Sunday, September 23, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Big Read News

THE

P. 3-6

ETHNIC MINORITIES

ONDO GOVERNORSHIP POLL

Mimiko’s tenure, a waste –Ondo Liberation Movement

How they are marginalised

P. 8

www.nationalmirroronline.net

Vol. 2 No. 41

N150

Sunday, September 23, 2012

MINISTER vs ARIK

FG wades into face-off Oduah: Arik owes N85.4bn Airline: Debt is no big deal ...resumes operations today

P. 7

Kerosene scarcity hits Lagos, residents switch to charcoal

P. 9 Oduah

RAGE AGAINST UNCOMPLIMENTARY FILM

Women protesters.

Protesters with US President Barack Obama’s effigy in Kano, yesterday.

Flood ravages Northern states 19 killed in Kano 50 die in Zamfara

P. 10, 12

Houses submerged in Kogi, Benue

Protesters trampling on Israel’s flag.

Anti-Islam film

Protest rocks Kano

Demonstrators burn Obama’s effigy P. 8

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

What’s new Interview

Seven Days TALKING POINT OF THE PAST WEEK SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Applause

I’m not a wife, not Mrs to anybody ...what I owe myself is to be happy –Tina Mba

Tina Mba, an actress and a single mother, had two children out of wedlock. Without equivocation, she says, “Well first of all, I’m not a wife. I’m not a Mrs to anybody.” Although not married, Tina tells Adaeze Amos in this interview why some marriages crash.

Wellness

N5,000 note: FG fires back

new N5,000 note, pending when investigation by the lawmakers were concluded on the new monetary policy. Maku said that the heated debate and opinions being expressed about the introduction of N5,000 note were unnecessary as the CBN was entrusted by law to manage the country’s monetary policies. “I believe we should allow CBN to have leadership on this issue. This is not an opinion poll debate but a technical matter and the heated debate will not help in the management of our economy,” he said.

The Federal Government fired back at the National Assembly, saying that it would not stop the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, from the planned introduction of N5,000 note into the Nigerian economy. The two chambers of the National Assembly had on Tuesday passed resolutions urging President Goodluck Jonathan and Lamido to suspend actions on the issuance of

JTF kills Boko Haram leader, arrests two others

The Joint Security Task Force, JTF, in Kano State on Monday killed one person suspected to be a “top member of a terrorist group” and arrested two others during an early morning operation. The arrest came on the heels of the killing of 19 people in Maiduguri, Bad breath is indeed a major Borno State, and Bauchi, problem for those that suffer in Bauchi State. The JTF it. It breeds loss of confidence Spokesman, Lt. Ikedichi and self esteem for the person Iweha, who confirmed the who realises he has bad to newsmen, said WE HAVE DEPLOYED D 20incident BUSES SO FAR –MASSOB breath. the operation was car-

Common causes of Bad breath: most miscarriages Causes, prevention

ried out in Hotoro area in Kano metropolis. “During the early morning operation, one member of the terrorist group was killed and two other members were arrested,” Iweha said. However, the information that spread within the Kano metropolis had it that the dead kingpin is the spokesman of the Boko Haram sect, Abu Qaqa, but this could not be confirmed by 4 Iweha.

of offenders. Particularly, he said in Abuja, there are certain categories of people who are supposed to use siren. You know that Mr. President, the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker, the Deputy Senate President, the Deputy Speaker and the state governors, the service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police, the General Officers Commanding (GOCs), the Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police.

Otunba Fatai-Okukoga SPECIAL ADVISER TO THE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE ON EDUCATION

MON

Sanusi at a crossroads

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, yesterday gave a marching order to commissioners of Police nationwide to begin the arrest of abusers of the siren. The order came as officers and men who investigated the murder of Miss Cynthia Osokogu in Lagos recently were rewarded by the Police. Abubakar expressed concern over indiscriminate use of siren in the country and directed all Police commands to begin the arrest

Monday usually is my EXCO day where all the Commissioners and Special Advisers meet with the Governor to discuss some issues. They look at things from various angles as to how to run the state. There everybody makes his input or contributions on the development of Lagos.

TUE

N5,000 note:

IGP gives marching order on abuse of siren

On Tuesday, usually, I would first of all hold the management meeting with my staff to see how they are doing. We review activities for the week. Thereafter, we continue our normal job. Ideally, I look at my mails and file. I don’t allow files to stay till the second day. Within 24 hours, I will treat them, except where I need more information that would take time. I do all my mails. I can also attend meetings here and there wherever I’m invited.

WED

of policemen to take over the ground where the fuel subsidy rally was held. He described this as a violation of the right of the people, as provided by the constitution and affirmed by the court. Soyinka insisted that Nigerians have the right to gather and protest, warning that there should not be any future attempt to stop them.

My Wednesday is almost same as Tuesday. I look at my files, I check my mails and then I attend meetings, where necessary.

THU

Politics

ministration of National Mirror moves to the position of General Manager, Operations of Newswatch Newspapers, while Mrs. Bimbo Ogunlesi will head the Procurement department. Mr. Demola Abimboye is the new General Manager, Editorial and Editor of Newswatch Magazine while Mr. Bankole Makinde retains his position as the General Manager, Operations of Newswatch Magazine. Miss Abosede Fadayomi is the Head of Procurement of the magazine. Dr. Ibrahim also confirmed the appointment of Mr. Moses Jolayemi as the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Newspapers.

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has come hard on President Goodluck Jonathan for labeling the fuel subsidy protest in Lagos as sponsored. In a statement at the weekend, Soyinka said Jonathan is cut off from the people and therefore does not know how they feel. He accused the president of intolerance, which he said, manifested following the deployment

This is actually for visitors including Wednesdays as well. This starts between 12 and 4 p.m. I attend to visitors, see what they need, try to resolve some of the problems they bring. From there, even if I need to call people in who want to submit proposals and ideas, we look at them. I would call appropriate officers and department that is involved. If I need to go outside my own ministry, I do so.

SAT FRI

Dr Tunji Braithwaite, a Lagos-based lawyer, politician and human rights activist, turned 79 last Monday. In this interview with Ayo Esan, he speaks about his early life, career and issues that affect the nation. Excerpts:

The Publisher and Executive Chairman of Newswatch Communications Limited, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR, has announced new appointments as part of the ongoing restructuring of the premier news magazine, Newswatch and its new publication, Newswatch Daily Newspapers. In the new appointments announced on Wednesday, Dr. Bolu John Folayan, becomes the new Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Magazine while Mr. Femi Ige, former Chief Operating Officer of the magazine, becomes Executive Director of the newspapers. Mrs. Lara Alabi currently the Head of Ad-

Soyinka replies Jonathan on fuel subsidy protest

SUN

1999 Constitution a disgrace, prescription for anarchy –Braithwaite

New appointments at Newswatch

My Fridays are almost the same as Thursdays. If I need to go for inspections, I do so. Thereafter, I attend one or two parties with friends. I usually have my prayers in the morning. I’m a Muslim. After that, if I have places to go, I’ll do. But the evenings must be spent bearing my Monday in mind. I have to read and be fully ready for my meeting on Monday. *By Adaeze Amos (0802 301 2293)

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE

Big Read SUNDAY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

September 23, 2012

National Assembly Complex, Abuja. Inset: Joint session of the parliament.

ETHNIC MINORITIES

How they are marginalised The burning issue of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) has thrown up the question of true representation in Nigeria. While members of the National Assembly from a particular state enjoy the mandate of indigenes and residents of the state, they may not fully represent all the ethnic groups that make up the state. So, who represents the multi-ethnic nationalities in the country? Do they have a say in the affairs of the nation? These are the focus of this report by Head, Special Investigations, Isioma Madike

or peace to reign in the polity, Nigeria’s dwindling lot of activists have said the country should have a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), but those opposed to the idea argue that sovereignty resides with the people as represented by the National Assembly. To them, the National Assembly is doing its bit to ensure that the constitution is amended to reflect the aspirations of all Nigerians. But, the question is; is the

National Assembly truly representative of the various ethnic groups in the country? Over the last two decades, there has been unceasing calls for the convocation of a fully representative Conference to resolve, as it were, the nation’s myriad of problems and to redefine the modalities for the peaceful coexistence of the multi-ethnic nationalities in the country. The call has dominated national discourse of

NOT ALL ETHNIC GROUPS CAN BE REPRESENTED –LAWMAKER

late, especially with recent exercises of the right to selfdetermination and declaration of sovereignty by some ethnic nationalities. One basic fact of the Nigerian State is its composition by multi-ethnic nationalities. Interestingly however, no one has been able to tell the exact number of Nigeria’s multi-ethnic groups. Many often speak of the ethnic tripod consisting of the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo while the others are generally referred to as minority ethnic groups. It is claimed that the minority ethnic groups constitute a dominant majority if it were possible for them to assert political power together outside the territorial enclave of each minority ethnic group. In the absence of an agreed actual number of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, people often resort to describing Nigeria as made up of “over 250 ethnic groups”. No authentic proof to this has ever CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

NIGERIA HAS 102 ETHNIC NATIONALITIES NOT 250 – PROF. OGUNDOWOLE

The Big Read

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Most ethnic groups have no voice at local, state or national level’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 been offered. Incidentally, there have arguments whether or not these ethnic nationalities are truly represented either at the state or national level. Some have even gone further to state that many of these groups are not also represented at the local level. This is to be expected. The ethnicity of Nigeria is as varied as the boundaries of the country. They were drawn to serve commercial interests by the British colonialists, largely without regard for the territorial claims of the indigenous peoples. This, many believe, contributes to the country’s unity being consistently under siege. Observers have often insisted that the myriad of problems facing the country are a direct result of the lopsidedness of representation at the National Assembly, which was a creation of the 1999 constitution. The document, others say, is the bedrock of the present democratic dispensation. Incidentally, the constitution, according to critics, was imposed on the people by the military without any input from their representatives. Yet, Senate President, David Mark, has difficulties rationalising this assertion. To him, the National Assembly has representatives from all over Nigeria, with the sole mandate to redirect the future of the country via the peoples’ aspirations within the purview of the constitution. But the argument has been punctured. Leonard Karshima Shilgba, an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria, Yola in Adamawa State, who is the Chairman of the Middle Belt Alliance (MBA), has a different view. Shilgba says most of these ethnic groups usually do not have a political voice. “They, therefore, often consider themselves discriminated against, neglected, or oppressed,” he said. The professor cites the case of Etulo people in Benue State to buttress his point. He said the Etulo ethnic group faces the threat of extinction, not because they are subsumed within a Tiv-dominated local government area, Katsina-Ala, but because “they have no voice at the local, state, or national level. There are many such ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. I am a Tiv man, but it is saddening to see a situation such as I have described. If members of Nigeria’s National Assembly claim that they are the only ones that can approve or write a new constitution for Nigeria, what about representatives of ethnic groups such as the Etulo?” he asked. Shilgba stated in clear terms that the people of Nigeria do not derive their powers from the National Assembly. Rather, he said, “the National Assembly exists by our grace. When we talk of the people, technology has afforded us a simple way of gauging the mood and mind of the people. Our social network sites and the numerous responsive comments made by Nigerians on websites of our newspapers provide clear evidence that the Nigerian people do not have confidence in the ability of the National Assembly to lead in the efforts towards national renewal or rebirth. With more than 112 million Nigerians reportedly living below the poverty line and the ineluctable continued state of insecurity in Nigeria, the National Assembly should be careful about their continued resistance to Nigerian people sitting and talking about methods and principles of forging a more perfect union. Legislators should not mortgage the future of Nigeria on the altar of their limited mandate and selfishness.” Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida has thrown a twist to the ethnicity saga. He said that the computation of Nigerian ethnic nationalities has provided a total number of 389 ethnic groups in the country. Interestingly, the majority ethnic groups, he said, predominate in only three core areas, the NorthWest and part of North-East zones and the South-West

Mark

Tambuwal

Babalola

Babangida

and South-East zones. According to him, the ethnographic survey has thus assigned as many as 80 nationalities to Adamawa State, 50 to Bauchi State, 52 to Plateau State, 39 to Taraba State, 32 to Kaduna State, 30 to Cross-River State, 25 to Nasarawa State, 22 to Niger State, 23 to Borno State and 19 to Kebbi State. The other states range between four in Kwara and Bayelsa and 17 in Gombe. However, Babangida said the existence of multiple ethnic nationalities does not by itself constitute a problem or an issue with political consequences. Rather, it is, according to him, in the process of social change that the interest of ethnic groups becomes elevated to the political realm. “In fact, contemporary development in Nigeria appears to have elevated ethnic nationalities into the cornerstone of social and political organisations,” he remarked. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Afe Babalola, has gone a step further to highlight what he calls the lopsidedness of the 1999 constitution. He believes that the constitution has failed to meet the aspirations of the various ethnic groups that make up the country. To him, the SNC would afford these nationalities a platform to sit together to fashion out

a workable constitution. “This way, all the imbalances inherent in the current constitutional framework would be addressed. It is impossible for the major ethnic groups to unilaterally determine all matters affecting all other minorities and interests groups,” Babalola said. Yet, those who opposed the call for SNC have their argument. The believe that the National Assembly, comprising of elected representative of the people is truly representative of the ethnic composition in the country and is thus qualified to amend the constitution. In their reckoning, the parliament already represents the same ethnic nationalities and interests groups, which would be required to be represented at the conference. They are also quick to refer to the series of amendments made to the constitution by the National Assembly in 2011 to drive home their points. Badamosi Ayuba, who represents Dambatta/Makoda Federal constituency of Kano State, on the platform of the All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP) in the current House of Representatives, believes Nigeria is a functional state despite all challenges even as he sees the SNC as not the solution to what the country needs. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The Big Read

Sunday, September 23, 2012

There is often this claim that Nigeria has about 250 ethnic groups. Is there any empirical evidence to prove this? The lack of certainty and consistency in the figures that government officials in Nigeria give as the number of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria confirm the lack of seriousness that is given to the business of governance in Nigeria. If the government does not have reliable figures about the number of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, how then can government plan in such a way that justice is done to all those nationalities? We have a National Population Commission (NPC); does it have the figures? I would say that we have a government that thrives on presumptions. We presume our population, or should I say politicise it? We cannot continue like this. A situation where we assume figures, assume needs, assume quality and so on, is not right. A minister wakes up and claims Nigeria needs such and such amount of money to have stable power supply; another says by 2020 or 2025 all Nigerians shall have adequate water supply. Yet, another would say, Nigeria needs such and such billions of dollars to build all federal roads. And I wonder, on what studies or empirical data are such proclamations based? It has also been argued that the National Assembly does not represent most of these relatively unknown ethnic groups. How best, in your opinion, can they be better represented? I agree that the National Assembly does not represent all Nigerians. On what basis are the federal constituencies, senatorial districts, and even states formed? Section 49 of the 1999 constitution provides for 360 Federal Representatives, each representing a federal constituency, which should be created with “nearly equal population as far as possible.” The assumption, again, is that each ethnic nationality shall be represented by such an arrangement. Who represents the conglomeration of ethnic nationalities in Southern Kaduna, for instance, and how many federal constituencies do we have in that region? Who represents the Etulo people in both the Benue House of Assembly and at the federal level? Is it a deliberate policy of the Nigerian government to make the number of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria fluid and un-

It’s time to stop the oppression of the Nigerian people –Shilgba Leonard Shilgba, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the American University of Nigeria, and President, Nigeria Rally Movement. He says, in this interview with Isioma Madike, that the making of a document of co-existence is the responsibility, not of the legislators, but that of the people.

A SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE (SNC) IS THE ONLY SAVING GRACE FOR

NIGERIA.

THE PRESENT

LEGISLATURE AS EMPOWERED BY THE EXTANT CONSTITUTION LACKS THE COURAGE AND SELFLESSNESS REQUIRED TO BUILD A NATION either state or “constituencies”. The real constituencies are the ethnic groups in Nigeria, however small they may be.

Shilgba

certain? According to section 48 of the Nigerian constitution, three senators shall come from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). So, presently, we have 469 “representatives” of the Nigerian people at the federal level. Out of those people, how many come from the Big Three--Hausa/Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba? Then, how many positions are left to be shared by the remaining “247” or more ethnic nationalities? I would rather say that representations be based on ethnic nationalities and not on

Some also have argued that because the National Assembly is lopsided in representing all ethnic nationalities in the country, the convocation of Sovereign National Conference is inevitable. What is your view on this? My position is as constant as change. Convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) is the only saving grace for Nigeria. The present legislature as empowered by the extant constitution lacks the courage and selflessness required to build a nation. It is impossible for it to address the imbalance in representation of ethnic nationalities in almost all areas of national engagement. The making of a document of

co-existence (the constitution) is the responsibility, not of the legislators, but that of the people; the National Assembly puts the icing on the cake, but the baking of that cake is the responsibility of the people through a sovereign national conference, whose outcome shall be legitimised by a national referendum, and consolidated in the form of a constitution. A sovereign national conference shall determine three important things: One, how do we represent the interests of each nation in Nigeria? Two, what should be the minimal contribution of each nation in Nigeria to the common cause; and three, how do we organise our politics and economics in such a way that no nation is exploited by another. In one of your presentations on ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, you cited the case of Etulo people. Is it possible to have similar examples in other regions? 1 am not an Etulo man; I am proudly of the courageous Tiv nation. But, I take exception to a situation where people like the Etulos have no representation at any meaningful level. Yes, there are many such groups, and they are very many in the Middle Belt region, from Gwoza chiefdom in Borno to Adamawa State; from Southern Kebbi to Southern Kaduna; from Southern Gombe and Bauchi State, we have such examples. It is time to stop the oppression of the Nigerian people, whether of the majority by the minority or of the minority by the majority. The future of Nigeria shall be determined largely by the collaboration of the Middle Belt people and the South-South people (the two largest “minority” groups) in forging a better union and in their engagement with the big three.

Not all ethnic groups can be represented –Lawmaker CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 “Currently, we have a running presidential system in Nigeria, which recognises the office of the President as head of the executive arm and that of the National Assembly as the law-making organ and representatives of the people. If anybody is calling for SNC possibly to discuss our togetherness as a nation, then what becomes of our role as a parliament? What shall we be doing? My advice for Nigerians is to follow the 1999 constitution religiously and if they have any grievances let them come forward and we at the National Assembly will give such robust debate through public hearing,” he assured. There are about 360 members of the House of Representative at the moment

while each state is represented by three Senators making a total of 109 inclusive of a single Senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Yet, the number of Representatives and Senators do not necessarily represent or correspond with the number of ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. While the number of Senators per state is pegged at three, that of the House from each state is determined mainly by population of the individual states. The effect is that members of the National Assembly from a particular state, while enjoying the mandate of indigenes and residents of the state may not fully represent all the ethnic groups that make up the state. Furthermore, it is often doubtful if the National Assembly as currently constituted can make the far reaching deliberations and decisions,

which are required to address the lopsidedness inherent in the 1999 constitution. Indeed, the fact that non-indigenes of a state have the right to vote in National Assembly elections shows that the idea of representation as conceptualised under the proposal for the convocation of the National Conference differs substantially from the representation provided by the existence of the National Assembly. Even the erudite lawyer, Babalola, believes that the National Assembly, as currently constituted cannot be regarded as fully representative of this potpourri of nationalities and identities that make up Nigeria. But, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representative disagrees with that CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Abatemi-Usman

The Big Read

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria has 102 ethnic nationalities, not 250 –Prof. Ogundowole Professor Ezekiel Ogundowole lectures Ethnography in the Philosophy Department, University of Lagos. In this interview with Onukwube Ofoelue, he explains that there are not as many ethnic groups in Nigeria as has always been believed, among other things. People often talk about 250 ethnic groups in the country. How true could this be? During the conference that Pro-national Conference Organisation (PRONACO), convened to review the constitution, the technical committee established that there are only 102 or 101 ethnic groups in Nigeria. That is even when some of the known ethnic groups were split into three, four or even five. Nevertheless, it came to only 101, 102 and not 250. The 250 must have been based on early survey made by foreigners who followed the activities of the colonial interlopers in Africa, trying to study the activities of the people without sufficient understanding of the old world. Don’t forget that at the early beginning, the Yorubas did not have one common awarenessnow they have the Ekiti, Ijesha, the Oyo, the Egba and so on and so forth. So, what we really need to do is to get experts from practicing linguists, philologists, physical anthropologists, and philosophers to carry out a survey to know how many ethnic groups are there in Nigeria. We can’t rely only on one discipline. Linguists cannot do this job alone; they can only come out with more exaggerations. Philologists have to intervene. We need really to carry it out. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 position, saying that the matter may not be as simple as it is made to appear. He said that the National Assembly came about because the peoples’ sovereignty was relinquished to their elected representatives for the common good of all. “It may never be possible to have every ethnic nationality represented in a parliament. But, there is a common ground; what is referred to as a fair representation, which takes care of all the peoples’ aspirations no matter where such a person resides. The argument has always been that the SNC will address all the problems that the country has. It’s not always as easy as that. Don’t forget that in the SNC they are talking about, everybody would not be there; there would be representations too, something similar to what we have in the National Assembly presently. What I am saying in effect is that the country’s constitution has helped to transfer the peoples’ sovereignty to the parliament. The same people have been working and still working to see that the country is a better place for us all. And if I may ask: where are these 250 ethnic nationalities we often talk about? To me, it’s more of a nebulous thing,” he said. Another principal member of the House of Representatives and its Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere Constituency, Lagos, tend to differ with his college when he admitted that so many national issues can be freely and frankly discussed during a well constituted Sovereign National Conference. “I subscribe to a SNC”, he told Sunday Mirror on telephone. There have been concerns that the National Assembly represents only about 20 or 30 percent of Nigerians, hence the need for an all-inclusive national conference of all ethnic nationalities in the country.

When you look at Cross River and Akwa Ibom, they understand one another and yet, they say they are different. They can come out with any number. So, what we need to do is to concertise this number. A very good survey has been carried out by Pronaco technical committee at that time, and this will help in streamlining the number of ethnic groups. Politicians can come up and say there are 600, so that you begin to wonder whether Nigeria is going to split into 600 mushroom states. Would you say that these 102 ethnic groups are well represented in the National Assembly? No, it’s not possible, because of the nature of the amalgam. The amalgam Nigeria is grafted on a number of national groups, and some of these nations are split into two, three, merging with other countries. For instance, Kanuri land is split into four; some of them in the North-East of Nigeria, North-West of Cameroon, and South-East of Niger Republic. We also have Yoruba in Nigeria, Benin Republic and Togo. This shows that people have cut across. Criss-cross method of grafting states in Nigeria followed that colonial pattern. You see states being created not based on ethnic groups or identities but you creates, merging Tamaton from Gbagi, may be from Fulani or Hausa. You merge them in one state and call it a name as you like. Most of the time, the name of states in Nigeria are gotten from Fauna and Flora. They avoid naming them against a people whom that state is created for, principally because they are aware that multi-groups are there in such state. Apart from Ekiti State, or maybe Bayelsa that is purely Ijaw, even Benue has Tiv and Idoma there. We are

talking about indigenous, autochthonous people. That could be possible as a method of creating states. All nationalities should be represented at the national assembly and senate. With the kind of House we have now, it would have been a different thing if it were House of Representatives and then, chamber of nationalities where each ethnic group will be having equal representation. Instead of the Senate as we have it, we will have Chamber of Nationalities. Ijaws will be there having the same as the Igbos, Yorubas, even the Higgis. Higgis happen to be the smallest group in Nigeria. The main town of Higgis is Michika, North-East of Nigeria. They will have the same representation even, like Kamaton, Berom, and Bashama, Mergi; everybody will have equal representation in the chamber, then we know that every national is represented. But as we have it now, no, even where they have the Senate committees, House of Representative, gubernatorial, and so on, there will be some group there who will not be represented. We are talking about the game of figures, with the kind of activities the people have, and kind of politics we keep playing in Nigeria will make some people not to be represented. So, not every nationality is represented in the structure we have now. Could the Sovereign National Conference be a way out of the problem of unequal representation? Certainly! That is why people devoted time and money in conducting the people’s conference. Pa Enahoro at his age was presiding over this people’s conference at that time, because they realised that the only way to make a better Nigeria is t allow every national group to have a say in what is happening in the country.

‘Ethnic groups need autonomy’

Ekwueme

Gbajabiamila, who expressed readiness for such a conference said there is nothing unusual about it despite the existence of the two chambers legislature. According to him, a SNC will ensure that the voices of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the country are heard and such people well represented in the scheme of things. In like manner, former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme had, within the week drummed support for ethnic autonomy, which he believes would give everyone a sense of belonging in the country. But, instead of applause, Ekwueme’s pronouncements drew criticisms from those who viewed his comments as a contradiction. For instance, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West,

Gbajabiamila

while reacting to the elder statesman’s comments, described it as ‘disappointing and disastrous.” “It is cowardly way of saying, let us break Nigeria. We can’t divide Nigeria into over 200 ethnic parts that make up the country and still say that the country exists. Rather, we should talk about ethnic integration and cooperation. We have over 200 ethnic units in Nigeria. Anyone, who is talking in support of ethnic autonomy and then turns around and talks about the integrity of the Nigerian nation, is contradicting himself. It is a contradiction,” David-West said.

David-West

cultural values. These common factors are emphasized by frequent interaction between the people in the group. The count of 250 ethnic groups overwhelmingly eliminates ethnic minority groups that do not comprise a majority in the region in which they live. The largest ethnic groups are the Fulani/Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, accounting for 68 percent of population while the Edo, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio, Ebira, Nupe and Tiv comprise 27 percent; other minorities make up the remaining seven percent. The middle belt of Nigeria is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Pyem, Goemai, and Kofyar.

About ethnicity An ethnic group is a group of people having a common language and

Additional report Ajayi (Abuja)

from

Omeiza

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L ANRE OYETADE (GENERAL EDITOR), OLUSEGUN KOIKI (AVIATION CORRESPONDENT, L AGOS) AND TITUS OMEZIA (ABUJA)

NEWS

Sunday September 23, 2012

Minister vs Arik: FG wades into face-off • Oduah: Arik owes N85.4bn •Airline: Debt is no big deal

he Federal Government yesterday intervened in the face- off between the aviation ministry and Arik Air leading to the lifting of the ban placed on the airline. The clearance of the airline came after hours of a parley between the airline and aviation agencies, which was at the instance of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. “We are pleased to announce that Arik Air can now resume operations,” the government stated. Earlier before the resolution, the minister had revealed that the airline owed N85.4bn. Oduah, who spoke through her Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Joe Obi, said Arik Air is groaning from a crippling N85.4 billion debt, just as she described as laughable and diversionary, the allegation that she had sought a five per cent equity in the airline. In a statement issued by Obi, the minister said she never considered acquiring a stake in any of the airlines in the country not to talk of Arik Air, advising the airline to change its business module that ‘thrives’ on unprecedented accumulation of debts and liabilities, if it wanted to remain in business. “The futile attempt to impugn the integrity of the Aviation Minister by inferring a conflict of interest against her is at best diversionary. It should be obvious to the management of Arik Air that blackmail is not a panacea for a floundering enterprise. ” The full statement reads: “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, OON, has been drawn to a fabrication credited to the Management of Arik Airlines, to the effect that the Minister demanded a five per cent equity holding in the airline. The story alleged a Ministry of Aviation hostility against Arik on account of the so-called equity demand that it claimed to have turned down! “The first impulse is to totally ignore this groundless falsehood. Except that it will send the wrong signals to the general public. Therefore, the sole intent

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio (right) in a handshake with Vice-President Namadi Sambo during the meeting of the South-South and South-East Ummah in the state. With them is House of Representatives Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal (left).

of this release is to put the records straight. “The five per cent equity story is without any foundation whatsoever. It is absurd, malicious and ultimately laughable. The Honorable Minister of Aviation could not have contemplated acquiring a stake in any airline, let alone Arik Air that is groaning from a crippling N85.4 billion debt overhang. “The time is ripe for Arik Air to change its

business module that ‘thrives’ on unprecedented accumulation of debts and liabilities. The futile attempt to impugn the integrity of the Aviation Minister by inferring a conflict of interest against her is at best diversionary. It should be obvious to the management of Arik Air that blackmail is not a panacea for a floundering enterprise. “The Honourable Minister of Aviation has directed her lawyers to seek

legal redress for this malicious allegation by Arik Air.” Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Anyim, and attended by Chairmen of the Aviation Committees of the National Assembly, Minister of Aviation, Stella Odua, Chief Arthur Eze and the Management of Arik Air. The meeting lasted for about two hours. A statement from the office of the SGF said all issues in contention had

Oduah: Tenure mired in controversies Analysis Princess Stella Oduah arrival into the Nigerian aviation industry was with protests and rejection spearheaded by the in-house unions, which crippled the entire sector. Before her appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan in July 2011, professionals and stakeholders in the sector had craved for appointment of an aviation professional as the minister in the sector, just like in health, law, education and other professional bodies in the country. The unions, led by the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the National Association of Aircraft Engineers and Pilots (NAAPE), had threatened to ground the industry to a halt if a professional was not appointed by Mr. President. Despite these threats from professionals and stakeholders alike in the

sub-sector, President Jonathan went ahead to appoint a former junior minister (she was before then the Minister of State for Transport) at the helms of aviation. Immediately after her appointment, unions expressed disappointment in Jonathan for appointing a non-aviation professional as a minister once again in the sector. The leadership of NAAPE led by Engr. Isaac Balami, stated categorically that the new minister was not welcome by professionals and stakeholders in the sector. Also, ATSSSAN President, Comrade Benjamin Okewu, said that her appointment would further take the industry back to square one and described the appointment as a big shame. Okewu added that the unions had been engaging in constructive criticisms towards the development of the aviation sub-sector, but decried that with the appointment of Oduah as

aviation minister, the industry may either be stagnant or depreciate from the present level. However, like her predecessors, Oduah began on a right footing with a series of stern measures to protect the Nigerian flying public from exploitation from foreign carriers. One of such dogged fights was against the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, which were accused of engaging in regional imbalance fares against their Nigerian clients. After a series of accusations from both parties, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) found the carriers wanting and were sanctioned with $235 million fine to be paid back to their Nigerian clients and travel agencies. Although, the carriers contested the sanction, that singular measure showed that Nigeria could no longer be taken for a ride by foreign carriers and investors. CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

been discussed and resolved. “A road map for the smooth working together of both parties were also agreed upon”, the statement added, appealing to both parties to eschew every provocation that may have arisen as a result of what it said was an “unfortunate misunderstanding.” The statement, which was signed by the SGF, also added that “all the exchange of accusations and allegations are vitiated and so of no consequence. “On behalf of the Ministry of Aviation and the Management of Arik Air, we apologise to all travellers for the inconveniencies this unfortunate misunderstanding may have caused them.” The airline, which promised to resume flight operations today, however expressed surprise at the declaration of the Central Bank of Nigeria not to grant it loans any longer due to its massive debts, saying the amount of debt involved was not enough for the apex bank’s decision. Addressing journalists yesterday evening at its corporate headquarters at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, the Managing Director said that, after a long hour meeting with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the airline had decided to return to flight operations. Ndulue insisted that the airline was not indebted to any of the agencies as claimed by the unions, stressing that all the entangled issues were resolved at the meeting. He explained further that it was resolved that another meeting would be convened in the next two weeks to further resolve the issues and said that there was no cause for the furore generated by their closure in the first place. He said, “We did not discuss anything extra. We didn’t go there to make payment plans. We insisted that we’ve been paying and we will continue to do so. It was a high-level meeting. No nitty-gritty and we both agreed that there was no real problem.” On the barring of the airline and Aero from accessing loans in banks due to massive debts, Ndulue

described the debt as no big deal, adding that it was impossible for an airline in the class of Arik not to owe anybody with its fleet size, saying that any airline operator with 23 aircraft and without any debts should be in jail. He expressed surprise at the decision of the apex bank to bar it from accessing loans, saying that Nigeria was yet to fully understand how aviation works at the global level. He insisted that all the loans owed by the airline came from foreign banks, adding that, they were only guaranteed by Nigerian banks. He said, “I’m even surprised that we owed so little. You can’t have an airline of this size and you don’t have debts. We are yet to know how aviation moves in this country. If you have these airplanes, 23 in all, flying and you don’t owe anybody, you should be in jail. “If they say we can’t have access to loans again, let’s see how it goes. The total debt is the size of three wide body aircraft,” he said. He, however, declined to comment on the loss the airline incurred during the disruptions to its flights. Arik had suspended indefinitely all its domestic operations after aviation union workers from the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) disrupted its flights out of Lagos on Thursday. Union members had gathered at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport and prevented the airline from operating its normal flights over alleged unpaid debts. The union members claimed that the airline owes aviation agencies a combined debt of about N17 billion, a claim the airline denied. The Vice-Chairman of Arik Air, Aniete Okon, had hinted at the minister’s demand while addressing journalists in Lagos, Thursday afternoon when he said the airline was being punished for its refusal to accede to the personal interest of Ms. Oduah. “This is a direct result to the rebuff that the minister suffered when she tried to promote personal rather than national interest,” Okon had said without specifying what the ‘personal interests’ were.

News

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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Ondo governorship: Mimiko’s tenure, a waste –Ondo Liberation Movement …canvasses radical change ABIODUN NEJO

ADO EKITI WITH AGENCY REPORT

socio-political group, the Ondo Liberation Movement, has said the October 20 governorship election in the state should produce the much needed change the people need in view of the dearth of development in the state in the last three and half years. The group’s chairman, Mr Oladipo Ajidahun, said the state, in view of its vast natural endowment and fat revenue from the federa-

tion account, had nothing on ground to justify the second term bid of Governor Olusegun Mimiko. Ajidahun told journalists in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the weekend that Ondo State citizens should take a wise decision of choosing either the party at the centre which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) represents, or the regional agenda by going for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), The group, which said both PDP and ACN had agenda that could transform the state, said such change was necessary to put the state back on track

and redress the years of poverty and slavery the people had witnessed under the Labour Party (LP) government. While regretting the political intolerance allegedly on the part of the ruling party, the group called on the police Inspector General Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, the Assistant Inspector General in the zone and the Police Commissioner for Ondo State, to make the state safe for all political parties. According to Ajidahun, Mimiko’s refusal to continue with the ongoing projects of subsequent administrations of Governors

Adebayo Adefarati and Olusegun Agagu and his government’s dearth of developmental and peoplecentred programmes and projects were among reasons the people needed change of leadership. “Water situation in all parts of the state is horrible; nothing is being done on the bitumen deposit; there is large-scale youth unemployment as the moribund industries such as Ifon Ceramics, Oluwa Glass Company, Okitipupa Oil Palm Company, among others were not revived. “The governor has not, in the last three and half years, made any concerted effort to attract investors to the state. Despite

abundant natural and human resources, the government is not getting its priorities right in the area of education and nothing is being done deliberately in the area of making the state a tourists destination, as a way of generating jobs and raising revenue”, the group said. Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government has said it is operating free education policy at its mega primary schools and public primary schools in the three senatorial districts of the state. The chairman of the state Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Femi Akinmoladun, disclosed this to newsmen in his of-

fice on Friday in Akure. He said the government was driven by a passion to provide free, qualitative and accessible education for every school-aged child in public primary schools and junior secondary schools in the state. Akinmoladun urged the people to shun rumours that government was collecting N5,000 fee from parents before admitting pupils into the Caring Heart Mega School in the state. “Education is free in Ondo state; so the admission to this Caring Heart Mega School is free. No pupil is asked to pay any kobo before he or she is admitted.”

Mass protest in Kano over anti-Islam film

ens of thousands of protesters in Kano yesterday stormed the streets, burning images of US President Barack Obama and stomping on the American flag to denounce an anti-Islam film made in the US. A crowd that included men, children and veiled women stretched for several kilometres through the city, the largest in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, condemning the film that has stirred outrage across the Muslim world. They shouted “death to America, death to Israel and death to the enemies of Islam,” in a rally that ended with no reported incidents of violence but caused gridlock in the city of roughly 4.5 million people. The demonstration was organised by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a pro-Iranian group that adheres to the Shiite branch of Islam. The group has operated in Africa’s most populous country since the late 1970s. “We are out today to express our rage and disapproval over this blasphemous film,” said Muhammed Turi, a protest leader and member of the Islamic Movement which organised a similar rally earlier this week in the northern city of Zaria.

•Protesters burn Obama’s images, trample on US flag Some pictures of US President Obama were set alight, while others were dragged through the dirt and stomped on by protesters shouting “enemy of Islam.” American and Israeli flags were also defaced and Iranian flags were waved in the air as the group marched towards a palace owned by the Emir of Kano, the top religious figure in the region. Protester Husseini Ibrahim claimed that the “blasphemy” in the film regarding the Prophet Mohammed is “like an invitation to war.” Hundreds of residents who did not join the march lined the streets to watch the protesters move past. A 68-year-old beggar, who gave his name as Garba, tried to join the rally but was unable to stay on his feet, despite the use of a walking stick. “I wish I could do more than this. I wish I were young enough to join the procession. I will do anything for the prophet,” he said. Turi addressed the crowd outside Kano’s central mosque, adjacent to the Emir’s palace. “We are pained by this deliberate insult against our religion under the pre-

text of freedom of expression,” he told the protesters. Security forces were deployed around the city and a police officer stationed outside a hospital said the authorities had allowed the demonstration. “We have no problem with the protest as long as it is peaceful,” said the officer who requested anonymity. Turi also urged Nigeria’s government to publicly denounce the film and said all ties with Israel should be severed. The low-budget film “Innocence of Muslims” was reportedly produced by an Egyptian Coptic Christian, but rumours that circulated shortly after its release suggested an Israeli was involved. The film incited a wave of bloody anti-American violence in cities across the Muslim world, with protests occurring in more than 20 countries. Violence in Pakistan on Friday left at least 21 people dead. Thousands of Muslims had earlier protested in Zaria on Thursday. The previous week in Jos, soldiers fired live rounds outside a mosque to disperse a crowd of several hundred that was seeking to demonstrate against the film.

NIGERIA IN BRIEF Queues for petrol ease at filling stations in Abuja Queues for petrol by motorists and other users have reduced at filling stations in Abuja with many stations now selling the product, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. A NAN correspondent who went round the city on Saturday observed that all the filling stations along the Olusegun Obasanjo and Herbert Macaulay Ways were selling

the product. At all the filling stations visited in the city, vehicles were moving in and out of the station with ease as against the situation experienced previously. NAN reports that petrol users in the federal capital city had in the past two weeks experienced some hardship in getting the product. Long queues had been the order of the day at the few

filling stations which had the product for sale, with many motorists opting to buy from roadside hawkers as a result. A motorist, Mr Emeka Obiako, told NAN that he was happy with the improvement in the supply of the product to Abuja. “I am sure that with this, most of those who are hawking the product will soon be out of business,’’ he said.

L-R: District Chairman, District 913 Inner Wheel Club, Mrs. Victoria Adebayo; President, Inner Wheel Club, Abuja chapter, Barr. Nko Nnabue, and immediate past president, Mrs. Maureen Obiahu, during the inauguration of board of directors of the 2012/2013 Inner Wheel Year in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Jonathan off to US for UN General Assembly ROTIMI FADEYI, ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan leaves Abuja today with Nigeria’s delegation to the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, United States. The 66th General Assembly last year had as its main focus, ‘the peaceful resolution of international disputes.’ The President of the 67th Assembly, Mr. Vuk Jeremic of Serbia announced at its opening on Tuesday that having consulted widely on the matter, he has chosen “bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means” as the overarching theme

for the General Assembly’s work over the next 12 months. A statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan had in his 2011 address to the General Assembly, called on the international community to muster the political will to promote preventive diplomacy for the peaceful resolution of international disputes through mediation. Jonathan had in his 2011 address to the UN General Assembly said that “For too long, the international community has focused too little attention on mediation and preventive diplomacy and far too much effort and

resources on military aspects of peace and security. Yet, measures to address the root cause of conflict, including dialogue and mediation, can be far more effective as means to achieving sustainable peace and stability. “As I see it, our goal should always be to present the peaceful alternative as a less costly and effective way of achieving political and social objectives. By focusing on mediation as a tool for conflict prevention, we are able to address the real triggers of conflict, without which we cannot achieve sustainable solutions,” President had declared in his address to world leaders at the United Nations last year.

Abuja trauma centre’ll be ready in 2013 –FG

The Federal Government yesterday promised to complete work on the on-going National Trauma Centre at the University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja within the first quarter of 2013. The assurance was given by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, when he visited the hospital as part of the Federal Government’s tour of its ongoing projects across the country, which began in the nation’s capital last

week. The 350-bed space hospital, according to the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Peter Alabi, was approved and budgeted to cost N799 million in 2009, out of which N462 million had been made available for the project. While stressing the significance of the hospital, Maku noted that the Trauma Centre was very dear to the country, given the number of deaths recorded from trauma and

dearth of facilities for the treatment of curable ailments arising from it. His said: “It is an important project. Trauma is what is killing many Nigerians because of accidents; a lot of accidents such as fire, disasters and so on. So, we need a place where we can save the victims so that we can save a lot of lives. In the past, people were always flown abroad because of the lack of facilities to treat trauma cases.

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News

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sambo renews call for peace, religious tolerance ROTIMI FADEYI

WITH AGENCY REPORT

ice-President Namadi Sambo at the weekend renewed the call on Nigerians to live in peace with one another irrespective of ethnic or religious differences. He made the call in Uyo while inaugurating a twoday Unity Conference for the South-South and SouthEast Muslim Ummah. The vice-president, while stressing the need for religious tolerance, urged Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan in his efforts to implement his transformation programme, especially in the power sector.

``The President also needs support from the citizens in the area of protection of lives and property of Nigerians,’’ he said. While speaking on the occasion, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, noted that peace and the unity of Nigerians were cardinal to development. ``Whether we are Christians or Muslims, we must live in peace with one another in whatever part of the country we find ourselves. ``If we are united, we will contribute better to the development of the country. So, we must put aside our differences and embrace peace and unity,’’ he advised.

Abubakar, who described the conference as an important event, lauded Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, saying he is a strong pillar in peacebuilding. He urged other Nigerians to emulate Akpabio’s exemplary leadership qualities such as patience, humility, foresight and perseverance. The Sultan, who had earlier paid a courtesy visit on the governor, thanked him and the Akwa Ibom people for the hospitality accorded Muslims in the state. Akpabio, in his remarks, also called for unity and peace not just across the inter-faith groups but

among the ethnic groups in the country. He said unity and peace would be possible when Nigerians have learnt to work with people outside their faith and ethnic groups. The governor disclosed that his administration had exemplified unity and tolerance through the appointment of his personal aides. ``My Aide-de-Camp is from Bauchi State, while my Chief Security Officer is from Kogi, and my orderly is from Kaduna State,’’ he said. Akpabio also called for support for President Jonathan, and appealed to Muslims to continue to pray for those in authority as well as for the unity and peace of

the country. ``Muslims and Christians believe that authority comes from God. So, any attack that takes place is against the authority of God. We must therefore strive to engender unity, not only in our religion but also in our tribe,” he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference was attended by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and a former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed. Other dignitaries at the event included the immediate past governor of Kano State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, and a host of Islamic faithful and scholars.

Kerosene scarcity: Lagos residents switch to charcoal, firewood T

rading in charcoal and firewood is now booming in Ikorodu and some other suburbs of Lagos Metropolis, following the scarcity of kerosene in the areas. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that kerosene had been scarce and costly in Lagos State for many months, and had been selling for between N95 and N120 per litre in filling stations instead of the N50 a litre approved by government. The current general scarcity of petroleum products in Lagos has forced kerosene price up to between NN175 and N220 per litre among end-user retailers. Many residents of the state have switched over to charcoal and firewood because of the high cost and non-availability of kerosene. Mrs Idayat Idowu, a food seller in Ikorodu, said on Saturday that she could not find kerosene in filling stations and would not be able

to buy it from retailers at the current price. Mrs Beatrice Christopher, a petty trader, also told NAN that she could no longer afford to buy kerosene. Christopher expressed sadness that kerosene had gone beyond the reach of the common man, and appealed to the Federal Government to urgently address the situation. ``Kerosene that was sold for N50 per litre is now going for between N175 and N210 per litre’,” she lamented. Madam Alice Ibikunle, who sells kerosene in gallons at Isale-Agoro in Epe, blamed the increase in price on persistent scarcity. ``The price of kerosene will continue to skyrocket as long as marketers buy the product from third parties,’’ she added. She called for the removal of kerosene subsidy, saying that Nigerians had not benefitted from it for some years. A charcoal dealer at the

NIGERIA IN BRIEF

R-L: President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okechukwu Wali, newly conferred SAN, Ahmed Raji, and Chief Joe Agi (SAN), during the conferment at Supreme Court in Abuja recently.

Aiyetoro Market in Epe, Alhaja Bamidele Anifowoshe, told NAN that she was making brisk business as more customers now patronised her. She said that the price of a big measure of charcoal still remained at N500, and the small measure N200. ``The business is lucrative but stressful; we hope that transporters will assist us by reducing the cost of transporting the goods to Lagos from the hinterland.

``Most of the people we buy charcoal and firewood from have been informed that the price of kerosene has gone up; so, they intend to increase the prices of their goods,’’ the trader said. The National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr Mike Osatuyi, blamed the increase in the price of kerosene on alleged monopoly by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in the im-

portation of the product. He claimed that many marketers could no longer procure the commodity from the NNPC, but from third parties. The marketer advised the Federal Government to authorise marketers to import the product. Efforts to get comments from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Pipelines Products Marketing Company on the issue were not fruitful.

NEMA seeks legal framework for setting up state agencies

outh-South zone of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has advocated a legal framework for the setting up of the state equivalent to be able to discharge its duties efficiently and effectively.

NEMA’s Zonal Coordinator, Mr Umesi Emenike, made the suggestion at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Friday. “It is only Akwa Ibom that has legal backing for SEMA in the South-South region; so we need such an instrument in all the states.” He said that a proper legal framework with funding and staffing would enable the agency to function properly. He decried the poor emergency response to disaster in some states in the South-South zone, adding that inadequate funding of SEMA hindered progress in emergency matters. ‘’We need to work with the agency; I think if we have this close relationship, there will be synergy in managing disasters. ‘’Most of the states and local governments, especially in the zone, have no structure in place for crisis management,’’ he noted. The coordinator said that NEMA had embarked on various sensitisation programmes to enlighten the people in the zone on emergency matters. ``We have educated them on solid waste management as part of the agency’s efforts to reduce flooding in the region. ``Earlier this year, we started with issues like fire sensitisation exercise and inauguration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) club in secondary schools in the zone,” he said. He said that the SouthSouth zone of NEMA would continue to work hard to mitigate disaster in the region, and called on all the state governors to equip their SEMAs and prepare them to respond quickly to emergency situations.

EPB embarks on sewage pipelines maintenance

Agency introduces farmers to new techniques

The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has embarked on the evacuation of sewage pipelines and the maintenance of the system in the FCT. AEPB Head of information, Mr Joe Ukairo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at trhe weekend that the exercise became necessary following the report of leakages in some of the pipelines.

The Jigawa Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (JARDA) has introduced new farming techniques to farmers in the state, Alhaji Rabiu Taura, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, has said. Taura told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Dutse that the

Ukairo said that the measure would also help to curb the menace of air pollution which posed a threat to the health of the citizens. He identified the causes of the blockage of the sewage pipelines to include hard objects. ‘’In the course of the ongoing maintenance work, the team found some hard objects which were thrown into the sewage lines by the

residents. ‘’We have also found some food materials which clogged the outlet of water and waste materials.’’ He said the increase in the volume of underground water due to heavy rainfall and construction error were other factors that contributed to the blockage which caused the sewage pipelines not to be properly laid and also contributed to the blockage.

development would boost crop yields during the next farming season. He said the measure was aimed at transforming farming from subsistence to commercial venture for economic growth and sustainability. The commissioner pledged that the government would continue to

support agriculture in line with the Federal Government’s agricultural transformation agenda. ‘’It is in view of this that the state government has provided tractors, fertilisers and other farm inputs toward boosting agriculture not only in the state, but also in the country in general, ‘’ he explained.

SM Extra

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STORIES THAT TOUCH YOU SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Chioma Ajunwa: A different kind of celebrations •Gave birth to triplets 18 years after marriage •I’m now a complete woman, she says ADAEZE AMOS

t has been a common notion that women in sports seldom get pregnant. And most of them have refused to accept this myth. Bosse Kaffo, a table tennis star, for instance, described the saying as a baseless hearsay. Mary Onyeali -Omagbemi the Nigerian sprinter who performed well in the All African Games, winning a total of seven medals in the short sprints also condemned it and insisted that it was a fallacy

because she has children. “I have been able to prove them wrong. There is nothing in common with being a sport woman and not being able to get pregnant and bear children. After all, I have kids and I had them when I was ready to have them. There was no delay whatsoever. In fact, it is completely the opposite. Being sportive actually gives room for your children to come easily because your body is active; everything in our system is active and ready to go. Yes, internally and externally. In fact, we are the fastest people

Chioma Ajunwa and her triplets: L-R: Little Ruth, Caleb and Joshua

to get pregnant. It is the reverse,” OnyealiOmagbemi said. Also a month ago, another sport lady, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara, the athlete who won Nigeria’s first gold in the Olympics, at Alanta ’96, made nonsense of that erroneous belief that sport women seldom get pregnant. On August 27 precisely, she was delivered of triplets. For 18 years, however, Chioma had been married without a child, until the miracle happened. When Sunday Mirror visited her Ikeja, Lagos residence at the weekend. The mother of triplets opened up on her travail in the last 18 years, before the arrival of her bundles of joy. “The notion people have about sport women being unable to conceive, I think is a fallacy. It is a lie and that lie is from the pit of hell,” she said, cuddling one of the triplets whom she just finished feeding. Continuing, she said, “I believe that if God can do it in my life, it then means He would equally do it to other women looking up to Him for such a blessing, whether you are in sport or not. “But the key is that you must be a giver. You must be a cheerful giver, because God knows how to give good gifts. You cannot be expecting from God without giving out. That was indeed my key,” she said, beaming with smiles. When asked whether she was called ‘a barren woman’ by anybody or her in-laws when she had not yet conceived, she maintained the fact that God didn’t create any woman to be barren. “I believe that there is no barren woman in life. It depends on how you wait on the Lord”.

Does that mean she wasn’t for once worried that she hadn’t given birth even while her ‘biological clock’ ticked away? “Well, it’s a natural phenomenon to be worried. You know, when you are looking for something and you have been trying in your own way and putting in your best and it seems your best wasn’t good enough, you are bound to be worried. Somehow, you would get angry. To me personally, there was even a time I said I didn’t want to be asking God to give me a child. Because when you keep on having same prayers or same prayer point every year, you could get tired along the line, as a human being. You may begin to be biased over the whole thing. “But honestly, I persisted just as the biblical woman continued to pester the wicked judge who later answered her because of her persistence. So, whenever I prayed, I keyed into that. And He answered me in such a way that before people knew that I was pregnant, I had delivered. And even up till today, some people would call me on the phone and say ‘Haa Chioma that small belle carried triplets’?” To friends who weren’t told when she was pregnant, she told them it was unAfrican for a woman to broadcast it when she becomes pregnant. “I called one of my friends who said I didn’t tell him when I was pregnant, that he didn’t hear anything about my pregnancy. I said well, no woman would get pregnant and start broadcasting it. And in my own way, I was pregnant several times and I had miscarriages. So, when I had this, it was like a film. I kept on praying, can this one stay? It was when

Echoes of Kogi floods

My three-storey building is gone, including all that I labour A DEMU I DAKWO, LOKOJA

heir tales easily provoke tears and emotions. Displaced by rampaging flood, these people are now refugees, crammed in a relief camp at St. Luke Model Primary School, Adankolo, Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. Thousands of the affected victims who were huddled in classrooms of the school were seen yesterday scrambling for space, as casualties occasioned by the long-drawn rains in Lokoja increased in number. One of the victims at the camp, Mr. Abu Ojochogwu, a physically challenged person, told Sunday Mirror, that their situation was horrible as the camp had no good toilet facilities. Though he admitted that the state government had done much to ensure food supply, it was hellish, coping in this unusual home, away from their

homes which had been submerged by the flood. Ojochukwu who is married with three kids said he is un-employed and had been living on charity from before the unfortunate incident, saying that without doubt, his suffering was bound to worsen. He said the present sanitary condition of the camp was greatly affecting the disabled persons among the crowd who were now finding it very difficult to ease themselves as the place of convenience had been littered with faeces. One of the refugees in the relief camp, Mr. Murana Akunmu, a tailor who resided at Marine Quarters, Lokoja, said he was able to retrieve his sewing machine but had lost customers’ clothes worth N200, 000 to the flood. He said his family members were

already scattered in different locations since the space given to them had no capacity to accommodate all. He called on the Federal Government to wade into the issue, as the effects of the flood were gradually

The flood (Inset: One of the flood victims)

overwhelming the state government, owing to the increase in the number of affected persons. Akunmu is not the only person in this predicament. Several thousands of residents of Lokoja and adjourn-

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I was five months pregnant, that I allowed my sisterin-law to know about it. I didn’t call her to tell her on the phone. I went to her place for her to see me. So, my advice to my fellow women that are waiting on the Lord is that, they have to be persistent.” She never knew she was carrying triplets because the third baby never showed on the scan. “I was not told that I was carrying triplets, I was told I was carrying twins. If you look around my living room, the things I bought were in pairs-two baby cots, two, everything. This third one was suddenly bought. We never planned for three. The third baby which is my baby girl, does not have dresses, I bought shirts and knickers which I bought for twin baby boys because I didn’t know. The third baby didn’t show in the scan, only two were seen.” The names she gave her babies have some reasons. “You know when a lady gets married and she stays for sometime before she gets pregnant, people would begin to talk. So, I named my boys Joshua and Caleb because the biblical Joshua and Caleb you know what they did in the Bible. They were the people that brought the good news that took Israelites to the Promised Land. So, I believe that they are the ones that made me to be a complete woman, a mother so to say. They have taken me to my own promised land which of course is my husband’s house, my matrimony. Now that I have children, I’m solely in my husband’s family to stay for life. You know what it is in Igboland to be married without a child? Though I never had problems with my in-laws. I never had issues with any of them but their patience might not last forever. I thank God for the kind of man I married; he never bothered me even while I was waiting. But then, as it is in Igbo land, children are very necessary. Now that I have them, I have taken my seat for life in my matrimonial home.

Feeding one of the triplets

She also has reason for naming her baby girl ‘Ruth.’ “Then Ruth, you know her own work in the Bible? A woman of faith. I had faith, I believed in God and I waited without doubting or without having any confrontation with people that were saying that my husband just married me because of my money and my fame. I also knew that while I was young, I never made myself useless. I never slept around. So, I couldn’t say I wasted my children through abortions. I believed that it was just a matter of time. And because of my unwavering faith in God, He saw me through at the appointed time.” How she has been breastfeeding the triplets When Sunday Mirror got to her house, she was bottle-feeding Caleb, one of the triplets. When asked why she chose bottle-feeding, she said it was to supplement breast milk. “I bottle-feed them at least to supplement because in fact, it is not easy breastfeeding them all at the same time. I wake up in the wee hours of the morning to feed them. I also thank God I have people around me that are helping me. I have my husband’s elder sister and my sisters that are helping me. My elder sister is with me as well, plus friends; so I’m not alone in this. It’s not that difficult because I have people around me. And I thank God for making me a woman indeed, a mother indeed. I thank the Nigeria Police Force because with the money they are paying me, I have been able to cater for the kids. “I thank the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, because immediately he heard it, he sent me a congratulatory message and more especially, I would not hesitate to say a big thank you to Cowbell company, makers of Cowbell milk. They came to my house and they brought loads of milk for my kids. May God prosper them and make their company to move forward,” she said, smiling.

With one of the triplets

ed for -Momoh ing communities are facing the situation, as many family members are now living apart. One of such is Ibrahim Momoh, a resident of Adankolo community who claimed

Momoh (left) and another victim

SM Extra

Sunday, September 23, 2012

to have lost his three-storey building to the disaster. He said he lost virtually everything he had laboured for over the years. He said the only solution to the disaster is a permanent relocation for the affected persons since most of the buildings affected by the flood had already been buried by the over flowing water. The highly distressed Momoh said the major challenge facing people in the relief camp was the sanitary condition, adding that if not properly brought under check, it might result in the outbreak of epidemics. However, a non-governmental organization, Crescent Mission, has called on the government to intensify efforts in providing adequate medicare to the people, stressing that many of the displaced people had been afflicted with one illness or the other. The Public Relations Officer of the association, Mr. Lukeman Suleman said on their part, the NGO had given out several relief materials, including drugs, to them. Suleman said the destruction caused by the flood was unprecedented and called on wellmeaning individuals to support the government on the rescue operation, adding, “The situation is already over-stretching.”

Kuramo: Now a ghost beach

Sacked occupants moving out

ONUKWUBE OFOELUE

close look at Kuramo Beach revealed a grave-yard like presence, as the fenced-in sandy beach only breathed with the life of the raging sea, nothing else. A security guard stated that people were not allowed to enter the area. He however, explained that he was employed to guard the place after people were evacuated. “The few people you see around are just workers around here, security people and cleaners. No other people are allowed to enter here,” he explained. Kuramo Beach, a once thriving beach, close to the Bar Beach, was shut down after an ocean surge tragedy in August. About 16 persons were drowned as the ocean overflowed its bank, among them pickknickers Eid-el Fitr Day, taking 16 lives hostage. It was the end of the road for the residents as their homes were destroyed too. The victims included 11 traders in a boat, four picnickers and a diver. The traders had met their waterloo while returning in a boat from their trading post, while four persons who had gone there for recreation got swept away too. Major hotels located around the beach areas were also reportedly flooded by the surge. Although such surges have been reported at Kuramo Beach in the past, none has been as bad as this. It was the result of seven days of high waves accompanied by a strong ocean surge which hit the country’s coastline with Lagos being the worst hit, due to its location. But with it too came the unannounced demolition of homes and displacement of residents by the Lagos State Government, which rendered some 5,000 persons homeless. Shortly after the incident, the government had announced that residents move out of the area with immediate effect, and had carried out the demolition of the area. Today, Kuramo Beach, once a bubbling shanty town has become a ghost land. Families who have grown and struck bonds, built futures and prospects suddenly discovered themselves homeless and empty. The tragedy of Kuramo had swallowed all they worked for. Speaking to Sunday Mirror on the state of the area, a ticket seller at Bar Beach, who claimed he was a resident of Kuramo stated that most of the former residents have left completely. “If you were the one, are you going to hang on there? There is nowhere to live there anymore. The sad story is that those who depended on Kuramo alone have been forced into joblessness. I am lucky because my brother runs a relaxation spot. If not, I would have been in trouble.” He pointed out a scantily dressed girl rocking to hip hop music, and whispered “See that one dancing? She is one of the Kuramo hot babes. Go and have a good time with her, she can give you all you need”. The young prostitute, apparently suspicious of the reporter, moved away quickly when approached. Several reasons have been advanced as to why Kuramo went down. There are even tongues wagging, pointing at the Lagos State Government as being behind the tragedy. According to an environmental expert, Deacon Bode Oluwamakinde, the surge occurred as a result of the failure of the contractors handling the sand-filling activities of the proposed Atlantic Ocean City, to put in place measure that would reduce the effect of the surge on the environment. Oluwamakinde, who agreed that sandfilling of large body of water could be carried out without having any adverse effect on the environment, noted that if formidable surge breakers had been put in place, the impact of the surge would have been minimal on the environment. “What I could say from what I had seen and also heard from the statement of a top government official on the possibilities of evacuating residents from the water front showed that something is wrong with the way the sandfilling is being handled. “In most places around the world where such projects are carried out, there would not be any need to call for the evacuation of people around if the right thing had been done. “What they should have done was to put sufficient wave breakers around. The moment the wave breakers are in place, it would arrest the wave, no matter how powerful it may be. “Look at the way they did the earlier sandfilling at Bar Beach. They put a lot of big stones around. What that was intended for was to serve as surge breakers. But it is unfortunate that the new sandfilling has not witnessed the supply of such big stones.

News

Sunday September 23, 2012

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19 die in Kano as flood ravages Northern states HENRY IYORKASE

WITH AGENCY REPORT

ersistent rainfall in communities across some northern states of the country wrecked more havoc over the weekend, recording victims in Kano, Zamfara, Benue and Kogi states. Already, thousands have been rendered homeless, many who are now refugees in different relief camps, as their houses have been submerged by the increasing flood.

Reacting yesterday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that an assessment exercise it conducted with other partner agencies showed that most of the country’s larger rivers have plains that can overflow, especially during the rainy season. In Kano yesterday, no fewer than 19 persons were confirmed dead and several others injured as a result of the recent flooding in 30 out of the 44 Local Government Areas of the state. The flood, which oc-

curred between August and September, also displaced more than 15, 000 people and swept away several cattle and crops. The Executive Secretary of the state Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin, confirmed the number of deaths to NAN in Warawa, headquarters of Warawa LGA. At the weekend too, more houses were reportedly submerged in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and adjourning communities, as the

flood persisted. In Benue, palpable fears have also gripped residents of Makurdi and environs, as the deluge of water arising from persistent rainfall has been on the increase, especially in the hinterland. Sunday Mirror investigations yesterday revealed that the water was increasingly penetrating into the areas which hitherto were not initially affected thereby resulting in blockage of water from swampy areas in the inlands, consequently making it difficult for water to flow

and empty into River Benue. It could be recalled that Senate president David Mark during the week inspected flood ravaged areas and the camp erected for flood disaster victims in the state where he pledged to use his good offices to liaise with the Federal Government to put in place, measures aimed at finding a permanent solution to avert future re-occurrence of over flow of the river Benue. In Zamfara, the state government said it had spent N200 million to assist flood

victims in Maru, Maradun and Anka LGAs. The Secretary of the state Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Atiku Maradun, said that the amount only represented cash donations to victims. He said government had also provided mattresses, blankets and clothing to some of the displaced victims. He said more than 50 persons lost their lives in various flood and windstorm disasters in the state this year alone.

UN Security Council worried over deteriorating situation in Mali

he UN Security Council on Saturday expressed concern over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in northern Mali. The council also urged rebel groups in the country to cut off all ties with terrorist elements, including Al-Qaida. Amb. Peter Wittig of Germany, who spoke, expressed concern over the `` increasing entrenchment’’ of terrorist elements in the country. Germany holds the council’s rotating presidency of the 15-member body for the month of September. The council however called on the transitional

authorities, ``to continue ongoing efforts toward the strengthening of democratic institutions and the restoration of constitutional order in Mali.’’ It also repeated its demand that the armed forces should not interfere with the works of the transitional authorities. The council was earlier briefed on the situation in Mali by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman. Feltman called on the council and the international community to support efforts to develop an integrated strategy to tackle the challenges in the Sahel region of West Africa.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (middle), Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon. Justice Ayotunde Adeyoola Phillips (2nd left) jointly cutting the cake during a dinner to climax the commencement of 2012/2013 Legal Year at the City Hall, Lagos, on Friday, September 21, 2012. With him are: Head Judge in Lagos State, Justice Funmilayo Atilade (left), Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Sanni Agunbiade (2nd right) and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye (right).

Conference of Nigerian vice chancellors begins in Nasarawa

Inadequate funds stunt women empowerment –FG

BY IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

he Federal Government yesterday said inadequate funds to meet the increasing demands by women cooperatives nationwide has been a reoccurring challenges that needs to be tackled urgently. This is even as it disclosed that only N168 million had so far been disbursed to 28 states at six million naira per state from Women Fund for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE), amount it said

was too poor considering the number of women the funds was meant for. Disclosing this yesterday in Abuja at the two-day Mid Term Review Meeting of the 14th Regular National Council on Women Affairs and Social Development, the Women Affairs Minister, Hajiya Zainab Maina, said in spite of the funding challenges, the ministry had recorded so many achievements this year occasioned by the present administration’s commitment in ensuring that women welfare are put into

NIGERIA IN BRIEF

consideration. Maina disclosed that the council meeting serves as a forum to assess the level of the ministry’s implementation, take stock of their activities, share experiences on their successes as well as challenges in implementing decisions reached at the last council meeting in order to address such challenges before the next meeting. The minister stated that the ministry in June this year assisted 500 persons with disabilities while a total of 115 visually-impaired per-

sons are currently benefiting from skills acquisition programmes from the Nigerian Farm Craft Centre for the Blind in Lagos. She said about 570 social workers are expected to graduate from the Federal School of Social Workers in Enugu State this December, adding that the ministry had commenced the review of process of the National Gender Policy and its Strategic Implementation Framework and Plan, which was five years old in 2011 among other notable achievements.

he 27th conference of Vice-Chancellors of Nigeria Universities commences tomorrow at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK). The conference is expected to be declared open by the Senate President, David Mark. The host Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shamsudeen Amali, disclosed this to journalists during a press conference at the campus of the university. According to him, “arrangements have been concluded by NSUK for the hosting of the conference as adequate security measures

are intact.” He added: “124 Vice Chancellors across Nigerian universities and seven from other West African countries are expected to attend the conference. The institution is determined to host a historic conference, which its exhibition would be declared open by Senate President David Mark.” The vice chancellor assured guests of convenience as the university community and Nasarawa people are hospitable which he said, “has culminated into the institution’s cult-free and disciplined status.

Abuja Inner Southern Expressway to be delivered by 2013

Task Force chairman asks Lagosians to use pedestrian bridges

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Bala Mohammed, on Saturday promised to deliver the Abuja Inner Southern Expressway extension project before the end of 2013. Mohammed said that work on the project had reached about 65 per cent completion, and gave the assurance that the project would be completed to help

Mr Bayo Sulaimon, Chairman of Lagos State’s Task Force on Environmental Sanitation Offences, on Saturday appealed to Lagos residents to make use of the pedestrian bridges provided for their use. Sulaimon who made the appeal in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos said failure to heed to the appeal could lead to their being

de-congest traffic in the city centre. The Inner Southern Expressway runs from the AYA Junction in Asokoro through the city centre to the National StadiumAirport Road. Awarded in November 2010 at the cost of N13.4 billion, the expressway is 8.3 kilometres long and has four interchanges among other road facilities.

The minister said that the road was a top priority of the FCT Administration, given its link with the Central Business District, which houses most of the government offices. Mohammed said that the project was part of the FCT Administration’s efforts aimed at restoring the Abuja master plan by ensuring free flow of traffic within the city centre.

arrested. He said pedestrians who make use of the bridges would also be avoiding being hit by vehicles. The Task Force chairman explained that the bridges were provided to save pedestrians from being killed while crossing the highway and wondered why people refused to make use of them. ``Pedestrians’ refusal to use the foot bridge has often

led to traffic disruption on the highway. But now we have our men in all parts of the places where the pedestrian bridges are located to ensure pedestrians make use of the bridges. ``We often station our men in all places and ensure that people make use of the bridges, because we realise that people have gone back to their old ways of crossing the expressway,’’ he said.

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Interview ENCOUNTER WITH A NEWS MAKER SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 Let start with your early life, how was it when you were young? My early life was very blessed. We were privileged to be brought up by loving parents who loved us and took great care of us. When you were young who was the person you were looking up to as your role model? When I was young my mother was my hero because my father had passed on when I was eight years plus. I remembered my father was a strong and courageous man but as I said I was eight years plus when he passed on. My mother brought us up. We had a step father, a very wonderful papa, Pa Solade. He loves me and I also loved him. We were a very happy family. My mother taught us to love Christ. So from very early age, the exploits of some Bible figures, people like David, Daniel and Joseph has always impacted my life. On a secular scene, I don’t know. But it was much later when I proceeded for higher education that I began to admire people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and other people like that. What is the magic of looking agile, energetic and young at 79? Because even at 79 you look as if you are in your early 60s Thank you very much. I think it is a reward from the Lord Himself to give me a good and perfect health so that I can continue to serve him. That is the primary answer. Then I live a very discipline life. I don’t drink and I don’t smoke. I don’t overeat and I like to engage in exercises. I do three types of exercises everyday- spiritual, mental and physical. . Why do you choose Law as your profession is it what you really wanted or is it accidental? It wasn’t accidental. I had always wanted to be a lawyer right from my childhood days. In those days, there was a funny myth about lawyers being ready to defend the worst criminal for the sake of the money and not for anything. But like I said that was a myth. Incidentally I was defending a lot of people not for money but for compassion. So I always wanted to be a lawyer. Why the interest? I said I had always wanted to be a lawyer. My nature had always inclined to the defence of the defenceless and helping the poor. How will you describe your first appearance in court? It was very exciting. I was molded in the best tradition of our practice. If you know that I started practice in 1961 and there was no law school in this country. So I did not attend any law school in this country. Any lawyer, any judge dead or alive who attended Nigerian Law School in Nigeria would be my junior in the Bar. And in those days the profession was practiced with integrity and honour. You will not even encourage your client to deceive or to exploit any

Dr. Braithwaite

Photo: YINKA ADEPARUSI

1999 Constitution a disgrace, prescription for anarchy –Braithwaite Dr Tunji Braithwaite, a Lagos-based lawyer, politician and human rights activist, turned 79 last Monday. In this interview with Ayo Esan, he speaks about his early life, career and issues that affect the nation. Excerpts: loophole of the law to escape justice. Your conscience would not allow you to do that. You graduated in Law in 1960. That was the year Nigeria got independence, you would have a dream of what Nigeria would be then? Yes Did the Nigeria after independence meet your expectation? Our dream and our expectation then were so high. Many of us actually threw away the British passports that we had. Yes we threw them away. We said thank God, we have attained nationhood. But down the line such expectations of proud nationhood were dashed along the way. That is why I am in politics to try as much as I can to restore and bring hope to a great country. Nigeria will be celebrating its 52nd year of independence in a few days time. How will you assess the country at 52?

Unsatisfactory. Very unsatisfactory because of the arrival of the unscrupulous people in positions of authority. People without pedigree, people who worship money, who worship all manners of transient things, no value. In fact worthless, unfit persons in governments, in legislatures and even in the judiciary. But that does not mean that we cannot overcome those deficiencies. We have to work hard and given a strong determination, that we are trying to espouse, I think such unflattering and inglorious period will become a thing of the past. Looking back at your career in Law which of the celebrated cases you have handled would you say had thrilled you most There are many cases and I am not prepared to list them on the pages of newspapers. When I am writing my…, but I don’t even have time to write my own auto biography. So I am not going to start listing cases for newspapers. There are many good cases that I had done. Many many cases.

After several years of practice as a lawyer are you satisfied that you picked a right profession or let me say any regret Of course I am satisfied. I have no regret. My household is one that is full of professionals in Medicine and Law. My wife is a doctor of medicine. One of our daughters is a consultant surgeon and a gynaecologist and obstetrician. And four of our children are in Law. The oldest one is trying to be a preacher of the gospel. Why then did you chose to be an activist? I didn’t, to use your word, chose to be an activist, the circumstances around me dictates that I must be involved in trying to proffer solutions to the mess and the mystery and anguish in which I found myself in this country. I could not simply shrug those mysteries off and say that it doesn’t concern me. The anguish and the suffering of people really concerned me. By my upbringing and my religious disposition, I CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Interview

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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‘People without pedigree, who worship money, have taken over Nigeria’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 cannot say it doesn’t concern me. Some people believe that after the death of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the level of activism went down. How true is that? No. Gani Fawehinmi played his part but certainly there is even a higher tempo in activism. You must understand one thing; it is the circumstances that throw up certain people to engage themselves for those circumstances. It is not really personified, no. The level of activism has even taken a greater turn. You know what happened during subsidy removal protest. Several thousands of people went into the streets. In fact, those protests were reportedly unprecedented. There will always be men and women of the moment in all situations. Your party, Nigerian Advance Party (NAP) was registered alongside Awolowo’s UPN, NPN and others during the second republic. How were you able to achieve that at a tender age? You have done your research very well. Yes I was in my 40s. We were very young, we were not having money. We applied our own resources. We were able to do that because we believe very much in our endowment. When I say endowment, I mean our ability, thinking faculties and our readiness to challenge the status quo. And at that time the military were in government. Most of them were about the same age with us but they were nowhere as educated as we were. Most of them did not even enter any university and they were the ones ruling. And doing so badly at that period. Though the Awolowos, the Azikwes, the Shagaris, have been in politics while some of us were just entering may be secondary schools. But the World is not at a standstill, that was a right time for us to try and inject fresh ideas into the politics of the country. We were eminently qualified. It was very dangerous because politics in those days were backward; you know they were attacking themselves. The fallouts of the politics of those days are still with us. Using thuggery, although not up to this level at that time. Assassination and all that which is terrible So we believed that we could change the cause of politics and the practice. And we were the ones who pioneered electioneering through the electronic media. Not that we didn’t travel. We went through the length and breadth of this country. I know every nook and crannies of this great country we were young so we had all the energy, all the strength. But the bottom line is that we were not intimidated by the giants. We felt we should provide the impetus, the stimulus for the young generation. And we were glad we did. Even though we were cheated out of office because elections in Nigeria have never been known to be honest, to be credible and we were not going to participate in such dishonest practices. We know that our efforts had not been in vain. We were molded minds and we impacted on young generation. That time, you brought intellectualism into politics in Nigeria when you stated in your manifesto that you were going to exterminate mosquitoes, cockroaches and rats that were sucking Nigerian blood but don’t you think these mosquitoes, cockroaches and rats are now in high preponderance You are absolutely right. We did not get into government. We said if people voted us into government we would cleared the country’s parasites both metaphorically as well as literarily. But like you rightly said the rats have now becomes hyenas sucking the blood of Nigerians. They steal now in term of billions and sometime trillions with impunity. The constitution actually gives them cover. The 1999 constitution is a disgrace, a prescription for anarchy which unless the country does away with it, this country will never rise. But I have good news for you; we would put a surgical knife to the 1999 constitution which we always called Decree 24. It was s decree of the military. It is not a constitution with which any progressive nation

can develop. So the corruption, obviously the allegory, the metaphor of eliminating rats and mosquitoes was directed at wiping out corruption. So the corruption had ballooned under the military and it is getting worse. And if you look at the legislatures and some of the governors now they are either ex- military people or their acolytes or their accomplices. I have said and I would repeat it here again that we have had enough of these corruption. And unless something is done by constitutional amendment before the next election we might be faced with a catastrophic situation in this country. But thank God we are working to avert that. We have to give ourselves another constitution before the next election. We have to by which we will address the problem of corruption. And it is not only corruption but as well as the other inhibitive factors like the way and manner people get into political offices in this country. And like I said, unless we changed this before 2015, things will be bad. But we are working towards attaining that before then Many believe that the present National Assembly is not qualified to review the 1999 constitution but that there is need for a constituent assembly to be put in place to review the constitution . What is your take on this? No, the review of the constitution cannot be done by this National Assembly. There has to be a national conference before 2015 to review the entire constitution. There may be membership drawn from the National Assembly, from the state assemblies into that conference but the group that I lead won’t subscribe to leaving the well being of this country , such profound and significant matter in the hands of this National Assembly. Because the National Assembly, by and large, is a product of corruption. If you know how much corruption is going on in that place, if we have our ways we will disband them overnight. If you know how much they cost us. I am telling you authoritatively, in the House of Representatives alone each of them cost us not less than N50 million a quarter, not a year. Multiply that with their number, what do you get. And that is why there is no cash; there is no capital for development. That is why there is decadence around. Not to talk of other corruptions in the executive. So the time has come, when the people of this country has got to decide whether they are going to surrender themselves to be enslaved by those who cheat their ways into this legislatures and continued to parade themselves as accredited representatives of the people. They junket all over the world for their pleasure. And then they would say they are going for some conferences. Some even travelled abroad to go and learn how to cook for their husbands. So there is a big challenge on this country between now and 2015 and unless the people are going to surrender the remnant of their personal liberty, something has to be done now and before the next election. Is a national conference feasible in this country? Everything is possible when the people themselves decide. The sovereignty of the people of Nigeria must be retrieved. Not for the sake of the people per se but the power of the people must be recovered to build and develop a great nation. And that is why it is an uncompromising venture for us. So it is very feasible. The terminology is irrelevant. Whether you call it Sovereign National Conference or you call it ethnic nationalities conference, it is irrelevant. There should be a constituent assembly where people would be represented to discuss broadly all these issues. The only thing that will not be tolerated is secession. We will not allow any section of this country to be excised from the union. In other words, the clamour for the conference is to consolidate the union on a more federal basis where units will enjoy considerable level of autonomy under one nation, one flag. So it is not only feasible but it is sine qua non for the continue corporate existence of this country and its development. CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

Dr. Braithwaite

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, BY AND LARGE, IS A PRODUCT OF CORRUPTION. IF YOU KNOW HOW MUCH CORRUPTION IS GOING ON IN THAT PLACE, IF WE HAVE OUR WAYS, WE WILL DISBAND THE

THEM OVERNIGHT

Dr. Braithwaite

THE CLAMOUR FOR THE CONFERENCE IS TO CONSOLIDATE THE UNION ON A MORE FEDERAL BASIS WHERE UNITS WILL ENJOY CONSIDERABLE LEVEL OF AUTONOMY UNDER ONE NATION, ONE FLAG

Dr. Braithwaite

PRESIDENT JONATHAN FROM MY PERSONAL ASSESSMENT IS A MAN WHO, WITH THE RIGHT SUPPORT FROM STRONG AND GOOD PEOPLE, MIGHT YET START LEADING THIS COUNTRY OUT OF THE WOODS

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Politics PROVIDING FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ISSUES SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

My ordeal in police detention —Ugolor P. 16, 50

YOU HAVE A CONSTITUTION THAT CREATES STATES AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS, CREATES STATES AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE HOUSES, CREATES STATES AND FEDERAL COURTS TO ADJUDICATE ON LAWS MADE BY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF

LEGISLATIVE HOUSES AND IT SAYS YOU CAN’T HAVE STATE POLICE

–MR. BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA (SAN)

N5,000 note: Sanusi at a crossroads

David Mark

GEORGE OJI

vents of the past week have no doubt proved that in any democracy, sovereignty ultimately belongs to the people. Before then, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was all airs, carrying on as if nothing on earth would stop him from going ahead to implement the apex bank’s planned restructuring of the nation’s currency, the Naira. When last week, members of the National Assembly resumed from their annual vacation and joined the action to stop Sanusi, the event immediately assumed a new dimension. Now, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was reported to have approved the implementation of the new naira policy earlier, has finally succumbed to public pressure and made a U-turn on the matter as he has directed the suspension of the implementation of the policy by the CBN for now. The new naira regime as envisaged by the CBN involves the introduction, for the first time, in the nation’s history N5,000 banknote; N5, N10 and N20 coins while other denominations would experience significant changes in their features. The project, which was codenamed ‘Project Cure’, according to Sanu-

Lamido Sanusi

si, hopes to ultimately change the naira currency structure to 12, comprising six coins and six banknote denominations. The first quarter of next year had been planned for its introduction. According to the accounts of the CBN governor, he had as far back as December last year, received President Goodluck Jonathan’s nod for the project. Expectedly, this was after the board of the apex bank had first given the go-ahead for the new plan. Sanusi had as well got the authorisation of the Federal Executive Council on the matter sometime last month. This was in addition to the approval of the National Economic Council received sometime within the year. For those who dared to question the audacity of the CBN governor to embark on the project, Sanusi was quick to explain that his strength was derived from the Central Bank of Nigeria Act No. 63 of 2007, which gives the governor the powers over the management of the nation’s currency. This includes the power to print new currencies, restructure the existing ones and introduce fresh currencies. As Nigerians busied themselves, engaging in public debate over the desirability or otherwise of the restructuring, particularly the new N5,000 note,

Briefly Jega tasks political parties on violence

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Atahiru Jega, at the weekend appealed to political parties in Ondo State to shun violence during the October 20, 2012 governorship election. Jega made the appeal in Akure in a keynote address at a one-day sensitisation workshop for political parties and stakeholders in the state. The workshop was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-party Affairs ahead of the election. Jega, represented by Hajia Amina Zakari, national electoral commissioner in-charge of political parties, also called on the participants to ensure a free and fair election. “It is our hope as a commission that as we build confidence among stakeholders, we can begin to deepen the culture of tolerance in the political and electoral processes in Nigeria,” he emphasised. He advised political parties and politicians in the state to imbibe the culture of tolerance and respect for electoral laws. In his address, the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, said the workshop would give stakeholders the opportunity to rub minds and ensure crisis free poll. He urged politicians to educate their supporters on the need to adhere strictly to electoral rules during the election. Obi called on them to come up with farreaching recommendations to ensure free and fair election the result of which would be acceptable to the people. The Country Director, International Republican Institute, Robina Namusisi advised all stakeholders to ensure free, fair and credible governorship poll. Gov. Olusegun Mimiko, the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Action Congress of Nigeria candidate and 11 other candidates attended the workshop.

Aminu Tambuwal

Sanusi was reported to be putting finishing touches to ensure that the naira notes rolled out in the first quarter of next year as planned. Interestingly, one of the internet news service providers reported that samples of the new N5,000 note were already on circulation ahead of the planned launch date. Sanusi carried on with the intended naira restructuring despite the vociferous opposition that trailed his actions. For instance, besides the opposition from Nigeria’s two former heads of state, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Yakubu Gowon, who openly advised against the planned new naira regime, other well meaning Nigerians also joined in the vanguard to oppose the policy. This included professional associations and civil society groups, among which were the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the organised labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). Many others also lent their voices in opposition to the move. In addition, a civil society organisation, the “Anti-Corruption Network”, had cause to storm the CBN, to protest the proposed currency restructuring exercise, particularly the introduction of the N5,000 note, and asked the FedCONTINUED ON PAGE 41

Atahiru Jega

CPC urges CJN to deepen reforms in judiciary

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) at weekend called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, to deepen the ongoing reforms in the judiciary for quicker dispensation of justice. The CPC National Financial Secretary, Mr Ezekiel Longe, made the call in an interview in Abuja. “The judiciary remains the last hope of the common man. “Let her leave a lasting legacy by putting right all the wrong things going on within the judiciary, and she will write her name in gold before she leaves,” he said. Longe noted that Nigerians needed to be assured that as the first female chief justice, she would not join in perpetrating the rot in the system. On merger talks among opposition parties, the national financial secretary said that CPC had not started any talks on merger with any party. “We have not engaged in any merger talks, many Nigerians are advocating that progressive parties should come together to unseat the PDP in 2015. “Individuals are talking about the possibility of merger but not yet at an official level, because I am involved and I should know if CPC has started such a move. “If the parties must be merged, they must have an agreeable policy, that is what will form the basis of the alliance,” he said.

Politics

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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My ordeal in police detention —Ugolor Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev David Ugolor, detained over the death of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, principal private secretary to Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, in this interview with Sebastine Ebhuomhan, narrates his ordeal, for the very first time, in the battle to clear his name from the murder. Y Your arrestt was sudden, dd dramatic d ti and d eventful; tf l can you tell t ll us your experience from the beginning? First of all, as I mentioned yesterday (Friday) during my meeting with the civil society, in all I must give thanks to God. If not God, I am not sure that I will be alive today to testify. I will continue to thank God for what he did in my life because what happened was like a hurricane. When it happens, you should know how damaging it is. But as the scripture says in Psalm 41, that those who care for the poor, he will rescue them in the times of trouble. It was God that rescued me. No matter how a lie stays, truth will certainly prevail. Light will always prevail over darkness. My story is a classical illustration of how innocent souls are being framed in Nigeria. The news of my arrest came to my family like a rude shock. Up till today, they have not recovered from it; particularly my children: young little girls that are growing up, suddenly seeing their father chained, handcuffed and brought to the house by a battalion of police, purporting to come and do a house search during which they found nothing apart from my telephones. The shock is an experience that will remain with us throughout our lives. As if that was not enough, in a commando-style, they also brought me under chains to my office. The harassment and shame will remain with me. What they subjected my staff and visitors can only be likened to the condition of a man that is accused of planning to overthrow a government. For three hours, this massive search was carried out in my house and after that they came to my office. My family was subjected to trauma; my staff and visitors were also subjected to trauma. It was a traumatic experience. If Jesus Christ can go through excruciating pains on the Cross of Calvary, who am I? I take succour from the inspiration of Christ and others who have also passed through persecutions in our earthly world. Gani Fawehinmi, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Mandela and even Martin Luther all went through all these things. So, there is a price for the values that my family and I stand for: a society ran by justice; a society where there is rule of law; a society where the rights of people are respected; a society where the divide between the rich and poor is bridged, etc. Those values are threats to the political elite and leaders of this country. For the past 25 years, these are values I have been promoting through either my television programmes or civil society campaigns and different groups across the country. It is not surprising when I was arrested. But the method that was adopted by the police under a democratic government is shocking! It is something we should not experience. At different times, you were detained, first, in a police cell and, later, at a maximum prison facility. What were your experiences at the different places? 1. When I was arrested, I was detained at the Area Command office on Sapele Road in Benin City. To tell you the story, there was no toilet; we were defecating in a bucket we take out first thing in the morning. We stay with our defecation in the bucket the whole day. The situation of the cell is nothing to write home about. Today, I am still treating my skin. It is still badly damaged even as I speak with you now; my eyesight is badly damaged; and the pains will remain forever. The way I was in the cell... only God knows, to the extent that my lawyer, Afolabi, had to intervene by bringing his personal resources to build a toilet. When he finished building the toilet, the police felt the place was becoming conducive and had to whisk me away, straight to Abuja. In the cell at Garki Police Station, I was kept with some dangerous armed robbers, one of whose hand was shot and smelling. Each time the rain falls, we were beaten by the rain inside the cell. What I went through is nothing to write home about. But it was a good experience because the story, from the Area Command cell to Garki Police Station cell, to Oko Prison, was not different. It gives me more insight into how innocent citizens across the country are being framed up by the police and how people are suffering. In each of these places, nobody caters for what we

eatt and drink. because having d what h t we d i k IIn my case, I was very clear l b h i known that I was being framed up, I was very careful and cautious not to eat anything different from the meal from my wife. During an attempt by the police to deny my wife that fundamental human right, we had to cry out. At the same time, I must also say that within the police system, there are also responsible policemen whose conscience one has to praise, who gave me their humanitarian support to make sure I was able to face the challenges. But the police as a system and how they dealt with me are things I must tell the world. It happened to me today; some people said it is not their business, but nobody knows tomorrow. That is why I am encouraging Nigerians that it should be their interest because there is no way a thing like this can continue and we will have peace in this country. Has anything changed among the values you said you are living for after your harrowing experience? None; rather, my experience has re-enforced those values. Everything that happens in a man’s life has a purpose. There is a reason why God allowed this to happen in my life. I am, to a large extent, an ordained minister for 15 years in a new Apostolic Church with another ministry added to my work: the prison fellowship ministry. Hitherto, I did not know anything that happens in the prisons across the country. The way it is now, I can speak very clearly now on what happens in Nigerian prisons. I can speak boldly now that there are a number of innocent citizens suffering in our prisons. At Oko Prison, though, I can say the reception was still positive as it was not totally bad. But it happened because of the media attention. As for what happens in the prisons, you only need to visit to know how Nigerians can be cruel to their own fellow human beings who are still just suspects. The issue of rights is nothing to write home about and makes me wonder what kind of country is this. The Nigerian prison system, instead of serving as a centre for reformation, is now serving as a centre for breeding people who will lose confidence in the entire project called Nigeria. That is not good for the country and the people. That is why you see people going into the prisons as hardened criminals, then out, they go back to the trade. The food that they eat in Oko Prison, you cannot give to a dog in your house to eat. With the kind of food that prison inmates eat, the Nigerian government can be accused of crime against humanity. Of course, you know that there is quite a huge budget allocated to the Ministry of Interior Affairs from where money is allocated to prisons. I cannot reconcile the ministry’s huge budget with the kind of food and the condition of the inmates; much less the health status and health facility. Suspects are treated wickedly; they don’t have rights and are not in the proper framework of the mind to engage in anything meaningful; nobody cares about their wellbeing. That to me, is something Nigerians should begin to talk about. That is why I said God knows the reason this happened. This is something I am very willing to continue to talk about because we have a responsibility in this country. If we speak, we will die; if we don’t speak, we will die. So, I will rather speak and die so that I will be remembered for the kind of society we want to build for our children and my children. You and your lawyer, Olayiwola Afolabi, have been insisting from the beginning that you were framed up with the murder of your friend, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde. What do you think could make someone somewhere decide to frame you up with such a criminal allegation? Well, I would not want to comment on the case that is still in court so that I would not be accused of court contempt. At the same time, there are steps that we have taken to prove our innocence. First, as a lawabiding citizen and considering the kind of work I do in the country as one of the leading human rights and environmental activists and public affairs analysts for over 25 years, my work was to encourage my people not to do deal with the police and furthermore, encourage them

Rev. Ugolor

to cooperate with the police by giving t aided their operation. While my peopl demanding for my release, they insisted parent investigation. In their steps, the did not believe in violence. I do not beli law. There was no time in this country violence. That was the step they took b found out that the police were detainin no explanation from the police beyond that I have never seen in my life accuse killing of my good friend, Olaitan Oye perfect peace, was untimely murdered to the court and the court graciously g lease. The police authorities disobeyed inforced our initial belief that the poli me up. Obviously, this is not new in th the police has always been very negat and clarified that the police were doin Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, noted i already engaging me—as a matter of ments from me—when they arrested m they had my telephone numbers and th of the man who accused me at that poin onciled if there was actually any tele that very man who was pointing finger they have not done that whereas they h have got my call logs. Even when we w of their press statements, they were s obtained my call logs)... So, it was very between what they were telling the wo doing. I will not go further because I be which has helped to get my bail release has proven again that they are the last h is need to strengthen the judiciary in to demand for more investments in th police, I would still be in the bar. As a police thinking to ever prosecute me b arrested on July 27, and how I was hu istrate’s court... the court graciously g filed for the second bail at the High Cou the case file would have been submitte lawyer is following up; let us wait for that that same confidence that was ex the funny character pointed at me, th it has increased. With the level of solid ternationally, I am not only impressed will not disappoint all those that stood b society that people attempted to crimin disgruntled politicians to criminalise by some people as a) good business for

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Editorial

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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

MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOLAJI TUNJI

SUNDAY EDITOR

LANRE OYETADE

GENERAL EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA

COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

ADESOYE ADEKOYA

CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

ISE-OLUWA IGE

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

KAYODE BALOGUN JNR

SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

CALLISTUS OKE

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

FRANK OBOH

HEAD, GRAPHICS

Lagos’ public schools and Chinese Language

he Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, recently disclosed that the state government would introduce Chinese Language or Mandarin in its public schools from next academic session. Oladunjoye made known the plan while meeting with a delegation from the Confucius Institute, University of Lagos. She said the learning of Chinese Language in public schools would offer the opportunity for pupils and students to speak the language and adapt to the Chinese culture. Oladunjoye had noted that the learning of Mandarin became necessary since China has become a new destination for trade, commerce and business. Knowledge of Chinese Language, she stressed, would also assist Nigerian students to further their studies in China; more so when the country has become a success story as a world class economy. The Director, Confucius Institute, Prof. Caleb Orimogunje, had likewise promised the Institute’s willingness to cooperate with the Lagos State Government in the propagation of Chinese culture; as well as its disposition to assisting the state with the needed logistics to make the teaching and learning of the language easier. Orimogunje said the Co-Director of the Institute, Professor L. Jiang, would assist the take-off arrangements for the programme. Confucius Institute is said to be a representative of the Chinese culture in Nigeria committed to satisfying people’s need for it. It may be imperative, nonetheless, to provide backdrops to, and appreciate Sino-Nigeria relations, especially in the context of SinoAfrica relations. The 1955 Bandung Conference held in Jakarta, Indonesia, where China expressed support for anti-colonial struggle provided

a concrete basis for multi-lateral relations between China and African states. China, however, was not clear on the nature of support it would offer. Post-independence Nigeria’s foreign policy was conservative and excluded relations with the Far East countries, including China. The post cold war period, however, offered new vistas in Sino-Nigeria and Africa relations. In 2001, China championed the founding of the Forum for China and African Cooperation (FOCAC), a forum between the People’s Republic of China and the states in Africa. There have been four summits held to date, the most recent being that of November 8 to 9, 2009 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Previous summits were held in October 2000 in Beijing, December 2003 in Addis Ababa, and November 2006 in Beijing. The Forum was a strategic response to the Washington and Post-Washington consensus. It enabled China to ‘evade’ local governance issues about itself and through the foreign policy of noninterference. Post cold war Sino-Nigeria ties are largely hinged on economic relations; and Nigeria’s oil-driven economy has been a major attraction to China. Without doubt, the planned introduction of Mandarin Language in Lagos public schools depicts closer ties between Nigeria and China. It is significant, however, to note that in this instance, Chinese representatives initiated the idea, and not vice versa. Hitherto, China had taken a subtle approach to its relations with Nigeria. But the decision to teach the Chinese Language seems a major shift that raises certain pertinent questions: Would the Lagos State Government send its teachers to China to learn and teach Mandarin? Would Lagos

recruit Chinese teachers to teach Mandarin in Nigeria? Are there laws enabling Chinese to work in Nigeria? Would the introduction of Mandarin lead to new dimensions of neo-colonialism in Nigeria? Could there be ulterior motives to make the introduction of Mandarin subsume African languages? Are African languages well taught in public schools to necessitate the introduction of a foreign language? These issues should be seriously addressed by the Lagos State Government as they would assist in providing strategic basis for its newfound love and engagement with China. For, public opinion seems to favour the argument that the teaching and learning of Mandarin in Nigeria should be a private, instead of a government-led initiative. We do appreciate; however, the fact that China has been a major player in the Lagos (megacity) development plan, which partly explains the planned introduction of Mandarin. It is also most likely that China would offer incentives through the donation of libraries, computer hardware and software, buildings and scholarships to aid the teaching of its language in Nigeria. Also in favour of the introduction of Chinese Language argument is that it would enhance the basis to exert greater pressure on Beijing to invest in the Nigerian economy; and that China would likely give Nigeria a higher priority in its Sino-Africa relations as a result of the engagement. But again, we urge the Lagos State Government to sincerely reflect on the questions earlier posed before finally embarking on the Chinese Language project. Besides, though Sino-Nigeria relations are deepening by the day, we urge the state government to reach out to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its inputs into the proposal.

Reminiscences SEPTEMBER 23 IN HISTORY

1940: WWII - French troops land in Africa Free French troops, under the command of General Charles de Gaulle, landed in Senegal by the British Royal Navy.

1958: UN votes on China’s entry The United Nations General Assembly voted on China’s entry and a seat in the United Nations, UN. 1968: Columbian passenger planes hijacked Two Columbian passenger jets were hijacked and taken to Cuba where it was presumed they have been given political asylum. It was unknown how the hijackers managed to board the planes with guns as all passengers were supposed to be checked prior to boarding. 1976: Multi-racial teams to represent South Africa in sports The Apartheid government in South Africa announced its decision to allow multi-racial teams to represent the country in international sporting events. Back at home, however, segregation was still strictly imposed. 2004: Hurricane Jeanne kills thousands in Haiti Hurricane Jeanne slams into Haiti, killing thousands although the storm was only a category two hurricane. The accompanying heavy rain caused the floodgates for the Peligre River to fail which caused flash floods to sweep through entire villages, carrying away hundreds of people. Jeanne was part of a series of deadly storms to hit the region during the 2004 hurricane season 2006: Argentine rebel leader dies of heart attack Rebel leader of the People’s Revolutionary Army, Enrique Gorriaran Merlo, died of a heart attack at the age of 65. In 1980, the squad he commanded assassinated Nicaraguan leader, Anastasio Somoza. 2009: India gets World Bank’s $4.3bn loan The World Bank committed to sending 4.3 billion dollars worth of loans to India. The loans were expected to be used for infrastructure and to support state banks. 2011: Zambia swears in new president Michael Sata, the opposition leader in Zambian politics, was sworn in as the country’s new president after beating the incumbent, Rupiah Banda, in a close election. Sata ran on the platform of addressing the problem of corruption and reforming the government and stated he would keep those promises after his ceremony.

Opinion

Sunday September 23, 2012

Uncensored U nc

Sheriff S Folarin

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

he night of Wednesday, September 17, was not a particularly pleasant one for John Mikel Obi. The Nigerian-born Chelsea midfielder blew a golden opportunity to keep the European Champs 2-1 up for the rest of the game against Juventus, their first opponents in the 2012/13 run to defend their Champions League title. Mikel, in genuine error, threw away a pass just a few inches away from the 18-yard box of his True Blues team, and viola, the Juventus attacker, Claudio made a meal of that goof! He easily passed through a collapsed defence, which had left Peter Chech overexposed, and outran an obviously lazy John Terry to tear the Chelsea net apart. Juventus thus levelled 2-2 in Stamford Bridge, home-ground of Chelsea. Mikel’s blunder came only 10 minutes to the end of the match. He had played out his heart for 80 minutes and contributed remotely or closely in the first two goals scored by the dangerously far-sighted forward, Oscar. Mikel had been visible in the mid-field, wings, attack, and even defence. His passes were not particularly perfect (most Chelsea passes were not accurate that night), but he did a yeoman’s job in all the crucial departments of the game to engender an early Chelsea lead. But the 80th minute error seemed to have been the only thing the men in the commentary box, the spectators, Chelsea fans and even the club’s foes saw. They did not even mind the grave and unprofessional error of Terry who was attempting to play an offside

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Racial abuse and our black footballers tactic with someone who was glaringly well positioned to score a legitimate goal. The Nigerian, who left the pitch distraught and sorry, took advantage of the mass and social media to apologise to the club’s fans all over the world. But his on-thefield mistake seemed to have offered a long sought opportunity to pour out racial venom on the African. His tweeter account was replete with all manner of racial insults. The player was confounded by the amount of racial hate displayed on his tweeter account: “monkey”, ‘African gorilla”, “go and eat banana”, “go back to your forsaken continent”, “big African fool”, among other unprintable terms. As the insults kept pouring in, even days after the public apology, it was reported that Obi was compelled to close his account. The young man must have suffered shock and emotional breakdown from this unexpected experience. His own fans, who had hailed his every fine move these past years, who had worn his jersey duplicates, who had sought his autographs and had venerated him as one of the heroes of Stamford Bridge in West London; these same fans are the ones dehumanising him. He would have reasoned that it could not have been his one silly mistake that caused such enormous hatred; he would certainly imagine that he was never loved in the first place. The names and racist abuse are coming from a depth that transcends spontaneous reaction. Mikel must have felt unloved and rejected. Not even his club’s support and official complaint or condemnation of the racist abuse can assuage him. It is human to look beyond the formal condemnation and rather take into cognisance, the human mind as exemplified in the original action. This is the racial abuse and perpetual state of human dejection most African footballers suffer around the world. Even though Didier Drogba was like a god in

England, he suffered racist slur both in and outside Chelsea. Even when he was still better physically and technically than Lampard and Terry (his two white club mates), English commentators, club management and fans had started singing goodbye songs to him in the Premier League. Flourent Malouda, the black French Chelsea international has been relegated to the club’s youth team for what the club calls ‘declining performance’. Meanwhile, Manchester United’s Michael Owen, the diminutive white player who is ‘finished’ and has not been playing for about four years now, is still enjoying a safe haven in Manchester while also being linked with a likely recall to the English national team. What of multiple African Player of the Year winner, Samuel Eto’o? The mastermind of Barcelona La Liga victories, Champions League back-to-back, as well as FA cups, was forced to flee Spain like a villain when racist chants and monkey noise were not only coming from club’s opponents, but also from home fans. At some points, Samuel had to walk out of the pitch at Camp Nou. Roberto Carlos, the free-kick legend, a black Brazilian moved from Real Madrid to Russia in search of peace. But what he got in the Russian league was probably the worst racist abuse against footballers of African descent. Every game came with monkey noise and banana throwing at the footballer. Even great Pele suffered racial discrimination of sorts. When he was announced some years ago, as joint winner of FIFA All-time Best Player alongside Maradona, the Argentinean walked out on Pele and the entire capacity crowd at the ceremony. The last two years have recorded unprecedented cases of player to player racial abuse in Europe. Terry was reported to have racially abused Anton Ferdinand in a Chelsea-QP Rangers match. Liverpool’s Suarez was alleged to have racially insulted

Manchester’s Evra. There have also been cases of media witch-hunt and exaggeration of the private deeds or field errors of black players. We have had Mario Ballotelli of Manchester City, Damien Defoe of Tottenham Hotspurs, to mention a few, suffering bashing on and off the field of play. There have also been cases of extremely harsh and unfair decisions of referees against black players or African teams in international football competitions. Nigeria lost the U-20 World Cup to Argentina in 2005 when two penalties were awarded to the opponents when their strikers, including Lionel Messi could not open the net of the Nigerians that had been leading by a goal. Cameroon lost the 1990 World Cup quarterfinal match to England when two quick penalties were awarded to England to cancel their 2-1 deficit and proceed to victory. Careers of some budding African stars have ended abruptly because of certain tough but racially induced decisions. There is racism in all sports. Racial discrimination against blacks manifests everywhere and every day. There is no doubt that racism is killing not just football and sports, but also humanity. Sports are meant to entertain and sports across state boundaries are supposed to bring the world together. It should not be the continuation of racial politics by other means. Racist chants, insults, slurs and abuses are not a virtue; neither do they amount to a sense of greater value to demean lesser people. Racism is rather the weapon of the weak. It is a show of the shallowness of the human mind. It demonstrates how unsophisticated and uncivilized a human mind can be. Discrimination or selective justice of any kind is not a sign of strength; it is a show of defeat, fear, timidity and insecurity. It is an epitome of the failure of human leadership. •Dr. Folarin teaches Politics at Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Tackling the menace of floods in Yobe MAMMAN MOHAMMED

lhaji Bukar Mai-Katifa, 52, is one of the 4,000 persons who were recently displaced by floods in Gashua and Nguru in Yobe. His only house and farmland were submerged by floodwater, while he lost four cows and other valuable properties kept in the house, including some vital documents. ``I have lost everything to the flood; I don’t know how and where to start,’’ Mai-Katifa moans in tears as he recalls his ordeal. Situated in the arid zone, Yobe has over the years been groaning under the yoke of very low rainfall and growing desertification. Therefore, when the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) warned of impending floods in the state, the Yobe State Government promptly heeded the warning and commenced the clearing of drainages and waterways in the towns. However, many residents of the state’s urban areas ignored the warning and continued with their dirty habits such as dumping refuse in waterways. Little wonder then that several neighbourhoods in the state later became inundated with floods, induced by heavy rainfall and aggravated by clogged waterways and drainage systems. All the same, Alhaji Wakil Sarki, the Commissioner for Environment, stressed

that the ministry cleared drainage channels in Damaturu, the state capital, and other major towns at the beginning of the rainy season to facilitate free flow of water. ``The Yobe State Government procured new state-of-the-art equipment which was used in clearing refuse deposits in the drainage. ``The problems associated with floods in some parts of the state are attitudinal, as people habitually throw rubbish inside the drainage channels,’’ he added. Besides, Sarki said that the ministry embarked on intensive public enlightenment campaigns at the beginning of the rainy season to sensitise the residents to the dangers of dumping refuse in waterways. In spite of these preemptive measures, residents of Gashua on Thursday, Aug. 23, experienced a downpour which led to the flooding of most parts of the town. The rain, which started as a shower on that day, later snowballed into a downpour which flooded the entire neighbourhood. Alhaji Mamman Majidadi, the Secretary, Bade Emirate Council, said that the rainfall was the heaviest, ever experienced in the area for decades. ``The rains were so heavy that even houses that were strong enough could not withstand the floods. ``After the rains, the people’s movement in most parts of the town was only through the use of canoes due to the floods which affected virtually every part of Gashua,’’ he said. Worried by the development, the Emir of

Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, reported the disaster to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as to the state government. ``We are expecting immediate response from NEMA and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to our request for assistance for the victims,’’ Majidadi said. Although no life was lost, the affected persons, who are mostly the rural poor, lost virtually all their belongings to the flood. The victims, who were temporarily accommodated in public schools, however, faced numerous health problems as a result of the unhygienic environment of their temporary abode. Majidadi noted that over 500 houses, which survived the first day of the floods, later caved in due to large volume of floodwaters. ``Houses in Filin Tanda, Kagala Paya, Abujan Amarya, Angwan Makafi and Katuzu wards were mostly affected,” he said. Sarki, nonetheless, attributed the flooding of Gashua and Nguru to inadequate drainage channels and water discharge points. ``The Ministry of Environment had cleared the drainage and erected embankments along water banks to check possible floods in Gashua and Nguru but these measures are inadequate,’’ he said. The commissioner underscored the need for the construction of more drainage channels and water discharge points in the two towns to provide a lasting solution to the menace of floods in the areas. To assuage the suffering of the victims,

the state government distributed relief materials, including food items, building materials, blankets and cash, to some of them. Recounting their ordeal, Wakil Modu, a farmer in Gashua, said that farmers in the area completely lost their farmlands to the floods. ``The crops had been washed away by the floods; we are not expecting anything from this year’s harvests,’’ he moaned. Modu, nonetheless, appealed to the state government to make structured arrangements for irrigation farming, to make up for the expected poor yields. ``Government should devise means of harvesting the floodwaters, while providing improved seedlings and other agricultural inputs for farmers to facilitate irrigation farming. There is still a window of opportunity in spite of the flood misfortune,’’ he added. The Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, recently visited Gashua and Nguru to assess the extent of the damage caused by the floods. Sani-Sidi urged the traditional rulers in the area to brace to the emerging challenges and mobilise their people to initiate proactive measures to forestall a future reoccurrence of the disaster. `` We are now living witnesses to the reality of climate change and global warning, as areas hitherto considered as dry savanna are daily witnessing excessive torrential rainfall,” Sani-Sidi observed. •Mohammed is of News Agency of Nigeria.

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Applause LIFESTYLE, FASHION & ENTERTAINMENT SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

I’m not a wife, not Mrs to anybody ...what I owe myself is to be happy –Tina Mba Tina Mba, an actress and a single mother, had two children out of wedlock. Without equivocation, she says, “Well first of all, I’m not a wife. I’m not a Mrs to anybody.” Although not married, Tina tells Adaeze Amos in this interview why some marriages crash. Apart from acting, what else do you have passion for? I have passion for a couple of things. These include giving care to people - children, aged and mentoring them generally. But most importantly, I have passion for plants. I like trees, I like flowers, shrubs, I like to plant, I like to garden. Basically, that is a rebirth when I plant. You sow a seed or plant a tree - you nurture it, watch it grow and you take care of it. I have a garden in my house. It gives me a sense of joy. Like living again, like having children. Then, you have to take care of them. This principle applies to life and to people. If you can’t love a plant, you can’t love people. But if you can, it means you can take care of people, including children or anything that seems ‘helpless’, that needs care. It means you can love people and still take care of them. I like to paint and do anything that is creative as well.

Have you ever had any embarrassing moment from your fans? Well, I don’t see any embarrassment from my fans as one because it comes with the job. A long time ago, a woman slapped me so hard around Ilupeju. She gave me a dirty slap for doing ‘Magnate’, a soap. She was screaming at me and said, ‘you this woman you are a witch, look at the way you are treating that poor boy, how can you do that and I hear you are an Igbo woman’. She was going to the church in the evening. I said to her, ‘Haba’ madam, you didn’t have to slap me to make your point. She said ‘no, you are

very wicked and you are very fine but wicked’. I told her that it’s my work, that it wasn’t real …that we try to teach people. She refused and coincidentally we were shooting around there. She came, peeped and saw us shooting and she said ‘oh it is true’. Those are the kind of things I get from fans. It is because you are believable. For me it is a plus. It is not embarrassing. What is the boldest step you have ever taken? Waking up every morning and deciding on the next step for the day. Some women had endured their marriages that are abusive, and at times they died in the process; what’s your advice to women? Yes, I know of a couple who had died in the process of enduring abusive marriage. First of all, I’m not a wife. I’m not a Mrs to anybody, but I would talk from my experience in life because I have had experiences. I would also talk from the viewpoint of a mum and a woman. You see, if the kitchen gets too hot, get out of it. The greatest thing I owe myself is to be happy. It doesn’t matter what the next man thinks, it doesn’t matter what your church thinks, it doesn’t matter what your Imam thinks, it doesn’t really matter what your family believes. What is important, I speak as Tina Mba, is that I have done my best and I deserve a life and to be happy. I tell women that our mothers, perhaps, stayed in their marriages because it was at the

‘I HAVE PASSION FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS’ 20

time they were given out in marriage. Nobody gives anybody out really anymore in marriage. It is indirectly done, but it is not as bold as it was. So, it would be a choice. What you saw during courtship is not film trick, it is the way it is and would always be. If the man during your courtship raised his hand against you, he is not going to stop. Women ought to understand that abuse is not just physical. It is mental, psychological and verbal. This is not just about women, it’s about human beings. Now, a woman or a man who thinks that my wife slapped me yesterday because she was angry, tomorrow when she is angry again, she would slap you twice. The next time, she probably would raise a bottle. These things never stop. You have people in Psychology, you call them Lord of the Manor. Those are the ones who when they get home, they pick up the remote and nobody else can collect that remote from them. It is their right, their birthright; they were born with it. They are in control of everything. You have no say. What are those small indicators of an abusive person? One way or the other, even our children, mothers, fathers to children, we are in several ways very abusive. But because it is not physical, it doesn’t seem that it is anything. You find children in school, when you talk to them, you discover they can’t talk to their mothers. I have a couple of them like that but they come here and then we talk. I realised that there is a problem. You do not need a pastor to tell you how to run your home. This is my sincere opinion. He can advise you based on the word; he is not living with you. For me, what you owe yourself is a duty to stay alive and be happy. If there is anyone (I know we are plenty), going through any kind of abuse, if you can’t resolve it, please walk away. Yes, just walk away. Don’t think you can work it out. This is my CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

‘I’M NOT OFF MEN, BUT AS FAR AS MARRIAGE IS CONCERNED, NOT FOR ME’

Applause

Sunday, September 23, 2012

‘I’m not off men, but as far as marriage is concerned, not for me’

What did you study in school? I did English and American studies, pop culture. After school, I moved to New York where I did writing and performing poetry. I was in a Def Poetry Jam, which is a show on television in the United States for a year. Tell us about the DEF Poetry Jam and your awards. Was it what brought you out to the limelight? Yes it was. Before that, I performed in little shows and open MIC shows, where anybody could go up to the stage and perform or sing. One day, I went with a friend of mine who was going to enter for a contest. I went there just to support him but they told me I couldn’t go in unless I signed in for the auditioning as well. I just signed for the auditioning with the mind to just support my friend, but I ended up winning the contest and getting noticed by the founder of Def Jam, Russell Simmons, who is the owner of a very popular recording label in the United States. He created the Def Poetry Jam on television and asked me to be part of it. It ran for six seasons and I was on five of those seasons. They liked me and what I do and they asked me to join the tour of different cities all around the United States in a state wide tour. From there I got a lot other opportunities to do other things. Def Poetry Jam added a plus in my career. I grew from being a town poet to being more international. Do you have a published collection of your works? I have a manuscript that I am still working on. I am highly critical of my work. I don’t think it’s good enough yet, so I m still working on it. You talked about your parents encouraging you, but there a lot of kids out there who have these things bottled up in them but no one to encourage them. What do you say to this? It’s a sad thing because there are lots of Nigerians stuck in jobs

‘I’m not anybody’s wife’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Bassey Ikpi is a writer, poet and mental health advocate. She was born in Cross River State but currently living in the United States where she has won several awards in poetry. Bassey is living with Bi Polar II disorders, a mental health problem and she spoke with Vanessa Okwara about her poetry performances and passion for people with mental health disorders. What aspect of poetry do you do? I am a writer first. The kind of poetry I do is very personal. I don’t write about anything I don’t know or haven’t experienced. I hope that what I write is something that other people can connect with. I also perform poetry. This is taking from page to the stage, When did you pick up writing poetry? Is it something you started during your childhood years? I started writing when I was eight years old. I use writing to express myself. I moved to the United States when I was four years old and learnt to speak English when I was five. What are the things that could trigger your writings? It can be nothing and everything at the same time. It could be a societal issue or personal. I write a lot about mental health. I have a series of poems called “the broken diva’’ series. It is a collection of stories I have written about female stars like Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Loren Hill. It’s just something that will spark it, usually a one line and I will think about it over and over again and then I will get to a computer and I will write it down.

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opinion

and careers that were created for them by their parents. Visibility is important. In the United States, whenever I am announced, they will say “Bassey Ikpi, from Cross River State Nigeria,” so that people will know where I am coming from. This is very important to me. Part of the reason I am here in the country apart from the shows I came to do is to talk to people about developing a show like Def Poetry for Africans but based in Nigeria. This will help talented people to be visible, work on their craft and be encouraged, especially when they see that person on television reading a poem. That way, children can also develop the skill or aspire to write a poem of their own. What other notable events did you perform poetry in the United States? I performed at the NAWACP image awards. It’s an organisation that gives awards for the best representation of black people in any category. It’s almost like the Grammys but specifically for black people. I was asked to write a tribute poem for Venus and Serena Williams, the tennis stars. I wrote a poem for them and performed it at the award. Let’s talk about your mental health issue. How did the bi polar disorder happen? What happened to me was that I was on tour for the Def Poetry Jam and I was doing two things concurrently. I was doing the Def Poetry Jam and a college tour as well. So when others in the Def Jam will go home to rest, I will be on the road to do the college tour. That was when I cracked. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had a breakdown in the dressing room when we were in Chicago Illinois. It was probably one of the frightening moments of my life. I had what they call a mixed episode. This means that I was depressed and manic at the exact time, which is the most physical uncomfortable feeling imaginable. I was sent home and went to see doctors. I was diagnosed with Bi Polar 2 disorders. Is that what made you to start the mental health advocacy? Yes, it was my illness that motivated me to start the Siwe project, a mental health advocacy nonprofit organisation. It was named after a young girl, Siwe Monsato, who I have known most of her life who committed suicide due to her illness. I discovered that so many people with mental illness think that nobody wants to hear about it or discourage them from getting help and seeking treatment. What Siwe Project does is to be a louder voice to encourage people to get help, treatment and to do what they need to do to feel good How old are you? I am 36 years old. What’s your love life like? I am not married but I have a five-year-old son. I am single and I am not searching. (Laughs) That is serious! Do you want to be single for the rest of your life? Well if you put it like that ….I guess not. I am a poet and very sensitive. I don’t like heartbreaks and I don’t put myself in the path of getting my heart broken. Are you telling us that you are off men? I am not off men. A lot of them are amazing, but as far as marriage and getting married is concerned, I don’t think it is for me.

Why is it that many celebrities today either have crashed marriages or in some cases their marriages are being endured and not enjoyed? Mind you, celebrities cut across actors, doctors, journalists, engineers, fashion designers and so on. I’m not saying just actors. I will first of all say they are human beings. It is what they do that puts them in the eye of the world. Therefore, they have no life of their own. That is why we can talk about them. They have their responsibilities but what if this celebrity has an abusive spouse, one who doesn’t understand the workings of this job, who thinks that the other person is being unfaithful, that the partner must be doing something outside of the home, when the person really is not? That poses a problem. First of all, it is the problem of lack of trust and understanding. It meant that before you went into it in the first place, you didn’t think well. You didn’t accept the person. I say to people that love fades, it is your friendship that keeps your relationship going. Passion would go in the background. Sometimes it even dies but it is your friendship that keeps it. The important thing for me is whoever these people are, whatever problems they are going through in their homes, I hope it is worth working at. If it is not worth it, from any of the side of the divide, walk away. In your view, what should the society do or what’s the way out? I think the thing is that society hasn’t begun to actually take these things seriously. If we begin to actually consider marriage as important even in our professional lives, then concessions would be given to people who are married, including nursing mothers. It means that if she starts working from morning till five in the evening, please let her go so that by 7 p.m. she should be in her house to attend to her home and take care of her family. Don’t say if she wants to take care of her family, let her stay at home. That is why we are having problems in marriages because the wife is a banker. She has deadline that her boss who is also a woman has given to her. Because the boss also is in the office till about 11 p.m., you cannot tell her that you are going to feed your husband and children when she is still in the office. The person who makes the rule is the man because whether he gets home at 2 a.m., his wife would feed him, anyway. It doesn’t matter how she does it. The thing is we have to begin to actually apply these things in our professional lives. The jobs won’t suffer because women are dynamic.

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Cocktail Whispers

Stories by Olumide Segun-Oduntan

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

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Ice Prince booed out of stage for sagging trousers

England and royal irresponsibility

he Royal family of England never seem to get tired of scandals. As if the death of his mother, Princess Diana, due to media scandals and paparazzi is not enough, Prince Harry is here seen been carried by hefty Africans, reminiscent of the heydays of slavery and colonialism. He seems not to have had enough of it. Just last week, the exposure of his brother’s wife, Kate’s topless photos to the media seem to have infuriated the royal family, who filed a case against the French magazine, Closer which published the pictures. Police have raided the offices of magazine in the hunt for the photographer who took topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge. Detectives confirmed they were looking for evidence at Closer’s Paris headquarters “which might lead to the identity” of the paparazzi photographer responsible. But that is not all. A couple of weeks ago, it was the turn of the

same Harry, seen nude, and frolicking with an unidentified lady. In one shot, a fully nude Harry is seen cupping his genitals while a seemingly topless woman stands behind him, TMZ said. In another photo, a naked Harry is bear-hugging a woman who also appears to be completely naked. A foreign magazine stated: “We’re told Harry, along with a large entourage, went down to the hotel bar and met a bunch of hot chicks ... and invited them up to his VIP suite,” reported TMZ. “Once in the room, things got wild ... with the group playing a game of strip pool that quickly escalated into full-on royal nudity.” With members of the Royal family displaying different, high level forms of irresponsibility, wild and careless enough not to shield it from the ever-prying eyes of the social media, one would think they are indeed trying to drive their old grandmother, Queen Elizabeth to untimely grave.

Video on Mohammed, the game continues

wo weeks ago, the American diplomat to Libya was murdered in cold blood by Muslim fanatics. His crime was that he was an American. Now, Americans have made a video

mocking Prophet Mohammed as a pedophile. Last week, it was some Muslim youths in Northern Nigeria. They caught a cat, and nailed the poor beats to the cross, probably in protest against Christians. For foreigners who value the lives of animals more than humans, these youths should have been jailed for such a heinous crime. However, in a nation that has suffered so much from religious violence, especially against Christians living in the North, Christians have not reacted too much to this. It’s a pity the cat has to join the American ambassador to suffer for a crime committed by a man hiding somewhere far away. But thank God it’s just a cat and not humans.

ce Prince, long regarded as a responsible musician in Nigeria, was booed on stage last week for dropping his pants so low that his briefs were exposed to the crowd. At the Close Up Loves Naija Music Concert, the crowd murmured out loud that despite the high regard and respect they had for this musical icon, his dressing had betrayed the love and respect. Some members of the visibly-angry audience stated their disappointment: “so even Ice Prince can get so low?’ one queried unbeliev-

ably. Ice Prince, whom many regard as a role model not only for his style of music but for his contribution to sanity in the Nigeria music industry, has seemingly left everyone speechless with this. The issue of sagging has been widely regarded as “swag” in this part of the world. Unfortunately, the history dates back to over 25 years ago when prisoners in the United States who had “gay” or “bi” sexual orientation used it to becloud prison wardens while effectively passing a message to their other mates that they were ready for a ride.

The ‘stage-managed’ fuel subsidy protest of January L

ast Monday, President Goodluck Jonathan said the January fuel subsidy protests were not carried out by ordinary Nigerians who wanted to express their opposition to a government policy. He said the protests were stagemanaged by a class of Nigerians who wanted to maintain a status quo of corruption in the petroleum sector. Jonathan said this in Abuja during the 52nd Independence Anniversary Lecture entitled: ‘Nigeria: Security, Development and National

Transformation’. For a nation faced with the sudden fate of spending more for fuel without nothing in return, some people see this as an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians. However, if it’s true, then such a group of people would have been so influential enough to shut down the most-populated city in Africa, and rent the whole population out for over seven days. They must have made so much wealth from fuel subsidy funds as to close down the capital city, Abuja, and many other cities across the country. One needs to take another look at the crowd that converged at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Lagos to agree that, yes, it was truly a hired crowd that came out that season. A key player at the Occupy Nigeria protests, Pat Utomi, agrees with the President that it was stage-managed. Hear him on his Facebook page: “Of course, I agree that it was stagemanaged, but BY THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE!”

Movies & Music

Stories by Olumide Segun-Oduntan

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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

My country inspired me to sing Great Nation –Timi

Nigeria’s Got Talent make AIT, Silverbird TV, Soundc The reality TV show ‘Nigeria’s Got Talent’ took display of talent to a new level when it hit the screen on Sunday, September 16, after touring through major cities in Nigeria searching for the most talented Nigerians. Soon, the show will air weekly on Silverbird TV , TVC, AIT , Soundcity, and for viewers in the United Kingdom, HITV. The show took a thrilling twist as 11-year-old Toke Salami who was accompanied by her family members to the Ibadan auditions put up a heartfelt performance of a gospel song. Nathaniel wowed the crowd using his whole body, especially his mouth to produce a full range of beats, and the Ayan Agalu Cultural Group were also not left behind in the era of approval for the semi final stage, after showcasing their talent which involved passing messages across with the use of the talking drum. Some contestants were moved to the next round of the show but sadly, some like Stephen Faunwei; whose magic trick turned ordinary paper to a thousand naira - and the Ever Blazer group did not please the judges. The talent train made a stop at Port Harcourt, performers including the ‘Padlock Display’ by a man called ‘Hero of Africa’ who hung padlocks

lthough he reluctantly auditioned for Idols West Africa in 2007, Donald Timiebi Dakolo’s rich choice of words, depth of lyrics and soulful vocals earned him a place in the finals of the show which he eventually won. Often referred to as ‘tender-hearted’, Timi is known for his humanitarian outlook. Signed under Now Muzik, he released the 11-track Beautiful Noise album in 2011. In this interview with Angela Davies, he sheds more light on his music and Great Nation single. What inspired you to sing the song ‘Great Nation’? My country, Nigeria inspired me. Over the last few years, the country has gone through some really challenging periods, politically, economically, socially and so on. But I have this firm belief that we would emerge stronger, because we are blessed with greatness in different spheres of endeavours. What do you want Nigerians to learn from the song? That this country has great potential, we should believe in it and find a way to make it work. Where was Great Nation first performed and what was the response? The first time I performed the song was at THE EXPERIENCE Concert at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos. I must confess I was moved by reactions of the audience. They sang along and a few cried. Why did you decide to premiere the video at the Future Awards 2012 which held recently? The Future Awards is a gathering that recognizes the achievements of exceptionally talented youth in various endeavours of life. And as the saying goes, the youth are the leaders of tomorrow, so what better avenue than the Future Awards; a gathering of today’s exceptional young achievers and tomorrow’s leaders.

Your album Beautiful Noise was nominated in the ‘Album of the Year’ category at the recently held NEA 2012 Awards, how did that make you feel? I felt great because it shows that my music is being appreciated.

We learn you were on the United Sounds of Africa (USA0 tour, what was the experience like and what did you learn from it? I have performed in several cities in Nigeria, and also had the opportunity to perform outside the country too, but it was my first experience of a feel of a proper tour; tour bus, on-the-road, city-to-city travel, and to crown it all, in the United States, with support from a recognized brand such as Live Nation. It was a new and note-worthy experience for me.

What are your plans for the future? To continue making beautiful music and sharing with mankind, by the special grace of God.

on his eye li inch nails int alongside a 24 can only be d it modelling, year old, Mar City by show the saxophon ahead from th “There are reality shows ora Mbelu. “T aside, in a co on lack of op see a wide ra formers, far b ing country w The Airtel stations acro December 201 wide, which many notable years includ Britain’s Got Boyle, whose selling UK de million copie

You were recently nominated in the ‘Revelation of the Year’ category for the ‘Headies Awards’, what are your expectations? I would just go and enjoy myself. (Laughs)

What do want to tell your fans? To all my fans, I love you all. Thanks for all the support.

Lancky C releases video for Beautiful Anambra-born Nneli Chike Anthony, a.k.a. Lancky C, whose hit single ‘Beautiful’ was being heard far away in the United States last year when it was released, has just released its video. The new video, which features Lancky C and a hot female dancer, brings out the best of Lancky C. Although done in Lagos, Ni-

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geria, the song is a favourite of American broadcasting stations presently, and is at the moment, making rotations at Soundcity. At first experience with Lancky C’s song, one would have a feeling one gets listening to Bob Marley’s earliest songs, but before long, Face Alone comes to mind. Lancky C’s songs tilt towards reggae and blues. Lancky C is known for his height, and his piercing voice and lyrics which calms the soul. Produced by K9, Lancky C came out with two debuts, his singles “Beautiful” and “I Need A Break” early in 2011. The singer hopes to break in with this video which is already a darling of music lovers on Youtube.

Big Mo storms out with Wa Fast-rising Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter Big Mo has returned with his massive new single titled “Wahlaitalai” this second half of 2012. Big Mo is known for his 2011 hit single, “Gentle Man” which featured E.M.E soldier Skales, with the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s voice in the background. This time, he features another singer, Maytronomy. “Wahlaitalai” is an excellent Nigerian Pop song which is led by lush drum patterns, sweet melodies, witty rap verses and a catchy and infectious hook that will not only rule the radio air waves and conquer dance floors across the country in the coming months but will also see Big Mo rise up the ranks of “Ones To Watch” in Nigerian music in 2012. On this new tune, Big Mo finally comes of age as an exciting Nigerian artist that is worth keeping an eye out for, now and in the future. Big Mo, whose real name is Emmanuel Derine Momoh hails from Edo State

but was raised in Kadun him, he draws inspiratio ous B.I.G, Michael Jack Z respectively, hence his shines through today. Having started makin collaborated with the li Tha Hitman and Maytr Like succ ousl “Kom saw tion boar ing a He m W the n grew ing P in L

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What should be a christian’s greatest prayer by Pastor olukoya

Praise Worship Briefly ‘Sovereign National Conference is Biblical’ E-mail:richardeghaghe@yahoo.com

E-mail:titusanyanwu.2012@gmail.com

EDIFYING GOD

September 23, 2012

Cleric advises youths to serve God Nigerian youths have been called upon to serve God diligently, marvellously and genuinely. As they grow up, they will reap abundant fruit of their labour in obeying God. The General Overseer and founder of God’s Covenant Christian Assembly (GCCA) at Asheshe Street, off Jakpa Road, Effurun in Uvwie council area of Delta State, Rev. Fred Konavwose Arutere, gave the advice recently while addressing newsmen shortly after the 2012 youth/ juvenile harvest tagged, “Children with difference”. Speaking further, the cleric said that parents have roles to play in their children’s life because God gave them the children for proper care. His words: “Parents are like caretakers and as a result, they must care for children properly on behalf of God. Essentially, give them basic education, because the greatest legacy parents can leave for a child is education”.

TAI ANYANWU

retiring Presbyter of the Assemblies of God Church, Lagos Division, Rev. Samuel Oshodipe, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to yield to pressure for the convocation of a sovereign national conference, saying the demand is backed up by the holy book, the Bible.

Oshodipe, who bowed out of active service in the vineyard last week, after 46 years of active service, said it was illogical to foist a system of government on unwilling peoples from different backgrounds. “Even it is scriptural. The Bible says ‘come, let us reason together’. We have stayed now for almost 98 years as a nation and we have not made so much progress because of division. “That is why we must come back together and sit down and evaluate and find a way forward politically, economically and socially. I support that we should hold a sovereign national conference or whatever it may be. We’ll discuss it together and everybody will express their mind and see how we can move together”, the retiring cleric stressed. To him, that is the plausible means Nigeria can get out of its political quagmire. The clergyman also advised President Jonathan and his cabinet to have the fear of God in heart by being proactive in their acclaimed fight against corruption in the polity. He advised that President Jonathan and his cabinet “should return to God and have the fear of God in heart. All you still see is corruption, corruption and corruption. It should be addressed from the top to the lowest level. If we are going to have a

Vatileaks: Pope’s butler for trial Sept 29

Rev. Oshodipe

healthy nation.” He also encouraged the President to be of good courage, pointing out that, to be a leader, one must have focus; a very strong determination, vision, dreams and also, follow up on policy decisions on daily basis so as to actualise target goals. Oshodipe said he thanked God that he retired after 46 years of meritorious service in the vineyard, leaving a neat, track record.

“I feel so good and happy in my heart because the Lord has helped me. It is by the grace of God and daily dedication and commitment to the Lord on my knees,” he rejoiced. He also has a piece of advice for young clerics: They should know the God they are serving, and hold on to that God on daily basis. They should read the Bible and study the Bible and follow the Bible regularly.

Suspension of N5,000 note in order –CAN T

he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the weekend commended the Federal Government for suspending the introduction of N5, 000 note denomination into the country’s economy, at least for now. The Karu Area Chairman of the Association in Nasarawa, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Patrick, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. ``We don’t see any reason or the rationale behind the proposed introduction of a N5, 000 note denomination into the country’s crippling economy, ‘he said.

The clergyman, however, said that there were no problems associated with the present denominations in circulation. ``We believe that this policy is not going to help the poor people and should be discarded,’’ he added. Patrick, who is also the Parish Priest of St. John of The Cross Catholic Church, Mararaba, said that the highest denomination the country had had was N1, 000 and wondered why the CBN was introducing a new N5, 000 bank note. He, however ,said that the rich and the affluent might not CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

The Pope’s former butler and a Vatican computer technician will go on trial starting September 29 on charges of leaking secret papers that unveiled fraud and intrigue in the Holy See. The butler, Paolo Gabriele, had told investigators he was acting as an agent for the Holy Spirit to rid the Catholic Church of “evil and corruption”. He is accused of aggravated theft, which carries a sentence of up to six years in prison, in a scandal dubbed “Vatileaks” by the Italian press. Mr Gabriele will stand trial together with Claudio Sciarpelletti, who according to court papers played a secondary messenger role in an unprecedented scandal that has threatened to expose major rifts at the heart of the Catholic Church. Mr Gabriele is accused of passing confidential documents from Vatican offices including those of the pope’s personal secretary to investigative journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who published them in a book “His Holiness” earlier this year.

Winners of Sept 16, 2012 Sunday Mirror/Babcock University Bible Quiz: •Femi Ojetunji • Ogidan Rachel • 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.

QUOTE The moment the affection you are giving to God is given to any other thing or person, that substitute becomes an idol. –Pastor Olukoya

Pastor Oritsejafor

‘ WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT DESPAIR’

HARD KNOCKS FOR THE HIGH FLIER?

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

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Deliverance session at the just concluded Gala Night held in Kings in Christ Church in Lagos recently.

Learn from what befell Sister Ussy, says Rev Chidi Rev. Chidi Anthony of Kings in Christ Church tells the pathetic story of Sister Ussy, a rare beauty with a gift of songs, who died mysteriously because she held tenaciously to the sin of fornication. Excerpts presented by Tai Anyanwu

et me share another story with you before we close for the day. There is this ‘daughter’ in the church at Aba, Abia State, named Sister Ussy. Sister Ussy is a very beautiful girl. You need to see this daughter; she is very beautiful, ebony black. I have never seen any lady who is prettier than Ussy, except my wife.

Ussy was studying English Language at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu. She was a wonderful chorister. When you give her the microphone, she will sing and bring the glory of God down. She speaks the Queen’s English; you need to see this daughter of mine. But her problem is that she was not genuinely born again. Always I tell her, ‘Sister Ussy, you are very beautiful. Why not surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ?’. She will reply, ‘Daddy, you don’t understand. As a student, I need to maneouver things to make ends meet. The N2, 000 that mummy gives me and the N3, 000 Daddy gives me will not do anything for me. I need to keep boyfriends to be able to make ends meet.” I continued talking to my daughter but she never heeded my advice. And because I always advise her, she decided to avoid me. For about 10 months, I did not set my eyes on Sister Ussy because she decided to avoid me. One day, I was in the church when a member ran to me and exclaimed, ‘Daddy, daddy, Daddy.’ I said ‘what?’ He said, ‘Sister Ussy!’ I abandoned everything I was doing because I was so fond of her. I ran outside to see her but behold it was the younger sister that was out there. I said, ‘What about Sister Ussy?’ The sister could not utter a word. ‘What of Sister Ussy?’ She started crying. ‘Crying? What is wrong? Did anybody molest you? Talk to me, you know I am a member of your family,’ I encouraged her. But she could not say a word, but after some prodding she said, “Daddy, that is the reason why I came; you need to come and see for yourself. I could no longer continue to wonder.’ I jumped into my car. We drove all the way to her home town, Aguata in Anambra State. I parked my car and rushed into the family sitting room. I was expecting that my daughter would rush to welcome me warmly; because I know that she too was fond of me. But I saw that gloom was cast over the whole house. When I looked from the right to the left, there was no sign of Sister Ussy. Nobody would talk to me. Then I saw the mother crying. Everybody in the large family sitting joined her to cry; and for five minutes that the crying went on, no one could tell me a single word. So, I said ‘please let somebody talk to me.’ Then, with great effort, the father stretched his hand and said, “Reverend go and see for yourself.” When I entered the room, I saw a lean girl on a bed. When I entered, Sister Ussy saw me, she wanted to rise and hug me but she could not lift a hand to hug me, because she had no strength. She wanted to talk to me but she could not even utter a word. I could see her murmuring, ‘God please give me another chance.’ I heard her saying, ‘Oh! God, please give me another chance.’ I looked at my sister lying down; I broke down and said, ‘God my sister will not die.’ So I stretched my hands and prayed fervently, but heavens refused to speak. I prayed for two hours, heaven refused to open. I said that I

want to enter into agreement with you. I said she is my own daughter she must ust not die unprepared. I pleaded with God od to let her live, I prayed four more hours; rs; heaven refused to talk. I said if heaven en brought her back to life, I would bring g her back to her senses. I prayed, “In n my ministry, you have healed the e sick ones, Oh! God, let this be the lastt miracle. Lord, after this miracle, you can withdraw my calling but don’t allow her to die.” I prayed for hours, it was only then n I heard from heaven. That voice said d to me, ‘Son, get out of this place. My y son, the wages of sin is death.’ When nI heard ‘the wages of sin is death’, I broke oke down completely and said ‘Sister Ussy; No. Sister Ussy, bye, for heaven has rejectejected you. Sister Ussy bye for hell has claimed aimed you. The question is not where she is today. The scripture tells me that it is appointed ppointed unto man once to die and after that judgment follows. Maybe you have forgotten that hat God is a consuming fire. This message is a consuming fire. Go; check out the family of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. They did not invite God. God called and empowered them; and d they were walking with God. You may be a worker in the house se of God today. Can you do miracles more than n Moses, the man that divided the red sea? God d spoke with him one on one. Can you sing more than han Miriam? Brother, you support ministries. Can n you support a ministry more than Aaron? Aaron was there for Moses, the servant of God but just a little mistake. A little mistake made God abandon them. None of them entered the Promised Land. From generation to generation, servants of God who allowed little compromises to tilt ilt them against the will of God, have had to bear the he brunt of their wrong doings. Ask Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Noah and others you can remember. I did not come to condemn you; I came to tell words that will change your life. God is a consuming onsuming fire. The Bible says, “He who has ears, let him m hear. If you are a sinner, you can continue. If you are e an armed robber, you can go and carry AK47. If you are a harlot, go and continue. God says, “I am coming quickly, my reward is in my hand, to reward everybody according to their works.” Shall we stand up?

Pastor Chidi

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday September 23, 2012

Praise & Worship

First Lady’s ill health needs prayers –Primate Ayodele RICHARD EGHAGHE

opular Nigerian seer and spiritual head of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke-Afa, Primate Babatunde Ayodele Elijah, has warned that the health condition of the President’s wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, still needs the divine intervention of God, her being flown abroad for treatment notwithstanding. The renowned prophet who claimed to have earlier written twice to the First Lady, requesting for an appointment to discuss and pray over her health and issues concerning women and the nation without any response, specifically highlighted in his annual prophetic book, “Warning To The Nation”, under the sub-heading, “The First Ladies in Nigeria.” “Let us commit the First ladies in Nigeria into prayer and rebuke sickness among them. Let us ask God to ward off a situation where any of them will be bedridden; a situation where any of them will not be able to function or perform the roles expected of her office. Let us ask God in prayers to ward off any calamities from the First Lady.” Prophet Ayodele then went ahead to separately request that “First Ladies to the governors should pray fervently that the Lord avert a situation whereby the tribulations of any one of them shall have negative impact on them all.” Fielding questions from Sunday Mirror at his International church Headquarters at OkeAfa, Primate Ayodele said, “I have been making efforts since last year to see the First Lady privately because I know the security implication if I had gone public in the newspaper to say the First Lady would fall sick. I also wrote a letter, twice to her, that I have to discuss some issues with her on her health, on issues concerning the President, and of course, on the nation. Here is the copy of the letter I dispatched to her. But I did not get any response. What else

he Mount Zion Foundation Ministries, a.k.a Church of the Firstborn, will commence a fasting and prayer programme for three days, for the nation, beginning from tomorrow, September 24 to Wednesday September 26, 2012. The programme will also culminate in another three-night

do you want me to do? I think they have their reason why she did not respond. The prophet added: “Also in my prophetic book, ‘Warning to the nations’, released in July, on page 42, I specifically mentioned that we should commit the First Ladies in Nigeria to God and rebuke sickness among them. The Number One lady was crucial in this prophecy because, I understand when the Lord speaks. I even took a copy of this book to Aso Rock Villa for necessary attention without any response. “As a mother of the nation, there is a way I expected her to regard prophesies of God’s servants. Maybe, because I wear a white garment. For instance, in the Holy Bible, Elisha sent one of his aides to a commander – In- chief of the Army in Syria to tell him to go and bath at River Jordan seven times, for his leprosy to be cured. The army General was angry that Elijah did not come in person to talk to him. But Elijah made him understand that he didn’t need him, but to act according to the message from God. So, if there had been a response to my letter, I would have known what to do. I think it is necessary for people that are rich or in authority, to begin to regard the warnings of the Lord through his anointed prophets. “Then we shall begin to see the light and a lot of things will be changing in this country. But should they decide to berate the word and prophets of the Lord, there is always a consequence.” The INRI Evangelical Church leader, however, assured that all hope was not lost yet about Mrs. Jonathan’s ill health, as she still stood the chance of seeking God’s intervention. “I know that the illness requires God’s divine intervention. I am saying this because prophecies are not made to create or heighten tension. When it is revealed to you, the remedy also comes with it. But you must be cautious the way you delivered it in a sensitive situation like the case of the First Lady. It is not a thing you rush

Primate Ayodele

to the paper to publicise because you want to make a name. God willing, I will still sent another appointment, if only I can be given an ear,” he said. Responding to the stoppage of the printing of the proposed N5,000 notes by the Federal Government, Primate Ayodele maintained that he already sent a copy of ‘Warning to the

Nation’ to the CBN, four times. “The truth here is that it will not see the light of the day now. But as long as Sanusi is there, the new N5,000, N10,000 note will one day come to be; if not now, then in the future. That is what the Lord said to me. Also expressing concern on the protest over the anti-Islamic film produced by an American,

‘Mount Zion’ prays, fasts for the nation vigil, for ‘Shutting Down The Enemies’ Source of Power’, from September 26 to Friday, September 28, 2012. Presiding pastor of the church, Paul Nkirukah, revealed in an interview during the week that the

double-edge, special programme had become spiritually vital at this point in time, “to frustrate and flush out the works of the enemies and evil doers from our homes and the nation in the ‘ember’ months.

“I have the divine calling of the Lord for this particular programme. So, nobody should joke with it. It is meant for everybody; be you a Christian, a Muslim or a pagan. This is the much-awaited opportunity for

Prophet Ayodele said, “I have it in this book too, under religion; that there will be a global religious crisis and if care is not taken, it may result in war in some parts of the globe. So let us pray that we don’t experience major religious crises at both national and international levels. “There will be constant trouble in the Arab world but the Nigerian government has to be very careful the way it handles religious crisis in this country. A more explosive religious crisis is underway in Nigeria. This goes a long way to show that we are in the period of Armageddon and there will be no peace across the world. God is telling everybody now to repent, irrespective of your position in life, because the world is coming to an end. If anyone tells you that Jesus is not coming the second time, is a lie. He has revealed it to me. We must all be prepared. The sign of 666, which is the sign of end time, is still coming. It is in the Bible, in the book of Revelation. Every church, mosque, pastor or Alfa must continue to preach about it,” he urged. On the national awards, he said, “I am not too particular about awards. I have never had one and I am not keen about it. As for the national award, I suppose the people who are there in the award committee should be very conversant with the laid down criteria to follow in giving out the national award. If anybody now comes out to say that this person does not deserve it, it all means the committee doesn’t know what they are doing or the purpose why they are there. Otherwise, they should explain their reason of giving out the award to such people. How people are picked for the awards is very vital here because we are not seeing a farmer or fisherman doing great work to put food on the table for the citizens being given the award. “There are teachers, doctors, nurses, journalists, gallant policemen and soldiers, great philanthropists who deserve these awards. We are not seeing them. Those we see are people who have money and who know their ways. I am not here to go against anybody given the award because I believe there are laid down yardsticks for them to follow in giving out the awards.” you to shoot down the enemies and cut their source of power now and forever, before they get at you at this particular period of the year. “My prayer is that we shall all live to celebrate and make merry this Christmas and many more to come, in Jesus’ mighty name.”

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Pastor Okereke during prayers

Dr. Okereke

Time for your light to shine –Pastor Okereke

Founder and spiritual head of Global Success Ministries (GSM), Lagos, Dr Chima Okereke, opens with a prayer for all to discover their destiny and rise to the top this week. He cited a number of Bible verses to buttress the fact that you have to believe and trust the light of God in you, and be determined to move and take it to the top. Richard Eghaghe brings you the excerpts

‘A

gold fish, they say, has no hiding place’. A celebrity will always be celebrated, because he or she has risen to the top. This is my prayer for you, my dearest reader. Whatever that has taken others to the top, will surely take you to the top. You will be celebrated for good in Jesus’ name. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven”. Inside you lies a great destiny that will take your world by storm. Many who are great today once experienced poverty, failure, and so on. I once lived at Cardoso Street in Ajegunle; then, whenever I was on fasting and prayers, I will have no food to end my fasting and prayers. I was only living on the mercy of people that God brought to my way. There was a woman who owned a restaurant in front of my compound; she always showed pity on me and gave me soup and then I will look for garri and

eat the soup. Thank God that by His grace, today God has been using us to put food on the table of many, not only using us to give food but also to give out money as capitals to start up businesses for people, provide shelters for them and pay school fees for the children of the poor. Jesus has been faithful, giving hope to the hopeless widows, orphans and the less privileged that have benefitted at one time or the other in the blessings of God upon our lives. The African Development Movement (ADM), which is fighting for the eradication of poverty in Africa, will start its first phase of harvesting of the rice cultivated in a large portion of land in Enugu State. When this harvest is over, many poor people will rejoice. By His grace, this has cost us millions of naira, but I thank God for our few partners that have been supporting this movement. I thank God that I, who once found it extremely difficult to close my fasting and prayers without begging for alms, is now the president of a movement, a revolution in the making for the poor, needy and the less privileged, spending millions to help others and presiding over acres of

rice plantation for the benefit of people. God is indeed wonderful. I pray for somebody out there, that that God of Pastor Chima, the God of Global Success Ministry, who lifted me from below the poverty level, to sowing and planting smiles in the faces of people will also do it for you in the mighty name of Jesus. Now, it is your own time to discover your destiny and rise to the top. I don’t want to know the difficult time you have been passing through, I don’t care to know that Pharaoh, that Goliath, the stumbling block that has been standing your way. They will all crumble like a pack of cards because your time has really come for you to shine. This is not a guess work if only you believe in yourself that God’s potentials lies inside of you and you are determined to put them to work. The end result is that you will be celebrated. You have been told in Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine for thy light is come; and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”. The Bible did not say that the light will come, but the above statement is a past participle which means that your light had already come. You should not be waiting for it any longer. It is already inside of you. Some people are fond of doubting whether, surely, the light is in them while they are going through difficult times like financial challenges and many other difficulties in life. Let me show you an example with this story in the book of Judges 6:11-16. “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezerite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, ‘go in this thy might, and thou shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?’ And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man”. If you read further in Judges 7:23-25, it tells us that truly the Midianites were defeated and the kings were killed.

Look at the statement of Gideon in Judges 6:15. ‘My family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house’. Well, because of time and space, we will not be able to give more examples in the Bible and in this present Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world to show you how people who never saw the possibility of going to the top in a short time frame, were suddenly taken by God to the topmost. Believe me; you have what it takes to be on top. It is written in Deuteronomy 28:13 “And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them”. Be encouraged in your spirit and arise; that force of courage inside of you shall drive away obstacles on your way. It is really your time to shine; not only in prosperity and great positions but also in your health, and your spirit where sin will not dominate your life anymore. I pray for you and your family that before the end of this year there shall be multiple celebrations in your home in Jesus’ name. •For more information and enquiries about our programmes and church activities, please send text messages only to these numbers: 08067802407, 07038638984, and 08033599027.

Briefly ‘God directed me to organise breakthrough programme’ The ongoing 12 Wednesdays and Sundays special programme at the Global Success Ministries, Plot 34 Global Success Street, Festac Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos tagged ‘Rain of Favour’, has now given birth to a bigger interdenominational breakthrough programme, tagged: “I Must Shine Before Christmas”. The presiding minister and General Overseer (G.O) of the church, Dr Chima Okereke, who disclosed this in an interview with Sunday Mirror during last week said the breakthrough programme would begin from Wednesday, September. Pastor Okereke revealed that God directed him to organise the four-day programme for all categories of people to celebrate this year’s Christmas like never before. “I want to thank God for all His miracles and the testimonies that has become the hallmark of our 12 Wednesdays and Sundays ‘Rain of Favour’ programme,” he said.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

Arrogance kills, says Pastor Oloruntimilehin Founder of Omnipotence Mission of God, Pastor Oloruntimilehin Joshua Daramola, counsels believers to beware of arrogance. Extracts by Tai Anyanwu

he habit of showing disregard or pride should not become part of one’s life. It destroys or kills. For someone to assume that something will not happen and it eventually happens or to believe that something is not like this and it is actually like that, could have destabilising effects on the person.

Before a curse is placed on a person, he or she must have done something that warranted a curse. One of such things is usually arrogance or pride. The elders say arrogance, pride or disregard come before destruction. Some people are fond of night-crawling and there is a belief that night-crawling is not good, and that darkness does not honour anyone. When these persons disregard the warning not to crawl in the night, a day will come when the person will encounter the danger of darkness. Permit me to share a true life story I gathered in the course of counseling and interacting with people as a Prophet of God. This may encourage or challenge people to embrace positive behaviour. There was an elderly man in my town. He invited me to his house while I was passing by. We had lengthy discussions with other people present. In the course of the discussion, he told me that no court case, particularly murder case, that is brought to him that sees the light of the day. He explained that he used charms, and nailed such cases on a tree. The other people that were privy to that day’s discussion

confirmed that the old man had the power to change the course of justice in murder cases. Instantly, I told him that there were some murder cases that he could not change the course of justice and that he should desist from doing such a thing. I warned him seriously. That same evening, he reciprocated my visit to his house. While we were discussing and enjoying ourselves, I reminded him of the warning and made him realise that it was the spirit of God that was giving the message through me. Unfortunately, he disregarded the warning and continued with his behaviour until the time when thunder struck and uprooted, torn and destroyed the tree he used to nail the case against. Immediately, the tree was destroyed, he felt sick, and shouted to the hearing of people that his body from the toes to the head had been nailed. He was in that painful condition for seven years and when he was about to die, he said it seemed his voice was nailed with the same nail he used to perpetrate his evil act and his heart was hot. He finally said that he preferred to die than to be subjected to further pains and agony; and he died the same day. Why? He disregarded a lot. Another experience was about a lady who came with her mother for spiritual counselling because she wanted to travel abroad to join her husband. What was revealed to me by the Lord was not about her trip to London; but about what will happen to her after she had joined her husband.

Pastor Oloruntimilehin

I told her that I did not see her with any husband and that she should do a victory work immediately. She promised to come back and do it. It was a pity she failed to heed the message of God and even took me to be a fake prophet. About four years later, she came back to the country with her husband and two kids for the burial of her father-in-law. On their way back to Lagos, they had an accident and her husband and one of the kids died instantly, while she and the other kid were hospitalised. A few days later, the other kid also died. Now she was left alone and her mother passed on be-

cause of the disaster that befell her daughter. Imagine, she allowed her disregard to make the message of the Lord through his servant to come to pass. After five years, she now moved to another man’s house unceremoniously and unnoticed. Now, she is always requesting me to pray for her so that God can forgive her for disregarding what his servant told her. The incident is indelible in her mind till today. The secret of people would not have been exposed. But excessive ways of doing things and the ‘disregard nature’ in some persons expose their secrets. If a person persistently does something secretly, e.g. stealing, the secret may not be exposed if all of a sudden, the person quickly thinks that there is the need to stop stealing and he or she stops it. The person’s secret may never be exposed. But if he or she fails to stop, the secret will be exposed one day. In the same vein, if a prophet of God should tell somebody to desist from a certain behaviour and the person says someone has told him or her before and nothing happened, he or she is supposed to have the mind that something will happen; because, there is nothing God does that is not revealed to his prophets. Amos 3 verse 7 states, “Surely, the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets”. Anything that leads to destruction is never entertained before God and there is no correction for destruction. Do whatever the Prophet of God tells you to do and when it is done, then you will have peace of mind. •For counseling, contact Pastor Oloruntimilehin Joshua Daramola (JP), founder of Omnipotence Mission of God, on 08023002834.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous…, says Pastor Bamidele Pastor Lai Bamidele of Christ Glorious End-Time Evangelical Church teaches that each time a man is making progress, Satan always brings affliction, to discourage and make the person feel deserted. In this message, the clergyman wants Christians to remain focused and resolute, believing in God’s redeeming powers. Excerpts, as presented by Tai Anyanwu

n the book of Psalm, chapter 34, verses 17and 19, The Bible states, “The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. Verse 19 says, “The Lord is nigh thee unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves them that are of a contrite heart. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

So, it is only God who can deliver a man out of the troubles of his life. Many evil confront the righteous, but God delivers them out of it all. The Book of Act of the Apostles 15: 2326: the Bible was speaking in that scripture concerning the story of Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas got into a trap because of an issue they do not have a hand in it; But God delivered out of them all. I believe that there is someone reading me this morning that God is going to deliver out of the troubles of his life, in the name of Jesus. In the book of 1 Samuel 17: 37, the Bible emphasised in that scripture that God delivered David from all his troubles. So, it is only God that can deliver anybody from his troubles. When you make a man your source of power or whatever you have, then you are in trouble. But when

you make God your source of life, then you escape every trap of the enemy. Every time a man is making progress, Satan is always brining affliction, to discourage you and make you feel you are alone. Whenever a man is advancing in life, Satan will bring all manners of things to discourage you. He will bring all manners of opposition, all manners of challenges, all manners of troubles or storms, just to make it feel as if you are alone. But if you can only stand your ground, if you can only rely on God, that what the devil says is not possible, God will make it possible. And we say ‘one with God is majority.’ So, every time you are with God, you are on the right side. If you look at the book of Daniel 3: 10 -30, you will see the story of Shadrack , Meshack and Abednago, they experienced affliction. They were in big trouble in the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar because of the living God they believe in. But you see, when you are with God, there is no amount of troubles that confront you that will not bow. The young men chose to serve the living God, not the graven image of Nebuchadnezzar. The Bible states, “And Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they should be thrown

Pastor Bamidele

into the furnace of fire; and they were thrown into the fire. They were three that were thrown into the furnace but a fourth person joined them over there, band they came out sunburn. Somebody is coming out of his trouble unscratched, in the name of Jesus.

I like to encourage someone that in every pursuit of your life, remain focused and remain resolute in your God. Do not make man your background; make God your background. When Nebuchadnezzar saw what happened to Meshack, Shedrack and Abednego, he had to bow down to the true God. Every enemy confronting your life, confronting your business, confronting your marriage, confronting your relationships, confronting your educational pursuit, after this message, will bow down to your God, in the name of Jesus. If you look at that scripture, the Bible says that after they threw the Hebrew boys into the fiery furnace, they met the fourth man in the fire. Verse 25 says the fourth man is like the son of man and he became the one that made it possible that the boys escaped the troubles that Nebuchadnezzar had set ahead of them. Now the Bible emphasises on the lifting that followed the decision of the three Hebrew boys when they chose to serve the Living God. Life is a choice. Chose whom you will serve; those of you that will be in church today, tomorrow you will go to one herbalist or tomorrow they will see you before another non-believer ‘seer’; this is the time for you to change. The Bible states, “And God loved the world and He gave out His only begotten son that whosoever believeth I him will have everlasting life. Until you believe God, you can’t come out of troubles.

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Why Christians should not despair –Pastor Muoka Founder and General Overseer of Lord Chosen Charismatic Renewal Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, says in the face of problems, the Lord of host, who did wonders in the days of Biblical prophets, remains alive. Excerpts, by Richard Eghaghe

y beloved, can you remember one thing God has done for you in this life? Has He actually done anything to anybody you know? Do you believe that God can do all things and does not change? If the answers you provided are in the affirmative, then I want to assure you that the same God who answered you before, who made provision for you before, who delivered you from the hands of enemies in time past, who cured you when you were sick, who sustained you till date, will do it again in your life in Jesus’ name. It does not matter how bad your situation is now, or how powerful the enemy behind your predicament may be, the fact is that He has delivered you before and He is able to deliver you even today. Why are you afraid that God will not give answer to that petition you made to Him? Why are you so disturbed that God who brought you to this world will not give you your own husband or wife? Why are you afraid that God who fed you yesterday will not feed you today? My friend, the God who did it before, will do it again. God will give you answer of peace today. The common problem of many people in this present day is that of failing to remember what the Lord did in the time of old, as chronicled in the Bible. And even, in this present day, in their lives. They all seemed to have forgotten those wonderful works of the Almighty God. When you hear many of such people murmuring and complaining of their present situations, the things they say at such times make one wonder if God never did anything good to anyone that they know or even to themselves before. Their attitude makes some people wonder if God is still alive or has changed. 1Kings 19:1-4 says, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” This man was afraid of a woman who had boasted to kill him; he ran, murmured and even requested from God to die. He could no longer remember what God had done before; neither could he remember that God changes not. He had forgotten that the God who did what Ahab mentioned to Jezebel could still do those things again, even better. Beloved, we serve a great and living God who can do all things. If you can have this understanding, happy are you. Examples and reasons Examples abound of what the Lord did in the past. He created all things out of nothing in the very beginning; and there is nothing that exists today that came into

being, without God. Genesis 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” God created the world not from any pre-existing materials, but out of nothing. Nothing throughout the wide extent of nature existed from eternity, originated by chance, or from the skill of any inferior agent; but that the whole universe was produced by the creative power of God. God spent six days in assimilating, assorting, and arranging the materials, out of which He built up, not only the earth, but the whole of the solar system. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” The Lord fills the heaven and earth. There is no way the earth could be separated from God. Everything about the earth is designed and placed by God, including its wealth, its life, or its worship. The earth is full of God, He made it full and He keeps it full, notwithstanding all the demands which living creatures make upon its stores. The sea is full, despite all the clouds which rise from it; the air is full, notwithstanding all the lives which breathe it. The soil is full, though millions of plants derive their nourishment from it. It is all the Lord’s doing. Jehovah is the Universal King; all nations are under His rule. Presidents of all the nations, emperors and czars are but his slaves. Men and women are God’s rightful servants. The world is all God’s world and all things belong to Him, none belong to the devil or other gods. Gen. 24: 1-3 says, “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: 2 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: 3 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”. We have here the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his nativity into the land of promise, which was designed both to try his faith and obedience and also to separate him and set him apart for God, and for special services and favours which were further designed. As a result of this his name was changed to Abraham and a village man was turned to a great nation. This shows that God changes situation as He likes. Gen. 21:1-2 says. “And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him”. God fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her, at the advanced age of ninety, power to conceive and bring forth a son. God’s blessing upon the nursing of children, and the preservation of them through the perils of the infant age, are part of His wonders, care and tenderness. God enthroned Joseph a stranger in Egypt and caused his elder siblings bowed

Pastor Muoka

before him which was contrary to their will. God brought the dreams of Joseph to accomplishment. So who is it that is opposing the will of God in your life? Your dream must come to past; your enemies must bow before you. You will be delivered from that sickness or problem because the one who did it before is still at hand to do it again. God dealt with Pharaoh and the Egyptians with great signs and wonders to prove that He is above Pharaoh and his gods. The Almighty God is the God of all and He will prove it in your life. All the things you see on earth today including man, animals, birds, rocks, waters etc were all created by God Almighty who had designed them to bring Him pleasure. He created and has made all things possible from the beginning till date, and I am assuring you that with the same God all things are possible. Matt. 4:23-24 says, “23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.” All these the Lord did to prove that He is God and beside Him there’s none else, and even in the present day, even in our around us we can testify to this very fact that God has done some for all of us before. He that did it before will do it again regardless of what your present situation may be suggesting. You need to remembrance all that the

Lord has done for you and others in time past and in the present days, and as you remember them, He will surely remember you and do again what He did before in Jesus name. Our confidence and expected answer No book could accommodate all that God has done in this world and for men. Our confidence is that God who did it before has not changed. His power, love, mercy, and goodness have not changed. He is much more able to do whatever He has done before than whatever may be your travails presently. And if you have not received answer to your application, I am assuring you that even now, after reading this text you will have answer, or comes next program titled ‘GOD HAS THE ANSWER’, you will be given answer to your entire petition in Jesus name. Ephesians 3:20 says “Now 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, God is much more able than ever to do whatever you ask Him to do for He has done it before. We must not forget the fact that God has not changed and that all He has ever done before He is able to do again. We must consider what He did previously in our lives, in your own very life, how He has given you salvation, how He has delivered you from the hands of your oppressors, how He has kept you from being destroyed all these years. As we remember all these and call upon Him in accordance with His will for anything, He will surely answer us in Jesus name.

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Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

The meaning of Glorious Generation, by Pastor Adeboye Pastor E. A. Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), at the September 2012 Holy Ghost Service, dedicated to women in search of ‘the fruit of the womb’, delivered this powerful sermon tagged, ‘Glorious Generation’. Richard Eghaghe brings you the first part of the message

Pastor Adeboye

et someone shout halleluiah! Today, we want to talk about the glorious generation. Luke 1 verse 13 to 17 states, But the Angel said unto him, “Fear not Zachariah, for thy prayer is heard (God will hear the prayer of somebody today) and thy wife, Elizabeth, shall bare thee a son, and thou shall call his name John. And thou shall have joy and gladness. And many shall rejoice at his birth for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall return to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the heart of the father to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Glorious generation: What is the meaning of glory? The word glory is difficult to define, except you define it by finding out what it is not. So we will turn to the book of Proverbs 3 verse 35 where the Bible says the wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools. Since fools happen to be the opposite of the wise, then shame is the opposite of glory. That is why I am believing God for everyone of you here; anything called shame shall become a stranger to you. Glory is the opposite of shame. The ingredients of shame, those things that combine one way or the other to produce shame could be bondage, curses, reproach, failure, defeat and so on and so forth. So, the ingredients of glory, therefore, will be things like anointing,

blessings, honour, success, victory, etc. All these are ingredients of glory. And when you go through the scriptures, you will find a certain generation; when we talk about a generation, we are talking about a group of people having the same characteristic. When you go through the scripture you will find shameful children, like Cain; the original murderer, children like Esau; who sold his birth right just for a plate of food, children like Gehazi; who had an opportunity to become the most powerful prophet in history but decided to exchange that for a little bit of money; children like Judas Iscariot, who for a 30 pieces of silver, traded his Lord. They form a generation, they belong to one group. That is why you don’t find people naming their children Cain or Esau or Gehazi-who happened to be the father of all lepers; or Judas Iscariot; people don’t like those names. But when you go through the scripture, you will also find another generation, a glorious generation; and you will begin to hear names like Isaac, Joseph, Samson, Samuel, John. And you find that if you mention those names or if I just say ‘is anybody here who is Isaac?’, you will find many hands. Why? Because, these are of a glorious generation. These children, who are in the glorious generation section, have certain characteristics in common; they are all anointed, they are all blessed, they are successful, they are all vessels unto honour in the hands of God, they are all victorious. But they also have one thing in common; all of them were born by parents who had to wait, their parents were

originally considered barren before God opened their wombs and out came this glorious generation. So I have good news for those of you who are here, trusting God for the fruit of the womb. Out of your womb will come a glorious generation. Let me take some of the characteristics so that you will know what to expect; the children that are going to be born to you are not going to be ordinary children, they are going to be special, they are going to be a glorious generation. Every child in the glorious generation group is anointed; take Joseph, Genesis 37 verse 5-11; you will find that even when he was young, he was already receiving divine revelations, fantastic dreams of greatness that is almost beyond human comprehension. But by the time you get to Genesis 40 verses 5 – 22, you will discover that he wasn’t ‘just receiving a generation for himself ’, he could even interpret the dreams of others. And by the time you get to Genesis 41 verses 25 -38, even Pharaoh an Idol worshipping kings said “can we find a man like this; in whom there is the spirit of the Holy God”. Joseph was anointed. Take Samson as another example; Judges 13 verses 2-5 tells us that he was even anointed from his mother’s womb. Before he was born at all, the anointing of God was already on him; he was so anointed that when a lion came his way, he tore it into two. In Judges 15 verses 14 to 16, when the enemy came trying to destroy, the anointing on him was so mighty he was able to destroy a thousand of them. Or shall we talk about Samuel? Still talking about anointed children, we

found in 1Samuel 10 v 1 that not only was Samuel anointed, he was so anointed that he could anoint a king. Anyone he poured oil upon became a king; in fact, he was so anointed that his dress carried tremendous power. 1 Samuel 15 v 25- 29; he turned to go and the king took his dress and the dress tore and he said because you tore my dress, your kingdom is torn away from you. That is the kind of anointing! So the kind of children you are to expect from this meeting will be highly anointed children. The children in the glorious generation are blessed children; take Joseph for example, in Genesis 39 v 2 -3, the Bible tells us that whatever he touched prospered. He was so blessed that when he came into a house, blessing came into that house. I want to prophesy to those of you who are trusting God for the fruit of the womb, that the baby you are going to bring forth less than one year from now, will bring tremendous blessings to your family. Or shall we take Isaac, another one of the glorious generation, in Genesis 22 v 15-18? God said ‘I swear, concerning you Abraham, I will bless you, but concerning Isaac, I will multiply him.’ That is the only place in the scripture you will find swearing, in other words, he is saying this blessing will never be reversed. Thank you Lord! The Lord says there is a woman here, he said ‘I have spoken to your womb, and it will obey me.’ The children in this generation are vessels unto honour in the hand of God. Not a single one of these children in the glorious generation was a useless child. You know there are people who come into this world; they come, they eat, they go to work, they die and that’s all. After they are gone, nobody remembers them. But some people come into the world and they change the world for the better. Every child that will be born as a result of tonight’s meeting will be a world changer in Jesus’ name. Take Joseph for example; in Genesis 50 v 19 -20, he said ‘God used me to preserve the world.’ At a time when the world as at that time would have perished, God raised up a young man called Joseph who brought preservation to a whole group of people, his family, as well as the whole world. What about Samuel in 1 Samuel 23 v 19-21? The Bible states that because of Samuel, God began to appear again in Shiloh; there was a restoration of the presence of God, there was revival. I am prophesying to you, that among the children that will be born as a result of this gathering, will be world evangelists in Jesus’ name. What about John the Baptist, in John 1 v 19 -23? He described himself as a voice in the wilderness, calling on people to prepare the way of the Lord and to make his way straight. I am believing God for all of you who are here today that out of your womb will be boys and girls that will be voices to the whole world. All the children in the glorious generation were successful- no single failure among them. Isaac in Genesis 26, v 12 -14 was so successful he became the envy of a whole nation. The whole nation envied him! Joseph, in Genesis 41, v. 39-44, became the Prime Minister of Egypt. Pharaoh said ‘behold, I am Pharaoh, only in the throne will I be greater than you; apart from that, nobody will be able to do anything without your permission. That is success! The Lord asks me to tell someone here to shout the biggest halleluiah you have ever shouted; the Lord says that the mouths that have just shouted halleluiah to Him, will soon be filled with praise and laughter.

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

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What should be a Christian’s greatest prayer, by Pastor olukoya A Christian’s greatest prayer should be, “O Lord, break down every idol in our hearts, in the name of Jesus,” says Dr. D K Olukoya, General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM). Learn more about what should be a christian’s greatest prayer and idols of the heart in these excerpts presented by Tai Anyanwu

Pastor Olukoya

zekiel 14:1-4 states, “There came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their tale: Should I be enquired of it all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that set up his idols in his heart, and pulleth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols.” Ezekiel 14:9-10: “And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing. I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hands upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him.” The elders of Israel came to the man of God to enquire of the Lord. You would have thought that somebody who needed to go and see a prophet would mean well by doing so, but they went there with idols in their hearts, and because they had idols in their hearts, the Lord said the reply they would get would be according to the idols that were already in their hearts. That is, if anyone has an idol inside his heart, and he goes to a prophet for information, God would ask that prophet to answer him according to the

idol in his heart and the person ends up getting the wrong information. Many people have secret idols hidden in the chambers of their hearts from the sight of men but not God. And these idols decide sometimes what they get from God, Hebrews 4:13: Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” So, as far as God is concerned, all the things that many people try to hide are open before Him. But the problem is that the Christian idols are harder to recognize than the others. When I was in junior school, I was taught a song that says, “Break down every idol in your heart.” I could not understand it because I thought it was not possible since I was a Christian and we did not worship idols in our house. My idea of an idol was the carved head of Ogun or any other graven image. But as I got matured, I began to understand what the Lord means by breaking down the idols in our hearts. The Bible says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). When the heart is filled up, it would pour out through the mouth. Those talkative most of the time speak from their hearts and not from their brains. That which a person has in his heart will eventually come out. Sometime ago, I was counseling a couple. The wife

said something and the man got angry and said that the God of iron should break the head of her father. I said, “But you are a Christian, why are you talking like that?” He said he was sorry. The truth is that that was how his heart was working. You may try to hide but a time is coming when you will be exposed. The Bible says that everything is naked before God. All fornicators and adulterers are naked before God like a television set. There was a man who refused to give his life to Christ even though he was the son of a catechist. One day, as he was sitting down, somebody tapped him on the shoulder and said, “You have an appointment?” He said, “Appointment?” Before he could understand what was happening, the person pulled his spirit out of his body as one would pull off clothes from another person. Behold, it was an angel of the living God. “Where are we going?” he asked the angel. The angel said, “Be patient, you will know very soon.” Eventually, he landed before the throne of God and could not behold the glory. God called him by his name and told him that he was 25 years behind schedule of what He wanted him to do for Him. God said to him, “Before I start on you, let us look at a review of your life.” And all of a sudden, there was something like a television set and the brother was watching his life right from the moment his mother gave birth to him. He saw all the funny love letters he had written, all the fornication he had committed, all the abortions he sponsored and encouraged, etc. Everything was so clear. After he had watched to a point, he begged God to turn it off for he could not stand it any longer. That experience changed the man’s life. Any person or thing that can replace God in your heart has become an idol. Anything you place before God or side by side with Him has become an idol. The moment the affection you are giving to God is given to any other thing or person, that substitute becomes an idol. A lot of Christians have secret idols in their hearts and these idols put them in trouble. At this juncture, I would like you to close your eyes, lay your hand on your chest and pray like this: “O Lord, show me the idols in my heart, in the name of Jesus.” When some people come to see a man of God, they forget that it is not every time that God has a message for them. They would want to force the man of God to see a vision for them. Sometimes when you pray with such people and tell them that God says everything is fine, they can go, they will not believe because they have idols in their hearts. Sometime ago, a man and a woman came to see me. The woman requested me to help the man., that his enemies were destroying him. As I started praying it was as if my prayers were bouncing back to me. I stopped and asked the woman to go out. After she left, I asked the man who she was, and he said she was just somebody who was concerned about his situation I asked if that was all and he said yes. I asked him to go too. Later, they came back and the

man said “Please, sir, forgive me I can see that it is not good to tell lies to a man of God. That woman is supposed to be my fourth wife. I am just planning to marry her.” This confirms what the bible says, that the Lord will answer them according to the idols in their hearts. A lot of singles have already made up their minds concerning the type of people they would like to marry before praying to God to show them who to marry. As a result, they find it difficult to accept God’s will for their lives. God eventually gives them the idols they want. Pray this prayer point: “O Lord, deliver me from secret idols, in the name of Jesus.” If you are a good Bible reader, you will find that there is a man whom the bible does not talk well about. His name is Jeroboam the son of Nebat. The Bible describes anybody that committed a serious offence in the Bible as Jeroboam the son of Nebat. He was a yardstick. What was his offence? He set up an idol in Dan and another one in Bethel and called the people of Israel together and said, “You house of Israel, behold the god that delivered thee from the land of Egypt.” Before Jeroboam started putting the physical idols on ground, the idols started in his heart. Along the line, something happened. Jeroboam’s son became sick and because Jeroboam was far away from God he did not know that the prophet of God in Israel was already blind. He told his wife to take the child to the prophet and find out from him whether the son would die or live. He also asked her to disguise herself so that the prophet would not recognize her. As the wife of Jeroboam, who had dressed like a man got to the door of the prophet who was blind and knocked, behold a voice sounded from inside saying, “Come thou in you wife of Jeroboam, why frameth thyself to be another?” (Why are you pretending to be another person?) Before she could open the door, the prophet went further to tell her why she had come. Many people who come to church find it difficult to function in any group because none of the groups is ready to admit them because they still paint their faces. Such people keep running around just because of an idol. If the Lord tells you to serve Him in an area with a condition attached to it and you do not want to abide by the condition, it means that you have another god. Those who find it difficult to put away their false finger nails, attachments and make-ups need deliverance because those things have become idols in their lives. Beloved, think about these things seriously. When God gave Saul an instruction, he carried it out in his own way and God told him, “Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of ram.” God also told him that stubbornness is an iniquity as idolatry and rebellion is as witchcraft (Samuel 15:22-23). So, a witch and a rebellious person are twin brothers in hell fire. A stubborn person and an idol worshipper are the same thing before God. •To be continued next week

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Divine Message with Special Apostle James

Akinadewo E-mail: molailatugrow@hotmail.com

hat a flow of His Grace. Thanking God for His goodness and for instituting Godly marriage. A good marriage produces a good home, bears good children that unleash good potentials for a good society and a better world. We discussed earlier on the roles of the husband for a successful marriage; let’s examine the Bible text again. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountain of Zion for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm 133 verses 1-end) We are looking at the roles of a good wife, mother and best companion to the husband in our teaching today.

The real woman Who is a good woman and wife – The Bible spoke of her as being a good helpmate, home supporter, home builder and weaker vessel. In fact, woman, know this for sure – you are a great asset to the world. “Wives, submit yourself unto

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

How to experience marital bliss (2) your husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the saviour of the body.” (Ephesians 5 verses 22-23) The Bible charged us as good women to be submissive in everything to our husband for he is the head of the house. I mean submissiveness in totality – physically, spiritually, materially, financially and emotionally – it is then we are obeying the divine order.

Right thinker Honour your Husband – In everything, respect is reciprocal, honour begets honour. If you abuse your husband openly, no one will respect him. Biblical mothers and women of old honour their husbands and were blessed by God – scriptures attest to that. Are you are virtuous woman or a daughter of Jezebel? Time will tell. *How do you greet your Husband in the morning – derogatory statement or honour? As a good woman, kneel down to greet your husband in the morning and welcome him back home with honour in the evening. Modernisation or your education cannot replace the word of God, shed the toga of arrogance, kneel down for your husband; by doing this, you are training your children for a glorious future. Don’t copy wrong teachings from the western world, arrogant women miss good husbands and will never stay under a man, follow the Bible, it is the unchanging word of God. •Talking with Humility – Some women

are in the habit of calling their husbands by his first name, such attitude is totally wrong. He is representing God Almighty in that house, he should be respected. Call him ‘Daddy’, not Luke, Mathew, Brown or Joshua. Biblically, he is your head and the owner of your body, what Yoruba-speaking people know as ‘Olowo ori mi’. Change your bad attitude today, call him Daddy and not by his first name – Don’t claim equal rights with him, it will boomerang in no time. •Give him your body – Sex is a strong bond between husband and wife. Whenever he needs you, give it to him, denial can push him outside. It is no food but a strong bond created by God for couples to satisfy themselves. Procreation cannot happen without sexual intercourse. Madam, you can’t wish it away, your husband is human; blood flows in his veins. •Woman, cleanliness is next to Godliness – You must look neat always and tidy up the house. Our God is Holy, He will never dwell in a dirty environment, your undies, dresses and abode must smell good at all times. Husbands have quarreled with their wives over dirtiness and thousands of such cases still happen daily. Look attractive to your husband [not excessively gorgeous] but moderately and your marriage will be glowing, growing and refreshed. •Idle mind, devil’s workshop – Don’t be a liability in the house, be engaged with something positive for your life, it helps mental growth. Sleeping too much is a sin, be productive in labour work,

the man cannot provide everything you need, support him, be a good helper. •Treat him like a king – Separate his food flask, plates and cutleries from the rest in the house and prepare his food on time. Arrange local and intercontinental dishes for him, he would always cherish yours more than any other food. •Respect and honour your motherin-law – It will increase your husband love for you. Never treat his mother and his family with disdain, take good care of that woman; she suffered to take care of her son for years before you could marry him. •Show special love to your husband: Stop the habit of showing more love to your children than your husband. You knew their father before they [children] came into the marriage. Think, nothing should take the place of your husband. Are you a virtuous woman? Try to be one today. Play your role well in that home, behind every successful man, there is an obedient, dutiful, supportive, faithful and praying woman. Don’t leave that house. Stay with your husband; pray a little more, your marriage will flourish again. That man is a world changer, stay with him; good husbands are hard to come by. If you leave him, a drunkard is waiting for you outside. Think right and think well. Run from sin. God bless your marriage. Jesus loves you and Nigeria has a great future. •For enquires send text 08037188392 or send e-mail to Motailatugrow@hotmail. com.

Suspension of N5, 000 note in order –CAN Methodist to build chapel at birthplace of Christianity in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM Page 23

The Methodist Church Nigeria says it will build a cathedral at the site in Badagry “where Christianity was first preached in Nigeria.” The Church will celebrate 170 years of Christianity in Nigeria with the foundation laying ceremony of the Badagry Tourist Chapel on September 24. The Bishop of Badagry Diocese, Emmanuel Ahisu, said in Badagry that Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State would perform the foundation laying ceremony. Mr. Ahisu said that arrangements are being made for the historic event to commemorate how Christianity came to Nigeria through Badagry. The chapel will be built at the site of Agia Tree Monument in Badagry, where Christianity was first preached in Nigeria. As history has it, Christianity was first preached in Badagry on September 24, 1842, by Thomas Birch Freeman of Wesley Mission (now Methodist Church). The Agia Tree was uprooted by a heavy rain storm at exactly 11.45 p.m. on June 20, 1959. Mr. Ahisu, however, said that as part of the anniversary, an interdenominational service would hold at Freeman Memorial Methodist Cathedral. “We are also converging on Shagamu

Methodist Prelate, Dr Sunday Ola Makinde

for the inter–zonal football competition, while the U-21 female and U-17 boys and relay race would take place at Gate Way International Stadium,’’ he said. Mr. Ahisu said that other activities lined up for the celebration include an evangelical service at Melon Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Shagamu in Ogun.

ried huge sums of money, which meant they could now carry up to N5 million in their pockets with ease. The clergyman also said that the introduction of such a big denomination would lead to hyper-inflation, because, according to him, ``it will automatically devalue our currency”. “If somebody gives you N1, 000, it is manageable, but by the time the N5, 000 bank notes go into circulation, a tin of groundnut oil could be sold at N5, 000 because it is just one piece of paper and change will not be easy to come by. “Again, if you are hungry and you go to buy food with the only N5,000 note, the chances are that you may not have change and won’t have food,” the chairman added. He said that there were people whose salaries were N10, 000 or N20, 000 a month respectively, adding that at the end of the month, they could be given two or four pieces of the bank note as salary. “If by ill-luck, he loses it, what happens to him? that means that he would have lost substantial amount of money. ``In fact this policy is not going to help us, irrespective of whatever reasons they may give us, it should be rejected in its entirety, “ he added. According to him, the Central Bank

Governor talks about cashless monetary policy; why do we have to introduce N5, 000 bank notes while we are talking about cashless policy. Patrick further said, ``under normal circumstances, cashless transactions will be done through the banks, but what about the local people in the rural areas who do not know or have any idea about banking procedures?’’ The clergyman warned the agitators of the system to be careful “to avert what Ghana and Italy experienced”. He added that Ghana had the Cedi denominations so high in thousands, but when they realised that it was rapidly devaluing their currency and negatively affecting their economy, they removed the three zeros in their thousand Cedi denominations. “10,000 Cedis now remains 10 Cedis (two digits), and their economy has picked up considerably. “That is what is happening now in Ghana, I have seen it and even used it when I visited,” he added. According to him, if a neighbouring country like Ghana is quickly correcting such mistakes, “why are we thinking of higher denominations at this point in time in Nigeria.’’? The chairman appealed to the Federal Government to formulate positive economic policies that would improve and alleviate the present deplorable conditions of the ordinary Nigerians.

Praise & Worship

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How to get out of a wrong relationship Christian Relationship with Taiwo

Odubiyi

E-mail: info@pastortaiwoodubiyi.org.uk

he first step to coming out of a wrong relationship is to recognise it for what it is: wrong, unhealthy and probably ungodly. Realise that the relationship must end for it is an ill wind that blows no one any good. It will only bring heartaches, troubles and a lot of unnecessary stress. An example is a relationship with an abuser. Another example is a relationship with an ungodly person who has no fear of God. God reveals His will concerning this in the Bible without mincing words: Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father,

and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” (2Corinthians 6:14-18) A third example of such a relationship is what Anna, a married woman had with her ex in my novel ‘My First Love’. She reconnected with the man on face book and before long; they had met and had lunch together four times! She confided in Lisa, “He said he still loves me and believes God brought us together again. He said he is not happy in his marriage and wants us to … leave our spouses.” Lisa shook her head. Anna nodded. “I know I can’t do that. I know meeting with him, having lunch with him is wrong and it’s a dangerous game but I … I’m still attracted to him.” “What do you think is the right thing for you to do?” Lisa asked. “I know I should stop seeing him.” •The next thing to do to end a wrong relationship is to pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance so you will know what to do and how to go about it. The word of God encourages us to do this. 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 but when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:5-8)

•Inform some close friends or family members or a counsellor about your decision and reasons to end the relationship. This could serve as protection for you in future. Besides, they could give you advice that would greatly help you. Proverbs 11:14 talks about safety in a multitude of counsellors. Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. This piece of advice was repeated in Proverbs 15:22 and Proverbs 24:6. Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counsellors they are established. (Proverbs 15:22) For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counsellors there is safety. (Proverbs 24:6) In my novel ‘My First Love’, a lady, Tofe, followed this advice; she informed Lisa and Mofe about her troubles with Jude. •Communicate your decision to your partner, don’t just keep away or ignore the person. There is the tendency to want to do this, with the hope that the person will get the message and stay away from you. This does not really work though as the person would want to come after you, demanding to know why you have been avoiding him or her and what’s going on. Besides, ignoring the person without a reason is not the best way to end a relationship. Don’t leave the person in doubt; let him or her know you no longer wish to continue with the relationship. Your decision could be communicated via a text message, phone, e-mail or in person.

Of course, the person would be upset and want to know why. Explain your real reasons in a straightforward and truthful way. Don’t give excuses or keep silent when the person is asking questions, and don’t hurl insults at him or her. I need to sound a note of warning here though. If you are a female and you have to see the man face to face to terminate the relationship, it might be better that you don’t go alone, go in company of a trusted friend, and let it be at a public place. This depends much on who the man is and what he is capable of doing. A lady went to a man’s apartment alone to end the relationship with him because she would like to honour God and marry as a virgin, the man locked the door and raped her. In another case, the man stabbed the lady. Let the meeting be at a public place. Another good thing about having someone with you when you break the news is that the person might be able to help you explain your reasons to end the relationship better. 5) You should be firm about your decision. Of course, your partner would feel hurt and might want to talk you into staying or changing your mind but if you know it must end, then be firm about ending it. Don’t say things like “I just need a break for some time.” Both of you should be sure of the position of things between you. Giving in and going back on your decision would only be delaying what needs to be done. If the relationship is bad, it is bad and must end before things get out of hand.

Discipline and your destiny

Shepherd Life with Bishop Kingsley

Enakirerhi

estiny, simply put, is what you were born to fulfil in life. This refers to the purpose for which an individual is in existence. It is very clear that until a man fulfils his destiny in life, his life becomes an abuse. This is the reason we said earlier that we must pray to God to discover our purpose in life so that we can fulfil it. It is the fulfilment of purpose that brings about satisfaction in life. I want to say here that it is possible for a man not to be able to fulfil destiny because of his own negligence. This brings us to the place of discipline in the fulfilment of destiny. Discipline, simply put, talks of a moral or upright training; a subjection of one’s flesh or desires in order to achieve a goal. Many who are supposed to be rich today are still poor because of lack of discipline. To be rich does not come by accident. Rich and successful people are disciplined people. It takes discipline to wake up very early in the morning, stay up late at night or skip a meal in order to achieve a set goal. It takes discipline to continue working in order to achieve a goal when your flesh wants you to quit. Diligent people are dis-

ciplined people. Some have ‘eaten’ the capital of their business and they wonder why their business is not growing. Whatever comes their way, they must buy, even if it is not needed at that moment. It takes discipline to practise the principle of delayed gratification. A student who wants to be successful in his academics must be willing to discipline himself to study while others are playing, in order for him to get good grades. While a good student disciplines himself to buy books and read, the foolish one will spend his money to buy clothes and an expensive handset. But the good student will discipline himself and pay the price now because he knows in the nearest future, he will be able to afford whatever he wants when he is now successful. Even in sports, you will discover that the sportsman who wins laurels is much disciplined in training. Even when the weather is not favourable, he must get up to train because he is focused on his goal. The lazy one will give one excuse or the other why he cannot train. It takes discipline to train under harsh weather conditions. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26 – 27, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away”. This is discipline. To be a victorious Christian requires

discipline as can been seen from Paul’s statement above. It takes discipline to have regular prayers and study God’s word in order to grow spiritually. Many cannot fast and pray today because they cannot discipline their body to abstain from food for a given period of time. In Genesis 49: 1 – 4, we see how Reuben, who is the Excellency of Jacob, being his firstborn, lost his position because of indiscipline. Because he could not control his sexual appetite, he slept with his father’s concubine and his father cursed him. Thus he lost his position because of indiscipline. Esau also lost his position because he could not discipline himself. Here was someone who had come from hunting. He was with meat and he had a wife at home who could prepare food for him. But he could not discipline himself to wait till he gets to the house. He sold his birthright for a plate of pottage. How many people have lost their destiny simply because they could not fast? The Bible says that certain problems will not go away except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17: 21). In proverbs 25: 28, the Bible states, “He that hath no value over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls”. This means a man who is undisciplined is vulnerable to so many evils. Lack of discipline leads to immorality, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, crime, abuse of office, and even death.

Lack of discipline leads to being stigmatised with a bad name. It will also lead to physical incarceration in the form of the undisciplined person being sent to the prison or spiritual bondage; when can be in bondage as a result of a sinful lifestyle. The reason many will end up in the lake of fire is because of lack of discipline. To be able to flee immorality and every other sinful vice, we must be disciplined. To be a Christian, you must be a disciplined person. Jesus said if anyone will follow him, he must take up his cross daily and deny himself. To deny yourself is to discipline yourself. Joseph was successful because he disciplined himself not to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife. It was his disciplined nature that made him to stand out even in the prison. It was discipline that enabled him to store food that will last throughout the seven years of famine. Daniel, Shedrach, Mechack and Abednego were another group of people who disciplined themselves. When others were busy partying and enjoying themselves, they purposed not to defy themselves with the portion of the King’s meat (Daniel 1: 8, 11, 19). Beloved, if you want to fulfil destiny, you must learn to discipline yourself. It takes discipline to overcome that habit that is threatening to destroy your life. May God give you the strength to discipline yourself in those areas you need to do so in order for you to fulfil your destiny.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Praise & Worship 33

Sunday September 23, 2012

Hard knocks for the high flier

Footprints with Dr. Tunde

Ojewole Email: ojewolea@babcockuni.edu.ng Phone: 08058299434

ast week, we saw how the rich young ruler walked away from the heavenly fortune because of his earthly toys. What a missed opportunity! What a sad ending! May your ending not be tainted with sorrow in Jesus’ name! Amen. In the rest of the story: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For humans beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Matt 19:23-25). Jesus provides us a clue. He provides us the guide by which to understand and learn from this sad young man’s episode. The verses above contain two sentences that solve the mystery behind the young man’s abandonment of Jesus. They explain and help us to understand the nature of this gospel episode and the lesson to be learned. The disciples were also bewildered by Jesus’ response and sought further clarification. Jesus crystallizes His thought: “For human beings; this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Pure and simple: It is fruitless and impossible for humans to attain salvation on our own. But in Jesus Christ, God has provided the way to salvation. To the modern reader, it is more puzzling that it is: easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. In Jesus’ time, Jerusalem, like so many cities, was surrounded by an enormous wall. Logically, this wall protected the holy city from invasion, it guarded it against attackers, and it prevented an all-out siege, by narrowing the entrance to a few main gates. The gospels even make reference to these gates, probably most famously in Jesus’ entrance into the city on Palm Sunday. At night, even these large gates would close, as fewer guards would be stationed to police them and the risk of an unanticipated attack increased in the dark. Thus, all of Jerusalem’s main

gates and entry ways shut down at nightfall. For the traveler or merchant arriving late to the city, these avenues into Jerusalem were unavailable, but rather than endure until morning outside of the city’s protection and shelter, an alternative route still allowed access into the city: a small passage way through the city wall called “the eye of the needle.” This opening was so small for human beings and worse for a camel to struggle through into the city. The young rich man went away puzzled after Jesus asked him to sell his possession, distribute the proceeds and follow Him. Furthermore the reference of Jesus to the “eye of the needle” jolted him. For Jesus’ contemporaries and the vast majority of the early readers of Matthew’s gospel, the existence of the eye of the needle would have been common knowledge; like referring to the gate of the Federal Capital City in Abuja or Tinubu Square in Lagos, as geographical parts of Nigeria that anyone familiar with the region would know instantly. Let us imagine a merchant approaching Jerusalem at night and on finding the main gates closed, he proceeds to the eye of the needle. However, in order to fit through this small passageway, he must prepare his camels for a tight squeeze. He must unpack their belongings, have them lower their heads, and lead them through the eye. In the same way, Jesus tells us we must unpack and lower our heads in order to enter into heaven. While the merchant must only undo the straps holding the goods onto the camel and lead the camel through the passage; for humans, these straps prove harder to untie, and to an almost unswerving extent, we resist lowering our heads; probably because we don’t trust that we will safely make it through the passage and into the city. In the heat of a discussion with a veteran Professor who has traversed continents for both academic and other pursuits he stared

at me eye ball to eye ball and said: “look my dear; I don’t trust anyone.” That presupposes that we only trust ourselves! We do not want to strip ourselves of goods and riches; we do not want to lower our heads; we do not want to lose our pride. In this world, whether in the ivory towers of learning or among business moguls, we take pride in our hard work and accomplishments. Like the rich young man, we value and have so much, not necessarily in monetary riches, but in gifts. In terms of motivation, work ethic, intelligence, athletic ability, musical talent, and even religious devotion and observance, we want to maintain and keep our laurels and riches. We take pride in our accomplishments, and, even for those who realize that all of their talents are gifts, they desire to take credit for their effort, to gain respect at least for the way in which they use God’s gifts. We at least take pride in our good intentions, in our good works, and in our charity…right? Let us look to Jesus’ image once again. Shall we parallel the camel, so all of us could come to the gates of the city, having been led by our merchant, by Christ? Guided by His teachings and followers of His commandments, we; like the rich young man, come to the eye of the needle. How do we come? Weighed down with the weight and baggage of this world, with gold and riches, with accomplishments and respect, with pride; though the straps that bind these weights to us be tight, though they resist and are almost impossible for us to shake from our backs, with Christ at our side and our trust in Him, the straps will fall slack in Jesus’ name! Although we ourselves may struggle to cast aside the need for monetary gain or worldly riches, with the support and guidance of Christ, such a feat is possible. The straps will slack. Now what must we do? Like the camel, tall and with its head held high, we must dip our heads; we must lower our pride. And this deed, this rejection of pride, this command-

Answer these questions and win a prize 1. “Nine feet plus, with 125 pounds of bronze armour, 15 pounds of iron tip-spear was my description.” What killed me and who am I? 2. Where did Sarah die? Supply the scripture. 3. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man …, that he will also”(NIV). Fill the gaps and supply the passage. •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.

ment above all commandments, proves the impossible task for mankind. How often in our daily lives do we allow our pride to remain? We tell ourselves that we treat others with respect, we donate to charity, we go to Church, and we do so many great things, so what’s the problem with a little pride? What’s the problem with a little self-respect? While the Lord does not call us to hate ourselves, how often does that little self-respect lead to a little ego, to a little pride? How often this hierarchy appears in our everyday lives? We make judgments about people, declaring ourselves smarter than someone else, more attractive than someone else, more spiritual, or devout, or generous than someone else. We elevate ourselves and the most difficult to prevent: we even praise ourselves for our humility. We take pride in the extent to which we do not think highly of ourselves. It seems impossible not to take pride in something, not to hold our heads high. Like the camel, we have been led throughout this life by the Lord and by Christ’s teaching; we have arrived at the gate of the city through the darkness of the night. Looking to the image of the Cross, we have followed the target to its natural end, to the point where we may either choose to enter the city or to remain outside. We have come to the crossroads of the Cross. Do we, like the young man, keep our head high but walk away, or do we trust in the Lord? Do we stay in the dark of the night, or do we enter the City of Light? It is time to choose to be different, by stepping out from the madding crowd to become veritable tools in the hands of the master craft man. Note the words of this song: “Jesus; ride on my back. You are my Lord and I am your Ass; I am tied to your will. I am yours; ride on my back.” Once our pride we submit; and allow His grace to lead on, we will be insulated from all the enemies’ insurgencies; though their darts at us are thrown. I therefore encourage you to strive to enter through the eye of the needle. •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 September 16, 2012 Quiz 1.Leah 2. Disciples; Emmaus 3.Maher-ahalal-hash-baz- Isaiah 8:1 NIV

Is it a sin to kill animals?

Holy Inquiry with Pastor Paul

Nkirukah E-mail: pstpaul11@yahoo.com

Sir, The Commandment of God says: ‘thou shall not kill’. Therefore, does it constitute a sin to kill animals such as fowl, goat, cow, snake, dog, lion, bird, ant, etc? Ajayi, Lagos state Dear reader, Your question to me looks childish, because, everybody knows that animals serve as meat for mankind. Even, man hunts for animals for food right from time immemorial. More so, animals, as meat, give protein to the body. But what have the scriptures got to say about this? Let’s quickly turn to Genesis 1: 26 – 30 and it reads, “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our like-

ness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Verse 27; “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.” Verse 28; “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air , and over everything that moveth upon the earth.” Verse 29; “And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, every tree, in the which is the fruit of a every tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Verse 30; “And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.” Beyond every reasonable doubt, I think that the scriptures above have supplied the answer to your question, most espe-

cially Verse 30 of the scriptures above. If I may ask; how do you come about this question? I hope you are not listening to false doctrines of all these false preachers that called themselves ‘Vegetarians’ or what have you, who go about deceiving people by telling them to abstain from meat? Let me warn before-hand that, these preachers are deceivers. Let’s take a good look at another area of the scripture to convince you. 1Timothy 4: 1 – 6 which reads: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. Verse 2; “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Verse 3; “Forbidding to marry, and commending to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Verse 4; “For every creature of God is good, nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. Verse 5; “For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” Verse 6; “If thou put the breth-

ren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourishing up in the word of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” The scriptures above have answered your questions, especially Verse 3, that at the latter days, these preachers with false doctrines will make people abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving to God. My dear, if it is wrong to kill animals, why did God say in Genesis 1 above that he has given us all the fish in the sea, all beasts of the earth and all the fowls of the air (birds) for food? Or is there any way you can eat any of these without killing them? If no, then I think your question is answered correctly. With all the references above, it is very evident and quite obvious that animals are to be killed and they are for food. That means that God is talking about mankind. Therefore, I submit that it is not a sin for one to kill animals for food, that is to say that, it is only a human being that God said you should not kill; take note.

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ANGELA DAVIES lessonsoflife2@yahoo.com 08023342083

Lessons of Life TRUE LIFE STORY ON MATTERS OF THE HEART SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

‘I married a man old enough to be my father, now I’m in love with his son’

We conclude in this edition the story of Phina, the young lady who got married to Mr Williams, a man in his 60s, old enough to be her dad. She is now in a dilemma: Williams’ son, Morgan, now has fallen in love with her. And the old man is aware of the relationship. hen we returned from our honeymoon, he made me the Managing Director of the company. I was so excited about amassing wealth for myself and my family, even though I didn’t have any jot of love for him. However, I still took my job seriously. Eight months later, my husband informed me that his son, Morgan, had finally decided to relocate to Nigeria to join the company. At first, I was not too happy about this development because I felt my husband’s attention will shift from me to his son. Also, Morgan would want to monitor every move I made in the office, especially when it came to the company’s finances. But on a second thought, I felt it was a good idea. I fell in love with his photos the first day his father showed them to me. “O my God, he is so handsome,” I said. “He looks like me when I was his age,” his father revealed. “What will you do if he comes home with a white woman?” I asked. “I have no problem with that as long as they love each other,” he replied. On the day of his arrival, my husband insisted I followed him to the airport to welcome Morgan. I happily agreed. When I eventually saw him in person, I fell instantly in love with him. When we got close to the car, his father introduced us. “Morgan, meet my darling wife, Phina, and darling meet my dear son, Morgan,” he said. We both knew there was this instant connection between us when we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before finally driving home. A week later, my husband held a meeting with the top management staff where he introduced Morgan as the Executive Director of the company. He revealed that he would be retiring soon and therefore pleaded with everyone to work in peace and unity with his wife and son. “I will be retiring very soon since I am no longer physically strong, but that does not mean I will not come here to see what is happening from

time to time. However, I plead with everyone to work in accord with my wife and son,” he had pleaded. The truth is that the doctor advised my husband not stress himself anymore because of his health condition; he suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. About three months after Morgan resumed in office as the Executive Director, I had gone to his office one morning to discuss some pending issues with him. Before we knew it, we were all over each other. Finally, he asked me what I saw in his father that made me marry him. “Phina something has been bothering me and I feel this is the perfect time to ask you. You are young and beautiful. What did you see in my father that made you marry him?” Morgan asked. “Your father is a very nice and caring man,” I replied. “I can bet my life that you don’t even love him. I am sure you are only attracted to his wealth,” he insinuated. “Say whatever you like, I am still his wife,” I retorted. “My father is too old for you. I am sure we are age mates. So why don’t we start something, that is if you want to. I actually like you a lot. Since we first saw at the airport, your beautiful face and smile stuck in my head,” he revealed. “I like you too but what do you mean by start something? Are you saying I should cheat on your father with you? I asked. “Phina, no need to pretend because we are both adults. There was an instant connection when we shook hands at the airport. Do you think I don’t notice the way you look at me and even dressed at home just to catch my attention? Will you say you wore those sexy bump shorts and lingerie’s just for an old man like my father?” he added. “You are so right. But what if your father finds out?” I quizzed. He assured me that if we play our cards well, his father will never have the slightest idea. That was how our love affair started. We spend more time in his office or mine playing love rather than working. In no time, everyone in the office knew that we were having an affair. At home, in order to spend quality time in the arms of Morgan, especially throughout the night, I devised a means. My husband does not go to bed without taking a cup of tea, so I started dropping sleeping

tablets in his tea. But I normally return to our bedroom at 5:00 in the morning so that he would not suspect anything because he is used to waking up between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. everyday including Saturdays and Sundays. The tablets make him sleep like a log of wood till the next morning even though he would wake up complaining of tiredness. Whenever he complained, I always suggested that it might be his drugs since his doctor just changed his prescription. He reluctantly agreed with me but I knew deep inside of him, he was convinced that something was wrong. In fact, at a time, we suspected that he was suspicious of our affair although he never asked Morgan or me anything. From his spoken words and action, it pointed towards that direction. We continued our escapade at home until that fateful day when he caught us making love. I had prepared his night tea as usual and even watched him drink it. I guess he played a fast one on us that night. I was with him in the room when he fell asleep, or so I thought, before sneaking to Morgan’s room as usual. About three hours later, while we were fast asleep in each oth-

er’s arms, someone tapped us on the leg at the same time. When we opened our eyes, it was him (my husband). He shook his head and walked out of the room. Up till today, he has not said a word about that night. He still relates well with me and his son. However, his health condition has worsened. I know it is not right to marry for material gains but I have truly fallen in love with his son, Morgan even though I know it is wrong. My heart belongs to Morgan and not his father. Surprisingly, I am not ashamed of it. The other day, he called his lawyer to the house, and we are so sure he adjusted his will. But the truth is that what do you expect when you have a young and beautiful lady like me, a handsome young man in my age range like Morgan, and a 62-year-old man under the same roof ? Of course, anything could happen. The chemistry between Morgan and I is unexplainable. However, what my husband (his dad) would do next, I do not know. The truth is that I love Morgan.

Please send your advice to the phone number or e-mail address above. No calls, please.

RESPONSES

Re: ‘Eric’s parents reject me because I grew up in an orphanage’ Dear Cleo, I can only advise you to trust Eric’s love and stand by him so you can give him strength for the fight ahead. But definitely, the love you have for each other will conquer. Stand firm by Eric, his parents will surely come around. Ngozi, Kaduna – 08034079550. You are the only person who can successfully reject Eric. But you must be patient and prayerful. Relate with and show him genuine love. This is your chance. Apeji Onesi, Lagos – 08060504740.

The Bible admonishes that, “If you have faith like a mustard seed, you can move mountains”. I would advise you to absolutely accept Eric, fast and pray together. The obstacles will be eliminated and his parents will eventually accept you. The most important things in any relationship are love and understanding. Our God is a God of miracle and surprises. Your biological mother, if she is still alive, will one day trace you to the Orphanage because blood is thicker than water. Patrick Adiasor, Surulere – 08033452087. It is neither you nor Eric’s fault. You should both pray and seek the face of God for favour. Without the consent of Eric’s parents,

you must not go ahead. TJ – 08036507617. Eric is your husband and nothing can change that. God will surely touch the hearts of Eric’s parents on your behalf. However, you should continue to give him audience and attention. Timothy Azenda – 08036452629. If Eric will be your husband, nobody on this earth can stop it. Please, fast and pray; there is nothing God cannot do. Temi – 08020675649.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ahlaitalai

na, northern Nigeria. According to on from the likes of the late Notorikson, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Jays passion and love for music which

ng music at an early age, Big Mo has ikes of Praiz, Iyanya, Skales, Pope ronomy so far in his rising career. every young musician aspiring for cess, the hard working singer previly released his debut single titled mole” back in 2005 with a video that modest success and television rota, he then went back to the drawing rd to work more on himself, recorda couple of mixtapes in the process. made a return in 2011. Wahlaitalai is a slang drawn from northern part of Nigeria where he w up. Big Mo is also currently studyPolitics and International Relations ead City University, Ibadan.

Linda Ikeji clocks 32, still mum on marriage

es debut on city, HiTV UK

ids capped it up by inserting four to his nostrils. He was sent packing 4-year-old man who showcased what escribed as a semi-dance (he called however). Thankfully, another 24 rilyn Ogechi redeemed the Garden wcasing a unique talent of playing ne with her hands. She got a gohe judges to the semi final round. e reality shows and then there are s,” said the Project Manager, AdaThe hilarity of some performances ountry where there is an emphasis portunities, it warmed the heart to ange of enthusiastic, excellent perbeyond music. This is such an amazwith truly talented people.” l-sponsored show will air on TV oss the country from September to 12. The Got Talent franchise worldis in its sixth year, has produced e performers in the last couple of ding Diversity, Bianca Ryan and Talent’s 2009 1st runner up Susan e debut album became the fastest ebut album of all time, selling over 3 s in the U.S.

Movies & Music

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Linda Ikeji

Last W Wednesday, ex-model and popular blogger, Linda popu 32. The excited Ikeji clocked clo joy at getIkeji expressed ex ting a year younger, and, knowing how popular know she is, made it clear she expected fans to conexp gratulate her. However, gra she made no mention sh of marital expectao ttions, as fans would

expect. In March this year, Linda had begun to tweet a lot about marriage. She wrote: “Marrying ANY man is easy. It’s marrying your DREAM MAN that’s hard. You have to wait a little longer and search a bit further. Only a few will understand.” After posting the story about Kefee’s marriage, she tactically wrote, “Aside: Some of us are looking for one, others are on

two. Na wa o…” In December 2011, she had written: “I’m engaged to a hot dude and I won’t do. Ha...life is too short abeg! lol. This current situation is even giving me nightmares....hahaha!” Of these, nothing has been heard. However, Linda is sure a number one blogger. At 5:00 pm, over 2,000 fans had sent her a birthday message.

Okey Bakassi, others to rock Nite of A Thousand Laughs Xtra in Lagos Lagos will be on lock down this Independence Day celebration as Opa Williams’ Nite of A Thousand Laughs Xtra is poised to make the season memorable as always. So, come Monday, October 1 at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, this year’s Nite of A

Okey Bakassi

Thousand Laughs Xtra will rock Lagos to its surprise appearance of a magician and lots of foundation as comedians from Nigeria and young artistes waiting on the wing to take the nation’s music industry by the storm. Upcomacross Africa are set for the performances of ing comedians will first set the right mood for their lives. Leading the trio from across Africa is Eric an explosive evening,” comedy merchant Opa Omondi, the hottest comedian from Kenya with Williams, C.E.O of Virgin Leisure OrganisaPatrick Salvador from Uganda and Cotilda tion, organizers of the yearly show said in a from Zambia. Seasoned stand-up comic, Okey statement signed by his media company, Media Bakassi is ‘captain’ of the Nigerian side with Image Managers, MIM. The event, sponsored by the telecommunitop ‘players’ such as Bovi, Funny Bone and Akcations giant, MTN Nigeria, Loya Milk among pororo. others, will consist of two shows that will start Lagosians will have a rare opportunity of by 3:00 pm and 6: 00 pm respectively. seeing legendary pop star Mike Okri perform “We have made preparations after about a decade’s sojourn in the for adequate security for the United States. Afro hip hop stars audience as well as conBrymo and Omawumi are also venience during the in the bill in an evening that shows. Last year, we promises to be explosive. had some difficul“Lagos edition of Nite ties in controlling of A Thousand Laughs the crowd after the Xtra is always something first show because different because this as usual it was too is where we started the large, larger than whole thing from in 1995 expected and we are and as part of appreciaexpecting an even tion to the Lagos crowd that bigger crowd this year has kept us going for these 16 since we continue to years, we always go out of our reinvent ourselves with way to reward them with prizes Opa Williams our offerings to the audience and special performances every Ocyearly. So, in conjunction with the tober 1. This year which marks Nigeria’s 52 independence anniversary celebration won’t management of MUSON, we have devised a be different because aside the artistes on the plan to ease the crowd of the first show out bill, we have surprise packages for Lagosians. without inconveniencing the one waiting You know Nite of A Thousand Laughs Xtra is a for the second. You will find out what we night we ensure that the audience must laugh have done when you come for the show,” Wila thousand times and more, so there will be a liams said.

Nigerian Idol back, bigger, better with season 3!

ptima Media Group (OMG), executive producers of Nigerian Idols, the most watched music reality TV show has announced the return of Nigerian Idols for what promises to be a breath-taking season. The 3rd season of Nigerian Idols was launched on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at a media event in Lagos at the Shaba Events Centre, Ikeja which saw mind blowing performances by past winners of Nigerian Idol Mercy (Season 1) also runner-up for the two seasons, Naomi, Stephen, and Joe Blue. Etisalat announced its continued sponsorship of Nigeria’s version of the world’s biggest reality TV show. “We are very excited to announce the continuation of our lead sponsorship of Nigerian Idol till 2013, and our desire to continue to empower Nigerian youths and are calling on all youth to be the ‘voice of tomorrow,” said Etisalat’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Wael Ammar. Also, returning to Idols for another thrilling season are the judges; African-American dancer, singer and Michael Jackson’s

personal choreographer; Jeffrey Daniels, veteran singer Yinka Davies, and the Area Father; Charly Boy. On Air Personality, Ill Rhymz also returns as this year’s host. “One of the greatest highlights of my year in the last three is spent through the months of this phenomenal how. Talents I have come across are amazing and the idea of being part of this huge international platform giving birth to dreams and great acts across the world for someone who has graced stages in different parts of the continent, worked with amazing acts and several A- List producers in America, it’s most fulfilling. I am truly excited to give back and groom these young stars and that’s why I would be on the show as long as they want me,” said Jeffrey Daniels, who was present at the media launch. The prize for this season is $100,000 and the elements are thus; 7.5 million Naira cash prize, a recording contract worth N7.5 million, and a SUV. “This season, we will be expanding our reach from 4 audition cities to 5 cities. This is to ensure that a lot more people have a shorter distance to travel

to get to the nearest audition centres. We are extremely pleased with Nigerian Idol season 2 and research findings show that Nigeria is pleased as well as such we will be concentrating effort more on improving the things we did right,” said the project manager; Tiwa Medubi during the press conference.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Connecting

Vanessa with

Vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com

Addicted to your Ex? Stop dwelling in the past

ou know how the thoughts of him/her keep coming back. Somehow, something always triggers the feelings you long to forget. It could come when you are watching a romantic movie, attending a wedding ceremony or you are sitting back in your quiet corner and the wonderful memories of how it used to be between the two of you will just keep flooding back. The picture of your Ex close to you whispering sweet nothings into your ears keeps playing back like scenes from an Indian Movie; you could imagine he/she looking at you with that special glint in his/her eyes you’ve always thought was reserved specially for you. You reminisce how wonderful it felt to be in his/her company and the special things you did together that made that person so unforgettable! In your mind, nobody can ever take his/ her place in your heart or understand you the way he/she did. Well, wake up from your slumber! Open your eyes and read the signs on the wall. Your Ex is gone! He/she has moved on. That is why they are often referred to as an “Ex”, cappish? (Like my Italian friends will say). It’s necessary to Models drum it into your ears that your Ex partner has left you in the past and settled down with someone else. He/she is now living in the present; stop dwelling in the past! My dear friend, I am going to be very blunt with you today. If truly both of you were meant to be together, I am sure it would have worked out eventually. Now that the love of your life has abandoned you for someone else (or whatever excuses you were given for the break-up) it’s better to pause with those thoughts and put things in their proper perspective instead of making that Ex a demigod in your life whose pedestal no one can possibly match. Do you know why it seems you are still very hung up on your Ex? Do you know why you still think that nobody can ever take their place in your heart? It’s because you have allowed yourself to dwell on the beautiful memories of the past instead of concentrating on creating fresh ones with someone else who could bring another type of happiness into your life, if only you could give life another chance. The memories of what it felt like to have experienced true love can be addicting. You become so drunk on the memories of the past that the present only fades in pale compari-

son. But you are making a big mistake and cheating yourself out of great surprises life could fetch you, if only you can have the courage to open your heart again to love. Do you know memories have a way of blocking some good things coming into your life? How will God bring someone new into your life, if every time he sends an angel to bring a new partner into your love life, he finds you still clutching your old memories? This is one of the reasons why it looks as if you have not yet met another person who can match the great love you once had with your Ex. Now, the first step to getting your love life back is to accept the fact that you truly have an addiction and that you need and want to conquer it. By acknowledging the fact that you have been wasting your time all these while comparing everyone that comes your way to your Ex, is definitely a good step in the right direction. Stop being critical of the opposite sex and try to see good in that new guy or girl who has been showing you the green light of affection. Just like any other type of addiction, you must change your behaviour and surround yourself with new friends if you want to truly recover. By opening up your heart to love another person, you could be amazed at the wonderful surprise life could throw at you if only you could let go of the memories that shrouds your Ex-lover and start building new and refreshing ones with someone else. Another important step is to create a loving atmosphere around you to support your recovery and help attract a new love opportunity. This means removing all memorabilia attached to former lovers from your environment. Get rid of all old photos, gifts, clothing, etc from your Ex. Start being a best friend to yourself and open the door to all the feelings you have kept locked up for so long. Always stay focused and encourage yourself frequently by setting a goal, and picturing yourself away from all the disappointments and closer to all the happiness and good health you need, desire and deserve as a person. Finally, never give up and know that you are not alone. Mainly, keep in mind that there will always be a person who will be by your side and never leave you, always giving you the strength, love and support you need and that person is YOU.

Sunday y Mir Mirror ror www.nationalmirroronline.net onl nli lin ine ine e.ne net net

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Weddings Engagements CELEBRATING THE JOY IN MARITAL BLISS SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Surprise engagement proposal for ex-beauty queen, Diana

retty Diana Odiaka got a surprise engagement proposal from her beau, Funsho Peters, on Monday, August 27 in a pretty, dramatic ambiance. The lovebirds have been dating for nine months before Funsho decided to pop the question, “Will you marry me?” just two days after Diana’s 24th birthday. For the couple, every Monday night is for movie. However, this particular night, he decided d to propose to her through the big screen n with the help of some friends. On this fateful day, instead ad of hooking up with Funsho as usual after work so that they will ill go and watch a movie, Diana a decided to go shopping with her friend, Amaka. After shopping, she drove down to City Mall with Amaka which is not far from his office. But, when they got there, his car was not at the parking lot. Funsho called on their way there and they agreed to meet up at the galleria. They got tickets for “The e watch” for 8:10 p.m. “Later, er, Funsho said he was hungry and was going to get something to eat while Amaka and I (Dianna) na) then went into the screening room. m. Minutes later Funsho joined us, and d then he left again at about 8:07 p.m. When hen he didn’t come back in time, I went outside and d gave him hi his hi movie i tickti k

et and I saw him talking with Tosin Olukuade and Omena Daniels. Minutes later, I saw on the screen “you have conquered the world with your beauty and charm and my heart along with it”. Then I thought I was in the wrong screening room until I saw my name on the screen “DIANA ODIAKA”. to Omena and ToMy heart flipped; I turned tur sin asking “what’s “what going on? Where is Then again on the screen, Funsho?” The and the words I saw my pictures p me the happiest “please make m man on Earth. Will you marry me?” People started screamand clapping, the lights ing a came on and Funsho cam walked down to where I wa was seated, knelt down wa and brought out the an rring. I was so stunned, speechless, and just sp staring at him until Tost sin screamed, “take the si ring”. I stretched out ri my left hand and he slid the ring in. We hugged and kissed. People were screaming and clapping. I screa was so overwhelmed, so very happy.” Diana is former Most BeautiNigeria Tourism 2009 and ful Girl in Nig Tourism Africa 2009 while former Miss Tour Solutions architect and CEO Funsho is an IT Soluti off IInfinion Technologies Limited. fi i T h l i Li it

You have a story to tell us about your wedding/engagement, or your new born baby. Please call this line: 08051980588

BABIES OF THE WEEK

Abdul Muqaddim Adedayo Abolade was born at State Maternity Centre, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo, Osun State to Adewale and Sarat Abolade. He was delivered at 8:45 p.m. and weighed 3.1 kg. During the pregnancy, “I craved for food such as beans, ‘dodo’, egg and fish. I also ate fruits such as apple and orange. I also craved for milk and malt drink,” Abiola revealed. What were the obvious physical body changes? “My feet were a bit swollen and my face changed as well,” Abiola said. What do they love about the baby? “What we love about him is that he is clean and cute. He also looks like his dad, as his name implies,” she stressed. What do they want him to become in future? “We want him to be the first in all positive doings,” Adewale added. What is the meaning of Abdul Muqaddim? “Abdul Muqaddim means servant of the expediter,” said Adewale.

National Mirror’s Paul Arhewe, gets married OLUWASEGUN IJABIKEN

eavens smiled and the earth rejoiced on Saturday, September 1, at the wedding between Paul Arhewe and Stella Odegua at Laughter Foundation Cathedral, Oregun, Lagos. After the church blessings, guests were hosted to an interesting reception which took place within the church’s premises. The colours of the day, peach, chocolate-brown and gold were glamorously expressed through the aso-ebi, reception arena, wedding cake and the bride’s bouquet. The couple, who are both indigenes of Edo State, met at an interview that sparked up the relationship, after which it grew strong following frequent calls, gifts and exchange of other pleasantries. The bride appeared radiant in her sparkling white sleeveless wedding gown sown with a collection of satin, bridal lace, ruffles and floral trimmings. Paul on the other hand wore a black suit, gold-coloured shirt, brown tie and a boutonnière to match. In their splendour, they both danced adroitly to the thrill of all eyes present. The highpoint of the event was when the bride threw her bouquet to be picked by one of the spinsters lined up behind her, as good omen suggesting the next bride. It was picked by her chief bridesmaid. One of the masters of ceremony, Tobore Ovurie (also of National Mirror) suspecting a foul play, insisted that the bride throws it the second time. As fate would have it, the initial winner was still lucky to pick it. Paul speaking about what he appreciates about Stella, said: “She is caring, God-fearing, gentle like me, and beau-

tiful”. He also advised singles to wait for God’s time, He stressed that everyone has someone out there for them and that delay is not denial. Paul, who is a member of staff of National Mirror Newspapers, had the full support of his colleagues and superiors alike who came to felicitate with him on his happy moment.

Mr and Mrs. Arhewe

Hameedat Boluwatife Abdulsalam was born at the Medical Centre, Agbado, Lagos to Wasiu and Rukayat Adulsalam. She was delivered at 7:00 a.m. and weighed 3.7 kg. During the pregnancy, “I desired different types of food that I felt like eating at a particular time. I also ate fruits like apples and oranges,” Rukayat said. What were the obvious physical body changes? “Aside from my protruding stomach, I looked more beautiful,” Rukayat disclosed. What irritated her during the pregnancy? “I was irritated by the smell of cream,” she explained. What do they love about the baby? “She is beautiful and also sucks a lot,” Rukayat noted. What is the meaning of Hameedat? “Hameedat means Gratefulness to Allah,” said Wasiu.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

A Fashionista’s

World SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

What gives me joy as a woman –Sisi Nurse Ijeoma Chibueze who played the role of Sisi Nurse in the soap opera, Face2Face, is a fashionista of repute. The fair-complexioned wife and mother told Angela Davies that her style is simple. She also revealed why she loves wearing sleeveless clothes. How long have you been in the Nollywood? I have been in the industry for seven years, precisely since 2005. I joined Face2Face, the popular Nigerian soap opera that same year.

ally, I wear just a little loud make-up, especially to events.

What motivated you into acting? The motivation is depicting African culture through communication. Trying to talk and relate to people in terms of things that happen around us daily.

Why your temper? People get on my nerves easily and I don’t like it. I have low temper; I want to have high temper (laughs).

How was growing up for you? My growing up was beautiful but strict and that was because I grew up in the hands of a principal, my father. Define your style Simplicity is my style. That makes me not just comfortable but also to be myself wherever I go to. What kind of clothes do you love to wear? I love sleeveless clothes because I sweat a lot. I also love wearing jeans and tops as well. For shoes, I love high heels. You look good; what’s the secret? My secret is happiness. There is nothing like happiness. When you are happy, your mind will be fresh and you’ll look fresh too. I am always a happy woman. You are married with children, what is it about womanhood that makes you happy? When I see my children around me whenever I get home from work, telling me mummy you are welcome. And when I buy them things, and they say mummy you’re the best. It gives me joy. Children are the pride of every woman. How do you combine acting, work, playing the role of a wife and mother? Everything is simple when you have a caring husband. I have a very caring and understanding husband who has made all these roles easy and simple for me. Also if you let your husband understand you, your life will be very simple. What is that fashion item you cannot do without as a woman? I love a well done hair because the hair is the glory of a woman. I love good weave-on. How do you love to carry your hair? I love to carry my hair very crazy and big so that I will look big because people always tell me that I look smallish. With a big hairstyle, apart from being easily noticed, it makes me look bigger. How do you love your make-up? I love my make-up very simple and moderate. But occasion-

If you have to change anything about yourself, what would that be? I will change my temper.

How do you handle your fans, especially the male? I relate to everybody as if we are a family. I relate to them as if we have known one another for a very long time so that they will keep enjoying the work I do and also encourage me more. It is not easy for somebody to see you and appreciate you. Many people do not know my name so when they see me and shout, Sisi nurse, I will smile and answer because they are all my fans. Everybody has one fear or the other in life. What is your greatest fear in life? My greatest fear is not being able to achieve what I want to achieve. I am a very hardworking woman. Whoever that would make me not to achieve what I want to achieve in life, I will leave such a person behind. What turns you off in people? When they lie or claim to be who they are not. What are your hobbies? Swimming and writing Do you have a beauty routine? I don’t have any beauty routines. I believe that whoever that is beautiful is. I don’t do anything extra to maintain my beauty. I believe you pray. What do you tell God? I pray for God’s favour. I also pray that I should be strong and not to be pulled down by anybody. What perfumes do you use? I use Sexy 212. My husband bought it for me because that is what he loves. I love the fragrance too. How can you describe yourself? Ijeoma is a very simple and a God-fearing woman. What kind of books do you read? Inspirational books. What keeps you going in life? When I remember that I have the mind of Christ, it keeps me going. This is because when God created everybody, He created us in His own image. Everyday I tell myself, Ijeoma you have the mind of God. What is your philosophy of life? Everybody should relax and take things the way they go. Because at every point in time, if God says today is not your day, you are not going to make it. Except God says otherwise.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Opinion

Sunday September 23, 2012

Harvest of deaths on Nigerian roads

egular sad look at the harvest of deaths on Nigeria’s stretches of killer roads can never come as trite. On daily basis, the media are awash with spine-shilling reports that, for instance, a certain vehicle, while trying to avoid pot-holes, suddenly somersaulted, killing all its occupants or nearly all. While various factors suffice to explain why an accident occurred, attributions to the deplorable condition of the roads are never in short of want. Like a shock attack, a home noted for chumminess suddenly pales into gloom, either as a result of the death or irreversible maiming of a stakeholder, who could be the breadwinner himself, or the matriarch, or the child. An auto crash is a fiendish decimator, which can be put at bay through adherence to cautions; through clear-headedness and through the good condition of the road. Assuredly, no fewer than 50 different homes had been made to grieve and live blearily on for the rest of the year, following losses of loved ones to accidents on Nigeria’s roads that have assumed an abiding cliché of death-traps. In the last few weeks. Breaking news, flickered on prime TV last week, showed that along the rural community of Obada-Oko in Ogun State, a commercial vehicle travelling from Lagos to Abeokuta lost control and collided with a trailer, killing 10 persons and leaving others severely injured. Earlier also, had been the sickening news of another auto crash in Bauchi, involving two passenger buses, the denouement of which was that

32 lives were lost, while about 10 others were put on a danger list in the hospital. Annually, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) provides grim figures of human casualties arising from auto accidents, to shame a nation that annually votes billions of naira to roads’ rehabilitation and construction. In this year alone, over N138 billion was voted for the Ministry of Works, out of which N149 billion was reserved for capital projects. Same staggering figures featured in last year’s budgets; yet the posturing of the Nigerian roads retains the toga of the barber’s chair, that oscillates musically as it is rooted on a spot. The performance sheet of the Ministry of Works in terms of funds injected to roads in 2011 can be described as ‘wonderful’, inferring from the revelation of the Road Safety that, in that year, out of 1,032 major accidents, 590 deaths were recorded. Another reel of the census of the dead, via road accidents in 2011, as further shown by the Oyo Sector of the road marshals, calibrated in the deaths of 905. Vaguely, therefore, an average 2, 000 lives are being lost, annually, to auto crashes. Granted that drunkenness, poor sight, break-neck speed, unhealthy condition of the vehicle, among other variables, remain veritable causes of road accidents, it still remains to be seen how the Federal Government is empowering the FRSC with necessary logistics to rise up to the occasion of helping road users keep alive. For an outfit whose patrol

vans are fast disappearing from the highways, owing to poor funding, tasking it to reduce accidents is almost akin to being tasked with finding a virgin among nursing mothers. But above all, is the need to keep the roads in right shapes, to forestall further cries and anguish in homes. A look at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for instance, reeks of world class scandal for many reasons. In the first place, that is the only major road that links Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, with the rest of the country. Again, it is on record that long before the concession of that road to Bi-Courtney, a private concern, billions of Naira had reportedly been released for its rehabilitation and expansion; but as the road’s situation has revealed so far, the monies earlier voted were either frittered away or kept in ungodly custodies. Even with the concession of the Lagos-Ibadan road about four years ago, what has come as repair and expansion unto toll-taking and subsequent maintenance, is the abysmal apparition of the shadow of things to come. As the concession deal appears stalled somewhere, more mishaps, dangerous encroachments and robberies continue as vinegars for hapless motorists plying the road. Elsewhere in the country too, the story remains the same. But when shall the ghoulish decimation of the population through the deadly roads abate? Let government’s answer translate to action, or simply put, let the government act.

Kayode Fasua

kayodefasua@nationalmirroronline.net (08034101207; SMS only, pls)

Of Sanusi’s N5, 000 note

Now that the Federal Government would have to repatriate whooping N40 billion meant for the printing of new N5, 000 notes, Nigerians are itching to know what the billions are to be spent on. Like a jaded hawker, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Malam Lamido Sanusi, was more than frenetic, seeking allies for his dream new naira note. But President Goodluck Jonathan rendered kaput, the cosmetic house of cards that is the N5, 000 note, as he ordered that it should be put on hold, weekend. Like I recently suggested, pumping the N40 billion to the establishment of a manufacturing plant would not be a bad idea, more so as the President had sworn by Jove that by next year, the epileptic power supply being experienced would become history. Besides, it is gratifying to know the depth of the CBN governor’s knowledge of finance economy: to have proposed that under a non-productive Nigerian economy, introducing a denomination as high as N5, 000 would not trigger off inflation? Wonders, they say, shall never end.

Ondo guber election: Why is Mimiko afraid of opposition? ADEKUNLE BAKARE

n the run-up to the October gubernatorial election in Ondo State, the nation has witnessed series of violence orchestrated by the government of the incumbent and re-election seeking governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, against the opposition political parties in the State. It all started on April 20, 2012, when the Ondo State Chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria organized a Public Lecture to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of the former Governor of the State, Chief Adebayo Adefarati. The Oyemekun Road, Akure, venue of the lecture was reportedly stormed at noon by members of the ruling Labour Party who sang and danced provocatively to abusive songs against the opposition party. As the guests, mostly ACN members, began to arrive, the situation became rowdy as their supporters also stationed themselves outside the hall singing and dancing. The situation, however, turned violent when some invitees to the lecture, including former commissioners and special advisers who served under the late governor were prevented from entering the lecture hall by Labour Party members. The situation later spread into the town where pockets of violence were recorded but the quick intervention of the State Independent Electoral Commission which banned all forms of campaigns and rallies until July 21, 2012, saved the day. The Police Command in the State also took a pre-emptive action by banning all types of political gatherings in places where clashes had been recorded. On Saturday, July 28, 2012, however, the fragile peace in the State was again

disturbed when members of the ruling party attacked a convoy of the ACN governorship candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, near the State Secretariat on Oyemekun Road, Akure. The ACN candidate was on his way home after the party’s Congress. There was a free-for-all in which dangerous weapons and ammunition were reportedly used and in the process several vehicles were vandalized while some passers-by were either robbed or wounded. Mr. Akeredolu, however, escaped unhurt but some members of the party were injured in the attack. Though the spokesman for the Labour Party, Mr. Femi Okunjemiruwa, alleged that members of the opposition party fired shots at the secretariat, the Special Adviser to the ACN candidate on Media, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, said the incident happened at the Lafe Junction on Oyemekun Road when hoodlums blocked the convoy of Mr. Akeredolu who was returning home after he was elected the governorship candidate of the party. The hoodlums, according to Ajanaku, hauled stones and pebbles at the convoy prompting the security details of the candidate to take measures to ward off the hoodlums. A day before this attack, there was also a clash between members of the State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and members of the ruling LP in Ode-Irele Town. According to the PDP Director of Publicity, Mr. Ayodele Fadake, the clash was sparked off when the State Government decided to inaugurate a community-based project on the same day that the opposition PDP had obtained Police permit to hold a political rally in the town. According to Fadaka, some LP members planned to defect to the PDP but due to the calibre of the personalities involved, the

ruling party quickly fixed its own event in the same town, apparently to cause confusion. These incidents are by no means the only ones since the campaigns started. Aside the series of unprovoked attacks and harassment of the opposition, the ruling party has also used other coercive means to prevent the opposition parties from making their impact and freely sell themselves among the people as the political campaigns gather momentum. But be that as it may, one begins to wonder why the re-election bid of Dr, Mimiko is witnessing such violence. This is a Governor who has over the years sought to convince the world that he has performed in all spheres of the economy of the State. In Education, in Health, in Agriculture and other sectors of the state’s economy, there have been claims of unprecedented achievements that had not been equaled by other governments in the country. While no attempt, whatsoever, is being made here to contest such claims, the series of state-orchestrated violence attending the on-going political campaigns cast doubts on such claims. If there is any lesson drawn from the 2011 General Elections in the country, it is the fact that Nigerians have begun to demonstrate the freedom to make a choice of those who will lead them based on performance. Except in the few places where factors other than adequate political enlightenment played a dominant role, the elections were adjudged largely as free and fair by both local and international observers. The performance criterion was evident in the several states where governors of ruling parties failed to secure a second tenure. It was also evident in the few election petitions filed in against their defeat by the governors some of who later withdrew

their petitions. In Lagos, for example, the State was free for the opposition parties to campaign and stage political rallies. But, except for the PDP which had courage enough to stage few rallies, including presidential rally at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Central Lagos, no other political party made such attempt. They were, apparently intimidated by the performance of the ACN government in the State. Other States of the Southwest, in fact fell into the hands of the ACN largely as a result of the performance of the Lagos State Government. In recent times, also, the performance criterion has worked in Edo State where ACN Government led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole not only beat the PDP roundly but uprooted the traditional political pillars of the State. So, why the violence in Ondo State? Why have the opposition parties suddenly become targets of state-orchestrated violence? Could it be that the much talkedabout popularity of Dr. Mimiko is a fluke after all? Is the attack and harassment of the opposition an indication that the “Iroko of Ondo State” is suddenly afraid to face the opposition? Is the Governor afraid to allow free flow of ideas for moving Ondo State forward in terms of education and economic development? There can only be one explanation to this action of the LP Government in Ondo State. The Government of Dr. Mimiko is afraid to face the reality of the present development in our democratic experience – the choice by Nigerians of the performance factor as the criterion for election. • Mr. Bakare wrote from Akure, Ondo State

Politics

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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Tenure mired in controversies CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

The steps she took endeared Oduah to players in the sector, most especially the unions which initially stood against her appointment. Yet, some ardent professionals who had witnessed over 35 aviation ministers in the sector before the appointment of Oduah, still doubted her sincerity to take the sector to the next level. They called her actions ‘the initial gra-gra expected from a minister who by all means looked for love and affection from players in the sub-sector. When all thought that Nigeria had finally found the right aviation minister, she came out with her real traits by engaging in measures, which were aimed at further stifling the Nigerian aviation industry, especially the agencies, than she met them. After over one year of her appointment as the minister, one would have expected Oduah to ensure perimeter fences in all the major airports in the country, ensure installation of Airfield Lighting System on the runway in the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, have a workable and effective road map for the sector and improve on the infrastructure at all the major airports. The reverse was rather the case. Speaking on the assessment of the minister recently, the President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Capt Dele Ore, insisted that the she had not done anything meaningful in the last one year. Ore explained that rather than Oduah improving the system she met on ground, her efforts had brought more embarrassments to the system than her predecessors. According to Ore, “it’s not that anything was done in the last one year. Also, I will say in the last one year, we didn’t achieve anything rather than consolidations of the gains and the efforts put in place in the last fours years. “We should however also try to erase the idea that it is the effort of the honourable minister that achieved anything; rather, her efforts more or less put a lot of stress and embarrassments to the system. However, I need to say this loud and clear, that all what the minister has done so far is to embarrass this country on several issues. “I need to also say that the comfort that we are enjoying is the mere fact that the regulatory authority is the reason for success. The NCAA has emerged to be a world class regulatory body and this is expected because of its leadership and it has been able to successfully execute short term, medium plans and the regulatory authority now moves into the long plan, which is actually designed to ensure comfort and value for money, sensibility and options for the air travellers. “All these people who are now making noise of success, it is the plan and responsibilities that the regulatory authority has been able to muster and, of course, the authority has worked so assiduously towards the level it is today and it is gradually becoming a model for the whole of Africa. This is something that Nigerians should be proud of.” Ore added, “Part of the bad news is that the HS125 aircraft was returned to the country from South Africa having been refurbished by NCAA and was taken to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). That to me is a bad policy. The controversy between FAAN and Maevis Nigeria Limited is a disregard to the court order by the agency. It is barbaric; this is somebody who is trying to put innovation

Stella Oduah

and his investments in the sector. We have sent a terrible signal to private investors not to invest their money into aviation. It is a shame. “Also, the transfer of airport airfield lighting to NAMA from FAAN is unprecedented and sooner or later when the bubble burst, we will know where we are. We are remodelling 11 airports, but I want to say at what cost? This thing is very cosmetic and I don’t call that remodelling, but I believe we would have done a better job by calling investors to come and build for us a better terminal.” Besides, not quite long, Oduah and her entourage embarked on a road show to United States of America, Canada and China, a move which was roundly condemned and described a as jamboree by stakeholders. The minister, alongside a few select officials of the ministry and some chief executive officers of agencies, had on Saturday, August 4, 2012 embarked on a foreign investment drive to woo foreign investors to key into the transformation and infrastructural development of the aviation sector in Nigeria. Engr. Sheri Kyari of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), in a recent interview condemned the tour, maintaining that its contents were hidden from stakeholders and professionals in the sub-sector and wondered why it was shrouded in secrecy by the government. He noted that some of the businesses being showcased to foreigners could be handled by indigenous investors if the government was open and objective about its programmes. He cited India as a viable example in the privatisation and concession programme, stressing that during the exercise, potential indigenous businessmen were carried

along and participated fully in the exercise. Also, the former President, Cabin Crew Association of Nigeria (CCAN), Mr. OlumideOhunayo, likened the action of the minister to putting the cart before the horse. Ohunayo insisted that the road show was unnecessary when the country was yet to feel the impact of the Dubai executive retreat embarked upon by the agencies’ heads. He queried why potential investors were avoiding the country’s aviation industry like plague and asked the minister and her travelling team , “Why are investors putting $1 billion investment in Philippine carriers despite being a Category Two country? Why is the low cost carrier going to domicile in Ghana? Why is the Chinese airline going to set up a regional carrier in Ghana? Why did Air France code share with non-starters like Air Burkina and Air Mali, but chose to fly to three points in Nigeria? “It was not through glamorous road shows or by verbally assaulting respected voices neither did they deliberately strangulate their certified carriers, but by providing an enabling environment backed by protectionist and competitive policies.” Besides, the Acting Secretary General of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Abdulkareem Motajo, said rather than embark on the road show, the minister and her team could easily sell the country online, stressing that the world had grown to become a global village. “The presidential committee on operations of domestic airlines just came out with a report, we need to sit down and look at this report and see where we need to adjust. If we don’t have good infrastructure on ground, the investors they went to woo will never come down to the country. Just look at the number of people who em-

barked on the journey, the national assembly, ministry officials and even agencies’ heads. It is a waste of tax payers’ money,” Motajo lamented. When stakeholders and professionals in the sub-sector were still trying to free themselves from the condemnation that trailed the road show abroad, Oduah came up with another bombshell for the industry. About two weeks ago, she announced the handing over of all the revenue points in the agencies to an unknown company, Avitech Software Limited, all in the name of automation of the revenue points in the sector. Before now, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was in charge of revenue collections for NAMA and FAAN at 1.5 per cent commission on revenue collected from users. Avitech, which is coming with First Bank as its partner, is to charge five per cent on collected revenues. What Oduah has succeeded in doing was to further pull the sector into more disrepute. However, unions are already inviting the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Assembly to investigate the planned automation scheme of the agencies by the minister. ATSSSAN President, Okewu, recently said that the involvement of the government organs was necessary because of suspected foul plays in the concessioning of the revenue points in the entire agencies to a single company. Okewu noted that the agreement reached with the company, just like previous ones, which later boomeranged did not have inputs of the in-house unions in the sector, stressing that the agreement was detrimental to the sector and the nation in general. Okewu maintained that the unions were not against the automation of the revenue points in all the agencies, stressing that such process would help to block any loophole in the sector. He, however, maintained that things must be done transparently to forestall past sordid experiences in the industry. “Because of the level of the sector now, we have decided we are not going to call for any action that will disrupt activities, but we are ready to involve all organs of governments like EFCC, ICPC, ICRC and even the National Assembly and the various organs of governments to come and look at what is happening in the sector. “We had a discussion with the minister at the level of just interaction and we suggested that there was a need for an official meeting for us to bring all arsenals on board to discuss these issues, they agreed, but as at now, no such meeting. The latest information we heard was that the ministry has gone ahead to sign such agreement even when they were yet to hold the proposed meeting with the unions.” Aviation watchers point out that Oduah in 14 months of her stewardship as aviation minister has done more harm than progress to the sector. They point to the ongoing remodelling of 11 airports in the first phase which is almost stalled as one of her failures. The minister, they pointed out, had promised that MMIA would be commissioned within six months, which elapsed over six months ago.

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them all useful information that le were protesting in the streets d that the police must do a transey were very clear because they eve in violence but in the rule of that anybody has accused me of by going to the court when they ng me for too long and there was d the fact that an unknown man ed me of being the sponsor of the erinde, who, may his soul rest in . Let me say, again, that we went granted me an unconditional red the court order. That again reice were out for a game to frame e country as people’s attitude to tive. My case only reinforced it ng a dirty job. Like the Comrade in his statement, the police were fact, they have taken six stateme. In all, as the governor said, hey have the telephone numbers nt in time. They would have recephone contact between me and rs at me. But up till this moment, have told the governor that they were going to court and in some still telling the world (they have y clear that there is discrepancy orld and what they were actually elieve in and trust the judiciary, e. I am grateful that the judiciary hope of the common man. There n the country. The citizens need he judiciary. Left alone with the matter of fact, it was not in the because from the manner I was rriedly arraigned before a maggranted me bail after which we urt. While we are expecting that ed to the public prosecution, my what will happen. I can tell you xpressed by me on the very day hat confidence has not declined; darity locally, nationally and ind but also hope that ultimately I behind me, particularly the civil nalise. You know, any attempt by the civil society would be (seen r them. My hands are clean and CONTINUED ON PAGE 50

Politics

Sunday, September 23, 2012

N5,000 note: Sanusi at a crossroads CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 eral Government and the regulatory banking institution to stop forthwith arrangements on the exercise in view of what it termed its likely negative socio-economic impact on ordinary citizenry. Not even the prompt intervention by members of the National Assembly, who were then on their annual vacation, could persuade the CBN governor to back down on the project. However, as the lawmakers resumed from their break last week Tuesday, there were no doubts in their minds that the National Assembly was the last hope of the Nigerian people on the issue. On the first day of their resumption, while members of the House of Representatives debated the matter and resolved to invite Sanusi to appear before them to throw light on the project, their counterparts from the Senate took a different and more decisive line of action. To really underscore the importance of the issue, the Senate devoted the entire day to deliberate on the matter. The traditional welcome address by the Senate President, which is usually delivered on the first day of resumption, was also put in abeyance. Relying on Order 52 of the Senate standing rules, the upper parliament had to dispense its procedure requiring a one-day notice to commence debate same day on the motion by Senator Eta Inang (Akwa Ibom North-East) on the new N5,000 denomination and the re-denomination of the rest naira. To further underscore the importance of the issue, the motion by Inang on the naira restructuring would go down in the history of the Senate as one that enjoyed the support of all the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The obviously enraged lawmakers could not conceal their anger as they took turns to rain invectives on the CBN governor. Just to demonstrate how livid they were with rage over the actions of Sanusi, at the end of the day, the senators decided that they would not accord the CBN governor the privilege of appearing before them to explain his position on the matter as was contained in one of the prayers of the motion. Instead, the lawmakers decided to deal with President Goodluck Jonthan, Sanusi’s boss, directly by directing the President to order the immediate stoppage of further actions on the proposed currency restructuring. While the other senators approached the issue from different directions, particularly on legal angle, it was Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who actually hit the nail on the head. For Ekweremadu, the action of Sanusi was nothing short of a threat to the sovereignty of the nation. His argument was that since in every democracy sovereignty belongs to the people, and in the instant case the people of Nigeria had unequivocally rejected the proposal, the action of Sanusi in going ahead to implement the policy amounted to nothing but challenging the sovereignty of the people and the country. He also attacked the issue on religious and moral grounds when he noted that the voice of the people is the voice of God, the people have said that they do not want the policy. Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, observed that in every democracy, no matter how strongly anybody believes in a policy or an issue he/she can never claim a monopoly of knowledge or wisdom. According to him, monopoly of knowledge, monopoly of wisdom is

strange to democracy. “Even if the policy were to be for the good of the people and the people say we don’t want it, it is their right to even reject what is good for them,” the lawmaker said, noting that, “This is one moment that our policy makers must listen to every Nigerian, even the Nigerian in the street.” He said while not pretending to be an economist, it was on record that, “former heads of state of the country have spoken against it. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken against this policy, and recently, the very respected Yakubu Gowon spoke against it. They may not be economists as alluded but with their knowledge or lack of economic knowledge, they managed the economy of this country for many years. We must listen to them.” Ndoma-Egba pointed out in his contribution to the motion that, they (senators) must reaffirm their commitments to the fight against corruption, noting that, “we cannot in one breath say we are committed to the fight against corruption and in the same breath, we make it convenient for people to move about with millions of naira in their pockets.” It was Senator Ahmed Lawan, who raised the issue of illegality on the part of the CBN governor when he cited section 4 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which confers on the National Assembly the powers to make laws for the good governance of the entire country, including the powers to legislate on the nation’s currency coinage, promissory notes and all legal tenders. Section 4(2) says that, “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter, including in the exclusive legislative list set out in part 1 of the second schedule to this constitution.” The argument of Lawan was that granted that the CBN Act confers on the apex bank governor, the authority to manage the nation’s currencies, the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the country still requires the CBN governor to carry out such functions under the supervision of the National Assembly, and such functions is only to the extent allowed by the National Assembly. The other senators who made contributions to the motion all spoke in one voice in condemning the stubbornness of the CBN governor in the way and manner he insisted on going about the implementation of the new naira regime without regard to the views of the majority of Nigerians who are opposed to the policy. It was, indeed, the Senate President who captured the position of the senators when he said in his remarks shortly before the Senate passed a resolution on the matter that, “I think the important thing is if Nigerians say they do not want a particular policy at a given moment, there is no harm in government in retracing her stand on the issue. “I have listened to arguments of those who support it but those arguments appear to me not convincing; they appear to me to be highly theoretical, technical in nature and they do not address any practical issues on the ground because any economic policy that does not address issues directly but just talking about indices that you cannot verify, I think for now should wait because we have not reached that level. “We are just talking about hypothetical thesis all the time. I think the disadvantage of the

Chief Obasanjo

Major-General Buhari

introduction of the N5000 note at the moment far out-weighs not introducing it, and on balance we should not go for it. “Also from the contributions on the floor, we are in support of the fact that the timing is wrong, the policy is unnecessary at the moment and the arguments at the moment being advanced are not convincing and there is no urgent need for it to take place now.” In its only one resolution on the motion, the Senate resolved and “urged the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the CBN to stop all actions on the issuance of the proposed N5,000 note and all matters connected therewith.” Following the transmission of the Senate resolution to the President, he promptly “directed that the implementation of the new N5,000 note be suspended for now”. According to a statement by the presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, this is “to enable the apex bank to do more in terms of enabling Nigerians understand why it proposed it in the first place”. This, no doubt, signifies the triumph of the will of the people over dictatorship. Now that the Nigerian people have spoken on the matter and expressed their opposition to the policy through their elected representatives, would the CBN governor be humble enough to swallow the humble pie by finally jettisoning the proposed currency restructuring, otherwise christened project cure?

422

Sunday, September 23, 2012

GROWING UP with

Aunty Angela growingup5@yahoo.com

Hello Children, For those who resumed from holidays last Monday, how was your first week at school? I believe that you have already started making new friends? If you have, I advise that you choose friends with good behaviour. For those who will be resuming tomorrow, I wish you a wonderful first week in your new class. How did you spend your holidays? I want you to write an essay entitled, “How I spent my last holiday”. The best three essays would be published in this page.

WHO INVENTED WHAT…?

John Pemberton formulated Coca-Cola

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FACTS ABOUT ANIMA

Pigeon

• Pigeons are domestic, stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy beak. • They feed on seeds and grains. • They construct their nest out of small sticks in natural habitat or in buildings. • The females usually lay two white eggs and both the sexes incubate their eggs in their nests. • Pigeons can fly up to 40 or 50 miles per hour and may fly as far as 600 miles a day. • They are closely related to doves. • They suck up water, using their beaks like straws. • They have colourful, iridescent neck feathers which are called a “hackle”. • Pigeons that are all white are usually albinos. • Adults have orange or reddish orange eyes. Juveniles that are less than six to eight months old have medium brown or grayish, brown eyes. • They have excellent eyesight; they also can see ultraviolet light – part of the light spectrum that humans can’t see. • They seem to be able to detect the Earth’s magnetic fields. This magnetic sensitivity, along with the ability to tell direction by sun, seems to help pigeons find their way home. • They produce crop milk, which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. A crop is a thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion. • Both male and female produce crop milk to feed their young ones.

BRAIN TEASERS If a farmer has five sticks in one field and four stacks in the other field, how many sticks would he have if he combined them all in the centre field? Answer: One. If he combines all of his

sticks, they will become one big stack. How many of each animal did Moses take on the ark? Answer: None. Moses didn’t take animals on the ark. Noah did.

Sport Quiz

Pemberton

n May 1886, Coca-Cola was made by a pharmacist from Atlanta Georgia named John Pemberton, otherwise known as “Doc”. He fought in the Civil War, and at the end of the war he decided he wanted to invent something that would bring him commercial success. He invented many drugs, but none of them ever made any money. So, after he moved to Atlanta, Pemberton decided to try his hand in the beverage market. He concocted the Coca-Cola formula in a three-

legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. It was also him who first scripted “Coca-Cola” into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today. The soft drink was first sold to the public at the Soda Fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886. Coke did not do so well in its first year. To make matters worse, Pemberton died in August 1888, meaning he would never see the commercial success he had been seeking. Meanwhile in 1887, Atlanta Pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler, bought the formula for Coca-Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. However, after Pemberton’s death on August 16, 1888, Asa Candler became the sole owner of Coca-Cola. After Candler took over; he hired travelling

salesmen to pass out coupons for a free Coke. His goal was for people to try the drink, like it, and buy it later on. In addition to the coupons, Candler also decided to spread the word of Coca-Cola by plastering logos on calendars, posters, notebooks and bookmarks to reach customers on a large stage. It was one step in making Coca-Cola a national brand, rather than just regional. By the late 1890s, Coca-Cola was one of America’s most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler’s aggressive marketing of the product. The Coca-Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000 per cent between 1890 and 1900. On April 23, 1985, the trade secret “New Coke” formula was released. Today, products of the CocaCola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day.

Children, you can send your contributions and pictures through this email address growingup5@yahoo.com or call telephone number: 0805 198 0588

e was born on August 14, 1973 in Enugu State. He is now a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is known for his step-overs; dribble skill, technique, and being so good in the field of play. He made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993. It was not until his second cap and home debut that he became a favourite with the Nigerian supporters. In 1994 he was a member of both the victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad who made it to the second round before they lost in a dramatic match against eventual runners-up, Italy. In 1996, he became a member of an arguably more successful Nigerian side, their Olympic gold winning side, at the Atlanta Games. He later led the Nigerian team to a third place finish at the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, with some breathtaking displays, scoring four goals which include a spectacular free kick against Cameroun in the quarter finals and most notably the 1000th goal in Nations Cup history against South Africa, and winning the Player of the Tournament and joint Golden Boot. Although, he never won the African Player of the Year award, he did however win the inaugural BBC African Footballer of the Year and the successive one, becoming the only player to retain the award and win it more than once. In 2004, he was listed in Football Legend, Pelé’s FIFA 100 (a list of the greatest 125 living players of all time). In 2007 he was voted number 12 on the greatest African footballers of the past 50 years’ list, on a poll conducted by CAF to coincide with their 50th anniversary. In 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 he was Nigerian Footballer of the Year He has appeared in commercials for Pepsi, Samsung, V-Mobile and B-29 soap powder. He also owns a bar in Victoria Island, Lagos named Number 10. Questions Who is he? What jersey number did he wear for his country? Questions 1. Who is this player? 2. Which country does he play for? 3. Which club does he play for?

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ALS

Growing Up

Sunday, September 23, 2012

MAZE

TONGUE TWISTER

Little Mike has just lost his horn. Please could you follow the path and find it for him?

I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch. Tommy Tucker tried to tie Tammy’s Turtles tie.

RIDDLES Why do birds fly south in the winter? Answer: Because it is too far to walk.

QUOTE

There is more in the education of children than the everlasting iteration of the word “don’t!” -Austin O’Malley

What is an insect’s favourite sport? Answer: Cricket. What is the quickest way to double your money? Answer: Fold it in half. What is a volcano? Answer: A mountain with hiccups.

Adam’s suit

JOKES

A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with interest, looking at the old pages as he turned them. Suddenly, something fell out. He picked it up and looked at it closely and noticed that it was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed in between the pages. “Mum, look what I found inside the bible,” the boy called out. “What have you got there, dear?” his mother asked. With surprise in his voice, he answered, “It’s Adam’s Suit”

Group photograph

The children had just had their end of term school party. They were all well dressed and at the end, they had a class group photograph. Their teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture and she said, “Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, ‘There’s Jennifer; she’s a lawyer’, or ‘That’s Michael, he’s a doctor.’” A small voice at the back of the room then said, “And there’s the teacher; she’s dead.”

DID YOU KNOW?

The Saluki is one of the oldest dog breeds

he Saluki is a breed of dog that is a member of the sight hound family. That is, hounds that hunt by sight rather than scent. The Saluki is one of the oldest dog breeds known, and originally came from the Middle East, where it was used and is still used to some extent by the Bedouins for hunting hare and gazelle. The Saluki, commonly known as the Royal dog of Egypt, is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog. The Saluki appears on the Egyptian tombs of 2100 B.C. and was so esteemed that his body was often mummified like the bodies of the Pharaohs themselves.

POP

Chuckles

Sunday, September 23, 2012

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Wellness YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Bad breath: Causes, prevention VANESSA OKWARA

TIPS TO PREVENT BAD BREATH

t can be embarrassing when you find out that people always move away from you when you come close to talk to them. At first you may not understand the reason because a lot of people may not have the courage to explain to you that your breath smells unless they happen to be close relatives. The worst kind of scenario is when a member of the opposite sex rebuffs your advances. Bad breath is indeed a major problem for those that suffer it. It breeds loss of confidence and self esteem for the person who realises he has bad breath. It is truly a cause of anguish to those who have this medical condition. Surprisingly, most people with bad breath are hardly aware they have it unless someone close to them divulges such information to them. Bad breath like the name implies is a breath that comes out from the mouth with an offensive and unpleasant odour. It is medically known as halitosis. This odour can occur from time to time, or it can be long lasting, depending on the cause. Medical research reveals certain foods, health conditions and habits are among the causes of bad breath. In many cases, you can improve bad breath with proper dental hygiene. If simple self-care techniques don’t solve the problem, you may want to see your dentist to be sure a more serious condition isn’t causing your bad breath. According to some oral health journals, about 2.4 per cent of the adult population suffers from bad breath. Halitosis is mostly caused by sulphur-producing bacteria that normally live on the surface of the tongue and in the throat. Sometimes, these bacteria start to break down proteins at a very high rate and odorous, volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) are released from the back of the tongue and throat. Halitosis is not infectious. Dr Athanasius Onyekachi, the dentist in charge of H.F. Dental Clinic in Okota in Isolo area of Lagos, says bad breath can result from poor dental health habits and may be a sign of other health problems. It can also be made worse by the types of food you eat and other unhealthy lifestyle

Brush your teeth after you eat. Keep a toothbrush at work to brush after eating. Be sure to brush at least twice a day, especially after meals. Toothpaste with anti-bacterial properties has been shown to reduce bad breath odours for up to 12 hours. Floss at least once a day. Proper flossing removes food particles and plaque from between your teeth. Brush your tongue. A tongue scraper is more effective than a brush for reducing odours that originate from the tongue. Another option is to use a toothbrush with a built-in tongue cleaner on the back. These brushes reportedly work just as well as scrapers. Eat what would reduce bad breath bacteria. Eat things like orange, watermelon, lemon, sugarcane, etc. Always rinse your mouth after eating, if you don’t, you are simply giving the bacteria room to multiply in millions. Drink plenty of water. To keep your mouth moist, it is important to drink plenty of water, not coffee, soft drinks or alcohol, which can lead to a drier mouth. Use mouth freshners such as Chewing gum (preferably sugarless). It stimulates saliva, washing away food particles and bacteria.

habits. “Bad breath is mostly as a result of poor oral hygiene. 80 per cent causes of bad breath are as a result of oral cavity. When you have a bad tooth or cavity, bacteria and food particles automatically lodge in that area and as they decay, they exude foul smell which come out as bad breath. Bacteria also lodge at the back of the tongue causing bad breath. Certain foods, especially ones like garlic and onions that contain pungent smell, can contribute to it. Smoking is also a major cause. In addition, odour-causing bacteria and food particles can cause your breath to go bad if your dentures and artificial teeth are not properly cleaned.” Dr Onyekachi also said activities such as fasting, crash dieting and low-carbohydrate diets can also cause halitosis. These cause the body to break down fat, which produces chemical called ketones and

Rhesus incompatibility causes stillbirths, miscarriages –Expert

A family physician with Garki Hospital Abuja, Dr Adamu Onu, said that rhesus incompatibility could lead to stillbirths or miscarriages among rhesus negative mothers. Rhesus incompatibility is a condition that develops when a pregnant woman has rhesus-negative blood and the baby in her womb

has rhesus-positive blood. Onu told newsmen that if a woman is rhesus negative, the husband is rhesus positive and the child in the womb also rhesus positive, there is a high tendency that the pregnancy would be aborted. “If the mother is rhesus-negative, her immune system treats

these can be smelled on the breath. The bad odour generates from within the body, the medical doctor said. According to dental experts, persistent bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth may be warning signs of gum (periodontal) disease. Gum disease is caused by the buildup of plaque on teeth. The bacteria cause toxins to form in the mouth, which irritate the gums. If gum disease continues untreated, it can damage the gums and jawbone. Many other diseases and illnesses that can cause bad breath include: respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis, chronic sinus infections, postnasal drip, diabetes, chronic acid reflux, and liver or kidney problems. The experts explained that in about 10 per cent of bad breath cases, the bad odours do not come from the mouth (extra-

rhesus-positive foetal cells as if they are foreign substance and makes antibodies against the foetal blood cells,’’ he said. The expert also said that the mixing of maternal and foetal blood could lead to abortions or abnormal newborn, adding, “if handled well, it can be prevented’’.

Adjust your diet. Decrease alcohol, coffee intake and avoid other food and beverages that can precipitate bad breath. Eating foods rich in fibre can help. Use a fairly new toothbrush. Change your toothbrush every three to four months, and choose a soft-bristled toothbrush. Please do not use baby soft brush as an adult, it won’t scrub off the bacteria entirely. Schedule regular dental checkups. At least twice a year, see your dentist to have your teeth or dentures examined and cleaned.

oral halitosis). For example, illnesses, such as some cancers and metabolic disorders, can cause a distinctive breath odour as a result of chemicals they produce. Diabetes and kidney or liver failure can lead to a bad smell coming out of the mouth. Chronic reflux of stomach acids (gastro esophageal reflux disease, or GERD) has been associated with mouth odour. Another source of bad breath, the exCONTINUED ON PAGE 46

HEALTH NEWS

Physician advises on diabetes complications A Public Health Physician, Dr Anthony Adoghe, has said that diabetes if not properly diagnosed and treated, could cause complications and early death. He told reporters in Abuja recently that late

presentation to the hospital could also lead to problems. He said that hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) was one of the biggest complications in diabetes, most especially for those already diag-

nosed and on medication. In the case of crisis, he said the blood glucose should be checked every 15 minutes afterwards and that food should be given before taking the patient to the hospital.

Wellness

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Know your organs

The Spleen

he spleen is an organ in the upper far left part of the abdomen, to the left of the stomach. It varies in size and shape between people, but it’s commonly purple in colour, and it is located in the upper left part of the abdomen, just below the diaphragm and behind the stomach. The spleen is a small organ, not larger than the size of a fist. The average human spleen is about 12 cm in length, seven centimetres in height, four centimetres thick and it weighs 150 gm approximately. The spleen and white blood cells Human spleen is an important constituent of the lymphatic system. It is concerned with producing lymphocytes, which is a type of white blood cells. So, spleen is an integral part of the human immune system, as the lymphocytes are responsible for producing antibodies to fight against the foreign invaders. Antibodies are mainly associated with the destruction of the bacteria, virus or any other micro-organisms or germs, which can cause several

diseases. The tissues of this organ can be classified into two types, white and red pulp, which are responsible for performing some specific functions. This immune function of the spleen is the subject matter of the white pulp of the organ.

Effect of infection The size of the spleen increases during and after digestion. Infection like malaria can also cause the spleen to increase in size. If the increase in size is significant, the spleen can rupture. If the spleen ruptures, immediate medical care is necessary. You may need emergency surgery to control the bleeding. A significant feature about the function of the spleen is that while destroying and filtering the old red blood cells, it saves some important components like iron from them. Iron is stored in the spleen as bilirubin and ferritin. Iron preserved in this way is then transported to the bone marrow, which is the main site for synthesising haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is a type of protein consisting of heme and globin and it transports oxygen from the lungs to all tissues and organs of our body. Apart from these functions, spleen also stores monocytes, which is a type of leukocytes that help engulfing and digesting bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms. It also helps to fight certain kinds of bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis

Role in filtration The red pulp of the spleen on the other hand, is concerned with looking after the filtration activities, i.e. removing the old or damaged red blood cells from the body. It is also responsible for acting as a reservoir of blood to be supplied in time of emergencies like hemorrhagic shock or excess loss of blood due to cuts or injury. By acting as a filter, spleen recognises as well as removes the old, damaged and malformed red blood cells from the body. The old red blood cells are then broken down by the macrophages, which are a type of phagocytes. Macrophages not only engulf and digest the red blood cells, but other invading micro-organisms and debris as well.

Spleen yet not a vital organ Another important fact about the spleen is that though it performs several important functions, it is not a vital organ; humans can survive without a spleen. In the case of surgical removal of the entire organ, most of the spleen functions are taken up by liver and other organs of the body. However, if only a part of the spleen is removed, the organ may regenerate itself. Though we can survive without spleen, absence of it can raise the risk of infections. Some of the diseases associated with the spleen are enlarged spleen (splenomegaly), rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, sickle cell anaemia, leukaemia and lymphoma.

What is a fractured rib? How is it treated? If your doctor thinks there are internal injuries along with a fractured rib, one may need to be treated or watched in the hospital. Strong analgesic medicines are prescribed to control the associated pain. But most fractured ribs are treated at home and will heal on their own over time. Home treatment will help to manage the pain while healing. Pain relief can help one feel better and allow the patient to take deeper breaths. A fractured rib usually takes at least 6 weeks to heal. To help manage the pain

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BONE Health with Dr. Olatunji Idowu

may seem odd at first, but it will allow the patient take deeper breaths. In the past, it was common to tape or tightly wrap the injured rib area. But it is advisable not do this, even if it eases the pain. It can prevent the patient from taking deep breaths, and it could cause parts of the lung to collapse and this could increase the risk for pneumonia.

while the fracture heals: Put ice on the injured area. Get extra rest. Take pain medicine such as diclofenac or ibuprofen. The doctor may prescribe a stronger pain medicine if over-the-counter medicines don’t work. While healing is going on, it is important to cough or take the deep breath you can at least once an hour. This can help prevent pneumonia or a partial collapse of the lung tissue. If the ribs are fractured and there

Your

• • •

are no injuries to the neck or back, it is a good idea to lie on the injured side. This

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.

‘Persistent bad breath, taste in mouth, signs of gum disease’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 pert said, is the nasal passages. “For example, bad breath is associated with sinus infections because nasal discharge that drips from your sinuses into the back of your throat (postnasal drip) can cause mouth odour. Sometimes, bad breath can be traced to upper and lower respiratory infections, or ulcers in the respiratory system Equally, smoking dries out your mouth and causes its own unpleasant mouth odour. Tobacco users are also more likely to have periodontal disease, an additional source of bad breath. “In most cases, your dentist can treat the

cause of bad breath. If your dentist determines that your mouth is healthy and that the odour is not of oral origin, you may be referred to your family doctor or to a specialist to determine the odour source and treatment plan. If the odour is due to gum disease, for example, your dentist can either treat the disease or refer you to a periodontist, a dentist who specialises in treating gum conditions,” he explained. Dr Onyekachi warns that it is important people come in to see their dentist on regular basis or at least twice a year to prevent dental problems and bad breath that comes with it. “Prevention is always better than cure. It

is wise to avoid those things that can cause it than to begin to look for solution when it happens. Treatment for bad breath can vary, depending on the cause. If it is found to be caused by an underlying health condition, your dentist will likely attempt to help you control that condition. Other dental measures may include certain mouth washes and toothpastes that can temporarily eliminate the odour; treatment of dental disease such as periodontal disease or do scale and polishing of teeth to remove plaque, remove bad tooth or fill up holes found in the teeth,” he advised. Dr. Onyekachi

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Business FRESH BUSINESS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS September 23, 2012

ICT critical to achieving Vision 20:2020 –Aregbesola Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, was adjudged by the Board of Assessors of the Nigerian Telecoms Awards as the ICT Governor of the Year 2012 at a ceremony held in Lagos recently. After receiving the award, the governor spoke on various Information and Communication Technology initiatives being put in place in the state, with a submission that investment in ICT is critical to the realisation of the country’s vision of becoming one of the 20 most industrialised economies in the next eight years. Kunle Azeez was there. Assessing role of ICT

nformation and Communications Technology (ICT) has become the cornerstone of development in our time. It is not for nothing that our age has been aptly dubbed the Information Age. Technology has revolutionised the way we do things. It has helped in creating a world that is now truly a global village. It is an indispensable tool for growth and development at all levels of human engagement – personal and corporate, national and global. Today’s generation can only wonder what our world would look like without the ubiquitous presence of technology. Even at that, there still exists an unpardonable degree of digital divide between the developed and developing worlds. The ICT industry is one of the highly promising and rapidly growing sectors of the Nigerian economy. It has contributed significantly in the areas of job creation, economic growth and transparency of governance. One of the most forward-looking policy decisions of the Federal Government in recent time was the creation of the Ministry of Communications Technology to coordinate the nation’s drive towards a digitalised economy. This, no doubt, brings to the fore the indispensable significance of ICT to the development effort of Nigeria. It is my conviction that in matters having to do with ICT, especially in

trained over six months on how to assemble and repair computers, telephones and other electronic devices. Our target is to have 20,000 youths benefit from this scheme. In December last year, we entered into partnership with a private sector IT service provider on job creation. Under this partnership, the firm agreed to train and create employment by deploying a total of 5,000 Point of Sales/Point of Transactions Terminals (handheld machines) to 5,000 youths (OYES agents) as Equipment Loans. The firm will also train and identify various economic activities where the terminals can be used by the youths to generate income. Under the scheme, access will be provided for various economic activities such as National Identity Data Capturing, sale of airtime of telecommunication companies, Central Bank of Nigeria cashless and money transfer programmes. Each of the 5,000 OYES agents (under the initiative) will be given a terminal (POS/POT machine) and its accessories, which will be financed upfront by the partnering firm. The project cost of providing the terminal, communication and associated working capital will be treated as equipment loans to the OYES agents and each agent is expected to repay the loan from his or her monthly income after which, the equipment (terminal) becomes that of the agent. The terminal will be used with skills acquired to earn a minimum monthly income of N40,000 under the firm’s mentoring and training.

GIS deployment to boost agriculture

Aregbesola

a world where ICT literacy is fast becoming a fundamental right, policy, rather than politics, should define the direction. We all have to remember that technology, just like time, waits for nobody. Now is the time to get our acts together. Tomorrow may be too late. More so that Nigeria aspires to become one of the top 20 economies in the year 2020, which is just about eight years away.

ICT initiatives in Osun

In our own modest way in the State of Osun, much of our effort towards building a knowledge-driven economy is focused on massive investment in e-youth strategies. We believe that an investment in today’s children and youth would yield the best returns in the not-too-distant future. This is the sure path that we have resolved to follow. That is why we have invested in the Opon Imo (e-learning tablets), which is a self-study aid and a robust electronic device with uniform learning content designed for use in senior secondary schools in our state. The electronic tablet comes pre-loaded with students’ prescribed textbooks, tutorials and past questions in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This kind of learning aid is traditionally known to be beyond the reach of the majority of our students. It has an

in-built feedback mechanism for monitoring students’ performance. These tablets are to be made available to all the senior secondary students for free. Through this initiative, the state government seeks to expose pupils of its senior secondary schools to Information Technology at an early age. To be sure, the government of the State of Osun may have taken a cue from global best practices exemplified by similar projects in India. But in our part of the world, this revolutionary e-learning device, so fittingly tagged Opon Imo (tablet of knowledge) is a trail-blazing effort by the state government of Osun; and it is meant to address the problem of access to vital educational resources. India had in 2011 introduced the Aakash, a low-cost android-based e-learning device, under a programme to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities. Although, the Opon Imo and the Aakash do share some basic, functional similarities of facilitating and deepening access to reading and instructional materials, they are different in terms of their architecture. The two devices were designed with features that are unique to their varied environments.

OYES’TECH scheme

Our investment in IT however goes beyond the Opon Imo. We have also set up the OYES’TECH. Through it, we are training and empowering, at the start, about 5,000 youths on Information Technology. They are being

DELIVER QUALITY PROJECTS, MAKU TELLS CONTRACTORS

There has also been an increase in awareness and application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques in various sectors of government, including agriculture. We have embarked on an aerial mapping of the entire state and the establishment of Geo-Spatial Land Information Systems. This project has reached an advanced stage. GIS application in the agriculture programme was initially adopted in the land validation project carried out on farm settlements in the state. At the end of the exercise, farm holdings are now easily validated, records updated and geo-referenced using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) devices and the data sets were then imported into a GIS environment to allow for storage, retrieval and analysis of the spatial datasets. With the Agricultural Land Parcelling Information Systems (A-LPIS), the state is therefore in a position to conduct: traceability, plan and track input supply, offer effective support and monitoring, predict yields, precision farming etc, on its farm settlements. The goal is the development of A-LPIS for the state, thus enabling information relating to agricultural lands in the state being available, real time, on the web and at the touch of a button.

IT-driven tax administration

Another area where technology has been deployed is tax administration. We have stopped the old practice of tax collection by travelling clerks. Rather, all taxes, rates and levies payable in the state are now done through the banks and paid directly into the accounts of the government. With this technological innovation alone, we have blocked loopholes and have been able to double the internally generated revenue of the government from N300 million to N600 million. With the support of all stakeholders, our drive towards making human capital the fundamental pillar of our development will deliver its promise in a future that is not far from now.

CAPACITY AS A STATE OF MIND

Business

Property Watch •For Lagos area as at Friday Sept. 21, 2012 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 Wood Timber (hard) 1x1x12 ..........N1,000 Timber (hard) 2x2x12 ..........N600 Timber (hard) 2x4x12 ..........N700

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Deliver quality projects, Maku tells contractors T

he Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, at the weekend urged contractors to justify government’s huge investments on projects by ensuring that all contracts meet the highest standard. Maku gave this charge during a project tour with the Minister of FCT to Jahi District in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the good governance tour was embarked upon to inspect government projects executed by the three tiers of government across the country. Maku said that contractors’ performance would be assessed in terms of standard and quality of materials used. “Nigerians want to see value for their money being spent on Jahi District and other projects across the country,” he said.

He added that all the projects inspected since the previous day so far had shown that the present administration had delivered so much. “We expect Journalists to give maximum coverage to this event and Nigerians will know and have knowledge of the work going on in the FCT. “We have seen water project that FCT administration is working on that will supply 20 million litres of water per day which is the largest in Africa. “Satellite services that will provide internet facility to Nigeria and the opening of 10 districts as work had commenced in few districts, namely, Jahi, Gusape, and Goodluck Jonathan districts.” Also, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Sen. Bala Mohammed, charged the Jahi contractor to finish the

project as scheduled, adding that N2 billion would now paid out of the N3 billion meant for the job. He assured the contractor that the balance would soon be paid. “We are paying the company N2 billion now so that the 670 hectares of land can be accessed on time. For the villagers living in the land, we will soon compensate and resettle them,” he added. Earlier, Mr Yair Segal, the Head of Infrastructure Division of the Gilmor Engineering Nigeria Ltd, said that the project which was in five phases had recorded 26 per cent completion. Segal said that lack of fund had hindered the speed of the project, adding that the company received only N200 million in the first quarter of 2012. He also said that rain also

Nigeria Customs establishes processing centre T

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

contributed to the slow pace of the project, adding that work has commenced in phases 1and 5. “Only electrical installation is remaining for the completion of phase I and other minor things to be installed in V as well. We promise to finish the first phase by December.” In his remarks, the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Malam Mohammed Garba, expressed delight at the level of work done by the FCT administration, urging his colleagues to discharge their responsibilities well. According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan had revived projects that were abandoned by successive administrations. “Seeing is believing, we can see what this administration has done and we know that Mr. President has really delivered in all sectors,” he said.

L-R: Vice President of Operations, Kahala, Brian Richard; Regional Vice President, Domino’s Pizza, Mr. Femi Akinboro and Sales Director, Guinness Nigeria, Udo Anya, at the grand opening of Domino’s Pizza and Stone Creamery, in Lagos on Friday.

Suswam pledges to reduce poverty G

ov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue has said his administration had worked out modalities to reduce poverty in the state to the barest minimum. He said this in Makurdi while inaugurating 42 units of buses acquired by Benue Links Transport Company Ltd. The governor said he intended to achieve poverty reduction through collaborative efforts with relevant agencies such as National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) among others. Suswam said the acquisition of the buses was also a move toward poverty reduction as they would ply all the routes in the state and beyond at very reduced cost.

He urged the management of the company to handle the buses with care in order to continue to serve the people for years. He also admonished them to be prudent and transparent in all their financial dealings, especially with the revenue that might accrue to the company from the buses. Suswam urged them to use the revenue to acquire more buses for the company. Also Speaking, the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Benjamin Ashaver, advised the management of the company to ensure that only trained drivers were allowed to drive the company’s buses. Ashaver also charged men and officers of Federal Road

Safety Corps not to hesitate to sanction company’s drivers who might go against traffic rules. Earlier, the General Manager of the company, Mr. John Baka, said the 42 buses were purchased at over N248 million. Baka said the purchase of the buses became necessary because most of the buses in the company’s fleet were worn out and needed to be replaced. He appealed to the governor to assist the company with grants to enable it to acquire 10 units of luxury buses to reclaim the lost glory of the company. The general manager also requested for grants to aid the company to do asphalt surfacing within and outside of the company to checkmate flood

he Nigeria Customs Services has established a Customs Processing Centre (CPC) at the Maje border check point in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi. The new Customs Area Comptroller in charge of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara, Mr Akande Bamidele, disclosed this on Friday when he visited the border. He said the center, a pilot scheme, was to improve revenue generation and hasten clearance of imported vehicles and goods. “The importers of goods will now have smooth and faster clearance of goods and revenue generation.’’ Bamidele advised Customs officers at the border to ensure cordial relationship with other security agencies as well as surrounding communities for effective control at the border. He also cautioned them against compromising their integrity on revenue generation and effective boarder control, adding, “at the same time maintain good relationship with neighbouring countries”. The Maje Customs Station Officer, Mallam Abdulrahmand Sifawa, said that officers manning the check point would work effectively to ensure the realisation of the objectives of the centre.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business

Sunday September 23, 2012

Capacity as a state of mind Inspirati with Lanre

Oyetade

NMMA Capital Market Award Winner 2004, 2005 E-mail: lanreoyetade@gmail.com, 08039428648

Mrs. S had worked several years before her marriage and she had genuinely liked it. “But now,” she’d said, “I’ve got two youngsters in school, a home to manage and meals to prepare. I simply haven’t got time,” she complained to all her friends who cared to listen. Then, one Sunday evening, Mr. And Mrs. S and the children were in an automobile accident. Mrs. S. and the youngsters escaped serious injury but Mr. S received a back injury that left him permanently disabled. Now. Mrs. S. had no choice but to go to work.

A ‘better’ Mrs. S

When next her friends to whom she had earlier complained saw her, they were amazed to find how well she had adjusted to her responsibilities. “You know,” she told them, “six months ago, I never dreamed I could possibly manage the house and work full time. Believe me, my efficiency has gone up 100 per cent. I discovered a lot of things I was doing didn’t need to be done at all. Then I discovered that the children could and wanted to help. “I found dozens of ways to conserve time – fewer trips to the store, less TV, less telephoning, less of those time killers.”

All a state of mind

According to David J. Schwartz, author of the classic work, ‘The Magic of Think-

Money Consult Your money questions Y t answered E-mail: lanreoyetade@gmail.com, 08039428648

These interest rates are too high!

Dear Lanre, I am a concrete pole contractor, and I need a loan for my company, but the interest rates at all the banks I apply to is so high. Reader, 08180846119. Dear reader, You did not state the interest rates on the loans offered you by the banks you referred to, but I am aware that most banks charge around 20 per cent. If what the banks offered you is in this region, then it really is not too high as that is the prevailing rate in this environment. Admittedly, interest rates should not be this high for loans, if most of our enterprises are to be encouraged to procure loans for expanded production and subsequent job creation. However, you will agree that the cost of doing business for firms, including banks, is also very high in our environment and the affected banks are left with little option but to pass the cost onto borrowers. The option you have to loans from regular banks are ‘esusu’ arrangements or rotational contributions; loans from family and friends (referred to as blood money and love money, respectively); savings pools, the microfinance banking institutions and finance house, among others. Loans for some of these sources (the first three) enjoy little or no interest charges, while the other latter two charge relatively high interest rates. So really, there is little that can be done outside these existing arrangements.

ing Big’, this experience teaches us a lesson: Capacity is a state of mind. How much we can do depends on how much we think we can do; when you really believe you can do more, your mind thinks creatively and shows you the way. Schwartz relates another story about work capacity as told by Mr. L, a young bank executive:

Extra duty calls

“One of the other executives in the bank had left with very short notice and this put the department on the spot. The fellow leaving had filled an important job and his work couldn’t be postponed or left undone. “The day after he left, the vice-president in charge of the department called Mr. L in and explained to him that he had already talked individually to the two others in the group asking them if they could divide the work of the man who had just left until a replacement could be found. ‘Neither of them flatly refused,’ said the vice-president, ‘but each stated that he was up to his neck with his own ‘pressing’ work. I’m wondering if you could handle some of the overload temporarily?’

Going the extra mile

“Meanwhile, L had learnt throughout his working career that it never pays to turn down what looks like an opportunity so he agreed and promised to do his very best to handle the entire vacated job as well as keep up with his own work and the vicepresident was pleased. “Really, L walked out of his boss’s office knowing he had taken on a big job. He was just as busy as the two others in his department who had wiggled out of the extra duty but he was determined to find a way to han-

Concerning Enterprise/Ecobank shares

Dear Lanre, I am a lover of your column in the Sunday Mirror. Many years back, I bought some shares in the then Omega Bank and Oceanic Bank, now Enterprise Bank and Ecobank, respectively. Till date, I have not received anything on the shares. Please what do I do? Reader, 08162875607. Dear Reader, Are you certain that you have not changed your contact address since then? Whatever the situation is, I will advise that you get in touch with the Registrars to these two concerned banks i.e. Spring Registrars Limited for Enterprise Bank (formerly Spring Bank Plc) and EDC Securities Limited for Ecobank Plc. Spring Registrars Limited is at 6, Industrial Avenue, Ilupeju, Lagos and you can reach them on telephone number 01-2715971, while EDC Securities Limited is at 137/139, Broad Street, Lagos. You can also reach EDC on telephone numbers 01-2612983 and 017301260.

How much for shares?

Dear Lanre, Good day. How is the family and business? Hope fine. Sir, I need your help in the area of shares. What amount of money do I need to have before I can buy shares in any firm? Please kindly text back. Biodun Tade, 08027154865. Dear Biodun, Shares can be bought from either the primary market (i.e. through public offerings) or from the secondary market (i.e. through the floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange with the assistance of stockbrokers). To buy shares from the primary market, you need a minimum of a specified amount usually enough

dle both jobs. “He finished up his work that afternoon, and when the offices were closed, sat down to figure out how he would increase his personal efficiency. He got a pencil and started writing down every idea he could think of. “And he came up with several.

A more efficient Mr. L

“He had been handling his original job for over two years and was amazed to discover how much inefficiency he had let creep in and how much he could ‘squeeze’ into his now more efficient personal and official programmes. “After a few more weeks, the vice-president called L in and complemented him on doing a fine job. He went on to say that he had looked over a number of people from both inside and outside the bank but had not yet found the right man. “He then told L that he had already cleared with the bank’s board, and they had authorised him to combine the two jobs, put them in L’s charge and give him a substantial increase in salary.” L had proved to himself that how much he could do depended on how much he thought he could do. Capacity is indeed a state of mind.

Tips for efficiency

Schwartz ends his rendition by giving two tips for success in business, in the home and in the community. “Do what you do better (i.e. improve the quality of your output) and do more of what you do (i.e. increase the quantity of your output). Think about it. Until next week, please stay inspired in His presence! to buy a minimum of 500 units of the shares, meaning that such a minimum amount would depend on the unit price of the offer. However, the minimum amount required for secondary market purchases varies from one stock broking firm to the other. I know some stock broking firms accept purchasing shares of total worth as low as N5,000. With such amounts, you may decide to buy shares in any company of your choice. I am afraid I will not be able to reply you through text and hope that this medium will serve.

What can I invest N500,000 on?

Dear Lanre, Greetings to you! Sir my name is AMOO TAIWO, 32 years old, living in Abeokuta, Ogun State. I want you to help with an idea on what I can use N500,000 for in Nigeria, that will earn me cool and legitimate money. The money is my personal savings through the years. I want to quit my present job as a despatch rider. I need a business idea. I have some stocks too. Please help me sir. Regards. Thank you very much. Taiwo Olurode, articulatetaiwo1@yahoo. com. Dear Taiwo, Just like I have always pointed out, what you can profitably invest in will depend to a large extent on the opportunities abounding in your area. The question to ask yourself is ‘what need can I meet that people would be willing to pay me for?’ It doesn’t have to be something totally new. It could be something already in existence, which you can do better or in a new location. Look out for such things, and especially for those, which you have flair to provide and get into it, with advice from people that have already been in the area or consultants. You may wish to pick a copy of the book, ‘66 businesses you can start and run on your own’ by Ladi Olatunji for further insight and ideas on the matter.

Wealth Nuggets ‘Top 10’ Step bravely to the front whatever opposes –Sidney Newton Bremer An elephant does not die of one broken rib (a strong man does not lose heart through a single misfortune) –Thonga (East Africa) proverb ‘Tis said best men are moulded of their faults –Shakespeare It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall –Mexican proverb Our greatest glory is not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall – Goldsmith When a horse, which has four legs may fall, how much more can a man who has only two –Danish proverb Failures are the pillars of success –Welsh proverb A horse has four legs, yet it often falls –Tiv (Benue, Nigeria) proverb

Adversity is the diamonddust heaven polishes its jewels with –Leighton Talk and teach; listen and learn –Lanre Oyetade

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘1999 Constitution, a disgrace’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 What is your position on the planned introduction of N5, 000 notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) next year? I think the fear of the people again goes back to the unhealthy wholesome corruption of people in power. If with N1000 note as the highest denomination they steal in billions and trillions you can imagine it would be easier for them to steal when you have denomination of N5,000 or even N10,000. I think basically that is the fear and the voice of the people is the voice of the God. The Government must restrain the governor of the Central Bank from going ahead with this at least for the time being, for us to be seen to be addressing the destructive problem of corruption first. When corruption has been dealt with even you will want to have N5,000 denomination note. But when right now it is difficult for you to amass N500 note while other are stealing in billions and trillions naturally you would want to protect the national assets. In the Northern part of the country lives and properties are being destroyed through the use of bombs by insurgent groups; what can government do to bring peace to the country in general and the North in particular. I have always held the view that Boko Haram is a political protest . Unfortunately some people are trying to confuse issue by making it to appear religious as well. And that is being bedeviled further from what we are seeing in the Arabs World and using Islam wrongly to perpetrate violence. In my book which is over publicized, this issue has been addressed that Islam is not

Dr. Braithwaite

a religion of violence . No religion is a religion of violence . But unfortunately it would appear that fanaticism flourishes at the moment because some evil fellows using Islam. But I know that Islam is against what these Islam fundamentalists are doing . But the solution to that would be for many of the Islamic faithful not only to condemn these outcasts but to work in harmony with the people of other faiths. When that is done and there is social justice in the land there will be peace . Again we go back to the issue of oppression caused by corruption because it is not only members of one religion that are victims of corruption or injustices. Everybody is a consumer of the consequences of corruption. When corruption has been addressed, when there are sanctions, when obvious rogues , people who live beyond their means, people who benefit because they have been in government before or who

hang around the corridor of governments are seen to have been dealt with you will find that there will be less of these violent organizations and these kidnappings and all what not . But because people don’t see the criminals, high class criminals dealt with, they are resorting to self help and that is dangerous. Although I personally and I have been in the struggle for a greater part of my adult life. I never subscribe to violence under any pretext. But there are other means of dealing with this socio problems. For instance expose, confront the sacred cows. Bring them out, ostracize them but because of poverty on the land and irresponsibility on the part of the elites, they celebrate these obvious worthless characters. Only in Nigeria do these sorts of things happened. When we begin to stigmatize them publicly, these regional militant groups will not find much ground on which to operate.

There is also this controversy as to whether to create state police or not. What is your view on this? Personally I would heed what the former Inspector Generals have said and also from what I know of the First Republic about how the regional governments used the local police, I will be most reluctant to subscribe to the idea of the state police at this time. The mindset, the mentality of winners take all is still very much with our people. Most of these state governors even now behave like emperors. Look at the state electoral commission, for instance they never allowed the opposition to win, and I emphasized the word ‘allow’. They are always winning 99.9 per cent of election conducted by the state electoral commission. I do not see any need for state police with the present mindset and the present corruption in the land. All the talk that state police will be able to curb kidnapping and insecurity is self serving. The central police supported by all of us are more than capable of arresting those security problems. How will you assess President Goodluck Jonathan’s government? Well, I have met President Jonathan personally. He was gracious enough to come and launch my book. President Jonathan is a listening president. President Jonathan from my personal assessment is a man who, with the right support from strong and good people, might yet start leading this country out of the woods. If President Jonathan is supported, backed by the people of this country I believe he might yet be the one that will start the process of leading the country out of the woods.

‘My ordeal in police detention –Ugolor CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 my name is intact and I can assure you that (that I am innocent). If you look at the ruling of the High Court Judge, Justice Edigin, who awarded me N5 million for my unlawful detention, you will agree that that has set the precedence that the police will have to be extremely careful when they go after human activists again. Does this opinion express your view on the ongoing debate for the reform of the Nigeria Police Force? Ultimately, my case should be a classical reference for the President and the National Assembly to critically look on the direction to reform the Nigeria Police Force. Somebody must take responsibility otherwise a culture of impunity will be encouraged in which the police can easily frame anybody up because, ultimately, they know that nothing will happen to them. That is why my case needs to set the precedence that if at the end the court finds out that nothing links me with the death of my friend, somebody must pay a price. Even if I am dead today, somebody must pay the price. This brings me to the role of the SSS (State Security Service) in the investigation of crime of this nature. People try to misunderstand the role of the SSS in all this. Even an individual

citizen can help the police in their prosecution by providing useful information. Let us assume what the SSS has provided the police are just information. How the police deal with such information is very important. If you look at the history of the Boko Haram problem today, it was how the police handled the leader of the Boko Haram that led us to the crisis of today. Nigerians should understand that it is in the interest of everybody in this country to hold the police accountable. The best way to doing that is that at any time the police try to present suspects to the public, the public must open their eyes because it is not all suspects that are murderers and it is not all suspects that are guilty. The way suspects are presented to the public by the police is very important. And thinking about my case again, there are better lessons from it. I will like to assure you that at the end of the day, I will be vindicated because my hands are clean. In retrospection, what lessons do you believe you have learnt from your experience? Personally, the first lesson is that you must be very careful with what you do; the friends you keep; the associates you keep, etc. Sometimes, do not take people for granted because there are people who are desperately envious of your position

and that at any point in time they have an opportunity, they can do things you do not expect. I have also learnt a lesson that people can be trusted because if you read the Comrade Governor’s statement again, who has not met me since the day I was arrested to the day I was released, you would think that he has been engaging me on a number of occasions. Again, that gives me overwhelming confidence that ultimately, the confidence with which the governor expressed that statement, he should not be disappointed. As you know, one of the key allies of the governor of this state is the civil society. We have been very constructive in engaging the state government; we have been very constructive in engaging the Nigerian government; and we have always protected the name—civil society activists. I will not be the source that will bring a disgrace to the community and my church. The lesson is that you must be clean and that at any time the police arrest you; do not be intimidated by their presence. Follow it up critically, get your lawyer involved and do not negotiate with the police. We must insist that at anytime the police misinform the public, they must pay for it. That is really the key way to drive the reform in the system. Then, ordinarily, when police hide under this kind of frame work to com-

mend themselves for promotions rather they should be dismissed because, as you know, the consequence of what was put on my head is death. If a man can plan death for his own fellow citizen, I don’t think it is too small for such a man to also be a victim if it is found that he is lying. Has there been any word, whatsoever, to you from either Governor Oshiomhole or Oyerinde’s widow as at now? No, I have not heard anything from them. I just came out (from the prison). I am yet to settle down or even see anybody.

The late Oyerinde

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Zonal News

Sunday September 23, 2012

C’River govt dethrones Efut paramount ruler T he paramount ruler of Efuts in Calabar South Local Government area of Cross River State, the Muri Munene Effiong Mbukpa, has been dethroned. Mbukpa was dethroned at the weekend after a fresh selection process of a new monarch, Prof. itam Hogan Itam, was approved by the state government. But in a swift reaction, an embattled Mbukpa said that he still remained the paramount ruler of Efut. He also described the alleged selection of another monarch as a nullity and out of the tradition of the Efutland. Similarly, the Efut Combined Assembly claimed that by the tradition of the Efut, it was the assembly that had the right to conduct any selection of any Muri Munene.

According to the Assembly, there is no vacancy in the first place for anybody to contemplate filing any position as Muri Munene. The Secretary of the Assembly, Mr. Ndabo Godwin Bassey, explained that the embattled Muri Munene Effiong Mbukpa had been on the throne for about four years now and duly recognised by Gov. Liyel Imoke. He claimed that even when the governor visited the palace during his electioneering, he commended the Munene for maintaining the peace in this domain. Bassey said that Mbukpa had performed all the traditional rites to mount the throne. He said that by the tradition of the Efut, whoever performed the burial

rites of the late monarch automatically succeeds the deceased. According to him, such rites have been done many years ago except otherwise somebody wants to exhume the corpse’’. ``The only people who are qualified traditionally to vote or be voted for in the purported selection were the three Muris that did not come, the other five are not qualified. “The two other persons there are challenging their suspension by the late Muri Munene in court and the court has pronounced that they cannot partake in selection. ``To start with, there is no vacancy there. It is the duty of the Efuts Combined Assembly to conduct selection where there is a vacancy. ``It is also the conclave

of qualified accredited Muris of the ancestral clans that select Munene, this one was conducted by government. ``There has never been any place in the world where government conducts the selection of the traditional ruler.’’ The Cross River State Government had, in a letter dated Sept. 18, 2012 with the title, ‘Filling of the vacant stool of Muri Munene of the Efuts’, signed by the Special Adviser to Governor on Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. John Eyikwaje, directed that the purported vacant position of the Muri Munene be filled. The letter which was addressed to the embattled monarch and seven other contestants directed that a new Muri Munene be selected forthwith.

A’Ibom executes 6,000 rural projects in five years

kwa Ibom government has executed 6,000 rural projects across the 329 wards of the state since 2007. The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Aniekan Umanah, made this known on Friday in Uyo. He spoke to newsmen on the activities lined up for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the state’’s creation. Umanah said Governor Godswill Akpabio had initiated a radical transformation that had brought about urban renewal and integrated rural development. The commissioner said that since 2007 the state had witnessed tremendous development in healthcare, electricity supply, education, road network and water supply. “Chief Akpabio’s zeal for the rapid development of the state has resulted in the most comprehensive transformation witnessed in our era. “The present adminis-

tration has constructed not less than 295 roads, including Federal roads covering a distance of 1,110km.” Umanah said the free and compulsory education policy of the state government, started in 2008, had tripled primary schools enrolment from 350,000 to 0ne million in 2012. He said that secondary schools enrolment had equally increased from 400, 000 to 900,000 in 2012. The commissioner noted the government had provided infrastructure in the areas of power, aviation, tourism and agriculture. Umanah said that the state had achieved a lot as it marks its silver jubilee on Sept. 23 with an Inter-Denominational Thanksgiving service and a state banquet. Other activities lined up were the installation of the new chairman, Akwa Ibom Traditional Rulers Council, inauguration of projects at Abak and Ikot Ekpene local government areas.

‘Hotels, cultural centres’ll generate investment’ T

L-R: Chief of Staff to the Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; Chairman, Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State chapter, Lt. Col. Abdul Ganiyu AbdulSalam, and Life Member, Board of Trustees, Col. David Laoye, during a courtesy visit to the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, in Osogbo recently.

Ex-ANAN boss, others react to suspension of N5, 000 note

ore Nigerians have continued to react to President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to the apex bank to suspend the N5, 000 note scheduled to be introduced in 2013. They expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday. The National Assembly had on Wednesday urged Jonathan to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from printing the N5, 000

notes. Dr Samuel Nzekwe, former President of Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), described the President’s directive as a welcome development. He said that governance was about the people, adding that the Federal Government had demonstrated that it was committed to listening to the yearnings of Nigerians. ``CBN did not consult Nigerians before planning

to introduce N5,000 note which is not good enough if the nation wants to attain sustainable national development,’’ he said. He said that there should be mass enlightenment by government agencies and institutions on any policy or programmes they planned to introduce. Dr Olumide Owoade, a senior lecturer, Department of Economics, Lagos State University (LASU), also said that the introduction of the note would lead

to inflation. According to him, the initiative negates the cashless policy of the apex bank. ``It will encourage people to carry plenty of money about. ``The N5, 000 note will increase the rate of corruption and other vices,’’ the don said. Another don, Dr Kazeem Bello, an economics lecturer at the University of Ibadan, said that the introduction of the note ``is unacceptable to Nigerians’’.

he Imo Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mrs Ugochi NnannaOkoro, has stressed the importance of hotels, saying they are sites for tourism and points of first-call for investors. Speaking in Owerri over thye weekend, at a meeting with Fast Food Holders and Hoteliers Association, Nnanna-Okoro said hotels helped to reduce the burden of unemployment and not a place for immoral activities as many believed. She said that hotels were no places of prostitution as workers in the industry were not permitted to lead immoral lives or work against the laws governing them. She called for thorough cleanliness in every hotel as a relaxation point, adding: ``Hotels that have chalets should endeavour to keep their environment clean.” Nnanna-Okoro advised the hoteliers to be security conscious, and to watch out for kidnappers, adding that hotels were hide outs for kidnappers. “If you have a business

strategy, your hotel will grow. But you must first find and fight these kidnappers in the state. Be always alert in and outside the hotel environment,” she advised. The commissioner also said that the meeting was in preparation for the World Tourism Day to be held in the state on September 27. She urged the hoteliers to be part of the programme, adding that lectures would be delivered on the management of hotels. Responding, the chairman of the association, Mr Ishmael Nweke, said that hoteliers were not difficult people to handle, adding that they always cooperated with the government. In a related development, the commissioner also said the state government would establish cultural centres in the three geo-political zones of the state and in The Diaspora. Nnanna-Okoro disclosed this when members of Renaissance Group of Imo, a non-governmental organisation, paid her a visit.

Regional News/North

Sunday September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ICPC canvasses introduction of ethics in schools

cting Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Barr. Ekpo Nta, has said that the commission had consolidated its preventive strategy against corruption through the introduction of ethics as a core subject on corruption in the nation’s primary and secondary schools curricula. He stated this at the weekend in his address in Lafia,

the Nasarawa State capital at a public sensitisation lecture organised by the commission’s National Anti-Corruption Volunteers Vanguard Corps (NAVC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Nasarawa State. Nta, whose message was delivered by the National Coordinator of NAVC and Resident Consultant, Media and Event of ICPC, Mr. Folu Olamiti, explained that introduction of ethics as a core

subject on corruption into the school curriculum was to enlighten the children on reasons they must fight the menace, which had eaten deep into Nigerian system, from their tender age. The ICPC boss mentioned examination malpractice, bullying and cultism among other things which they must not indulge in at their tender age. For the NYSC members, youth and adolescents at the lecture, he said: “The future

of any country is determined by the past and present antecedents of what you invest in. Our youth is our future and one monster that stands between them and a good future is corruption”. “Today’s programme is meant to help you identify the monster and teach you how to wage war against it if you are desirous of reaping and enjoying what is rightly yours in a country richly blessed by God. If we do not sustain a

zero tolerance of corruption, we can safely aver that sustainable economic and social development is unattainable because security and stability in the society is threatened”, he added. In his lecture entitled ‘Corruption: The Genesis of Nigeria’s Socio-Economic and Security Challenges; The Way Forward’, Mr.Olajide Itiafa Ayodele, a public speaker, said Nigeria has no business being poor

and so corruption has to be fought in all ramifications. “At the root of the corruption quagmire in Nigeria is the failure and virtual collapse of governance, the contamination of democratic values, the erosion of accountability procedures, and the looting of the money meant for the socio-economic development of the country, thereby creating poverty and security challenges,” he said.

Sultan urges Nigerians to embrace unity, peace TONY ANICHEBE UYO

Officials of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency presenting relief materials to internally displaced persons at Bidoma Development Area of Lamurde LG of Adamawa State, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Gombe takes polio immunisation to border communities G

ombe State Government is to commence immunisation of children in border areas during the next Immunisation Plus Days (IPD), Alhaji Ibrahim Bebeji, the UNICEF Consultant for the state, has said. Bebeji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe yesterday that the state’s Ministry of Health had targeted children left out in previous ex-

ercises, including those in border communities. “Considering the position of Gombe in the North East sub region, surrounded by states with polio infection, there is the need to intensify efforts to immunise children in the border settlement.’’ Bebeji said the state ministry of health and development partners such as UNICEF, WHO, National

Primary Health Care Development Agency were conducting immunisation exercises at short intervals. “The reason was to ensure that the children who missed the immunisation in the past would be captured in the subsequent rounds.” Bebeji explained that there has not been any case of polio in Gombe in the last three years, and that

was not an excuse for them to fold their arms. “It is time for us to work harder because the aim is to completely eradicate polio globally, not only in Gombe but in the country.” He said the state government had overcome cases of polio resistance in settlements in Gombe, adding that this was with the support of traditional and religious leaders.

FRSC restores order on Lokoja-Abuja road

he Koton Karfe Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Kogi State, Mr. Sonnallah Ezekiel, says that normal traffic flow has been restored on the Abuja-Lokoja highway. Ezekiel, who spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend, said normal traffic flow was restored at about 6 pm

on Friday. The gridlock which has lasted for two days was as a result of heavy flooding at a section of the road at Banda village in Kogi. The unit commander said that normal traffic flow was restored with the assistance of youths from nearby villages. Ezekiel said that articulated vehicles plying the road did not encounter

much problems wading through the water, but some of the small cars had to be pushed by the FRSC officials and the youths. He assured motorists of free flow on Saturday as officials of the commission would arrive early to control traffic. Meanwhile, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) arrived in Lokoja

on Friday evening with some relief materials for the flood victims, currently camped at Adankolo, Kabawa and Gaduma areas of Lokoja. Mrs. Florence Ogedengbe, the Executive Secretary, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, who stated this, said that the relief materials would be distributed to the victims immediately.

he Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has renewed a call for Nigerians to embrace peace and unity in spite of their religious beliefs. Alhaji Abubakar, who gave the advice at the weekend when he paid a courtesy visit on Governor Godswill Akpabio at Governor’s Lodge, Uyo, emphasised that unity and peace are panacea for the country’s development. The Sultan who is in Uyo, Akwa Ibom Capital for the third Unity Conference of the South-South and SouthEast Muslim, UMMAH, remarked, ‘’The conference is important one. Whether we

are Christians or Muslims, we must live in peace with one another in whatever part of the country we find ourselves. If we are united, we would contribute better to the development of the country. So, we must put aside our differences and embrace peace and unity’’. Describing Akwa Ibom as a conference capital of Nigeria, he acknowledged that the Governor has positively impacted the lives of people in the state and in the country, stating ‘’We have seen your handwork in a particular manner and dealings. You are just and fair in what you do and I can see that government is working here. You have stood out to be counted and would continue to be counted’’.

‘NARSDA strategic to Nigeria’s space ambition’ T he Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, has described the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA) as a strategic organization for the country’s space exploration ambition. He made the remark in Abuja while leading the ‘good governance team’ on a national media tour of facilities at the agency’s headquarters. Maku expressed delight for what he saw at the NASRDA’s headquarters, saying the situation as it were, symbolised the beginning of modernisation for the country. The minister also emphasised that Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa, has a duty to herself, the continent and indeed the global community in the course of championing technological development.

He said, “As a nation, we should be able to look into the future with confidence, as the best way to actualise this is through space science and technology. Maku reaffirmed the decision of the Federal Government to continuously fund the Nigeria Space Programme, which he described as a pride to the African continent. He said, “President Goodluck Jonathan as a scientist is very much aware of the crucial roles and enormous contributions of science and technology, hence no stone will be left unturned in giving the sector a pride of place in the life of this administration.” Maku further explained that between 1957 and now, a lot had been achieved in the area of space science and technology, adding that Nigeria could be an exception.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Agu tasks Eagles on P. 55 Nations Cup qualification

Sport

Dick Tiger’s daughter speaks at Ring 8 P. 55

KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SPORTING NEWS September 23, 2012

SAYO OGUNDEJI

n 82nd minute equalizer from Chinwendu Ihezuo yesterday fetched Nigeria’ Flamingoes an important point against Canada at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup in the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Flamingoes, who were knocked out in the quarter final during the last edition in Trinidad and Tobago, enjoyed better possession of the ball and would have gone ahead when Yetunde Adeboyejo ‘s fourth minute shot was saved by the Canada goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan. The coach Peter Dedevbo-tutored team continued its onslaught throughout the first half as they hit the woodwork three times before the break while spirited efforts by Tessy Biahwo and Chinwendu Ihezuo to give Nigeria the lead were thwarted by the determined Sheridan. A beautiful combination between Ihezuo and Chidinma towards the end of the first half of the encounter rattled the Canadian defence before Jiroro Ideke’s in swinging corner left Sheridan flapping as it cannoned off the target again. But Chidinma Edeji arguably had the best chance of the lot, arriving late onto a loose ball four yards out, hammering a shot onto the upright with Sheridan helpless. The trend continued after half-time, with Ihezuo hitting the post with another header, before Adeboyejo forced Sheridan into a full-length save. The Canadians however made the Nigerians paid dearly for wasting their scoring chances when substitute Nichelle Prince put a beautiful pass across to the lively Amandine Pierre-Louise, who charged into the area and fired ferociously past Flamingoes goalkeeper, Gift Andy. The Nigerian girls looked rattled and appeared to have lost their creative thinking as they became less fruitful in the following minutes. However, they regrouped and again looked the better side and created few chances and were rewarded for their efforts when Adeboyejo’s cross from the left was blocked, but played in the rebound and Ihezuo volleys home the goal she richly deserved. The Flamingoes, however, pushed for the winner when substitute, Aminat Yakubu’s solo effort failed to yield more goals as the Canadians made sure the proceedings ended in 1-1 draw. The Nigerians will take many positives away from this encounter as they prepare to take on the host on Tuesday in their second group match. Meanwhile, one of Africa’s other representative at the tournament, Gambia made a poor start to the tournament as they were beaten and battered by 11-0 by the rampaging Korea DPR in Group B which also has France and the United States. Ghana, who is the third African coun-

Anambra has plans to resuscitate Rojenny Games Village –Amuzie

Azerbaijan 2012

ANDREW EKEJIUBA

Halimatu Ayinde of Nigeria (left) battles with Jasmin Dhanda of Canada during the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2012, Group A match between Nigeria and Canada at Tofig Bahramov Stadium yesterday.

Flamingoes hold Canada as Korea DPR wallop Gambia 11 – 0 try, will open its account today against Germany and a win against the Germans will increase the chances of seeing an

African country in the final of the cadet championship which is in its third edition.

he Anambra State Director of Sports/Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Dr. Cyprian C. Amuzie, has revealed that the state government has plans to resuscitate the dilapidated Rojenny Tourist/ Games Village in Oba. He told our correspondent that it was because of the interest the state has for the sporting arena that necessitated the visit of the top officials of the ministry to the Games Village to ascertain what would be needed to put the place in good shape. “I can confirm to you that the Commissioner of Youth and Sports, Dr. Edozie Aroh and other top officials in the ministry have visited the Rojenny Tourist/ Games Village to assess the place. “We are also trying to encourage and possibly partner with the proprietor of the place, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka because the state government believes that if we equip the place, it will be to the interest of the state and our upcoming athletes who will use the facilities to train. “When I was the General Manager of Jasper United FC, we were playing most of our matches there and also pulling the crowd until the influence of watching foreign leagues became the order of the day in Nigeria. “On Rojenny we have written a letter to the state government in this regard and I believe they will act on it at the appropriate time,” Amuzie said. Speaking further on the preparedness of Team Anambra to excel at the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Lagos, the Director of Sports said the state is aiming at surpassing their previous records. “For the first time our athletes went to Enugu for the zonal elimination and were camped in a hotel, so the welfare of the athletes had been taken care of and they are happy. “Currently our female volleyball team have qualified from the Enugu zone to feature in the event at Eko 2012. In the handball event, our female team beat Ebonyi by 18-13, while our female basketball team were not so lucky, but we hope to qualify in other team sports,” he said.

Amuzie

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Adio wants sports to be integrated into education T

he General Manager, Osun Sports Council (OSC), Akin Adio, has urged the state government to ensure that sports were an integral part of the learning process at all levels of education. Adio made the call against the backdrop of a committee inaugurated recently by the government in its effort to revive sports in schools. He who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Osogbo said the decision of the current administration to reintroduce school sports from kindergarten to tertiary institutions was good because participation in sports would help mental alertness. “I am very happy about the development and wish to inform you that the committee inaugurated by Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun would help to rejuvenate sports in our schools. “The committee is known as Sports Development Committee and is headed by Chief Festus Onigbinde and I am opportuned to be the secretary,” he said.

Afelokhai targets continental glory with Pillars SAYO OGUNDEJI

fter helping his team to win the 2011/2012 Nigeria Premier League (NPL) season, Kano Pillars goalkeeper, Theophilus Afelokhai, says his team will do its best to transfer the success recorded domestically to the continent. Pillars beat Ranger FC of Enugu and Lobi Stars of Makurdi to the league title and will now represent the country alongside Rangers at the lucrative CAF Championship come next season, while Lobi and Federation Cup winners, Heartland of Owerri will fly Nigeria’s flag in the Confederations Cup. The team made its Champions League debut in 2009, edging out former champions AlAhly of Egypt only to be eliminated by fellow Nigerian team Heartland FC of Owerri. Afelokhai, who is still basking in the euphoria of their league success, is of the opinion that his side has the experience to succeed on the big stage, adding that the team’s desire to succeed will help them achieve their target. “Winning the NPL in the just ended season is a proof that we are a side with a lot of potentials and going by the rating of the league we must replicate the same form on the continent before we can be reckoned with as one of the biggest sides around.

Afelokhai

Sport

Sunday September 23, 2012

Agu tasks Eagles on Nations Cup qualification

Knockout IFEANYI Eduzor with

08055829770 ifeduz24@yahoo.com

Prizefighter Africa will empower Nigerian boxers –Omo-Agege C hief Executive Officer of Za Entertainment, organizers of the forthcoming Prizefighter Africa, Azania Omo- Agege says that he decided to introduce the competition to Nigeria in order to empower boxers in the country like their counterparts in Europe and America. The Prizefighter series is a knockout boxing tournament to promote professional boxing in the heavyweight to the lightweight division where eight boxers are grouped to compete in four quarter final bouts of three minutes each; followed by two semi finals and one final all in the same night.

Prize money for the winner of the tournament will be $25,000 (about N3.6 million), while all the other participating boxers would have prizes to take home. According to him, the prize money involved will make it the biggest boxing tournament staged in the country even as he explained that the tournament has received the backing of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C). He noted that the championship would be used to develop the game at the local, state and federal government levels level.

Dick Tiger’s daughter speaks at Ring 8

Super Eagles players celebrate after scoring a goal in an international outing

IFEANYI EDUZOR

ormer Super Eagles goalkeeper, Alloy Agu, has charged the Super Eagles to raise their game against the Lone Stars of Liberia when both teams meet in the return leg of the final qualifying round of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations slated for October 13, at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar. The Lone Stars of Liberia, on September 8, forced the Super Eagles to a 2–2 draw in the first leg played at Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia. He told our correspondent that there is need for the Coach Stephen Keshi-tutored side to approach the game with all serious-

ness to enable them overcome the fellow West Africans. “I have no doubt in my mind that the Super Eagles will defeat Liberia and pick the final ticket for South Africa 2013. In doing this, they must raise their game and avoid what happened in Monrovia when they conceded a late minute equalizer that enabled the host to level up. “The team should also remember that Liberian football just like that of other African countries has come of age and as such they should not underrate their opponents but rather approach the game with all seriousness it deserves to avoid what happened during the last Nations Cup qualifier when Guinea denied Nigeria the opportunity of qualification.

Sadiq demands for the sack of NNWL’s chairman ANDREW EKEJIUBA

he former Chairman of Niger State Youth Football Coaches Association, Comrade Aliyu Mohammed Sadiq, has urged members of the Nigerian Nation Wide League (NNWL) board to sack its Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Muazu Kawu for his negligence in handling football matters appropriately and his refusal to convene a board meeting that will look into some of the issues emanating from the just concluded season. Sadiq said Kawu’s sack has become necessary because the President is not capable of

leading the football body owing to his lackadaisical approach to sensitive issues arising from matches played among various clubs across the country. He also wondered why since the completion of the league on August 22, the President of NNWL has refused to convene a meeting to review the content of the letter from Jarma FC’s withdrawal from the league which has invariably affected the promotion of so many teams playing in group D of the NNWL, especially Bida Lion FC, Apa United FC of Benue, FC Lokoja, Von FC, Court of Appeal FC, Nigerian Prison FC and the DSS FC.

ick Tiger’s daughter, Justina Ihetu, was special guest speaker at the monthly Ring 8 meeting at the historic Waterfront Crabhouse in Long Island City, United States. Ihetu, who authored a book about her father entitled, “In Africa’s Honour: Dick Tiger versus Gene Fullmer III – A Blast from Nigeria’s Glorious Past,” used the occasion to highlight the boxing prowess of her late father and advised youths to embrace the sport which gave her father and other great boxers like Rocky Marciano, Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield and Iron Mike Tyson fame.

Justina Ihetu

Tiger (60-19-3, 27 KOs) was a four-time, two division middleweight and light heavyweight world champion between1962-1966.

Haye gives up Luxembourg license

eavyweight contender David Haye has confirmed he has handed back his Luxembourg boxing license, but will still try to force a fight with WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2013. “I’d like to thank the Luxembourg Boxing Federation for licensing me ahead of my July bout with Dereck Chisora in London, but I no longer require that license,” said Haye, the former WBA world heavyweight champion. “The reason I applied for a license from the Luxembourg Boxing Federation was because my opponent,

Dereck Chisora, had seen his British license withdrawn. The only way we were able to deliver the fight the public wanted, when they wanted it, was to both apply for foreign licenses, as arranged by Chisora’s promoter. “I would now like to box with a British license. I’m a British boxer, I have never had any issues with the board and, should a fight with Vitali Klitschko happen, I’d be keen to have the British Boxing Board of Control in my corner, simply because they are so experienced and are the best at what they do,” Haye said.

David Haye (right) looks on as he knocks down Dereck Chisora when both boxers fought in July.

$46 Vol. 2 No. 41

Sunday, September 23, 2012

www.nationalmirroronline.net

N150

N I G E R I A

I N

bn, sum the President, Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Mrs Florence Seriki, disclosed as India’s planned investment in IT firms in the country.

F I G U R E S

N56

.75bn, amount the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said FG paid as additional subsidy claims to oil marketers.

Air transport situation and other matters

Back Page

Comment

E-mail: nwaunah@yahoo.com Unah is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos

with Jim Unah

8th September was the day I requested my son to book an online return air ticket to Abuja from Lagos. The travel date was 20th September, 2012; and the return date was 21st September, 2012. The journey was undertaken to participate in a two-day workshop organised for a testrun of e-modules being prepared by the National Universities Commission (NUC) for the instruction of Distance Learners in the various study centres recognised by the Commission. There was a minor argument between my son and I over the preferred airline for domestic travel after the shutdown of the national carrier -Air Nigeria - for reasons that appear quite incomprehensible to me, I had requested my son to book an Arik Air ticket for me when he objected that most of the airlines had issues that are not quite resolved and that, for the moment, his preference was IRS Airline. Trying to humour, rather than argue with the young man, I told him that I didn’t know that such an airline existed, and that I was uncomfortable travelling with airlines with less than two aircrafts, like the illfated Dana Air. The young man smiled, left me to my own devices, and booked an Arik Air return air ticket at the rate of N54,704.00. Unknown to both of us, he was trying to get me out of trouble as I was in-

sisting on getting into trouble. I arrived in the premises of the local Airport (MM2) at 7 a.m. local time to meet a bedlam. The whole place was in confusion, as Arik Airline workers were bearing placards announcing the disruption of the entire operations of the airline for grievances ranging from inability to pay staff salaries to non-remittance of agreed dues to FAAN and other creditor institutions. Many travellers were compelled to cancel their journey, and return back home. But being in luck to be in possession of some cash and as one who does not consider quitting as an option, I strove to get into another plane. Having accepted the task, the NUC Abuja assignment was uppermost in my mind. I just had to be there to defend the UNILAG Report on some of the e-modules. And look and behold! The available airline was IRS! The scramble to get the IRS ticket was so much that the cashiers raised a one way fare to Abuja from Lagos to N32,800. As I was struggling with my hand luggage to get a ticket at the IRS counter, one of my students spotted me, came around and assisted with the luggage. That was how I finally boarded an IRS airbus to Abuja on that nightmarish Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the air ticket issued to me did not contain the air fare collected from me at the counter. That would cost me another journey to the IRS office in Lagos, because the fare just have to be written at the appropriate place. At the close of the workshop on Friday, we moved around all the airlines in Abuja to find that there was no seat until Sunday or Monday. I am now stranded in Rockview Hotel as I compose this piece. This is life in Nigeria for active, mobile, people - one of absolute uncertainty. Under the

circumstances, how could anyone talk meaningfully, convincingly, about healthy economic activity or foreign direct investment? Road and rail transport are not viable options. Air transport - the safest and fastest - has almost grounded to a halt. Air transport is capital intensive, and it is not a business to be left in the hands of the operators without adequate lifeline and cash guarantee from government. The banks need such guarantee to support the air transport industry. It is now obvious that the crisis in the industry is beyond the operators to handle without the active backing and support of the government. While the workers do deserve a better deal, the crisis is not just one of staff salaries. It is far beyond that. While the workers are complaining about salaries and better conditions of service to which they are entitled, the operators are talking of power play, clash of interest of the big players in the industry, and outright political heavy-handedness by state actors and their collaborators in the corridor of power. Below are text messages sent to me by persons who claimed to be knowledgeable insiders in the Aviation industry. “This issue borders on personal interests and not payment of bills, as FAAN has been collecting their charges in advance since 18 months now. Arik Air regrets the inconveniences this disruption by FAAN would cause you. Thank you for your much valued support.” Another reads: “Due to persistent hostility of the Ministry of Aviation and FAAN management, which has culminated in the use of FAAN staff to stop our operations and lock in checked-in passengers in Lagos, Arik Air has no option than to suspend all domestic operations until further notice.”

Enyimba, Dolphins battle over Bassey

igeria Premier League (NPL) sides, Dolphins and Enyimba are locked in a battle to lure away Bassey Ezekiel from Lobi Stars. A source revealed to Sunday Mirror that the six-time Premier League winners, Enyimba have made contact with the Lobi left-back through one of their officials. The official said there will be talks between Ezekiel and Enyimba chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu in a matter of days, as the People’s Elephant begin a building process after failing

to win silverware in the past two seasons. Dolphins have also been strongly linked with Ezekiel, who scored Lobi’s goal in their 1-2 loss to Heartland in the Federation Cup final. But the former Premier League champions fear that their sour relationship with Lobi Stars might scupper any attempt to successfully sign on Ezekiel. Interestingly, both clubs might have to break their banks to sign on Ezekiel, who might fancy the lure of playing in the CAF Confederation Cup

next year with Lobi Stars.

FIFA U-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP RESULTS Nigeria 1 - 1 Canada Korea DPR 11 - 0 Gambia France 0 - 0 USA Azerbaijan 0 - 4 Colombia PREMIERSHIP RESULTS Swansea 0 - 3 Everton Chelsea 1 - 0 Stoke City West Brom 1 - 0 Reading West Ham 1 - 1 Sunderland Wigan 1 - 2 Fulham

But in all of this, the management did not say that they would refund the fare already paid by its customers before the eruption of the ongoing crisis. The Arik Air Management has to pay up promptly to its already distraught customers to be in good standing with the public. In these matters, public perception, image, integrity and reputation are important. However, it is evident from the foregoing that the crisis in the Aviation industry is not mainly that of conditions of service of the workers, but largely that of conspiracy, sabotage, power play, and clash of interests. There is a lot more to the crisis than anyone person could reasonably fathom. In all of this, the quick intervention of government is critical in bringing respite to the industry. The blame game between workers, management and operators cannot resolve the impasse.

What about the N5,000 note? Unfortunately, it is not only in the Aviation industry that we have real issues. The power sector and its privatisation agenda is retracting, retrogressing, rather than progressing. On top of all these, the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, keeps insisting and disturbing Nigerians with his confused projects of Cashless Society and ultra-light Naira currency of 5,000 denomination. I never intended to make any comment on the proposed printing of the N5,000 notes by the CBN governor because it is arrant nonsense to be talking about cash lite economy and ultralight bank note simultaneously. But in deference to some of my readers, particularly Mr. Raymond Omofonmwan, I have opted to make a brief comment on the matter here and now. The main advantage which, by all standards, is a huge disadvantage really, of the N5,000 note, if eventually printed and circulated as a legal tender, would be to bring the looting of the national treasury to perfection. It has no merit whatsoever other than that it would prepare the ground for the ultimate looting of the Naira by those who have access to state coffers, before the final decimation of the Nigerian State. This matter had been poetized long ago thus: “The cloud is gathering in the red sky, And night has charmed a Black power, Into the pounding waves.” My only worry and source of unhappiness is that Goodluck Jonathan does not appear to have the good luck, vision and courage of a Mikhail Gorbachev which Nigeria requires for a radical, life-saving, surgery to restore to health.

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