – Spirit

Jesus answered, verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

Jn. 3:5-6.

But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in truth and spirit. John 4:23-24.

There are only two kingdoms in existence; that of God and the devil. Very importantly, both are spiritual but their effects on any marriage are felt and seen in the physical realm. However, you cannot belong to both.

You are to consciously choose the one to belong. God and Satan respect your choice and

voice.

Any of these kingdoms you belong will definitely show on your marriage, human effort to cover it notwithstanding. Whereas it is common knowledge that the Kingdom of God is only accessed by being born again, it then behooves you to be born again. If you are not born again, you will die and suffer again.

Without being born again, it is practically impossible to access and enjoy spiritual blessings packaged in the institution of marriage.

Being born again is the express initiation into the spirit realm. Without being born again, life is nothing but a total waste of destiny. Everyone claims to be born again; it is not what you just claim to be. The declaration of ‘Whatever you proclaim is what you claim,’ is not applicable here.

It has to follow the process. It takes the process to get the proceeds. It begins from repenting from your sins and accepting Christ as your personal Lord and saviour. The acceptance of Christ into your life is the beginning of the journey into the realm of the supernatural. It is only God that has ‘Hearto-metre’ with which to read the heart that knows who is genuinely His. Give God your heart now so as to be qualified as one to operate in the spirit and also enjoy the benefits thereof.

Can two walk together except they be agreed? Amos 3:3.

It takes agreement for two to co-function.

The agreement is consummated on the altar of new birth. God being the father of Spirits is waiting for the agreement between you and Him. It is the spirit component of man that shall enter into a quality and durable agreement with God. This agreement is between man and woman with God. From Genesis through Revelation till date, God has never

gone to where He was not invited.

The invitation for God to step into the marriage begins with a heart to heart relationship with Him. An old song has it that, ‘When Jesus is in a family, happy, happy home…

When Satan is in a family, trouble, trouble home…’

Beloved, without agreement with God, it shall be a harvest of argument and disagreement with your spouse.

Friend, it is high time the light of your marriage shone before all and sundry to count and authenticate God’s involvement in your home. Do not be afraid to enter into agreement with God, the father of Spirits. There is nothing to lose but absolutely everything to gain when you stand for God. God is neither a user nor abuser but a maker of men. He is a rewarder of His followers.

It will pay better to get married {if you have not} to somebody in same kingdom. A man fighting with his wife is yet to be in agreement with God and does not know his class.

He should go to stadium, join in Olympics and get a medal.

•For counseling, contact izuchukwudebelu@yahoo.com phone: +2348033290241, +2348028390885, +2348056027044, +2347044714424

Izuchukwu

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Praise & Worship 33

Sunday February 3, 2013

Lost vision (2) H

alleluyah. Joy to the world for you are alive to witness this day. It is a new dawn in your world because your vision and purpose and vision are being revealed and you must fulfil them.

To God be the glory for those who sent messages. You are not an accidental discharge, you are wired and positioned to bless your generation. It is your season and appointed time, grab it with both hands.

Almighty is a God of restoration. He is not a God of abandoned project. The chorus among Angels today is – there must be a way, the lost vision must be restored, there is still hope, they have a great future, the righteous must be saved, there is a Moses among them and their Joshua is being prepared.

Restoration “Are they not ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation?” (Hebrew chapter 1 verse 14).

Ministering angels were sent by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah but for the righteousness of Abraham, Lot was saved.

For the righteous, God will save Nigeria and our world and the lost glory shall be restored.

Unknown to the demonic powers in Egypt, Moses was raised among them. Our change agent is within, he will rise, take the mantle, deliver God’s people from bondage and it shall be a new dawn. I know for sure that as God liveth in Heaven, he will get there.

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm my great army which I sent among you.” (Joel 2 verse 25)

Desti Destiny Hour with Pastor Femi

Lanre-Oke E-mail:femilanre01@yahoo.co.uk, sms or call 08030752799

S

o many challenges, troubles and pains may surround a child of God. This does not mean that such a child of God is careless, weak or not prayerful.

The psalmist made it clear in Psalm 30:5 “For His anger endures but a moment; in His favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”.

God’s way and thoughts differs a great while from that of humans. Once you are born again living righteously for God, you can be assured that all things is working together for your good no matter how terrible things may look.

In John 11:1-6.

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that

*Restore – The lost glory is coming back.

What happened in Samaria through Prophet Elisha will be a child’s play, Nigeria will soon become the envy of other nations because this country will blossom. *Locusts – Those who pilloried the country, destroying the economy in all facets.

Their hands will be off our nation because wind of positive change is blowing. *Cankerworm, caterpillar, palmerworm – Evil worms. Dangerous to our system.

Heaven will de-worm us and kill the deadly worms deforming us. *Great army sent to us – We must all confess our sins. Seek divine forgiveness and the face of God will shine upon us. Leaders and the led have committed many grievous sins and incurred God’s wrath. Be reminded that God will not bless a nation where His laws are being broken with impunity.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (Isaiah 10 verse 27).

That day is here. A mighty wave of anointing as in the day of Pentecost for restoration will move across the land. Our burden and yokes shall be removed by Heaven because the cry of the righteous has reached heaven and frustration has peaked in the land.

Going through the Bible showed the same experience in Jerusalem until God raised Zerubbabel to deliver the people and repair the broken walls.

“Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein [though at that time I had not setup the doors upon the gates].

That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.

And I sent messengers unto them, say-

ing, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down, why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifth and two days.” (Nehemiah 6 verses 1-3…. And 15).

Interesting. Reading through showed that enemies of progress came of age, ages ago.

God sent Zerubbabel as the agent of restoration for Jerusalem and these evil agents who held the city by the throat had their sinister plan for him viz – •Delay him.

•Disturb the work.

•Raise false witnesses and accusations against him.

•Mischievous plans.

•Ceaseless attacks.

•Coordinated intrigue.

•Organised plot to waste him.

But God has gone ahead of them. Zerubbabel was highly anointed for the task and intelligent to see through their evil minds and the assignment was completed.

The wall was finished in the month of Elul. Nigeria, this is your season of Elul.

Those who hold you by the jugular have a pact with the devil but your deliverer will be anointed to destroy their demonic shrines and evil hold. I declare and decree, with the togetherness of all true men of God, Nigeria shall be delivered within the next 52 days in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

New beginning “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealth wondrously with you, and my people shall never be ashamed.”

(Joel 2 verse 26) That is the story of a new Nigeria. Oshodi becoming the new Dubai of Africa. Kano and Washington D.C. competing for prominence in the business world. South Africans

coming to Ibadan in droves to behold a new wonder city with Chinese and industrialists the world over migrating to Onitsha in the new power shift for technological achievements and advancement.

How about Ajegunle? It is the new Dublin in the making. Believe it and see it. What you confess you possess.

Act fast South Africa was ostracized and was no longer relevant in the comity of nations until one man with divine mandate came into the picture and positively changed the course of history.

A round of applause for the living legend, Dr. Nelson Mandela. He knew without him doing it, none will. Risking his life, he took the burden of saving his country and rescuing the people from apartheid upon himself and today, his people are eternally grateful to him.

Martin Luther King with the slogan ‘I have a dream’, took America by storm and millions were gingered from their lethargy.

The reverberating effect of that great revival transported into an unknown black American, years later and ‘together we can’ became America’s newest national anthem.

Martin Luther King and Barrack Obama flowed together in the spirit and it was clear to the Americans that they were both raised for progressive assignments in God’s own country.

If you don’t save Nigeria, none will. Your positive contributions in your small corner is enough to transform our nation. Keep on doing it, we will get there. For those who think it is not possible, ask the Lord of the manor in the 2nd Kings chapter seven of the Holy Bible, he will tell you better.

Once it was possible to have a New York, New Delhi, New Tokyo, New Jersey, New Zealand and New Orleans, there shall be a NEW NIGERIA. Run from sin. Jesus loves you. It is well.

God is never late (1) the son of God might be glorified thereby.

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus.

When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days in the same place where he was’’.

Here we have the story of Lazarus, a committed member of Jesus fellowship, he was sick, the bible affirmed that the Lord loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha.

When the sisters of Lazarus knew of their brother’s sickness, they did not bother to inform a physician around or take him (Lazarus) to the nearest hospital. No, all they did was to call unto Jesus.

They had the understanding that if they call unto Him all their problems would be solved and their worries turned to Joy. But surprisingly, the master did not show forth. It wasn’t that He didn’t hear their call and plea to come and heal their ailing brother. They (Mary and Martha) had an understanding that Jesus Christ can do all things; they understood that He is the present help in times of need.

If they needed help from the Lord, it was no other time but Now Coming later or thereafter to Mary and Martha would be too late and would no longer be necessary.

In other words, if God is not granting my desires, request made before Him Now it is of no use for Him doing it later. I believe this must have been the thoughts of

Mary and Martha.

If God would not grant me the visa, my admission letter, my employment letter, my miracle baby, my healing, divine provision, husband, wife, comfort etc. NOW then later would no longer be necessary.

That may be your own complain to the Lord as Mary and Martha did.

Your commitment to the Lord and to His service perhaps may be stronger than Martha’s but the bible says that “when he (Jesus) had heard therefore that he was sick; he abode two days in the same place where he was’’ When Jesus had heard all their request, prayers, desires, thought and complains he decided to wait two more days. As a child of God, you must understand that there is nothing about you that does not touch the hearth of God. God surely heard you the very first day you prayed just as he heard Mary and Martha concerning Lazarus their brother, but certain things kept their answers back till it was four days.

The same is applicable to so many believers in Christ today, they cry, pray and fast and yet there seems not to be answer. Mary and Martha had similar experience. They sought no other help but God; they had faith, fasted and prayed but didn’t get their request granted when they wanted it. Was God late? No! Then what happened? Next week we shall be examining what can hinder or delay answers to prayers.

But before then, if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ it is important you do so today those who are not born again are not part of the family of God, all things don’t work together for them for good .If at all they have it all good here an earth, they would suffer an eternal damnation.

Being part of a church or being a worker in the church is not a proof that you are saved or born again To be born again •you must believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God •That He died on the cross of Calvary for your sins •Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the son of God. •Repent of all your sins and ask Him to be the Lord of your life.

You don’ need to be a “practical sinner” to be a sinner (Romans 3:23) if you have never confessed with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, you are not yet safe. If you just gave your life to Christ and you would need counsel, you can find a bible believing church.

•For prayer and counselling. Please contact, Femi Lanre-Oke, Jesus Praise Evangelical Ministries International, P.O.Box 1158, Agodi-Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. e-mail: femi_lanre01@yahoo.co.uk, sms or call +2348030752799, +2348053695097.

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Praise & Worship

Sunday February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Happy new there I

t is merely our natural craze for newness that gets us all hyped-up as the new year is ushered-in by pomp and pride.

New year night parties. Count-down at major cities. Songs of cheers. Lights and sounds; drinks and foods. Fireworks lighting the sky with varied designs and patterns. A friend of mine recently wrote a strange greeting: “happy new there!” I called him up to explain how “happy new year!” became “happy new there!” His answer got me thinking!

What is “new’ in the “new year?” The same sun brightens the sky. The same moon reflects the sunlight. The same stars light up the sky. The same breeze lifts up our apparel. Same old, same old!

We awake to the same reality of promises not kept from bankrupt leaders at most level of governance. We are still insulted by the same rudeness in the city traffic.

The potholes have only got worse because the last filling was fake or grossly inadequate. Our children have resumed in the same schools with leaky roofs. Our hospitals remain devoid of modern equipment.

More surgeries are still been performed with candle light! So what’s new?

Our world is getting sicker by the day.

Wars and rumours of war. Men’s hearts failing them for fear of what is coming!

(Luke 21:26). The ominous feeling in the air only assures the masses of more grief. Many employees are still expecting salaries owed them for multiple months.

Someone share with me recently of the despondent text message (SMS) from a father considering suicide because he had not been paid for so long and his children’s school fees were way past due! This story is sadly repeated all over this ailing nation.

May be we must look beyond this new

Holy Inquiry with Pastor Paul

Nkirukah E-mail: pstpaul11@yahoo.com

Dear Pastor, I am a believer and I want to be faithful to God. But each week I attend a church service and listen to my pastor preach the gospel, my conscience always tells me that I have sinned. I really want to be righteous and come closer to God because the Bible made me understand that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Sir, how can you help me, in living a holy life?

Michael from Edo State.

Dear reader, I want us to start by asking ourselves: what is the meaning of being faithful, or what is the meaning of ‘faithfulness’?

To be faithful means to be loyal, to be trusted, to be obedient, and to maintain or do all the commandments of God, to practise only what you believe in and in Christendom, and to abide by the word of God. If you want to be and remain faithful

calendar year commencing, to get our hope for better times. Jesus said it best in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, THERE you may be also.”

Yes, “there!” It is “there,” up yonder that unalloyed happiness will be achieved.

There, when the roll is called up yonder.

There, where there will be no more night!

(Rev 21:25). “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:5). There, where God Himself shall wipe away all tears from our eyes and “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). “There” God shall make all things NEW! (Rev 21:5). “And there shall be no more curses: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him” (Rev 22:3).

Jesus promised: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, THERE My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:26). “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). God gave His word and sealed it with an oath “that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might

have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” (Heb 6:17-19).

It is the hope for “there” that makes life “here” livable. Whilst here, we can breathe the air “there.” The hope of “there” buoys our spirits up here. The Yorubas say: esin kii ko ere asarele; a horse must not reject the home-ward journey! Very soon, faith shall give way to sight. Here, we sojourn, there, we belong! While Jesus is preparing mansion for us “there,” we must prepare our character down here. I must fight the good fight of faith because “there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).

Over THERE the saints shall reign with Christ when “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ” (Rev 11:15). THERE, we shall enjoy “the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:2). “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. No lion shall be THERE, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it. It shall not be found THERE. But the redeemed shall walk THERE. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing

Answer these questions and win a prize

1.

Who said: “for what I want to do I do not, but what I hate I do?”

2.

Where in the Bible?Who received a double restoration of his former estate after praying for his friends in spite of losing all things he had? Locate the passage.

shall flee away” (Isa 35:5, 6, 9, 10).

So no matter your lot down here, keep your gaze up there! Your name may not be listed among the 71 most influential people out of the 7.1 people on earth. You may not be a card-carrying member of the elite club in your city. You may not own shares in the Fortune 500 companies. Don’t worry; your name is written THERE: in the Book of Life (Phil 4:3; Rev 2:17; 3:5; 14:1; 21:27). Soon and very soon, we shall see King Jesus.

There shall be: No more sickness, no more; No more cancer, no more No more wars, no more; No more coups and riots, no more No more AIDS, no more; No more STDs, no more No more election rigging, no more; No more political god-fatherism, no more No more examinations malpractice, no more; No more Ajegunle certificate; no more; No more nepotism, no more; No more tribalism, no more No more weapons of mass destruction, no more No more Boko Haram, no more; No more Al-Qaida, no more No more armed robberies, no more; No more political killings, no more No more fake drugs, no more; No more original fake goods, no more.

“The wolf and the lamb will take their food together, and the lion will make a meal of grass like the ox: but dust will be the snake’s food. There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all My Holy Mountain, says the Lord” (Isa 65:25). Happy New THERE!!!

•Tunde Ojewole, Ph.D., is the University Pastor and Associate Vice-President for Spiritual Life, Babcock University.

For enquiries: ojewolea@babcock.edu.ng; 08058299434/08060376577

Answers to January 27, 2013 Quiz

Who named all the animals at creation? Provide scriptural evidence.

1.

•Please, be informed that the first correct entry via text message wins the prize.

See next week’s column for answers to the quiz. Send your answers with your names to 08054238905. Gifts: courtesy Babcock University.

2.

13.

3.

15

3.

Revelation 1:10.

How can I be faithful to God?

to God as a believer, then you have to be ready to obey and keep all the commandments of God as it is written in the scriptures. You have to be totally submissive to the word and commandments of God. Furthermore, let’s examine the scriptures below carefully to be able to know the commandments of God for a better adherence.

Exodus 20: 1 – 17; because time will not permit me, I like to state the most important ones and you can on your own free period study the remaining verses. But bear it in mind that all the commandments are important in your daily life. Exodus 20:15 reads, “And God spake all these words saying, I am the LORD thy God, who has brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; Thou shall not have other gods before me; Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Like I said earlier, not that there is or

there is no commandments that is important or not important, but if you look at verses 4 and 5 above, you will understand and agree with me that God does not want you to serve or worship any other God but Him alone.

Daniel 6: 4 reads; “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault; for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

The scriptures above is the typical example of a faithful servant of God, since the statement above says that Daniel was faithful to his God in that, there was no fault or error found in him. That is to say that if you want to be faithful to God, you have to be faultless and without any error. But how can one be able to do this?

Well, like I said earlier, you have to be very obedient, humble and loyal in fact you have to be totally submissive to God and to the word of God, let’s see the scriptures below.

Mark 12: 29 – 31 read; “And Jesus answered him, the first of all commandments is, hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with

all thy strength: this is the first commandment, And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, there is none other commandment greater than these.”

Let’s also carefully examine Galatians 5: 14 which reads, “For all the law (commandments) is fulfilled in one word, even in this; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

If you can compare the above scripture in Galatians above and Mark which said you should love the Lord thy God with everything in you, you will understand better, what to do to be faithful to God. If you can love God and your neighbour as yourself, I don’t think you can disobey God, which could make you to be unfaithful. When you love everybody as yourself, you cannot offend anybody, and in as much as you cannot offend God and your fellow man, then you are a faithful servant of God. In conclusion, all you need to do as I said earlier, is be obedient, loyal, humble, gentle and totally submissive to God. Above all, you have to love God and your neighbour as yourself.

It is very good to be faithful to God; so try being faithful; let it not end in asking the question only.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Emem Isong, Ini Edo, Monalisa Chinda set for Weekend Getaway

ou are keen on seeing a glamortty, suspense-filled dramatic movie e prepared to have thrilling time al Arts Academy presents a new titled Weekend Getaway. duced by the adorable trio of Emem Ini Edo and Monalisa Chinda, nd Getaway was directed by DesElliot. And it would interest you to that the new movie parades stars Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, o, Monlisa Chinda, Uti Nwachukyan Okwara, Alexx Ekubo, Beverl Uru Eke, Bobby Obodo, Ime Bishop and Ini Ikpe. screenplay was put together by KeJoseph, Uduak Oguamanam and duwo while the story was written em Isong. Weekend Getaway is set eening nationwide on March 29th

Yemith set to drop My Time

D’lyte gets her grooves back

A diva of repute, a beautiful songstress, multi-talented and an energetic performer are some After of the words over 12 years of being in the music industhat best try, Ogunremi Adeyemi aptly dubbed Yemith, a fast-rising d e s c r ibe Ibadan-based juju-gospel music maestro, is set to drop his first alS t e l la bum entitled My Time. The soon-t-drop music effort will be out in CD F r a nand audio cassette. c i s The Mass Communication graduate (ND - Ibadan Polythenic, 2004 and HND E b e - Iree Polytechnic, 2010), who is currently a staff of Oyo State Board of Internal

2013.

The movie Revenue, said music was his calling and he has no regret venturing into music. tells According to Yemith’s manager, Akinsola Adesina, “My Time will shake the t h e music mart and we are keeping the identities of the promoter and marketer for story personal reasons. The album is going to be a collector’s item, which will be of of five a high grade in quality music, beats and songs.” Yemith’s debut album congbune couples tains tracks like; Destiny, My Time, Essence of Prayer among others. The a .k.a with realbum also comprises fusion of gospel, street songs and others. It is D ’ l yte. lationship 100% danceable music and the lyrics are interesting and educative.

T h e issues who His manager who has been in the entertainment circle for over sweet-voice spend the 20 years, managing artistes and hotel businesses said, Yemith singer is not weekend in a is a multi-talented artiste and he is no doubt, by every new in the Nigeplush, exotic homusical judgment, a force to reckon with, going by rian entertainment tel. The film exposes his matured and high-tech juju-gospel muindustry and I Don the drama, dysfuncsic uniqueness and naturalness in Kolo, her debut single tion, intrigues, lies and showbiz circles. which the remix featured ultimately love, that abounds Ruggedman, was released in in their lives. It’s a movie to look 2005 and it was what Atukpa needed out for.

to announce her presence in the music game.

For those who might be wondering about D’lyte’s whereabouts, the sassy song bird has been on sabbatical but she is back with a bang. Askor was the title of D’lyte’s first single as she got her groove back after a short break.

She is now set to release another beautiful love song for those who love to love.

However, as Askor, the song that was released late last year i s still rocking the airwaves, D’lyte who is now tagged ‘The Askor crooner’, is set to release another single titled I Don Kolo. The new song is learnt to have been produced in South Africa by ace producer, Ayodel.

Speaking about her new songs, D’lyte said, “Askor, a beautiful love song for those who love simply means “Ask or shut up” a positive slogan assigned to those who invest their time in bringing or slowing people down by gossiping and tarnishing their image.

Abudu, Stephanie Okereke, others inspire youth The Future Awards Enterprise Conference

Gbemi OlateruOlagbegi kicks off TV talk show

was a gathering of knowledge, ideas and impact on Saturday, January 26, 2012 Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos, as the Central Working Come of the prestigious Future Awards held the National Enterprise Conference ) and launched the TFESS website. eakers at the event were; Kola Oyeneyin of Venia Hub, Otto Orondaam UM2School Project, Stephanie Linus, Rita Domnic, Kunle Afolayan, Do you wish to watch a teleUgochukwu Nwosu of Microsoft, Idris vision talk-show that features Akinbanjo of Premium Times, Ola guests with serious discussions Orekunrin of Flying Doctors, Jason on all issues? Well, if your answer to Njoku of Iroko TV, Bayo Omobothat is yes, then let’s inform you that riowo, Idiare Itimomo, Adaure you are in for a big treat as one of NigeAchumba, Toni Kan,Steve Baria’s most talented on-air personalities, baeko, Chibuike Aguene and Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi has kicked off the Those who are into reality drama series would be delighted to Bridget Awosika. recording of her long anticipated TV show. know that there is a new drama series in town tagged Lekki Wives.

The event also featured You will be glad to know that work started Lekki Wives is a drama series following the lives and conditions seasoned veterans and on the magazine show simply titled Gbemi nearly of five women living, visiting and working in highbrow Lekki axis mentors including: two years ago with the crew finally moving to set of Lagos.

Chief Executive of last weekend in Lagos.

The new television show, Lekki Wives was written, produced Inspire Africa Mo According to the award-winning broadcaster, the and directed by Blessing Egbe. In the series, the women will porAbudu and Extelevision show seeks to create conversations on differtray very significant and shocking issues trending in some parts ecutive Director ent issues and people, from the serious and scary, to the of the axis and will bring to fore the very many troubles of some with Nestlé mundane and trivial; while engaging audiences on different of its residence which is presented as the norm and has become a Iquo Ukoh. platforms across many cities. supposedly amiable trend. Interestingly, Lekki Wives takes an in“Our show explores various areas, and is part investigative, dept look at the crazy things that some married men and women part entertaining; going beyond what has been discussed before,” get up to in Lagos. A lot of dirty secrets are revealed in

New drama series, Lekki Wives, makes online debut

this drama series. According to the producer, says multi-talented Gbemi who the new drama series is different spent many years at Cool FM beand shows real life as fore joining The Beat. well as being au“We’re shooting already, working thentic. with some of the best hands around, Trans-

Wizkid, Burna Boy, others for Festival of Love

One On O n ne e of Nigeria’s Niger igeriia ia’s ia’ ’s leading lea eadi din di ing ng entertainers and consummate theatre artiste, Julius Agwu, is ready once again to stage this year’s edition of Festival of Love, an evening of classy music and comedy.

In its third edition, Festival of Love has been one of the grand events that captures the true moments of Valentine.

Festival of Love is an evening of romantic serenade for couples and lovers, couples’ games and great comedy for lovers. Scheduled to hold at the Congress Hall of

to make sure Gbemi is worth the wait,” c o r p she added. According to the producer of Hilton Hotel the show, Jade Rawa, Gbemi will be ready Abuja on Febto air in a matter of months, on local ruary 16, 2013, the networks, cable channels, as well organizers revealed that games as on mobile and web.

Karaoke has been added to this and kayear’s event and that the event will raoke will kick start with a cocktail. be exceptional. As The music acts billed to perform at this year’s event usual, we leave other surprisare leading music sensations - Wizkid, Burna Boy es for those that will make it to the event. Genuine lovand Chidimma. Comedians slated to knot and unknot ers definitely can’t get a better place to be to celebrate guests’ intestines with their hilarious jokes are Bovi, this year’s valentine than Festival of Love”.

Dan ‘D’ Humorous, Akpororo and Chigul.

Festival of Love which started in Abuja in 2011 held According to the initiator, Julius Agwu, he came up in Lagos last year, although it was earlier scheduled to with Festival of Love as an avenue to preach love as the hold in Abuja but was moved to Lagos in view of the only element that can unite and save the nation at this prevailing insecurity in the North and the pervasive point. “This year’s event will be an electrifying eve- fear that crowded places might be the target of the inning that should not be missed by anyone. The couples surgent group, Boko Haram.

36

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Connecting

Vanessa with

Vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com

Start making plans for Valentine’s Day Wake up; Valentine’s Day is here again! It’s a day for expressing love in the most tangible way - by showing it! If you truly love someone, this is the month to proclaim it to the whole world and make him or her proud to be loved by you.

The month of love is here, presenting another opportunity for lonely hearts to get filled with the sweet aroma of love floating in the atmosphere. So what are your plans for love as Valentine approaches? Do you have a date for this Valentine’s Day? If not, what plans are you making to be sure you don’t “roast” on a special day like this?

It’s always good to Models plan and strategise to make sure all your plans go hitch-free on a unique day like the Valentine. Why don’t you use this week to plan how that special day will be like for you and that special someone that makes you go all warm inside.

For the ladies, have you decided which perfect dress will be a knockout for that romantic Valentine dinner strictly for two? If the dinner will be at home, what choice menu have you laid out that will wet your man’s appetite? Have you also decided on that amazing Valentine gift that will make him love you more? Remember, it’s not only the men that have the

prerogative to get gifts for women on special days like Valentine; show him you really care by giving him a wonderful gift you know he’ll cherish.

For the guy who wants to propose to the love of his life on Valentine’s Day; have you planned how you are going to make it a memorable one for her?

For instance, it’s important to choose the right venue and moment for such an important event. Is it going to be a surprise engagement party like the one 2Face Idibia staged for Ann Macaulay when he proposed to her on last year’s Valentine’s Day? Or will it just be a romantic dinner for two where you stick a ring inside her rice dish and watch her almost swallow it before she realises it’s an engagement ring?

Whatever your imagination comes up with, make sure it’s something sweet that will leave an indelible mark in your lover’s memory forever. These and more are the kind of romantic gestures that make people go wild on Valentine’s Day. So begin now to mark out your strategy on how to make Valentine’s Day interesting and unforgettable for that person that makes your heart beat a little bit faster than normal.

Write in and let me know the kind of plans you are making for Valentine’s Day!

HELPLINE Hi Vanessa, I recently stumbled on your article captioned, “Best ways to solve relationship issues” and I must confess, I really enjoyed it. However, I think I need help. I once dated a girl in my place of work with an initial plan to marry her. However, along the line, I heard several ugly tales about her which I was even willing to overlook.

But amid this came a shocking revelation. The lady in question had attempted suicide on three different occasions allegedly due to the attitude of her ex-lover.

While I was still battling on how to overcome this, we had a slight misunderstanding and she attempted it twice. It was against this background that I decided to shelve my plans because after marriage I know problems must occasionally crop up and one cannot really predict her reaction. So I came up with a story that my parents were averse to our marriage due to our tribal differences. I said this because if I tell her the truth, I’m so certain she would do something crazy. She initially pleaded with me to continue, but when I refused, she became insulting with all manners of threats which I’ve been ignoring and even appealed with her. Before she finally left, she categorically threatened to come after me if I dare get married to anyone outside my tribe. Now that’s the problem because my fiancée is not from my tribe and her threats are still very fresh in my mind. Do I shelve my present plan because of her threats or forge ahead and risk the consequences? –Desmond, Abuja Hello Desmond, First of all, it’s always wise to investigate a rumour about someone you just started dating, no matter how trivial. That does not mean you must believe every gossip, but a little investigation will surely help you to know if you want a short or long term relationship with that person. Well, that’s by the way now because the mistake has already been made.

I must tell you that your situation is very delicate and should be handled with utmost care. There’s this saying, “Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned”. That is exactly the way your ex-girlfriend feels. Such a woman will go to any length if she is the vindictive type to see she gets her revenge. Your former girlfriend is worse because anybody who is capable of committing suicide can do almost anything to another person and damn the consequences.

All the same, I will still advise you to go ahead with your wedding plans to your fiancé. Never allow anyone to intimidate you or make you give up on what you want in life. Confront the brutal facts and seek out ways to make peace with her or to least make her see reasons that the relationship is over and it’s best to go your separate ways.

You can do this in a number of ways; but it’s best if you can do it in the presence of someone you know she respects a lot that will help you plead with her to forgive you for any wrong she perceives you have done to her. It will be better you do this before starting your marriage plans. She feels hurt and slighted; seeking her forgiveness will also help her to deal with the loss of losing you.

It will also be wise to sever any link you still have with your ex. I don’t know if you still work in the same establishment. That will be where you will find it the most difficult in avoiding her. The less she sees you or knows about your movements and that of your new wife, the better for you. Out of sight is out of mind, they say. But if you are both working in the same office, then it will be harder for you to avoid her. In that case, a change of job or moving to another branch, if your office has one, might be imminent for you. This is one of the reasons why people should tread carefully when getting involved with a colleague in the workplace.

Sincerely, Vanessa.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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37

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

A Fashionista’s

World FEBRUARY 3, 2013

I knew from age seven that I would be a queen –Sisi Eko When you were a child, did it occur to you that one day you would become a queen?

First and foremost, childhood for me was interesting, as the youngest child of my family. I had elderly ones to learn from. I grew under strict parenting but as the youngest child of my family, I had the balance between having fun and learning values and acquiring values as well. Then whether I knew that I would be a queen? Yes, I knew right from age seven that I would be a queen one day. I would just stare into the mirror and imagine myself being Miss World (laughs).

Now that you have this beaded crown on your head and you are going to be on your throne for one year, how do you see yourself?

As a queen, I see myself as a role model to many young girls out there, who are not weak in the mind and have a creative imaginative power; youths who are willing to unleash their hidden talents and prospects. As a queen, I’m not expected to be in places that are unworthy so as not to ruin my reputation. I’m expected to be courteous and really feminine.

What is Sisi Eko all about?

Sisi Eko is a modelling competition that depicts culture, creativity and catwalk.

Tell us about the pageant and why you won?

We were 12 contestants. The pageant was not a case of one having an edge over another or what have you, because each and every contestant on that stage that night had their own thing going for them. I must confess, they were individually beautiful, talented and smart girls.

But if any thing at all, I would say my creativity gave

Ignis Happy is a final-year student of History/International Studies and Diplomacy, at the University of Benin. She is a model and a beauty queen.

She is Sisi Eko 2012/2013, a modelling competition that depicts culture, creativity and catwalk. In this interview with Adaeze Amos, she unveils her duties as Sisi Eko and her pet project. me the crown.

Now as Sisi Eko, what are your duties?

I intend to introduce the culture of volunteering into Lagos State. In the United States for instance, a lot of people volunteer their time and skill into projects that gainfully impact their country.

In what area are you talking about?

For instance, a group of school children could volunteer to clean up the beach on a weekend, a college graduate could volunteer his skills in tutoring juniors in a subject like mathematics. In Nigeria, we do not

have these kinds of small-scale, 100 per cent voluntary services as such. So, I intend to introduce this in Lagos State especially among the youth because I really think it is time we asked what we can do for Nigeria and not what Nigeria can do for us.

How do you hope to do this?

Well, I don’t intend to do anything new but I would be a team player or a collaborator with Ministry of Youths in achieving its set projects in Lagos State.

What have you benefited from being Sisi Eko? Is it just the crown?

Well, Sisi Eko has given me the platform to launch my career in the modelling industry. I’m open to future opportunities.

Do you have any hope of settling down in the nearest future?

(Laughs) Why not? But first thing first. I have a few months to be through with my degree. That is my major priority right now.

What are the qualities of your ideal man?

My ideal man must be God-fearing, intelligent and hardworking. He should be a man that can stand for me any day, anytime. He must have some sense of humour.

What is your sense of fashion?

My sense of fashion is African but it has to be trendy.

What kind of books do you read?

I enjoy reading historical books, inspirational books and detective novels.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

38

Lessons of Life

ANGELA DAVIES lessonsoflife2@yahoo.com 08023342083

TRUE LIFE STORY ON MATTERS OF THE HEART FEBRUARY 3, 2013

‘I pretended to be poor just to find a wife’ We conclude in this edition the story of Benjamin and his lover, Blessing, started last week.

I

knew Blessing liked me a lot but I was uncertain if she was in love with me. On my own part, I knew deep down within me that I had found a wife in Blessing. However, to be sure she was also in love with me, one Saturday evening I said to her, “Blessing, I know that you have been a good friend and I really appreciate that. But I want to know why you keep being nice and supportive,” I said. She affectionately held my hands, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Benjamin, please don’t tell me that you have not noticed that I am in love with you. At first, all I wanted to be was just a friend but I discovered that along the way, I fell in love with you. I know you have never asked me out but the truth is that everything I do; I do for the sake of love.

You are my prince charming, you have captured my heart and I love you very much. I believe you will soon get a better paying job soon and we will be very happy together,” she assured. Then she asked me, “Benjamin do you love me too?” I smiled, gave her a peck on the cheek and confessed to her that I love her very much too. “Blessing, I love and adore you very much. You are the queen of my heart. Thank you for being a true friend and I pray everything works out well for us,” I emphasised.

Totally sure of what we felt for each other, I decided to take the bold step to propose to her three weeks later.

Hence, I asked Larry’s wife to get me a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

While we were relaxing one fateful Sunday evening, I asked Blessing to be my wife. I went on bended knees and pleaded, “Blessing, please marry me and make my joy complete.” While she was still trying to make up her mind, I quickly slipped the beautiful diamond ring into her finger and then waited for her to give me her response. With tears in her eyes and shaky voice, Blessing said, “Of course, I will marry you and make your joy complete. Wow! The ring is beautiful, thank you my prince charming,” she enthused.

Since I have found my wife, I didn’t want to waste anymore time so I told her, our traditional wedding would take place within three months, exactly on my birthday. Although she agreed, I noticed that she was a bit worried. Her worry was that we didn’t have enough money to plan the kind of wedding she would have wanted, especially for the fact that I just got a job.

But I promised her everything was going to work out fine.

I knew I cannot perform my tradi-

tional wedding at Ajegunle so I had to device a means to convince her that it should take place at my uncle’s place at VGC but the truth was that I wanted it to hold in my compound in VGC. It took time to convince Blessing and her family but thank God they eventually agreed. I lied to them that my uncle will make buses available for Blessing’s family members, friends, loved ones and colleagues to enable them attend the wedding with ease and so I had to make sure everything was in place.

I left Ajegunle a day to our traditional wedding, to ensure everything was ready as I was so excited that I was finally getting married to the woman who truly loved me. The next day, Blessing and her family entered into the compound and saw the calibre of people within the premises.

Things almost got out of hand when I introduced Blessing to my exquisitely

dressed parents and siblings. “Hello darling, please come let me introduce you to some important people in my life. Meet my wonderful parents and siblings,” I said. Immediately, I recognised that she was a bit shocked but she managed to exchange pleasantries with them. She also noticed that the wedding card we printed was totally different from the one people were holding and as if that was not enough shock already, Blessing became furious when some of my staff came to congratulate me calling me CEO. At this point, she called me aside and pleaded with me to tell her what was going on. She threatened to call off the wedding if I don’t tell her the truth about my identity. After I had finished telling her the truth about me, she shook her head and said, I am sorry Benjamin but there won’t be a wedding. Crying, she revealed to me that she was once involved with a rich

young man but his family refused them getting married just because she came from a poor background. As such that incident made her vow that she was going to get married to a man who was in her class so that they would start from the scratch together and nobody would call her a gold digger. When I told her my reasons for acting like a poor man, she insisted that I would have opened up to her after proposing to her and allow her to decide if she was still going to marry me or not. “Blessing it is not that easy. I was afraid you were going to leave me. I am sorry I should have told you the truth. Please forgive,” I pleaded.

When I saw that she was not willing to forgive me and the wedding was supposed to have started about 30 minutes earlier and guests were waiting anxiously, I had to call my parents to intervene. Blessing angrily told them that the wedding should be called off since I lied about my true identity to her. For more than an hour, our wedding was put on hold because Blessing refused to change her mind. My mother held her close to her bosom and had a mother and daughter talk with her. And thank God, she was able to convince her that I pretended to be poor just to find true love because of what I had gone through in the hands of young women. She also added that I truly loved, adored and cared for her.

Finally, she assured Blessing that she was welcomed into our family and pleaded with her to find a place in her heart to forgive me for deceiving her if she truly loved me and make me happy. Minutes later, Blessing told me, “There will be a wedding and I promise to make you happy.” She however made me promise that I will never hide anything from her again and I promised her. Our traditional wedding held in grand style and everyone, especially my parents, were so excited. Weeks later, we had our registry wedding and held a low-key reception in our house.

Today we are so happy together and we love each other dearly. My whole family loves her so much because she has indeed made me a very happy man.

Some of my female friends still come to my office to see if they can still extort money and gifts from me but I proudly flaunt my wedding band and inform them that I am happily married to one of the most beautiful and wonderful women alive. We have been married for six months and she is three months pregnant. All I pray for now is that none of our children should look like me because it will be a disaster.

Please send your advice to the phone number or e-mail address above. No calls, please.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Opinion

Sunday February 3, 2013

39

Adegbonmire: The man who saw tomorrow To describe him as a prophet or a modern-day Nostradamus will ordinarily subsume his cruising fecundity in the murky waters of Nigerian politics. But much that he swam or cruised as it were, Wumi Adegbonmire, the Asiwaju (leader) of Akureland, sparkled as he berthed at each shoreline of every voyage that was his human endeavour. Were he a hunter in the fabled bush of one thousand demons, this role model in chastity would not be twitchy or give vent to charm application or guntotting. His baritone voice alone, popped out from an inner recess of fearlessness, self-confidence and honesty, was enough to dissolve any physical attack or chilling harangue.

Over the weekend, this quiet achiever, intellectual, writer, administrator and politician, was committed to mother earth in his Akure, Ondo State countryhome, even though he had died since last December, at age 78.

What should be considered special or unusual in a man who was not a governor, president, minister or even an inventor or a radical in the Nigerian mould? Should showers of encomiums not have been limited to the seeming zenith of his attainments as an elderly politician and a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria? Tut, foul.

In the real sense of the word, the Adegbonmire phenomenon should be considered an issue for his generation. No wonder, in the chants of the Akure native cognomen, he could swagger in the gangling pleasure of being adored as ‘omo owa, omo ekun’ (a

standard prince who is a cub or a whelp).

To patent this to him in swift street adulation, Adegbonmire bore till his death, the sobriquet of ‘Omo Ekun’ (a cub or whelp or what those who are yet to know, should understand as ‘baby tiger’).

This man who was once a university administrator had also at a time been a member of the Ondo State Investment Board where he stood out as an incorruptible performer, one who withstood hostility from some human jackals determined to siphon government money.

But what was to crown his career in public service was his being appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG)

by Governor Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo State in 1999. There, he was practically the gatekeeper in ensuring that government funds were not frittered away in the guise of contract award or through certain renowned civil service shenanigans. As his office was overseeing parastatals, agencies and some key departments in the Governor’s Office, any contractor or prosecuting government official wanting to enter Adegbonmire’s office would have to say the Lord’s prayer, as the SSG was a stickler for detail and vetting and re-vetting.

As a media aide to the governor between 2002 and 2003, I was in Adegbonmire’s office when a politician who had been promoted from Special Assistant to Senior Special Assistant breezed in. “Omo Ekun’, Baba o, please approve a new furniture allowance for me.” After poring over the detail in the man’s file, Adegbonmire

replied, “I’m disappointed in you. But you collected furniture allowance as a special assistant and you want to collect another one within a year because you have been promoted. It is not the done thing. Your furniture is still fresh!” He pushed away the file and quietly told the man to go back to his office.

In terms of human compassion and tinges of altruism, ‘Omo Ekun’, in the Adefarati administration, came out tops.

While the governor and his entourage, of which I was included, were returning from Lagos where we graced a book launch for a reputable Ondo State indigene, Otunba Mohammed Jobi-Fele (now deceased), the press crew station wagon car in which I boarded veered off the road at Ibadan, Oyo State, somersaulting several times. We were six in the car. Hassan, our driver, eventually died of injuries sustained in the crash, while some persons were wounded. Highly gratifying in that moment of distress was the fact that Adegbonmire was the first person to scurry out of his car for rescue operation, even ahead of security agents and the convoy ambulance corps. He held me tight, wanting to know if I sustained injuries. Despite that I assured him that I was alright, he insisted I must be stretchered to the hospital, “in case of internal injury.” That was in March, 2003, two weeks to the governorship election.

Now, to the seeming surreal yet existentially valuable quality of Adegbonmire was that he once proved a potent prophet

Kayode de Fasua ua

kayodefasua@nationalmirroronline.net (07043855192; SMS only, pls)

at a time of fading hope for the possibility of a democratic Nigeria and at a time when Adefarati only hoped to survive on his retirement benefits. The governor was a retired school principal before he went into politics in 1978.

Adefarati once told the story of how Adegbonmire, who was a book seller at Ile-Ife, Osun State, came visiting in the former’s Oba-Ile Akure two-bedroom rented apartment. Then General Sani Abacha held sway as Head of State. After being treated to a meal of Amala, Adegbonmire belched and then said, “I have come to tell you that God told me in my dream that you are the next governor of Ondo State.” Adefarati, patently bemused, looked at him for a while and then replied, “Wumi, if the Amala meal prepared by my wife has become as delicious as to make you a seer, please, make haste to go back to Ile-Ife; I don’t want you to travel at night.”

But on May 29, 1999 at the Akure township stadium, as Adefarati was taking the oath of office as governor of Ondo State, Adegbonmire beamed with smiles, though an unsung, true prophet.

The hypocrisy of yesterday’s men REUBEN ABATI

A

loosely bound group of yesterday’s men and women seems to be on the offensive against the Jonathan administration. They pick issues with virtually every effort of the administration, pretending to do so in the public interest; positing that they alone, know it all. Arrogantly, they claim to be better and smarter than everyone else in the current government. They are ever so censorious, contrarian and supercilious. They have no original claim to their pretensions other than they were privileged to have been in the corridors of power once upon a time in their lives. They obviously got so engrossed with their own sense of importance they began to imagine themselves indispensable to Nigeria. It is dangerous to have such a navel-gazing, narcissistic group inflict themselves with so much ferocity on an otherwise impressionable public. We are in reality dealing with a bunch of hypocrites.

With exceptions so few, they really don’t care about Nigeria as a sovereign but the political spoils that accrue from it. And so they will stop at nothing to discredit those they think are not as deserving as they imagine themselves to be. President Jonathan has unfairly become the target of their pitiable frustrations.

Underneath their superfluous appearance, lies an unspoken class disdain directed at the person and office of a duly elected president of the country. It is a Nigerian problem, perhaps. In the same advanced societies which these same yesterday men and women often like to refer to, public service is seen and treated as a privilege. People are called upon to serve; they do so with humility and great commitment, and when it is all over, they move on to other things.

The quantity surveyor returns to his or her quantity surveying or some other decent work; the lawyer to his or her wig and gown;

the university teacher, to the classroom, glad to have been found worthy of national service. When and where necessary, as private citizens they are entitled to use the benefit of this experience to contribute to national development, they speak up on matters of public importance not as a full-time job as is the case in Nigeria currently.

What then is the problem with us? As part of our governance evolution, most people become public servants by accident, but they soon get so used to the glamour of office that they lose sight of their own ordinariness.

They use the system to climb: to become media celebrities, to gain international attention and to morph into self-appointed guardians of the Nigerian estate. They mask self interest motives as public causes and manipulate the public’s desire for improvements in their daily struggles as opportunity for power grab.

They are perpetually hanging around, lobbying and hustling for undeserved privileges. They exploit ethnic and religious connections where they can or join political parties and run for political office. They even write books (I, me and myself books, packaged as cerebral stuff); if that still doesn’t work, they lobby newspaper houses for columns to write and they become apostolic pundits pontificating on matters ranging from the nebulous to the non-descript. Power blinds them to the reality that we are all in this together and we have a unique opportunity to do well for the taxpayers and hardworking electorate that provide every public official the privilege to serve.

Unsatisfied with the newspaper columns, they open social media accounts and pretend to be voices of wisdom seeking to cultivate an angry crowd which they feed continually with their own brand of negativity. They arrange to give lectures at high profile events where they abuse the government of the day in order to gain attention and steal a few minutes in the sun; hoping to force an audience that may ‘open doors’ for them, back

into the corridors of power. These characters are in different sizes and shapes: small, big; godfathers, agents, proxies. The tactics of the big figures on this rung of opportunism may be slightly different. They parade themselves as a godfather or kingmaker or the better man who should have been king. They suffer of course, from messianic delusions. The fact that they boast of some followership and the media often treats them as icons, makes their nuisance factor worse.

They and their protégés and proxies are united by one factor though: their hypocrisy.

It is in the larger interest of our country that the point be made that the government of the day welcomes criticism and political activism. This is an aspect of our emergent democracy that expands on the growing freedom of expression, thought and association but there is need for caution and vigilance, lest we get taken hostage by the architects of odious disinformation. Nigerians must not allow any group of individuals to hold this country to ransom and no one alone should appropriate the right to determine what is best for Nigeria.

The accidental public servants who have turned that privilege into a life-long obsession and profession must be told to go get a life and find meaningful work to do.

Those who believe that no one else can run Nigeria without them must be told to stop hallucinating. The former ministers, former governors, former DGs, and all sorts who have been busy quoting mischievous figures, spreading cruel propaganda must be reminded that the Jonathan administration is in fact trying to clean up the mess that they created. They want to own the game when the ball is not in their possession.

They want to be the referee when nobody has offered them a whistle. They seek to play God, forgetting that the case for God is not in the hands of man. One of the virtues of enlightenment is for persons to have a true perspective of their own location in the order of things. What they do not seem to realise or accept is that the political climate

has changed.

When one of them was in charge of this same estate called Nigeria, he shut down the Port Harcourt airport and other airports for close to two years under the guise of renovation. The Port Harcourt airport was abandoned for so long it was overgrown with weeds after serving for months as a practice ground for motoring schools. It was reopened without any improvement and with so much money down the drain, and the pervasive suspicion that the reason it was shut down in the first place was to create a market for a new airline that had been allowed the monopoly use of the other airport in the city. Under President Jonathan, airports across the country are being upgraded, rebuilt and modernised; in less than two years, the transformation is self-evident.

Perhaps the greatest hypocrisy from our seeno-good commentators comes from the one who superintended over the near-collapse of the aviation sector who is now audacious enough to claim to be a social critic.

For the first time since 1999, the Nigerian Railway Corporation is up and running as a service organisation. The rail lines have become functional from Lagos to Kano; Ewekoro to Minna, and very soon, from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, Abuja to Kaduna and Lagos to Ibadan. They couldn’t do this in their time, now they are busy looking for money that is not missing with their teeth.

When questions are asked, they claim they invented the ideas of due process and accountability. They once promised to solve the crisis of electricity supply in Nigeria. But what did they do? They managed to leave the country in darkness with less than 2,000 MW; abandoned independent power projects, mismanaged power stations, and uncompleted procurement processes. The mess was so bad their immediate successors had to declare an emergency in the power sector. It has taken President Jonathan to make the difference.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 49

40

Chuckles

Sunday, February 3, 2013

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Politics

Sunday, February 3, 2013

41

Buhari

Shettima

interested in talks with the government and would never be. So, why the sudden change of mind? These are some of the questions that we are trying to get fool-proof answers to before we can tell you what we are up to next. You may want to ask about the whereabouts of Shekau, especially with the recent media reports of him being shot in Mali.”

A security expert and former Director in the State Security Service, Barrister Mike Ejiofor, also urged the Federal Government to be wary of the offer by the sect. According to him, terrorism in Nigeria has now become an industry and the government would have to tread with caution in the way it welcomes such demands. You will recall the previous offers by the Boko Haram.

Now, there are two angles to look at on why the dialogue failed: it is either that the offer was made by fake Boko Haram members or by bona fide members who were not authorised to do so, and by mediators who did not enjoy the confidence of the sect”, he said.

According to him, the recent offer was made by a man who does not enjoy the confidence of the sect “Abu Mohammed has been going under different names to make the same offer and he does not have the confidence of Boko Haram leaders. Boko Haram has become an industry which some people now use to selfishly enrich themselves. Government should be wary of such dubious people who just want to use the sect’s name to defraud the government. On May 1, the guy came as Mallam Abu Mohammed and claimed to be Shekau’s second-in-command. It is just a scam. On May 13, an offer was made by the same man. Before then, on February 7, same offer was made and was sent to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, only for Boko Haram to later dismiss the tape. Government should discountenance all these people until they get the real sect leaders. Besides, among those reportedly mentioned by Boko Haram, only Buhari has come out to dissociate himself from the sect. Where are others? I think we really have to be careful,” he advised.

e Boko Haram ceasefire offer?

leadership of the Jama’atul Ahhad, had purportedly named the dential candidate of Congress for ral Muhammadu Buhari, among ediate between the group and the

bu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, n-Command (Amir) to their leadas said to have made the group’s rence with journalists in MaiduAbuja who said Abdulaziz is untwo recent offers or calls for diaeople. implementation of Shariah law mand of the sect? The self-proubakar Shekau, had before now h that he said the group was not

rsts among ex-militants

d at the Aba Road offices of Niger NDDC) on Tuesday told Sunday MirEND which are now at loggerheads their own interest rather than that ised that they should at best be igccused the Federal Government of others, noting that government ofte to the demands of those who beat

ent is playing with fire. This recent ons from other groups. Every time reaten fire and brimstone, and you ing all over the place trying to pacals even encourage these situations y inflating the amount they spend of the process, but those of us who uring peace while living among our truggles are neglected.”

-militant camps for the rising cases being perpetrated in the region owf their responsibilities. He equally he Federal Government continued nd rule policy,” adding that those reprocess are warming up to express

their own grievances. “These people have abandoned the creeks and the region since the Amnesty Program and they are all enjoying good life outside here. Every time they make noise, you journalists and government officials will be running from pillar to post to satisfy them.

Ask them the last time they had been to their villages. You journalists know these but you will start writing stories upon stories every time they cough. You regard them as the champions of the people, how many times have you people gone to the villages and ask the people living in them about who are those championing their causes? We shall give you people many things to write about and the government much to worry about when we reduce the millions of barrels they are getting now to zero. We are watching how the Federal Government is handling the situation now and then, we shall take decisive actions as the situation demands,” the militant leader warned.

However, Chairman of the Amnesty Program, Kingsley Kuku, has warned the aggrieved ex-militant leaders not to heat the polity. This warning came as the nation is also contending with the threat of Islamic fundamentalists who are alleged to be relocating to the country after being dislodged by French and West African troops in Mali.

Most Niger Delta political watchers who spoke with Sunday Mirror, on condition of anonymity, believe that the aggrieved militants are only taking advantage of the political situation involving President Jonathan, who in the new year is expected to begin his re-election bid.

Their agitation, the observers insist, will peter out as soon as “they

are settled as usual”.

“We are used to this and we were even expecting it. We are not surprised; they are only after their pockets, and once they are settled, as they will be, they will sit back in Lagos and Abuja and fritter the money in another of wild living, till the next election comes around,” one of them emphasised.

Another added that the government was setting a very dangerous precedent, especially for the political development of the region. “The dangerous practice will become a norm in the region if not carefully handled now. Future political aspirants of all levels will be affected and this will erode integrity in the scheme of things. The Federal Government should resist marauders who have dumped the people and their aspirations for their own pecuniary interests,” an elderly respondent Ebikabowei Victor-Ben a.k.a. Boyloaf warned.

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

GROWING UP with

Aunty Angela growingup5@yahoo.com

Hello children, How was your week? I hope you are studying hard in order to make good grades and make your parents happy. However, we have some tips in today’s edition that can help you get good grades in school, among other interesting articles.

IT’S STORY TIME …

The Little Pink Rose

O

nce there was a little pink Rosebud, and she lived in a little dark house under the ground. One day, she was sitting there quietly all alone and suddenly, she heard a little tap, tap, tap, on the door.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“It’s the Rain, and I want to come in,” said a soft, sad, little voice.

“No, you can’t come in,” the little Rosebud said.

After some time, me, she heard another little tap, tap, p, tap on the window panel.

“Who is there?” she said.

The same soft little ittle voice answered, “It is the Rain, and nd I want to come in.”

“No, you can’t come in,” said the little Rosebud angrily rily.

Then it was very y quiet for a long time.

At last, there came e a little rustling and whispering sound, all round the window.

“Who is there?” ?” asked the little Rosebud.

“It is the Sunshine nshine and I want to come in,” said a little, soft, cheerful voice.

“No, you cannot come in,” said d the little pink rose. ose.

And she sat quietly y again.

Pretty soon she heard a little rustling noise se at the key-hole.

“Who is there?” she asked.

“It is Sunshine and I want to come in, I want to come in,” said the cheerful

little voice.

“No, no you cannot come in,” said the little pink rose.

By and by, as she sat so still, she heard tap, tap, tap, and rustle and whisper all up and down the window panel, and on the door, and at the key-hole.

“Who is there?” she screamed.

“It is the Rain and the Sun and we want to come said the two little in,” sa voices, together. voice “Dear, if there are “D of you, I suppose I two o have to let you in,” shall h the little Rosebud. said th So she opened the door a little and they came in. The Sun took one of her little hands, and the Rain took her other little hand, and they ran with her right up to the top of rig ground. Then they said, the ground “Push your head through”.

So she pushed her head and she was in the through; an midst of a beautiful garden. springtime, and all the It was sprin other flowers had their heads through; and she was pushed throu the prettiest little, pink rose in garden and this made the whole gar happy. her very happ

TONGUE TWISTER

Moral: Sometimes we should not ignore the help of people who are willing to help us as they might just be the ones to help us to succeed and be happy in life.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Mother, father and their two kids came to a river, and they saw a boat.

The boat is small and could only carry one adult or two kids at a time. Both kids are good rowers, but how can the whole family reach the other side of the river?

Answer: The kids row across. One comes back. An adult goes over, and the kid comes back. Both kids row across again, and one comes back.

The other adult rows across and the kid comes back. Both kids row across again.

BRAIN TEASER

Children, you can send your contributions and pictures through this email address growingup5@yahoo.com or call telephone number: 0805 198 0588

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

WHO INVENTED WHAT…?

Ives W. McGaffey devised the firs manually-powered vacuum cleane

T

he first manually powered cleaner using vacuum principle inciple was invented in Chicago go in 1868 by Ives W. McGaffey and he called it the “Whirlwind”. This invention ention was also not motorised and used d a hand crank to operate a fan to generate erate suction.

It was the first hand-pumped pumped vacuum cleaner in the United States, a wood and canvas contraption. This his vacuum was compact and lightweight ht but it was difficult to operate due to the fact that you had to turn the hand crank while pushing the he vacuModern invention um over the rug or floor. or. However, this did not stop p people from purchasing this machine.

McGaffey enlisted the he help of The American Carpet et Cleaning Co. of Boston to market et it to the public. It was sold for justt $25. It is hard to determine how successful cessful the Whirlwind was, as most of them were sold in

FUNNY ANIMAL PICTURE

POEM

Flying Popcorn A piece of popcorn escaped from the pan and flew across the kitchen like Superman.

It ping-ponged back and forth between the oven and the freezer.

Then it shot up to the ceiling like a daredevil trapeezer.

I tried and tried to catch it, but it never missed a trick.

So finally I gave up and ate a licorice stick.

– Arden Davidson

QUOTE

Make each day your masterpiece.

– John Wooden

Chicago and Boston, and it was likely that th many were lost in Chicago the Great Chicag Fire of 1871. Only On two are known to have survived, survive one of which whic can be found in the Hoover Hi Historical Center.

Center McGaffey was one of o many 19th-cen19th-ce tury inventors invento in the United Unite States and Europe Europ who devised manual manu vacuum cleaners. cleaner He obtained a patent U.S. U. No. 91,145 o on June 8, 1869

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st er

43

Sunday, February 3, 2013

on a “sweeping machine”.

The machine contained a hand operated fan. It was manufactured by American Carpet Cleaning Co., Boston, under the trade name Whirlwind. The unit contained all elements of modern electric cleaners except the electric motor.

Today, we have a number of modern designs of the vacuum cleaner in beautiful colours, shapes and sizes by other inventors.

Tips on how to study and make good grades •Try to do your homework immediately after school - Time management is essential. If you are given an assignment, try to do it immediately after your lunch.

Also if it is to be submitted the next week, don’t procrastinate (delay); start the same day you get the assignment.

•You must attend classes, pay rapt attention and take notes. Also ask questions when necessary. Take everything that has to do with your studies seriously.

•Do not study all your subjects in one night; study a bit each night because your brain cannot take in so much information all at once. Reviewing your notes every night will make remembering all you have learnt during a test or examination a piece of cake.

•You should read topics ahead of time since course outline is usually given at the beginning of each term.

•Get a good night’s rest - you need sleep in order to stay focused, and without it, you will have a hard time studying and may forget what you just learned.

•Eat a good, healthy breakfast everyday - it is known that if students eat a good and healthy breakfast every morning, they are able to focus better in school.

•Ask for help – you should ask your class teacher for help if you feel you need one to enable you make good grades. You can also ask for help from your parents, classmates, aunts or uncles. Asking questions will improve your grades and help your understanding better.

JOKES

Three Restaurants

There were three restaurants on the same block and they were all willing to do anything to attract customers. So, one day one of the restaurant owners put up a sign which said, ‘The Best Restaurant in the City”.

The next day, the owner of the largest restaurant on the block put up a larger sign which said, “The Best Restaurant in the World”.

On the third day, the smallest restaurant owner put up a small sign which said, “The Best Restaurant on this Block”.

Past participle of “to ring” Teacher: “What is the past participle of the verb “to ring”?

Student: “What do you think, sir?”

Teacher: “I don’t think I know.”

Student: “I don’t think I know either, sir.”

RIDDLES

DID YOU KNOW?

The average woodpecker is able to peck up to 20 pecks per second The average woodpecker is able to peck up to 20 pecks per second. The woodpecker is only able to peck so much and move its head so quickly without getting a headache due to the air pockets that help to cushion the woodpecker’s brain.

The woodpecker has a distinctive long beak, which it uses to make holes in trees. The woodpecker does this in order to dig out the grubs living under the bark.

Why do birds fly south for the winter?

Answer: Because it’s too far to walk.

What is full of holes, but can still hold a lot of water?

Answer: A sponge.

Why is the sun so bright?

WORD JUMBLE Trssede ---------Vleo ---------Myfial ----------The letters below represent a common phrase.

Can you figure it out?

FJRUISETNDS

Answer: Because it pays attention in the class and does its homework on time.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S SPORT QUIZ Victor Moses.

Chelsea.

Jersey number for his club is 13.

Jersey number for his country is 11.

What goes up slowly and comes down quickly?

Answer: An elephant in a lift.

What month has 28 days?

Answer: All of them.

POP

44

Sunday, February 3, 2013

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45

Wellness YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Why screening is essential in prevention of cancer –Dr. Olaleye VANESSA OKWARA

S

ikirat (real names withheld) is a young girl of 22 years who had been sexually active since she was 16 years old. She has slept with so many men in her young life that she had been afraid of contracting HIV more than she could have thought of any other illness. When she heard of a free cervical screening test organised by Optimal Cancer Care Foundation in her locality, she decided to take advantage of it. Perhaps, they might even tell her whether she has HIV or not, she said to herself not knowing exactly what these screening tests were really about.

She was shocked when she was informed by the doctor in charge that there are changes for potential cervical cancer on her cervix. She was very remorseful, but the doctor congratulated her for coming in for the free screening. He told her she did the right thing by coming otherwise in six years time she would’ve had full blown cervical cancer. With this early detection, she can be treated immediately before it develops into full cancer.

Sikirat’s case is a typical example of what goes on in the screening centres where Dr Femi Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, located on Bode Thomas area of Lagos conducts various types of cancer screening on daily basis.

The medical expert, who uses his foundation to raise awareness and run campaigns to educate Nigerians on the various ways to prevent cancer said, “the burden to start the foundation was based on the alarming statistics of cancer in Nigeria. “A study conducted by the international community shows that the number of cancer deaths in Nigeria is very high.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that 75 per cent of new cancer cases come from developing countries.

Statistically, one in 25 Nigerian women

has breast cancer. For cervical cancer, one woman will die in an hour and that is about 10,000 women in a year. For men, prostate cancer is the highest killer of male above the age of 40. One in 10 men will die owing to prostate cancer. All these three cancers are preventable. They are cancers you can do something about and there’s nothing we are doing here in this country. We are only waiting for our people to have the problem and then we can say go and do this or that whereas it could have been prevented. Another shocking statistics is that only one in 10 Nigerian women has ever done screening both for breast cancer or cervical cancer.

These cancers could have been avoided, if only we institute a campaign of screening service for women,” he lamented.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world tomorrow, February 4, to mark this year’s World Cancer Day, the need to institute a nationwide campaign on ways to reduce the burden of the ailment in the country cannot be overemphasised.

Global statistics released by Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) show evidence that cancer now accounts for more deaths worldwide than HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Of the 7.6 million global deaths from cancer in 2008, more than 55 per cent occurred in less developed regions of the world. By 2030, 60-70 per cent of the estimated 21.4 million new cancer cases per year are predicted to occur in developing countries.

UICC advocates that access to effective, quality and affordable cancer services is a right of all individuals and should not be determined by where you live. They called for efficient and cost-effective interventions to be made available in an equitable manner through cancer prevention, early detection and treatment services delivered as part of National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) that respond to the national cancer burden of a

Market women learning self breast examination

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH, AND REDUCE YOUR CANCER RISK. Stay away from tobacco.

Stay at a healthy weight.

Get moving with regular physical activity.

Eat healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Limit how much alcohol you take (if you drink at all).

Protect your skin by wearing hats and sunglasses while out in the sun.

Know yourself, your family history, and your risks.

Have regular check-ups and cancer screening tests.

Dr. Olaleye

country.

Dr Olaleye agrees with this promotion

by UICC by calling on the government, well meaning Nigerians and organisations to join hands to intensify cancer awareness programs, especially at the grassroots level. “Government can do three things: they should create policies, put programs in place and

raise awareness so that people can go to the clinics and do cancer screenings.

They should intensify their campaign programs by going to schools, markets and villages to alert the people on the importance of this cancer screenings.

Also wealthy individuals and organisations should institute cancer awareness CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

HEALTH NEWS

Ministry urges better funding of HIV/AIDS programs Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi, has urged for consistent intervention and funding for the eradication of HIV/AIDS in the country.

Emodi made the call in Abuja at a three-day workshop for HIV and AIDS Critical Mass Team (CMT) and

Desk Officers of Parastatal, Agencies in the Federal Ministry of Transport.

He said that Nigeria had over the years made a lot of progress in the eradication of HIV and AIDS through interventions by the Federal Government and non-governmental organisations.

“It is therefore, necessary

that we should continue to make the fighting of HIV and AIDS a priority,” he said.

According to him, following the advice of the Presidential Council on HIV and AIDS, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are mandated to form workplace committees to open the way to public sector intervention.

‘Spontaneous miscarriages can’t prevent normal pregnancy’ A gynaecologist with the National Hospital Abuja, Dr Chris Agboghoroma, has called on women who suffered spontaneous miscarriages not to lose hope of having normal pregnancy.

Agboghoroma told newsmen in Abuja recently that a woman should not

give up hope because of miscarriage once, twice or thrice.

“What I will advise is that you must see a doctor to get assessment.

“It is important that when a woman miscarries, she needs to be investigated, some blood tests should be carried

out, x-rays and of course, we need to counsel the woman.”

He said miscarriage could be a traumatic experience for women, but with bed rest, to a large extent, many of the women would recover and eventually carry their pregnancy to term.

46

Wellness

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Know your organs

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Your

BONE Health

with Dr. Olatunji Idowu

Broken wrist injury

A

T

The stomach

he stomach is an organ of digestion. It is a muscular bag and is part of the digestive system, sometimes called the gastrointestinal tract. It has a saclike shape and is located between the esophagus and the intestines. Almost every animal has a stomach.

Its feature The human stomach is elastic, pear-shaped bag, lying crosswise in the abdominal cavity beneath the diaphragm. It changes size and shape according to is position of the body and the amount of food inside.

The stomach is about 12 inches (30.5 cm) long and is six inches. (15.2 cm) wide at its widest point. The stomach’s capacity is about 1 qt (0.94 liters) in an adult.

Once food has been swallowed it passes down the gullet and into the stomach where it is mixed with gastric juices. The semi-solid food then passes into the small bowel where it is broken down further and nutrients are absorbed. The gastric juices in the stomach help the bowel to absorb some important substances from our food such as Vitamin B12, iron and calcium.

Functions Food enters the stomach from the esophagus. The connection between the stomach and the esophagus is called the cardiac sphincter. The cardiac sphincter pre-

vents food from passing back to the esophagus. Heart burn is the sensation when stomach juices (gastric juice) is allowed to seep through the sphincter into the esophagus. Once the food enters the stomach, gastric juices are used to break down the food. Some substances are absorbed muscle lining of the stomach. One of the substances the stomach absorbs is alcohol.

The other end of the stomach empties into the duodenum. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine. The pyloric sphincter separates the stomach from the duodenum.

Composition The stomach is composed of five layers. Starting from the inside and working our way out, the innermost layer is called the mucosa. Stomach acid and digestive juices are made in the mucosa layer. The next layer is called the submucosa. The submucosa is surrounded by the muscularis, a layer of muscle that moves and mixes the stomach contents. The next two layers, the subserosa and the serosa are the wrapping for the stomach. The serosa is the outermost layer of the stomach.

Some of the common stomach conditions are: stomach ulcer, gastritis, and stomach cancer. If there is bleeding in the stomach, black stool may occur.

‘Everybody is at risk of contracting cancer’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 campaigns as part of their corporate social Responsibility (CSR). For example, 7Up Bottling Company sponsored us to do cancer screening tests for market women in Tejuosho and Mushin markets in Lagos.

Such programs go a long way in alerting the citizens on the importance of these screening exercises. By doing campaigns, you alert people who do not normally go to hospitals. Finally, government should build cancer health service centres. There’s no point saying somebody has cancer and the only place the person can go is Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where there is a large queue up of cancer patients,” he said.

Medical experts reveal that to find cancer early, while it’s small and before it has spread, adults should have regular tests called screening exams. These tests help doctors find common cancers before they cause symptoms. Talk to your doctor about which screening tests might be right for you. If cancer is found early, it can be easier to treat. Survival also tends to be longer for those with early cancer.

Dr. Olaleye explains that the whole essence of screening is to actually not get cancer. “Screening is essential in the prevention of cancer. The fundamental reason for these screening examinations is to detect it before it turns to cancer. The advantage of screening is that something can be done once it is detected. At least there are two cancers we can detect early through screening.

They are cervical and breast cancer. Every two years, women should go for cervical cancer screening, and for

women above 35 years, they should do it every year. If there is a history of breast cancer in your family, you are the kind of person that should do your mammogram regularly and you can also learn how to do self breast examination at home. If you are sexually active, you must do cervical screening regularly and attend vaccination. There is a vaccine now available to prevent you from getting cervical cancer and this is available in our hospitals. A woman has to take three doses of that vaccine and this vaccine is available for girls as young as 10 years. The vaccine helps to stop the spread of the virus. Once you are sexually active, the virus is already in your body, so when you take a vaccine, your body will be strong enough to prevent the virus from spreading. That is why vaccination is important for every woman to help prevent the spread of the virus,’’ he advised The expert listed other ways cancer can be avoided.

“The truth of the matter is that everybody is at risk of getting cancer. We have cancers occurring at different parts of the body: neck, blood, thyroid, cervix, breast, lungs, etc. To stay ahead of that, you need to stay healthy, avoid some foods that are high in fat content, lower your cholesterol because obesity has something to do with formation of cancer in the body. Avoid some things that can predispose you to having cancer like smoking, too much alcohol and unhealthy lifestyles.

Improving your diet, physical activity and maintaining a healthy body weight could prevent around a third of the most common cancers from occurring,” he said.

broken wrist is common following a fall on an outstretched hand. A Colles fracture is a fracture of the Radius bone of the forearm, just above the wrist (a Scaphoid fracture is the other common type of wrist fracture). Symptoms include a great deal of wrist pain, a “dinner fork” deformity, wrist swelling and an inability to use the wrist and hand. The term Colles fracture originated with the Dublin doctor Abraham Colles, who first described this common type of wrist fracture in 1814.

Epidemiology Falls that cause wrist fractures are common during school play. The natural response to a fall is to stretch out a hand to break the fall, and falls tend to occur more often in children. For this reason a broken wrist is a relatively common feature, with around 100,000 wrist fractures worldwide among snowboarders each year. Although this fracture occurs in all age groups it tends to be more common in two age groups - the elderly people and in children. In Children the bones are soft and supple and hence tend to bend easily. Here the fracture is usually incomplete while in adults it is a complete fracture. These fractures are also seen in menopausal women with osteoporosis, in whom it is second only to vertebral fractures.

Wrist arthritis can occur as a Colles fracture complication, either from cartilage injury, or from wear and tear in the joints after the fracture is healed.

Carpel tunnel syndrome, characterized by numbness and tingling, may also set in after the fracture.

Broken wrist signs and symptoms As you would imagine with a fracture, there is a great deal of wrist pain. The aforementioned ‘dinner fork’ deformity is usually present, together with wrist swelling and, as a result of the fracture, an inability to use the wrist and hand. In most Colles fractures the patient will hold the affected wrist towards their body in an effort to protect it. Diagnosis is confirmed by an x-ray which will show the detail of the fracture.

Management If a fracture of the wrist is suspected, the patient should be taken to an accident and emergency department of an appropriate hospital without delay.

Ice Packs and splinting may be helpful to relieve pain.

If a Colles fracture is confirmed on x-ray, the initial treatment will be supervised by the doctor in the emergency department. If the two fragments of broken bone are shown to be close together, and well aligned, the treatment is simply to immobilise the wrist in a cast for 6 weeks. For the first 72 hours after the injury the wrist should be elevated to reduce swelling.

If you have any problem or question about your musculoskeletal system (bones, joints and muscles) do send me a mail at tunjiidowu@live.com for advice. Meanwhile, your comments and feedback on the issues discussed are highly welcomed.

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Business

47

FRESH BUSINESS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sunday February 3, 2013

Abuja Commodity Exchange:

Renewed hope, after unfulfilled expectations

Oteh

TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

F

or a national economy that has very strong commodity-earning potentials at a time when global economic uncertainties continue to raise serious concern among experts, the need to have an operationally efficient securities and commodities exchange can hardly be over-emphasised. This is in view of the multidimensional implications for macroeconomic stability.

This is where the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to revive the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange (ASCE) is seen by economic analysts as a right step towards achieving a desirable goal, especially after the initial hopes of its contributions to Nigeria’s non-oil sector growth have been dashed in the recent past.

For over two years, the Exchange’s operations have been grounded, leaving farmers and commodity traders in operational quandary and economic limbo. As expected, policy pronouncements on the increasing roles of the Exchange is expected to play out in the ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) while no steps are being taken yet to back up such powerful declaratory intentions in a manner that suggests clearly that government means business.

From the Central Bank Governor through the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to his Ministry of Trade and Investments’ counterpart, the planned resuscitation tunes and lyrics have been cacophonous, as had been witnessed in the past, in the renewed efforts by all the stakeholders to open on-line marketing channels for commodities.

Speaking on the importance of commodities exchange and marketing boards to the ATA recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, assured that the revival of the institutions was being prioritised to leverage on the modest achievements of the agenda and more importantly, to create an enduring

Sanusi

outlets for marketing the products of the economic diversification drive in the long run.

Adesina said: “When the marketing Boards in this country were abandoned, there is not a single commodity in Nigeria that has any marketing institution around it, not one.

So, I consider that the Nigerian farmers are not different from somebody in a rickety boat that you put in the Atlantic Ocean, no support and you asked them to swim. They cannot. That is institutional abandonment of farmers.

“So, we are putting those things back because we have marketing boards in those days for cotton, we had it for cocoa and everything worked until, of course, we were told to disband them. That is being revisited and we hope to have these institutions in place before the end of the year”, Dr Adesina said.

Expressing his desire to see the ASCE revived at an international forum held in Abuja last year, the CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, specifically requested that government should hand over the Exchange to the regulatory banking institution, in order to restore hope to commodity traders and explore its opportunities further in non-oil sector foreign exchange earnings.

“To me, the Abuja Commodity Exchange has not been able to play its role effectively as earlier conceptualised.

What we have now is an Exchange that has not been empowered to fulfil its mission. I think it is necessary, in order to make the Exchange relevant to current initiatives aimed at improving the performance of the non-oil sector, to involve the private sector in the exchange”, Sanusi said.

In a similar tone at the occasion of the launching of the World Bank book ‘Achieving Nigeria’s Financial System Strategy 2020, in Abuja, the Director General of the SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, made a strong case for the privatisation of the exchange as a strategic option of making it play its expected roles in the development of the non-oil sector.

Oteh said that “the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange has not been properly funded by government

to enable it make significant impact in the ongoing economic reform processes. There is the need to allow private investors to provide the needed funds that would make the exchange more relevant to the economic reforms, particularly by serving as investment market for attracting funds to the agricultural sector.”

To give the required push for the actualisation of the dream, the Federal Government on November 13 last year commenced the process of transforming the Exchange into a first-class trading institution as part of its broader Industrial Revolution Plan.

Commenting on the proposed transformation agenda which is expected to be completed within 12 months, the Managing Director of the Exchange, Mr. Yusuf Abdurrahim, said during a stakeholders’ sensitization workshop in Abuja that a new Bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Independent Ware House Regulatory Agency would soon be sent to the National Assembly.

He said, “The programme we have just concluded is another round of sensitisation where we brought together, stakeholders in the Commodity Exchange Project to continue to discuss the various building blocks of a functional Commodity Exchange. This includes a Ware House Receipt Bill which we discussed extensively during the Sensitisation Workshop. We have drawn experiences from our local practice and that of Ethiopia. Probably, this might be the last discussion on the Ware House Receipt Bill before it goes to the National Assembly.

“Already, the Minister of Trade and Investment has initiated some reforms and he is working hard to make the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange as viable, vibrant, and effective as possible so that it can serve the needs of the Nigerian economy very efficiently,” Abdurrahim added.

Expatiating on the initiatives, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dauda Kigbu, said the development of the Ware House Receipt System would boost the operations of the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange and also help farmers overcome the problem of post-harvest loss.

“The Ware House Receipt System is a basic infrastructure that will improve the operations of the Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange. A WHR system enables farmers to use their stored commodities to secure credit from banks and other financial institutions.

“Storing their commodities in standard warehouses will enable them to avoid post-harvest losses and defer sales till the price of their commodities appreciates. Also, they have an option of using the WHR as collateral to obtain loans from banks to enable them meet other obligations”, Kigbu said The National Chairman of Nigerian Agro-Inputs Dealers Association (NAIDA), Alhaji Raufu Lawal, believes the initiative would assist in improving the welfare of farmers, open marketing channel for the national commodities in the global market and significantly help in setting new quality standards for all stakeholders since the target of their produce is the international markets.

He stated: The reactivation of the exchange will encourage our farmers to farmers to grow more and improve the quality of their produce since they will now be targeting the international markets. This will also allow for the certification of the exchange globally and enable farmers to monitor prices of commodities, improve their earnings and boost non-oil sector exports.

“It promises a lot of benefits for the economy in terms of its foreign exchange and job creation opportunities for the economy. Farmers will be better informed on commodity prices and reduce their losses from the current regime in which most of them sell their produce at farm gate prices to the advantage of middle men. It is an initiative that holds good promises for all stakeholders in the agricultural sector of the economy”, the NAIDA chief said.

The ASCE began spot market operations in 2006 and provides organised trading platform for buying and selling of agricultural commodities and solid minerals products. It also publishes prices of commodities from rural and urban markets to allow buyers and sellers to take good marketing decisions, amongst other statutory responsibilities.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Dangote reopens Gboko cement plant Property Watch •For Lagos area as at Friday Feb 1, 2013 A. Building materials Cement: Dangote Cement per bag of 50 kg.......N1,800 Burham Cement per bag of 50kg.......N1,800 Elephant Cement…………………N1,800 Sandcrete blocks 6 inches sandcrete block ..........N130 9 inches sandcrete block ..........N150 Sand Sand per tipper load .......... N12,000 Sharp sand (double) ..........N22,000 Gravel (single) ...................N18,000 Gravel (double) ..................N23,000 Granite ...............................N120,000 Reinforcement 8mm(153) pieces per ton (N125,000 10mm (153) pieces per ton .......... N135,000 12mm ............................................N161,000 16mm ........................................N172,000 20mm (53) pieces ....................N122,000

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angote Cement Plc has announced the reopening of its Gboko Cement Plant in Benue State. The factory which is to operate at half capacity was closed down last year as a result of the glut in the domestic cement market.

The decision to reopen the plant was reached immediately after a meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chairman of Dangote Cement Alhaji Aliko Dangote in Abuja yesterday.

Giving reasons for the reopening, a source from Dangote Cement said, “Since the shutdown of the Gboko Cement Plant, Government has been engaging local cement manufacturers in discus-

sions, trying to find solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

According to the source, Aliko Dangote was in an upbeat mood after the meeting with the president and in appreciation of the President’s concern and willingness to intervene; he gave immediate directives to restart operations at the Gboko Plant.

When contacted, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Tony Chiejina confirmed the reopening and said, “We are confident that in the days ahead, we will see positive developments and actions that will address problems of local cement manufacturers in Nigeria.”

It should be recalled that Dangote Cement temporarily shut down its Gboko Cement plant in December 2012, a move that was necessitated by the glut in the market, which arose from the success presently being recorded with the exponential increase in local production of cement and further compounded by continued importation of subsidized cement into the country.

The continued importation of cement calls to question the rigorous implementation of the backward integration policy introduced by the Federal Government in 2002 to encourage local production.

Cement distributors are in high spirits following the

Sacked ExxonMobil workers protest cuts in benefits

Wood Timber (hard) 1x1x12 ..........N1,000 Timber (hard) 2x2x12 ..........N600 Timber (hard) 2x4x12 ..........N700 Soft wood 2x2x12 ..........N250 2x3x12 ..........N300 Plywood 3x3x6-----------------N3,500 2x4x8-----------------N2,400 Roofing Sheet Corrugated iron sheet per bundle ...N10,000 Asbestos 4x8 per piece ..................N1,600 Asbestos (solo) ............................N1,100 B. Landed property Focus area: Lagos Mainland 1. Four bedroom detached house with BQ at Omole Phase 11, Kosofe -----N40m Estimated price in 5 years------------N60m 2. 800 square metres at block 47 at Isheri North Estate, Lagos ---------- N6m Estimated price in 5 years----------N15m 3. 6 bedroom wing of duplex plus BQ at Adeniyi Jones off Opebi, Lagos------- N55m Estimated price in 5 years------------N100m 4. A land measuring 5.081 square metre at Ajasa, Ipaja, Lagos------------------------------N25m Estimated price in 5 years---------N50m 5. 2 nos bungalows on 800 square metres along Oba Akran, Lagos----------------N150m Estimated price in 5 years----------N250m 6. 1.12 acres of land with uncompleted building at Marwa Road, Satellite Town, Lagos---------------------------------------------------N1,5bn Estimated price in 5 years------------------N2bn 7. Uncompleted block of flats at Isheri -Osun, Lagos--------------------------------------------------N15m Estimated price in 5 years-------N20m 8. Four bedroom duplex at Gbagada------N18m Estimated price in 5 years-----------N30m 9. 8 nos of 3bedroom flats with BQ at Surulere, Lagos---------------------------------N80m Estimated price in 5 years----------N100m 10. A detached house at Oke Ira, Ogba, Lagos--------------------------------------------------N22m Estimated price in 5 years---------N35m •Compiled by Dayo Ayeyemi, E-mail: dayoayeyemi@yahoo.com

announcement of the reopening. Chief Gab Alim, an Ogoja-based distributor said the reopening of the plant will reinvigorate cement business in Cross River State especially in Ogoja axis which is near Benue State. He said that with the opening, construction works which had slowed down in the area, will resume resulting in a win win situation for all stakeholders.

Staff, traders and business owners in Gboko are jubilating over the reopening. They said that the restarting of the cement plant means the restarting of their source of livelihood as businesses that went into hibernation, will kick back to life.

L-R: Managing Director, Ideas House, Mr. Kehinde Salami; Chief Executive Officer, Ropeways, Capt. Dapo Olumide and Relationship Manager, Ropeways, Mr. Archie Duke, at the Ropeways Transport Limited Media Roundtable in Lagos recently.

Delta suspends e-payment of salaries G

overnment announced on Thursday the suspension of e-payment of workers’ salaries with effect from January.

The Governor, Dr Emmanuel, said the measure was part of efforts to check the problem of ghost workers in the public service of the state.

The governor told journalists in Asaba during an interactive session that henceforth, workers in the state would be paid their salaries physically.

He explained that the state had to adopt the measure, because other strategies used in checking corruption in the salary payment system, espe-

cially the ghost worker syndrome, had failed.

He said that in spite of more than 7,000 ghost workers discovered in the state through biometric staff audit in 2012, the wage bill had continued to rise.

“It is obvious that there are still many ghost workers in the state, especially among teachers. From this January, salaries are going to be paid on the basis of physical presence of a worker.

“We will pay cash, and it will be so for the first three months in the first instance,” he said.

Uduaghan said that the high wage bill was affecting budget

performance in the state with regard to projects execution.

“The problem is also accounting for budget deficit being recorded annually by the state government,” he added.

He explained that salary increase for all workers and for different professional associations and unions by the Federal Government, which state governments were forced to pay had often infringed on Delta’s budgets.

Uduaghan said other steps were being taken to instil discipline in budgeting and implementation of the budget in the state to achieve results.

Interswitch poised for expansion in Africa C onsidering the phenomenal and remarkable growth of mobile technology and the accelerated activities of the Information technology sector in the dark continent of ‘Africa’, Mobile integrated systems network ‘Interswitch’ says it is ready to expand its network in the continent.

This was part of the statements of the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr Mitchell Elegbe as the Group marked its 10th year Anniversary in operations.

He was proud to say that Interswitch was the first Nigerian company to offer payment infrastructure and technology

integration.

He Further stated that “We are a Nigerian financial services powerhouse, and with over 70 per cent of government and 90 per cent of private companies that rely on us for their monetary transactions, the company looks poised to venture into other African countries.”

Ex-workers of ExxonMobil at Qua Iboe Terminal in Akwa Ibom at the weekend protested over alleged cuts in their terminal benefits and described the action as unacceptable.

The 1,400 disengaged junior workers protested on some streets in Eket and carried placards to draw public attention to their plight. The Secretary, Sacked Janitorial Staff in ExxonMobil Locations, Aniefiok Ekong, criticised the oil company for slashing their terminal benefits contrary to agreed terms.

“As we speak, our leaders have been summoned to Abuja over the matter. We also observed that the names of some of our members are missing on the list that Mobil pasted at the terminal.

“Even the amount of money paid to those whose names are on the list was a far cry from what is stated on the agreement. We are on the streets to say that we will not be part of this. We want the payment suspended until our leaders find out the reason why the management of the company reneged on the collective bargaining agreement with NUPENG,” Ekong said.

One of the affected workers, Felix Nnorom, said that the terminal benefits offered the workers ranged from N150, 000 to N270, 000 for those who had served from 15 years to 20 years.

Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), an affiliate of US oil firm ExxonMobil, outsources its labour needs to community contractors, who provide the work force required by the oil firm for its operations.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Sunday, February 3, 2013

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Merger fallout: Borno Gov, Sheriff, others set to defect to PDP OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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orno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, and his predecessor, Senator Amodu Sheriff, are in advanced talks with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a possible crossover in the event that the touted merger arrangement among the opposition parties sails through.

A PDP source told Sunday Mirror that Senator Sheriff had concluded plans to defect to PDP but was hoping to bring along his political godson who

is now the governor of the state, Alhaji Shettima alongside the leadership of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the state.

Leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and former military leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, had cited as one of the reasons he would not want ANPP to be part of the merger arrangement some leaders of the party known to be sympathetic to the PDP. Senator Sheriff is at present the chairman of the ANPP Board of Trustees but he is known to be opposed to the accomlishing of General Buhari’s

presidential ambition and was alleged to have worked against the former military leader in his earlier quest in 2003 and 2007 to lead the nation as the president under the platform of ANPP. According to our source who is an NWC member of the PDP, “Sheriff has made contact with us and we are open to discussion with him on his plans to move to our party. We are also hopeful that the Governor of Borno State and their followers will join the party. Our leadership in the state has also been notified about the development.”

The leadership of the ANPP is at a crossroads

over their rejection by other opposition parties in the planned merger, which is anchored by CPC and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as well as the threat by the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the party.

Both CPC and ACN are on the verge of merging into Action Congress for Progressive Change, ACPC, in a few weeks from now.

The steering committee of both parties will meet on Tuesday to finally ratify the processes of the merger but ANPP has been left out in the cold.

Sunday Mirror also gathered that the National

Chairman of the ANPP, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, had continued to reach out to the leader of ACN, Bola Tinubu, who had assured him of their commitment to carry the party along.

It was also learnt that Tinubu has called for truce between the Buhari camp and the ANPP leadership so that the differences would be resolved before the merger.

Meanwhile, the threat by INEC to de-register ANPP over constitutional violation and the making of false claim over the amendment of its constitution is taking a toll on the party leadership.

It was learnt that the party had been struggling to respond to the commission’s query. INEC, it was learnt, would decide on the query issued to ANPP after receiving the party’s response.

It was learnt that the ANPP on January 22, 2013

had written INEC, informing the commission that it altered its constitution in 2011, but investigations revealed that the commission, however, discovered that the party had amended its constitution since 2010.

Based on Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, political parties are supposed to inform the commission of any alteration to their constitution within 30 days. Section 222B of the Nigerian Constitution, as amended, reads that no association by whatever name called shall function as a party unless any alteration in its registered constitution is registered in the principal office of INEC within 30 days of making such alteration.

The party’s precarious position is now a weapon by the CPC to distance itself from its participation in the merger arrangement.

The hypocrisy of yesterday’s men CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

L-R: Deputy Corps Marshal (Admin.), Adei Abu; Assistant Director (Monitoring), National Human Rights Commission, Barrister Harry Obe; Corps Marshal, FRSC, Osita Chidoka; Deputy Director (Analysis) Defence Intelligence Agency, Abuja, Paul Akagwu; Deputy Corps Marshal (Operations), Ayo Omidiji and Deputy Corps Marshal (Policy, Research and Statistics), Boboye Oyeyemi, during the 2013 annual workshop for officers and marshals of Operations Department of the FRSC, in Abuja, yesterday

Jonathan urges Indonesia not to execute Nigerians on death row ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday appealed to his Indonesian counterpart, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stay action on the execution of many Nigerians on death row in his country for illicit drug trafficking and other criminal offences while the two countries explore opportunities for an Agreement of Exchange of Prisoners and Mutual Legal Assistance between the two countries.

Jonathan, who played host to Yudhoyono who is on a two- day state visit to Nigeria, also held discussions on bilateral trade.

In a communiqué issued after a joint press conference by the two leaders, they noted with concern the increasing number of Nigerians in detention, jail and death rows in Indonesia for drug-related offences and financial crimes, though they condemned the nefarious activities.

They also agreed to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in narcotics drugs, psychotropic substances and their chemical precursors.

Both leaders also condemned the activities of terrorists, saying that terrorism remains a global security threat; both leaders therefore agreed “to foster closer bilateral partnership to address this threat by cooperating closely in exchange of information, training and education as well as sharing of best practices”.

They also instructed the relevant agencies of both countries to asses counter-terrorism needs upon which bilateral collaboration would be developed.

On the issue of UN peace keeping missions, the two leaders made a commitment to have a closer cooperation between the peace-keeping centres of both countries in order to encourage sharing of experience and best practices, as well as exchange of visit by trainers and experts.

According to the communiqué, both leaders agreed “to promote training and cooperation involving military officers of both countries by encouraging participation of Indonesian and Nigerian military officers in training programmes at the staff colleges of both countries.

On economic, trade and investment cooperation, both leaders agreed to encourage contacts between their respective countries’ Chamber of Commerce,

stressing that Nigeria and Indonesia would share best practices in capacity building in the attainment of MDGs. Ministers present at the bilateral talks were Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs), Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke (Petroleum Resources), Mohammed Bello Adoke (Justice), Dr Akinwumi Adesina (Agriculture), Samsudeen Usman (National Planning) and Stella Oduah (Aviation).

5 killed in auto crash on Lokoja-Abuja road T he Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed that five persons lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident that occurred on Lokoja-Abuja road yesterday.

It also said that five others, who were seriously injured in the crash, were currently receiving treatment at the Ideal Hospital, Koton Karfe.

The Kogi Sector Commander of the Corps, Mr. Garba Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja that the victims were all adults,

four men and a woman.

He said that they were among the 13 passengers in two commercial vehicles that had a head-on collision at a spot in Achabo village near Gegu at about 12 noon.

Mohammed said that the two vehicles were a Volkswagen Sharon with registration number Lagos AKD 910 XD and a green Volkswagen Joker Wagon with registration number Lagos AGL568 AQ. According to him they were coming from the opposite direction when they had the crash.

Today, there is greater coherence in the management of the power sector with power supply in excess of 4,200 MW; a better conceived power sector road map is running apace, and the administration is determined to make it better. They complain about the state of the roads. Most of the contracts were actually awarded under their watch to the tune of billions! They talk about corruption, yet many of them have thick case files with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the courts and the police on corruption-related charges.

One of them was even accused of having awarded choice plots of government land to himself, his wives, his companies and other relations when he was in charge of such allocations!

Really, have we forgotten so soon?

These yesterday men and women certainly don’t seem to care very much about the Nigerian taxpayer who has had to bear the brunt of the many scandals this administration is exposing in its bid to clear out the Augean stable.

They’d rather grandstand with the ex-General this, Chief that, Doctor this and ex-(dis)Honourable Minister who has no record of what he or she did with the funds the nation provided them to deliver results to

protect our interest so that we don’t end up continuing to make the same wasteful mistakes.

It is enough to make you shudder at the thought of any of them being part of government with access to the public purse; but then we’ve already seen what some of them are capable of doing when in control of public money, authority and influence; and to that the people have spoken in unison – they have had enough. Nigerians are wiser and are now familiar with the trickery from these persons whose claim to fame and fortune was on the back of their public service.

Our point at the risk of overstating what is by now too obvious: We have too many yesterday men and women behaving too badly.

We are dealing with a group of power-point technocrats who have mastered the rhetoric of public grandstanding: carefully crafted emotion-laden sound bites passed off as meaningful engagements. That is all there is to them, after many years of hanging around in relevant places and mingling in the right corridors, all made possible through the use/abuse of Nigeria.

Our caveat to their audience is the same old line: let the buyer beware!

Dr. Abati is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to President Goodluck Jonathan.

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Gunmen kill 2, injure Anambra halts multiple taxation in markets blind man

nidentified gunmen at the weekend shot dead two persons and injured a blind man in an attack in Hammadu Kafi area of Gombe township.

It was gathered that one of those killed was a prison warder along with the friend of the blind man.

The injured blind man, popularly called Malam Ali, who was critically wounded in the attack, is now receiving treatment.

The killers arrived the house of the blind man in a black Honda Hala around 3.20 p.m. and opened fire on the man who was chatting

with one of his friends.

The friend died instantly. The source said that the prison officer, who was passing around the area, stopped to greet the blind man and his friend when the gunmen shot him.

Contacted on phone, the Commissioner of Police in Gombe State, Mr Mohammed Sule, confirmed the incident.

He said an investigation had been launched to get to the root cause of the killings. “Yes, we heard it that it happened at Byepass (road).

“Only God knows what

went wrong because information got to us that one of them called and asked the prison warder where he was and he told them that he was at the place where they usually sat.

“Something is wrong somewhere, but we are investigating”, he said.

Sule said the blind man who was injured was at the hospital receiving treatment.

NAN recalls that less than a month ago, a former police orderly to ex-Governor Danjuma Goje, Rilwanu Gadzama, an Inspector, was killed by unknown gunmen in the same area.

nambra State Government has directed the sanitation firms handling refuse disposal activities in various parts of the state to stop imposing multiple levies on the residents in the name of sanitation fees.

The state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry Mr. Robert Okonkwo, who disclosed this to the Bridge-head market traders association yesterday when he visited some markets in Onitsha, said government had been able to stop emblem payment of N500 and other levies associated with sanitation and then narrow everything down to N200 per trader as sanitation rate.

Okonkwo noted that the government would not allow contractors to exploit the traders because of the present poor economic situation in the country, adding

that once a trader pays a sanitation fee of N200 and another N6,000 to cover traders’ tax, development levy and stallage fee per annum, and obtains government receipt, any other person coming for any other type of levy should be regarded as a fake revenue agent and be arrested.

He, however, cautioned them against paying money directly to any contractor or anybody else, other than into government designated bank account, adding that they should pay only to their market executive agent who will in turn pay into the government designated account, obtain bank tellers and then collect government receipts for all the payers.

He noted that the measure was to ensure that unauthorised individuals and groups do not enter the markets under various guises to collect money from traders, thereby causing confusion between the state govern-

ment and the traders.

The Commissioner who contended that his office had been inundated with reports of people who enter the markets and collect various forms of taxes and levies to the embarrassment of the government, advised the traders to pay these levies promptly as government would soon embark on operation show-your-receipt.

The commissioner also disclosed that a contracting firm, LAGA International, had been appointed by the Anambra State Government to take over the clearing of refuse in Onitsha North and Onitsha South Local Government areas, including at the markets.

He called on the traders to co-operate with the contractor in order to ensure an all-year round cleanliness in the markets by paying their sanitation fee to the government in good record time.

he Ndigbo Unity Forum has commended the police in Anambra State for their sustained efforts to check violent crimes in the state.

The group made the commendation when its leadership visited the headquarters of the Anambra State Anti-Robbery Squad of the Police Command.

The President of the NUF, Mr. Augustine Chukuwdum, said it was, however, unfortunate that some human rights organisations have rather chosen to castigate the SARS and its men by accusing them of being

responsible for the dumping of the corpses that floated on the Ezzu River two weeks ago.

Singling out the Commander of the SARS, Mr. James Nwafor for commendation, Chukwudum said SARS was able to successfully curtail violent crimes during the Christmas season in Anambra State.

“We had a Christmas that was crime-free, where no single case of kidnapping was recorded. We commend him and his men for that,” the NUF leader said.

But the forum called on

the citizens of Anambra State to support the efforts of the police by providing them with useful information on the activities of criminals.

It said though the Anambra State Government had provided significant support to the police and SARS, there was still the need for greater support.

Chukwudum called on the Federal Government to promptly release the funds budgeted for the police to enable the force effectively carry out its constitutional role in the society.

NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

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Group hails police for reducing crime T L-R: Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Ra’uf Damoye; Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. Adebayo Joshua and Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Bashir Adamu, at a lecture on conflict resolution in Kaduna, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Gombe to build secretariat with N7bn T he Gombe State Government at the weekend said that it would spend over N7 billion on the construction of a new secretariat in the Gombe metropolis.

The state’s Head of Service (HOS), Mr Eli Akeme, made the announcement at a news conference in Gombe, saying that the project would be undertaken in phases.

He said that the project on completion, would solve the office accommodation problem facing civil servants in the state.

``The Office of the Head of Civil Service and the Ministry of Housing and Transport in conjunction with the Ministry of Lands, have identified a suitable site for the secretariat complex. Accordingly, building plan and design for the complex have been produced. Due process is presently at an advanced stage and work may commence this year,” he said.

Highlighting the achievements of government in the past one and a half years, Akeme said that 930 officers were promoted to senior

grade levels. He also said that 1,425 officers between GL 01 to GL 12 were promoted to various grade levels.

On training, the HOS said that 605 civil servants were given approval to undergo various training programmes.

Akeme said that 2,003 employees were employed to cater for the acute shortage of manpower needs in the state and that the government also facilitated the recruitment of 403 candidates in military and paramilitary services.

…As stakeholders stress importance of security sustenance NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

Police repel attack by armed men on station S

T

he Police in Dass town of Bauchi State said they repelled an attack by gunmen at the town’s police station on Friday night.

Alhaji Mohammed Ladan, the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, told newsmen on Saturday that the attackers were repelled by his men.

Ladan said in the faceoff with the gun men, a

police man sustained an injury having being shot on the leg.

He said that apart from the wounded policeman the attackers did not succeed in either carting away arms or burning the station. ‘‘The attackers did not take any arms and the building was not burnt but partially destroyed,’’ he said.

Confirming the attack,

Alhaji Bala Nalado, Information Officer of the Dass Emirate, said that the assailants only managed to pull down parts of the building.

He said that the attackers left without causing serious damages to the building.

The attack was the first incident of an attack on police stations in the state this year.

takeholders on security in Anambra State have stressed the need to sustain the present security situation in the state which they said has improved tremendously in the past few months, particularly during the recently concluded Yuletide season.

They also commended the sustained progress made by the Anambra State Government in ensuring support to security

agencies for the benefit of all residents in the state, stressing that such vices as kidnapping, armed robbery, assassinations and unnecessary dumping of refuse have equally reduced to the barest minimum.

In a 10-point communique issued at the end of their Mess Hall Meeting held at the Officers’ Mess, Military Cantonment, Onitsha, with a theme: “Consolidating security gains in Anambra State”, the stakeholders reviewed security measures adopted by agencies and commended all

security efforts made so far by various security agencies.

The stakeholders also encouraged the executive arm of the government to provide more support for the security agencies.

The communique which was signed by Lt. Col. OJ Majebi, on behalf of the Commander of 302 Artillery Regiment (General Support), Onitsha, Col. Taritimiye Gagariga, also requested the legislative arm to enact enabling laws that would enhance security within the state.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Zonal News

Sunday February 3, 2013

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SOUTH SOUTH

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3.35m sacked by floods Katsina communities allege Customs harassment in S’South –NEMA

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the South-South region says that floods affected over three million persons within the region last year.

Within the period under review, the Agency stated that fire incidents also affected 2,076 persons.

Mr Umesi Emenike, the South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, made the disclosure in Port Harcourt on Friday at an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

His figure showed that a total of 3,353,210 were flood victims while 2,076 persons were victims of fire incidents in the region in 2012.

Emenike also said that

NEMA would soon commence sensitisation on emergency management as part of efforts to minimise occurrence of disasters in the region.

Emenike said the sensitisation was necessary because of the vulnerable nature of the zone to disasters.

He said the training would strategise for effective disaster management in 2013. ‘‘We are going to concentrate on holding a lot of seminars, workshops, training programmes, especially with the NYSC and secondary schools. ‘‘We are also looking at extending our certain programmes to universities. “we think that we need to train them a little on

emergency management and try to gear their attention in that direction. ‘‘We also want to see if we can bring one of these programmes that some people attended in Abuja down to the zone. ‘‘The Agency actually organised training for media practitioners on emergency management. ``We want to see if we can bring one of those programmes to the zone,’’ Emenike explained.

The zonal coordinator said that this would afford practising journalists to have better knowledge and understand some of the provisions in emergency response, as well as how to respond to disasters.

Edo monarch seeks help for rainstorm victims

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n Edo traditioner ruler, Victor Ehizogie, has appealed to all tiers of government to assist his subjects who were victims of a recent rainstorm disaster.

Ehizogie, who is the Onogie of Ogwa in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, made the appeal yesterday.

The rainstorm had during the week, swept through the community, destroying several buildings and farmlands.

Ehizogie pleaded with the federal, state and local

governments to provide monetary and material support for the victims as the raining season was fast approaching.

He said that if urgent relief materials were not provided to the victims, their conditions could become unbearable when the rains intensified.

Some residents of Upper Izogan Quarter in Ogwa, who were worst hit by the natural disaster, blamed it on the road construction which they claimed had resulted in the felling of trees

that served as wind breakers for their houses. he rainstorm affected more than 27 houses in the community and displaced their occupants.

The monarch said the displaced victims had either left the community or were squatting with their neighbours.

Ehizogie, therefore, appealed to governments at all levels and disaster management agencies to, as a matter of urgency, come to the assistance of the community.

Varsity holds inter-denominational service for new session

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n inter-denominational service was yesterday held at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo, to pray for a successful 2013/2014 academic session.

The service’s theme, ‘’Return to the Lord,’’ taken from the Bible Book of Joel 2:12 - 20, was read to the congregation by Prof.

Cordelia Agbebaku, acting Vice-Chancellor of the university.

In his exhortation, Apostle Great Bamidele lauded the management of the university for adopting the culture of laying before the Almighty, every new ses-

sion, noting that any foundation God participated in could never be shaken.

Speaking on the theme, Bamidele pointed out that sin hinders God’s favour upon people, adding that when people of God repent and return to Him, He is always merciful to forgive and withdraw His punishment.

He described sin as an act that brings shame and disgrace to mankind, admonishing the leaders and the followers to recognise the supremacy of God in their worldly endeavours. ‘‘When we get it right with God, the gate of opportunity will open again.

“God is ready to change His plans about disaster on

those who offend Him if they can return to him in genuine repentance. ‘‘The passage that we read in Bible book of Joel, God was asking his people to rend their hearts and not their clothes; this is because genuine repentance is from the heart,’’ he said.

Bamidele admonished the leadership, staff and students of the university to embrace genuine repentance and return to God, as He would cause heavens to bless the institution.

Intercessory prayers were later offered for the acting vice-chancellor, the management, students and other members of the university community.

JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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ome communities in Jibia Local Government area of Katsina State have lamented alleged constant harassment by personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and other security agencies posted to operate in the area.

The communities, on the platform of Jibia Peoples Forum, JPF, made the allegation in a letter addressed to the state Governor, Ibrahim Shema, a copy of which was made available to Sunday Mirror.

In the letter, the forum noted that a joint security patrol of Customs and soldiers allegedly raided some residences in the council area for suspected hoarding of contraband.

The forum said the raid put the “entire community

on siege, such that if not for the forum’s intervention, the previous fracas between the people and the Customs would have repeated itself ”.

It insisted residences raided contained no contraband as claimed by the Customs, and that the raid had “caused much chaos, which put people into a state of coma.

The forum reiterated that the council area and its environs, despite what security personnel might say to the contrary, have been witnessing “series of harassment from the Customs officials”.

The JPF, however, called on the state governor to intervene on the matter and save them from harassment and intimidation by Customs personnel.

Reacting, spokesman of the state Customs, Moh’d Auwalu Giade, refuted al-

legations of harassment levelled against men of the service.

Giade, however, said there was a recent raid carried out following intelligence reports that drugs were kept in a warehouse in Jibia town.

He said a joint team went and found that over two trucks of Tramadol capsules were stocked in the warehouse.

Investigations revealed that allegations of harassment by Customs personnel by residents at the border towns have been a recurring decimal.

Such allegations, it was learnt, had been reason behind clash between Customs personnel and residents in the Magama area eight years ago, which led to the destruction of lives and property along with the burning down of a Customs barracks.

Taraba State Head of Civil Service, Mr. Augustine Bazing (right) immunising a child at the launch of the 2013 National Immunisation Plus Days in Jalingo at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

Yero promises support for NITT programmes A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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aduna State governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has assured the management of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) Zaria, of his administration’s readiness to increase patronage of NITTprogrammes.

Yero stated this when the management of the institute, led by its Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Aminu Musa Yusuf, paid him a courtesy call at the Kashim Ibrahim Government

House in Kaduna.

He, however, decried the low patronage of NITT programmes by Kaduna State Government, and transport and logistic organisations in the state, reasoning that ‘’there is no reason patronisers of transport training outside Kaduna should be outpacing us in Kaduna State when it comes to benefiting from NITT programmes.’’

Yero directed the Commissioner of Works and Transport to open up discussions with NITT on how the state could be assisted in training and retraining of transport

personnel in the state for the growth and economic development of the sector.

He said he was aware of the important role transportation plays in the movement of people and goods from one part of the state to another, adding that his administration had accordingly purchased taxis, buses and tricycles to boost transportation in the state.

Earlier, Yusuf had said the visit was aimed at congratulating Governor Yero for assuming the mantle of leadership of Kaduna State, and to intimate him with the NITT activities.

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Zonal News

SOUTH WEST

Sunday February 3, 2013

Al-Makura blames Osun demolishes predecessors for 3,000 school buildings road neglect

ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

O

sun State Government yesterday disclosed that it had demolished 3,000 school buildings out of the 4,000 identified buildings that were in dilapidated condition across the 30 Local Government areas in the state.

The Chairman, Osun Schools Infrastructure Development Committee (O’ Schools), Chief Lai Oyeduntan, who made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, explained that the demolition of these schools were required to get them replaced with new ones.

He said, “most of the school buildings in the state were built by the administration of former Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and that of the former Governor of the old Oyo State,

Chief Bola Ige, saying the buildings could no longer stand the test of time owing to old age.”

“Most of the school buildings erected during the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola were either located close to highways or of low quality, hence the resolve of the present government to demolish them”.

“The buildings that were demolished were not only those built by the government of Oyinlola as insinuated by some people because the present government in the state does not put political sentiments into its actions and deeds.

Oyeduntan, however, stated that necessary arrangements had been made by the present administration in the state to make the proposed merger of schools succeed in the state and assured residents that

the aim was to bring about total overhauling of the education sector.

“All impediments that may affect the new government policy have been put into consideration and the policy would be beneficial to all the stakeholders in the education sector, including parents and students,” he assured.

Biut the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned “in strong terms”, the demolition and merging of various schools in the state and called on the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and parents to resist the move.

The Chairman of the party, Alh. Ganiyu Olaoluwa, stated this yesterday in a release.

He said a situation whereby “we play politics with the future of our children is uncalled for and it is dangerous to our future.”

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Permanent Secretary, Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mrs. Folake Falore; and Permanent Secretary, Hospital Management Board, Dr. Kolawole Aina, during the kickoff ceremony of the first round of 2013 Immunisation Plus Days in Ado Ekiti at the weekend.

Community petitions Mimiko over chieftaincy dispute

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ommunity leaders in Etikan Kingdom in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have appealed to the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to save them from alleged harassment and intimidation by a businessman (names withheld) who has been parading himself as the Oba-elect of the community in defiance of an existing court order which had restrained him from doing so.

Speaking on behalf of the community in a statement issued in Lagos, the

community spokesman, High Chief Aseph Ikuesan, lamented that Etikan kingdom has known no peace since the man started parading himself as the Oba-elect despite the fact that he was not the choice of the kingmakers and the community.

“We have to cry out to Your Excellency to save Etikan kingdom from further embarrassment and harassment by this man and some thugs he has been bringing from Okitipupa, Akure and Lagos to harass members of the community for not supporting him.

“He contested for the vacant royal stool with other candidates but he lost. The candidate picked by the oracle was Barrister Busayo Adeola Oroyo, and not only that, Oroyo was also the unanimous choice of the kingmakers and the entire community.

“We appealed to this impostor to abide by the choice of the oracle and the people, but he has been threatening fire and brimstone, and he told us that Etikan kingdom would not know peace unless we drop Oroyo and picked him

IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

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asarawa State governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, has said that one of the challenges confronting his administration is the neglect of road construction by past administrations in the state.

He stated this yesterday during a visit to Agbash town, headquarters of Ekye Development Area of the state, to assess the level of destruction brought on the area when suspected Fulani merce-

naries struck and killed scores of Agatu natives and set two-third of their buildings ablaze recently.

His words: “One of the challenges that added to the problems of my government is road. Nobody can imagine that there was government in this state for the past 12 or 15 years.

The problem emanated from the kind of leadership we have inherited.”

According to the governor, “if a town can be development area headquarters with such vibrant forward-looking people,

NORTH CENTRAL

any government that neglects to provide the basic infrastructure to people of such an area is a failure.”

Al-Makura recalled his experience during his 2011 campaign that, “that when I was campaigning, I wondered if there was government in place. I have visited the whole of this state and Agbashi road is one of the three worst roads I have ever seen in my life.”

As a result, Al-Makura said that the road had been earmarked for construction, in fulfillment of his pre-election promise.

Plateau distributes grains to flood victims T he Plateau State Emergence Management Agency (SEMA) has commenced the distribution of 1,500 tonnes of grains to the 2012 flood victims in the state.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Steven Barko, inaugurated the lifting of the grains to various distribution centres.

Barko represented Mr. Ignatius Longjan, Plateau Deputy Governor and Chairman of SEMA’s Governing Council.

Longjan said the 1500 tonnes of sorghum and maize which were 30,000 bags were donated to the Plateau State Government by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to mitigate the suffering of the victims of flood disaster. ‘’We received the materials precisely on November 19, 2012 from the

officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture led by Alhaji Bukar Tijani, the Minister of State for Agriculture.

“We would have distributed the materials before now if not for the prolonged workers strike in the state. ‘’The strike made it impossible for SEMA to go to the communities because of the security challenges it posed but now that it is over, we understand the victims’ plight. ‘’We will make sure that they get the materials without any further delay,’’ Longjan said.

The deputy governor said the grains, which translate to 50 trucks in all, would first be taken to the three central stores for the three zones of the state, before onward dis-

tribution to local government areas. ‘’We have a store here in Jos to take care of the northern zone; we have another one in Pankshin for the central zone while the other one is at Langtang North Local Government.

Longjan also gave a breakdown of how the materials would be distributed.

He said that Jos North Local Government would get four trucks or 2,400 bags, while Kanam, Langtang North, Langtang South, Quan’Pan, Shendam and Wase local governments are to get six trucks or 3,600 bags each.

The breakdown also showed that Kanke, Mikang, Pankshin and Bokos local governments would each get two trucks amounting to 1,200 bags.

NYSC group donates skill acquisition centre

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he Education and Tutorial Group of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara, has donated a skill acquisition centre to the council.

The group made the donation at weekend to the Chairman of the council, Dr Adebayo Ishola.

Mr. Darlington Okoye, the President of the NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) group, said the project was to encourage people, especially the unemployment ones, on the need for entrepreneurial skill.

He said the period of waiting for a white col-

lar job was gone as everyone needed to acquire entrepreneurial skill as a means of livelihood.

Okoye urged the local government to maintain the project and make sure that the facilities were put to proper use.

He added that it was part of the Community Development Service’s project of the 2012 batch ‘A’ corps members in the local government.

The building was equipped with sewing machines, computer sets among others.

In his remarks, Ishola, the council Chairman, commended the gesture of the group, and assured

them that the council would ensure proper use of the facilities.

He said that with the skill acquisition programme, the NYSC group had touched the lives of many people that could not be imagined. Ishola enjoined other groups to emulate the gesture, saying that every corps member should see wherever they were posted as a home.

Meanwhile, the group also organised a quiz competition for secondary schools in the council area.

Cherubim and Seraphim Secondary School, Ilorin, emerged the overall winner.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

AFCON: I want to see creative sparkle –Desailly P. 55 KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SPORTING NEWS

Donaire named 2012 Fighter of the Year P. 55

Sport February 3, 2013

EURO BRIEFS

Beckham signing excites Ibrahimovic

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aris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes David Beckham is just the player his side need as they aim to win Ligue 1. The veteran midfielder inked a five-month deal with PSG on deadline day of the transfer window, and Ibrahimovic is confident the 37-year-old will prove to be a success at his new club.

Salako: Zaha can replace Ronaldo

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ormer Crystal Palace midfielder John Salako believes Manchester United recruit Wilfried Zaha could be the replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. United wrapped up a 17-million pound January deal for the services of Zaha, which will see the gifted 20-year-old stay on loan with Palace until the end of the season and then move to Old Trafford.

Juventus players celebrate after scoring a goal during their Serie A match against Torino in Turin.

Anelka tips Juve for Champions League glory

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icolas Anelka says Juventus are capable of winning the Champions League, after joining on a five-month loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua.

The ex-France international made 22 appearances for the Chinese club, where he linked up with former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba, since joining in January 2012.

And he now believes his new side are capable of capturing UEFA’s elite club competition.

“I believe a team like Juventus has the players, mentality and athletic qualities required to (win the Champions League),” the 33-year-old said.

“We’ll give all our strength and energy to bring the trophy home.

“It’s a very difficult competition. When you start out you never know if you’ll be able to win it, but you still need to go for

it all the same.”

The former Chelsea and Bolton centre-back said he was excited to be part of the Juventus “family”, after having the club recommended to him by former France international team-mates.

“I’ve joined a great club with great players,” he said.

“I’m happy to be here and to share these moments with them, and I’m very proud to be able to wear this shirt. “(My former France teammates, such as Lilian Thuram and David Trezeguet) have spoken to me about it (playing at Juventus). They’ve told me it’s a great club and it’s like a family.

“When I arrived, I got that feeling straight away. When I walked into the dressing room, they all gave me a warm welcome and made me feel at home.

“Italian football is renowned all over the world. It’s a league with great players, very physical and combative, as the current table suggests. I’m here to help last year’s Scudetto winners reclaim the title.”

Rooney hands over penalty role to RVP M anchester United striker Wayne Rooney has decided to give up the responsibility of penalty taker, handing the honour to fellow front-man Robin van Persie.

Rooney has surprised Manchester United fans by announcing he will not take another penalty this season, after a conversion rate of 17 goals from 28 attempts from the spot.

The self-assessing striker, who most recently missed a penalty in the FA Cup replay victory against West Ham, has labeled his efforts

Omotosho, Vargas P. 55 undercard clash gets date

from the spot as ‘not good enough’.

“To be honest, it was my choice,” Rooney announced. “At a club like this, to miss two penalties the way I have and not hit the target was not good enough.”

“I went in to speak with the manager and said, ‘I spoke with Robin van Persie and said he can take them.”

Rooney has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks with former United captain Roy Keane saying the miss against West Ham would be the

‘last penalty’ Rooney would take.

Zaha

M’Vila France ban reduced

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idfielder Yann M’Vila may feature at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after his France ban was reduced by four months on appeal. The former Stade Rennais star was initially banned until June 30, 2014, but he will now be available for the national team again from March 1, 2014 after successfully appealing his punishment.

Mancini: United will slip up

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oberto Mancini is adamant Manchester United will slip up as they try to balance their Premier League title charge with the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men enjoy a commanding lead at the top of the table and Mancini is in no mood to give up hope just yet, having seen his team dramatically claw back an eight-point deficit in the final six games of last season.

Rooney

Obisia wants boxing re-positioned P. 55

Mancini

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Sport

Sunday February 3, 2013

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

AFCON 2013 hot shots The group matches of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations which kicked off in South Africa on January 19 has been concluded with eight countries booking their tickets for the quarter-finals stage of the continental show piece. So far, a total of 24 matches were played at the group stage and 49 goals were scored. 15 of the goals scored were from Group D, Group C had 12, while Groups A and B recorded 11 goals respectively. Our correspondent, IFEANYI EDUZOR, takes a look at the top scorers of the competition and those who may likely win the highest goal scorers award.

Gervinho (Cote d’ Ivoire)

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ervais Lombe Yao Kouassi popularly known as Gervinho is an integral part of the Ivorian national team.

The striker who plays for Arsenal has not disappointed his fans as he has already netted two goals at the ongoing AF-

CON 2013. Gervinho who missed a penalty in the shoot-out at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final, which allowed Zambia to win the competition, scored a late volley to give Ivory Coast a 2-1 victory in the first Group D game against Togo in

South Africa 2013. He also scored the first goal in Elephant’s 3-0 trouncing of Carthage Eagles of Tunisia to book a ticket to the quarter- finals of the tournament.

Gervinho is currently gunning for the highest goal scorers’ award in South Africa.

Alain Traore (Burkina Faso)

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ibiri Alain Traore commonly known as Alain Traore is one of the greatest revelations of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations. He scored a total of three goals in this year’s AFCON. The FC Lorient of France striker announced his presence in the championship when he came in as a substitute to score a late equalizer against Ni-

geria and went ahead to score two goals in Burkina Faso’s defeat of Ethiopia in their final Group C encounter. Unfortunately, his recent thigh injury picked up in their last group game against defending champions, Zambia has ruled the Burkinabe talisman out of contention for the highest goal scorer of the tournament.

Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria)

E Mubarak Wakaso (Ghana)

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akaso became a hero for his country after scoring two goals against Cape Verde at the quarter- finals of 2013 AFCON played yesterday, and bringing his total haul to three. The 22year-old midfielder who plays for RCD Espanyol in

Spain scored the first goal against Mali through penalty and repeated the same feet against Cape Verde in the quarter- finals when Asamoah Gyan was brought down in the box by Carlitos and made it two towards the dying minutes of the game.

Yaya Toure (Cote d’ Ivoire)

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negneri Yaya Toure has been instrumental to the good showing of Cote d’Ivoire at the on-going Africa Cup of Nations. The Manchester City midfielder, like his team mate Gervinho has scored two goals so far in the tournament. He first had his name recorded on the score’s chart when he put the Ivoirians ahead with a deflected shot from 12 yards in their encounter with Togo and almost doubled his side’s lead when his fierce drive hit the post. In their second match against Tunisia, he

increased his goal haul to two with a stunning curler

menike who is an important member of the current Super Eagles squad in South Africa has not disappointed at the on-going AFCON 2013. At the end of the group stages, he recorded two goals to his credit. He scored in the first match with Burkina Faso which ended 1-1 and followed it up with another goal in the 1-1 draw with Zambia. The striker who plies his trade with Spartak Moscow of Russia has not allowed his match-fixing investigation affect his performance at AFCON 2013.

into the far corner from 20 yards to ensure his team progresses in the championship.

Victor Moses (Nigeria)

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his Chelsea striker has recorded two goals so far in South Africa. His brace through penalties helped Nigeria qualify for the knock-out stage of the competition.

Moses is a reliable player who is representing his father land for the first time in AFCON. He scored his first spot kick when he was brought down by Ethiopian Alula Mekon-

nen and followed it up with another one when he was brought down on the box by goalkeeper, Bencha Sisay Basa. Moses who has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, opted to play for the Nigerian national team as opposed to being fully capped for England and has justified his inclusion into the Super Eagles.

Siyabonga Sangweni (South Africa)

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his South African defender did what most strikers could not do at AFCON 2013 by recording two goals at the group stage of the competition.

In their second match in Group A against Angola, Sangweni volleyed in at the far post to score Bafana Bafana’s first goal of the tournament which enabled them defeat their opponents 2-0.The Orlando Pirates centreback was also unsung in their last match when he broke Moroccan’s heart with a late equalizer to end the game 2-2 after El Adoua has put the North Africans ahead.

His

equalizer ensures South Africa’s qualification for

the quarter-finals of the biannual event.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

55

Sunday February 3, 2013

Knockout IFEANYI Eduzor with

Eagles battle star-studded Ivorian team Obisia wants boxing 08055829770 ifeduz24@yahoo.com

ANDREW EKEJIUBA

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he Super Eagles of Nigeria will today at the prestigious Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, confront the Elephants of Ivory Coast in one of the quarter-final fixtures of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa.

The explosive encounter is already generating lots of interests among soccer fans in the continent, as the two countries battle for a semi-final slot in the continental showpiece.

Nigeria skipper Joseph Yobo believes they have no added pressure on their shoulders heading into the clash against the Elephants.

“If you put the squad that they have on paper, you can naturally say that we (Nigeria) are the underdogs.

“But football is very different. They (Ivory Coast) lost at the last tournament in the final (against Zambia) and they were favourites there as well.

They have a very strong squad, people might think that we are underdogs, it doesn’t really put us under any pressure, but we know the importance of this game.

“We want to win and qualify for the next stage,” Yobo said.

Also reacting to the epic clash, Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, called for unity among the Eagles against the ambi-

tious Ivoirians and added that his side needs a collective play to overcome the Elephants.

Head coach of the Elephants, Sabri Lamouchi, previewed his side’s quarter final match against the Eagles and acknowledged that his wards are aware they can be surprised by a dangerous Nigeria side that has yet to lose a game in the competition.

“We have no room for error, especially as we confront a good team from Nigeria. The smallest error can cost us dearly,” Lamouchi said.

Former Chelsea and Elephants blistering striker, Salomon Kalou, however revealed that they are confident of victory today.

“There is a sense of col-

lective solidarity among the Ivoirian team and the passion to win runs deep in our minds, which is important.

“Against Nigeria, we have to go and get this win to remain in the competition. It won’t be easy, but we have the players necessary to go and secure this victory on our way to continental glory,” stated Salomon Kalou.

Complimenting his teammate, Didier Drogba said they were not scared of the Eagles despite their formidable status of the past, but would not underrate the team in anyway.

Nigeria have failed to beat the Elephants in their last two AFCON meetings – in the 2008 group stage in Ghana and the 2006 semifinal in Egypt.

Desailly: I want to see creative sparkle

What are your thoughts on the group phase of the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations?

If you compare this AFCON to the last one, you’ll see that standards are levelling out. There are a lot of new faces around. I’m delighted to see Burkina Faso establish themselves and Cape Verde Islands, who’ve achieved great things under a top-class coach (Lucio Antunes). I’m not surprised by Zambia’s elimination because it was always going to be difficult for them to repeat their exceptional team performance at the last AFCON, and they were under pressure to do well.

Nigeria, who didn’t make the finals last time round, have shown with their coach Stephen Keshi that they can’t be ruled out either. Overall, it’s been pretty satisfying although I’d have liked the North African teams to have done better. When you see the standard Egypt have set in recent finals, I was hoping to see one of the Maghreb teams come and show the kind of technical ability the Pharaohs have produced in the past.

Why do you think Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco missed out on the second round?

I think they lacked physical presence, and that stopped them from expressing their tactical and technical qualities. Unfortunately, when you come up against the West African teams you have to be very well prepared in physical terms if you want to win the personal duels. Egypt could take on any team on the continent because they were so technically, tactically and physically accomplished. I think that’s what they need to look for and what they’ll have to find if they’re going to progress in the future.

With the knockout phase of the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations on course, former France captain Marcel Desailly gave his views on the tournament so far to FIFA.com. On duty in South Africa as a media pundit, the Ghana-born Desailly has always been a passionate supporter of African football. While impressed by the progress the African game is making, the man they call The Rock said he is looking to the players to express themselves more. Excerpts: Who have been the big surprises so far?

Cape Verde Islands. They’ve come out of nowhere! South Africa too. I didn’t see them getting past the second round at all. I even felt that if they hadn’t been hosts, they’d have had a hard job qualifying for the tournament.

It’s great to see them doing so well, though. It’s good for the competition.

Are there any players who’ve caught your eye in this first stage of the tournament?

I feel it’s lost a bit of its magic in that respect. The AFCON has come on in lots ways, like the organisation and media coverage, which are now up there

re-positioned F

ormer national boxing coach, Obisia Nwankpa says there is the need for sports administrators to chart a new course for the pugilist game in 2013, in order to avoid the poor results recorded last year.

He told our correspondent, that for the country to record success in the game, experienced boxing technocrats must be allowed to run it as is done in other countries of the world.

“There is the need for sports administrators to put those with experience at the helm of affairs before we can achieve success in boxing

and other sports.

“It is high time we emulate other countries of the world and fellow West African country, Ghana, who allows technocrats to manage their sports which accounted for the number of world champions they have produced of recent,” he advised.

The former African and Commonwealth Super welterweight champion noted that the country has a lot of talented boxers, but inadequate exposure and poor administration is preventing them from making any progress in the sport.

Omotosho, Vargas undercard clash gets date Vargas, 23, who came to the fight between “Top Rank promotional outfit last year A Promotion” Welterweight after leaving the Mayweather prospects, Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso (23-0, 19 Kos) and Jessie Vargas (210, 9 K0s) could be featured as undercard in the Brandon Rios/ Mike Alvarado rematch scheduled for March 30, 2013.

According to a statement from the camps of the two boxers, the fight if finally agreed on will prepare both boxers for greater challenges later in the year.

The statement noted that Omotosho, 27, who signed with “Top Rank” in 2011 and

team are eager to face each other and increase their chances of getting more opponents in future.

“Both fighters have skeptics and supporters, and the matchup would be a proving ground, sort of between two guys hoping to get into the race at 147 pounds this year.

“They are still in the ‘prove it’ stages of their careers, and the fight is important because it will enable them get more opponents in future,” concludes the statement.

Desailly

with other international competitions.

What’s lacking a little bit, though, are the unknown names you used to get breaking through 15 or so years ago.

These days everyone’s already been spotted and most of them are with European clubs. The ones who are playing for local clubs have lost a little bit of that creative sparkle. That’s because they’ve come through training programmes that tend to knock the individuality out of them a bit and they’re coached by people who know the modern game. All I can say is, let’s be crazy.

Let’s dribble with the ball, try a nutmeg in the box, or a Zidane turn. These days you see a lot less tricks.

Côte d’Ivoire have had an exceptional generation but have won nothing.

Do they deserve to pick up a trophy?

I love all the teams but I can’t be sentimental about it – otherwise I’d be saying that Ghana deserves it or that Cameroon should have won it in 2008. It’s not a reward. You’re there to play and that’s what it’s all about.

Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotosho (left) lands a devastating blow on Nestor Ramos before knocking him out in the 6th round.

Donaire named 2012 Fighter of the Year oxing Writers Association of America has named B World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire as the recipient of Sugar Ray Robinson “Fighter of the Year” award for 2012.

Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs) won all four of his world title fights last year, defeating Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce.

He won the last two of his fights last year by knockout, to extend his 11-year winning streak to 30 bouts.

Donaire had already been named the 2012 Fighter of the Year by Yahoo! Sports,

Donaire

ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and many other websites and newspapers.

Meanwhile, WBO President, Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel has congratulated Donaire for the achievement describing him as a great champion.

N I G E R I A

N8.5 Vol. 3 No. 8

Sunday, February 3, 2013

www.nationalmirroronline.net

N150

I N

trn, sum the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, announced as the worth of Foreign Direct Investment to the country.

F I G U R E S

$45.91

bn, amount the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website published as Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves as at January 30.

Clarifying the concept of ethics

Back Page

Comment

E-mail: nwaunah@yahoo.com Unah is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos

with Jim Unah

L

ast week, I had indicated at the conclusion of this column that as the nation braces up to the challenge of introducing and teaching ethics in our schools, care should be taken to ensure that we do not muddle up the concept with what the different religious groups have been feeding their adherents; lest we inadvertently introduce confusion and crisis in the schools, more so now that Nigeria is a multi-religious country.

I had also hinted that in addition to delimiting the scope of ethics to be introduced in the school syllabus and taught to the students, it would be worth the while to decide at which level of instruction the ethical orientation should begin.

Lexicographers define ethics as moral philosophy or moral science devoted to the study of the principles of right or wrong in human actions; and it relates to the moral principles which determine the rightness or wrongness of particular human conduct or set of actions, and is to be distinguished from moral concerns with religious coloration. Yet, all ethical issues are moral issues. However, a dis-

tinction can be made between ethics and morality. While morality is about right or wrong conduct, ethics deals with the yardstick for measuring right and wrong actions. While morality simply labels actions as right or wrong, ethics fashions the evaluative criteria for determining right and wrong actions. Morality is the subject-matter of ethics. Ethics is the normative study or systematic science of moral actions.

In some cases, however, ethics involves the analysis of moral terms and seeks to assign meaning to the sentences of a moralizer. Thus, ethics is not just about right or wrong actions, but stipulates the criteria of evaluation that ultimately promotes human conduct. It is the systematic study of the fundamental principles of the moral law; as decided by man’s rational and social natures. It is only because man is a rational being who finds himself living with other human beings in society that ethical questions can arise, in the first instance. Were man in a Robinson Crusoe situation – an isolated being on an island – no ethical question can arise. Outside the community of “homo sapiens” there could be no right or wrong actions and, by extension, there could have been no need to stipulate the criteria to determine right and wrong actions. Actions are right or wrong only because human thinking and social habits make them so.

Were Almighty God to wake up one

morning – if He sleeps at – to decree that stealing or adultery or the killing of defenseless persons is morally right, human thought, nature and social habit would rebel against it. I n ancient Israel where God was alleged to have ordered the killing of everybody in Amalek, Saul, the then King of Israel took the liberty to spare defenseless people – pregnant women, children, weak and aged people, and even healthy looking animals. Prophet Samuel condemned the King’s action; insisting that obedience to irrational command allegedly issued by Yaweh – God of the Jews – was of paramount importance. Today, both King Saul and International Conventions have pronounced the alleged command of Yaweh – irrational destruction of animals, and the killing of defenseless people in battles -- as “war crimes”.

Morality, true morality, springs fundamentally from man’s rational nature and social habits; not from religiously inspired commands. Over the centuries, religions have spurn commands that were utterly condemned by reason because they degraded human nature.

Each time such irrational commands are issued, man’s higher rational moral nature rises to the occasion. Man’s higher rational moral nature is superior to religious commands, and always rises in defense of the truly ethical, the universally acknowledged moral principles. It is this higher universal moral principle which

AFCON: Mark urges Eagles to crush Elephants GEORGE OJI ABUJA

S

enate President, David Mark, has charged the Super Eagles of Nigeria not to leave anything to chance by ensuring outright victory in their quarter final clash against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire today, at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa.

According to Senator Mark, the Eagles have all it takes to overwhelm their Ivorian counterparts and sail to victory.

Speaking at the tee-off of the 2nd edition of Pa Aikwuta Mark Memorial Pro-am Golf Tournament in honour of his

late father in Otukpo, Benue State, yesterday, the Senate President called for team spirit among the players during the crucial encounter.

He reminded the players that Nigerians had fasted and prayed for the Super Eagles’ victory against arch-rivals, Cote d’Ivoire.

“All that is left for the players is to do their own part of the game and put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.

“They should approach the game with all seriousness and prove to the entire soccer fans on the continent that our status as one of the power houses of African football is not a mere fluke,” Mark said.

He further urged the Ea-

gles and their handlers to do all that is needed to bring the trophy to Nigeria.

“You can see that Nigerians love soccer and I don’t know of any other thing that truly unites Nigerians.

“For example, any time we are playing, it is Nigeria and Nigeria alone that our fans have in their minds. They all want the country to triumph, no matter the quality of opposition. That is the uniting spirit we all crave for in our dear nation.

“Therefore, the Eagles are the medium to actualise this unity and we must all support them in prayers to succeed too,” the Senate President said.

springs from man’s rational and social nature that creates and judges religions.

Likewise, man’s higher rational ethical nature is the source and judge of human positive laws. Positive laws in some nation states where the lawmakers are self-serving and scoundrels have a tendency to emasculate the average person.

It is only an appeal to man’s higher rational moral nature that such whimsical and capricious laws are condemned and abrogated. Unjust and immoral laws, such as the former Apartheid, segregation, laws of South Africa issue from man’s whimsical and capricious nature.

Thus, whenever human positive laws turn out to be wicked and suffocating, man’s higher rational ethical nature is always invoked to the rescue.

All good laws and good religions are accretions of man’s higher rational moral nature. Since religions and laws have failed Nigerians, the imperative is to invoke man’s higher rational ethical nature to rescue the people from perdition. The place to begin this rescue mission is not just the secondary schools, but the homes and the kindergarten through the secondary and tertiary schools down to the leadership where the moral rot requires a powerful antiseptic to disinfect; if we want enduring moral lessons to take root.

As Theodore Roosevelt said, “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society”.

AFCON QUARTER-FINAL RESULT Ghana 2-0 Cape Verde

AFCON QUARTER-FINAL FIXTURES Today’s Matches Cote d’Ivoire v Nigeria 17:00 Burkina Faso v Togo 20:30

PREMIERSHIP RESULTS QPR 0-0 Norwich Arsenal 1-0 Stoke Everton 3-3 Aston Villa Newcastle 3-2 Chelsea Reading 2-1 Sunderland West Ham 1-0 Swansea Wigan 2-2 Southampton

PREMIERSHIP FIXTURES Today’s Matches West Brom v Tottenham 13:30 Man City v Liverpool 16:00

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