Saturday, November 10, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Oyerinde: Confessed murderers were in police detention beforee murder –DPP P. 2

Vol. 02 No. 48

Boko Haram

Ondo election: ACN, PDP,

AP challenge Mimiko’s victory at tribunal P. 7

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Saturday, November 10, 2012

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Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Oyerinde: Confessed murderers were in police detention before murder -DPP •‘Alleged murder weapon was in police custody before actual murder’

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Two months old drug addict finds new mother Oyerinde

Ugolor

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‘I killed my grandmother for nagging me’

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Fertility Alert! Your husband’s LAPTOP may be cooking his sperm

everal months after the heinous murder of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, the Principal Private Secretary of Edo State Governor, Adams Aliyu, tales and revelations have continued to dog the attempts of the Nigeria Police Force to investigate and bring the murderers to book. In a letter with reference No. 01/s.6712/15, dated 29th October, 2012, addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, “D” Department (FCID) Abuja and made available to journalists on Thursday in Benin City, the Edo State Government alleged that Danjuma Musa and Muritala Usman, two of those that the police paraded and are presently being prosecuted for the murder of Oyerinde on Friday, May 4, 2012, have actually been in the custody of the Edo State Police Command since April 24, 2012. The letter that was signed on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Edo State Ministry of Justice by Mr. Ade Irevhovbude particularly absolved two of those that were arraigned in connection with the murder, the human rights activist and Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor and Mr. Wilfred Iserhienrhien of any complicity in the crime. The letter, which was copied to the Chief Magistrate

DANJUMA MUSA AND MURITALA USMAN, TWO OF THOSE THAT THE POLICE PARADED AND ARE PRESENTLY BEING PROSECUTED FOR THE MURDER

OYERINDE ON FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012, HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN IN THE CUSTODY OF THE EDO STATE POLICE COMMAND SINCE APRIL 24, 2012 OF

of Oredo Magisterial Court 2, further faulted the police for incongruity by stating that one of the alleged evidences of the murder, a single barrel gun, was allegedly recovered on April 24th at the Esigie Police Division in Benin City. The letter further directed the Nigeria Police Force to react to the State Security Service report, which handedover to the police a duplicate case file and persons apprehended by the SSS for the same murder. It stated, “Whilst Danjuma Musa and Muritala Usman also confessed to the crime, we are constrained to observe that the Investigation Report suggests clearly that the said Danjuma Musa and Muritala Usman had been in the custody of the Edo State Police Command since 24/04/12, in respect of a case of unlawful possession of cartridges before the suspects

were taken over by the FCID, interrogated and reportedly confessed to this incident that took place on the 4th of May, 2012. This is evidently incongruous.” “We note also that the Police Investigation Report dated 1st August, 2012, at page 11 thereof, is to the effect that: “one locally made cut to size single barrel gun with one cartridge confirmed by the suspects to have been used in the armed robbery operation at No. 65, 2nd Ugbor Road, G.R.A., Benin City, was traced to Esigie Police Station and retrieved”. By a letter dated 18th July, 2012 from the office of the D.P.O., Esigie Division, Benin City, addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (FCID), Abuja, on “Transfer of Case file/Exhibits” which letter is contained in your duplicate case file, an exhibit, to wit: a locally made cut to

size gun and one cartridge said to have been recovered on 24/04/12 by the Esigie Police Division, Benin City, were sent to the FCID, Abuja. This is alleged to be a weapon used during the robbery incident that took place on 4th May, 2012. Another incongruity! Could a weapon recovered and in possession of the police be confirmed by suspects to have been used for the commission of the offence?” Absolving Ugolor of any complicity, the letter stated, “With respect to Rev David Ugolor, the allegations against him hinge entirely on the confessional statement of Garba Usman Maisamari. It is trite law that in the absence of independent evidence, the confession of an accused person is not admissible evidence against a co-accused. Accordingly, as the record stands today, no prima facie is made out against him. He should be released if still in custody.” Reacting, Ugolor, who maintained that the police framed him up for the murder of Oyerinde, his close friend, said, “We have come to a glorious end of the battle to enthrone justice in my case and I thank God Almighty who used great citizens to fight the oppression. The case is ended for me. But the battle to set free innocent citizens who are still held captive and end the culture of impunity among law enforcement officers has just begun.”

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Saturday Starter

The statistics are staggering, the figures scary and the effects confounding. North, South, East and West, fire incidents in the country are not just rampant, their effects are devastating. Residences, offices, banks, private establishments, government agencies, markets and an array of public structures have been consumed by roaring conflagrations in recent months. The inhabitants and other users of these structures have also not been spared. They have died in horrendous thousands. Property worth billions of Naira have also been lost. As the harmattan season approaches, one can only wonder what is in store when the dry wind of the Sahara takes over the land?

xactly two weeks ago, a five-storey building, the Euro Asia Plaza, went up in flames on Breadfruit Street, Lagos Island. Two people were feared dead. Property worth millions of Naira were also consumed. A few days later, the Boundary Market in Ajeromi Area of the state also went up in flames. These are just the recent ones. Indeed, the Lagos State Fire service has recorded 1,193 fire calls from January 2012 to date. The service typically attends to five fire accidents daily and attended to nine fire accidents on Thursday, November 8, 2012 alone. On Thursday, 12 July 2012, about 200 people were burnt to death, some of them to ashes, with yet another 60 sustaining serious degrees of burns, when a Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)laden tanker fell in an auto accident, leading to an inferno in Okogbe village, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State. A few days later, three fire incidents were reported in just a day in Port Harcourt, the capital of River State. The same month residents of Owerri, the Imo State capital, suffered a sleepless night one black Monday following a midnight inferno that gutted parts of the Nworie Lane Market and the United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc branch along Douglas Road in the municipality. No fewer than 40 shops were torched by the

conflagration which destroyed goods worth millions of naira. On the morning of June 27, it was the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) that went up in flames, causing pandemonium among workers of the agency. The fire ravaged the second floor of the building housing the Servicom and Cabotage departments and forced staffers of the organisation to run for their dear lives. The Bauchi State Fire Service also attests that from January to September 2012, about 88 people were killed as a result of fire outbreaks in various places the state. Acting Director of the State Fire Service, Babayo Umar Misau, adds that during the period under review, more than N67million worth of property was lost. And according to the Federal Fire Service, in 2010 alone, no fewer than 990 lives were lost in 7,129 fire incidents across the country, as property worth over N53m were destroyed during the same period. The intervention of the fire service according to the data published in the Fire Fighters magazine saved 9,771 persons from death and property valued at over N2m just as the various fire stations responded to 558 fire calls. What is the way out of the recurrent loss of lives and property from these daily conflagrations?

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Saturday Starter

Fire is mostly caused by carelessness –Federal Fire Service Chika Njoku is a Chief Fire Superintendent and Public Relations Officer of the Federal Fire Service, Lagos Command. He spoke with OSEYIZA OOGBODO

hat are the causes of fire outbreak? There are three major causes of fire. The first is carelessness which I believe is the cause of most of the fires that have occurred in this nation. In terms of carelessness, we have, like people storing petrol, now that petrol is scarce; many people store it in their houses which they are not supposed to do. People use substandard products, maybe during the time of wiring their houses. All these lead to fire outbreak Also, in carelessness, we advise people not to even use GSM handsets in filling stations because that environment is already somehow mushroomed with fumes, petrol fumes, so any slightest spark, the whole place will be engulfed, so all those things lead to fire outbreak. At the same time, we advise people to switch off their electrical appliances while leaving their offices as most of them leave their air conditioners and other electrical gadgets on. While they in their various homes, in the night when there is no one to attend to those things, and having worked for a longer period, those things may because of heat or one fault or the other lead to fire outbreak. So those are carelessness. On the other side, we have what we call wilful action, intentional act. Like in places where people embezzle money and it might lead them to jail, they look for a way to destroy evidence and they will set the building ablaze. Or during the political period, when people are campaigning, and one opponent wants to upstage the other, they will set his house or office on fire to get rid of the other. We have what we call accident. Those ones are caused by nature, all those things we don’t have any control over them, thunder, lightning, earthquake, Tsunami, even the flood we are witnessing now, all those are natural phenomenon. So those are the elements or factors that we say lead to fire outbreak. How do you get aware of fire outbreak? It’s either we have a running caller; maybe the affected person comes into our station to report the incident or through a telephone call. They make use of the telephone to call one of our stations or our control room so the control room will now turn out a nearby station to that very scene. Or they can go to the electronic media, TV or radio, and we’ll be informed.

which involves gas, gaseous fire. When there is gaseous fire, you can only extinguish it by locking up the source, cutting off the source, that’s the best way of achieving extinction in such a fire. A high rise fire, once you have the equipment that will elevate you, you fight the fire as easy as even the one on the ground.

How long does it take you to respond when you are alerted? In fire service, once we receive a fire call, we are not expected to stay beyond a minute before turning out to that call. That is the practice in fire service. It’s in our ethics. Once you receive a call, you must turn out within a minute and not a minute more to the fire scene. What is your success rate? We are able to get the situation under control; no matter the time it takes us to extinguish the fire. Sometimes maybe we left our station at a certain but before we get to the scene, it might take us another one or two hours because of the traffic situation, so it’s not easy. And these people calling us, the people turning us out, sometimes the fire might have burnt for 30 minutes or one hour before they remember fire service. Already the fire has started spreading and damaging things before they remember fire service. What are the challenges you are facing? Some of the challenges include the traffic situation in the country, mostly in Lagos. Sometimes when you are coming, people find it difficult to make way for you to pass. Another one is the area boys. Sometimes when you get to a scene, area boys make it difficult to gain access to the scene or the building. They might pretend to be assisting you in working but no, they have another intention. So when you come, they will be dragging the hose with you and will not allow you to gain access. Although we don’t have most of the equipment, I believe the government is working towards giving us the necessary equipment that will enhance our effectiveness. And manpower too. In some places, we are short of personnel, and I know government is working towards that, now we have some people in training so once they pass out, we’ll have more hands to work.

What is the prevalence of fire incidents? I don’t think there is every two days here in Lagos that we don’t experience fire outbreak, if not every day. It’s not weekly or monthly. Even some days, we receive three to four fire calls.

Njoku

But are you fire-fighters really motivated to go out there to put out fire? Salary-wise, we are being paid well, you know, we are para-military personnel. Insurance-wise, every one of us is insured so if any one dies while fighting a fire or got injured, they will be compensated by the insurance so I think those are the motivations one needs to put in his or her best. What is your mortality rate? Although we have not been experiencing such mortality rate because our men are trained and we try to equip them well with safety gadgets to avoid unnecessary mortality, even if casualty will come up, let it be minor injury. We have safety gadgets which government provided that the firemen are using to work; I think those things reduce the death rate. What sort of fire is the worst? Is it that of a high rise building which started on a very high floor? I will say the worst fire so far is that

What are you doing to sensitise people to prevent fire outbreak? We have our fire prevention department, and their work is to go out and enlighten people on the causes of fire, what to do and what not to do. But there are some people who don’t believe when you are enlightening them because they’ve not experienced it. So we go to schools, hospitals, markets, to sensitise people. So far we’ve used Lagos as a case study. But is the fire prevalence rate better or worse in other states? I don’t think the prevalence rate in other states can be equated with that of Lagos because of the population which I believe is one of the reasons behind the fire outbreaks in Lagos. Which fire outbreak can you say has been the worst ever in this country? I think the worst ever is the cocoa plantation fire that happened around Ibadan in the early 80s. Even fire service from Lagos here and other states turned out to that fire. And in that fire, some firemen lost their lives and it burnt for over three or four days.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Saturday Starter

How to avoid fire KING ODODORU

F We attend to five fire accidents daily –Lagos State Fire Service •We have recorded 1,193 fire calls from January 2012 to date and attended to 9 fire accidents on Thursday alone

MURITALA AYINLA

he Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, has decried the frequent rate of fire accidents in the state, saying the state fire service now attends to five cases fire disaster daily. Speaking with Saturday Mirror, Fadipe who appealed to residents to be safety conscious, also lamented the rising rate of fire accidents involving fuel tankers in the state Fadipe metropolis. first time we used aerial ladder to combat fire. He said: “Fire accident is a recurrent It works for three days consecutively without decimal in Lagos. At least, we attend to 5 fire breaking down. Imagine if this equipment cases every day. Today alone (Thursday, No- had not been there. Only God knows what vember 8, 2012) we have attended nine fire would have happened. It would have been very incidents. During weekends, we attend up to difficult to battle fires that occur in high rise fifteen sometimes. Regularly we have been buildings.” attending to several cases of fire accidents. The fire chief attributed the causes of fire “ On Thursday alone, we attended to two outbreaks to carelessness of residents, adding tanker fires; one at Isolo area and the other that the Lagos state government has prepared at Ojo area. We were there on time and we its fire service agency for mega city challengwere able to control the movement of ve- es. hicles in the environment to avert disaster “The governor has bought equipment to due to the spilling of the PMS. We also re- detect if people are trapped in a fire accident. corded another one at Ojota on Wednesday, This is a clear departure from the old system November 7, 2012 without any loss of life or of breaking the burglary proof and the iron property. rods before rescuing trapped persons. We now “The state would have recorded several have sophisticated equipments to rescue viclosses of lives and properties owing to the tims. We also have chemicals and other things frequency of fire accidents but for the ef- needed to fight fire. Lagos State Fire Service forts of the state governor, Mr Babatunde is the only fire service in the country that has Fashola (SAN) in equipping the state fire Dermal Image Camera, which is used to idenservice with modern tools. tify trapped persons in fire accidents. “Only God knows what would have hap“Beyond tackling fire disasters, we often pened if the governor had not been so pas- rescue humans and animals that fall into dosionate about the safety of lives of the mestic wells, and victims of other accidents residents. He equipped the fire service such as boat mishaps and air crashes.” with modern fire fighting equipment. He While charging residents to be safety conequipped us with 20 fire fighting vehicles scious in their daily endeavours either in ofwhen he came on board. In 2009, he bought fices or homes, Fadipe urged Lagosians to enanother 10 vehicles for us. And in 2010, he deavour to call the emergency centre in cases provided additional 10 vehicles and each of of fire accidents. these vehicles carries 10,000 litres of water. He also stressed: “Don’t carry fuel in vehi“With the 10,000 litres of water, we are cles anyhow because of the present scarcity always very assured that we will overcome of petrol in the country. Let’s remember that any fire accident. Asides this, he bought for the weather is a bit harsh owing to climatic us two aerial ladders that can go as far as 12 change, so we all have to be safety conscious floors. That was what we used in the fire ac- especially in anything that could trigger fire cident on Lagos Island recently. That was the disasters.”

ire means different things to different people. While fire has many good uses, it can also do a lot of damage if not controlled. It is when it has the tendency to become destructive that it should be avoided. To avoid fire effectively, it is important to understand that fire is a combination of three things: substance, oxygen and heat. When all these come in contact fire takes place. When fire occurs, we have to ensure that we eliminate one out of these three substances. When one out of three substances is removed, the fire will extinguish. For example, if a piece of cloth is on fire, the cloth is the substance. Oxygen is available from the atmosphere and the heat combines to make fire. Now you can think of what can be separated so that the fire will extinguish. If you feel it is better to remove the cloth (substance) then the fire will automatically come to an end because when there is no substance to burn then there will be no fire. or you may cool the heat by pouring water on the fire. This will extinguish it. You may also cover the burning substance with something like a blanket; then the oxygen will be eliminated and the fire will extinguish. We also need to understand that there are different types of fire, like oil fire, electric fire etc. which require different cooling methods. Sometimes fire can increase by a wrong type of decision. If there is an oil fire then cooling with water is not the right thing to do. This is because water will spread the fire more. Here you need to cover it with foam so that it will blanket the fire and separate the oxygen. When there is electrical fire you need to use CO2 gas to put out the fire.

Some general rules in avoiding fire  Never store flammable liquid near ignition sources. Keep gasoline, paint thinners, and other highly flammable liquid or materials in safety approved containers and out of the house. Do not store any flammable liquid in a garage or utility room that has a pilot light equipped appliance in use in it. Be safe; keep these items outdoors, or in a separate outbuilding.  Be careful with candles, oil lamps, and other open flame illumination or decorations. Extinguish the fire when leaving

the room, if even for a minute. After all, you’ll be right back, and you can immediately relight the candle.  Talk prevention with kids Teach your children not to play with lighters or matches. Children are often the cause and victims of fires, and should not be allowed access to matches or cigarette lighters. Consider getting a lockable box, and keeping matches and lighters locked up. Talk to your kids about how they can prevent fires. Children under age five are especially curious about fire and need to start learning about the tremendous danger. Take the mystery out of fire and make sure that your kids know the following safety tips: Never play with matches, lighters or candles. Never play with electrical cords and never put anything in a socket. Blankets or clothes should never be thrown on top of lamps. Don’t turn up a heater without a grown-up’s permission. If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop and roll  Install and maintain fire alarms, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. There have been countless lives saved using these inexpensive devices.  Invest in fire extinguishers Make extinguishers handy. Be sure that you have at least one or more listed fire extinguishers in your home. An ABC-type extinguisher is a good all-purpose choice for fires in the home. Check the gauge located on the extinguisher to see if it needs to be replaced or recharged. Also be sure that the fire extinguisher is in an easily accessible location. Remember that fire extinguishers are not designed to fight large or spreading fires. Your number one priority is to have an escape plan and to get out safely. If the fire is small and contained and the room is not filled with smoke, get everyone out and call the fire department; then, you may use the fire extinguisher to control the fire.  Avoid overloading sockets and cords Do a walk-through of your home. If you see sockets with too many cords plugged in or even too many extension cords around the house, it may be time to have extra outlets installed by a professional. Always pay attention to the acceptable wattage for cords and lamps. Also look for extension cords that are “tacked up” or run under a rug as these could be a real fire hazard for kids and adults.

NATIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

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Boko Haram: Presidency, CPC trade words over Buhari •Buhari watered ground for sect, says Presidency •Okupe sounds like a broken record –CPC OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

ontroversy on the roles of former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), MajorGeneral Muhammadu Buhari, on the emergence and sustenance of the terrorists group, Boko Haram, re-echoed yesterday as the Presidency insisted that he “watered the ground” for the emergence of the sect and should not back off. Buhari had, while launching his campaign as well as in his reactions on the outcome of the 2011 presidential election, asked Nigerians to violently resist electoral malpractices, which he maintained had been the bane of the country’s electoral process. Government had consequently believed that it was Buhari’s reactions and statements on the outcome of the election and his call on the youths to resist any person who rigged elections, that led to the violence that swept the northern part of the country in the aftermath of the election. Buhari and his CPC had claimed that the general election, particularly the presidential election were rigged in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and this sparked off violence leading to loss of lives and property, particularly in the north. With the recent naming of Buhari as one of the Boko Haram preferred chief negotiators in a proposed dialogue which the sect want held in Saudi Arabia, but which Buhari has asked to be counted out, the Presidency seem not convinced that Buhari has no hand in the sect’s activities. According to the Presidency, it was only a facesaving effort of the retired Army General to say he should be counted out. Similarly, the much published Buhari’s view that the federal government had lost control of the security situation in the country and was no longer in a position to contain

the violence had helped to fuel government’s position about his alleged support to the sect. Making government position public yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, insisted that “it would be out of place for General Buhari to turn around and accuse the federal government of being behind Boko Haram when he (Buhari), had severally and openly advocated violence as a means of settling political disagreements.” Okupe referred to Buhari’s claim that Boko Haram was a creation of the government as “ridiculous, unfounded and out of place.” The governmen’s spokesman recalled that “during campaign for the general election, General Buhari himself campaigned and asked people to pick up arms in violence. So, it is too late in the day for him to try to back track; he cannot; he can’t blindfold Nigerians. “Those who sow wind and the nation is reaping the whirlwind should not try and begin to look good. It is too late in the day; Nigerians are no fools.” But reacting to Okupe’s vituperation on its leader, CPC spokesperson, Rotimi Fashakin, said the presidential image maker had abandoned reason as a tool for dialectical engagement (based on verifiable fact) and sounded like a broken record in mouthing the same over-used propaganda (not based on substantiated fact) that Buhari incited his supporters to resort to violence during the 2011 electioneering campaigns. Fashakin quoted Okupe as saying in an interview with media men that “during the election, during the campaign, General Buhari himself campaigned for violence, so it is too late in the day to try to back track. Those who sow wind should not try and start to begin to look good.” CPC spokesperson said, “It was this same capricious but unfounded falsity that Dr Reuben Abati, his colleague in the business of image laundering project for President Good-

luck Jonathan, wrote in his Guardian Newspaper column in May 2011; the subject of a libelous litigation that Abati is desperately making attempts to untangle himself from. He said that “As a party, we have often counseled

that the churlish demeanour of Dr Doyin Okupe is deleterious to the Jonathan regime. The nauseous, intemperate and inane mannerism of Dr. Doyin Okupe as a presidential aide is a collective disgrace to us as Nigerians.

“Whilst it is understandable that there is usually a strong desire to desperately hold on to a rehabilitative presidential appointment in a clime bedeviled with festering deprivation and corruption- there is nothing noble in talking when there nothing to be said. “The penchant for Dr Okupe in attacking what-

ever GMB says, with concomitant jettisoning of reason, is despicable and stands condemned. The good that the president can do to himself will definitely not be in pandering to the obsequious apologists around him like Dr Okupe but in properly distilling the well-meaning pieces of advice of acknowledged Patriots like Buhari.”

President Goodluck Jonathan (4th left), with Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu (3rd right), leader of delegation from Merck PharmaceutiPHOTO: NAN cal Group of Companies, Mr. Robert Blum (3rd right) and others after a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday.

...Dialogue must hold in Nigeria –OPC, Udah

•Group must surrender arms before dialogue AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST AND AYO ESAN KANO

he pan Yoruba socio-cultural group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), has said that the proposed dialogue between the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Ladda’awatih waljihad otherwise known as Boko Haram, and the federal government must take place in Nigeria and not in Saudi Arabia as proposed by the sect. Speaking at a media conference on Friday, the founder of the group, Dr Fredrick Fasehun, said though the OPC supported the dialogue option as a way of resolving the impasse which had led to the death of several Nigerians it would be wrong to hold such a meeting outside the country. “Boko Haram has fixed the venue of the dialogue for Saudi Arabia. The question is: Why

Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia as host for talks in a purely Nigerian affair is fraught with danger,” Fasehun said. The OPC leader also said if the group wanted an Islamic environment, it should choose alternative venues in Sokoto or Zamfara. OPC also proposed that for the dialogue to achieve its desired aim, Boko Haram must immediately ensure a ceasefire and that professional bodies like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) must be appointed as mediators in the talk. On the proposed constitutional review, Fasehun said the ongoing review of the 1999 constitution by the National Assembly remains “a brazen display of impunity.” “By any stretch of their mandate, members of the House of Repre-

sentatives and the Senate are lawmakers and not constitution makers. The Constitution only gives them the power to make laws; but the power to make a Constitution, anywhere in the world, is reposed in the people. Hence, we shall continue to demand for the convening of a Sovereign National Conference, SNC”, Fasehun said. Similarly, a retired Deputy Inspector -General of Police, Mr. Azubukkor Udah, has urged the federal government to insist as a pre -condition for any form of dialogue with the Boko Haram sect, the surrendering of arms by militants of the sect as was the case in the Niger-Delta situation. Udah who was a member of the federal government Task Force on Niger-Delta disarmament said if there should be any condition on the proposed dialogue, it should come from the federal

government and not the North-based militant group. The former DIG Admin at Louise Edet House, Abuja, recalled that in the case of NigerDelta the militants were disarmed first to pave way for peace talk. He added that the reverse should not be the case in the Boko Haram insurgency. The former police chief said government should also ignore the sect’s choice of Saudi Arabia as venue for the proposed truce, adding that that Nigeria is big enough to accommodate such a meeting. Udah regretted that the Boko Haram saga had claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians up North, adding that it was for this reason the group must accept disarmament first before any peace process could be initiated by the authorities’

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NATIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

Ondo guber election: ACN, PDP, AP challenge Mimiko’s victory at tribunal HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE.

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Accord Party (AP) yesterday in Akure filed petitions at the Governorship Election Tribunal to challenge the re-election of the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. Mimiko is of the Labour Party (LP). The three political parties and their candidates, Olawale Ojo of AP; Olusola Oke, PDP and Rotimi Akeredolu of ACN, alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and LP of con-

niving to manipulate the results of the election. The ACN and its candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, in a 403 pages petition filed before the tribunal sought for nullification of the October 20 election in the state. The party co- joined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the returned governor, Olusegun Mimiko and the ruling Labour Party in the petition saying the election that returned Mimiko as the state governor was fraught with irregularities. The ACN stated in the petition that Mimiko was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes, that the election is invalid by rea-

son of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. The petition which was filed by about 20 senior lawyers which include Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN; Lasun Sanusi, SAN; Wole Aina Edward Odugbesan; Kola Olawoye; Charles Titiloye; Victor Olatoyegun; Micheal Lana and many others. Akeredolu and ACN alleged that the voters register was falsified by INEC to ensure victory for Mimiko. The argued that some political office holder in the state connived with security agents and INEC staff to rig the poll in favour of LP.

The petitioner pleaded all video clips, report of local and international observer, media, fingerprint experts, medical reports and election materials used in the conduct of the poll saying LP deployed cash and materials to induce voters throughout the state. The petitioner stated that about 117 witnesses would be made available across the state except Owo local government which it won convincingly. However, the Accord Party on its part hinged its petition on the omission of the party from the ballot paper and called for a fresh election. The petition which was filed by the party’s governor-

ship candidate, James Olawale, and submitted to the Tribunal Secretary, Yusuf Musa, pointed out that INEC omitted its log on the ballot paper used for the election. The AP in the petition insisted that the umpire had earlier recognised the party claiming that three of commission officials were present during the primary that produced the party’s candidate in August, 2012, and saw no reason why the party should be excluded from the ballot paper. Accord Party however prayed the tribunal to order INEC to conduct a fresh poll that would allow its candidate to participate in the election. PDP and its candidate,

Olusola Oke, in the petition, alleged that irregularities, manipulation of votes and outright falsification of results in some areas of the state marred the exercise contrary to the belief that the election was free and fair. In the petition filed by Oke’s lead counsel, Mr Kayode Olatoke, the PDP’s candidate prayed for the nullification of the election and the conduct of another election or alternatively declare him as the winner of the election. All the political parties filed their petitions to beat the 21 days deadline after the declaration of an elective contest as stipulated by electoral law.

FG working to boost access to quality drugs –Jonathan ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said that the federal government has made boosting the availability and affordability of life-saving drugs nationwide one of the primary objectives of its strategy for achieving significant improvements in national healthcare services in the shortest possible time. Speaking at an audience with a delegation from Merck Pharmaceuticals Company of Germany, Jonathan said his administration was therefore doing everything possible to ensure that genuine essential drugs and medicines are constantly available in hospitals and pharmacies in all parts of the country. He said the federal government was working with drug manufacturers, friendly nations and international organisations towards the achievement of the objective and would welcome increased international support and assistance for its efforts to give more Nigerians easier access to essential drugs and medicines. Jonathan thanked the

Merck delegation which was led by Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp-Merck for the company’s ongoing support for healthcare delivery in Nigeria through the continued donation of large quantities of its drug Praziquantel for the free treatment of schistosomiasis or bilharzia, a chronic illness that can damage internal organs and in children, impair growth and cognitive development. “We really appreciate your gesture. Your drugs will help us to save even more lives under our Save One Million Lives Initiative which I recently launched. We will make the best use of the drugs and will work with you and our other friends in the international community to achieve our objective of better health services for all Nigerians,” the president told Haverkamp-Merck and his team. Haverkamp-Merck told the president that his company which is the oldest pharmaceuticals company in the world, having been in existence since 1668, would continue to support the Jonathan administration’s Save One Million Lives Initiative in every possible way.

L-R: Senior Training Instructor, Halogen Security Company Limited, Francis Esemezie; Principal, Mafoluku Grammar School, Mafoluku, Mrs. Elizabeth Omidele, and Business Development Manager, Halogen Security Company Limited, Richard Abiodun, at the ongoing security awareness outreach for students of secondary schools in Lagos, organised by the company at Mofoluku Grammar School, Oshodi, Lagos.

…Condoles Harriman’s family ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with the family of the renowned surveyor, industrialist, philanthropist and political leader, Chief Hope Harriman who

passed away earlier this week in the United States. In a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the president expressed his condolences, saying that Harriman lived an exemplary and fulfilled life.

According to him, he was always doing the best that he could to contribute positively to communal and national development. The president believes that Chief Harriman would always be remembered in his professional field of surveying and estate man-

agement where he built his practice into a glowing reference point for others and became in the process, a role model and mentor for younger Nigerians. He prayed that God to grant Chief Harriman’s soul eternal rest.

Gawat still missing four months on MURITALA AYINLA

t is four month today that popular broadcaster, Alhaji Rasaq Aremu Gawat, got missing. Worried by his continuous disappearance Muslims faithful have decried the state of insecurity in

the nation. Gawat, a producer of Islamic programme ‘E dide Ejisaari’ on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was announced missing on July 10 2012 after his car was found at Apagbon bridge. Speaking with Saturday Mirror, some viewers of the journalist’s programme

bemoaned the state of security in the nation. They lamented the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of the man with out any clue as to his whereabouts. A cleric, Uztadh Kazeem Kewulere who spoke with Saturday Mirror after ‘Jumat’ prayer, called on the gov-

ernment at all levels to beef up security in the country “How can someone disappear into thin air just like that and the security could not give us any clue as to where he is. Government has to do something on the security in the country. It is Gawat today, we don’t know else will be missing.”

NATIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

Soyinka, Fashola, Collier suggest solutions to nation’s woes MURITALA AYINLA

obel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and Professor of Economics and Director of African of Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier, yesterday proffer solution to Nigeria’s problems. They blamed Nigeria’s woes and under development of African nations on lack of credible leadership, reasoning that it was high time the African continent designed polices that would develop its potentials rather than relying on foreign aids and loans.

They spoke at the 2012 Lagos Kuramo Conference held at Eko Hotel and Suites. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor Paul Collier urged the federal government to implement the controversial reports on the oil subsidy regime by the House of Representatives and not dismiss it as a shoddy one. He stressed that the problem of corruption in the nation’s oil sector remains the bane of development in the country. He charged Nigerians to ensure that the reports was not swept under the carpet saying “the battle is for you not for me”. Professor Wole Soyinka, who chaired the confer-

ence, said African leaders had engaged in the act of siphoning public funds through initiation of projects to give the impression that they are delivering dividends of democracy. He urged Nigerian leaders to adopt Rwanda system of government to address some of the factors responsible for the economic woes over the years. According to him, if China was able to transform her economy to the second largest in the world in a decade, it was possible for Africa to do the same. Speaking at the occasion, Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said the convener of the conference said the continent needed to look inwards for

answers to some of her economic challenges. Fashola, who observed that most African countries preferred doing business with the West and Asia, said the situation had not really helped the economic development of the continent. ``African countries need to trade with one another in order to optimally utilise the abundant natural resources in the continent and put her on the path of prosperity,” he said. why can’t we encourage a policy to compel African countries to trade with one another in Zambian Copper, Ghanaian cocoa, Cameroonians coffee, Malian cotton and of course Nigerian oil?.

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Excessive borrowing: Okonjo-Iweala warns governors

he Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has warned governors against excessive borrowing to ensure the economic growth of the country. The minister gave the warning in Enugu, yesterday, while delivering a lecture entitled `Managing Public Finance for Agricultural and Industrial Growth’ at the 2012 South East Economic Summit. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, she said that the mounting domestic debt was as dangerous as the external one, adding that strategies were being put in place to reduce the country’s debt. ``I want to give advice to our governors here. Those who are taking domestic debt need to watch it because it is as dangerous as or even more so than the external debt. ``When you have domestic debt, you must service it because it is your institutions, your pension funds, your banks who owe this debt and you must have to pay it otherwise it leads to other consequences within the economy. ``I am happy to say that we

have put in place a very good strategy to manage the national domestic debt which is to decelerate the rate at which we borrow,’’ she said. On agriculture in the South East, the minister said the zone had a comparative advantage for the production of some food crops but was being hampered by limited land and tremendous gully erosion. Okonjo-Iweala said the World Bank had provided a credit of 450 million dollars for the South East to decisively deal with gully erosion to promote agriculture. The minister stressed the need for an increase in the financial mortgage system to create opportunity for youths to own houses. On his part, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, explained that the zone would not progress without developing a sound vision. According to Soludo, developing the vision would help to drive the economy of the zone to greater heights. He, however, called on the governors of the South East to create an enabling environment for investors to thrive in the zone

Oil workers hold confab on PIB

Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (right); Chairman, Kuramo Conference 2012 and Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka (middle) and Director for the Study of African Economies and Plenary Speaker, Professor Paul Collier (left), during the opening ceremony of the Kuramo Conference, Lagos 2012, with the theme, “A Global Commonwealth”, held at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday.

NDLEA seeks stiffer penalties for drug offences

he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday advocated stiffer penalties for drug offences to deter couriers. Mr. Alfred Adewumi, the NDLEA Commander in Akwa Ibom, said this at a drug-free counselling clinic in Eket, Akwa Ibom. He said that the agency was seeking a review of relevant laws to deter drug traffickers and dealers. Adewumi expressed regrets that the existing laws were too lenient and often allowed drug dealers to serve short prison sentences and return to the illicit trade. He noted that Nigeria had transformed from a transit country to a user country with adverse consequences

on the larger society. The NDLEA Commander noted that countries with stiff penalties, such as Malaysia, recorded fewer cases of drug offences. ``We need stiffer penalties and we can only get this by seeking the review or existing laws which give a lot of discretionary powers to judges to pass mild sentences for some drug offences. ``NDLEA can only arrest offenders and charge them to court; it is the courts that determines to free or jail offenders. ``So, when a judge gives a short jail term to a convict we have no control over that. ``But if the law is reviewed then drug barons would be kept out of circulation for a long time and the society is better for it,” he said.

Adewumi said that the agency would ensure that the new law would ensure that assets acquired with drug proceeds were forfeited to the federal government.

Delivering a lecture on the menace of drugs in Nigeria, Mr Chris Owoeye, the Area Commander of NDLEA in Oron, said that the effect of drug was extensive.

Halogen offers security empowerment to schools

security outfit, Halogen Security Company Ltd., is set to celebrate 20 years of service with series of events lined up. The activities include a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity involving special security outreach that seeks to empower the youth in Lagos State. The company has unveiled plans to target Sec-

ondary Schools in Lagos State as the youth segment of interest for its security outreach. According to Mr. Wale Olaoye, the Managing Director, Halogen Security Company Ltd, “Halogen Security Company, in her continued definition of leadership in the security industry has deemed it fit to identify with the society in which it serves for 20 years on.

il workers in the country have concluded arrangements to hold a Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum involving all the major players in the country’s oil and gas industry on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The engagement forum, which is organised jointly by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), is scheduled for November 13 and 14, 2012 in Calabar, Cross Rivers State. Stakeholders expected to present their positions at the forum aside from PENGASSAN and NUPENG, include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), International Oil Companies under the aegis of Oil

Producers Trade Sector (OPTS), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN). The Centre for Public Policy Alternatives (CPPA) will serve as facilitators of the forum while Professor Yinka Omorogbe, a professor of oil and gas law and former corporation secretary of the NNPC will chair the forum. The forum is expected to be declared open by the Governor of Cross River state, Sen. Liyel Imoke. Speaking on the forum, PENGASSAN National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Zaid Kolawole, said, “the PIB, which was recently submitted to the National Assembly, will have far-reaching implication not only for the oil and gas industry but also the nation’s economy.

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NATIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

Flood: FG releases N12.2bn for food, health problems •Dangote committee raises N11bn ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that a total of N12.2b has been released to tackle food crisis and health challenges following the flood that ravaged many states of the country. Out of the fund, N9.7 billion was released to the Ministry of Agriculture for flood recovery food production programme while N2.5 billion was released to the Ministry of Health for disease control, prevention and treatment. According to him, the released fund was to further address the impact of the flood as N17.6 billion has earlier been released to states last month to provide necessary materials for the victims and to tackle the impact of the flood. Speaking in Abuja at a fund raising dinner for the flood victims, Jonathan who said the flood was the worst that had ever happened in the history of the country stressed that the incident brought a lot of pain to him, saying all Nigerians should assist in bringing succour to the victims. Jonathan said, “this occurrence is unprecedented in the annals of our nation, we have witnessed several natural disasters in the past but none compares in scope and intensity to what we are currently experiencing.” “We have lost scores of lives to the flood, millions of our citizens are rendered homeless and property and farmlands running into billions of naira are destroyed”, Jonathan said “Although the actual cause of the flood is currently being accessed, there are clear indications that it may be quite enormous,” he added. “As we prepare for the post impact of the flood in the weeks and months ahead, government has released N9.7 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture for flood recovery food production programme and N2.5 billion to the Ministry of Health for disease control, prevention and treatment”, the president also said.

He noted that with the magnitude of the flooding and the damage caused, the disbursement of funds by government to address issues related to the flood was quite inadequate. Jonathan appealed to kind-spirited Nigerians to donate generously towards the relief fund for the flood

victims. Speaking earlier, cochairman of the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief Committee, Aliko Dangote, said all the money that would be realised towards assisting the flood victims would be judiciously spent. According to him, the

committee would not fail in the task to ensure that all funds were channeled towards ameliorating the pains of the victims. He noted that kind-spirited Nigerians are already responding positively, saying that the committee would not fail Nigerians. At the fund raising event,

the committee was able to realise over N11 billion in what was described as the first leg of its fundraising. Co-chairman of the 34-man committee, Aliko Dangote, and the federal government donated the sum of N2.5 billion each, making them the highest donors.

Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Manager, Dr. Samuel Adenekan (l), presenting MAGGI Cubes to the National Health Adviser for Nigeria Red Cross Society, Dr. Wilson Imongan (m), recently.

…Food distribution commences Wednesday TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

he federal government will from Wednesday commence food distribution to various farmers’ families in the flood affected areas nationwide under its National Flood Recovery Food Production Programme. In the first of the intervention food supply initiative, 40,000 metric tonnes of variety of food stuffs will be distributed in demonstration of government’s commitment to support farmers and other victims of the crisis which destroyed crops and livestock in no fewer than 12 states. According to him, a total of N9.7 billion had been approved for the Flood Food Recovery plan, which has four components. The first is the planned release of 40,000 metric tonnes of food from the strategic grain reserves to the families; the second will provide seeds and fertilisers to farmers while the third component will involve provision of seeds and fertilisers for farmers

in unaffected states to produce food. The fourth will involve provision of improved seeds and fertilisers in states that were not affected to help them double up production. Disclosing this yesterday at the emergency meeting held with the State Commissioners of Agriculture on the National Flood Recovery Food Programme in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who spoke elaborately on the proactive measures being undertaken by the federal and state governments to mitigate the impact on farmers and national drive for food security, said contrary to reports in the media and those of some international agencies, Nigeria would not experience any food crisis both in the immediate and the long run. According to him, as part of government’s efforts to ensure that the food items do not get lost in transit, the target of the food intervention agenda for the families who suffered crop and livestock losses would

be on women and children since it is most certain that any food delivered to them would be used to meet food needs in their homes. He therefore solicited the collaboration of the States Commissioners of Agriculture and Regional Directors and State Directors of his ministry in the task of getting the food items to the targeted victims as well as ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to make the National Flood Recovery Food Production Programme transparently managed in order not to defeat the purpose. He declared: “My team in the Ministry has been working hard over the past two weeks on our roll out plan for the Flood Recovery Food Production Programme. The successful implementation of this programme is crucial to reduce the negative effects of the flood on our food production. This programme must succeed. There is no margin for failure and I will not tolerate any attempts it undermine or hinder the successful implementation of this programme.”

Adesina disclosed that extensive surveys carried out by the federal government based on technology-driven satellite images, remote sensing and vegetation data and involving reputable international agencies with sound knowledge on floods and other climatic issues, showed clearly that there had been exaggeration of the impact of the floods. Specifically, he said findings on the surveys showed clearly that only about 1.4 million hectares, representing 1.17 per cent of the estimated 40 million hectares total cultivable land was affected by the floods and that out of these, only an estimated area of 467,000 hectares suffered crop losses. The minister was optimistic that the various initiatives being undertaken under the National Flood Recovery Food Programme would begin to yield positive results in terms of the socio-economic welfare of the affected farmers and re-positioning the Agricultural Transformation Agenda on the path of sustainable achievements.

Wema Bank set to regain national status ...Ready to receive N35billion Capital Injection

ema Bank yesterday announced plans to reapply for a National Banking License in view of a proposed tier 1 capital injection of around N35billion by December 2012. This, according to a press statements made available to Saturday Mirror, comes on the back of a 29% increase in gross earnings and 56% increase in operating income by the bank for 2011 as made known during a presentation to financial regulators and the general public in Lagos. Speaking on the bank’s performance and plans, Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director/CEO of Wema Bank, remarked that despite the daunting dynamics of the operating environment, the bank remains committed to scaling growth positively whilst adhering to best practice in riskmanagement and corporate governance and without compromising on the bank’s values of integrity, professionalism and exceptional service delivery According to Oloketuyi, “The past 3 years have seen Wema Bank evolve into one of the leaders in the retail banking space through a well-structured transformation process that has seen the implementation of sound corporate governance and risk management frameworks to further engender a stronger and more dynamic business model. “We are thus confident in our resolve to translate challenges into opportunities and maximising value for all stakeholders.” He added that plans were at advanced stages to conclude on a N35billion tier-1Capital raising exercise which commenced a few months ago with a firm commitment of N15billion by a core investor already in place. “We expect to begin the process of seeking regulatory approval as soon as all necessary plans are finalised”, he stated.

REGIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SOUTH WEST KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

yo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi , has approved the immediate placement of primary school teachers, who retired from July 2011 till date, on pension payroll. The governor also directed the payment of 50 per cent of their monthly pension allowance effective November 2012. It will be recalled that the over 7,000 affected retirees who left service from July 2011 till date have not been placed on monthly pension in the state. This is due to the massive fraud discovered at the Local Government Pension Board, the body responsible for the payment of pension allowances to retired primary school teachers and local government workers. Already, some of the officials of the board found to have been in-

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi (2nd Right), presenting the key of a brand new Ford Everest SUV to the Chief Imam of the state, Alhaji Bello Kewulere (left). With them is Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin (r), at the Ado-Ekiti Central Mosque, yesterday.

Oyo approves payment of pension to retired teachers volved in the fraudulent activities have been apprehended and handed over to the police for investigation and possible

Vandalism: Lagos NSCDC arms to personnel MURITALA AYINLA

he Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps yesterday handed over arms to 200 men of its special squad unit selected across different formations in the state. Presenting the arms in Ikeja, Assistant Commandant General of the Command, Sam Onyenachi, said the items were to strengthen the capacity of the corps to discharge its duties more efficiently. Onyenach claimed the corps had the mandate to secure critical infrastructure in the country, but stressed that the arms was to enable his men confront the dangerous activities of vandals. His words, “Initially it was very easy for us to arrest vandals with our bare hands. We could see them, chase them and before we knew it, they would surrender. But as time went by, we discovered that the criminals

came up with other dangerous arrangements. We discovered each time we visited them, they were armed to the teeth. And the Federal Government, having seen that it was very hazardous chasing the vandals with bare hands decided to amend the Act establishing the corps to incorporate possession of arms,” he said. Onyenachi dismissed fears in some quarters that the arms would be mishandled and abused by officers of the corps, but said the personnel had been adequately trained on how to use the weapons. The commandant however warned the officers against the misuse of the arms, saying the corps would not hesitate to dismiss and prosecute erring personnel. Onyenachi used the occasion to commend the Federal Government for the provision of the items, saying it would also help the men tackle cases of telecommunications masts and pipeline vandalism in the country.

prosecution. The state’s Commissioner-designate for Information and Orientation, Pastor Taiwo Otegbeye,

who announced the government’s move to journalists, said the decision was arrived at a meeting between Governor Aji-

mobi and representatives of the retirees during a meeting held at the Governor’s Office in the state capital.

Otegbeye said the payment of the 50 per cent allowance would continue until the resolution of the pending issue. Otegbeye, who explained that the pension was contributory among the federal, state and local governments, however, said that the Federal Government had not paid its own funds to the state in the last two years. He said the Federal Government used to pay N604,197,539.43 annually towards the pension funds until it stopped the payment two years ago. He quoted the representatives of the affected retirees as expressing satisfaction with the arrangement and commending the governor for coming to their rescue. Governor Ajimobi had recently assured the affected retirees that as soon as the planned restructuring of the board was effected, they would be placed on monthly pension.

Judicial workers’ strike stalls Daniel’s trial FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he resumed trial of former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, earlier slated for yesterday could not hold due to the indefinite strike action embarked upon by judicial workers in the state. Daniel is currently standing trials on a 38 count charge before an Ogun State High Court presided over by Justice

Olanrewaju Mabekoje. Justice Mabekoje had during the last sitting on October 15th, 2012 adjourned the trial till yesterday, November 9, 2012, for hearing of an application filed by the Daniel’s team of defence lawyers in which they are seeking to quash charges 1-13 against the former governor. But as earlier reported, the case could not come up yesterday as scheduled because of the on-going strike action by

judicial workers in the state. The workers under the aegis of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) commenced an indefinite strike since October 31, 2012, to press home their demand for the implementation of a new salary structure. As at the time Saturday Mirror visited the state High Court at Isabo, Abeokuta, yesterday, gates to the court premises remained under lock and key as the workers

failed to report for duty. The situation is the same at the Magistrates’ court and the customary court at Ake in Abeokuta. Meanwhile, members of the task force of the union were seen around the court areas trying to enforce strict compliance with the strike action. Samuel Adesanya, President, Ogun State chapter of JUSUN, in a telephone interview, that the strike would continue until the government acceded to their request.

Ekiti council workers suspend strike ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

ocal government workers in Ekiti State have suspended their two months old strike. President of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ekiti State chapter, Comrade Dele Ajayi, has therefore directed the striking workers to resume work on Monday next week. Ajayi journalists that the suspension of the strike followed agreement reached between

the union and the state government over the welfare issues concerning the workers. NULGE also dismissed the insinuation that it was being sponsored by some politicians to confront the government with a view to unsettle it. The NULGE boss, who read the agreement reached with the government’s team to journalists, said the government had agreed to pay the council workers a minimum wage of N19, 012 with effect from November, 2012.

Ajayi said part of the agreement with the state government was its decision to credit the accounts of the 16 councils in the state for the payment of September and October salaries before Wednesday next week. The union leader said that the state government also agreed to pay the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale and Consolidated Health Salary Scale to local government health workers. According to him, part of the agreements

was that qualified health workers at the councils should be deployed to the newly created Primary Health Care Development Agency. The modality for payment of the minimum wage and CONHESS/ CONMESS arrears, according to the pact, would be determined by the joint committee of government and NULGE. He also reiterated the government’s assurance that no worker would be victimized for partaking in the strike.

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REGIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

SOUTH EAST

Gov Orji laments lack of FG presence in Abia roads SEGUN ADIO

bia State government has again expressed disgust over the deplorable federal infrastructures in the state, especially roads. Speaking when a delegation of Security Watch Africa paid him a thank you visit in Umuahia, Governor Theodore Orji said that his administration is ready to bring smiles to the people of the state, but is limited by sparse resources and inadequate federal presence. The governor was recently awarded the best governor on security matters in Nigeria at a

ceremony held in Accra, Ghana recently. Governor Orji told the team that the Port Harcourt-Enugu road has remained totally deplorable because of lack of commitment on the part of the federal government. In the words of Governor Orji, “This road (Port Harcourt-Enugu Road) is getting worse by the day and we seem helpless to address the situation. Our (Abia) own portion is the worst hit. When you are going on the road, people say the governor has refused to do something to this road, but it is not my problem. All you need to do is to come to Umuahia and

other towns in the state to appreciate the kind of road networks we have put in place. That was my promise to the people of the state, not to repair Port Harcourt-Enugu road. If I have the capacity to repair this road, I would have done it lion ago, but I do not have the capacity,” he said. The governor, how-

ever, claimed that his consultations with the appropriate authorities in Abuja assured him that all will soon be well with the road. Governor Orji also lamented the allocation accruable to the state from the Federal Government which he claimed is grossly inadequate to cater for the needs of the people of

the state. On how he manages to embark on the many construction projects going on in the state in the face of inadequate allocation from the Federal Government, Governor Orji told his guests that his goodwill with the contractors has continued to endeared the contractors to his projects.

Speaking earlier, President of Security Watch Africa Awards, Patrick Agbambu said the group was mindful of the developmental strides of the governor and assured him that the organisation would continue to reward performance and good governance in the country.

‘Nobody can cede our ancestral land to Ogidi people’ NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

community leader and Chairman of Abor Akuzor kindred of Umusiome village, Nkpor in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Chief Okechukwu Nwaforagu has warned those he identified as land speculators to steer clear of the their land or face the wrath of the law. Chief Nwaforagu regretted that the land speculators from Umusiome Nkpor, had colluded with their neighboring Oramadike village of Ogidi, also in the same council area in recent times, to lay claims to a certain portion of the Abor Akuzor kindred

land. Addressing youths of Umusiome village, Nkpor, Chief Nwaforagu, regretted that the activities of the land speculators had degenerated into a protracted land dispute which has so far claimed the lives of two policemen and many property. He recalled that as a result of the land dispute, dare devil gunmen had, in the wee hours of Monday, October 1, 2012, invaded the disputed land and shot two policemen dead destroying some part of a hotel still under construction. Chief Nwaforagu complained that at the moment, policemen have now turned the tide against him, thereby threatening to rpe him with the case, in spite of his earlier alerts to law

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha with Archbishop Fernado Cardinal Filano of the Vatican, during a courtesy visit at the Government House in Owerri, recently.

enforcement agents on the matter in the past. The two slain policemen were said to be on patrol in the disputed Abor Akuzor kindred land when gunmen invaded the area and shot them dead. The killing of the policemen came on the heels of a similar killing of a middle-aged woman, Mrs Ogechi Okechukwu, last week by unidentified gunmen who attacked the same village and destroyed a five-star hotel still under construction, belonging to Chief Nwaforagu and other build-

ings in the area. According to the source, the hoodlums were alleged to have used explosives suspected to be dynamite to destroy the five-star hotel and several other uncompleted buildings in the land. The Abor Akuzor kindred has been enmeshed in a land dispute with their neighboring Oramadike village, Ogidi in the recent past, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties, which resulted in the constant police and military patrol in the area.

Anambra no longer a pariah State –Gov Obi

overnor Peter Obi of Anambra State has said that the state is no longer in the category of a pariah state, as was the case before he came on board. Governor Obi said this on Thursday during a visit to the European Union(EU) and UNICEF offices in Abuja. Obi said that his constant visits to the two organizations were due to his personal commitment to reach out, and main-

tain the friendship of organizations and individuals that are committed to development of the state. His words, “When I became the Governor, Anambra State did not enjoy relationship with international organizations because it was regarded as a pariah state.” Obi, who visited the European Union (EU) office and was received by the Ambassador, Dr. David MacRae was also

at the UNICEF office and was received by the Country Representative, Ibrahim Falls. Governor Obi maintained that his visits to the two organizations were part of periodic visits that allowed him to interact with them, which enables world bodies to assess his performance In a bid to improve his governance of the state. Following the commendation by UNICEF

of Anambra State as the best state in Nigeria in many aspects, especially the payment of counterpart funding, Obi reiterated his commitment to the growth and development of the state. Governor Obi was accompanied on the trip by the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Prof Okunna, and a Permanent Secretary, Abuja liaison office, Dr. Beatrice Okonkwo.

UI Aniri students grants Ekweremadu leadership Chief Ekweremadu award advised the youths to DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

ounger brother of the deputy Senate President and immediate past Chairman of Aninri Local Government Atrea, Chief Mathias Ekweremadu, has bagged the 2012 Leadership Award by the National Council of Enugu Students of the University of Ibadan. At the ceremony, which was held at the Trenchard Hall of the institution, the students commended Ekweremadu for his philanthropic role which endeared them to Ekweremadu. Chief Ekweremadu was said to have given bursary to indigent Aninri Law and Medical students in various universities in the country. Delivering a paper titled, “Youths: The pillar of strong democracy in Nigeria” at the event,

emulate the leadership qualities of some of the current leaders in the country in a bid for them to be successful in their chosen careers. Sources from the University disclosed that the Good Leadership Award bestowed on Chief Ekweremadu (Jnr) was one of the biggest awards bestowed on any politician. The sources confirmed that it came as a result of the democracy dividends Chief Ekweremadu gave to the people of Aninri and Enugu State in general during his tenure as the Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State. It will be recalled that during the administration of Chief Mathias Ekweremadu (Jnr) he was declared the best Local Government Council Chairman in Enugu State by the Enugu State Economic Planning Commission.

REGIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

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SOUTH SOUTH

SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN CITY

s was exclusively predicted last month, Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole of Edo State yesterday dissolved the State Executive Council. The dissolution came just three days to the formal commencement of his second term in office. At a valedictory meeting in Benin City, the governor thanked all the members of the executive council for their selfless service to the state before telling them their services were no longer needed. Governor Oshiomhole will be sworn-in for a second term in office on Monday, November 12, 2012. According to the programme of events, the swearing-in ceremony will be held at the renovated and repainted Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. Oshiomhole betrayed no emotion at the meeting when he began, “I want to use this opportunity to say how much I appreciate your efforts.

Oshiomhole dissolves Edo government cabinet Four years down the road, working together, arguing together, debating together, even sometimes disagreeing together, we have provided a collective leadership to the people of Edo State. We have served them diligently with all our hearts.” He continued in an emotion-laden voice, “You

are the least paid commissioners in the country, but that did not dampen your morale to put in your best efforts. I want to thank you very much for what God has used you to do for me and your state. Thank you for the sacrifices you all have made. I thought it wise that having worked so hard, it is right to ap-

preciate you.On Sunday, I recognize it will be full time for the first tenure of this administration and when it is full time, no matter how interesting the game is, the referee must blow the whistle and end the game. The life of this council comes to an end on Sunday, not today, because

that is when the end of the first tenure of this administration will come to an end. So, you are still Commissioners even after this statement till 11:59pm of Sunday.” Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana

Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (right) with Comrade Mike Okeme, Special Adviser to the governor on Labour Matters, during the official launching of Africa Municipal and Local Government Unions Network in Abuja, recently.

thanked the governor for giving them the opportunity to serve the people. Obayuwana said, “The experience of working with the Governor has been a school of leadership for us, which was defined by the highest level of congeniality. I doubt if there is any other executive council in any other state in the country that is comparable to the one we had here. This is a day of celebration because an example has been set that when there is a will, there will always be a way and this will endure for all time.” Oshiomhole’s swearing in programmes began yesterday with a Jumat Service at Benin Central Mosque and continues today with an inter-denominational prayer session at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and concludes on Sunday with a Christian prayer and worship at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in Benin City.

Imoke assures citizens of improved budget monitoring, evaluation

overnor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State yesterday assured residents of the state of strict monitoring and evaluation of budget implementation. Speaking in Ogoja at a two-day budget consulta-

tive forum for local governments in the Cross River Senatorial District, Imoke said that his administration would entrench transparency and accountability in the budgeting system. Imoke, who was rep-

resented by the state’s Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mr Peter Ojie, said that the forum was part of his administration’s effort at taking governance to the grassroots. The governor said that

24 Bayelsa students graduate from Malaysian varsities

total of 24 students of Bayelsa origin on scholarship to Malaysia have returned home with first degrees in various fields of study. Bayelsa State Commissioner for Education, Chief Adikumo Salo, and the Chairman, State Scholarship Board, Foster Ogola, received the students at the Isaac Boro Peace Park, Port Harcourt, on Thursday night. In a speech, Chief Salo described their performance as excellent. He expressed the hope that their performance would encourage the state government to use the

scholarship scheme to promote education and human capital development. The commissioner restated the government’s commitment to the training and re-training of its citizens, saying that Governor Seriake Dickson’s N1 billion scholarship scheme for about 350 post-graduate students was on course. He promised that in less than a year, another batch of post-graduate students now in the United Kingdom would return home. Responding to a question, Ogola said that the board would improve on its strategy to enlist more

students in the scholarship scheme in 2013. He described the pass rate of the students as the highest in Malaysia among the 12 countries that sent their nationals to the Asian nation for acquisition of higher knowledge. Ogola said the students would be received formally by Dickson on a date to be announced soon. It will be recalled that the students were sponsored by the administration of Timipre Silva to undertake studies in various disciplines. Five out of the 24 students graduated in first class division with four in Software Engineering and one in Civil Engineering.

Nigeria would get it right when her budgeting processes were perfected and when it placed premium on accountable and prudent financial management. His words, “This state is focusing on agriculture and tourism for which it has comparative advantage and the edge to create jobs and reduce unemployment. Our revolution in these sectors shall create multiplier effects on poverty reduction and job

creation for our army of unemployed youths,” he said. Dr Peter Oti, the Special Adviser to Imoke on Budget Matters, also said that there was the need for the grassroots to be more engaged in budgeting process. Oti said a forum that allowed the grassroots to contribute to budget making would enhance transparency, accountability and good governance. According to Oti, “The

state government is committed to ensuring that people-oriented policies and programmes are executed,” he said. A participant at the forum, Sunday Ekpotu, described the forum as ``very essential, timely and necessary``. Ekpotu, a staff of Obudu Local Government, said ``I am happy about this forum because it has afforded me the opportunity of know what budgeting is all about. ``

Delta holds roundtable meeting on environmental law

elta State government has commenced a roundtable meeting on Town Planning Regulation and Environmental Laws. Declaring the meeting open in Asaba, Andrew Odum, Special Adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, said that the objective of the meeting was to formulate policies of good governance consistent with the present day demand. Odum said that the

state government recognized the fundamental role of good laws and regulations as well as sound complementary acts. He said that the government appreciated the necessity of strong institutions of good governance as critical drivers and pillars of any meaningful development. He therefore called on all stakeholders, including professional bodies, to partner with the state government in its

pursuit of sustainable good governance. Odum said that there was gradual degeneration of moral and ethic values in every aspect of the society. According to Odum, “This has reflected adversely on the way we now do things in and out of government. As a result, our institutions of government are regrettably too weak to adequately support the aspirations of any government,’’ Odum said.

Politics

TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

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Discordant tunes over Biafra Republic

hen the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odemegwu-Ojukwu, as the Military Governor of old Eastern State declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, his decision was well embraced by the Igbo. The Igbo in the entire Eastern Region threw their weight behind the secession of Igbo from Nigeria and they stood solidly behind Ojukwu in his struggle for the liberation and independence of their people from the Nigerian State. But the events that followed Ojukwu’s declaration caused a lot of damage in the country. The declaration led to a civil war. Considering the effect of the civil war, which took place between July 6, 1967 and January 15, 1970, many Nigerians, especially the Igbo, would never pray for a repeat of the situation. Very devastating it was. Although the civil war ended on January 15, 1970, many Igbo leaders seem not be resting on their oars in ensuring that the dream of a Republic of Biafra is made a reality. Some groups and Igbo leaders still believe in the actualisation of the State of Biafra. The mobilisation and struggle for a Biafran state Independence was reopened in 1999 under the aegis of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Ojukwu Biafra (MASSOB) and other groups. mate the activities of the groups, The struggle generated a lot of crises MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurin the country and in order to check- uike was arrested and incarcerated for

Uwazuruike

many years by the federal government. Though Uwazuruike was later released, MASSOB seems to be a little

November 10, 2012

silent about championing the Igbo secession from Nigeria. Many people also believe that Odumegwu-Ojukwu death also ended the agitation for Biafra Independence. While many people thought that the issue of Biafran Independence has been laid to rest, a group known as Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) on Monday November 5 sprang a surprised. On that day, it reignited the fire of a campaign for a Biafran state. Speaking during the declaration in Enugu, BZM leader, Benjamin Onwuka, said the people of Biafran were no longer satisfed with the state of things in Nigeria and therefore had no other choice than to declare Biafran Independence based on the mandate given to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu on May 30, 1967 to provide security according to international law. His words: “It is clear that the security of lives and property of Biafran people is no longer guaranteed in the entity called Nigeria. Therefore, we have resolved to re-declare our independence today (November 5) based on the mandate given to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu on May 30, 1967 to provide our people security according to international law. “It is clear that our people’s right to worship, according to our Christian faith, is no longer guaranteed. Therefore, we Biafra people have resolved to opt out of Nigeria. Today, the re-birth of the Republic of Biafra is finally actualised. On the internaCONTINUED ON PAGE 15

POLITICS

November 10, 2012

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‘Community policing‘ll solve problems of insecurity’ Hon. Segun Olulade, an Action Congress of Nigeria geria (ACN) stal stalwart lwart bly(LSHA) Committee and Chairman of Lagos State House of Assembly(LSHA) blishment of state on Information and Strategy, believes that establishment geria. Olulade who is police will solve the insecurity challenges in Nigeria. w with FUNMI FUN NMI SALOM ME representing Epe Constituency, in this interview SALOME le eadership. JOHNSON, attribute the high rate of corruption to bad leadership. 015 general generral elections, He also speaks on his party’s preparation for 2015 Excerpts: creation of state police and some other issues. Excerpts:

orruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian system in general. How do you think we can reduce or eradicate corruption in the country? All over the world, there is corruption. It is like you asking what can be done to remove Satan from the earth. It could be like a waste of time trying to remove corruption. However, if there is darkness in a place, what you need to do is to light a candle to make it bright. This means that the thing to do is to continue to appreciate those in government who are not corrupt and are going about their public stewardship right. If we do not celebrate ourselves, no one will celebrate us. There are still a few people who are doing well and if we can identify those ones irrespective of their political office or class within the society, we should celebrate them. You know there is a Yoruba adage that says if you praise someone for doing something good; the person will be motivated to do more at another time. We all need encouragement in life to keep up the good things we do. The state of insecurity in Nigeria is very worrisome. How best can this be tackled? I am an advocate of community policing or state police, which involves the practise of true federalism where everything and everyone can be sure of the safety of the lives and properties of the citizens. It would help in knowing which state police is corrupt and why they are. When there is competition, it helps improve the quality of service in different ways. For instance, once there is state police, there will be healthy rivalry amongst the police. A particular state police would want to prove to the other that they are the best. Once we can achieve that, there would be tremendous changes. Since 1999, Nigerians have been conscious and sensitive to good governance and the issue of insecurity is no doubt a threat to life. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to the end of insecurity. We cannot say that the Nigerian Police is corrupt until we have been able to empower the police. We must strengthen the police force and the security apparatus by ensuring that we empower them to function very well. If you go to any community for instance, they all know those who are good people and the ones that are notorious. These rogues are human beings, they are not ghosts and people who live around them know them but the fear of being dealt

with after they have exposed pos o ed the rogues will never make them speak. peak. If all the apparatus are put in place, we can all say no, we don’t want rogues in n our community and it will come to past. This in effect does not stop us from having g the th he national or or federal police as well; they ey have have to work in synergy. But some people are e against the state police. What do you think about them? It is important to know now no w that not everybody would d have the same opinion about a particular issue. It is not everything that is good that would have the total support of everybody. There is need for contrary views for efficiency and transparency. But that does not change the fact that, that is what we need as a country. What are the necessary machineries you think every state should put in place for the establishment of a state police? Concerned agencies should be with integrity. They must be credible and possess all necessary knowledge pertaining to security. We must put all the apparatus in place and ensure that all the equipment are functioning. Presently, we are equipping the federal police because they are not well kitted. If Lagos State can afford to pay the salaries of its police higher than other states, it means that we should not expect to have the same result. There are some states that do not need more security. The same cannot be said of Lagos. This development would help us as a country, state, individual and community at large, since those who would be in-charge of policing will be people who are within the state and understand the terrain. Policemen are also humans. If they do not have the necessary equipment or gadget to use, you cannot ask them to go and die. If, for instance, there is enough supply of power in the country and there are closed circuit televisions installed everywhere, the rate of crime will drastically reduce. And if for any reason, there is a particular crime or robbery going on in a place, it will be easy for them

to see and know what to do at the right time but unfortunately all these things

are not just in place now; so they can actually not be blamed for most of the crimes in the country. In Nigeria today, ACN is the major opposition party. Do you see it winning at the federal level in future elections? I am confident that that will happen very soon because people are beginning to wake up to the reality on ground and getting to know that what we need as a country is to have a government that is responsive. For instance in 2007 election, Lagos State was the only ACN state but by 2011, the story has changed and today we have about seven governors in different states. By the grace of God, we are still counting. People have also seen the development in the South-West states and every other region is coming up to know that it is beyond region but about development of our respective states of the country. To many political analysts, the outcome of the recent Ondo State governorship election may determine the direction South-West electorate will go in future elections. Don’t you also think that the electoral fortune of the ACN many be affected going by this belief ?

Why would that be? In the first place, ACN was not in control of Ondo State. People seem to be making a lot of mistakes on this issue. We are not going to lose any state that is presently governed by ACN. ACN didn’t have any structure on ground in Ondo before then and it was the outcry of the people of Ondo that they did not want Governor Segun Mimiko that made ACN go there. However, as a responsive party, we must be ready to win some and lose some after all Ondo State is not the only state where we contested and lost. Why is Ondo such a big issue? We contested in some other states like Delta, Kaduna and a number of them and did not win, so why is Ondo case generating such controversies? We go to court when we are sure that a certain injustice has been perpetrated. This noise going on is just for the sake of talking. Ondo State is just a state among other states. The recent banning of commercial motorcycle (okada) from some roads in Lagos State is generating a lot of chaos. What is your take on the ban? Lagos State government did not ban Okada in Lagos, their movements were only restricted to some areas and all the roads where they are restricted from are all in the law. Okada are still out there working in areas where they are not restricted from. They are restricted from the highways and major roads and as a responsive government we have to protect the lives and properties of the people. It is unfortunate when people read such funny meanings to such a thing. But some still think government should have provided alternatives before going ahead with this? There are several alternatives but people are not just utilising them. LAG buses, cabs, tricycles and yellow buses are available but people are not just utilising them. We came up with this because it is important we do and as a responsive government, we cannot watch people being killed and injured on a daily basis without looking for a safe way out. Go to Igbobi at the okada section and see what has happened to many because of the reckless operations of the okada riders. About 80 per cent of the robbery cases in Lagos are from okada operators. So, we will not fold our arms and watch things go bad. Besides, it is not only in Lagos you have okada operators being restricted, in some states they are totally banned. For instance in FCT, they don’t allow such operations at all.

POLITICS

November 10, 2012

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 tional arena, the Republic of Biafra would establish and maintain a proIsrael international relations. Biafra would consider an attack on Israel and the Jewish people as an attack on Biafra.” Without any iota of doubt, the BZM declaration at this crucial period that the federal government is trying to find a lasting solution to the various security challenges facing the country is interesting. While some see the BZM declaration as a mere statement from a group trying to seek relevance, other believe that the re-declaration of Biafra Independence may mark the beginning of another ethnic struggle in Nigeria. Since Nigeria gained her independence on October 1, 1960, ethnic group agitations have caused a lot of problems in the country and many of these agitations have lead to the deaths of millions of Nigerians. It would be recalled that the civil war led by Odumegwu-Ojukwu against Nigerian state led to death of more than one million people mostly from hunger and diseases. Till today South-East is yet to recover from the damage of the civil war. In 1994, following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, a self-determination group known as ‘Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)’ was formed by some Yoruba to fight against the annulment of June 12, 1993 election and for the actualisation of the mandate given to Bashorun MKO Abiola during the election. In the course of the struggle, a lot of people were killed and many properties destroyed in the South-West geopolitical zone. The people of the Niger-Delta, led by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), after so many years of struggle against oil pollution and neglect, took up arms against the country during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. They were angry that they were being impoverished despite the fact that the wealth of the nation comes from the Niger Delta area. In the course of their struggle, a lot foreign expatriates were kidnapped and released after heavy payment of huge ransom for compensation. So many people also died in the process. The Niger-Delta militants became a terrorists group for many years before they were granted amnesty by late President Umar Yar’Adua. At present Nigeria is battling with the menace of Boko Haram, which has been unleashing terror in different parts of the North. Boko Haram, in the last two years has killed over 3,000 people in the North through bombing of public places and shootings of many people. The Boko Haram took arms against Nigeria over the gruesome murder of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and called for the abolition of western education. Considering the aftermaths of past ethnic groups’ agitations, many people are of the view that the declaration of Biafra Independence by the Biafran Zionist Movement, if not

Discordant tunes over Biafra Republic urgently attended to may cause more chaos in the country. Some analysts also believe that the November 5 declaration may be linked to the Igbo determination to produce Nigeria’s next president comes 2015. Some schools of thought are of the view that the BZM may be out to create confusion in the country in order to draw attention to the need for their area to get the presidency like the Yoruba and Niger Delta did during the 1999 and 2007 presidential elections. Many are of the view that BZM, like some other ethnic groups in the past, undoubtedly will compete for publicity, government’s attention and concession in whatever form and this may pose a great challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan, who is presently at a crossroads over a number of problems inhibiting the growth of the country. However, the group is certainly been faced with some challenges already. If the response to its call is anything to go by, it may not get the required support. The leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Ralph Uwazuruike, and the Ogirishi Igbo, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, have dissociated themselves from the BZM November 5 declaration of Biafra Independence. While Uwazuruike dissociated himself and his members from those he identified as members of a faceless group who he said were just trying to destabilise the relative peace being enjoyed in parts of Igbo land, Ezeonwuka cautioned the Igbo particularly those involved in the proposal to avoid any act of lawlessness capable of generating public disorder in Igboland. Uwazuruike, in a recent statement, through Uchenna Madu, and Mazi Chris Mocha of the MASSOB’s Directorate of Information said that MASSOB would partner with police to deal with any person or groups under the cover of Biafra that attempt to cause mayhem in South-East, adding that that MASSOB would not allow any dissident group to make mockery of ‘the new Biafra struggle.’ Ezeonwuka is of the view that the Igbo, at that point, were not ready to engage in any act of confrontation with the federal governmen. He said the government had a lot of challenges that required everybody’s support. Also speaking during a television interview programme, the President of Igbo Youth Congress, Bright Ezeocha, also kicked against the BZM declaration, saying that the Igbo would rather stay in Nigeria to fight for their rights rather than seek for secession. He said: “We are living in a nation that does not appreciate peaceful agitation. MASSOB, in the last few years,

has been there agitating peacefully and each time they go out to make their point, government refused to listen to them. I believe the Ndigbo should be accorded their rightful position in Nigerian state. “The Yoruba protested through the OPC of those days when June 12 was annulled and they got compensated by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo becoming president in 1999. The Niger Delta also embarked on armed struggle to achieve their aim. The Boko Haram is also fighting against the Nigerian state for a struggle they believe in. So, the Igbo man also believes that he has a point he is fighting for. I don’t believe in secession. I believe in belonging to one country, fight for my rights and get my right in the country. I have sympathy for those who have decided to struggle or that want to go their way.” A lawyer and public analyst, Mr. Chima Nnaji, is of the view that the various agitation by some groups lack merit. He added that some of the groups were just out to seek compensation from federal government. His words: “Some of the struggles

being championed by some ethnic groups look unreasonable. At times, I ask: How reasonable are some of these agitations? It looks as if some people just want to be reckoned with. Because Niger Delta militants were granted amnesty and compensations, many groups are embarking on agitation today for them to be compensated, forgetting that the issues they are fighting for are not the same with the Niger Delta issue. “I believe there are selfish interests in some of the struggles being championed by many groups in Nigeria. I believe that the picture of the group (BZM) is bigger than what happened in Enugu where they were emphasising on lack of security. I believe that the issue of security is a national issue.” With the ongoing scenario in the South-East, especially the arrest of about 500 members of the BZM, many people are watching with keen interest what would become of the November 5 declaration of Biafran Independence. Will the declaration see the light of the day? Only time will tell.

In your refreshingly different Nigeria’s failing zoos

The stories of hardship, distress and atrocious acts common with every human facet in the country, investigations have now revealed, are simultaneously finding expressions in the animal kingdom, that is, the various zoos across the country. Suffering various forms of neglect, some of the animals are faced with starvation, diseases and many, with sure death. From Ibadan to Benin, Jos to Port Harcourt and in most places where zoos are sited, the story is the same: one of caging animals without the needed care, thus bringing to the fore, the disappearing culture of zoo in the country. It is a compelling read.

My stand on 2015, by Sule Lamido

Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido is a reporter’s delight, going by his insightful responses to engaging questions. For quite sometime too, he has been touted as wanting to take a shot at the Presidency in 2015. In this interview with newsmen on an occasion when President Goodluck Jonathan was in his state to commission the state’s projects, Lamido took time to shed light on many issues, including the controversial ones among which is his rumoured presidential ambition. Keep a date with him.

A wasting ediÀce

Twenty-one years after the General Ibrahim Babangida military government finally moved the seat of Federal Government from Lagos to Abuja, the lot of the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, Lagos has been that of rot, arising from continuous neglect. For such a majestic edifice in the heart of a city like Lagos, it is a waste that should not be allowed to continue. The two buildings, consisting of twin towers each, lay bare, like a house abandoned in a hurry at a time of war. We bring you the inside story.

I was rebellious reb belllious as a kid-Halima kid Hallima Abubakar

“I knew about Nollywood at 16, in 2000. I was quite rebellious. I left home to pursue my acting career and I regretted leaving my mom to the mercy of gossip and tears…,” Halima Abubakar, actress, has more to say in this breath-taking interview. These and many more available tomorrow in your

Interview

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

MAGAZ INE

Sex talk

15 things women want to know about men, but are afraid to ask

Fashion •Ethnic playsuits •Get into A-line

Relationships How difficult is it to forgive infidelity?

Goldie

Reaping the gains of BBA

hy did you choose comedy? It’s always amazing when I’m asked that question because I did not choose comedy but comedy chose me. It’s what I was born to do. It’s not like I just decided to be a comedian or I told myself I’m growing up to be a comedian. I just found out that I was funny. I was always doing funny things in school, always being around where people do comedy, or every time I talk, even serious talk around my friends, it’s funny. You know, we’re just gisting and they are rolling around the floor laughing and I’m wondering why they are laughing. Even when I’m reprimanding or admonishing someone, they end up laughing. So it got me wondering that what the big deal is. How did it then become a profession for you? It was when I was studying Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan where there was a group called Laffomania Organisation which my brother belonged to. It was a comedy group that used to do slapstick, you know, you just come, you crack jokes, everybody laughs. It wasn’t even that we used to crack jokes. Funnily enough, what we usually did was act small sketches, and in the middle of the sketches, you needed a compere that would keep the audience occupied while the cast was changing costumes between scenes, so there’s no break in transmission. My brother used to be the compere, but when he graduated, the Laffomania organisers contacted me and said they wanted me to take his place and I said I couldn’t do it because I didn’t know what comedy was about, what would I say on stage and all that, and the only question they asked me was: “Are you Femi Kayode’s sister?”, I said yes, and they said, “you’ll do well if you are Femi’s sister, we’re sure it runs in the family, it’s in your blood.” So I went on stage the first day and it was a bomb. I was alive, I was excited. I’ve always known I was born to be on stage but I didn’t know what I would be doing on stage, whether singing, dancing or something else. It was really an explosion for me. And it got easier for me that I would even look forward to the next show. Of course, they were short-changing us in those days. They used to pay me N200 and the highest I was ever paid was N500. But of course, Ibadan is so far from Lagos where all the other comedians were making waves. But then in UI, I was like a big name. I would walk into a hostel and they would start saying the lady from Laffomania is around. I didn’t even have a stage name then, I was just Bose, and it was just fun. And then I came to Lagos and nobody knew me. My name didn’t ring any bell and yet people were making millions from the same thing I was doing in UI for nothing. So what did you do? It was a slow and gradual process. I went back to UI to study Law. I kept doing comedy, anchoring events, and I just knew at that point, I had to put a price to it, so I started giving rules and regulations to make it look like it’s

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Celebrity

Lepacious Bose is one of the few successful female comedians. She is very popular both for her comedy talent and her huge physique. In this interview with OSEYIZA OOGBODO, she admits that she used to feel insecure about her size.

‘Slim people don’t intimidate me’ work and it was alright. After graduation and Law School, I did an office job but it wasn’t me. With my two degrees then, it was difficult to tell my family that comedy was my calling. Finally, one day I met Owen Gee and he was like where have you been, and I was like I’ve been looking for my big break, and he was like you have to bring out your face by force and he then introduced me to everybody. So whatever I am in the industry today, I owe it to God and a lot of it also to Owen Gee. You are also very popular because of your huge size. So what’s eating like for you? For comedy, that’s what I would say. In fact, it’s one of my jokes that I eat so much. But in reality, I am not a food person. When I’m on stage, I’m never really hungry. I just eat a little in-between performance. It’s not as if I’ll faint or go crazy if I’m at a party and I’m not served. I’m a drink person. I drink fluids, juice a

lot but I can go without food. I also drink a lot of water. If someone were to insult you intentionally, nastily to your face because of your size, what would you do? You see, the truth is that all my life, I’ve had comments like that, either they say it nicely or in a bad way. You see, everybody has issues. I’ve discovered that slim beautiful people feel their nose is too big, their mouth too wide and so on. Some will say my stomach is coming out and you look at them, no stomach is coming out. The only thing about us fat people is that you see it immediately, just like short people too. So I’ll not say that this is what I’ll say if somebody says that to me because it would depend on my mood at that point in time. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll yab the person pleasantly. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll tell them their history and in their life, they would never yab anoth-

er big person. How do you actually feel about your size? I used to be a very insecure person, somebody that was not proud of herself. I never saw myself as a beautiful person, I never had confidence in myself, I used to apologise for just existing. In a bus, I would apologise to the person beside me that I’m very sorry because I feel I’m taking up the space meant for you. On the road, I would apologise to people who hit me because if I felt I wasn’t so big, they wouldn’t have hit me. You know I was that insecure. Then I started seeing new things about myself, started reading books and hearing messages that made me realise everything about me was inside me therefore I was a stronger person inside so I realised I’m beautiful, I’m confident in it and I’m not intimidated by slim people.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Entervaganza

With OSEYIZA OOGBODO

08023755142 kingseiza@gmail.com

Goldie cashes in on BBA dividends

Most Beautiful Girl floats Foundation L

Ayuk

ast Saturday was a memorable one for current Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Isabella Ayuk, as she launched her foundation, Vanessa Manyor Memorial Foundation. Speaking at the launching which held at the Silverbird Galleria, Abuja, Ayuk said she has had the dream of establishing the Foundation ever before she became the MBGN because she lost her sister whom the foundation is named after to typhoid fever. “My modest experience from my sister’s death is what informed this foundation which is all about changing lives for good. It has been said that great opportunities to help others seldom comes, but small ones surround us daily. That is why when I lost my sister to typhoid fever, the enduring pains that accompanied the loss fired my imagination to do something to eradicate typhoid fever because my sister is just one among many that had been snatched by it, leaving their families in excruciating pains,” she explained. She added that VMMF was actually established in 2008 and that she founded it basically to care for, support and protect the lives of citizens living in the rural areas of Nigeria against the spread of typhoid fever, malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, opportunistic infections and improvement of rural health through behavioural change communication strategies, voluntary confidential counselling and testing as well as condom and drug distribution.

Goldie

he reason Goldie participated in Big Brother StarGame is finally out. According to her publicist, HB Associates, Goldie wants to become a big brand in Africa and BBSG was a good platform for her to achieve that aim. And as things stand now, it was a wise decision on her part as she has indeed become one of the most-sought-after female artists in Africa. And like the busy bee and energetic entrepreneur that she is, she is not resting on her oars but further capitalising on and maximising the opportunities coming with her new African icon status. She’s been using the opportunity of her various visits over Africa to do collaboration songs with other African artistes and in a few weeks, she will start to release the collabos before her next album which is planned to be distributed all over Africa.

Don Jazzy, Freeze exchange words

Laide Bakare, Tosin Dokpesi, others for Yoruba Heritage Awards

he second edition of the Yoruba Heritage Awards is now set to hold in London on December 7th at the Royal Regency Hall, Manor Park. According to Emmanuel Oghenede, YHA’s media consultant, “This second edition of YHA will surpass the first which held last year. London will be set on fire as the YHA is the most prestigious African awards in London presently and the entire African and even British community in the UK is looking forward to it, not just the Nigerian community in the UK.” Speaking further, he said, “YHA is keenly anticipated because everything about it is unique. For instance, at the first edition, guests were served rice in leaves and palm wine was the drink on offer so this got guests talking and even got the BBC interested I it to the extent f doing a feature story on it.” Revealing those who will be honoured at the awards, he mentioned many Nigerians including actress Laide Bakare; on-air personality Tosin Dokpesi; Mike Abiola, UK-based publisher of African Voice newspaper and Nollywood promoter; Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the late Chief Bola Ige.

Don Jazzy

Bakare

ven as the echoes over the heated word exchange between actress-singer Tonto Dike and musician Burna Boy are yet to die down, Cool FM presenter Ifedayo Olarinde aka DJ Freeze and Michael Collins aka Don Jazzy have also taken each other up in war of words. Freeze knowingly or unknowingly was reported to have fired the first round when he took a pot shot at people who give out recharge cards on the popular social network site, Twitter, to become popular. One person who does give out

Freeze

recharge cards on Twitter is Don Jazzy. Probably feeling affronted by the alleged attack on his personality, he immediately resorted to sending a nasty missive directly to Freeze through Twitter even though Freeze didn’t mention Jazzy as the person he was referring to. Jazzy didn’t bother to beat about the bush in his Tweet, laying an ugly allegation on Freeze in the Tweet so Freeze too immediately responded. As is usual with spats, they don’t last forever and Freeze and Jazzy are presently taking the necessary steps to iron this one too out.

ENTERVAGANZA

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CLASSICAL RYHMES

AIRWAVES LINK

Can a woman win GUS? O

ne of o the hottest programmes on TV now is Gulder Ultimate Search 9. It has a lot of viewers because it Ulti is a very tough reality show that tests the limits of its contestants’ physical and mental powers. contesta And it iis in the area of physical trials that GUS is totally different from other reality shows like Project Fame West f Africa, Big Bi Brother and Nigerian idol. While women win these other oth reality shows easily, GUS has done eight seasons successfully without a female winner. succ The co conditions by which GUS operates do not make that stat statistic surprising. According to Chris Okagbue, GUS 8 wi winner, “We didn’t eat anything in our first couple of days or o so in the jungle and we were hungry throughout our stay st there.” Since women are known as the weaker sex, it can therew fore be understood while their male counterparts thrive un over them in such a physically challenging show like GUS. However, Okagbue, who by virtue of having participated in the Okagb show knows what it’s like exactly, believes that a woman can win GUS. “A woman can certainly win GUS,” he told Entervaganza. “Last year was when a woman came closest and I can say with all sincerity th that I count myself lucky to have won because it could have be been Anastasia who won and not me or Kevin so I believe that it’s only a matter of time now before a woman wins GUS. GUS.” GUS ”

Okagbue

Pomp as Black Hits celebrates 15th anniversary

badan-based TV entertainment show, Black Hits, is sset to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its exis existence tomorrow at the Premier Hotel, Ib Ibadan with a show, Black B Hits 15th AnniverAnn sary and Awards. Awa According to Accordin Luckie S Smart Aburimen, BH’s presenter and producer, producer “15 years o of a show on T TV in Nigeria is a mile milestone that must certain certainly be celebrated and tthat’s why we organised the music and comedy concert holding tomo tomorrow

to celebrate with our friends in the industry. The awards we are giving out are also important as we’re recognising those who have made outstanding impact in the African entertainment industry which has been our sole focus since inception hence our name Black Hits.” Entertainment personalities expected to make an appearance at the event include Kenny Ogungbe, Yinka Ayefele, Abass Akande Obesere, Taiye Currency, Artquake and Beautiful Nubia.

Aburimen

Ikechukwu takes to the air

T Ikechukwu

his mont month nth is one that will go a long the international way in boosting boos visibility of rapper Ikechukwu as he will be a host of BBC 1 Radio in London for one hour e every weekend. Not only will Ikechukwu maximize

the opportunity to the full by promoting his music to the vast audience that listens to the BBC, he will also have the choice of promoting other artistes as well and you can be sure that his close friends like D’Banj will benefit thereby too.

Suddenly Artist: D’Banj Chorus Oya suddenly Step in the club, they’re loving me Standing so far, yet they’re touching me I can feel their fingers rubbing me, hey She’s calling me Late in the night she’s fucking me All day long she’s stalking me And all these happened suddenly, so suddenly She go say, ori yato sori If you ask her why, she go say Ori yato sori If you ask her wetin, she go say Owo yato sowo Gbogbo wa mo wipe Koko yato si koko Verse 1 See the girls dem like me Cos I dey give dem the kokomicin Everyday dem go hala me Make I give dem the kokomicin Dem go say Koko Master You too sweet like cake icing They’ve seen so many dudes But none of them be like me Let’s say I’m all dem see Sharpen your eye, I be JJC They wan cook for me put juju But ko bo si, my head too strong for dem o Quote me, na because of I flashy When the girls dem come, I dey treat dem fine o Quote me, that they never use to happen like this in my life But now dem know the kind of life I’m living, I’m living I say now dem know the kind of life I’m living, I’m living Chorus Verse 2 I wan talk about this young girl One of the finest girls I’ve seen When she step over the dance floor Her dance step so enticing She would say Koko Master You too strong like embicin When we act in the movies Especially the late night scenes Well I remember the time When just to get a girl to be mine Dem go tell me say I no fine And I poor, I poor, I no commit crime Dem go dey yab me, no be small Dem no even send me at all at all Just to give me their number make I call Dem go still dey hala at all at all Now dem know the kind of life I’m living, I’m living I say now dem know the kind of life I’m living, I’m living Chorus till fade

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ENTERVAGANZA

November 10, 2012

BOX-OFFICE HITS

BRAIN BEHIND THE SCENE

Dimeji Ajibola … writer-producer-directoranimator

imeji Ajibola is more than your ge average brain behind the scenes. He is ly passionate an extremely ducer and diwriter, producer e debut movie, rector whose arring Bimbo Hoodrush, starring Akintola, O C Ukeje, e and Chelsea Eze ayan is Gabriel Afolayan currently garners. ing accolades. at AjiProof that bola is a reall brain rush is is that Hoodrush not your average ovie. It Nollywood movie. hriller is a musical thriller ic used and the music reated in it was created specifically for it. hy he Disclosing why trod a path that others had not ola before, Ajibola stated that it use was because o do he wanted to that something hallengwas very challenging. sful foray His successful into movie making is r, a sudden not, however, een into prothing. He’s been ductions for a very long ing for advertime producing anies and only tising companies just made a movie when he was able to secure the necessary finance. He is the CEO of Flipsyde Studios and has done many commercials for many blue-chip ncluding MTN. companies including Even as Hoodrush continues tical and commercial to amass critical bola’s passion for proacclaim, Ajibola’s omes apparent with duction becomes on that the need to imhis declaration andard of production prove the standard ry is what is driving in the country him. meone who walks And as someone the talk, he prepared himself to become dise Nigerian tinct in the cene by takproduction scene ing a course at the New cademy in CaliYork Film Academy lso did a Master’s profornia. He also gramme in Animation and is a ceror. tified animator.

light is the second movie in which Denzel Washington puts on a uniform and picks

up a bottle. This time, though, he’s not working for the Pentagon as he was in Courage Under Fire. Instead, he’s an alcoholic commercial airline pilot named Whip Whitaker. After ingesting booze and cocaine and then taking the controls of an airplane, he crash lands the plane through a storm safely in a field, saving all but a few of the passengers on board. Director Robert Zemeckis, who brought us the Back-to-theFuture movies as well as Forrest Gump and Cast Away with another airplane crash, jolts us with a realistic plane crash, but the real horror unfolds as we plunge into the life of an addict.

Ajibola

f airl y complicated a dve n t u re, Wreck-It Ralph is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. It’s a comedy and a mystery and it’s guaranteed a good run at the box office because anyone who watches it will have reason to cheer it at its end and recommend it to others. An animated movie, it’s the latest in a long line of animated classics like Mulan and The Lion King, which were also produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Ralph is a character in a video game and is, unfortunately for him, the bad guy. The other characters in his game, Fix-it Felix, Jr. fail to appreciate the part Ralph plays in keeping them all ‘alive.’ After thirty years of being the bad guy, Ralph wants a change. He decides that he’s tired of not being appreciated and that he can

change his situation, so he leaves his video game. When he leaves, he fails to consider the consequences of his actions and he eventually finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that he didn’t see coming. What will he do to make things right again? Find out in Wreck-It Ralph.

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Relationships

How difficult is it It is not impossible to forgive

aving an affair is a life changing event for everyone involved, but getting to the root cause of the problem will help in resolving whether one will learn to forgive the partner or not. It impacts on the issues of commitment and basic trust partners have for each other. The victim of the affair most times is often disturbed with the imagery of the thoughts of the betrayal. Inconsequential former quarrels will be seen in new light. Basic character changes will now be seen as evidence of the betrayal. And forgiving the act is a hard process that if thought carefully through, may be achieved. Most times people talk about infidelity as if it’s a sickness of the male ilk. That men may be polygamous in nature may not be too much in doubt, especially African men. But infidelity has nothing to do with that. When the issue of infidelity rears its ugly head, most often, accusing fingers are pointed at the man as if he has committed a crime against mankind. Granted that infidelity is a crime against your vows, but can we really say that it cannot be forgiven when and if it does happen? Most people who have ever been guilty of it will always give reasons. Some reasons are so mundane while others may sound reasonable or logical. But whatever the reasons may be, they will always have one. I will not belabour you with the excuses people use as reasons so as not to furnish prospective offenders who want to do it excuses they can use as ammunition when they eventually get caught. Infidelity or cheating as it is commonly called is a state of your mind at a particular period towards your partner. The funny thing about it is that most men who commit it most times will not be thinking about their partners until the deed has been done and the image of the devil is the last thing on their minds. It is funny then, when they get caught that they will say it was the devil. People have different things that they like in the opposite sex and when it gets flaunted in their faces and they think they can have their way and get away

with it, the chances are that they will do it. A lot of women reading this will say it’s only a man who will think like this and that they as women can never be unfaithful to their partners. All I have to say here is that just pray you never get into that kind of position or situation. And unless you are a saint, you should never judge. For most men, it is a crime of lust and passion simply put. A man sees something he likes and without rational thoughts, goes and gets it. For women, it is more thought out and rationalized before it becomes a deed and that’s why most men will rather not want to forgive their partners apart from the issue of their manhood being involved. Men believe that for a woman to cheat on them, she would have to compare them to the person she’s committing the act with, and they would have come short of her expectations. Men believe rightfully or not, that a woman shouldn’t even see other men as objects of affection or desires once they have gotten married, forgetting that women are humans too. Women too are mostly not realistic enough to understand that in this part of the world infidelity is a ‘night market’. You mustn’t be caught doing it. Be that as it may, especially since it’s a crime mostly committed without reason, shouldn’t it be forgiven? What I mean is that can one or should one forgive a partner caught in it? The first thing that comes to mind is to say no, but one has to look at other factors beyond the lust and passion before one can genuinely say that. Most people would rather quote the holy books to support not forgiving one’s partner who may have been caught in the act. They forget that these books also give a tough act to follow by saying whosoever hasn’t committed this act even in thoughts and deeds should be the first to cast the first stone. Personally, I believe what is forgivable is better left to the individual doing the forgiving and how remorseful the person that committed the act is, even if it is impossible to forget.

SEX TALK

This column is x-rated

15 things women want to know about men, but are afraid to ask Men are enigmatic creatures. What’s with those erections in morning? What does he like best in bed? And does he really think about sex all the time? Here are the answers to the questions you’ve been too polite to ask your man. How confident is he about his size? When it comes to how big men are, a great majority of men think they’re smaller than they really are. Except of course for sexual megalomaniacs! Men are naturally insecure about it. So if you’re with a man and feel compelled, for whatever reason, to comment on his size, the only acceptable adjectives are “big” and “biggest.” In reality, the average size of a penis is 5.5 to 6.2 inches erect, and 4.7 to 5.2 inches when nothing is up. About 2/3 of all men fall within that range. Six inches is a good size. Does he masturbate? And why? All men masturbate. The ones who say they don’t are lying. And there are no known health hazards for masturbating too much. However, too much self-love might make it harder for a guy to reach orgasm with a sexual partner if he becomes too accustomed to doing it all by himself. Do men really think about sex all the time? Women love thinking men think about sex every seven seconds. But is that actually true? Not exactly. A study says 54 percent of men think about sex every day or several times a day (compared to 19 percent of women). However, in a recent study of 1,009 middle-aged and older couples in long-term (average 25 years) relationships, women are the ones who value sex the most in a relationship, while men want more cuddling. Not surprising if the law of diminishing returns is anything to go by! Are there other reasons apart from lust why men have erections? Not really, sexperts say. Except of course they are sleeping when the erection occurs. Most men wake up every day with a fully erect penis. It’s a healthy thing for a man to wake up hard. It shows that men are producing healthy

amounts of testosterone. Men produce more testosterone in the morning, while girls produce more testosterone at night. This may explain why they have that bad habit of rolling over and going to sleep right after sex, while the woman is hoping for more loving. What do men prefer: Handjobs, blowjobs, or the real deal? There’s not a girl in the world that can manually satisfy a guy better than he can satisfy himself. Not one. And sure, there are cases where a great blowjob might be more pleasurable to a guy than a so-so romp between the sheets. But until further notice, heed these words: ‘Intercourse is better than everything.’ What happens to a man after a few drinks? Your man goes out with his pals for drinks and comes back. You do everything to get some action out of him, and…nothing. It’s called Temporary Alcohol Impotence, and it affects men and women alike. It deadens nerve endings and slows down responses. It makes it difficult for men and women to come. There’s a “sweet spot” where guys can maintain an erection, but can’t ejaculate, which can lead to hours of drunken (read: SLOPPY) sex. But alcohol also impairs impulses between the brain and the genitals, and if he goes over the edge, he won’t be getting back up for a while. What can you do with his nipples? It turns out men’s nipples aren’t too much different than women’s. Like women, men have erectile tissue and nerve endings on their nipples, and well-placed lips or a tongue on a man’s nipples can be very pleasurable. But guy’s nipples are also more sensitive to pain. Women might like their nipples being pinched or even nibbled, but when fooling around with the male variety of nipples, be gentle. What’s his favourite position? And why? Doggy style is a man’s best friend. Studies

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RELATIONSHIPS

November 10, 2012

to forgive infidelity?

CHINWE ANNIE AMAECHI 07028684481 chinweamaechi@gmail.com

So tough to forgive

E This column is x-rated

and polls verify what animals have known for millions of years: Men absolutely love getting it on from behind, and the ladies love it, too. It’s a winner for everybody. The position gives guys great control and deep penetration -- all the better to reach the woman’s G-spot. Are testicles really elastic? Testicles are a teeny tiny sperm nursery, hanging there between men’s legs. They help keep the sperm at the perfect temperature even though their body temperature (as well as the surrounding temperature) fluctuates. That’s why the testicles hang low when the weather’s warm – and get shriveled and snug against their bodies when it’s cold. Do men sweat more than women? Ever wonder why after sex, your guy looks like he just ran a marathon, when you barely broke a sweat? Women actually have more sweat glands than men, but they produce less sweat. Women tend to have a higher skin temperature than men. So, when women are overheated, their bodies don’t have to produce as much sweat to cool back down to a normal temperature. What causes aching balls? Have you ever teased a guy, only to stop and leave him on the floor, clutching his balls, tears in his eyes? He’s just been afflicted with aching balls, and it’s probably the worst feeling in the world. When a man is really aroused, blood rushes to the penis and testicles. Valves in blood vessels close and lock, maintaining the erection and engorging the testicles with blood (it’s called vasocongestion). When this pressure builds, the only way to relieve it is through climax. Though aspirin is known to do the trick, men insist the only way out of aching balls known to man is getting the real thing. If you are not in the mood or the right shape, let him know you know aspirin, panadol or paracetamol will make him better Circumcised or uncircumcised? What’s your preference?

This column is x-rated

You can have great sex with both circumcised and uncircumcised men. What may, be a surprise, though, is that you’ve probably experienced both kinds and not even known it. Circumcision is popular in Nigeria, but between 70 to 80 percent of men worldwide never go under the knife. When fully erect, the foreskin retracts along the shaft, and the two kinds of penises are indistinguishable. What are his sexual fantasies like? Ever wonder if your man would like to have sex with your best friend? The sad answer is “Yes.” It’s called the Conquistador Syndrome. Traditionally, men’s fantasies tend to revolve around one man with multiple women, which may include your aunt, roommate, sister, niece, housegirl…or even your mum! Is there a difference between orgasm and ejaculation? Is it possible for guys to have sex all night without needing the half hour of downtime after every orgasm? Put simply: yes. Some men train themselves to orgasm without ejaculating. It’s very difficult, and some men won’t ever be able to do it. An orgasm is an involuntary muscle contraction, a reflex reaction, while ejaculation is the release of sperm. So, how can a guy stay strong for hours and hours of sex? Masturbation, of course. It’s possible for men to masturbate until they build to climax, and then hold it until the sensation subsides. After doing this for awhile, men can experience orgasm without coming. How long can a guy stay hard before it becomes uncomfortable? Blood gathers in the testicles during sex, so if ejaculation doesn’t occur, it hurts. In the rarest of cases (or when medication is involved) erections can last up to four (most likely very painful) hours. There are a number of folk remedies for this pain, like taking a cold shower. But whenever this happens, the ‘poor’ victim often insists on the sweetest remedy – sex!

very woman goes into marriage hoping that her husband will remain faithful to her for the rest of their lives together. No woman wants to share her man with any other woman. Nothing breaks a woman’s heart like infidelity on the part of her husband. When a woman finds out that her husband has been with another woman, it tears her apart; she feels as if the man took a part of her and fed it to wild dogs. But what happens after a woman discovers her husband’s act (or acts) of infidelity? Most people would base their answer to this question on whether the man confessed his woes or was “caught in the act”. In other words, there is a general consensus that it is easier to forgive a man’s unfaithfulness if he told his wife about it himself. In such an instance, a woman is more convinced about a man’s remorse and willingness not to repeat his ‘escapade’ as against the sober apology that would naturally come from a man when his woman catches him in the very act or confronts him after she receives reliable and undeniable information about the man’s adventures. But should true forgiveness be conditional? Let us face facts: men indulge in sex with their minds while women have sexual relations with their whole heart. Men can do the act without deep emotions while women’s emotions are deeply involved in sex. This is why a man can quickly move on to his next ‘prey’ after a sexual escapade while women remain tied to their sex partners. We therefore understand the level of sacredness a woman places on sex and how devastated she would be if she discovers that her man’s sexual relations are not exclusive to her. Forgiving husband who has been with another woman is definitely difficult. However, marriage is supposed to be a lifetime commitment; “till death do us part”, remember? Also recall that the wedding vows speak about “for better, for worse”. The hard truth is that adultery is part of the “worse” contained in wedding vows. Yes, you may be quick to say that adultery cannot possibly be part of the bad stuff which one should pardon in marriage, particularly because even the Bible seems to allow divorce on account of adultery. In my opinion, if there are unpardonable sins in marriage, infidelity is not one of them. I know that some of my readers will look for my head because of this statement, but it is my honest

belief. The marriage commitment is supposed to be strong to accommodate a spouse who has erred. This however does not mean the errors should be condoned and accepted. Not at all! I believe that when a man shows true remorse, his wife should forgive him and both of them should renew their marital vows and take necessary steps to build an unbreakable bond. What if the man is a recalcitrant and unrepentant adulterer? Well, there are two options. A woman can stick to the man hoping and praying that he would, like the prodigal son, “come to himself ” one day. The other option is to walk away. I do not support the second option because I strongly believe a woman has the power to make her husband abandon adultery and stick to her for life. I would rather that women take the preventive measures than prepare themselves to tackle adultery “when it comes” (A lot of women actually feel adultery is inevitable; I don’t!). For those whose husbands have already ‘strayed’, I implore you to draw them back by showing them love and assuring them of your willingness to forgive the past mistakes. Afterwards, you should take the preventive measures. The preventive measures are not cast in stone and would differ from one couple to another. But a married woman ought to know what she can do on a continuous basis to ensure that her man remains faithful. Of course, I don’t subscribe to stalking, nagging and constant probing. These actually backfire and cause havoc. One preventive measure is for the woman to be creatively satisfying her husband’s sexual needs. This means you cannot embark on sex strikes and you must consciously go the extra mile to please him in bed. Another measure is to ensure that you don’t nag; make sure you choose the best times to raise issues for discussion and that you don’t overstress issues already discussed. Every man desires a peaceful and clean home and once he has these, he is not likely to stray. As the popular saying goes: “to err is human; to forgive is divine”. The ability to forgive infidelity is a tough call and requires divine enablement. The level of commitment required in marriage is very high. However, no man should take his wife’s commitment for granted. Men should accord their wives the same level of exclusivity they expect from their wives. So is adultery pardonable? It is tough, but it should be pardonable.

Unlike many of her colleagues, pretty actress, Toyin Adewale, has been married for 28 years and her career has equally blossomed. She shares with YEMISI ADENIRAN, in this interview, the secret of her successful marriage and how she has managed to stay off scandals for the many years she has spent in the movie industry. Excerpts:

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Woman

here did you grow up and what was it like? I grew up on the Island and you know what that could have spelt. It was much fun. We were exposed to a lot of fun but we were strictly guided. My parents were strict and very disciplined. They wouldn’t allow us go to the extreme of whatever fun we were having. For me, it was extra tough. I was the only child of my mother and so, I was closely monitored. I am from a polygamous family and so, I was never lonely. I had people around me all of the time. Lagos Island was full of activities, so, I really had a lot of fun. You have proven yourself as a versatile actress more so as a cross over actress. What is your staying power? I think I owe all to God and my husband who has been supportive all the way. He has this peculiar philosophy of life that has kept us both on till this time. For him, there is no down moment. He has always believed in what he does and that pride and belief in creative energy of the actor is, for him, a special gift from the Almighty. He is not easily discouraged and that has helped me a lot. There are times I would be down with no jobs and things are pretty grim and then, he would come up with an indifferent attitude saying, it is part of an actor’s normal cycle. Besides, he does not believe in boxing yourself to a particular world when you are capable of doing more. What is your assessment of the Yoruba and English sections of the movie industry, having taken part in the two? Both are good but have some peculiarities. In the Yoruba sector, we relate as one big family. We help ourselves where and when neces-

Beauty is no license for waywardness –Toyin Adewale sary. But in the English speaking sector, it is purely a professional relationship. You work for me, you get paid. Which would you prefer or recommend? I wouldn’t recommend any because I belong to both. Whichever one people

employ is definitely for a reason best known and thought best to them. I would not condemn anyone. The choice is simply for anyone who desires it. You are married to an actor just like you and you have been married for some years now. How do you

manage your home and career? I thank God for the kind of husband and in-laws that I have. We both understand the nature of our job and we support each other. He has been wonderfully supportive and that I’m enjoying. That is not to say it is not tasking but God has been helpful. My mother in-law

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WOMAN

November 10, 2012

has also been helpful and I have a maid too who also assists. That was when the kids were younger. Now, they are grown up and can take care of themselves when we are away. That is if they are not in school. How did you meet your husband? We met in 1986 while we were at Rimax, a vocational school that we attended together. He was a year my senior before he went to the University of Ife. I also proceeded to Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). The relationship took off then, we got married and by the grace of God, we are blessed with three children. Would you like to take us down the memory lane of your acting career? How did it all start? Why acting and not other professions like nursing that was popular then? To be honest with you, acting is where my talent is. I have always loved it and I have always shown it. I always derived comfort in it, it excited me and it was something I felt I could do no matter the stress. It all started while I was in the primary school. Whenever I had the chance to act any drama, I used to do it with all passion and some appreciable level of expertise such that one particular teacher of mine couldn’t but commented on this. He advised that I should go into it professionally and that if I did, I would make huge success out of it. That comment really hooked me and I had nursed the idea since then. Amazingly, that has been the song with me and the career. Were your parents in support of your decision when you first indicated your choice of profession? My father especially was against it! How could his daughter be dancing and acting around like some beggars when he was alive? He did not see any future in it and did not mince a word about it. No! He had told me, ‘you had to face your academics. I don’t want a child of mine to end up an illiterate.’ And you know then, whatever a husband decides, the wife or wives automatically supports. My mother lined up instantly behind him. But it was what I wanted and I wasn’t going to give it up just like that. Fortunately, I am literate today and a success in this career. How would you describe the journey of your career so far? It has been hectic and challenging but we thank God that it has been favourable. The Lord has been good. When I first started, it wasn’t very rosy. There were no cars to move around and the efforts we put in were not as rewarded as we have it now. Thank God for the improvement we have now. Things are getting better and that is why challenges, no matter how terrible they

may be, must never be allowed to discourage one. It is supposed to be a stepping stone.

Keeping ABREAST

Have you ever been sexually harassed before? How could that have been with my husband around? But you can’t always be with your husband all of the time? Yes, that is true. But I don’t come across as a single woman and they all know my husband. So, why would anyone try to harass me? But you are a beautiful woman? And I am not the most beautiful person around. Besides, being beautiful is no liberty for waywardness. My husband is the one taking care of me, if he had not been doing that, I wouldn’t have been this beautiful. What about those who claim they are being harassed sexually in the industry? Is it a new thing that a man harasses a woman? It happens all of the time and it is not limited to the movie industry alone. For those who are victims, there must be a reason for it. If a woman doesn’t position or parade herself in a way that could suggest being harassed, most times, it won’t happen. Some ladies, at times, call for harassment, in the way they comport themselves. If you present yourself as a respectable woman, men will definitely respect you, if you don’t, they will treat you otherwise. That’s just it. So, what will your advice be for the up and coming actresses? They should believe and treasure themselves. There is a talent deposited in each person, they should endeavour to find out where theirs lie and build on it. They must not just do a thing just because some people are there. Once they are sure, they must be hardworking and creative. They must not be stereotyped, they must learn how to be versatile and get educated. Above all, they must learn to put their trust in God because there is nothing anyone can achieve without the help of God. What is style to you? It is appearing in anything that fits and makes me comfortable. It is dressing simply but elegant. My style does not copy just anything in fashion but whatever is complimentary on me and stands me positively out. Can one’s style stand one out negatively? Very well. Some people do not know that it is not every time people look at them that they are impressed. You might have dressed terribly and people are like wondering how on earth you could have stepped out that way. So, it is important we check ourselves whenever we have people look our ways consistently.

The Reed

Fertility Alert!

Your husband’s LAPTOP may be cooking his sperm Men should place the laptop on a table, rather than on their laps, as this can make a difference –Expert

couple who struggled to have a baby was stunned when doctors said their laptop was to blame. Mr. Scott Reed was told having the appliance on his lap had caused heat damage to his sperm. And, as a result, the 30-year-old electrician and his wife, Laura, also 30, were finding it harder to conceive. Mr. Reed started using his laptop on a table instead and three months later Mrs. Reed became pregnant. Mrs. Reed said: “I’ve never heard of this happening before. When the doctors told us, it was a real shock. “Scott would use his laptop in the evenings, placing it on his laps for a couple of hours on and off while we were watching television. “He would use it for work and general things like Facebook. We had absolutely no idea the damage it was causing him.” The couple, from Hampshire (UK), visited their GP after trying for a baby for six months without success. Mrs. Reed, a pathologist, said: “About six months after we started trying, I was getting frustrated and mentioned it to my doctor.” Initially it was thought Mr. Reed’s fertility had been affected by mumps, which he had suffered with at the age of 21. “Because I had had mumps, I needed to get tested. We were concerned they would find something. But then, we wanted a baby so we had to find out. “I didn’t think about the worst-case scenario and just had to get on with it.” Tests revealed Mr. Reed was producing a healthy amount of sperm but they had suffered heat damage. Under the microscope, it was possible to see that the tail of the sperm

had coiled around the head, meaning it couldn’t swim quickly to the egg. The problem is common in chefs - who work in hot environments - but can also be caused by laptop computers. Mr. Reed said: “I never thought using a laptop would affect the quality of my sperm. After asking if I was a chef, the next thing was ‘do you use a laptop?’ “I was using it daily and hadn’t given it a second thought. It was quite shocking really.” After that Mr. Reed made sure he placed his laptop either beside him or on a table. Three months after Mr. Reed stopped using his computer in his lap his wife conceived. Taryn, now 10 months, was born on December 8, 2011. Proud parent Mr. Reed is now encouraging more men to be aware of the dangers of laptops - and not to be shy if they think there might be a problem with fertility. He said: “Generally men clam up and don’t want to talk about anything to do with genitals. Don’t be scared of going through the process. I wanted children and so I got tested.” Biomedical andrologist, Sue Kenworthy, from Queen Alexandra Hospital, confirmed the heat of a laptop can have an effect on sperm. She said: “Scott had been producing a healthy amount of sperm. But looking under a microscope, I saw that there was heat damage. “Scott was using his laptop every day and for a few hours. It would get really hot, which would have an effect on his sperm. “This showed up under the microscope. The tail of the sperm had coiled around the head. “This means it can’t swim quickly and get to the egg. I would say men should place the laptop on a table, rather than on their lap, as this can make a difference.” Culled from mailonline.com

November 10, 2012

Parenting

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

Nine ways to protect your child from bullying W

hether your child has been bullied or has bullied others, here are 9 things you need to know.The unhappy fact is that teasing and bullying are a normal part of the rough and tumble struggle for social status. We are hardwired with the compulsion to compete for belonging and status in our social groups, and sometimes it goes too far. If you can’t remember experiencing or witnessing painful social harassment when you were growing up, you have probably repressed it. Some of the victims of teasing and bullying have killed themselves; some have killed others as well. So, what can you do to help your children with this very difficult fact of life?

. Educate yourself. Educate yourself about the emotional dynamics of shame and anger as they apply to teasing and bullying. Shame is a normal and powerful emotion that is poorly understood. Understand the pain of shame and the compelling need to belong and feel secure in a group that can make even gentle children tease or bully others and can make even the most talented and likeable potential victims.

. Accept the facts. Even the most diligent parents, teachers, and administrators cannot control this behaviour entirely, any more than they can control sexual curios-

ity or curiosity about drugs, though they can work to discourage it. Nor can you protect your child by building a wall around them or keeping them away from all risk situations if you expect them ever to leave home. When they do go out into the world to mix with peers, they will bump up against this social dynamic.

. Talk it out. Find ways to talk about these painful emotions with your children. It’s best to do this before they go to school or get involved in many activities with peers outside your supervision. Books, movies, and shared stories about your experience as a child as well as their experiences can provide opportunities to talk about what is happening, how they feel about it, and how the other children in the stories feel. Children have a natural empathy for what others are feeling, but shame is an emotion that compels hiding and avoiding, so they may shy away from expressing it.

. Teach your children resilience skills. We teach our children to be brave in many ways. We teach them to be brave eaters, to try new foods and experiences. We teach them to be brave when going to the doctor if they are nervous about getting a shot. We praise them for their courage when they master their fear and shyness and try something difficult. Likewise, we can prepare them to stand up

and face the shame that is the bully’s threat.

. Feel their pain. You may have learned how to shrug off criticism. You may have forgotten the pain of teasing and bullying from your own childhood. But your child is going through it for the first time. If you minimise it by telling them to just ignore it, they will feel you don’t understand. Your child needs you to understand their pain in order to talk together about ways to solve the problem.

. Brainstorm together. You don’t have all the answers. Neither does your child. But together you are a powerful creative team. When your child is able to talk to you about the problem of teasing and bullying, you can shift toward generating ideas that might work. These ideas will be more acceptable if they don’t just come from you.

olence and introduce non-violent heroes like Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is not necessary to beat up a bully to win self-respect. It is only necessary not to give in to the feeling of shame. It may be dangerous to humiliate or defeat a bully. Standing up to the threat of shame and being brave does not require violence or physical strength. It requires emotional intelligence.

. Talk to parents and teachers. Talk about the problem of teasing and bullying and the solution of resilience with teachers and other parents. The more resilient heroes we have on the playground the less vulnerable all our children will be. •Culled from YourTango. com

Tiny Feet

. Introduce alternatives. One powerful idea you might introduce, if your child does not come up with it first, is the powerful “hero feeling” that comes from standing up for others. Somehow standing up for a younger sibling or even a smaller stranger allows a child to feel brave. It is a natural response and it counteracts shame. Helping another also makes it easier to ask for help for yourself when it is needed. . Emphasise non-violence. Emphasise non-vi-

NAME: Joshua Adewemimo

BORN TO: Mr. and Mrs Jerry Adewemimo AGE: 7 weeks BIRTH WEIGHT: 3.8 kg Have you just had a baby? Send a picture of your bundle of joy to mirrorbabies@gmail.com

ParentingUpdate

Identical quadruplets have numbers shaved onto their heads …so teacher can tell them apart

The identical quadruplets have numbers shaved into their hair to tell them apart

hese Chinese quadruplet schoolchildren have a real head for figures after their clever mother got individual numbers shaved into their hair so their teacher could easily tell them apart. The six-year-old boys were beginning their first day of school in Shenzhen city in south China’s Guangdong province. Because even their father

has trouble telling them apart, their mother was not going to take any chances. She simply shaved numbers on their heads with their hair. One can only imagine how relieved their teachers felt! The quadruplets, whose names are Jiang Yunlong, Jiang Yunxiao, Jiang Yunhan and Jiang Yunlin from eldest to youngest, are so similar ev-

eryone, even their father, finds it hard to tell them apart. Their parents are not rich but are keen for their boys to get a full education and the brothers are studying traditional and ancient Chinese cultures and are learning Latin dance. They certainly got a head start in mathematics. •Culled from www.mailonline.com

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

le StyGlam and

with Yemisi Adeniran

(08037801158) ydiran@yahoo.com

re you a fashion freak who needs a break from jeans and fancy pants? A playsuit is just what you need. And not just one of any fabric but those made from the versatile Ankara fabric. Otherwise known as the romper, it is one of the hottest trends of the moment and celebrities home and abroad are rocking it with no reservation. Comfy and stylish go hand in hand with this particular style. Simple and classy all at once, they are fun to wear during the day and at night. Apart from its liberality on any kind of frame, they are lovely pieces that allow you as much freedom of movement as much as you desire. You can make yours long or short, sleeveless or with sleeves. And to add a touch of panache, you may wear it with a wide belt for a slimming effect. Just accessorise it right and make sure you are comfortable in them.

STYLE & GLAM

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Fashion Frenzy

BEAUTY

Q&A

Your candid response to all fashion questions Good ways to hide a stomach in a wedding dress My wedding is in two weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time, I have a big tummy and will like to know how I can hide it as much as possible on that day for an admirable look.

For those who carry extra pounds or have perceived flaws, finding the dress that will accomplish this seems a daunting task. But just as body shapes are not created equal, neither are wedding dress styles. No matter what your shape, there is a dress to make you feel like the queen you were made to be.

Try an o Y dress to m can purch thigh slim your body

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STYLE & GLAM

November 10, 2012

YEMISI ADENIRAN

n A-line dress style is tight at the bodice and flares out toward the bottom of the dress. Because the dress looks like the outline of an uppercase A, it is called an “A-line” dress. From the bottom of the bust to the hem line, the A-line dress should progress smoothly. It is one dress that is timeless and very versatile. It can be worn to very formal affairs but can also be a great option for casual events.

nd follow these suggestions: You can purchase an elastic shape wear underneath your more evenly distribute belly fat across your midsection. You hase a shape wear that slims your waist and sides but also mmers that will redistribute weight on the lower parts of y.

A-line dresses can be worn by many body types because of their use of vertical seeming, which helps define any waistline. You can find A-line dresses in any length, and this is why it’s a particular cut that flatters most body types. Because A-line is flattering on most body types, this dress style tends to be very popular and most appealing because it creates a lean, long, linear look, which benefits shorter women or those with wider waists. The cut and fullness of it hides larger lower bodies as well. If you try on an A-line dress, chances are you’ll look great in it.

Facelift

Beauty tips for a glowing face

ood looks costs money, right ! But do you know, that you can be beautiful without spending on costly skin care products. Simply choose home remedies and be beautiful and good looking, by exploiting the natural ingredients coming directly from your kitchen. The following are the various home remedies to make your face glow instantly. Honey and banana face mask Make a mixture of two tablespoons of honey and one banana and apply it on your face and neck. Wash it off after 15 minutes and within minutes you would see a glowing face in front of the mirror. This face mask is a great a moisturizer and also helps to tighten the skin. Potato mask For oily skin potatoes are really very helpful. Apply a grated raw potato as a mask by rubbing the potato on your skin. Leave the mask on for 30 minutes and then rinse off with water. Potatoes help to absorb excess oil in your face and also help to avoid wrinkles.

Tomato scrub Simply cut a tomato into half and then rub it directly on your face. So simple, easy and very effective. Rub the lovely tomato all over your face gently and leave on for five minutes. In the end rinse off with lukewarm water. Tomatoes is a good astringent, contains immense amount of vitamin C and has cooling properties which helps to brighten the dull skin in a jiffy and gives your skin a natural glow in an instant.

o You can distract wedding attendees from your stomach by emphasising other parts of your body, such as your face, cleavage and hair. You can choose a voluminous hairstyle, let your hair down, use pushup undergarments and have makeup applied by a professional to take the attention of viewers away from your stomach and focus it on other parts of her body. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

Hot and cold water therapy One of the easiest and simplest ways to get a glow on your face is by placing a hot towel on your face for 10 minutes and then splash you face with cold water at least 10 to 12 times. This is the most natural way to get that glowing look and is good for every skin type. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

November 10, 2012 2

Male Essentials

Cute checkers

he checkers design has long been in existence and it easily continues to withstand the here-today, gone-tomorrow trend of the fashion world. Like time, it has remained constant and its consistence has ensured that it is always in high demand. Even though it began as a shirt design, it has evolved into jackets and blazers too so many celebrities like J. Martins, Sexy Steel, Igos, MI and Iceberg Slim opt for either checkers shirts or jackets. If you don’t have a checkers shirt or jacket already, your wardrobe is definitely not complete so remedy the

situation immediately by getting one, or better still, as many as possible. You can be sure that they will make you look nice, and since they don’t ever go out of vogue, it will be money well spent as you can wear them for years.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

08036961187

with Oseyiza w Ose eyiza Oogbodo Oogbod kingseiza@yahoo.com

How to get a perfect haircut every time

or some guys, a shaved head will always make sense. It looks good and they’ve always done it that way, they’re balding and don’t have a choice, or maybe they’re hiding out in the jungle somewhere with only enough water to rinse and not repeat. But if you’ve got hair, then you’ve got to figure out what to do with it. A bad haircut can make you look like a goof. The challenge for guys is that getting a good haircut be a pain in the ass. It usually seems can b unjustly unju un juss expensive, it’s hard to know or describe what exactly you want and the hairstyle you walk out with needs to be easily reproducible. What you need are some solid repro haircut tips. hairc With this in mind, we consulted with Wi men’s celebrity hairstylist and groomthe m for AXE, Amy Komorowski, and ing expert ex Rodney Cutler of Cutler/Redken Salons Rodn we were able to figure out how to get a and w decent haircut. Not bad. decen Step 1: Choose the right saloon Ste The actual number and type of hair saTh loons out there is mind-boggling. There are traditional barber shops, fancier barber tradit shops, trendy barber shops, salons, beauty sho shops schools schoo oo and so on. Growing up, I got my hair cut at just a saloon, and damned if I wasn’t pleased 98% of the time. wasn Also, my mom paid. But like buying groAls ceries, it turns out that when you have to do ceries it on n your own, it’s surprisingly expensive. This mean you won’t get a good Thiis doesn’t Th doe cut, but cu utt, b ut jjust know that sometimes you’re paying pa aying for f a brand and a message rather than th han the th actual work being done. So how to choose? The best way to t find fin anything is word of mouth,” Cutler Cutl Cu C tle e says. “The problem is, it’s sort of a sin s for a guy to discuss his favourite hairstylist. But that’s definitely h the way to do it. Find somebody t e best be b whose haircut you like and shamelesswh w ly y walk up to them and ask who did it.” Step 2: Describe your cut Now No ow that th you’ve asked another dude where his hair cut, let’s go one step wher re he gets g further furth her with wi our haircut tips by going into territory territ tory you y don’t want to explore: Bringpicture to the saloon. Cutler agrees ing a pictu guys will try to explain their dethat most m than bring in a picture of sired cut rather r George Clooney. At the same time, guys Georrge C about their hair. So you’ve are particular part choice between getting out of your got a ch comfort zone and learning to describe comfo what you want. “Showing the styling in a picture is really the best way to avoid confusion and communicate avo your you desired look,” Komorowski says. say “It alleviates any questions about length and style.” We leave ab that th decision to you. Cutler says that a lot of guys have ha been asking for the Ashton Kutcher look -- a bit messy and K shaggy with heavy layering. “Lots s of o layers, a bit of length, sort of that understated, done-undone t style.” Just make sure it doesn’t look too symmetrical or you’ll look like Nicolas Cage in Ghost l Rider. R

People

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Ifeanyi Onyemere: Walking the talk OSEYIZA OOGBODO

aturday October 27, 2012 was a momentous day for Ifeanyi Onyemere as he launched his book, Before You Lose That Job, at the Protea Hotel, Oakwood Park, Lekki, Lagos. A specialist in life and organisational performance, Onyemere told Saturday Mirror that he wrote the book in order to let people know the importance of multiple streams of income. “I worked in the banking sector for 13 years. During that time, I found out that when people’s appointments were terminated or they lost their jobs one way or the other, life would take a downward turn for them. They would no longer be able to maintain the lifestyle they were used to. If they were living in a posh area, they would move to a poorer area and become unkempt,” he said. According to him, in the first two years of his working, he noticed the ugly trend associated with losing a job volun-

tarily or otherwise and realised that the only way out of the problem was to have multiple streams of income. “When you are employed, you have to be prepared to lose the job at anytime by choice or termination. I therefore conceived the idea of this book to help people prepare for when they lose their job. The whole essence of my book is to let people know that they must have a Plan B when they get employment and they must start preparing for life after the job while they are still in the job, not after they lose it.” Onyemere isn’t just about talk and no action, though. He is actually a living example of what he preaches in his book as he quit the banking sector on his own volition to focus on his own business. “Because I realised the invaluable importance of multiple streams of income, I began to seek other means of income even while I was employed and it got to a stage where I was making more money from my external engagements than in my paid employment. At that point, I knew I could afford to leave the job.”

When asked how he was able to combine being employed with his own personal businesses, he had a ready answer. “The answer to that is to discover yourself to know what you love. When you are doing what you love, it will be easier for you to do it. The other key point to combining several vocations is time management. If you are able to plan your time well, you can do many things together. A lot of people waste a lot of time at owambe parties and other fruitless endeavours. Such time should be spent instead on more important things,” he pointed out.

Aminat Irawo: Championing the cause of the masses TEMIT EMITOPE OGUNBANKE

“W

hat a man can do, a woman can do even better.” This is one saying often mouthed with no serious conviction but mou for Alhaja Aminat Irawo nothing could be more apt. Irawo has remained a vocal and outspoken female human rights activist. She is among the tireless female activists who have seen the need to stand firm in the defence of the masses an area where many men have failed to raise up their heads. Irawo in the last few months has been in the vanguard for a better Nigeria by allying with many civil societies group to champion the cause of the masses, especially on issues bordering on welfare and better living condition for the masses. Her being the President of Women and Youths for MKO Abiola for Presidency during the June 12, 1993 presidential election annulment saga marked a significant leap in her foray into activism. Since then she has not looked back. Rather she has become stron-

ger in the struggle. “I hate to see people suffering and my passion for activism was as a result of my love for the masses, especially the common people on the streets. I am not into activism for selfish reason but I am in activism because I want to champion the cause of the masses. I believe strongly in the cause I am fighting for and nothing can make me to look back until I achieve the purpose of going into activism” she states. Irawo, explains further that she was motivated by how the late philanthropist and acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election put smiles on the faces of many Nigerians during his lifetime. “I will forever remember MKO Abiola because of what he stood for during his life time. Abiola during his lifetime touched the life of the masses and many people benefitted from him. It was as a result of his good gesture that many people voted for him while he contested in the presidential election. I was the President of Women and Youths for MKO Abiola during the June 12 crises and the purpose of forming the organisation was to support the June 12 struggle, which we did passionately,” she adds. Speaking on how she has been touching lives since she ventured into activism, Irawo says, “To the glory of God, I have touched many lives. I believe the best leg-

acy somebody can leave on earth is making people to laugh and to contribute immensely to the success of his neighbour. Apart from taking part in many protests organised by various civil society groups on any anti-people policy by the government, I have helped many young women and boys through many empowerments programmes and donation.” While taking a swipe at many public office holders for inflicting pains on the masses, Irawo says it is saddening that politicians have failed to deliver on the promises they made to the electorate during the electioneering campaign periods. She says public office holders rather than putting smiles on the faces of the masses are inflicting on them more pains through anti-people policies. “I will appeal to public office holders to be closer to the people because if they get closer, they would know people’s need in terms of qualitative education, health care, good roads and other programmes. Getting closer to the people would also promote their popularity at the grassroots because many of those at the grassroots don’t know their leaders. “I am appealing to all elected public office holders to get closer to the people and perform in office. In the past, it was very clear that some of the governors, members of the National and states Houses of Assemblies are too far from the masses and they only try to move closer to the people when they were trying to run for second term.”

Dear Igho

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

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

Any sin being single and living alone? Dear Igho, I want to commend you for the good work you’re doing; even when I’m out of town and so busy, I make out time to grab copies of Saturday Mirror Newspaper. I’m an actress in the movie industry, so please don’t publish my name. I’m in my early 30s and doing well while my family members are making life miserable for me because I’m still single. I recently got an apartment of my own, at least to have my peace of mind so that I’m not pressurised into making a wrong marital choice. When I told my parents I’ve gotten a place of my own, hell was let lose. They claim a single lady must never live alone less she becomes promiscuous. I’m so confused. Though I’m now in my apartment, what do you think? Name withheld, Lagos Dear Anonymous, Yours is not a familiar path, so I’ll admonish you to remain focused and Dear Igho, I work with this guy who not long ago, we bumped heads because he thought I was being sarcastic towards him. He started to do things intentionally to annoy me and then, out of the blue, he gives me compliments, asks me about any man in my life, and later chooses to come sit down and have lunch with me. He even included me in conversations. I am the quiet, shy type and I didn’t respond to his actions but all the while I like him very much. I brought some food for him from home and he came and sat with me a second time and had lunch with me. But two weeks ago, all of the flirting stopped and he even stopped talking to me like he was ignoring me. I got up the nerve to tell him I like him and the next day you would have thought I was invisible to him. He was so cold and standoffish. I’m just so confused. I know I haven’t recip-

don’t allow all these distract you for they will pass away. There’s no big deal in a single lady living in her own apartment though our complex society frowns at it on the grounds that she would become promis-

cuous. However, I disagree on that premise because a lady who wants to be loose, even under her parents’ roof will be. As a psychologist, I hear so much in the counselling room but my profession requires me to be secretive, thus, all I can say here

Have I chased away a ‘good’ suitor? rocated the feelings and have walked past him in the hallways, but I honestly truly like him and I’m scared I may have ruined it. I thought about giving him a card expressing myself but, then, I don’t know. Plus, I’m scared of his reaction. I haven’t been in a lot of relationships. I will admit I do have a wall up, and I do stay guarded, especially towards men, but that’s only because of my experiences. What do you suggest? Kenny O, Port-Harcourt. Dear Kenny O, Do not blame you for this occurrence. I am sure, if he has any insight at all, he knows you are a shy person and it should not have been taken personally especially

after you extended the hand of friendship. As well, he was the one who, initially, got defensive when he inferred that something you said was sarcastic. He wears his insecurity on his sleeve. That may be the reason he so actively sought you out: to win you over because of his need to be liked by others. He went out of his way to befriend you. Of course, it was not hard to construe that as liking you. But even if it was only in friendship, you did an incredibly brave thing by telling him you liked him, and he did an incredibly immature thing by responding the way he did. It’s highly possible he has personal issues that have nothing to do with you. But whatever the case, hold your head high and do not internalise this as a shortcoming on your part. Do not write any letter

I’m stuck with my boyfriend’s ex Dear Igho, I am 26 years old and working as an accountant in a multinational. My boyfriend and I met not too long ago. But before I met him, he was committed to someone. I am the reason they broke up. And until now, I feel insecure about that girl. She is rich, pretty and I think she’s very lucky. I don’t know why I am insecure about her. I keep sneaking into her life, and even in her facebook

is this: so many parents are ignorantly rearing “refined prostitutes” right under their roofs! Unfortunately, such parents think it’s the single lady who lives alone that is promiscuous! They don’t know that their seemingly gentle daughters have aborted no fewer than five pregnancies even before they became 22 years old. I know of landlords who have had well behaved single-lady tenants hence, now prefer giving their houses to such. This topic is a never ending one but I’ll advise you don’t distance yourself from your parents; their action is out of love though like some other parents, they are doing a right thing the wrong way. Do not get involved in a battle with your parents; keep in touch with them no matter their attitude towards you. However, make getting married one of your priorities but please, do not get desperate lest you make fatal mistakes. Want to get married soon? Send me a text message so that I connect you with a trusted marriage counsellor and speed date expert. I pray the Lord replaces all the years and things the canker-worm has eaten in your life. Amen.

account to see her activities, her lifestyle etc. I keep on comparing myself to her. and worse, sometimes it’s the reason why my boyfriend and I have arguments. I don’t know how to get rid of this problem. I want to overcome it. Can you help me out? Ijeoma Onuma, Abuja. Dear Ijeoma,

Know that if you don’t have trust in a relationship, you have nothing. I can understand, to a degree, your concerns. It’s not uncommon for us to compare ourselves to others (nor fearing a boyfriend going back to an ex – it happens), but you’re going to destroy this relationship based on a self-fulfilling prophesy -the thing you fear the most, you will create. He left her for you, and not the other way around. There are no guarantees in

to him, please. That’s overkill. He looks rather foolish for behaving this way. His problem, not yours. From my experience as a clinical psychologist, I think this guy would have been trouble had you two gotten together, because he is emotionally unstable (for lack of a better term). On your part, do not let past, negative experiences be your guide to judging a potential suitor. In most cases, there are red flags (often ignored) that a relationship is not a good fit, or going south. Never play the role of a victim. Use your head, as well as your heart in seeking out relationships. However, do work on issues of selfesteem that are related to your shyness. No one should be expected to fill voids in your life only you can fill. Wishing you the best ahead!

any relationship, but your insecurities in this one will eat at it like a cancer. I could never tell you that he won’t want to move on, one day, but don’t hasten that possibility by your behaviour. Your guy is going to stay interested by you exhibiting some self-confidence, and your belief that he can’t get much better than you. Control your need to find out what this girl is doing in her life. While she’s gone on with hers, you are mired in the past. Please don’t do that. You can’t change the past – his involvement with this girl and it’s a lesson in futility, and a sure fire way to end the relationship if you continue to try.

Living

Farid

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

An angel of mercy, for Farid Galadima The story of two-month-old Farid Galadima is a sad one. His parents are both drug addicts. His father, even in his drug-numbed state, knows that all is not well with his son. He says, “Most times, his mother abandons him and leaves him to cry. And even when she takes care of him, she breastfeeds him and he gets drugs from her breast milk. The result is that every time she does not give him her breast milk, he starts to experience withdrawal symptoms, just like an adult addict.” Farid’s life, however, seems set for change. He has just been adopted by an angel of mercy.

FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON

arid Galadima started his journey into the world on a very rough note. The two months old baby was born to Shehu Galadima and Iyabo Adekoya who are both drug addicts. With the way his life is playing out, unless a miracle happens, he is set to be represented in the statistics which show that about eight million children of school age are out of school in Nigeria. Farid’s drug addict parents met each other in drug joints. His mother has four other children from four different fathers. Each time she gets pregnant; she goes to her family house somewhere in Surulere, delivers the baby and sneaks back to her drug haunts, leaving her child at the mercy of her parents and relatives to care for. But her relations seem to have had enough of her antics. And this time around, they made it impossible for her to come and dump an-

other baby in their laps. And this is why Baby Farid, her fifth baby, has found himself in this pathetic situation. Farid’s father, Shehu Galadima, according to his story, is from a prestigious family in Sokoto, the Galadima family but because of his lifestyle as an addict, he is ashamed to go back to his home town. And because he has no relatives here in Lagos who could take care of the baby, he was forced to leave the child in the mother’s care even though he knows the child is not safe with her” As early as 7 am, Iyabo Adekoya, Farid’s mother would set out of her abode without as much as bathing the baby who has become a mere instrument in her hands. She uses him to solicit alms to fuel her drug habit. Testimony Ahanon, an Ikeja resident who has been observing Baby Farid and his mother, told Saturday Mirror what she knows about the hapless duo. “I wondered for a long time why this lady who is always looking so unkempt CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

LIVING

November 10, 2012

Ahanon, the angel of mercy

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Shehu Galadima

An angel of mercy, for Farid Galadima CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 would be taking this baby round begging for alms. It took me quite some time before I understood the reason she was always looking unkempt and dirty. “With the heart to assist and see if the baby could be saved and given a better and more conducive environment to grow, I became more interested in the child. And for the sake of this innocent child, I continued to give alms to his mother, whose usual story is that she wants to take the baby to the hospital. After becoming friendlier and more familiar with the mother of the child, I got to know even the father. That was when I discovered that his parents are both drug addicts. “About a week ago, the father of the baby came to my shop and begged me to help him look after the baby since I seem to be so interested in his welfare. He said that the mother is not in a position to take proper care of the child because of her state. And that being a man and also in his present predicament, he may not be able to give the child the adequate care he needs. “Initially, I wanted to refuse because I have heard all kinds of stories of how after taking care of their children out of pity, drug addicts would usually turn around and harass you with claims that you stole the baby from them. So I said I will only do so on the condition that we will go to the police station to sign an undertaking that Shehu Galadima, as the father of the baby, gave the baby to me to look after and that I did not steal the baby. I will state in the undertaking that he is entrusting the baby to my care because he is not in a good physical and

ALTHOUGH I AM STILL SINGLE, I LOVE CHILDREN TO A FAULT AND CAN’T AFFORD TO SEE A CHILD SUFFER. I WOULD WANT TO DO ALL IN MY POWER TO ENSURE THAT THE

CHILD IS AS COMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE. IS SUCH A SWEET BOY AND

I WILL CALL HIM

EMMANUEL GALADIMA

mental state to take care of the child because of his addiction to drugs. He agreed and we went to the police station at MAN Center in Ikeja where he and two witnesses that he called signed the undertaking” Shehu Galadima, the baby’s father, took up the story at this point, confirming to Saturday Mirror that he indeed handed his son to Testimony Ahanon for proper care. He said, “I am not happy to have a child and not be able to take care of him. Farid is my first child and I love him so much. But because of his mother’s situation as a drug addict, she is unable to care for him well. Many times she would abandon the child and leave him to cry. She breastfeeds the baby and the baby gets drugs from her breast milk. The result is that every time the baby is not sucking her breast milk for any reason, he starts to experience withdrawal symptoms, just like an adult addict. This was too much for me to bear. That was why I felt I should look for someone more responsible who would help me care for the baby. I don’t want the baby to end

as a drug addict like his mother and I,” he lamented. He continued the story: “When Testimony agreed to assist with the upkeep of the child, I was very happy and greatly relived because I know with her, the baby will be safe. I am from far away Sokoto State, and the shame of my present situation cannot allow me to go back to my home town. I have no female relatives here in Lagos; otherwise, I would have taken the child to them. I have known Testimony for quite some time and I know her to be a good lady and a God fearing person who has passion and rare love for children. I know my son will have a good life with her,” he concluded. Testimony Ahanon is in her early 30s and is still single and yet to have children of her own. Yet, she is happy to be able to impact positively in the life of the innocent child. She says, “Although I am still single, I love children to a fault and can’t afford to see a child suffer. I would want to do all in my power to ensure that the child is as comfortable as possible. That was what drove me into closely

monitoring Iyabo, the child’s mother so that I could think of ways to assist the baby. I know it is not going to be an easy situation, I am happy to be able to do this for this innocent boy. I took him to the hospital on Monday and the doctor has assured me that the baby will be okay. He also said we should bring him regularly for check-ups. He is such a sweet boy and I will call him Emmanuel Galadima. He is such a sweet baby. Besides you don’t know what the child may become tomorrow. He just might be the next president,” the Good Samaritan enthused. How many Testimony Ahanons do we have out there? And indeed, what is government doing about the plight of children like Farid? In 2003, Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Law but is yet to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the Child Rights Law was passed at the federal level, it is only effective if and where the State Assembly enacts it. Till date, only 16 out of the country’s 36 States have passed the Act. Intense advocacy continues for the remaining states to enact the law. This explains why the landmark achievement of the legislative arm of government has not yet translated into improved legal protection of children throughout the federation. Children are abused physically, mentally, sexually, psychologically and morally on daily basis. Some who are of school age are on the streets hawking. Many children live on the streets and become easy prey for pimps, criminals and hoodlums who need recruits for their ignoble acts. Is there any hope for these hapless and hopeless ones?

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LIVING

November 10, 2012

Sixty five years old Mrs. Yemisi Akinmuyiwa now seeks refuge in churches and acquaintances’ houses despite owning a house of her own of hers. Her eldest child, Michael, has chased her out of her house. He also sent her packing from her business. How could a son do these to his aging mother? OYINKAN SOMORIN

rs. Yemisi Akinmuyiwa is 65 years old and she could not be described as having filtered away her productive years. She owns a building at 48 Legacy Road, Ipaja\Ayobo Area of Lagos where her water business thrives. But for the sexagenarian, all that has now become history. She no longer stays in her personal building neither does she enjoy the proceeds of the business she set up with the sweat of her youth. The mother of four grown-up children now moves from the residence of one friend or relation to another or around churches just to lay her head down for the night. No thanks to Micheal Akinmuyiwa, her eldest child. The widow with four grown up children is having a serious situation with her first child Michael. Generally he is believed to be a deranged person, his situation gets accentuated anytime he sets eyes on his mother. Akinmuyiwa is currently taking refuge at a CAC church close to the Ogun State border. She is now homeless and begs neighbours and friends for help regarding her son who is trying his best to get rid of her whenever he sees her. Life for the Akinmuyiwas, of course, some few years ago, was not like this. It all began in 2010. The 65-year-old widow had a spat her eldest child who had the habit of pushing his mother in public. And anytime he did this, the mum would fall flat on the ground. This led to the hapless woman sustaining a lot of injuries especially on the face. Curiously, any time Michael did this and he was asked for the rationale behind his action, he would always reply: “Ask my Mother, she is here isn’t she?” One day he performed one of these stunts also in the open and the mum put up a resistance. This led to a scuffle between mother and child. The bashing the woman received was said to have infuriated her to such level that she sought the service of some boys from the area who now gave Michael a thorough beating. He was eventually bundled to the hospital for the treatment of both his physical and mental health. When Michael was in the hospital there was a sort of respite for Mrs Akinmuyiwa. But it was to last for just a brief spell. Michael escaped from the hospital! On his way home, he was hit by a car. Then, the real problem was said to have begun. He reportedly came into the house in the night and beat daylight out of his mother,

The house and business of the homeless landlady

Homeless landlady cries for help z Sick son chases mum from home, takes over business thereby making her run out of the house in the middle of the night half-naked with injuries. Neighbours who witnessed the scene said they were speechless and that they helped the woman out for clothing and medical care. That night was the last Mrs. Akinmuyiwa set foot into the house she built with her sweat and money. From then, any time she made any attempt to step into the house, Michael would go berserk. It was alleged that the son would wait for her with a cutlass and threaten to kill her. A common phrase Michael reportedly uses anytime he talks is that he would kill the mum. But judging from recent events threat, it might not be an empty after all because he was all out for his mother whom he later chased on the street, when she didn’t respond to his threat. According to a tenant in the house, Mr. Salami, who said the earlier they take the boy to the hospital the better, “I was sleeping when I heard noises from the other room. Their room is opposite ours. I went out and I saw Michael holding his mother’s neck, telling her that he was going to kill her. Not knowing what to do, I quickly looked for a plank which I used to hit him on the head, I think that was how the mother was able to run outside, I don’t know because I also ran for my dear life” A young woman who lives some houses away from the Akinmuyiwas also shares her own story saying that after then anywhere Michael sees his mother it’s as if he is possessed “that boy is not normal, he

needs attention, anytime he sees his mother, it’s as if an evil spirit enters him.” However, the physical appearance of Michael belies his otherwise violent nature. He even runs his mother’s water business now and collects the house rent. Though he is said to behave funny once in a while, in all, his entire mien is normal. This, however, doesn’t keep away the pain and anguish from the heart of the mother who is trying to find a solution for her son but at the same time angry about how her son destroys and sells her property for an absurd price. “He is my son, I know and I pray for him but how can I be happy when my own child is selling my property when am still alive. He is not my only child; I don’t know why God chooses to punish me with him, everything I own he takes away from me. Look at me I am homeless and hungry, how many things do you want the church to do for me? I am waiting for God’s intervention in his life, I know God will do something” she told Saturday Mirror, weeping. Unfortunately, the pastor of the church wasn’t around to give his own side of the story. Some people who patronise Michael’s water business, are, however, not happy with the situation between mother and child. Mrs Davis, a street hawker, who comes to buy water spoke with Saturday Mirror. “I feel sorry for Mama. Do you know how long that woman has suffered because of that so called son? I wish I could do something about the situation, the annoying

thing is that Mama has a family, why they are not standing up for her, I don’t know. It’s a very sad situation” Taju a father of five, who lives in the compound, also commented about why the family didn’t stand up for the mother. “There is something between the two of them. Why is it that before anybody mentions the name of his mother, he is normal, but once he hears the name, he starts to misbehave and his family cannot do anything about it, please there is something between them?” Mrs. Akinmuyiwa who is currently very confused is praying he doesn’t collect the monthly rent or drive anybody away from the house, as she has no source of income to take care of herself at the moment. Sometimes, not wanting to cause a scene, she comes early and roams the street, trying to get attention from her tenants or sympathisers who can help her reach her tenants to get assistance from them since she cannot enter her house to collect anything. Mrs Bolanle Yusef who is the youngest child of Akinmuyiwa said:“ My mother is not ready to take the bull by the horn with Brother Michael. We have talked to her about it, but all we said fell on deaf ears. We even tried taking him to the hospital without her notice and we know what we encountered with her. So we are all folding our arms and we are watching. When she is ready for our assistance, she will call on us and we are ready because we are also tired of the embarrassment he is causing the family.”

Victims of acid attack

SEGUN ADIO

octors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, in Lagos State are currently battling to save Charity Okoye’s life. An acid bath victim, Charity was reportedly bathed with the dangerous substance by the man she had been married to for four years and with whom she has a kid. According to sources close to the estranged couple, sometime in 2008, Charity’s husband, Gabriel Okoye, had met the family of his then fiancée, and told them of his intentions to have their daughter’s hand in marriage. To show his seriousness, Okoye hurriedly arranged the traditional marriage with Charity. During the traditional solemnization of their marriage, he promised to take good care Charity, as well as love and protect her. But Okoye, a native of Enugu State, who was unemployed at the time he organised the traditional marriage with Charity, promised his in-laws that in no time he would come to complete the marriage ceremonies with a church ceremony and all the other marriage customs of Charity’s village in Enugu State. Okoye had hoped that things would pick up for him with time. But that was not to be after all. After the traditional marriage, Okoye pleaded with his in-laws to allow Charity join him in Lagos with assurances that he would come quickly for the church wedding and other marriage rites. The understanding in-laws granted Okoye’s request and Charity soon joined her husband in Lagos. Barely a year after the two started living together, Charity conceived and bore a child for Okoye. Though

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Man bathes estranged wife with acid WE ALL KNOW THIS MAN AS SISTER CHARITY’S HUSBAND. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THEY BOTH HAD A MISUNDERSTANDING, WHICH WAS WHY SHE CAME TO LIVE IN OUR COMPOUND.

THE

MAN HAS COME TO SEE HER MANY TIMES, SO NO ONE WOULD THINK THAT HE WOULD COME TO POUR ACID ON HIS WIFE Charity’s parents were happy for the fruit of the womb with which their daughter was blessed, they did not cease to remind Okoye of the need for him to come conclude the marriage rites. It is reported that this topic soon become a sore point between Okoye and his wife. Sometime in 2011, Okoye started accusing his wife of having extra marital affairs with another man in the neighbourhood, an accusation the woman severally denied. But Okoye remained unmoved by his wife’s denials of the charge. Many times, Okoye would severely beat his wife, even as she continued to claim innocence of the charge. Charity soon started reporting her husband’s attitude to her family, friends and church members. She claimed that she was tired of the relationship and was ready to go back to

her village. Charity confronted her husband with her plans to quit the marriage. When Okoye would not end his beating of the woman, Charity reportedly moved her luggage out of Okoye’s house and took her kid to her parents in the village without her husband’s knowledge. But contrary to her earlier plans, Charity did not stay in the village. She returned to Lagos and got for herself a room at Governor’s Road in Ikotun area of the state. Not long after Charity moved to Ikotun, information reached Okoye that his ‘run-away’ wife was found at Ikotun. Okoye traced Charity to her new apartment and pleaded with her to return to his house. But Charity refused to hearken to Okoye’s pleas. When it became obvious that Charity was not going to come back to his life, Okoye reportedly went to her

house recently as if he came for reconciliation. He allegedly poured on her body a substance believed to be raw acid. Charity’s face and parts of her body were severely burnt in the process. Realising what he had done, Okoye took to his heels. Neighbours rallied around Charity and took her to LASUTH for treatment. The matter was reported at the Ikotun Divisional Police Station where a manhunt was launched for Okoye immediately. He was later arrested and detained at the station. One of Charity’s neighbours, identified simply as Stella, told Saturday Mirror that no one in the compound ever suspected that Okoye would do what he did. She said, “We all know this man as Sister Charity’s husband and we also know that they both had a misunderstanding which was why she came to live in our compound. The man had come to see her many times, so no one would think that he would come to pour acid on his wife. But the cry of Sister Charity drew our attention and before we could get to the room, the man had jumped out of the window and run away.” A female police Constable at Ikotun Police Station, who asked not to be named in this story, confirmed that the accused has been apprehended and is cooling his heels at the station. The Divisional Police Officer could not be reached for his comments on the case, as his phone lines were busy until press time.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LIVING

November 10, 2012

FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he remains of Sheila, the widow of late foremost education icon, Dr. Tai Solarin was yesterday interred beside her late husband in their Ikenne home after a funeral service which had in attendance eminent personalities from across the country. The interdenominational funeral service was held on an open ground within the Mayflower School, which the late Sheila co-founded with her husband in 1956. It was presided over by the Presbyter, Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ilishan Circuit, The Very Reverend Joseph Osifuwa. The heavy down pour which preceded the funeral service, however, nearly denied Sheila the full glamour of the day. The funeral programme for Sheila, who died October 21st, 2012, at Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan-Remo at the age of 88 commenced at exactly 11am. Her remains were conveyed to the venue in a grey Mercedes Benz with registration number TOS 9. Eminent personalities from within and outside Nigeria converged on the Ikenne-Remo home of the Solarins to bid their matriach farewell. They included the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the immediate past governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel, former Ambassador to Netherlands, Ambassador (Mrs.) Tokunbo AwolowoDosunmu as well as the Afenifere chieftain, Sir. Olaniwun Ajayi. Others were Mrs Bola Obasanjo, the wife of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Senator Biyi Durojaiye. In his short sermon at the funeral, the presiding Minister, Reverend Joseph Osifuwa admonished the gathering to live a purposeful life worthy of emulation. The cleric emphasised that the gathering was not to mourn but to celebrate the good deeds of the late woman she described as a “woman of many parts.” Reading from the book of 2nd Timothy 4: 7-8, the man of God charged everybody present to always remember that they would give account of their deeds to God notwithstanding the number of years they spend on earth. Osifuwa, who stressed that Sheila and her husband used their lifetime to serve humanity with all that God endowed them, equally charged those in attendance, particularly those in positions of authority, to use their positions to better the lots of the less privileged in the society. “She left so many indelible works which people must draw inspiration from. Many come into this world without impacting on those who came in contact with them. “Mama agreed with her husband to fulfil the mission that God gave them by giving qualitative education to thousands of Nigerians. She contributed positively to the develop-

Sheila Solarin goes home zGovernor Amosun pledges to name model school after her

L-R: Children of the deceased, Tunde Solarin; Corin Solarin; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Late Tai Solarin’s younger brother, Dr. Seun Solarin, at the burial of Late Mrs Sheila Solarin in Ikenne, Ogun State.

Members of the Naija Wives Association at the burial

ment of education in Nigeria and for many years to come, we shall continue to appreciate her contribution to the

education industry in Ogun State. “Madam Sheila knew the purpose for which she was sent to this world

and she fulfilled the purpose. Are you pursuing the purpose of which you are created? She kept the light and the fire burning many years after the demise of her husband till the end. “She has lived her life. She has made her impact and she is leaving her footprints in the sands of time. She and her husband have done their part. What will you be remembered for?” the cleric asked. In his remarks, Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, who eulogised the late Sheila, said that she was committed to the provision of qualitative education not only in Ogun State, but Nigeria at large. Amosun described the deceased as an icon who built her world around Nigeria. The governor stated that the state government as a mark of respect would build one of the 26 model schools in memory of the late educationist. “As a non-native, she has endeared herself to the society. She was committed to the provision of qualitative education. The Mayflower School she co-founded with her late husband has continued to stand out among schools in the country. “She built her world around Nigeria and she served the country with all her might. She is our hero and in honouring her, we have decided to build a model school within the school,” the governor said. Former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel described the late Mrs. Solarin as a disciplinarian who did her best in life. Daniel said the entire world would be better for all to live only if Nigerians could emulate the virtue of late Sheila.“I want other people to emulate her attitude so that life will be better for all of us,” he said. In his own tribute, Sir Olanihun Ajayi described her as a mother of mothers and a rare breed. “She was a mother of mothers. Sheila made her mark. We hardly can say anything about her without mentioning her late husband, Tai. They were a rare breed. They came, they saw and they conquered.”

TOURISM

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

It is the country’s second oldest storey building, it is also the place the Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther translated the Holy Bible into the Yoruba language Nigeria’s second storey-building

Photos: OSEYIZA OOGBODO

Ajayi Crowther translated the Bible in this house

z Nigeria’s second storey building z Christian artefacts, curios OSEYIZA OOGBODO

he Cathedral Church of Saint James (CCSJ) may not be as famous as Westminster Abbey in London. Located in Ota, Ogun State, CCSJ boasts a history that makes it comparable to Westminster Abbey. It was here that Reverend Ajayi Crowther did the first translation of the Bible into the Yoruba language. CCSJ has the singular honour of owning the second storey-building in Nigeria. And what’s more, CCSJ still has in its possession items that were used by the very first occupants of the building back in 1842. The items include a chalice, a baptism bowl, two altar chairs, coins currency and other historical curios. The historical, ancient and monumental items would have been more, but Reverend Steven Ayo Oluwawalemi, the cathedral priest, admits that some unknown people have made away with most of these items that should be national treasures. Nigeria’s second storey-building, which is now used as CCSJ’s office, also has the distinction of being the building where one of Nigeria’s greatest sons, Reverend Ajayi Crowther, did the first translation of the Bible into the Yoruba

language. “This second storey-building in Nigeria was built in 1842 when the missionaries moved from Badagry. On their way to Abeokuta, there was a need for them to pause in Ota here,” Oluwawalemi explained. “So they settled here and built it and we have the honour of still having it.” That the building is still standing is a miracle, says Oluwawalemi. “When you enter it and see the staircase, and all the wood that has been preserved for so long a time, and they are all still there, still strong for 169 years now, it’s a miracle. “All we’ve had to do is maintain the building by making sure it’s always in use. It used to be the vicarage. All the past priests lived in it. It was the priest before me that built a new place. When I resumed here in 2008, I resided in it too before moving to the new place, so we finally stopped using it as the vicarage.” Presently, the upper floor of the distinguished building serves as the cathedral’s office while the ground floor is the residence of one of the church’s workers. Oluwawalemi insists that the building, a wood affair, is still made up of all the initial wood that was used to build it. “When you enter it, you won’t need any one or historical facts to convince

you that it is ancient. The door is an ancient style that you lower to close up the staircase. The locks are all ancient and of the style of that era. The ancient wall safe that was used by the missionaries is also in it, as well as some of the coins they used then. There’s a wood gate at the top of the stairs, a style from that era as well. We also have other records in our archives but we’ve lost most of them.” One of such records should be Crowther’s original translation of the Bible into Yoruba. “We don’t have it,” Oluwawalemi said. “The complete work of the translation may be in his own handwriting before it was taken to the press. He alone must have known what he did with it. It must have been precious to him.” While the baptism bowl has had a very tiny bit chipped off it, and the coins are rusty due to non-preservation, the two surviving altar chairs are still very strong and sturdy and the chalice too is not showing signs of wearing out from age. “These are the few items we still have from 1842 and we are taking the best care of them we can. Unfortunately, the coins are rusted, but we keep using the altar chairs so they are still just the way they are.”

One of the altar chairs

The baptism bowl on its marble stand

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

er. Treating the symptoms of insomnia T t without addressing the main cause is rarely successful. In the majority of cases, chronic insomnia can be cured if its medical or psychiatric causes are evaluated and treated properly. Generally, treatment of insomnia entails both non-pharmacologic (nonmedical) and pharmacologic (medical) aspects. It is best to tailor treatment for individual patient based on the potential cause. Studies have shown that combining medical and non-medical treatments typically is more successful in treating insomnia than either one alone. Non-medical treatment and behavioural therapy Non-pharmacologic or non-medical therapies are sleep hygiene, relaxation therapy, stimulus control, and sleep restriction.

Sleep hygiene

Insomnia CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

Symptoms

Doctors associate a variety of signs and symptoms with insomnia. Often, the symptoms intertwine with those of other medical or mental conditions. Some people with insomnia may complain of difficulty falling asleep or waking up frequently during the night. The problem may begin with stress. Then, as you begin to associate the bed with your inability to sleep, the problem may become chronic. Most often daytime symptoms will bring people to seek medical attention. Daytime problems caused by insomnia include the following: ◆ Poor concentration and focus ◆ Difficulty with memory ◆ Impaired motor coordination (being uncoordinated) ◆ Irritability and impaired social interaction ◆ Motor vehicle accidents because

of fatigued, sleep-deprived drivers A person with insomnia needs a doctor’s attention if it lasts longer than three to four weeks or sooner, if it interferes with a person’s daytime activities and ability to function. Insomnia is generally a symptom of an underlying situation or another medical or psychological problem, which may need to be addressed first or at the same time.

Treatment In general, transient insomnia resolves when the underlying trigger is removed or corrected. Most people seek medical attention when their insomnia becomes chronic. The main focus of treatment for insomnia should be directed towards finding the cause. Once a cause is identified, it is important to manage and control the underlying problem, as this alone may eliminate the insomnia all togeth-

Sleep hygiene is one of the components of behavioural therapy for insomnia. Several simple steps can be taken to improve a patient’s sleep quality and quantity. These steps include: Sleep as much as you need to feel rested; do not oversleep. Exercise regularly at least 20 minutes daily, ideally 4-5 hours before your bedtime.

Avoid forcing yourself to sleep Keep a regular sleep and awakening schedule. Do not drink caffeinated beverages later than the afternoon (tea, coffee, soft drinks etc.) Avoid “night caps,” (alcoholic drinks prior to going to bed). Do not smoke, especially in the evening. Do not go to bed hungry. Adjust the environment in the room (lights, temperature, noise, etc.) Do not go to bed with your worries; try to resolve them before going to bed.

Relaxation therapy Relaxation therapy involves measures such as meditation and muscle relaxation or dimming the lights and play-

ing soothing music prior to going to bed.

Stimulus control Stimulus control therapy also consists of a few simple steps that may help patients with chronic insomnia. Go to bed when you feel sleepy. Do not watch TV, read, eat, or worry in bed. If you do not fall asleep 30 minutes after going to bed, get up and go to another room and resume your relaxation techniques. Set your alarm clock to get up at a certain time each morning, even on weekends. Do not oversleep. Avoid taking long naps in the daytime.

Sleep restriction Restricting your time in bed only to sleep may improve your quality of sleep. This therapy is called sleep restriction. Other simple measures that can be helpful to treat insomnia include: Avoid large meals and excessive fluids before bedtime

Control your environment ◆ Light, noise, and undesirable room temperature can disrupt sleep. Shift workers and night workers especially must address these factors. Dimming the lights in the bedroom, relaxation, limiting the noise, and avoiding stressful tasks before going to bed may be beneficial. (Refer to sleep hygiene and relaxation therapy above.) ◆ Avoid doing work in the bedroom that should be done somewhere else. For example, do not work or operate your business out of your bedroom and avoid watching TV, reading books, and eating in your bed.

Medications and medical therapies There are numerous prescription medications to treat insomnia. Generally, it is advised that they should not be used as the only therapy and that treatment is more successful if combined with non-medical therapies. CONCLUDED

LETTER Dear Mirror Doctor, I am a 15-year-old girl and my private part itches and something like black patches are on my groin. I am very shy and I can’t tell anyone. Lilian. Mirror doctor replies Lilian, you don’t have to be shy especially when it has to do with your health. You have only said your private part itches. You did not disclose the duration, and if there is associated vaginal discharge. You need to know that itching is accompanied by or causes severe redness,

Black patches on my groin sore, or oozing. It usually precedes formation of a blister or sore. Friction and fungus are the two primary causes of genital itching. Skin rubbing generates heat and sweat to produce tender, red, itchy patches. People who are physically active or obese are especially susceptible. The itch may appear as a little bit of redness anywhere on the genitals, but can advance to more serious inflammation, with scabs and scaly or tender, moist spots where

skin has peeled away. If caused by fungus, the itch and redness will appear more gradually. The patches of scaly skin will have defined ring-like borders hence the medical name Tineacruris or ringworm of the groin. Insanely, itchy private part could be caused by scabies or public lice. In a woman, itching also can be the first sign of a yeast infection, especially if she is taking antibiotics.

I advise you practise good personal hygiene, dry yourself thoroughly after washing and do not squeeze yourself into tight or ill-fitting clothes that might chafe against the skin between your legs or prevent air from flowing. Some creams are also very effective but these can only be recommended after thorough examination by the dermatologist to know the causative factor. If it is scabies, only a prescription drug is effective.

LEISURE

November 10, 2012

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Sport

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Super Falcons looking set to battle Cameroun in tomorrow’s third place match in Malabo.

AWC: Falcons battle Cameroun for bronze SAYO OGUNDEJI

fter losing their semi-final clash against the Banyana Banyana of South Africa at the ongoing African Women Championship (AWC) holding in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday, Nigeria’s Super Falcons will tomorrow, battle their Camerounian counterparts in the third place match billed for Malabo. The Falcons surrendered their title after suffering a surprising 1-0 defeat in the hands of the South African ladies who looked more determined to win throughout the duration of the encounter. Having failed to make it to the London 2012 Olympics women’s football event, the Coach Kadiri Ikhana-led side arrived at the tournament as the favourite to defend the

title they won two years ago in South Africa. They stormed Bata, venue of the group stage matches with an enviable record in the competition, having won seven of the last eight editions of the biannual tournament. Though, the team won all their matches before their semi final crash, their performance against South African was dismal. The South Africans have never beaten Nigeria before wednesday’s game and they utilized a 30th minute long strike from defender Janine van Wyk, to book a final ticket against Equatorial Guinea. Speaking to Saturday Mirror after the crash, one of the most experienced players in the team, Stella Mbachu, described their performance against Banyana Banyana as woeful, adding that the players failed to deliver at the crucial time. According to her, the Falcons possess all

Amokachi: Eagles not P. 44 desperate for Venezuela win

the experience and talent to excel at this stage of the competition, but succumbed to the much-determined South Africans. Mbachu, who apologised to millions of fans back home, stressed her side’s determination to make amends during the third place match against Cameroun. “We have failed in our bid to win the competition once again and all we can do is to apologise to our fans back home and promise to do our best by winning the third place match as a consolation. “The South Africans obviously played better than us and deserved the victory, but all hope is not lost as we have the talent that can win the next edition of the tournament, for the country,” Mbachu who has two goals to her name in the tournament stated. The Falcons have failed to lift the continent’s flagship tournament for women

African Masters Championships excites Onyali P. 44

twice in four years as Joseph Ladipo-led team lost in the final of the 2008 edition to the host, Equatorial Guinea. However, there are concerns over the future of Kadiri Ikhana, who took over from Coach Uche Eucharia after leading the team to win the 9th edition of the AWC in South Africa. Former Green Eagles’ defender, Okey Isima, has called on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to give Ikhana more time to deliver and described him as being capable of turning the team around. Isima believes Ikhana has not had enough time to bring his tactics to bear on the squad prior to the competition. “It is ridiculous that people are calling for the head of the coach going by the poor showing of the Falcons at the tournament, but Ikhana has proven his mettle both in Nigeria and on the continent, so I suggest he should be given more time to work with the team. “Losing to South Africa is disappointing to Nigerians, but it shows that women’s football is on the rise in Africa and that is why NFF must exercise patience and give the coach the opportunity to bring his wealth of experience to bear in the team,” Isima who helped the Green Eagles win the 1980 Nations Cup for Nigeria, stated.

Wenger wants Walcott at Arsenal P. 45

SPORT

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ikhana needs to tow the path of honour

occer fans in Nigeria and those in the Diaspora watched with disbelief on Wednesday how the Super Falcons were unceremoniously bundled out of the title race for the ongoing Africa Women Championship in Equatorial Guinea. As defending champions, the expectations were high as Coach Kadiri Ikhana and his girls promised Nigerians before their departure that they would return with the trophy and possibly use the victory as a parting gift to veteran striker, Pepertua Nkwocha. Nkwocha had earlier made known her intention to retire from international duties after the championship. All the permutations of the mouthy Falcons failed as jinx breakers, Banyana Banyana of South Africa, made do their threat and gave the Nigerian ladies a rude shock by denying them the opportunity of lifting the trophy in Equatorial Guinea for the second time after the 2008 disastrous outing. A 30th minute strike from defender, Janine van Wyk, was all the South African ladies needed to end Super Falcons title ambition at the semi-final stage and moved ahead to book a final ticket against hosts, Equatorial Guinea. Taking a critical look at what went wrong with the Falcons, many analysts believe that the problems were hydra-headed as the Nigerian ladies approached the game as if nothing was at stake. For example, in that epic semifinal clash against Banyana Ban-

HARD TACKLE with

Andrew Ekejiuba anelsports@yahoo.com yana, it was clear that the Falcons lacked the spark and were also a shadow of themselves. Every foot the players put in that game was wrong with majority of their passes inaccurate. Frankly, when a player fails to perform the basics or the elementary aspects of the game like making passes, then the technical crew should be questioned how they selected such a faulty squad to represent a country of more than 150 million inhabitants. Truly, the Falcons we saw against South Africa were not the best crop of players that should represent Nigeria if Ikhana and his technical crew did their job well prior to the championship. And with this glaring deficiency, what did the technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) headed by Chris Green do to help the underperforming Ikhana? They were all there in Equatorial Guinea watching a determined South African team playing with

08023103605

Ikhana under pressure to quit.

great drive and determination and making a mince meat of our ladies. At the end, Nigeria lost out of the title race as Green and his men could not muster an advice. No wonder the celebrations that followed in all the cities of the former apartheid enclave were deafening across the continent because they worked extremely hard to achieve that 1-0 victory over Nigeria.

It is worthy to note that the outcome of the game is an eye-opener to many Nigerians, as HT restates that no miracle can come out of NFF’s technical department that is headed by a barrister who does not know the technicalities of football and doesn’t care to know. Green’s deficiencies alongside his cohorts in the technical department are so glaring, as pundits still wonder how Ikhana secured the job of coaching the Falcons. As a kicker, was Ikhana thoroughly screened by the technical department of the NFF before he was handed the job of coaching the Super Falcons? Who brought Ikhana out of retirement, after he announced at Kwara United that he had retired? What nature of contract was handed over to the former Enyimba of Aba sweat merchant? What are the major targets the NFF set for him in his contractual terms? And did NFF put in the clause that Ikhana should throw-in the towel if he fails to win the AWC? If the answer to the last question is no, then Nigerians should be ready to stand up and tell the occupants of the NFF Glasshouse to resign without delay. The administrators in the NFF failed to understand that the gap between top female football-playing nations in Africa is non-existent because there are no longer minnows. Secondly, they failed to understand that the defeat handed down to the Falcons at the ongoing AWC

is a clear indication that something has gone wrong with our female football development. Even the female football league which is supposed to help coaches fish out the best legs for the Falcons is lacking behind in terms of sponsorship and organisation. From the foregoing, HT feels that since Ikhana has failed Nigerians by not lifting the 2012 AWC with the Falcons, he should quietly tow the path of honour by resigning his appointment, just as Austin Eguavoen did when he failed to qualify the U-23 team for the London 2012 Olympic men’s football event. NFF’s continuous hiring and recycling of coaches for the national teams, especially those who are at the twilight of their careers, and not ready to go for refresher courses to acquaint themselves of the latest techniques involved in coaching should be stopped. Ikhana failed to build up from where Coach Eucharia Uche left off, thus plunging our female football back into its unpalatable past. Currently, Nigerians are still licking the wounds as a result of the team’s failure to qualify for the last All Africa Games and the London 2012 Olympics. And with the recent AWC crash, Nigeria can no longer pride itself as the super power of female soccer in the continent. Therefore, a total surgery in the NFF and the coaching crew of the Falcons would be urgently needed to put our game back on track for a stitch in time saves nine.

SPORT NEWS

COPA Lagos 2012: Olawale optimistic Emir of Zazzau rates Maltina golf high of Super Sand Eagles victory I E FEANYI

SAYO OGUNDEJI

aptain of the Nigeria’s beach soccer national team, also known as Super Sand Eagles, Isiaka Olawale, has assured that his side will try its best to retain the COPA Lagos trophy won last year. The Coach Audu Adamu-tutored side defeated the four-time FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup champions, Brazil 9-4 over three periods to emerge champions of the maiden edition and the second edition of the tourney holds later in December. As part of preparation for the tournament slated for next month, the Nigerian team failed to deliver at the just concluded Samsung Intercontinental Beach Soccer Tournament

Isiaka Olawale (left) battling for ball possession with Gari Funnel of England during a recent tourney.

in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where they finished in the fourth position. The Supersand Eagles were edged 6-3 by Brazil in their opening match before powering back to defeat Switzerland 7-6 and Japan 6-5.

They however lost their semi final game and third place to Russia and UAE respectively to finish fourth, but Olawale is of the opinion that his team has learnt enough lessons and would be ready for their title defence in COPA Lagos.

DUZOR

mir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, has described the Maltina Open Golf Tournament that was named after him as capable of producing good golfers that can do the country proud at international competitions, even as he commended Nigerian Breweries PLC (NB Plc)for its commitment towards the development of sports in the country. He stated this during the just concluded 2012 edition of the tournament held at Zaria Golf Club, Kaduna State. The royal father, who was represented by Tarfarkin Zazzau, Alhaji Dalhatu Abubakar, noted that the high level of professionalism displayed by golfers at the two-day event was an indication that the tournament had improved tremen-

dously just as he charged the sponsors not to relent in their efforts at promoting the socio- economic activity of the town through sponsorship of the annual event. The defending champion of the tournament, Ahmed Jibrin, played 136 gross over two days to emerge winner of the championship. Second position went to Abdullahi Bola of Zaria Golf Club after he played 137 gross, to finish as runner-up gross. Abdulsalam Shehu of the same club finished as second runner-up with 138 gross, while the best nett went to Ogbe T.C. from NDA Golf Club after playing 130 nett. In the female category, Racheal Danjuma from Kano Golf Club scored 157 gross to emerge winner, while Sarah Haruna from Bauchi emerged runner-up gross. Best nett of that category went to Saleh .M. while

Samuel Lizzy picked the prize for the runner-up nett. In the veterans’ category, Audu Jibrin with 159 gross stole the show and Jagwa Adamu finished as runner-up gross. Mahuta S.A. emerged best nett, winner while Frank Onotu finished as runner-up nett. In his closing remarks, the NB Plc Kakuri Brewery Manager, Peter Ani who was represented by the Head, Brewer, Ben Anozie, explained that the period of absence from sponsoring the tournament was not intentional, but as a result of the company’s rotational policy that sees sponsorship of golf rotated among the states in the north. “We are glad that we have once again extended our golf sponsorship this year to the Zaria Golf Club, which significantly, is very special to us in many ways,” he said.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SPORT

November 10, 2012

Disability made me a better footballer, says Nonso Iwuagwu IFEANYI EDUZOR

ome decades ago, many Nigerians saw people with one form of disability or the other as constituting a problem, not only to their immediate family but the entire society. While some parents prefer to abandon their disabled children, others see them as a curse rather than a blessing and prefer to send them away at very tender ages where they turn to begging for survival. However, this inhuman treatment and neglect meted out to these set of people is gradually coming to an end, thanks to improvement in technology that has enabled many of them to be educated as well as conquer their disability through engagement in meaningful means of livelihood like sports. It was this belief that propelled the country’s paralympians to write the name of Nigeria in gold at London 2012 Paralympics Games, even when their able-bodied counterparts found it difficult to win a single medal at the Olympics. One athlete, who believes that disability is a blessing rather than a curse, is Chukwunonso Iwuagwu who as a member of the country’s amputee football team popularly known as the “Special Eagles” has used his God-given talent to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians. The 27-year-old Iwuagwu who had his leg amputated at the age of 19, says that he does not see his disability as a disadvantage but rather an act of God. He says his condition has challenged him to go the extra mile to ensure he competes favorably with his able-bodied counterparts which he claims has made him a better person, both mentally and physically. Before he became disabled, Iwuagwu, had represented his community in various schools and inter-community football competitions. And reflecting on how he became disabled, he noted that he was neither born with one leg nor did he suffer from polio attack, but a fatal accident he had, led to the amputation of one of his legs. According to him, he was full of life and dreaming to play professional football in Europe before an accident that led to the amputation of his leg shattered the dream, but expressed happiness that not minding all the tribulations and disappointments that trailed his present condition, he could still play football; though

with one leg to the admiration of his fans. “I was involved in a ghastly motor accident and after patronising many orthodox hospitals and traditional bone setters without success, the leg was amputated at the Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu,” he said with a tinge of regret. The Imo State-born midfielder who is an integral part of the amputee national team explained that he nearly committed suicide when he discovered that his leg had been amputated because he thought it would be difficult for him to be re-integrated into the society. He noted with nostalgia that he was able to overcome the initial difficulty because of his belief in God and determination to succeed amongst all odds which has been seeing him through all these years. On how he became involved in amputee football, he stated that it was during one of his lamentations about his condition that a friend invited him to the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos and on getting there, to his astonishment, he saw amputee footballers playing and on further enquires, he was advised to join the team. He noted that initially, he could not understand how a person with one leg could play football, but on a second thought, he decided that since those who have not played the game before can do it, he as a former player could do better and only needed to re-adjust to become part of the team. Today, he is happy that the experience he garnered as a footballer has really helped him in his new found love. Iwuagwu, who was part of the Nigerian amputee team that participated in the Amputee Nations Cup in Ghana early this year, regretted that unlike in the other neighboring West African countries, Nigeria is not doing enough to encourage the development of the game which he argued has made many members of the team become disenchanted and considering abandoning the game. Casting his mind back to their experiences during the last Nations Cup, he noted that it took divine intervention for them to travel by road from Lagos to Accra with little resources just to represent the country. He further described the journey as traumatising. “Whenever I remember our journey by road to Accra, I feel ashamed to be a Nigerian. The journey to Ghana was very traumatising because we travelled

Nonso

IT WAS ONLY THROUGH DIVINE INTERVENTION THAT WE WERE NOT STRANDED ON THE ROAD. NOT MINDING ALL THE SUFFERINGS, NFF DID NOT DEEM IT FIT TO WELCOME US DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE TRIP WAS SELF SPONSORED. by road due to the fact that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) did not give us a dime for the competition. “It was only through divine intervention that we were not stranded on the road. Not minding all the sufferings, NFF did not deem it fit to welcome us despite the fact that the trip was self sponsored,” he said. Apart from his complaint of neglect by the relevant authorities, Iwuagwu expressed concern about the treatment meted out to the team by the management of National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, who he accused of not giving them access to the training ground at the stadium which affected their performance. “It is unfortunate that the stadium management, who are supposed to be our partners in progress, has made it diffi-

cult for us to have a pitch to train. “Initially, the team trained beside NTA office at the stadium, but the pitch hasbeen barricaded with barbed-wire and we can no longer have access to it. So, we now find it difficult to train which has affected the team’s fitness, performance and morale,” he added. Looking at some of his colleagues that still depend on begging for survival, he advised that they should do away with such attitude that still makes some of them look like second class citizens. Iwuagwu also added that disabled athletes should concentrate on doing those things that will make them useful members of the society because sport conquers not only their disability, but poverty and guarantees them respect from the society.

SPORT

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

African Masters Championships excites Onyali ANDREW EKEJIUBA

ormer African sprints queen, Mary OnyaliOmagbemi, has declared that she was eagerly looking forward to participating at the Africa Masters Championships billed for May 2013. Speaking to Saturday Mirror, Onyali-Omagbemi revealed that she is keen to renew her rivalry

Akpoborie lauds Glo Soccer Academy initiative

Amokachi: Eagles F not desperate for Venezuela win S Amokachi

uper Eagles Assistant Coach, Dan ‘The Bull’ Amokachi, has declared that the team will not be desperate for victory in the international friendly against Venezuela next Wednesday, November 14, but will also not want to be defeated. Speaking when officials of the US Embassy led by former Mighty Jets of Jos star, Sanni Mohammed, grilled him on the new focus of the team, Amokachi, said there is a new focus in the team and that is to return the team to its glory days when Nigerians will sleep easy when the national team has any important game. “We want to win but we are not desperate. We don’t also want to lose the game because we want to keep a good frame of mind ahead of the Nations Cup in 2013 and that is why we are starting with

home based players, discovering new stars and then joining them up with our foreign-based stars to give Nigerian football lovers what they want at the Nations Cup. We hope we can do well at the Nations Cup and probably play in the final and make Nigerians happy again, that is the target of the Head Coach and the entire team,” he declared. Excited officials and staff of the Embassy thereafter had a field day taking pictures and autographs with players and officials of the team and as expected questions about the 1994 Super Eagles kept reverberating. Meanwhile, today the national team will tackle Water FC of Abuja at the Training Pitch of the Abuja National Stadium, as part of preparation for the friendly against Venezuela. The match will come up at 7am local time.

Europa League: Ogu targets second round with Académica SAYO OGUNDEJI

igerian-born midfielder and Académica de Coimbra of Portugal player, John Ogu, has expressed confidence over his side’s chances of qualifying for the preliminary stages of the 2012/2013 UEFA Europa League championship. The skilful midfielder, who spent last season with the now relegated U.D. Leiria also of Portugal, remains confident that his team still stands a better chance of

with Endurance Ojokolo, who gave her tough competition during their running days. “I’m excited about running at the African Masters Championships. “And most definitely I will love to race against Ojokolo. Perhaps when the younger ones see us perform they will want to go and replicate it as they participate actively,” Onyali enthused. She submitted that the Mas-

ters is a veritable platform for retired athletes to keep fit. “Sport is a life saver. More participation in it as a retired athlete means less trip to the hospital. “We the former athletes are very happy that we are having a platform like this to compete. “At the last All Nigeria/Cross River Championships in Calabar, we had a mock run. A lot of athletes turned up and things have picked up,” said OnyaliOmagbemi who is a member of the Confederation of Africa Athletics athletes’ commission.

qualifying from the group despite their poor start to the competition. “We have not had the best of start to the competition and that is due to many reasons, but the players have not given up as there are few more matches to play. “Most of us are young and still learning, but we have a strong technical team who has garnered experience over the years and going by the determination of the players, we are hoping to turn the table around and pick one of the available tickets in the group,” Ogu said.

ormer International Jonathan Akpoborie has said that the country abounds in talented grassroots footballers who need a viable platform to show their skill. He made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos. The former Super Eagles striker commended the Glo Soccer Academy initiative, which seeks to nurture budding grassroots talents to stardom. “This is what these children need at this point in time, to give them exposure to competition, which automatically enhances their development in the field of football. “And I want to implore us as a country to welcome things like this,” he said. Akpoborie, who was a product of the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) grassroots initiative in the late 1970s and early 1980s, stressed that grassroots talents must be constantly monitored. “We have always had talents it is just the development part that we are lacking, and something like this is good for the youths and for the country as a whole,’’ he said. NAN report that the Glo Soccer Academy technical team which comprises of Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, Anthony Baffor and Zion Ogunfeyinmi, which has Segun Odegbami as chief consultant.

Akpoborie

Onyali

Bankers Games: Teams eye final ticket as UBA, Skye Bank go for record ANDREW EKEJIUBA

ankers Games football winning record holders, UBA, have been offered an opportunity to extend their winning streak as they battle Skye Bank in one of the semi finals fixtures this Sunday in the 2012 edition of games at the University of Lagos Sports Complex. Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic-IBTC are the other semi finalists as the encounter also promises to be another thriller in the annual banking industry games. Looking ahead of their clash with UBA, Oluwatosin Faniyi reiterated his claim that the year belongs to the team. “Our record this season is very outstanding and it inspires confidence such that we cannot be intimidated by any records. All I can say is that we are on course and ready to crush any team that stands on our way to lifting the cup,” he said. In response, Tunde Ojo of UBA was gracious in commending all the teams participating in the tournament, but he was

full of praises for his team’s performance in the quarter finals which he said showed the dogged spirit and resilience that has seen the bank through the years. “First and foremost, I must commend my team mates for their fighting spirit; they have really fought a tough battle. We look forward to the semi final,” he affirmed. Funola Oni of Standard Chartered is also hopeful of reaching the finals and says this will come from their team spirit. In the other events, Olusoji Aluko of First Bank and Cosmas Uzokwe of Fidelity Bank will contest for the men’s singles gold medal in tennis while the women’s single is a straight contest between Amara Okpara of Fidelity Bank and Andrea Amaize of Standard Chartered Bank. In the men’s double, Efe Omoduemuke and Femi Oyefodunrin of Stanbic-IBTC will play against Cosmas Uzokwe and Desmond Anumkwa of Fidelity Bank. Ijeoma Arum and Amara Okpara had earlier combined to win the women’s double gold for Fidelity Bank.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SPORT

November 10, 2012

Messi plays down Celtic’s ‘historic’ win L ionel Messi insists Celtic were lucky to pull off their stunning Champions League victory over Barcelona because their players were taller. The Scottish club won 2-0 thanks to goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Messi pulled a goal back in stoppage time for the Catalan giants but believes Celtic were fortunate to take all three points. “They were very lucky. It’s a shame but we just couldn’t do anything about it. They were very lucky. “We did everything in the game but just couldn’t get past them.

“Celtic came at us twice and got two goals from it. When they scored they just locked their defence. “The first goal from the corner arrived because they are a bigger team than us - it was the same as their goal in the Nou Camp. “The second goal was our

own fault. We did everything well and made good chances but the ball just didn’t go in,” Messi said. Despite Wednesday’s defeat, Barcelona still sits at the top of Group G, two points ahead of Celtic in second place and Messi is confident the Spanish side will qualify.

In-form Inter delights Stramaccioni

H Terry

Terry returns, set to battle Liverpool

aptain John Terry returns as Chelsea look to get back winning ways in the English Premier League when they host Liverpool tomorrow. Terry received a four-match ban in September for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ defender Anton Ferdinand last season and sat on the bench in their 3-2 Champions League win against Shakhtar on Wednesday. But the captain should line up this week at Stamford Bridge, in a boost for Chelsea’s beleaguered defence, who have let through 10 goals in his absence from the side. Liverpool are 12 points behind second-placed Chelsea in 12th position after their worst start to a League season in 101 years - sitting on 11 points from 10 matches. Manager Brendan Rodgers rested captain Steven Gerrard and top scorer Luis Suarez in the side’s 1-0 loss to Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League on Thursday. Suarez has been a shining light for Liverpool scoring seven goals, more than half of his team’s total, and adding two assists in 10 Premier League games this season.

ead coach Andrea Stramaccioni spread praise across his side after Inter Milan sealed qualification to the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League. Nerazzurri cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory at Partizan Belgrade, courtesy of Rodrigo Palacio’s brace and a Fredy Guarin effort, with Nemanja Tomic replying for the hosts with a fine volley at the dying minutes. Triumph in the Serbian capital not only guaranteed progression from Group H but also completed a run of ten straight wins in all competitions for Stramaccioni’s men. Also on a club record run of ten consecutive away wins, the second-placed Serie A side now

turn their attentions to Sunday’s trip to Atalanta. “It’s a big achievement because it shows the great mentality and character this team has. “It’s an achievement we’re proud of but we’re not getting carried away. In the first half we were comfortable but we upped the tempo after the break. I think Jonathan did a brilliant job today to contain (Lazar) Markovic. (Matias) Silvestre was very alert; (Marko) Livaja excellent, (Samir) Handanovic pulled off some incredible saves and Palacio produced a top display. “We’re a bit more relaxed now knowing that we’ve sealed qualification but we want to win the group and we’ll keep playing as Inter can. But we’re look-

Platt leaps to Mancini’s defence

anchester City assistant boss David Platt has defended manager Roberto Mancini following the Italian’s outburst on Tuesday. Mancini confronted referee Peter Rasmussen on the pitch after City’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Ajax at the Etihad Stadium. City striker Sergio Aguero had a goal ruled out for offside in the 88th minute and Mario Balotelli was denied an injury-time penalty as Rasmussen blew the final whistle. Mancini also clashed with a cameraman who filmed him at close proximity as he walked across the pitch but later said he had only been telling him to stop recording. Platt said: “Why wouldn’t the manager of a football club be frustrated? Why wouldn’t we all be frustrated? “Players are frustrated, sup-

Mancini

porters are frustrated, staff are frustrated. “Robbie has gone onto the pitch and spoken to the referee. As he comes back, he turns around and has a camera in front of his face for 30 yards. “He turns around and says, in English, that basically it is enough now”.

Wenger wants Walcott at Arsenal

rsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed he will do his utmost to keep Theo Walcott at the club. The Gunners boss is determined to keep the England international at the Emirates after seeing stars such as Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas leave the club in the past year. The England international’s contract expires next summer but the Gunners are yet to tie the winger down to a long-term

deal at the Emirates. Walcott has been in good form this season and is the Gunners’ leading marksman, scoring eight goals in all competitions. Wenger insists that he will ‘do the maximum’ to keep the player, who recently claimed he deserved an extended run in the first team. “My desire is to keep Theo. We do what’s needed to keep him and hopefully (as) I told you many times, we can sort this situation out very soon,” he said.

EURO BRIEFS Nesta backs AC Milan

C Milan legend Alessandro Nesta insists his former club can still win the Serie A title despite their struggles this season. The San Siro club have battled this season after losing key men Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva in the off-season.

Oscar pleased with Chelsea life

scar feels like he is settling in well at Chelsea and now wants to break his Premier League goalscoring duck as soon as possible. The Brazilian youngster has impressed since his big-money summer move from Internacional, but all of his four goals have come in Europe.

Bordeaux monitoring Chamakh situation

ordeaux remain keen on resigning Marouane Chamakh, but are waiting to see what Arsenal’s intentions are. Chamakh left Bordeaux as a free agent in 2010, allowing him to complete a move to England.

Fergie backs Rooney to score 20 goals

Stramaccioni

ing forward now and thinking about the Atalanta game. It’s going to be a very difficult match,” Stramaccioni said.

PREMIERSHIP TABLE TEAM

PTS

1. Man Utd

2. Chelsea

ir Alex Ferguson has backed Wayne Rooney to get 20 goals this season even though he has been left in the shade by Robin van Persie. Rooney’s penalty in Braga on Wednesday night was only his third goal of the season while Van Persie is on 11 and Javier Hernandez has six.

3. Man City

4. Everton

5. West Brom

6. Tottenham

7. Arsenal

8. Fulham

Rooney

9. West Ham

10. Newcastle

-2

11. Swansea

Skrtel sets sights on Torres

12. Liverpool

-2

13. Wigan

-5

14. Norwich

-10

15. Stoke

-2

16. Sunderland

-3

17. Aston Villa

-6

18. Reading

-6

19. QPR

-11

20. Southampton

-14

iverpool defender Martin Skrtel is determined to stop former Reds team-mate Fernando Torres scoring when they travel to Chelsea tomorrow. Torres, who has scored seven goals this season, has yet to score against his old club since his big money switch from Anfield to Stamford Bridge in January 2011.

Carroll up for Newcastle game

Walcott

est Ham United loanee Andy Carroll admits he is looking forward to returning to former club Newcastle this weekend. The former Newcastle No.9 striker was jeered by home fans when he played at St James’ Park with parent club Liverpool last season on his first return to the club after leaving Tyneside for Anfield in January 2011 and Carroll is expecting another hostile reception and he insists he is keen to get a win after losing with Liverpool last season.

Skrtel

Osman deserves England call-up –Moyes

verton boss David Moyes has welcomed Leon Osman’s call-up to the England squad, feeling it is well deserved for the midfielder. Osman was handed his first call-up for England for next week’s friendly with Sweden after impressing for Everton in their fine start to the season.

November 10, 2012

Mr. Segun Adewumi, the National President of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), the umbrella organisation for cassava farmers in the country. In this interview with STANLEY IHEDIGBO, he speaks on the cassava development programme and other related matters. Excerpts:

ethanol, cassava starch and cassava flour. Each of them is a raw material to other industries. So, if we begin to add value to cassava in Nigeria, it will overtake oil. Again, government has ceded the operations of cassava to the farmers; we can plan better than the civil servants. For example, last year the ministry told us that they had cassava stems and as a group, we mobilised and contributed money to buy them in a huge quantity. But unfortunately, the stems were not enough for the group. Where somebody needed 400 bounds of stems, 15 was made available to the person. I don’t blame government, rather the civil servants. And the agreement with Minister of Agriculture, by next year the system will change, the various farming groups will take charge in their areas.

hat is your organisation all about? The Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) is for farmers especially cassava farmers who come together to benefit and prosper themselves through their programme and also see how the government will be able to provide enabling environment for a successful cassava farming. Adewumi

How has the group been able to influence government policy on cassava development in the country? This is the first time the entire farmers population is having the best period of time since this country was created. We are witnessing a new dimension now, as the current administration is collaborating with and listening to farmers. In the past, all the programmes of the Federal Government concerned promoting farming in the country were products of the civil servants and had no commercial value. But right now, we are in position to determine our future. The Agriculture Minister has opened doors for every farming group and association in the country to actually prosper according to their ability. In the past, the issue of fertiliser was restricted to certain people. Now, groups of farmers have been permitted to import their fertiliser which will still be subsidised. We can buy tractors on our own and other benefits we are seeing now have never happened before. Secondly, we have been introduced to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for various farming loans. We are now in a position to influence government programmes especially the cassava transformation plan. What are the implications of taking cassava from the ordinary food to massively commercial development? We have two dimensions of it. We have the food security department. For instance, the Agriculture Minister promised to give us about 50,000 tons of cassava for garri , so it can

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Cassava can generate more revenue than oil’ be milled for garri and that is for the food security. You can see that the recent flood has created the need to have stored cassava food. Again, we can get many types of food from the cassava, so that is for food security. Also we are trying to see that food security should be the job of peasant farmers while commercial farmers will go for the industrial cassava use. Is NCGA for commercial cassava farmers only? The group is coming together of cassava commercial farmers in the country. Again I wonder when I hear subsistence farmers, for me this is a curse. What is subsistence? You are just producing only what you will eat. And how will the person prosper? So, we want to turn agriculture to commercial dimension, where the people that are involved will finance all their needs through farming. The days of farmers being poor are over.

What is really the position of Nigeria in growing cassava in the world? Nigeria is the highest cassava grower in the world, but when you are talking about industrial cassava use, Thailand, Brazil and Malaysia. The problem with Nigeria is that our cassava is not produced in commercial and civilized situation. But, I can assure you that Nigeria in next three years; will overtake all of them, because we have the capacity and potential to lead in cassava production in the world. What is your advice for cassava farmers in the country? Cassava farmers should help the country and add value to the product, because value has not been added to the cassava product. We are just eating it and we don’t add value, for instance, there are many things you can get from cassava. The three major categories are

What is the position of your group in the cassava bread policy introduced by the Federal Government? The cassava bread policy is the most welcome idea for many years. Again N250 billion will be saved by the inclusion of 40 percent of cassava flour in the bread. The implication is that the N250bn that would have gone to wheat farmers in other countries will go to cassava farmers in Nigeria. Again, cassava bread has been said to be better than any other bread in the world. Are you aware of any move by some of your members to form a faction or another body for cassava growers? There is no faction or another group for cassava growers in the country. Factions develop when the associations have no programmes. Most of the associations in the past depended on loans as 95 percent of its members were never farmers. They are people,that are agitating for loans, they don’t intend to pay back. Now before you become a cassava farmer in this our own time, you must have a cassava farm. We approached the Federal Government and they approved the serving of NYSC members who work as extension officers. So 10 farmers are grouped under one extension officer, the officer will supervisor the individual farm, record everything about the farm. He will also facilitate the charge and deliver everything that is needed to the farm, not to the farm owner. So the only money that goes to the farm owner is for the manual work payment. So the question of misusing agricultural loans doesn’t arise here. The loans are given to the farm not to the farmers. That is the system presently.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

Cassava flour as cash cow (b) Boiler (c) Grater (d) Flash dryer (e) International standard scale (f) Automatic sealing machine (g) Packaging machine All the above machines and processing technology can be obtained locally. The machines apart from being obtained locally can also be imported. The addresses of where to obtain both locally made machines and imported ones will be given to prospective investors on getting across to the writer.

Raw materials

t is estimated that 30 per cent of the cassava tubers are lost as waste due to none processing and preservation mechanisms in Nigeria. One of the more acceptable means of preserving tubers is to convert them to cassava flour. The traditional processing method is out modelled, laborious and grossly inefficient for mass production of quality cassava flour to satisfy the local demand by local industries and make room for the export market to earn foreign exchange. The Federal Government has given flour mills and bakeries in the country up to 10 months to transit from wheat to cassava flour as the major inputs in production According to the 2012 budget, the Federal Government wants to develop cassava production and processing in the country. As a result, cassava flour producing equipment importation into the country is now duty free. Also, importation of agricultural machinery and equipment will attract zero duty as well. Therefore 2012 will be a good year for investment into agriculture. In this investment profile, we shall discuss how to make profitable investment into cassava production and processing into quality and internationally acceptable cassava flour. Cassava flour is acceptable among Africans, Asians and some other parts of the world as raw materials in bakeries. Just like Semovita, Semolina etc, it is also eaten as food by many. Pharmaceutical companies also use it as a raw material. Its processing increases its shelf life, adds value to the cassava tubers (from

where they are processed) before being exported to enhance its economic value, reduces waste and cuts down the cost of transporting the product to longer distances compared with the heavy wet cassava tubers that are unprocessed. The fact that this can be preserved helps to stabilise prices during off harvest season. The setting up of this project is seen to be feasible, considering the following

Technical considerations The most important thing to put into consideration when going into this project is quality. The quality of cassava flour has a great role to play in its acceptability and applications within and outside Nigeria. Most producers of cassava flour in Nigeria are victims of this. They ignore quality standard and in the long run, their products are turned down by flour mills in Nigeria and outside. The plant aimed here will be able to produce and package quality finished products for export. Its rated capacity is 5,000 metric tones of well packaged cassava flour per year (eight hours per day of 250 days in a year after allowing about 2.5 per cent waste).This implies a capacity of about 20tones per day. The conversion ratio of raw cassava tubers to flour is 3:1. This means that about 1,500MT of raw cassava tubers will be needed per day, working at full capacity.

The machinery and equipment needed to process cassava flour are (a) Cassava peeler (could be done manually)

The raw materials needed are cassava tubers. These are obtainable from farms cultivated by plantations, small holders and co-operative farmers. There is abundant cassava grown in this country. Nigeria is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest producers of cassava with over six million metric tonnes per annum; of this output only about 5 per cent is put into industrial use by way of chips and flour. Almost all states of the federation grows cassava.

Location The best place to locate this project is the area where cassava tubers are obtained in abundance. Cassava tubers are heavy and so transport expenses would be reduced if the project is located in areas where they are grown in abundance, hence it can be sited in any part of the country. Other factors to consider include: (a) Availability of labour and raw materials in commercial quantity. (b) Availability of infrastructural facilities (water, power, access road etc). Export processing zones will be most ideal for setting up this project, if it is basically for export. (c) Ease or otherwise of the accessibility of the plant site to urban areas/ markets both for local consumption and export. To accommodate the plant, one needs a large building with an area of about 1,500M2.

The market for cassava flour The market is both local and international. The later should be targeted where there is preponderance of inhabitants of Africans in Europe, America and Asian countries. Based

on research, some marketing points internationally have been established and would be given to prospective investors. The factors that have positively affected the demand for this product include the prevalence of foreign exchange crunch, habit/culture, the increase in population of the country, the fact that its consumption cuts across demographic classes, income levels and religious boundaries.

Production process Briefly the processes involved in cassava flour production are (1) Procurement of good quality tubers, their weighing and washing. (2) Peeling the washed tubers (3) Grinding of the peeled tubers into pulp. (4) Drying of the ground cassava pulp (5) Milling of the dried pulp (6) Sieving to avoid having lumps when being prepared for eating (7) Bagging and packaging (2kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg). Details of the standard required in the international market will be given to prospective investors.

Cost and funding The project can be set up with minimum of N10.5 million using locally made machines. It will be more if imported machines are to be applied. In terms of funding there are some institutions in the country that are interested in the funding of this type of projects. Details will be given to prospective investors

Investment analysis The project is very profitable. With aggressive marketing strategies, good management that is export oriented, the payback period would be less than two years. The return on investment is very encouraging at over 58 per cent. Details will be given to prospective investors. For detailed information on export market, comprehensive and bankable feasibility studies/ report, sourcing of the required funds, please contact the writer

Courtesy: Uba Godwin, ubagodwin@yahoo.com

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Soft furnishing is strictly for creative minds

FUNMI SALOME JOHNSON

oday, Afolasade Ogunlade is better known as a clothier of a sort. However, she never started her working life as that. She started as a surveyor. She is a Yaba College of Technology graduate of Quantity Survey. But as a woman, Ogunlade, believed tramping around building sites all day working for a big Lagos property firm was not her idea of what life should be, especially because of her husband and kids. For these reasons she decided to take her destiny in her hands. After working for seven years as a surveyor in the property firm, she took a bow. “I just got tired of my job and needed a change and I wanted a job that could afford me more time to be around my family and be able to attend to my children’s needs. I’ve always have passion for creating something beautiful. No doubt, bed sheets and throw pillows could really add colour to the setting of the home. So for me that was what I needed” Thus, Ogunlade , a quantity surveyor, turned her passion into venture and started the business of making and designing bed sheets to empower herself after several years of doing a job that consumed all her time leaving her with almost no quality time for her husband and children. “While growing up I realised that it was good to be an entrepreneur. I

IT IS VERY VITAL TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF SEWING TO BE ABLE TO DO THE BUSINESS

WELL.

AT LEAST SIX

MONTHS TRAINING IN SEWING IS REQUIRED.

WITH A CAPITAL BASE OF N10, 000, YOU ARE IN BUSINESS have many people around me that are entrepreneurs and all of them are doing very good. Even those that are fully employed still have one or two businesses that they are doing by the side to add to their income. So people around me really encouraged me to develop interest in entrepreneurship although I was not able to do this for good seven years I worked as a surveyor but I had to quit because of the choky nature of the job. There is nothing as good as having a business of your own,” she told Saturday Mirror. She pointed out the unavailability and inaccessibility to the customer’s fabric of choice as one of the main challenges of the business. “Getting wonderful fabrics is a very big challenge because I usually go for the best fabrics. There are different stages in fabrics so you need to have eye for good things and use your discretion to be able to meet up with what your customers

Ogunlade

want. The fabrics usually come at very expensive rate and by the time you calculate what you spent on transport and delivery, they usually affect the price of the products.” Today, Ogunlade makes between N25, 000 to N30, 000 monthly as profit from the sales of bed sheets. She disclosed that: “The price of bed sheet varies and it depends on what a customer wants. Kiddies’ fabrics are usually different from adult fabrics. If the sales of the bed sheet goes well, in a week I could raise N7, 000 depending on the number of bed sheets that I sold. It is the order and the sales that determine the income. For a week I could sell about six or seven bed sheets and make a profit of about N6, 000 – N7, 000 depending on the size.” Having tasted and reaped from being an entrepreneur, Ogunlade advised Nigerians youths, especially the unemployed ones, to develope their skills and do something with their hands rather than relying on white collar jobs that may never come or may choke their quality time.

She further stressed that it is very vital to have knowledge of sewing to be able to do the business well and this she said requires a formal training for at least six months. “Subsequently, you will need some capital and with N10, 000, you can actually start this business and with time it will grow,” she advised. A good interpersonal relationship quality is also vital as this would assist in connecting with people from different walks of life and as such, one can easily introduce the business to these people. Having a high taste in colour combination is also a very good advantage in the business of making bed sheets and throw pillows as this would enhance one’s imaginative powers and thus come out with good and beautiful colourful products. According to the budding entrepreneur, the peak period of the business is towards the end of the year which is usually the last quarter of the year while the off peak is between January through mid year.

Crime Watch Crime Watch

P. 51

‘I killed my grandmother for nagging me’

BRIEFS

Kano police arraign man for raping own daughter AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

28-year-old man, identified as Ibrahim Lawan, accused of raping his 6 year-old daughter, Fatima Usman, has been prosecuted, police said yesterday. Lawan was held at the Rijiya Zaki police station for the sexual crime against his biological daughter. Sources said the suspect dragged the victim into his room, undressed her and violated the minor. The police said the little girl was taken to the hospital where medical examination confirmed the sexual assault. Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had consistently lamented the increasing cases of rape in the state and appeal to parents to monitor their female kids closely. He noted that most rape cases in Kano involve children below three years of age. Other category of victims he said are under aged girls hawking items on the streets. According to police statistics on rape released at different times lately, no fewer than 50 cases of rape have been recorded in the last one month, with most of the cases involving minors. About 20 suspects have been prosecute, according to the report.

Sales rep docked for stealing N450, 000 sachet water

sales representative, Kareem Akintola, was on Friday in Lagos arraigned over alleged theft of sachet water valued at N450, 000. Akintola, 30, who lives at No. 5 Ajenipa St., Bariga, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing at a Somolu Magistrates’ Court. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. But Prosecutor Akinlebi Adegoke insisted that the accused committed the offences between February 2010 and March 2012 at No. 56, Solanke St., Bariga. According to him, Akintola stole the bags of sachet water, property of Food Enterprises. In the words of Adegoke, “The accused collected the bags of sachet water at the company’s office at No. 56, Solanke St., Bariga, to sell between Feb. 2010 and March 2012. Akintola failed to remit money for the sachet water he collected and sold,’’ Adegoke told the court. Adegoke said the offences contravened Sections 279 and 285 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State. Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000, with two sureties in like sum. She adjourned the case to November 21, 2012, for further hearing.

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

How we import arms into Nigeria – Suspect Contrary to the opinion held by many Nigerians, most arms smuggled into the country are not in Lagos. Samuel Michael a pirate and a self-confessed arms smuggler made the disclosure. What other revelations did he make?

Recovered items

SEGUN ADIO

ome insights have been given into how arms and other weapons find their way into the country. A certain notorious illegal importer of arms into Nigeria has revealed that some eminent members of the country actually sponsor them to carry ferry in weapons. Samuel Michael, an alleged leader of ship hijackers and importer of illegal arms into Nigeria met his waterloo on Saturday, 13 October, 2012, when operatives of the anti-smuggling task force set up by the Federal Government apprehended him. Michael was reportedly arrested on board MV NAOMI CORLET, while his gang was on its way to Cotonou, the Benin Republic to operate. It was reported that the gang, led by Michael, used to hire a vessel from Cameroun sometimes for a period of six months for their activities. Having participated in four different operations since he became the leader of the gang, Michael claimed that the sale of illegal arms and hijacking of oil tankers are dangerous and should not be left in the hands of rookies.

Michael

The gang met its waterloo recently when after they had hired the said vessel in Calabar, Nigeria, they moved her towards the Benin Republic, where the gang had perfected plans to carry to operate. However, while the said ship was mid sea heading for Cotonou, it developed engine failure. Determined to go ahead with their plan in Benin Republic, a member of the gang claimed he knew someone in Apapa, Lagos who could fix the problem of the ship. That was how the said member called a technician to join the ship in the high sea for repairs. When the technician eventually went on board the ship, he was shocked to his bones over what he saw there. The technician reportedly found cigarette tubs and banned hard drugs litter the deck of the ship. The technician became curious but pretended as if he never saw anything. But the technician became determined to expose them to security operatives. So, while fondling with his generating set he came on board with, the technician claimed he forgot an item that he needed to go bring from his Apapa office. Reluctantly, the gang granted the tech-

nician’s request to go get the item. That was the last they saw of the man. Upon arriving back in Apapa, the technician reportedly informed the anti-piracy task force team of his discoveries. The security operatives wasted no time in going after the gang. In his confessional statement, Michael, the gang leader revealed how illegal arms and ammunition are imported into Nigeria via Badagry by his gang. “The vessel anchors at Calabar from where we normally take off and move down to Badagry where we have a depot of sorts. We offload our cache of arms at Badagry and return to the water for hijacking operation. It is through Badagry that arms enter Nigeria. There are other locations across the country where arms are kept. What I am saying is that only about 20 percent of the arms stay in Lagos. Others are scattered in different parts of the country, especial the NigerDelta,” Michael claimed. The gang leader also mentioned some of the buyers of the consignment they brought into the country. “When we were apprehended by security personnel some ammunition and gallons of petrol were found on board the vessel,” he added.

67-year-old cashier jailed for stealing N9.6m

n Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 67-year-old cashier to two years imprisonment for stealing N9.6 million belonging to his employer. Chief Magistrate C.T. Adesola-Ikpatt found Lucas Oluwaseun guilty of the one-count charge of stealing lev-

eled against him. The magistrate, however, ordered the convict to pay N50, 000 fine and to refund N3.5 million of the loot to the company, in lieu of the sentence. Adesola-Ikpatt, in her judgment, said she considered the plea of the convict’s counsel as a first time offender and his being above 60 years of age.

She, however, decried the convict’s action for stealing money entrusted in his care, at his age. The prosecutor, ASP Etim j. Nkamkuk, had told the court that the convict, who was a cashier with Stallion food company, Lagos committed the offence between Feb. 27 and March 3, 2008.

Do you have a story for us? Contact 08138773277 or crimewatchmirror@yahoo.com

CRIME WATCH

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Guinean-Nigerian held with cannabis en-route China

Suspected fake revenue agents held in Onitsha

z Says, ‘Let my wife and kid not hear of this’

SEGUN ADIO

hubuike Chukwu, no doubt, has a herculean task to convince anti-narcotics operatives that he has nothing to do with a large cache of cannabis which was found in his luggage when he was arrested. That indeed is the story he is telling. And for the officers and men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency that apprehended him, it was not an easy task identifying the country of origin of the suspect. Chukwu, 30, says he has lived in Guinea for some years now and is married to a Guinean lady, and that their marriage is blessed with a child. But curiously, Chukwu arrived in Nigeria with a Guinean passport No R0175813 under the name Bah Ibrahim. He had been scheduled to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to China through Lagos. Apart from his luggage, Chukwu also had some auto parts in a separate luggage with which he had wanted to travel to the Asian nation. When passengers for the flight were called and they were asked to file out for the usual pre-departure procedures, Chukwu could not come forward for inspection as other passengers did. The suspicion of the antinarcotics agents became aroused. At that point, Chukwu was asked to step aside for close observation. Lo and behold, inside the shock absorbers at the base of his luggage were found 1.070kg of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis. As is usual of suspects, Chukwu feigned ignorance of the illicit substance and claimed that he was only trying to help a friend deliver the luggage in China. But the anti-narcotics agents would not be fooled by Chukwu’s antics. NDLEA officials’ suspicion towards Chuwku grew when it was discovered that Chukwu arrived in Nigeria with a Guinean passport No R0175813 under the name Bah Ibrahim, as against his real name, which is Chubuike Chukwu. After intense interrogation, the Enugu State-born auto parts dealer owned up to his crime and claimed that he was actually going to China on a business trip when a close friend of his based in Guinea asked him to help in delivering the auto parts in the Asian nation as samples of some parts he intended to ship into Guinea. Chukwu, however, denied knowledge of the presences of cannabis in the luggage he carried for his so-called friend. NDLEA airport commander, Hamza Umar, said that the seizure was made

Chukwu

CHUKWU ARRIVED IN NIGERIA WITH A GUINEAN PASSPORT NO R0175813 UNDER THE NAME BAH IBRAHIM, AS AGAINST HIS REAL NAME, WHICH IS CHUBUIKE CHUKWU based on suspicion. He said, “The drug was detected during routine search based on suspicion. When the officers painstakingly conducted a search on his luggage, the drug was found hidden inside the auto parts.” In his statement before the anti-narcotics agents, Chukwu claimed that his trust in his childhood friend put him in this mess. Chukwu told what he said was the story of his life, “I have been living in Guinea for a while now and if anyone goes to that country, he will discover that I have a clean record there. I am in this mess because I had so much trust in a childhood friend who asked me to take some auto parts to China for him. I was given the parts by a friend to take to China. He told me to assist him in taking the parts to China as samples. Unfortunately, the NDLEA operatives found drugs inside

the parts.” The suspect begged NDLEA operatives to allow him say a word to his wife and kid before he faces music. “How I wish I could have a word with my wife and kid before I am whisked away because they are not in the know of what has befallen me now,” lamented Chukwu who said that if given another chance, he would not be involved in such act again. Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, however, saw a silver lining in the fact that Chukwu was apprehended by Nigerian operatives. According to Giade, were Chukwu to have been caught with the substance in China, he would have been killed. “I am happy that the suspect was detected here by my officers, otherwise he would have faced death penalty in China” Giade said.

NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

uthorities in Onitsha South Local Government Council of Anambra State have apprehended three persons suspected to be fake revenue agents for allegedly extorting money from the residents of area, under the pretence that they are working for the council. Chairman of the local government transition committee, Ugochukwu Ezeani, who disclosed this to newsmen in his office at Onitsha, explained that the fake agents who were apprehended along Zik’s Aveune extorting money from traders, have been handed over to men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at Awkuzu, for proper interrogations. Ezeani regretted that the nefarious activities of the touts have become unbearable that the council authorities decided to take it upon itself to rid the area of extortionists. He noted that although such nefarious activities are peculiar to commercial areas like Onitsha, he regretted that the actions of the people have forced the council to lose its daily, monthly and annual revenue projections. The council boss who did not disclose the projected revenue target of the council area, however, noted that there had been an improvement in the revenue accruing to the council, with the on-going war against fake agents According to Ezeani, “Employment of over 500 youths, prompt payment of salaries of council staff, facilitation of the relocation of Ogbaru flood victims with foods and medicals, as well as embarking on the on-going reconstruction of three-kilometre Arondizugu Street near the former council headquarters,” he said. Ezeani said that the council would soon install over 300 street-lights along Zik’s Avenue, Port-Harcourt Road and Modebe Avenue with the procurement of 87 cars that will serve as taxi cabs at a cheaper rate for easy transportation. The council boss also used the opportunity to appeal to the citizenry to pay their taxes and rates regularly in order to enjoy more dividends of democracy from the government at all levels. The council boss further stated that the council had enjoyed cordial relationship with the state government especially on project execution, adding that people of the area should discountenance the insinuation that the state government was monopolizing council funds. Ezeani continued, “Whatever we are doing in this state is a kind of a joint action on development between the local government and the state. So, there is no way a person can say that Governor Peter Obi had not conducted a local government election because he is monopolizing the local government funds,” he said.

Crime Extra

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

November 10, 2012

‘I killed my grandmother for nagging me’ It must have been the prayer of Madam Olalonpe Ganiyu, a centenarian, to go to her grave in peace. But one of her grandchildren, 32-year-old Tajudeen Adekunle, would not allow that. What could have made the young man send his grandmother to such a bloody grave? SEGUN ADIO

lalonpe Ganiyu, until her death a couple of weeks ago, loved her relations to a fault. Blessed with several children, Olanlope, said to be close to a hundred years before her untimely death, showed great love and affection for her kin. For instance, when, in early 2012, one of Olanlope’s daughters died, the elderly woman immediately took all the late daughter’s children into her custody. Olanlope lived at Yemetu in Ibadan, Oyo State. Among the children Olanlope’s late daughter left behind and which she was taking care of is Tajudeen Adekunle. But ever since Adekunle and his siblings had been living with their grandmother, the elderly woman and her grandson were said to have been dealing with each other like cat and dog. The no love lost relationship between grandmother and grandson came to a head recently when Adekunle allegedly hacked the old woman to death. When Adekunle, 32, reportedly returned from his friends in the evening of Sunday, October 15, 2012, his grandmother called him and advised him to have a haircut as she was said not to be favourably disposed to his hair style. This had actually been a source of disagreement between them before that day. So, on Monday, October 16, 2012, when the old woman realised that Adekunle was not ready to do her billing, she reportedly refused to prepare the man’s dinner that day. This, however, did not go down well with Adekunle who reported-

Adekunle

ly refused to change his ‘crazy’ hairstyle as claimed by the grandmother. Both grandmother and grandson soon reportedly began to exchange abusive words. Within minutes, Adekunle’s voice was reportedly raised so high that it was heard many houses away. However, nobody intervened in the quarrel between the two. It was reported that Adekunle was often treated with disdain in the neighbourhood ostensibly because of his attitude to both young and old. When Adekunle realized that his grandmother was not backing down on her demands and insisting that he would not eat any food in the house that night if he failed to do what she wanted, he quickly dashed inside his room and came out with a cutlass, threatening the old woman with it. But one elderly peacemaker, Busari Ogundeji, said to be a neighbour of the feuding family who could not pretend

not to have heard the altercation between grandmother and grandson came around the house to intervene. When he got to Olanlope’s house, Ogundeji reportedly met Adekunle holding the cutlass and he reportedly joined Adekunle’s grandmother rebuking the enraged man. Ogundeji was reported to have threatened that should Adekunle refuse to drop the cutlass and do what his grandmother ordered him to do; he would make him sweat by any means. At this point, Adekunle’s anger rose and he wasted no time in striking Ogundeji with the cutlass. The cutlass reportedly inflicted deep cut on Ogundeji’s body and the elderly man slumped and laid in his own blood. When Olanlope saw what her grandson just did to a neighbour that had joined her to discipline him, the old woman made a dash for the door. But Adekunle was faster. The hand holding the machete descended again but this time

on his grandmother’s neck. The centenarian, like her male neighbour peace maker, also went down. The two elderly citizens did not make it to the hospital before they joined their ancestors. Their corpses were later deposited at the Adeoyo General Hospital mortuary. Though it was reported that Adekunle upon realising what he had done made no efforts to flee the scene, he still held tight to the cutlass daring anyone who would confront him. A neighbour of the deceased, one Muhammed, was reported to be the only one who dared challenge Adekunle when other neighbours fled the scene of the incident for fear of being attacked by Adekunle. But Muhammed, armed with a big club, confronted Adekunle. The duo soon engaged in a fight and it was not long before Muhammed overpowered Adekunle. While that was going on, some neighbours dashed to the Yemetu Divisional Police Headquarters, to report the matter. After this, Adekunle was arrested. He was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, where he is being currently detained. Adekunle managed to speak with reporters about his action. According to him, he acted in self defence, saying that the threat not to give him dinner made him behaved the way he did. “I severally warned Mama to leave my hair alone but she refused to listen to me. What I did was the best solution to her problem. The cutlass I used was the one we used to cut tree. It was kept inside the house. I hit her with the cutlass just to let me be. I did not know she would die. I just hit her with it to stop worrying me about my hair,” Adekunle said with no sense of remorse. Acting Police Public Relations Officer of Oyo State Command, Joseph Oboyi, confirmed Adekunle’s arrest over the death of his grandmother and the man who came to make peace. Oboyi claimed that the accused would soon be prosecuted upon completion of investigations into the dastardly act.

Applicant bags six months imprisonment for stealing phone

Jos Area Court yesterday sentenced a 22-year old applicant, Josy Ayeni, to six months imprisonment for stealing a cell phone valued at N5, 500. The convict was found guilty of stealing a Nokia XP phone belonging to one Miss Gift Kingsley. The court, however, gave the convict an option to pay N2,000 fine and ordered him to pay the complainant N5,500 compensation. The judge, Mr Godswill Longs, said

the prosecution had convinced the court beyond reasonable doubt that the convict committed the offence. According to Justice Longs, “The confession of the accused that he stole the phone from the complainant has assisted the court to convict him. The court relied on the confessional statement of the convict that he actually committed the offence, to convict him. The court has been left with no option than to invoke Section 157(1) of the Criminal Procedure

Code to convict the accused person,” he said. Longs said the section stipulates summary trial for anybody who pleads guilty to an offence Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Yakubu Aliyu, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on November 3, 2012. Aliyu told the court that the complainant reported the theft at ``C`` Division Police Station on November 4, 2012, at about 9:00 a.m.

He said the accused, who residents in the same compound with the complainant, was found with the phone during investigation. Aliyu said that during the trial, the accused pleaded guilty and begged the court for leniency, saying that he was a first offender. The judge warned him to be of good character after his jail term, saying that the court would not be lenient with him in future if he engaged in such act.

REGIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NORTH

AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

ano State Governor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has faulted the 60% sale of Kano Power Company, saying no proper consultation was made before the decision was made. In the words of Governor Kwankwaso, “We got a letter just one day to the opening of the bids. And it came to me when I saw them on television doing that. That should not be in the first place. The state government wrote a petition letter to the National Council on Privatization telling them that Kano was not in support of what has been done. We need to be properly involved in the whole thing. Kano wanted to know how much investment the state was having in the whole process. Also the selection

Kwankwaso faults sale of Kano PHCN of the company was not clear to the government,” Kwankwaso said. The governor then challenged the basis for

the sale of the company, saying that excluding Kano State government in the arraignment was wrong.

Speaking with journalists in his office, Kwankwaso continued, “From the little investigation that we have conducted

concerning those who purchased the Kano Distribution company, they are people who have no prior experience. They

Bauchi State Commissioner for Special Duties, Alhaji Bappah Azare (left), receiving a report from Chairman, Bauchi State Markets Operations Committee, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed in Bauchi, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

have no idea whatsoever of doing this electricity business. So, we have double jeopardy. We do not know how it happened. You cannot sell such a huge investment from the state, without sitting with the government; without discussing and without getting all the necessary input. And just go and sell 60%. Why not 70%? Why not 50%? Why 60% such issues needed to be resolved so that they could make progress”. Otherwise under the present arrangement, I have to say that the government and the people of Kano state are not in support of the sale of their property. To a company that is being incompetent to handle this particular specialized project.”

Jonathan seeks peace among Nigerians in Jigawa SEGUN ADIO AND ABDULLAHI ODEY DUTSE

resident Goodluck Jonathan has commended the Governor Sule Lamido and the elders of Jigawa State for enthroning peace among its citizenry. President Jonathan said this yester-

day in Hadejia when he arrived for a two day visit to the state. The president was received at the Hadejia Stadium by Governor Lamido, some top government functionaries and traditional rulers. Describing Governor Lamido as his good friend, President Jona-

than appealed to Nigerians to have hope in his government, saying he is committed to his electoral promises of transforming Nigeria to an enviable status in the comity of nations. The president identified agriculture, power, education and health as very crucial to his govern-

Kano police warn public against offering bribe to officers AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

he Kano State police command yesterday vowed with deal ruthlessly with any member of the public caught offering any inducement to its officers and men. In a statement issued in Kano, the command said its attention has been drawn to the unpatriotic attitude of some members of the public who offer and or entice security agents at the various check points in the state capital with money, despite repeated appeals against such behaviour. The press statement, signed by the Commis-

sioner of Police Ibrahim Idris, said it views such unsolicited monetary favour by unscrupulous elements as “an act capable of diverting the attention of security men at the check points, and derail the ongoing campaign by the police command to rid Kano of all manners of criminals and adequately protect lives and properties of innocent Kano residen.” The release quoted CP Idris as alluding to Section 118 of the Penal Code Law against offer of bribe and or gratification to a police officer. The police commissioner reminded residents that the Act provides the both giver and taker of the bribe are liable for prosecutuion.

The statement read in parts, “The command wishes to repeat its earlier appeal to members of the public to report any officer/officers of the command who solicit for any form of favour or demand bribe in the course of his duty to the authorities of the command on the following telephone lines 08032419754, 08123821575, 064977004, and 064977005. To ensure the effectiveness of the campaign against corruption in the force, the commissioner of police CP Ibrahim Idris has constituted the monitoring team that will monitor closely the activities of officers particularly those at the check points.”

ment, sayiong he would continue to pursue these goals in a bid to take the country to acceptable and sustainable standards. Earlier, Governor Lamido had, in his speech, claimed a cultural link between Jigawa and Bayelsa states. While commending the president for visiting Jigawa State with ancient town of Hadejia as his

first port of call, Emir of Hadeija, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abubakar Maje reiterated the calls on the need to dredge the River Hadejia which flows through many local government areas in the state for development. The Emir also called for the repairs of the dilapidated Kafin Hausa-Jahun-Wudil road to reduce frequent accidents as it is

a trunk ‘A’ highway. Before leaving for Kafin Hausa where he laid the foundation stone for the Jigawa State School of Basic and Remedial Studies in Dutse, the president was presented with a horse, a giant fish from the Emirs private pond and traditional attire including Gown, Hat and two pairs of shoes synonymous with the Emirate.

Minimum wage: Plateau govt, LG workers set for showdown JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

he six months disagreement between the Plateau State government and the striking local government workers in the state deepened yesterday with the resumption order issued by the government to the striking workers. In an earlier position, the workers had reiterated their stance to continue their stay at home order until the state government met its demands. The striking workers are demanding for the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage. The workers are also demanding the revasal of Gov-

ernor Jonah Jang’s “no work, no pay” policy. The Plateau State government in its latest warning to the workers directed that they all go back to work immediately or face dare consequences for their action. Speaking on behalf of the state government, commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Dr Paul Wai, who addressed journalists at the government lodge, Jishe in Jos, yesterday, said government would not pay the workers for the six months they were on strike. The Commissioner maintained that the government ‘could only pay the October salary ‘compas-

sionate grounds.’ Wai stated that the demands of the striking workers for government to pay them for the six months which the strike lasted contravenes the trade dispute Act which stipulates no work, no pay’’ as the workers ‘don’t deserve it.’ According to him, government is determined to wipe out corruption and as such, “a biometric capture and staff screening shall commence and all Local Government workers are to submit themselves to the exercise” adding that government “will know what to do” when the workers failed to return to work within three days (Monday).

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

REGIONAL NEWS

November 10, 2012

NORTH

Don’t negotiate with Boko Haram, Arewa chieftain tells Buhari TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

resident of Arewa United Consultative Forum, Alhaji Ado Shuibu Dansudu, has appealed to former Head of State, MajorGenetral Muhammed Buhari (rtd) not to surrender himself for any negotiations with the group. The call is coming on the heels of mounting pressure of Gen. Buhari by the sect to be part of a Federal Government team to negotiate truce with it. Speaking to Saturday Mirror, Alhaji Dansudu said any attempt by the former Head of State to surrender himself for negotiation with the dreaded sect would amount to a suicide mission since the group is a faceless one. It will be recalled that the leadership of Boko Haram, few days ago, named Buhari among

L-R: Plateau Commissioner for Tourism and Culture, Mr. Sylvanus Dongtoe; Special Adviser on Tourism to the governor, Evang. Adamu Bala and President, Nigeria Society of Tourism Experts and Professionals, Mr. Semshak Gwopil at the tourism sector critical stakeholders meeting in Jos, recently. PHOTO: NAN

those the group would sit down with to discuss possible truce in a bid to put an end to various killings and bombings in some parts of the North. Dansudu while expressing his fear against

any relationship between Buhari and Boko Haram said, “How can we really be assured that those people making that request are members of Boko Haram? Today there are many atrocities going on

in the name of Boko Haram and nobody has been able to identify the members of Boko Haram. So I don’t believe it will be a good ideal for General Buhari to mediate with a group he doesn’t know

anything about their activities. “I don’t believe that Buhari should involve himself in such issue. Since Buhari does not have any relationship with Boko Haram before,

it will be difficult for him to accept the Boko Haram because of his own security. If Buhari go for the negotiation and they kill him, what will happen? “Buhari does not belong to any government’s agent. He is from the opposition party, so how can he then mediate on behalf of the government he is not part of. If Buhari eventually decides to go into any talks with Boko Haram, federal government may not accept his recommendation because he is in opposition party. The Arewa chieftain, who attributed the insurgence in the North to injustice and bad governance called on the federal government to find a lasting solution to stop the rate of killings and bombings in the North.

Northern group warns on planned shutdown of oil installations A ZA MSUE KADUNA

orthern group under the auspices of Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) yesterday warned their Niger Delta counterparts over the latter’s recent threat to shut down oil production for underdevelopment of the region. The AYF also called on the Niger Delta youths to drop their demand seeking the relocation of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abuja headquarters to one of their states capital saying such extremist comment was intended to worsen the nation’s current situation. Addressing a press conference in Kaduna AYF National president Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, said president Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen want to reduce him to sectional leader. Alhaji Gujungu noted that before the discovery of crude oil, Nigerian past leaders used northern and other regions resources to develop the country. According to him “We

wish to address you once again on current developments in the country and also draw your attention to a recent publication credited to the Amalgamation of Niger Delta Youths for Peace (ANYFPI). In the said publication the ANYFPI threatened to

shut down facilities of oil production and distribution in the Niger Delta, if the senseless over-dependence on oil at the detriment of our people’s development and progress is not re-thought” Gujungu continued, “The ANYFPI group,

among other things also demanded the relocation of the NNPC headquarters to one of the state capitals in the Niger Delta. The Arewa Youth Forum wishes to express its shock at such misguided and extremist utterances, intended to further polarize the

country” He added “It is on record that before the discovery of crude oil, our leaders used resources from the groundnut pyramid from the north and other agricultural produce from other sections to develop all parts of the country”

The group commended the idea of dialogue reportedly being proposed by the Boko Haram sect saying, “It is our belief that it may succeed if government is sincere and committed to seeking an end to the unfortunate state of lawlessness in the country.”

No redeployment on basis of security, NYSC DG tells corps members AUGUSTINE MADUWEST KANO

he National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) may have ruled out the redeployment of corps members posted to some volatile Northern states on account of security threat in the region. The Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General Brigadier-General Nnamdi OkoreAffia dropped this hint yesterday in Kano while addressing Batch C corps members at Karaye camp in Kano. Gen. Okore-Affia said redeployment will based on the rules and regulations of the NYSC, adding that consideration would be based on health ground and marital status, in-

cluding nursing mothers. Speaking through the NYSC image maker, Mrs Bose Aderibigbe, the NYSC boss said “We have been to Jigawa and Kano states and the earlier security tension there had been addressed. Therefore we called on corps members to be ready to serve in any state they were posted to. Gen. Okore-Affia, however, did not rule out

the possibility of granting request for redeployment of corps members who felt he/she was not secured in his place posting. He urged corps members to engage themselves in skill acquisition that could make them self employed after service year. Gen. Okore-Affia charged the the corps members to abide by the culture and tradition of their host communities,

pointing out that the joy of every corps member is to leave a lasting legacy for his host community through Community Development Services. While urging them to take seriously their primary assignment, he warned against truancy and abscondment from service. He maintained that any corps member found wanting in this regard will be seriously

dealt with. His words, “Put in your best during your service year, make some positive impacts on your host’s livelihood. Try your best to observe their religious and cultural activities. Underline their dos and don’ts. Do not put yourself in trouble by your way of dressing. Understand the meaning of ‘Baa Shega’ (out of bounds),” he said.

Gunmen kill 3 policemen, seize arms, munitions INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

unmen suspected to be terrorists yesterday laid ambush in Buni Yadi of Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State, killing three policemen, and carting away arms and

ammunition from the Divisional Police Station in the town. The incident, it was gathered, took place in the early hours of Friday. Around 3:00am, the gunmen had reportedly invaded the town, carried out their operation successfully and fled without

being arrested. Confirming the incident in a press statement, the Joint Task Force Spokesman, Lieutenant Lazarus Eli said, “In the early hours of Friday, gunmen attacked the Divisional Police Station at BuniYadi, Gujba Local Government Area Yobe

State. He said, during the encounter, three policemen were killed and in the process, some arms were also carted away by the attackers. He added that the JTF responded swiftly to the distress call and beefed up security in the town to forestall further attacks.

November 10, 2012

Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

INTERNATIONAL

November 10, 2012

The slow death of white America

z How will the great melting pot adapt to the millions of black and Hispanic voters who swept Obama back to power?

or Republicans struggling to understand their defeat at the polls, the most chilling statistic in this week’s presidential election was this: Mitt Romney won the biggest share of the white vote that any Republican White

House contender ever has, and he still lost. In an election battle that was defined as much as anything by race, Mitt Romney won the support of 59 per cent of whites, but just 27 per cent of Latinos, 26 per cent of Asian-Americans

and 6 per cent of AfricanAmericans. Thirty years ago, being unpopular with ethnic minorities would hardly have stopped a white establishment candidate like Romney from trouncing Barack Obama. But back then,

whites accounted for almost 90 per cent of voters. Tuesday’s election showed a large turnout by Hispanics, who constituted some 10 per cent of voters — more than ever before. With 71 per cent of them voting for Mr Obama — notably in

Chinese President Jintao Hu (left) helps former Chinese President Jiang Zemin to stand up as Prime Minister Wen Jiabo looks on at the opening of the 18th Communist Party Congress in Beijing on Thursday.

Mitt Romney ‘Shellshocked’ after lost election

s Republicans search for reasons why they came up short in Tuesday’s elections, anonymous Mitt Romney advisers have described what it was like to be with the former governor as he came to terms with his loss. Another unnamed senior adviser explained that as returns came in and battleground states went into President Barack Obama’s Electoral College column, they felt their paths to potential victory narrowing. CBS reports that the campaign was unprepared for this in part because it had ignored polling that showed the races favouring Obama. Instead, it turned to its own internal “unskewed” polls, which it

believed more accurately reflected the situation on the ground. They didn’t. On the eve of the election, a number of polling aggregators, including HuffPost’s Pollster and New York Times’ FiveThirtyEight, showed Obama with a huge statistical advantage over Romney. When it was clear that Romney had lost the race and had to concede, his personal assistant, Garrett Jackson, called his counterpart in the Obama campaign, Marvin Nicholson, to connect the two men. As CBS’ Jan Greenburg writes in her article: Romney was stoic as he talked to the president, an aide said, but his wife Ann cried. Running mate Paul Ryan seemed genuinely

shocked, the adviser said. Ryan’s wife Janna also was shaken and cried softly. The New York Times’ tick-tock of the events that night at the Boston Intercontinental Hotel includes this anecdote: Bob White, a close Romney friend and adviser, was prepared to tell the waiting crowd that Mr. Romney would not yet concede. But then, Mr. Romney quietly decided it was over. “It’s not going to happen,” he said. As Ann Romney cried softly, he headed down to deliver his speech, ending his second, and presumably last, bid for the White House. As evidence of the Romney campaign’s sincere belief that the former Mas-

sachusetts governor would emerge victorious on Tuesday night, the Boston Globe reported Thursday that it had planned to fete Romney’s election with an eight-minute display of fireworks over Boston Harbor. “It was not an intense, grand finale-type of display for eight minutes, but it certainly was a fastpaced show to cap off the evening, if it were necessary,” Steve Pelkey, the CEO of Atlas Professional Fireworks Displays, told the Globe. Romney also told reporters on his campaign plane earlier this week that while he had written a victory speech, he hadn’t prepared concession remarks.

UK to end financial aid to India by 2015

he UK is to end financial aid to India by 2015, international development secretary Justine Greening has said. Support will be phased out between now and 2015, saving

about £200m ($319m), and the UK’s focus will then shift to offering technical assistance. Ms Greening said the move, which will be popular with Tory MPs, reflected India’s economic

progress and status. Giving his reaction, India’s foreign minister Salman Khurshid said: “Aid is the past and trade is the future.” Until last year, when it was overtaken by Ethio-

pia, India was the biggest recipient of bilateral aid from the UK, receiving an average of £227m a year in direct financial support over the past three years.

a handful of crucial swing states such as Florida, Colorado and Nevada, where they turned out at the polls in unusually high numbers — Hispanic voters gave the President his winning margin. In other key states, such as Ohio, pundits said a strong showing by Hispanic and black voters together ensured an Obama victory. The Republican Party, said one pollster, ‘will be doomed if they lose black and Latino votes by these same margins in the future’. He’s not exaggerating. As the election highlighted, white America is dying — and in a quite literal sense. The evidence of this demographic time bomb, which is likely to alter the face and character of the U.S. far more fundamentally than any number of elections, was made plain in the summer in a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau. It revealed that for the first time in American history, ethnic minorities now account for more than half the babies born in the U.S. Of the four million children born in the year to July 2011, 50.4 per cent were ethnic minorities — black, Asian, mixed-race and, above all, Hispanic. It was a long-expected milestone on the road to an America in which, according to experts, within 30 years whites will no longer be the majority. For a country founded by British colonists on British traditions and, for half its history inhabited almost entirely by white Europeans (if you discount the slaves, as the nation’s leaders did), it signals a seismic cultural transformation for the world’s sole superpower. Given that immigration has become the country’s single most divisive issue, predictably some Americans have been punching the air for joy at the decline of a white majority, while others are bereft at what they see as the leaching away of their nation’s traditional character. Liberals wedded to a multi-ethnic future insist it will be an opportunity to reinvigorate the U.S., creating a more diversified, open-

minded and 21st century country. At the other extreme are conservatives who believe the ‘death’ of white America spells cultural, economic and political doom for their country, and an end to the values of self-sufficiency that made their country great. And in between the two extremes are most rank-and-file Americans, who understand that the U.S. needs new blood if it is to avoid Japan and Europe’s economic nightmare of an ageing population, but who are worried by the implications of what has been dubbed the ‘browning’ of the U.S. Thanks to the sweeping away of immigrant quotas, the immigrant population has quadrupled since 1970, with nearly 14 million entering the country between 2000 and 2010 alone. Mexicans are by far the biggest group — of the 12 million now living in the U.S., about half are there legally. (It is sobering to learn that the U.S. population of around 226 million in 1980 has now increased to more than 314 million.) America’s struggling economy and toughened border controls have put a brake on immigration, but the problem for those upset by the country’s changing demographics is that whites — while still constituting 72 per cent of the population — aren’t having enough children. The fertility rate for Hispanic women is 2.4 children, compared with 2.1 for black women, and only 1.8 for whites. Latinos don’t just have more children — already more than a quarter of all babies — but they are also much younger. While the average age of American whites is 42, for Hispanics it is just 27. It is believed that Britain, with the rest of Europe, faces the same fate as the U.S. under the relentless logic of a dwindling white population and growing minorities. ‘There’s nothing the British can do because they’re not reproducing,’ he said. ‘They’re getting older, they’re going to die and someone’s going to come in and take it over. I think Europe is finished.’

Quote

the

day

The road traffic law is meant to keep Lagosians safe and alive. Okada will not be our transportation model in Lagos. Other states have banned it and the heavens did not fall in those states. Lagos will not be a dumping ground for motorcycles. Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola reacting to reports of passengers stranded at bus stops due to the restriction on okada.

Saturday, November 10, 2012. www.nationalmirroronline.net

Africa: The new frontier (IV)

he story of Africa’s progress, not just in economic but also in socio-political terms, needs to be told more confidently and consistently. Greater access to locally raised capital is a key factor in enabling sustainable economic expansion. Africans investing in Africa and emergence of regional investors will continue to accelerate positive change. It will also act as catalyst for foreign entrepreneur and foreign investors in Africa. Perceptions are changing but not far enough Africa is undergoing a ‘silent revolution’ with much of the progress going unnoticed by the rest of the world; those that have taken notice are doing well, while others remain held back by a combination of bad news and received wisdom. There remains a perception gap of Africa’s attractiveness, representing a chasm between perception and reality. Investors must instead look at the facts, which tell a story of reform, progress and growth. Some people, to discourage investors, cite political instability, corruption and security as major obstacles to investing on the Continent. It is important not to dismiss these ‘addressable’ risks. But African leaders themselves have taken steps to address the challenges that are

with President Olusegun Obasanjo hexcellency2011@yahoo.com

AFRICA HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF A COMPELLING INVESTMENT CASE – NATURAL RESOURCES, RAPID ECONOMIC AND POPULATION GROWTH, MATURING POLITICAL SYSTEMS, A RAPIDLY IMPROVING ENVIRONMENT TO INVEST AND DO BUSINESS AND ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT RETURNS Continent. However, these challenges are not insurmountable and as countries enter a virtuous cycle of economic growth, they are increasingly better equipped to bridge these gaps. There are other parts of the world, particularly in Asia

posed by these seeming obstacles. Political systems need to be strengthened, endemic corruption addressed and areas of conflict pacified. Inadequate infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck for businesses and investors across the

SPORT EXTRA

Eko 2012: Teslim Balogun Stadium renovation nears completion

he ongoing renovation work at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, one of the venues for the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival (NSF), is nearing completion, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. A check on Friday revealed that a facelift had been given to the existing tennis courts, the squash court, the astro turf football pitch and the tartan tracks encircling it. The stadium now wears a new look from the coat of paint that has being applied on the facility, with contractors scrambling to put finishing touches to the job.

The ongoing works at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Sports Hall is also at an advanced stage, with contractors working meticulously on the fittings and the air conditioning system in the hall. Meanwhile the swimming pool area of the stadium is also awash with workers striving to upgrade the existing swimming pool, to Olympic-size standard. Explaining the development, Okanlawon Lawal, the Stadium Manager told NAN that most of the renovation had been completed adding that the remaining would be completed soon. Lawal who did not disclose the name

of contractors, nor the scope of the project assured that the renovation would be completed before the commencement of the sports festival. “The renovation work is almost completed, as you can see, the contractors are speeding up their works to ensure they beat the deadline given to them. “I can tell you that ‘Lagos is ready’ and I think the state government should be praised for hosting this festival one year after the Port Harcourt edition,” Lawal said. The biennial sports fiesta is scheduled to hold from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9 in Lagos.

and Latin America where the situations were worse than what they are now in Africa when heavy investments moved in. The countries and the investors were the better for it. In conclusion, there is a new story emerging about Africa; a story of growth, progress, potential and profitability and a story of leaders not complacent and wanting to improve the situation without bulk-passing. Africa has all the makings of a compelling investment case – natural resources, rapid economic and population growth, maturing political systems, a rapidly improving environment in which to invest and do business and attractive investment returns. Leadership will be a critical factor in transforming this potential into reality and we are seeing a new generation of Africans taking on the mantle of leadership. Africa is by far the most fascinating region in the world right now – and one that investors must watch closely. Africa is ready for investment. This is the time to be investing in Africa. Now it is the time to move with the upsurge. Delay may not only be unprofitable, but also regrettable. Come and see the good things that are happening in Africa and be part of the action.

CONCLUDED

PREMIERSHIP FIXTURES Today’s Matches Arsenal v Fulham 15:00 Everton v Sunderland 15:00 Reading v Norwich City 15:00 Southampton v Swansea 15:00 Stoke City v QPR 15:00 Wigan Athletic v West Brom 15:00 Aston Villa v Manchester Utd 17:30

Sunday, November 11, 2012 Manchester City Tottenham 13:30 Newcastle v West Ham 15:00 Chelsea v Liverpool 16:00

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