Businessday 01 jul 2018

BDSUNDAY BUSINESS DAY

Herdsmen massacre: Nigerians spit fire as Plateau continues to count losses p . 24

Interim dividends, US trade wars to spur market rally as equities gain N257bn at half year p. 35

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p. 40-41p.

Sunday 01 July 2018 Market & Commodities Monitor Brent Oil

5yr Bond

$79.39

0.00 13.57%

Gold

10yr Bond

$1,254.60

0.19 14.02%

Cocoa

20yr Bond

$2,512.00

0.00 13.96%

Party funding Small parties in lamentation as election approaches Odds still favour the big ones

ZEBULON AGOMUO, INNOCENT ODOH and INIOBONG IWOK

‘Atiku has not made choice of presidential running mate’

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head of the 2019 general election, leaderships of some political parties have lamented their financial status and the disadvantaged position this may place them in the race. They also urged the

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ormer Vice President and frontline aspirant for the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar has denied a media report alleging that he has chosen former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi as his running mate in

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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reconsider the stoppage of the grant hitherto given to political parties.

Out of the 68 political parties registered

by INEC, only a few are said to possess the financial backbone to successfully prosecute elections.

BDSUNDAY checks show that the poor financial status of some of the parties has

constituted a huge impediment, derailing their focus and putting them at political disadvantage despite their official registration by INEC. Party leaders share their experiences Speaking with BDSUNDAY on the challenge being faced by his party on financial score, Tanko Yunusa, national chairman of

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inside Stakeholders optimistic Nigeria will sign AfCFTA p. 10

Government must take responsibility for insecurity in Nigeria- Baptist clergyman

President Muhammadu Buhari (r) welcoming the visiting President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo in Katsina at the weekend.

NAN

Return of stolen Nigerian artefacts to spur museum visitation, increase revenue …as Benin art lures visitors, earn big at UK museums

OBINNA EMELIKE

p. 20

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ith over 46.5 million annual visitors who pay at least £20 entry and exhibition fees per outing at the top 15 museums, the United Kingdom rakes in millions of

pounds from her museums, aside revenue from other commercial activities, grants and donations.

The British Museum, which is the most popular tourist attraction in the UK, received 5.7 million visitors last year (2017) while earning £39.7 million revenue and

£13.9 million capital grant-in-aid from the government in2016/17.

However, many Nigerian artefacts, which are locked up in UK museums are among the works visitors pay to see, while the country of origin is neither mentioned nor receives

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PhotoSplash

L-R: Chibuzor Ilechukwu, event/launch coordinator; Leonard Umunna, general overseer, Bible Life Church, and Angela Ekpene-Umunna, women leader, during the 64th birthday anniversary ceremony and launch of Bishop Umunna’s latest music album in Lagos.

L-R: Ayo Akanbi, director, technical, Busicon Limited; Osagie Omonzokpia; Anifowose Moronke; Adetolani Eko, all of Vybe Group winner of the 1million naira cash prize, and Robert Giles, head, retail bank business, Diamond Bank Plc, at the prize presentation of the 1st Busicon App Challenge in Lagos. Pic by Olawale Amoo

L-R: James Slaughter, sales director, Fueltrax; Bene Okorie, West Africa manager; Votoria Cantu, sales/ marketing manager; Wisdom Nwagwu, business head, marine services, C&I Leasing Plc, and John Donovan, global operations director, Fueltrax, at the electronic fuel monitoring symposium hosted by Fueltrax in Lagos.

L-R: Head, Sales & Marketing, Electronic Payplus Limited, Joy Michael; Managing Consultant, Infoprive, Mr. Adetokunbo Omotosho; Managing Director, Electronic Payplus, Mr. Bayo Adeokun; the company’s Chief Technical Officer, Rotimi Ojo; and Head, Internal Audit & Compliance, Olayiwola Bello, at the presentation of the certification from PCI DSS, ISO QSM at Electronic Payplus office in Lagos… recently

Vice - President, Yemi Osinbajo; Venture Garden Group, MD/CEO, Bunmi Akinyemiju; Executive Director, Kunmi Demuren applauding Spacefinish’s Chief Executive Officer, Remi Dada at the inauguration of Vibranium Valley recently.

L-R: Ferdi Moolman, CEO, MTN Nigeria; Damilola Teidi, director of Incubation, CcHub Nigeria, and Bayo Adekanmbi, chief transformation officer, MTN Nigeria, during MTN Nigeria’s official visit to innovation hubs around Lagos.

L-R: Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, Director General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Pang XinXing, president StarTimes Group, and Ishaq Moddibo Kawu, director general, Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) at the 8th African Digital TV Development Seminar held in Beijing.

L-R: Hussein Dabbas, general manager, Special Projects, Middle East & Africa, Embraer Commercial Aviation; Demola Sogunle, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Nick Fadugba, chief executive officer, African Aviation Services, at an aviation industry breakfast session organized by Stanbic IBTC in Lagos.

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News INEC tasks stakeholders on logistics Iniobong Iwok

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ahmood Ya k u b u , chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged stakeholders to ensure the 2019 election meets the required standards to make the polls credible.

Yakubu spoke at a workshop held for security agencies, logistic experts, transport unions and other interest groups held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Speaking at the workshop titled ‘Conference on Logistics for the 2019 General Election’; Yakubu said the prompt delivery of electoral materials to polling booths at the right time, was the beginning of making the polls credible.

As part of the efforts to ensure the 2019 elections are hitch free, the European Centre for Electoral Support

(ECES) and International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) collaborated to conduct the workshop.

The INEC chairman added that electoral logistics were imperative to the successful conduct of the 2019 election. “Nigerians expect that the polling units are opened by 8 am on February 16, 3019 and March 2, 2019.

If we don’t open the polling units at 8 am, it means we have not started well.”

Yakubu maintained that the timely delivery of materials and personnel to polling units across the country were major aspects that INEC and other critical stakeholders could not ignore.

He said: “If we open the polling or a substantial majority by 8 am, we have achieved a considerable part of the responsibility in election management and other things will fall in place.

“We have been required to deliver personnel and electoral material in 119,973 locations nationwide and they must open simultaneously.”

He noted that elections required careful planning, stressing that deployment and retrieval of logistics materials must be put in proper perspective to get desired outputs.

“Logistics is basically public service, some citizen may understand if we don’t deliver by opening polling units by 8 am. Others will see it as incompetence of the electoral commission, this work is sentive, so, we are determined as the election management body to ensure that polling units are opened by 8 am.

“To be able to do so, we need the contribution, support, suggestions and inputs of those who have been handling these as a matter of their respective constitutional duties. The management of the electoral process is not left to the commission, it is a Nigerian project, it is not an INEC project,” he said.

Project Director ECES , David Le Norte, who was represented by Rudoff Elbling said the elections were

a time bound event, adding the that they needed precision and exactitude to get the required results.

“For a vast geographical country like Nigeria, with pockets of different terrains, the importance of putting in place efficient and effective logistics deployment of personnel and election materials to service about 1,558 constituencies cannot be over emphasised.”

According to him the workshop would address the electoral challenges. He urged stakeholders to contribute to the success of the elections.

IFEC representative Seeray Jay, said logistics and personnel are among national election problems, stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure the coming electing was hitch-free.

“To do this, INEC has to rely on capable and professional transportation service providers, whether public or private, one that knows, thinks and acts like INEC.”

NCMM set to give official recognition to BCS Royal Museum MIKE ABANG, Calabar

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he National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Abuja may soon accord official recognition to BCS Royal Museum located o Ambo Street Calabar. This followed an official visit by a five man team of private museums committee led by the director of museums at NCMM, Edith Ekunke.

She commended the proprietor, Olumba Olumba Obu, the spiritual leader of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star for establishing the museum, stressing the importance of collecting rare historical artefacts for posterity even by private people.

She said what they saw at the Brotherhood museum was enthralling and worth encouraging even though was done by nonprofessionals who never had training in the arts of museum business.

The director and her team members who were also senior professionals at NCMM

strongly recommended that before they can register and accord the museum official recognition the four staff must undergo at least six months training for those of them that are graduates and 18 months for non graduates NCMM institute.

“We commend efforts of the management of the Royal Museum at what we have seen here. They have tried. They have many collections. However, the staff still need professional training at our hands for certain durations. The arrangements of the various artefacts are not orderly or as prescribed professionally. They have to comply with some processes before we can accord them recognition. They need technical assistance.

“We’ve told them to compose an exhibition committee that will work alongside museum professionals to aid reorganisation. We need them to document all objects to meet international standard and practices. They shouldn’t display all their objects at once,” she said.

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Yunusa Tanko

Party funding ...

Continued from Page 1 the National Conscience Party (NCP), said, “It has been a very difficult challenge for us in NCP I must say and I believe it is the same with all the other political parties. According to our constitution, we can generate support from membership dues and also the constitution gives us the power to do bye laws with regards to how we can generate funds. So what we end up doing is to expect some new comers in the party to help in off-setting some of the expenses that we have already made over the years. As the case may be, these ones can be waived by the party’s national executive council depending on the negotiation that is being done by whoever is coming in the party.

“So, we expect that as we go into the 2019 election some of the new people who are joining us will contribute to the development of the party, financially. Although some of our core supporters who have sympathetic views towards the ideological leaning of our party sometimes donate to the party but it is not enough.

That is why we are trying to enforce the membership dues for all members and that has been a very difficult challenge to us. Some of the political parties that are in power enjoy enormous fund from money generated in a system where they have governors, state Assembly and National Assembly members and president. They donate heavily at the expense of the other parties.

“Therefore, we are asking for technical funding through INEC from the federal account so that the money will be given to political parties so that at least, they can pay of salaries of their workers, do publicity, mobilisation and sensitisation

of the electorate as to what to do. This will help the existing democratic systems.”

According to Yunusa, “the last time INEC gave political parties money was in 2006 and at that time 6 million was given to political parties and INEC still audits accounts of our parties regularly even if they don’t give us money.”

National Chairman of Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP) Godswill Iheanyichukwu Nnaji, a professor, lamented that the government is not providing the funding but sounded optimistic that whatever be the case, his party would strive to stay afloat.

“We will do anything possible that is legal to generate funding. You should ask the government why they are not funding, don’t ask me how,” Nnaji said.

According to him, “Politics is a very expensive game but if they want only one party system so be it but we shall challenge it. Don’t forget that it is the smaller political parties that give relevance to this democracy, and ignoring them is at the peril of the nation. We shall emerge big or small. What you should tell the public as media is to de-emphasise money, to work and possibly contribute, not necessarily money, but ideas.”

Godson Okoye, national chairman of the United Democratic Party (UDP) in his reaction told BDSUNDAY that the challenge is that “there is no money and we fund the party ourselves as members because we don’t get funding from government but we are trudging on,” he said.

Why funding was scrapped Party funding has been a big and knotty issue in the country. In the First and Second Republics, it was hotly debated in the state parliaments and the National Assembly.

Remi Sonaiya

During the military era, the fear of allowing the moneybags to “put political parties in their pockets” led the regime of Ibrahim Babangida in the ‘90s to make government partly responsible for their funding.

This funding of political parties by the Nigerian government continued after the return of the country to civil rule in 1999.

But the concern about the number of parties in the country, the frivolous duplication of political parties and abuse of funds led to the clamour for the government to suspend funding of the parties.

Explaining why government stopped the funding, Matthew Ahuwa, a political affairs commentator, said: “You know everything Nigerian is always different.

People abuse things so much in Nigeria.

Party funding by government was wellconceived to assist smaller ones and to shield them from the domination of the bigger ones; but as time went on people began to abuse the process. You see a few people gather and come up with a name but their sole aim is to collect the money from government. It suddenly became a racket. It was discovered that those who had no business with politics were registering parties. And as soon as they collect the money, they would disappear to reemerge when it is time for another release. This was why the PDP government decided to review the law and changed it such that parties would now source funding themselves.”

Ahuwa, who also is a political economist, however, pointed out that the decision of government to stop the financial assistance may have given one or two parties an undue advantage, which according to him is not good for democracy.

“As you would agree with me, every policy has its other side, no matter how

good the intention may be. Nigeria presently has sixty eight parties; apart from the PDP, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and to some extent the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) because of its showing in Anambra, all others are what we may call ‘portfolio” parties. Most of them are largely unknown and have little or no means of funding which often makes them to consider the merger option whenever election knocks,” he said.

INEC faults parties’ lack of transparency in financials Yakubu Mahmood, a professor and chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recently raised concern over the transparency of parties in matters of their funding and expenditure, urging them to comply with relevant provisions of the law.

“Lack of transparency in the funding and expenditures of political parties and campaign expenses, absence of formal internal mechanisms for mediation and dispute resolution are also involved. It includes limited and deliberate compliance with relevant provision of party constitutions, the Electoral Act and other regulations guiding political party activities,” Mahmood said.

Monetisation of politics Political scientist at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Eme Okechukwu, lamented the monetisation of the political system in the country, blaming it for the increased corruption among public office holders.

“It is worth accepting the fact that elections cost money. Democracy costs money. Campaigns cost money. Anyone who knows anything about the way politics is done in Nigeria knows the huge cost of a campaign for public office. This

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Ralph Nwosu

cost is so high that it is prohibitive to all but the richest men, or those who have rich benefactors, or those who have their hands in public funds.

“The figures are truly shocking. In the PDP, for example, to pick a nomination form for the State House of Assembly, you must part with a princely sum of N1m.

Yes, N1m, for a form. If you wanted to be a House of Representatives candidate, you part with N2.5 million. For the Senate, N3million; governorship, N5million, and for the Presidency, it is N10million. This is not counting other fees like the ‘expression of interest’, ‘formalisation of intent’, administrative charges, and all such levies which combine to make elections a game

The concern about the number of parties in the country, the frivolous duplication of political parties and abuse of funds led to the clamour for the government to suspend funding of the parties

Adams Oshiomhole

for the highest bidder. It can therefore, not be surprising that after being elected, a public official’s first port of call is to recoup all the investments made in his campaign, replenishing both his own funds, and those of his benefactors.”

However, the Lagos State chairman of the Advance Democratic Congress (ADC), Babatunde Lawal, said the party survives through donations from leaders and other stakeholders,but lamented that several of the smaller parties in the country could not execute their programmes because of their poor financial base.

“What is happening is that a lot of us have to go and solicit from people. For some of us, our members also give us money but you know the level of poverty in the society; how many people can afford to pay their dues,” Lawal said.

“It is not only our party; it is the same with all other smaller parties; we are all having financial problem. For example, we are looking for money to hold our state congress here in Lagos. May be, except for the APC, PDP and APGA and perhaps, SDP that have the structure and influential Nigerians who fund them.

“INEC should review this policy; I think the National Assembly is the one to amend the constitution first, there can be checks, mechanism should be put in place to monitor how the money is being used and the way the parties are operating,” Lawal further said.

However, the Lagos State Chairman of the Democratic Action Congress (DAC), Uduak Archibong, lamented the winnertakes-all politics in the country, adding that his party is being funded by him and a few other chieftains.

“We fund the party through our money, the leaders; if you wait for money from members you may not achieve anything.

But the problem in the country is the winner-takes-all politics which often leaves us the smaller parties handicapped,” Archibong.

Voters’ increasing demands Remi Sonaiya, a professor of French Language and Applied Linguistics, and former presidential aspirant on KOWA Party platform, said that many Nigerians see elections as avenue to make money as they openly demand money from aspirants and candidates.

“Politicians bribe the electorate, giving them handouts to cast their votes for them. Many voters in Nigeria believe that election is the only time they see politicians very close to them, so they make all manner of demands on them. When I contested the last time, people continued to ask me for money, but I said I had no money to give, but good governance if voted in. I tried to make them understand that if they collect money from politicians they would be mortgaging their future.

KOWA does not believe in buying votes, we believe in offering quality governance that will benefit everybody in the end,” Sonaiya said.

Since the return of Nigeria to civil rule in 1999, money in party politics has remained a big issue. A party that has a lot of it gets upper hand at elections. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) right from inception had a lot of money with which they dictated the pace of political game in the country. Although, it was not for lack of money that the PDP lost the election in 2015, the then opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) also matched kobo for kobo with it. It is no longer secret that the then two governors on its platform, who are today, ministers, shelled out huge amount of money that enabled the party’s presidential project a reality.

In Nigeria as in many other places, the party in power effectively controls the wealth of the country, it is against this backdrop that smaller parties have cried out over the likelihood of power domination as they cannot muster the financial muscle to effectively compete with the

big parties.

Crowd-funding alien to Nigeria Today, a number of the smaller parties look to crowd funding to raise money to prosecute their electoral activities. But critics say that such method does not resonate with the Nigerian electorate, who see such contribution as a waste of resources.

Kadiri Adigun, a political analyst, believes that the consistent failure of politicians to live up to their campaign promises is a disincentive to crowd-fund a politician’s election.

“We hear some parties and aspirants talk about crowd-funding. That does not strike a chord here. The reason is simple.

You see, the impression in this part of the world is that politicians ride on the back of the electorate to get to power and thereafter abandon them. We have seen that always here. So, instead of contributing for politicians, the electorates make demands of them, because they know they may not see the politician again after election. In some other climes, crowd-funding works.

The attitude of our politicians make it difficult, if not impossible for many people to buy into that,” Adigun said.

A pundit alleged that it was the issue of funding that got the PDP into trouble with Ali Modu Sheriff shortly after the party lost the presidential election in 2015.

According to the pundit, who craved anonymity, “Some of the party leaders that time felt that Ali Modu Sheriff was capable of running the party with his own money. Having lost the national purse, the PDP knew it was going to be pretty difficult running its affairs. The governors on the platform were not ready to be shelling out money for the party and they felt that Sheriff can take it up. Running a party is not a tea party actually; it is money-guzzling.

Parties don’t save money; their money is for sharing and eating. That was why it was difficult for the PDP to stand on its feet after the election.”

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News

Akeredolu denies accusing TUC of taking bribe from Fayose Yomi Ayeleso Akure

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ndo State G o v e r n o r, Oluwarotimi Ak e r e d o l u has described as false and cheap blackmail a report which claimed that he accused the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of collecting bribe from Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in order to instigate Ondo civil servants to embark on industrial action.

Akeredolu said he did not raise such an allegation against the TUC or anybody during Wednesday’s meeting with state Joint Negotiation Committee at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office, Akure.

According to him, the meeting was part of his administration’s efforts to sustain the existing robust relationship with the state workforce.

A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Yemi Olowolabi, said that Akeredolu, who was commended at the meeting by the JNC Chairman, Abel Opeyemi Oloniyo, for his commitment to the civil servants’ welfare, used the occasion to remind the labour union of his earlier promise to make their welfare a priority.

The statement reads: “It is imperative for us as a responsible government to set the record straight and repudiate efforts of mischief makers to distort the facts of the meeting between the workers and the governor.

“For the purpose of clarity, the meeting, which held inside the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office, Akure, was part of the efforts of the government to sustain the robust relationship with its workforce.”

The commissioner recalled that at the meeting, the JNC Chairman, Abel Opeyemi, Oloniyo, praised the governor for fulfilling his earlier promise that he would not owe workers and also appreciated him for paying the salary arrears, despite the precarious financial situation the state found itself.

The commissioner quoted Oloniyo as praising Akeredolu at the meeting thus: “You (Governor Akeredolu) inherited seven month-salary arrears and you have paid out of it. We thank you, Sir. “Let us also appreciate

you for the appointment of permanent secretaries, even those who do not know anybody in government were appointed permanent secretaries. We must also thank you for the various infrastructural developments in our state.”

Olowolabi, however, said it was therefore. curious for the TUC to react to nonexistent allegation of bribe and complicity to cause confusion when the governor did not mention any union in particular.

He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Akeredolu remains committed to his covenant of excellent service delivery to the people of Ondo State and as such, cannot be intimidated by cheap blackmail or sheer threats from any quarters.

Only the guilty are afraid.”

FRC commences public hearing/sensitisation exercise on code of corporate governance SABY ELEMBA, Owerri

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he Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria has commenced public hearing/ sensitisation exercise on “Nigerian code of corporate governance” across the six geo political zones of the country.

The Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, speaking at the South East version of the seminar held in Owerri, regretted that corporate governance in many of the nation’s public companies and public institutions had remained relatively weak and that had rendered these organisations uncompetitive thereby inflicting a formidable obstacle to the nation’s economy in which they all operate.

“There is today, considerable focus across the world on corporate governance

practices because of the undesirable event that led to the recent global financial crisis.

This has spurred various governments to carry out a review of their countries’ governance practices, upgrade their corporate governance codes and adopt new legislations to regulate corporate conduct and behavior,” he said He commended the council (FRC) for her deep commitment to investorprotection to an increasingly closer cooperation with their counterpart regulations in the country, saying “as regulators, you should be aggressive in your role as market referees and protectors of investors’ interest.

“At the same time, you have to be humble in recognising that regulation is not the fuel that drives our markets, although it undoubtedly is the oil that greases the gears”.

Scholars call for think tank on Nigeria’s restructuring ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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forum of scholars under the aegis of International Association of Research Scholars and Administrators has advocated for a national think tank to raise the template for discussion on the restructuring of Nigeria.

The forum said the need for a think tank, devoid of ethnicity, religion, politics and corruption has become necessary because the term “restructuring” is not clearly defined and therefore, misunderstood.

The group’s submission came at the end of a round table it organised in collaboration with the Akpan Hogan Ekpo Centre for Public Policy held at the multipurpose hall of the University of Uyo. “There is need for restructuring, but it would appear that restructuring is not clearly defined and understood, therefore the need for a National Think Tank devoid of ethnicity, religion, politics and corruption, to raise a template for discussion of Nigeria’s restructuring,” it stated.

It noted that current motivation for restructuring in Nigeria is based on

mistrust and fear of domination.

Such fears according to the group could be allayed if the envisaged restructuring should offer more access to the component units and strict devolution of power.

“The envisaged Federalism should be restructured to bring part-time legislature, independent judiciary, executive restructuring (moving some responsibilities from the centre to the units), public service restructuring, evaluation mechanism to monitor functionality of the governance system, and the general restructuring of our religion.

“Restructuring of the constitution as the people’s constitution, especially to take care of core qualifications for aspiring political leadership in the country, there is dire need for a new Federation that unites the country, it stated.

Musa Abutudu, former executive secretary, African Association of Political Scientists, in his keynote address at the round table discussion, raised issues that the shape and function of Nigerian federal system has remained unsettled to the extent that agitation for Nigeria’s restructuring is a perennial one.

He defined the structure of federalism to be encapsulated in the constitutional division of powers between two levels of government, the centre and the component units.

As part of the round table meeting, Celestine Ntuen, vice chancellor, Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene, in his presentation with the theme: Public Policy for Science, Health, Engineering and mathematics: Alleviating Consumerism through Practical Innovation noted that innovation remains a means of reducing consumer economy and increasing production of goods and services.

It also posited that for Nigeria to achieve and benefit from applied innovation, there is need to focus on policies on commercialisation and translational research, including the modalities and managing intellectual property, patents, and sale of patent rights to commercial ventures; policies for inclusion of commercialisation opportunities as requirement for research grant applications to government agencies; a national policy empowering states of the federation to build turnkey beta testing facilities for knowledge transfer and product commercialisation testing.

L-R: Dapo Adewole, director, Digital Advisory Team, Ernst & Young, West Africa ; Walid Kaâbachi, associate director, Biware Consulting; Folasade Femi-Lawal, head, Card Business, FirstBank Nigeria, and Alex Kwiatkowski, senior industry Consultant, Global Banking Practice, SAS, during a panel discussion at the SAS Road to Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Workshop in Lagos.

L-R: Babalola Oladokun, sales manager, SAS West Africa; Desan Naidoo, vice president, SAS Africa; Neil Harbison, Artist and co-founder of the Cyborg Foundation ; and Vijayne Govender, Marketing Content & Communications Lead, SAS Africa; Larry Orimoloye , senior manager, Advanced Analytics, Nedbank, Prenton Chetty and Senior Business Solutions Manager, Advanced Analytics & AI, SAS, at the SAS Road to Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Workshop in Lagos.

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News Poor landing aids, low purchasing power squeezing domestic airlines IFEOMA OKEKE

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omestic airlines operating in Nigeria are currently operating below half capacity as a result of the low purchasing power of Nigerians and poor landing aids across Nigeria’s airports.

Experts say this situation is costing airlines billions of naira in unearned revenues.

BDSUNDAY checks show that currently, less than ten percent of the population travel by air as a result of low purchasing power of the people.

This has continually made it difficult for airlines to carry aircraft with full passenger loads, making it difficult for the airlines to turn a profit.

A Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority report states that only 11,221,617 passengers passed through the nation’s 32 airports in 2017, representing a 26.3 percent drop, compared to the preceding year. In addition, an average functional aircraft can operate for between 15 and 18 hours daily, experts say, but Nigerian airlines fly their

aircraft for an average of five hours only.

“Most of the airports in Nigeria close at between 6.oopm and 7.oopm, whereas airlines should be able to operate their aircraft for at least 18 hours a day. This is one of the problems making their operations not very profitable because if they can fly from 5am in the morning till 3am the next morning and use the remaining hours to do maintenance, then airline operations would be very profitable,” Dung Rwang Pam,

Nigeria’s Aviation Safety Initiative (NASI) coordinator, told BDSUNDAY. Pam further explained that some vital landing aids are absent at most of the country’s airports. These, he said include landing lights, taxi way lights to show aircraft where the centre line and the edge of the runway is; and the apron, where airlines can taxi their aircraft.

He said the absence of these instruments reduces aircraft utilisation, adding

that whether airlines use their aircraft or not, every 18 months, they have to pay for compulsory C check maintenance for their aircraft.

“All the about seven domestic operational airlines make less than 300 flights to less than ten airports daily; whereas, if each can make just three return flights or six flights daily to 20 of the 26 airports, that would be about 600 daily flights.

“There are about 26 airports, 18 of them are federal, about eight of them are owned by states and private operators, but less than ten of these airports are regularly operated. The airports with operational night landing aids are most likely the five international airports in Nigeria,” John Ojikutu, Chief Executive of Centurion Securities, said.

BDSUNDAY found out that Nigeria is losing a sum of N13.6billion annually to poor navigational aids, as a result of the failure of the Federal Airports Authority, (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to provide adequate aids required for night landing.

‘SMEs good corporate governance key to economic sustenance’ SEYI JOHN SALAU

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or Nigeria to sustain the current economic momentum after it leapfrogs from a recession in over two decades, the Small and Medium scale

Mohammed

Enterprises (SMEs) must adopt good corporate governance as key economic sustenance strategy and growth impetus.

Ahmed Rufai Mohammed, president/chairman of Council, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, stated

this at the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the institute held recently in Lagos.

Mohammed said the increasing youth population has made the drive focus on SMEs as key indicator of economy growth in Nigeria. “It is common knowledge that the population of youth in our country has been increasing geometrically. Equally, a number of our budding youth have become very enterprising with many owning small and medium businesses in many parts of the nation,” said Mohammed.

According to Mohammed, the development has increased government intervention and loans to SMEs as a critical sector of the economy. “The business landscape has thus become dominated by SMEs who are estimated to be the employers of the largest number of formal employees in the economy,” he said.

“IoD must spread its advocacy for corporate governance to this emerging

and important sector of our economy. Corporate governance goes hand in hand with the Companies Act and has become an issue to which both public and private companies are paying increased attention,” said Mohammed.

Dele Alimi, DG, IoD Nigeria in a statement said significant efforts were made to improve membership services and service quality to memberships and encourage members’ participation in the institute.

According to Alimi, in the year under review the institute membership grew from 3,942 in 2016 to 4,113 in 2017 reflecting a 47 percent growth rate against an average growth rate of 115 members.

However, the AGM was suspended midway for a special lying in state which was held in honour of Olutoyin Olakunri, the Doyen of Past President of the IoD, first Chartered Accountant and past president of ICAN who recently passed on to the great beyond.

Glo-sponsored Professor Johnbull calls for proper use of cyberspace

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he need for correct use of the cyberspace and elimination of fake information on various social media platforms by Nigerians is the focus of this week’s episode of TV drama series, Professor Johnbull, sponsored by national telecommunications company, Globacom.

Entitled Viral News, the episode comes up at 6.00 p.m. on Sunday on DSTV Africa Magic Family and GOTV Channel 2, with repeat broadcast on Thursday at 9.30 p.m. on the cable TV channels. It will also be aired by Anambra Broadcasting Service at 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.

The programme, which dwells on the pains and agony the victims of such activities go through, also highlights various ways cyberspace is abused as

well as how fake news is disseminated online.

Viewers will see how false viral news on the social media damages the business of Olaniyi (Yomi Fash-Lanso). Customers desert his restaurant as a result of fake news on the existence of contaminated fufu.

Also, Flash (Stephen Odimgbe) and Abadnego (Martins Nebo), who both keep fully grown beards, suffer from viral news which links bearded guys to money-making ritualists, just as Mama G (Patience Ozokwor) records zero sales of her supplies as the chief distributor of fufu in the programme.

In his usual style, erudite Professor Johnbull, (Kanayo O. Kanayo) counsels the viewers on the ills of spreading false information on social media and cyberspace, in addition to proffering solutions.

‘Atiku has not made choice...

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next year’s presidential election.

A statement from the office of the DirectorGeneral of Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation said that the story was “incorrect and misleading”.

According to the statement, “Atiku is not yet a candidate even though he is the frontline aspirant, the choice of his running mate will be at the discretion of the party after the primaries and due consultations.”

It further stated that

the focus of the PDP presidential hopeful at the moment is to consult with stakeholders in the party across the country and interact with elective delegates of the party.

“Our focus for now is to emerge as the flag bearer of the PDP. After that, the party will decide with its presidential candidate who, we believe, will be Atiku Abubakar’s choice of running mate.

“To think otherwise at this point is to put the cart before the horse and that is certainly not the modus operandi in this campaign,” the statement said.

ADC to conclude merger talks, alliances July

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he African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said it will conclude all merger or alliance talks with interested political parties in July this year.

ADC national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, who stated this at a press conference yesterday after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, listed eight criteria that interested political party must fulfill for the merger to hold. The criteria include, commitment to stay on the party’s ideology and vision, accountability to constituency and country, inclusivity and full involvement of youths and women, building bridges across borders, support a more prudent and responsive government framework, and anti-corruption and complete service

orientation.

He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of cluelessness and vengeful, adding that the party has taken propaganda, lies and cruelty too far.

“We are in very unusual time in Nigeria. As a result, we need the alignment of progressive and patriotic forces and political parties to deal with the APC monster.

“Our national and international coordinators, facilitators and mentors, and our technical and strategic committee nationwide are doing the strategic networking that will ensure that we rescue our fatherland,” he added.

The party chairman further bemoaned the state of affairs in the country, describing the administration as bizarre, parochial, dictatorial and mindless.

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News

‘NILDS breeding future democrats Air pollution worsens infant through quiz competition’ mortality in Nigeria OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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he Speaker of t h e Ho u s e o f Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said the yearly quiz competition organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) has helped in breeding future democrats.

Dogara, who spoke at the finals of the 2018 NILDS Quiz Competition for Senior Secondary Schools in Federal Capital Territory, stated that the competition exposes children early enough to the workings of government.

Represented at the occasion by Adamu Kamale, the member representing Michika/Madagali Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, Dogara pointed out that when children understand their government, they are able to participate in the greater society and help to create a stronger, more informed general population.

“I am a firm believer in the fact that education can contribute to democracy and democratic citizenship by offering equal opportuni-

Dogara

ties to children of different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and preparing citizens who know, understand and choose democracy by teaching them specific knowledge, skills and values needed to become democratic citizens.

“Engaging with children early is critical if our democracy is to thrive, children must be taught to value democracy as a way of life.

“Teaching democracy means preparing children to become citizens who will preserve and shape democracy in the future. As a result, democracy should be a key aspect in every form of education at the earliest age

possible.

“Explaining to children the principles of the democratic system and promoting its assimilation will help to create collective awareness and promote values such as solidarity, empathy and respect,” he said.

The lawmaker said that the National Assembly had vigorously promoted the rights of children and young people through legislations.

He added that the quiz was another demonstration of the National Assembly’s commitment to Nigerian Children and determination to inculcate in them democratic principles.

Earlier in her remarks, the Director General, NILDS, Ladi Hamalai, expressed the desire of the Institute to expand the competition to cover the 36 states of the Federation.

She, however, called for private partnership to make it a reality.

Eight schools participated at the final of the competition from which Government Secondary School, Shere; Olumawu Secondary School, Wuse 2 and Government Secondary School, Karshi emerged first, second and third respectively.

CALEB OJEWALE with agency report

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or every 1,000 births in Nigeria, 108 infants (and children) die before the age of five, in what the World Health Organisation has classifies as among the worst statistics in the world in this regard.

Now, the situation may be getting worse, as the News Agency of Nigeria reports that air pollution is responsible for one in five infant deaths in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries, according to a study published by Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego in the United States.

The research team looked at combined data from over 15 years on approximately 1 million births across 30 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region and found that satellite-based measurements of particulate matter, which contributed to 20 percent of infant deaths.

Particulate matter is a mixture of small particles and liquid droplets in the air that, once inhaled, can cause damage to the heart and lungs.

“Many wealthy countries have recently used legislation to clean up their air,” said Marshall Burke, study co-author and assistant professor of Earth system science in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at Stanford.

“We find that if countries in Africa could achieve reductions in particulate matter exposure similar to wealthy countries, the benefits to infant health could be larger than nearly all currently used health interventions, such as vaccinations or food and water supplements.”

The researchers, in the report published Wednesday, said even small decreases in the amount of particulate matter in the air can lead to substantial decreases in infant deaths and finding cost-

effective ways to improve the air should be a policy and research priority.

“We now have a better sense of the immense benefits of air quality improvements for infant health,” said Sam Heft-Neal, a research scholar at Stanford’s Centre on Food Security and the Environment.

“Next we need to establish how these improvements can be achieved.”

Africa’s air pollution problem has become a growing concern for international research organisations.

Last year, a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that air pollution is responsible for more deaths in the sub-Saharan Africa region than malnutrition or dirty water.

31 March 2017, Sir Richard Lambert, chairman of the Trustees, British Museum, said in 2016/17, the British Museum loaned over 2,200 artefacts to 113 venues outside the UK, many of which supported special exhibitions organised by museums around the world.

But the intrigue for Amah Olota , a gallery owner and art promoter, is that in 1977, the Nigerian government offered to pay Britain £2 million to loan the Queen Idia ivory mask for the second pan-African Festival of Black & African Arts & Culture (FESTAC).

“If the plea fell on deaf ears then, despite the huge offer, why are they offering to loan it now without money. I think there is pressure on them to release the works and it should be returned outrightly and not on loan”, he said.

Bruce Onabrakpeya, a legendary Nigerian artist and professor of visual art, noted that the intension to return the art works was good, but the government here should make more

efforts at getting back all others works on permanent basis and not on loan and also provide appropriate facilities for both safeguarding and visitations by the public. “You cannot loan what does not belong to you”, he said.

Olumide Alawode, a former staff of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said returning of the works would encourage more public patronage of the arts because such great works are the reason millions of people visit the US and the UK, which lead the global art market in 2016 by market share with 29.5 percent and 24 percent respectively, while China followed with 18 percent.

While Nigerians expect the works and their cultural heritage back home from the diaspora museums, the museums to house them should be ready, campaigns for local patronage of arts should be intensified, and fears of the works being resold be allayed, most art stakeholders advised.

Return of stolen Nigerian artefacts to spur...

Continued from page 1 part of the revenue earned from visitation of the artefacts.

For instance, the image of the historic Queen Idia of the Bini Kingdom, the Benin queen mother ivory mask, which was the logo for FESTAC 77, is among the works that excite visitors at the British Museum, while other bronze works from Benin also woo visitors at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Overtime, the sad development has resulted in several campaigns and calls for the return of many Nigerian artefacts in foreign museums, especially the over 3,000 bronze pieces and other artefacts stolen by the British Colonial administration during the punitive expedition by British forces against the Benin Empire in 1897 for the killing of James Philips a colonial officer and many in his entourage who had attempted an unauthorised visit to the Benin monarch.

It is estimated that Brit-

ish soldiers took between 3,000 and 6,000 bronze pieces of artefacts when they sacked the city of Benin in 1897 and since then, the items have been in the custody of museums, individuals and art collectors abroad.

The UK government, and particularly the museums, have often cited lack of maintenance and facilities to warehouse and showcase the artefacts as reasons for the not retuning them to Nigeria, while many museums even in the US, claim they acquired some of the artefacts legitimately but cannot show proof of this.

Now that the Nigerian government is looking for other sustainable sources of revenue, there are further calls for the return of these stolen works, proof of legitimate acquisition from collectors and also efforts at building appropriate infrastructure to house the works when they are returned.

In response to the development, UK museums are offering to loan some of

the works, rather than outright return as demanded by the countries of origin of the works, not just Nigeria.

The loaning offer this month was an outrageous deal that has shocked many who are urging the Nigerian government not to accept anything less than an unconditional return of the works.

But Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State, where most of plundering happened, wants the works back despite the conditions.

“Whatever terms we

can agree to have them back, so that we can relate to our experience, relate to these works that are at the essence of who we are, we would be open to such conversations. In some cases it could be a permanent loan and in some cases it could just be for temporary display. In other cases it could be a return of the works,” the governor said.

For now, loan process is the only option for returning the works of art to Nigeria. In The British Museum Report and Accounts for the year ended

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News SDP presidential aspirant asks EFCC to prosecute Buhari for failed campaign promises James Kwen, Abuja

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presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democ r a t i c Pa r t y (SDP), Iyorwuese Hagher has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expand its mandate to include prosecuting presidents who have failed in their campaign promises, starting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Hagher stated this while delivering a talk on his manifesto at a meet-the-press occasion in Abuja.

He charged the anti-corruption agency to prosecute presidents who have defaulted on the promises contained in their manifestoes as a deterrent to their successors.

“Presidents with fraudu-

lent manifestoes should be prosecuted by the EFCC. Buhari’s manifesto for example, is a failed and fraudulent one. Nigerians were hoodwinked by that manifesto.

“I have respect for the office of the president, but I must challenge the president’s manifesto. The person who wrote the manifesto of Buhari, should be in jail”, Hagher asserted.

The former Third Republic Senator advised the National Assembly to enact a law against bogus promises and failure of political office holders to meet their promises.

Hagher regretted that even though the president promised to provide at least 20percent of annual budgets for education, less than 7percent of the budget was so far allocated to the sector.

He lamented that Nigeria has a high number of 13 mil-

lion children out of school at all levels, despite the glowing campaign promises of President Buhari.

According to the former Minister for Health, Nigeria is home to two of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, despite the Buhari’s campaign promise to set up special courts, accelerate trials and jail terrorists, kidnappers and other criminals.

“Nigeria as currently led

by Buhari is the most insecure place to be; it is divided along religious and ethnic lines. We do not even have a vision of where our country should be, so we have unenlightened self-interest, that’s why in spite of oil and other resources, we are still poor.

“We can’t be great, with our people being killed every day. We must ask ourselves serious questions: how does a Nigerian child cross over to

the other side of the world and succeed, but almost always fails in Nigeria?”, the former Ambassador to Mexico and Canada queried.

Hagher also lambasted the president for dumping his campaign promise to sponsor a bill to the National Assembly to remove the immunity clause for elected officers.

The Professor of Theatre Arts promised that his government, if voted into office in 2019, will provide over 26percent funding for education, focus on youth employment, women empowerment and deepen democracy through a strict adherence to the rule of law.

He asserted that to be great, Nigeria needs moral power and a moral code engendered through schools and faiths from a conscientious and highly literate leadership.

L-R: Travers Nicholas, GM, Dell EMC West Africa; Bassam ElBouery, sales manager, Dell EMC Data Protection Solutions; Habib Mahakian, vice president, Dell EMC Emerging Africa; Nizar ElMasri, director, Dell Client Solutions Middle East & Africa, and Murray Irvine, senior director, Dell EMC Global Compute & Network, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian office, recently.

Faboyede

N500m election money: Ondo PDP Chairman, Campaign DG remanded in prison custody Iniobong Iwok

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he Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo S t a t e , Cl e m e n t Faboyede and the DirectorGeneral of PDP Campaign Organisation in Ondo State during the last general election, Modupe Adetokunbo, were Friday arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on three-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N500million.

According to the threecount criminal charge number FHC/ L/201C/2018 filed before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent, E. E. Iheanacho, it was alleged that Clement Faboyede and Modupe Adetokunbo and others at large on or about the 27th day of March, 2015, conspired amongst themselves to accept cash payment in the sum of N500million from one Owolanke Michael which exceeded N5million without going through a Financial institution.

The offence is said to be contrary to section 1, of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011(as amended by Act 1 of 2012) and punishable under sec-

tion 16(2) of the same Act. In count three of the charge, it was alleged that: Clement Faboyede while acting as the state Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party on the 27th day of March, 2015 made cash payment of the sum of N500 million to the Ondo State Election Committee of the People’s Democratic Party which exceeded N5million without going through financial institution contrary to section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011(as amended by Act 1 of 2012) and punishable under section 16(2) of the same Act. The two defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, consequently, the prosecuting counsel, Iheanacho said that in view of the ‘not guilty’ plea of the defendants, he urged the court to remand them in prison custody and fix a date for trial to commence. However, the defence counsel, E. Eyitayo Jegede, (SAN), urged the court to admit them to bail, but the presiding judge, Justice Saliu Saidu asked him to file a formal application for bail, though Jegede told the court that formal application for bail has been filed, but not yet in the court’s file. Thereafter, justice Saidu, while ordering that the defendants be remanded in prison custody, adjourned the matter till 17th September, 2018 for trial.

FG seeks China’s support to digitalise governance, fight corruption Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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he Federal Government is set to collaborate with China to digitalise the process of governance and assist in curbing corruption and ensure transparency in the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated that it is important to digitalise the governance process in order to overcome graft, adding that the nation would leverage on its partnership and relations

with the People’s Republic of China to achieve the feat.

The Osinbajo stated this in Abuja on Thursday at a seminar on China-Africa Cooperation in Information Technology and Digital Economy organised by the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs with the theme “Africa-China Cooperation in Information Technology and Digital Economy: Prospects and Challenges.

Osinbajo, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Information and Communication Technology, Lanre Osibono, said, “It is important

to digitalise the government process; this will help with transparency and even curb corruption. We can leverage on the cooperation we have with China, we want to work with China to develop the economy.”

He stated that the nation was open for business with China, which is the second largest economy in the world, stressing that Nigeria was also willing to collaborate with China in the areas of rail transport and power generation. The Vice President stressed the importance of broadband penetration, not-

ing that a 10 per cent improvement in broadband has brought about one percent increase in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

“I expect the recommendations and proposals from this seminar that would help in deepening the relations between Nigeria and China,” Osinbajo stated.

Speaking during the seminar, the Chinese Ambassdor to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, in his address noted that both countries cooperate in their quest for a revolution in the Information Technology communication and digital

economy, which is part of the focus of the Forum of China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

He added that China remained committed to stepping up cooperation with Africa in information and communication technology and digital economy within the FOCAC framework especially as the FOCAC summit for 2018 comes up in September in Beijing, China.

Pingjian said, “The FOCAC Beijing Summit will unveil new measures for ChinaAfrica all-around cooperation in the next stage and open

up a new prospects for common development. China will continue to share its development opportunities with African countries and welcome them on board the train of China’s development.”

According to the Chinese envoy, both countries under the FOCAC framework since December 2015 have agreed to actively explore and push forward cooperation in information and communication technology and work together to narrow the digital divide in Africa and promote the building of an information society in Africa.

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NewsFeatures Stakeholders optimistic Nigeria will sign AfCFTA …as 12th NBA-SBL business law conference ends in Abuja CHUKS OLUIGBO

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iscussions at the just-ended 12th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) centred on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and other issues around it, with many speakers at the conference expressing optimism that Nigeria would eventually sign.

The speakers, who based their optimism on the huge benefits the AfCFTA holds for the continent in general and Nigeria in particular, also examined the implications in the event that the country does not sign.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while declaring the conference open on Wednesday, said the AfCFTA presented real opportunity for Nigeria to expand its reach in trade, in commerce and services across Africa and that the country would sign once the government was satisfied that the full scope and consequences of the proposal make sense for it.

“The AfCFTA and its focus on trade in goods, trade in services and rules and procedures for settlement of disputes presents a real opportunity for Nigeria to expand its reach in trade, in commerce and services across Africa,” Osinbajo said.

“Our decision to delay the signing of AfCTA and to extend consultations is to ensure that our participation does not adversely impact on the progress that we have made to date,” he said.

Also speaking, Walter Onnoghen, Chief Justice of Nigeria, who was represented by Justice Kayode Ariwoola of the Court of Appeal, said though Africa is the secondlargest continent in the world, it is quite small when viewed from the perspective of its economy, adding that commercial engagement between African countries would be crucial to enhancing economic growth and raising the standard of living for many on the continent.

“I must say that intra-Africa trade today is a panacea for development.

It can help the African countries to become more competitive by creating economies of scale and encouraging producers to be more productive in the marketplace.

It can establish and strengthen product value chains and facilitate, through spillover effect, the transfer of technology and knowledge and also spur infrastructure development and attract foreign direct investment,” Onnoghen said.

“For these reasons, expanding intra-Africa trade is key accelerating economic growth on the continent.

It is especially important for the continent’s small, land-locked countries that are faced with serious challenges,” he said.

Theme ‘Bringing Down the Barriers: The Law as a Vehicle for Intra-Africa Trade’, the conference began with an opening dinner on

L-R: Olumide Akpata, chairman, NBA-SBL; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, special guest of honour, and Abubakar Mahmoud, chairman, NBA, at the opening ceremony/dinner of the 12th Annual NBA-SBL conference in Abuja.

Wednesday, June 27 and ended on Friday, June 29 with a closing party headlined by Nigerian Afropop singer Davido.

Spanning 12 sessions, the conference had topics that included ‘Bringing Down the Barriers: The Law as a Vehicle for Intra-Africa Trade’; ‘Financing Intra-African Trade and Development’; ‘Continental Trade and the Imperative of Unimpeded Movement of Goods, Labour and Services’; ‘Enhancing Transport Connectively in Africa’; ‘Marching in Lockstep – Building Sub-National Competitiveness for Global Investment’; ‘AfCFTA and Transformative Industrialization in Nigeria’; and ‘Standardizing Continental Regulations on Consumer Protection and Competition Law’.

Other topics were ‘Enabling eCommerce across the African Continent’; ‘Institutionalizing Reforms in the Ease of Doing Business in Africa’; ‘Establishing a Framework for Resolving Intra-African Commercial Disputes’; ‘Law Practice in the Time of the African Continental Free Trade Area: Reimagining African Lawyers’, as well as a debate session by lawyers on topics that included ‘Should Nigeria Accede to the African Continental Free Trade Area?’.

Conference speakers and panellists sourced from the governments, corporates, regional bodies, law firms and law societies and other professions from all over the world include Stephen Karingi, director, Regional Integration and Trade Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; David Ofosu-Dorte, senior partner, AB & David; Greg Falkof, partner, Eversheds Sutherland LLP; Ben Cisse, vice president and senior counsel, African Finance Corporation; Emilia Onyema, senior lecturer, Law Department, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; George K. Lipimile, chief executive officer, COMESA Competition Commission, among others.

The opening session spoke to the general theme of the conference and set the tone for the discussions

in the other key areas.

Chiedu Osakwe, Nigerian chief trade negotiator/director-general, Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations, who was lead speaker at the session, said the AfCFTA establishes a legal order previously not had in intra-African trade relations and that the agreement goes beyond just trade.

“It’s about regional cooperation; it’s about continental cooperation; it’s about the geopolitical standing of the continent. Remember also that the AfCFTA is the number one litmus test of Agenda 2063 which is the flagship programme of the African Union for its evolution in the global economy,” Osakwe said.

Giving an overview of the extent of consultations across Nigeria, Osakwe said following directive from President Muhammadu Buhari, he and his team went round the country from 15th of March to 14th of June to engage with stakeholders, MDAs, and private sector to explain the agreement to them and ask for their views.

“What did we get? There is significant support that Nigeria goes ahead with this for much of the reasons they gave – our leadership, our geo-political standing, market access, an opportunity for growth, among others,” he said.

He added, however, that stakeholders also raised long-standing competitiveness issues in Nigeria, such as power, transport infrastructure, difficulty in the domestic market arising from undue obstruction by security forces, transshipment and branding, how to integrate women and the informal market, etc. Stephen Karingi of UNECA said the AfCFTA was a response to mega-regional trade arrangements happening around the world. He said UNECA’s study shows that if those mega-regional trading arrangements came into force and Africa did nothing, the continent would be a net loser, but with the AfCFTA in place, Africa would gain significantly.

“To give a conservative figure, we found that when you have all

these mega-regional trading arrangements including the AfCFTA, there would be an additional $27.5 billion in terms of intra-Africa export,” Karingi said.

“The African market today comprises 1.2 billion people. Conservatively, the continental GDP is about $2.5 trillion. Now, by 2050, this market is projected to reach a population of 2.5 billion people and it is estimated that the African economy will actually be growing faster than the global average as we go to 2050. The African businesses today face higher tariffs within the continent than they face with the rest of the world.

“So, if you have a growing market and economies that are growing faster and you are facing barriers within this market, then the AfCFTA is actually meant to address these barriers so that they can optimize the one-Africa market. So, in terms of the business case for the AfCFTA, it actually provides opportunities for enterprise and all of us Africans know how enterprising Nigeria is and how enterprising African businesses are,” he said.

Pat Utomi, political economist and faculty at Pan Atlantic University, argued that in an agreement like AfCFTA, there would be winners and losers, but the challenge was to make sure that those who see themselves as immediate losers are encouraged to rethink and have “a win-win, abundance kind of mentality”.

“Trade leads to increased prosperity for all, but there is a shortterm interest always to protect the gains that come. And this is how we need to understand the plight of manufacturers in Nigeria because many of the things they are dealing with are compounded by factors somewhat beyond their control,” Utomi said.

“But the question is, what track would we be travelling as a people if we were to give increased prosperity to this incredible population that is growing out of which we can reap a huge demographic dividend or from which we can create a time

bomb that can threaten the whole region in a way that Robert D. Kaplan has predicted in his book, ‘The Coming Anarchy’?” he asked.

Bola Akinterinwa, former director general, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, said whether or not Nigeria signs, the agreement would enter into force, but added that not signing has implications for Nigeria, especially in terms of its relationship with its francophone neighbours.

“If the agreement enters into force without Nigeria, what is the likely relationship between Nigeria and particularly Benin Republic?

Why Benin Republic? Benin Republic has a policy according to which the budget will never be passed, monetary policy will never be adopted until Nigeria has come out with its own policy. So if the tariff in Nigeria is $10 on a given product, then Benin Republic will reduce its own $4 or $5,” Akinterinwa said.

“And in terms of business, you know quite well that you can travel by road to Benin Republic and get it cheaper; it is even possible to settle, find your way out without paying any tariff or anything. So for the businessman, there is no way they will not be going to Benin Republic.

So by not signing already, the first implication is that smuggling that government is trying to prevent will find a very fertile land to grow,” he said. Babajide Sodipo, regional trade adviser, African Union Commission, allayed the fears and concerns being raised in some quarters, saying the AfCFTA has built-in safeguards written into it to address those concerns.

Sodipo added that with or without Nigeria, the agreement would go on, but Nigeria would be the net loser. “What will happen if Nigeria does not sign the agreement? First of all, the world will not end. The agreement will come into force.

The agreement will be ratified by 22 other countries apart from Nigeria, and it will come into force and it will work. So instead of having a market of 1.2 billion people, you have a market of a billion people, which is still a very large market; still a very fairly strong chunk of the African economy,” he said.

“What that means is that the fact that Nigeria does not sign does not mean that anybody will wait for Nigeria; it will simply mean that life will go on without Nigeria, and then it becomes progressively much more difficult for you to catch up because eventually, to the extent that you do not want to cap your growth, to the extent that you do not want to lose the market opportunities that you have, you still have to sign,” he added.

Apart from this, Sodipo said, Nigeria’s competitive advantage as the largest market in Africa would be completely eroded in the sense that investors would have two options to either invest in Nigeria’s market of 200 million people or in an AfCFTA-compliant country with access to a billion people, adding, “It is an easy choice.”

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Environmental sustainability: Big Corps showing the way AKINREMI SOBOWALE

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he World Environment Day might have come and gone, however, discussions around the thematic focus for this year would linger for a while among all stakeholders. Celebrated on the 5th of June every year, the World Environment Day is a United Nations’ initiative designed to beam the search light on the environment and encourage positive action towards its sustainability. With global warming and environmental degradation constantly on the rise, environmentalists are calling for the enactment of stringent policies that protect the environment.

‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ is the theme for this year’s celebration, which urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic that is polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health.

This focus is understandable. As the world’s population steadily increases, along with it comes vast amount of waste that is being produced even as much of today’s fast paced culture relies heavily on easily disposable products, such as paper cups, plastic bottles of water or soda or in some African countries plastic bags of water. Sadly, over time the accumulation of the packaging materials often leads to increased paper and plastic pollution around the world.

While paper waste is often bio degradable and decomposes within 6 weeks to 3 months, plastic waste, which is often composed of major toxic pollutants, takes a much longer period. Decomposition of plastic bottles can take 70450 years, while plastic bags stay for 500-1000 years. Burning plastic releases heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as dioxin, and these plastic packaging have the potential to cause great harm to the environment in the form of air, water and land pollution.

Plastic pollution is a situation where plastic products have gathered in gutters, sewers and drainages over time and have basically begun to impact the environment

negatively; creating problems for plants, wildlife and even human population in the vicinity. Often this includes killing plant life and posing danger to animals. While plastic is a useful material, it also contains polyurethanes and polyacrylonitriles as well as polyvinyl chlorides which are toxic compounds known to cause illness.

Some have argued that one way to get rid of large pile of plastic bottles or plastic waste would be to burn them.

However, burning plastics is harmful to health and to the environment. Research indicates that burning of waste is harmful to human health. It can increase the risk of heart diseases, nausea, or headaches and it also damages the nervous system. Styrene, for example when burnt, releases Styrene gas and when inhaled can trigger hearing loss, liver damage, nerve tissue damage. Styrene is found in foam cups, plastic plates, utensils and lots of other plastic products.

On the World Environment Day, individuals and corporates are encouraged to do something positive for the environment realizing that only collective action can bring momentous change. It also provides the opportunity for everyone to realize the responsibility to care for the Earth and to become agents of change. Some organisations that come to mind in this regard are Guinness Nigeria, BASF, British American

The multinational has, over the years, identified possible ways to reduce the negative effect of waste on the climate. Its zero waste management policy ensures that all materials used are recyclable and reused, so no waste is released to the environment at all Tobacco Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC and Unilever Nigeria.

In recognition of the significant amount of waste generated by its operations, Guinness Nigeria initiated a waste management system which focuses on Reduction, Reuse, Recovery and Recycling. Every year, the company sets a series of challenging targets in the areas of water, carbon emissions, and waste. This initiative helps to significantly improve their sustainability drive thereby making a long lasting impact on their business as well as the environment. Over the last couple of years, the company has significantly reduced waste by investing in technical innovation to cut down on material use.

Recently the multinational announced a partnership with Wecyclers, an NGO for the

implementation of Guinness Nigeria’s waste management strategy, covering reduction, reuse, recovery and recycling.

Terms of the partnership also includes increasing local and global awareness around environmental issues and waste disposal.

British American Tobacco Nigeria through its zero waste management plan has identified the problems associated with improper disposal of industrial waste and the impact on environment. The multinational has, over the years, identified possible ways to reduce the negative effect of waste on the climate. Its zero waste management policy ensures that all materials used are recyclable and reused, so no waste is released to the environment at all.

Unilever Nigeria is another organisation that has spearheaded environmental sustainability by integrating a sustainable living plan into its operations; the plan encompasses improving health and well being, reducing environmental impact and enhancing livelihood. This initiative focuses on zero non- hazardous waste to landfill, while also introducing reusable, recyclable plastic packaging (compostable).

Unilever is of the opinion that the conversion of forests into agricultural plantations is one major cause of deforestation, which negatively affects the climate. For this reason they are pushing for sustainable sourcing of raw materials by

the introduction of inclusive supply chains for smallholder farmers, who produce around 80percent of the food consumed. This has a remarkable impact on waste management and the environment. So far, it has led to 96percent reduction in total waste per tonne of production since 2008.

It is however important to remember that plastics touch nearly every area of our lives, bringing improvements, convenience and cost savings. These highly versatile materials have helped shape our world for over 100 years and new plastics are being developed all the time. But as plastic waste builds up in landfills and the oceans, its disposal is now a major environmental issue.

Recently BASF announced that it had joined the New Plastics Economy initiative so it can work closely with other participants to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy for plastics (e.g. from feedstock to manufacturing to recycling/ composting) since BASF has a wealth of expertise in these departments. The New Plastics Economy envisages a new approach based on creating effective after-use pathways for plastics; drastically reducing leakage of plastics into natural systems, in particular oceans; and decoupling plastics from fossil feedstocks.

The initiative taken by the aforesaid organisations to improve their operations while also ensuring environmental sustainability should be emulated by other well-meaning organisations. Perhaps it should be the focal point of their CSRs. It is pertinent for more corporations to introduce environment- friendly policies that would positively impact the environment, Introduce decomposable product packing, or reduce the percentage of plastic non-composite packaging, improve waste management and invest in recyclable materials.

The economic value big corporations provide would be immaterial if the environment is left worse off. The protection of the environment must remain the primary focus of everyone – individuals, goverments and corporates alike.

•Akinremi Sobowale is from the Centre for Promotion of Enterprise and Business Best Practices in Abuja

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Sunday 01 July 2018

AssemblyWatch From the Red Chamber With

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE

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arring any unforeseen circumstances, the Senate will resume plenary on Tuesday, July 3, 2018.

Nigerians will be expecting the upper legislative chamber to look into deeper into the issues of security, especially against the backdrop of the recent Plateau massacre where over 200 hundred persons were reportedly killed, even though official reports placed the figures at 86.

This line of thought is not far-fetched, more so as the Chairman of the National Assembly and Senate President Bukola Saraki in company with the Speaker House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara paid an emergency visit to the Villa where they conferred with President Muhammadu Buhari

Security tops agenda as Senate resumes on security matters.

The gravity of the matter which the Senate will not want to leave out of plenary as a people’s legislature, led Saraki on a condolence visit to the people and government of Plateau State to have a firsthand knowledge on the issue when such sensitive matters are raised at plenary.

Recall that the Red Chamber had embarked on Sallah break on the Seventh of last month.

A lot has happened within the period of the break. For instance, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the controversial 2018 budget into law with both arms of government throwing a tantrum at each other, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted its National Convention, Senate President led a delegation of Senators to Russia on a threeday official visit and became the first head of the Nigerian legislature to address the Russian parliament.

Within the period under review, Nigeria overtook India as world’s poorest country, even as Amnesty International released a damning report indicating that since January 2018 “at least 1,813 people had been murdered in 17 states, which is double the 894 people killed in 2017”.

Attempts by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to silence vocal lawmakers led to the arrest of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, Enyinnaya Abaribe, in custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) for five days.

The Abia South senator who later paid a thank you visit to the leadership of PDP, fortyeight hours after his release, cautioned that Nigeria is descending into tyrrany under the present administration.

He called on Nigerians critical of the government to brace up as they would be charged for one offence or the other.

The vocal critic said: “Where we are today in Nigeria, I can only make one recommendation to Nigerians. And that recommendation is: get your PVCs ready because we have to vote out this government. There is no other way we can do it because as you can see, this government is descending into tyranny. And when I was arrested and I was taken to my house for it to be searched, in the warrant of arrest for the search of my house, what they said was that I was a sponsor of terrorism. And I wanted to know subsequently how I would sponsor terrorism and they put there in bracket that

I was aiding and sponsoring a proscribed organisation ‘IPOB’.

“And so, everybody in Nigeria knows that I signed the bail bond for Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB. And if signing the bail bond means that I’m now a sponsor of IPOB, what it means also is that every Nigerian should be ready. For every little thing, they will find a reason to hold you because this government has lost the confidence of the people.

And all that they are going now is nothing but intimidation and trying to make sure that strong voices and voices who are saying that enough is enough, they will like to silence the voices”.

He also listed lawmakers who have been framed up by Federal Government to include: Saraki; Chairman Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory Dino Melaye and his counterpart in Local and Foreign Debts Shehu Sani.

On Friday this week, the Supreme Court will deliver judgement on whether or not there is sufficient evidence for Saraki’s trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Resumption of lawmakers comes six weeks to the commencement of party primaries, as indicated in the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections. According to the Independent National

Nigeria and opaque budget in 21st Century?

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arring last minute changes, all the 360 members of the House of Representatives as well as their Senate counterparts are expected to resume for the fourth year in the eight Assembly on Tuesday, 3rd July, 2018. As earlier noted in my previous analyses and columns, the current Assembly has done pretty well when put side by side with the previous assemblies, no doubt. In terms of the number of bills and motions as well as oversight functions vis-à-vis the challenge bothering on the soar relationship between the Executive and Legislature. In all ramifications, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has not enjoyed the best in this regard. Of course, there are issues bothering on the highhandedness of the Executive in terms of unwillingness of the Ministers to engage the standing Committees of the House and the Senate especially during the budget defence which lasted for about seven months, before it was eventually passed by the two chambers. It was not surprising that some of the key revenue generating agencies such as Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) recently defended its 2018 budget before the House Committee on Habour and Waterways. Also in the offing are other revenue generating agencies which I won’t bother to mention for certain reasons.

Summarily put, the actions of

these agencies are in breach of Section 21(1-3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 which provides that: “The Government corporation s and agencies and government owned companies listed in the Schedule to this Act (in this Act referred of as “the Corporations”) shall, not later than 6 months from the commencement of this Act and every three financial years thereafter and not later than the end of the second quarter of every year, cause to be prepared and submitted to the Minister their Schedule estimates of revenue and expenditure for the next three financial years. Each of the bodies referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall submit to the Minister not later than the end of August in each financial year: (a) An annual budget derived from the estimates submitted in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section; and (b) Projected operating surplus which shall be prepared in line with acceptable accounting practices. The Minister shall cause the estimates submitted in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section to be attached as part of the Appropriation Bill to be submitted to the National Assembly.

According to the legislative archive, in 2017 the underlisted agencies erred: National Insurance Commission (NIC), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC),

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Radio Nigeria, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASEI), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), National Maritime Authority (NMA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Nigerian Postal Service (NPS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), National Communications Commission (NCC), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Federal Mortgage Bank, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Corporate Affairs

Commission (CAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), as well as Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGZFA).

But at no given time has any of those entities complied with the provisions of the Act and invariably the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Of course, I was expecting that the Legislature will enact a tough legislation that will impose stiff sanctions on erring Ministers, Permanent Secretaries as well as heads of MDAs who fail to ensure that agencies, parastatals and commissions under their purview comply with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and other subsidiary legislations.

I recall vividly that the Organic Budget law which seeks to amend Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution which gives the President the power to propose ‘estimates’ at “anytime” in the financial year. The Committee which the bill was referred to in no longer time is expected to convey a public hearing where stakeholders will make input into the bill. All of these challenges facing Nigeria’s budgeting system would be addressed.

According to the statement issued by Hon. Abdulrasak Namdas, chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs and his Senate counterpart, Sabi Abdullahi, the Organic Budget Law when passed into law will help to improve the budgetary process. In its wisdom, the National Assembly initiated the legislation during

Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties are expected to conduct their primaries between August 18 and October 17, 2018.

With seven weeks to the commencement of primaries, senators are already warming up to switch political camps, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration, Stella Oduah, is expected to formally announce her defection from PDP to All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

With the absence of Melaye and the senator representing Kano Central in the National Assembly, Rabiu Kwankwaso from APC National Convention, the duo may be on the verge of leaving the APC. Whether or not other members of the nPDP will pitch their tent with APC will be a function of how well they are engaged by the new APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. If the body language of the former Edo State governor does not favour lawmakers, then the likes of Senate President Bukola Saraki, Senators Barnabas Gemade, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamakko, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Rafiu Ibrahim, Suleiman Hunkuyi, John Enoh among others may also be on their way out of the governing party.

From the Green House With

KEHINDE AKINTOLA the last Constitutional review exercise, and secured the approval of over two-thirds of the State Houses of Assembly.

Already, the proposal is pending before Mr. President. The bill provides that Mr. President must submit the budget not later than 90 days to the end of the financial year. The lawmakers expressed optimism that the legislation would have helped us to have a proper budget calendar, which shall eventually lead to the realization of the proposed January to December budget cycle.

In the same vein, most of these agencies are in breach of Section 22(1-2) of the FRA which provides for the mandatory remittances of ‘Operating surplus and general reserve fund’. It provides that: Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law governing the Corporation, each corporation shall establish a general

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Super Eagles and the curse of Argentina

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TAYO OGUNBIYI Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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n local football parlance, when a football team constantly thrashes another squad at every given chance, the one on the receiving end is often referred to as ‘wife’ of the all conquering side.

If viewed from this perspective, Nigeria’s senior national soccer team, the Super of Eagles, is without doubt the perennial soccer ‘wife’ of the Albicelestes of Argentina.

Since the Super Eagles made its debut in the World Cup in USA 1994, the Albicelestes of Argentina have been a constant thorn in the flesh of the Nigerian national team. In USA 94, the Super Eagles enjoyed a rare scintillating debut, whipping Bulgaria 3-0 in a match that saw the late Rashidi Yekini scored the country’s first ever World Cup goal. Not a few Nigerian soccer fans would easily forget gangling Yekini’s famous animated chants after scoring that memorable goal.

It was a most glorious moment in the country’s soccer anal.

The whole country resonated in wild in jubilation. At last, the Eagles have landed on the big world

stage! So we thought. But then, the Albicelestes of Argentina had other ideas. In our second match against the Argentines, the Super Eagles were quickly brought back to earth as the game was briskly settled in the first 29 minutes.

Ironically, it was the Super Eagles that shot the first salvo with a Samson Siasia 8th minute goal. Not quite long after that, the Diego Maradona inspired Argentine side quickly responded with a Claudio Caniggia 22nd and 29th minute brace. And that ended the contest at Argentina 2, Nigeria 1. Thus began the Super Eagles series of miseries in the hand of the Argentines.

At the Japan-Korea 2002 World Cup, the Super Eagles again had the misfortune of squaring it up with their nemesis, the Argentines. Though, the Coach Adegboye Onigbinde tutored side was able to lessen the tally to just a solitary Gabriel Bastituta’s 63rd minute header via a corner kick, the Argentines were actually the better team on the day. But for the resolute Super Eagles defence ably marshaled

by Taribo West, the result could have been more scandalous.

At the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, the Super Eagles also had the ill-fated fortune of facing the Argentines. As it was in 2002, the Super Eagles fell to a lone Gabriel Heinze 6th minute

goal, crashing out of the championship in the group stage.

As if there is a conspiracy by FIFA to persistently compound Super Eagles’ World Cup woe, the team was once again pitched in same group as the Albicelestes in Brazil 2014. The Super Eagles fought gallantly to put up a better show, coming behind twice to hold the Argentines, thanks to an Ahmed Musa brace. But then, as it is often said in football lexicon, form is temporary while class is permanent. The Argentines eventually outclassed the Super Eagles through a classy Lionel Messi’s genius that ended the match 3- 2 in favour of the Albicelestes.

The latest painful loss of the Super Eagles to Argentina at the ongoing Russian 2018 World Cup makes it the fifth time in 24 years that the South American team would stand in the way of the Super Eagles’ progression at the global soccer championship. Now that broken soccer fans’ hearts are being healed, it is important to dissect the Super Eagles’ 24 years of bashing in the hand of the Argentines.

Looking at the five World Cup defeats the Super Eagles suffered in the hand of the Argentines, the gap between the two teams is not really so wide.

Rather, what is essentially observable is that the Eagles seem to have so much respect for the

Albicelestes. In, at least, three of the encounters, 2010, 2014 and 2002, the Argentines were not really too fantastic against the Eagles and could have been taken to the cleaners if only the latter had a better mental fortitude.

So, the Eagles’ flawed mental resilience is basically an issue in almost all the defeats. In the last defeat especially, the Super Eagles were obviously needlessly awed by Messi and his colleagues.

In the first three matches so far played by the Albicelestes in the current World Cup, it is evident that there is really nothing extraordinary about them. The Iceland and Croatia national teams have shown that with the right metal approach, the Albicelestes could easily be caged.

Lack of concentration particularly cost the Eagles dearly in the latest loss as the team was just few minutes away from holding the Argentines. The way the Eagles defence allowed Marco Rojo to sneak in the winner for Argentines simply reinforces this. Also, the manner in which Ighalo and co flopped the few chances that came their way reflects absolute of concentration. In bigger soccer stages such as the World Cup, the stakes are higher and so every second counts. Hopefully, the Eagles and their handlers had learnt this, albeit in a bitter manner.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Politics

‘Buhari must rise above partisanship to tackle insecurity’ Onofiok Luke is Speaker Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and a top notch of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). On the sidelines of the multi-stakeholders strategic retreat in Uyo, organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, he spoke with ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, on the security situation in the country and other issues. Excerpts: There are disturbing reports of killings in many parts of the country and most recently in Plateau State; how should this carnage be checked? t is sad, not only in Plateau State, we’ve had a situation in Zamfara, we had a situation in Benue State - very dire situation, and now Plateau State.

We might behave like ostrich and then bury our heads in the sand. I want to say that the time has come and we must rise collectively, we have always been advocating for a bipartisan approach in solving the crisis in Nigeria, now the President needs to understand that he needs to call the entire country and rise above party partisanship, to call the leaders of this country to a round table let us discuss the way forward for this country. This is the right time for us to discuss restructuring. Mr. President must take the leadership and responsibility as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leave party partisanship, for us to solve the crisis that we are having on our hands. It is his time as the President to act, he will by the grace of God; depending on how many years God will give to him by reason of election to be president, whether four or eight years, he will finish his own and another will come, but what legacy or history would be recorded for him when he served as the president of Nigeria. People are beginning to say it happened when so and so person was in office. We are not looking at what happened in the past, we are looking at the present, we are looking for the fulfilment of all the promises that Mr. President gave to Nigerians during his campaigns; that he’s going to make this country safe and sound for us. We are looking for fulfilment of all the promises that those who were looking for power in 2015 made and they have been given power, it is no more time for excuses, it is time for them to act, and I want to call on every one to look beyond our party lines. If Mr. President deems it fit to call all of us to a round table, we should join hands with Mr. President, it is about Nigeria now, not about party, not about individuals, it is about the lives of Nigerians and it is very important.

I must sincerely commensurate with families of those victims from Benue to Zamfara and to Plateau states.

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We almost had a similar situation here in two local government areas of Akwa Ibom State, Ukanafun and Etimekpo, where there also issues of insecurity too.

Yes! We also have a situation here in Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo Local Government Areas. We as a House of Assembly have risen to

Luke

the situation and we have called for a security summit, very soon the House of Assembly is going to give a date for that security summit, a multi-stakeholder’s summit and we are calling on everybody. I have told the young people in Ukanafun that I am their representative in government and I am appealing to them to drop their arms, for those who have genuine course, the office of the speaker, and the House of Assembly is open for them to come and register their genuine cause that they are fighting for; but no cause is worth the life of any individual, no course is worth the destruction of property. We will listen to them attentively as their representatives and will be able to put their positions before the security agencies.

Those who would not heed this call and would continue to perpetrate those acts, we are standing side by side with the security agencies to make sure that full wrath of the law is released on them.

People are calling for a state of emergency in those communities; what is your take on that?

When you talk about state of emergency, there are constitutional procedures and there are people that have powers to declare state of emergency in matters of security.

The state government has power to declare state of emergency in areas like education, agriculture to be able to put things right, but in matters of security, the state government does not have such rights, highest is to impose a curfew in conjunction with the security agencies to be able to checkmate activities of criminal elements within those areas.

Concern about former governors and deputy governors who are currently serving in the National Assembly and still receiving pensions from their states is the rea-

son of this retreat by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD),; do you consider this a worthwhile pursuit?

I want to say that we were invited to this high level engagement to learn.

They are canvassing a position that most Nigerians have had to canvass in the past. Why certain pubic officials should not be getting pensions and at the same time getting salaries from their current offices. Some of us have placed some questions on the table. What happens in a situation where one who had served as a civil servant, retired and is entitled to pension and subsequently given a political appointment? At the level of the legislature, we came to see a law on pension for former governors and their deputies. We have had an example in Kwara in which the Senate president has reportedly written to the state government that he would no longer be enjoying his pensions while still serving in the Senate, which is going to form the basis of our engagement here. Here, I am only speaking as an individual, if it gets the endorsement of the entire members of the House of Assembly, then we will surely act on that. From the figures that have been released here today, we can

We copied the presidential system of governance from America and congress as you rightly see, there is no way you can achieve maximum output if you make lawmaking part-time, there is no way

actually see, some are getting up to 200 percent, some 300 percent, I believe that has to be reviewed; it is my personal opinion though. You have also heard people canvassing opinion for pension for those in the legislature; this is the issue that people are pondering at, and on the front burner of public discourse. As an individual, I think that the position of authority is a call to service. When you are called, you act your part and leave for others to come in. But for the number of years you are to serve, you don’t have a life of your own. You can’t go fending for your family, you are totally engrossed in states responsibilities, you wake up in the morning and you have a whole lot of persons to attain to, most of them personal issues that you have to solve, in the afternoon you have office engagement, in the night you have people to talk to. So it is only when you are done with the public office that you have to think of going back to yourself. For me as a lawyer, you will begin to think of going back to dust your law books and how to get back to your clientele to be able to get back to practice. Same goes with the others professions. You need to get abreast with the current realities to be able to function effectively. So within this period that you are trying to transit to your normal self, I believe that there should be some form of cushion, but that should not be at the detriment of the people. It is not easy to serve in a public office either as a governor or deputy of a state where you are 24/7 engaged with activities of the state, even at your private moment, you are engaged mentally trying to see how things could be in place for the welfare and wellbeing of the people. I believe this session is an avenue for us to pull our ideas together and come up with a position that would bring back to the consciousness of many, the sole aim of serving in public offices that it is basically to serve the people and not to serve ourselves.

Would you align yourself with the thinking that lawmaking should be part-time, so as to allow lawmakers who are professionals like you and others to engage in their professional jobs?

I would tell you that there is no way we can function maximally in part time lawmaking. We copied the presidential system of governance from America and congress as you rightly see, there is no way you can achieve maximum output if you make lawmaking part-time, there is no way. When we talk about lawmaking, people tend to see lawmaking just with what the lawmaker does at plenary, which is what we call the “house at exhibition”, but the greater part of the work is

done at the research level, where you look at the law and make your own research with the support of a legislative aide. Another aspect of it is at the committee level, which is what we call the “legislator at work.”

So there is no way you’ll be engaged with your private business and still be able to give your all; whether in your oversight function or in lawmaking or in representing your people. You cannot run part time to be able to visit your people and perform an oversight function as a chairman of a committee.

During your time as Chairman, House committee on Finance and Appropriation the issue of ambiguous pension for governors and deputy governors came up, we recall the people raised objections but their agitations were never addressed. Why? The only issue I had with the bill was my stance for the qualification for benefit in the pension law, three years was set as a benchmark, as at then I was not comfortable because I saw it as a direct attempt to exclude a particular individual, and even till today it is my stand because at that time I was equally canvassing that if someone had not served in those capacities for up to three years, then there should be a provision on pro- rata basis to be able to get those individuals to benefit. Because whether someone had served in the capacity of a governor or deputy governor of a state for one day or three days, and we had made a law, then there should not be any clause on the law to exclude that individual, I still stand by that.

On the issue of financial autonomy for the state legislature, how would this enhance the work of the lawmakers in the state Houses of Assembly?

We had taken a position on this. One thing that the president has done which is quite commendable is assenting to the bill to ensure financial autonomy for the legislature and the judiciary, another thing which I must applaud the president for is giving assent to the not-too-youngto-run bill. Out of the 36 states of the federation, it is only one state that voted against financial autonomy (Edo State) and one state differed (Gombe) and one state did not act one constitutional amendment at all (Lagos). So we joined the rest, we knew and followed the right path to join the rest of the 36 states of the federation to vote for financial autonomy and that was the right thing we did. And I want to use this opportunity to once again thank my colleagues who saw and did the right thing by voting for financial autonomy, not only for the legislature but equally for the judiciary.

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Politics Women’s increasing assertive role and 2019 general election

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ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

omen are increasingly becoming more assertive and politically conscious persons as the next general elections scheduled for 2019 draws nearer.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 17th December 2018 as the date for the governorship and state assembly elections while that of the national and presidential elections would take place on 3rd December this year.

The assertiveness and their apparent political exposure are coming out in bold relief with being at the forefront of political rallies and endorsement of those seeking re-election in many states of the federation. They usually display their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC), a veritable tool that would give them the franchise to elect the candidates of their choice.

Sadly, this role has yet to translate into tangible results which would have enabled them to occupy more positions of responsibility in the country. Both in the National Assembly, state assemblies and in political appointments, very few women as appointed as ministers, commissioners and heads of government agencies, women constitute a statistically insignificant percentage.

It is certain that with their numerical strength, the women have the potential of being a major deciding factor in the country’s general politics and this may well be the signal that they are sending across the states as they attend rallies and embark on endorsement campaigns.

They may have aptly demonstrated this recently when women from Eket senatorial district or Akwa Ibom south senatorial district who are mostly loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held a rally to reaffirm their support for the re-election bid of Governor Udom Emmanuel.

To drive home the point, the women who came under the aegis of Eket Senatorial District Women Forum reportedly raised funds to purchase the governorship nomination form for the Governor.

At a formal reception and endorsement rally which attracted a large crowd of women and other stakeholders to the Onna Township Stadium, the women spoke in unequivocal terms that they were impressed with the spread of projects, industries, empowerment schemes and appointments across the 12 local government areas of the three federal constituencies of the senatorial district.

The rally held at Onna township stadium which is located the long delayed East West road, few kilometres to Eket town attracted women of ‘timber and calibre’ and the crowed got spilled to the highway.

They did a march past happily flaunting their voters’ cards decked in their

A cross section of women at a rally in Calabar

coasts of many colours of various designs, they thanked Martha Udom Emmanuel, wife of the governor for her numerous “life touching programmes” executed under her pet project, Family Enhancement and Youth Reorientation Path Initiative.

In a motion moved by Helen Esuene, a former senator and seconded by the member Owoidighe Ekpoattai, who represents Eket federal constituency in the house of representatives, they threw their weight behind the governor’s reelection bid.

At the event which was attended by the deputy governor, Moses Ekpo, state and national lawmakers, former and serving political office holders and several royal fathers and captains of industry, many of the speakers lauded Governor Emmanuel for being a worthy ambassador of the senatorial district who has silenced even the most ardent critics based on his outstanding performance.

Those who spoke included the President of the Eket Senatorial District Women Forum, Patience Ukpa, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Felicia Bassey, Helen Esuene, Wife of former Deputy Governor, Atim Okpoyo and wife of member representing Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency, Idorenyin Uduyok.

Moved by the honour done him, Governor Udom Emmanuel thanked the women for organising the event in his support but expressed dismay that

in spite of their contributions , it is a long way before a woman would be elected president of the country. To him, the country has yet to get to the point where a woman president would even be considered.

He however, promised to assist the women to establish three cottage industries in the three federal constituencies and urged the leadership of the women in each of the three federal constituencies to meet and agree on the cottage industries which should commence before the end of the year.

“If work on the cottage industry in your federal constituency fails to commence before the end of this year, hold the leadership of your federal constituency responsible,” Emmanuel told the women.

He described women as peacemakers and home builders who will be able to manage those industries to greater heights. He thanked them for offering to purchase the form for his re-election in 2019 and promised to continue providing programmes and policies to improve on their wellbeing.

It was also an opportunity for the governor to highlight the achievements of his administration and to beat his chest for a record performance.

According to him, available indications show that his administration has executed more projects than what is obtainable in other parts of the country.

He expressed regret that not all women

groups have been beneficiaries of the state government’s interest free loan scheme for traders urged those who are yet to be part of the scheme to exercise patience as the scheme continues revolving.

In his goodwill message, the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Paul Ekpo acknowledged that the party was not surprised by the spate of endorsements on the governor since his performance has been glaring, adding that the party is in support of the women’s endorsement rally.

Ekpo urged the women, youths, elders and leaders to take the message to all their wards and units and ensure that they work with the electorate to return the Governor for another term from 2019 till 2023.

Earlier the managing director of a civil engineering construction firm, Uwem Okoko who chaired the ceremony lauded the women for organising the event and affirmed that the Governor’s strides so far stood him out as one the best in the country.

By the rally and the endorsement, the women group in the senatorial district appears to have sent a message about their assertiveness.

There appears also to be a subtle message from the rally, that they would no longer be contented holding rallies and that it is high time they should be seen as key stakeholders in governance of the country.

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Politics Our climate is favourable for any farming enterprise - Cross River Agric Commissioner

Anthony Egrinya Eneji, a professor of Agronomy and commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cross River State, in this interview with MIKE ABANG, spoke on the efforts of the Ben Ayade administration in the area of agric revolution and industrialisation; the assistance to farmers, natural endowments that favour the state, among others issues. Excerpts: farmers to the effort of this administration in the area of agricultural development?

It is pleasantly surprising how farmers are very enthusiastic about our projects. The various farmers’ organisations- poultry farmers, cassava farmers, Cocoa association, etc are working enthusiastically with the Ministry of Agriculture and they are keenly taking advantage of every new development.

Our farmers are really educated and enlightened about what is going on. We are ever ready to give technical and extension supports to assist them in expanding their farms. Any federal or World Bank assistance is extended to our farmers promptly, so I can say we are working in harmony with them and they are keen in working with us.

You pioneered the effort of the governor in Agriculture Revolution in the state which has won him local and international acclaim; how do you feel? feel extremely elated for this recognition, especially by BusinessDay. In fact, it is a well-earned recognition given what is on ground and what he has been able to do this short period of 3 years; a lot of projects in the Agricultural sector, processing facilities, cocoa, rice, large farming investment in cocoa, cassava, Banana plantation, cotton, etc, we have done more than 1,000 hectares including women and youth empowerment

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Why the passion for Agriculture It is because we realised that our continuous rebalanced on oil exploration has come to an end. We are thinking seriously in the area of value-addition through the state-of-art rice seedling, cocoa processing factory, among other value chain.

What is your background in Agriculture?

I am a professor of Agronomy, with expertise in field crop and soil management.

My primary focus is on teaching and research, with a strong global network of collaboration.

What attributes make Cross River State agriculturally-friendly?

Several attributes, even natural ones; we have an excellent climate for any form of agriculture. We have ample rainfall, good arable soils, and large expanse of landabout two million hectares. These are very strong natural attributes, which is why we should work strongly to harness them by deliberately making effort to expand our agricultural production. This also explains why the Ayade government is extensively creating projects across value chains of position agriculture as a key pillar to our economy.

What is His Excellency’s effort in the area of agriculture?

His Excellency, the Governor’s efforts are numerous. First, he realises that people must be involved in Agriculture and to be involved, they need to be empowered.

For this reason, over seven hundred (700) women and youths were trained and financially empowered last year to engage in various aspects of agricultural production and marketing. His Excellency also recognises the immense contributions of women to agriculture and has penciled them for special grant support under the APPEALS and LIFE projects which he has negotiated with the Federal Government and international fund for Agricultural Development. The governor is working very hard to make the Agricultural sector attractive enough for the youths to come in. Even graduates can now own a profitable stake, thanks to the several projects being put in place. For instance, a Rice City has been established by the Ayade administration to further develop the art

Eneji

and science of rice production in the state by way of training and hybrid seed and seedling production. I support rice farmers; the goal is to graduate farmers for our local rice production. Ultra modern rice mill is being constructed at Ogoja/yala to complement the rice city, because after production we aim to process and brand with unmistakable identity.

How do these programmes fit into the life of Cross Riverians?

These programmes have impacted greatly on our women and youths are gainfully employed and looking forward to the future with our farmers now having access

This is another project the Ayade administration is putting up to encourage processing of cocoa locally. It is the first time in history that this state has been able to go this far in terms of supporting cocoa farmers

to inputs and technical supply from the Ministry of Agriculture. On completion of these projects like rice and cocoa will add value and bring fortunes to our farmers. It will also contribute to the industrial development the state.

Sir, what about the cocoa factory?

This is another project the Ayade administration is putting up to encourage processing of cocoa locally. It is the first time in history that this state has been able to go this far in terms of supporting cocoa farmers. The idea is to arrest the delivery of our raw cocoa beans to Ondo or Lagos State for grading or any form of (semi) processing as produce from these other states. We will add value to our cocoa locally to the benefit of farmers in Cross River State.

We are aware of the C.A.D.P (Commercial Agricultural Development Programme) empowerment? To what extent would you access the level of improvement of livelihood in the society by the project?

Like I mentioned earlier, 700 women and youths were empowered last year under this programme. A lot of farmers were supported in the value chains of oil palm, rice and cocoa, and most of them are telling their success stories. Also, the evaluation reports from the World Bank and our national office in Abuja have all attested to the fine progress made by both the state and these young farmers. So to a large extent, I can say it was a successful project and the state was rated as the best performer with about 98percent implementation. As a result, our state has been admitted a new successor project called ‘appeals’ only six states are participating in this new project. All these are testimonies to the governor’s strive, influence and connections plus the dedication of officials responsible for the day-to-day running of the project.

Can you tell us about the banana plantation?

This is another key project of the Ayade Administration, established to diversify our agricultural economy. Banana is a natural crop under our ecology; we are merely taking advantage of this to improve people’s livelihood through employment and income generation. We are also engaging lots of youths in the plantation as farm labourers, supervisors, messengers, and even in the security unit.

Late last year, we started planting at Odukpani with a target of 100 hectares; soon we will be expanding to other local government areas. We hope to market our banana locally and internationally.

Do you have collaborations, locally and internationally to achieving government efforts in Agriculture?

Thank you very much for that question.

We have international partners like the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. We are also frequently in collaboration with the Federal Government in assisting our farmers technically and with inputs. Under the anchor borrowers’ programme, our farmers are receiving CBN loan support at single digit interest rates to produce rice, cotton, fish and poultry. Under the programme much of the loan is given to farmers in kind through seed/fertilizer supply and the balance in cash.

At present, we also have an ongoing collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in poultry production. And last year, we held a summit on Agricultural development in the

So, what is the level of reception of local

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Politics Why I want Owerri zone to produce next governor of Imo - Mbanaso Best Mbanaso was a two-time commissioner in Imo State in the Rochas Okorocha administration. He recently fell out with the governor over his advice against the planned succession in the state, which according to him negates the principle of justice and equity. In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO in Owerri, Mbanaso insisted that the Owerri zone should be allowed to govern the state in the principle of fairness. Excerpts:

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By way of introduction, may we know you better? y name is Ichie Best Mbanaso. I was a one-time Mayor of Orlu, especially between 2000 and 2011; and 2012. Mayor of Orlu means the man incharge of affairs in the 12 zones. After one year, I was elevated to the position of honourable commissioner for commerce and industry under this same Rescue Mission administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha; then by 2013 I was also appointed as the first deputy chief of staff, operations; in charge of Government House. I was later moved to the Ministry of Works and Transport as the honourable commissioner. At the end of that tenure I was sent back to Orlu to complete the job I started in Orlu as the Mayor of Orlu. I went back there in 2015 to 2017. Then when the governor dissolved the exco; I was then appointed as the special adviser to the governor on Market Development until about four months ago, when the governor terminated my appointment.

Why? The reason was that I said to him, your sonin-law cannot be governor after you. He cannot succeed you as the governor of Imo State.This is because I believe in equity; justice and fair play; because Orlu has ruled this state for 16 years; by the end of May 29th when this government would wrap up; Orlu would have completed 16 years. Okigwe has also done 8 years. Four years during the time of Sam Mbakwe and four years during the administration of Ikedi Ohakim. Then Owerri zone; I can say that they have not even ruled under a democratic setting. Evan Enwerem ruled the military which was only for a period of 18 months (one year and six months). So, for me, for the sake of equity and justice, Owerri zone should have it this time around; since 1998 till date Owerri is the state capital; and they have not produced the governor of Imo State. So, for me I said, no; I stand for an Owerri man to be the governor of Imo State. I met the governor first, second and third times and said to him, Sir, you are my ‘oga’; but I am opposing the idea of your son-in-law to be the governor of Imo State at this time. He said I should resign my appointment; but I said, no; you are the one that hired me and you have sworn me into different appointments six times within the seven years; so, you have the right to terminate my appointment. In 2013, I was adjudged the best commissioner; best appointee; best starter and best team playerfour awards, I got them. I went home with them. It is not that I am arrogant about it; no; because the Bible says, it is not of him that willeth or of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. So, I don’t take credit for what God has done; because I will never share the glory with Him at all. But the advice I gave my brother, the governor, is a very good advice. Today, he has seen the effect. He has a committed deputy governor, Eze Madumere. Madumere was chief of staff when I was deputy chief of staff, op-

Our climate is favourable for any farming...

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Niger Delta where a lot of investors came to express interest in becoming partners with us. Many proposals have been received and we are evaluating them.

What do you mean when you say they get loan-in-kind?

The government supports rice farmers under the Anchor borrowers’ scheme of CBN with about two hundred and thirty thousand naira (N230,000) to cultivate one hectare. Much of this money is provided in the form of seeds and agrochemicals. We are aware of all the inputs farmers need, so instead of giving all the money in cash, it was decided to get all the inputs for them plus the cash balance as some of them might divert the money. This is to make sure that we achieve the success we aim for. This situation whereby the seeds and other inputs are supplied farmers instead of the money is what I mean by loan-in-kind.

Do we have any cotton farm in the state because that was usually monopolised by the north?

Yes, we do (points to framed photos hanging on the wall). Over there are pictures of our last year’s cotton farm developed with the aim of supporting our garment factory.

Do you have a programme on input support to farmers in the state?

Before we came on board, there was the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), where the federal and state government collaborated to supply input to farmers at half the price. Since we came on board, we have tried to talk directly to input suppliers to get good quality inputs for farmers at below market or competitive prices.

Mbanaso

erations. He is a very good team player. He is an administrator; a stabiliser; a man that can take this state to another level. I said to him, ‘why not give this thing to your deputy who has served you for 25 years and in the course of this relationship with Okorocha the man has lost a lot.

I thank God that today he has seen those pieces of advice. The deputy is doing very, very well politically; if we should go to the polls today; he would be the next governor of this state.

Are you implying that the governor has lost out; is your assertion based on the outcome of the recent congresses in the state?

Well, he is the one to say whether he has lost out or not; but I know as at today he is not in charge of the APC structure in Imo State; Congresses have come and gone but he is still giving hope that he is in charge.

It is not true. As at now, I can say that the governor does not even know the ward chairman of his own ward. He does not even know who the party’s chairman in his local government is; which is not supposed to be so. But the good thing is that the party has returned back to its owners. You know, party is for the people and it is supreme.

So, what is happening in Imo State today is good for our democracy. It is also a lesson to the in-coming governors that you don’t joke with the people- the masses that voted you into power.

Where is APGA in all of these?

Well APGA is a party of its own. APGA is like a sectional party; if you are talking

about Igbo president by 2023, all Igbo must vote Buhari back in 2019, so that by 2023, we will negotiate with the North to help us for an Igbo man to be the next president of this country. So, there’s no way you can pursue that agenda with APGA. So, it is only in APC that we have such hope; the President has done very well; corruption has reduced to the barest minimum in this country. The PDP messed a lot of things up and we cannot just judge the APC government because of its performance in three years. Let’s give the President more four years; I know before the end of that tenure, Buhari would stabilise the economy of this country.

Does this position you hold now in terms of the anger over Okorocha’s attempt to install his in-law resonate with the people? Simply put, are you speaking the mind of the Imo people?

Sure, I am saying their mind. I want to assure and reassure you that by the grace of God in the next election, Imo State will give Buhari nothing less than one million votes.

I will mobilise my people to massively vote for Buhari because he has done very, very well. We are negotiating with them; that by 2019 Imo State will produce next Senate President in the person of Senator Hope Uzodinma who we are supporting to go back to the Senate. *This interview was conducted before the recent national congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

What specific value chain receives greater attention by farmers in the state?

Like I said earlier, we have a very good climate that any farming enterprise can grow. There is cassava for example, in which we are arguably the largest producer in the country, and there are cocoa, oil palm, rice, yam, vegetables and assorted fruits. We have comparable advantage in key crops like oil palm, cassava, cocoa, rice, etc. We try to pay attention to these but also to other crops and value chains like banana, poultry and fisheries. Under our FADAMA programme, our focus is on cassava production and so far, we have more than 500 hectares in production state-wide. We also have interest in what I term orphan value chains like mushroom, ginger and turmeric production.

What have you achieved so far in your office and what are your aspirations in the near future?

Well, in terms of achievements, the ongoing projects like the rice city, Rice mill, cocoa processing and banana plantation are all visible and verifiable results of our Governor’s drive to develop agriculture within the shortest possible time. We should not forget the new projects (APPEALS and LIFE) attracted by the Ayade administration from the World Bank and IFAD. Our target and vision is to have total food, security for citizens of Cross River State and also be in a position to market farm produce to make money for the state.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Politics My anger with Okorocha, by Ideato North APC Chair Love Udensi is the newly elected chairperson of Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State. In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, she spoke on her investments in the party and her role in the enthronement of the Rochas Okorocha administration and how the governor allegedly abandoned him as soon as he assumed office. Excerpts:

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What is happening in Imo APC? othing is happening.

And you are sure of that? You mean the party is intact in Imo? Yes. But some people are saying that APGA may take over government in Imo in 2019?

It is not possible The crux of the matter according to reports is that Governor Okorocha insists that Uche Nwosu, his in-law, will succeed him. Does that really matter to you as a party leader in the state?

Yes now; it is not good that way. A lot of people helped the governor in this state. Somebody like me relocated from Aba to Owerri because of Okorocha’s election. I was not living in Owerri.

Because my brother, Okorocha, was vying for governorship and we all came together to help him win. At that time, we had meetings very late into the night- sometimes 2am or 3am the next morning and because I was not living in Owerri, I would drive back to Aba that very moment which was always very risky. Sometimes I would go to Ideato instead of going back to Aba. So, that was the extent of the risks I took and we were thinking that we were going to help in running the government having invested heavily in it. Don’t forget, I am paying a very high rate of house rent in Owerri unlike where I lived in Aba. Since he got into government, no compensation, he does not follow due process in doing things. You know, as an individual, if anybody needs my assistance in politics, there must be that compensation. And I must be told what should come to me; but not when I will be sweating or after I had invested my resources, time, money, energy and all the risks involved, somebody will be somewhere taking all the glory in total neglect of those who helped him to victory. No. it doesn’t work that way.

It is never done. And that is my annoyance. Many other people are also going through the same suffering and neglect.

You said you were a sister to the governor, but the story out there is that the government in Imo is for Okorocha and his family. Why are you left out?

I am not getting anything, maybe, his immediate family members. Do you understand? I have never received anything from him. When I saw the way, things were going I pulled out from them. Maybe, he became angry with me because I joined a coalition. It is my personal decision to do so. If for instance you were my brother and you were selling wrapper and yours is N2000, and another person out there is selling N1,800; I would buy from the person selling N1,800. This is business, and this politics of a thing is also a business. It is true that we are bringing in sympathy into it. It is purely business. I have

invested so much into it. If you come to Ideato North where I come from; you can count a few people- not more than two or three- that were with him before I joined. As a grassroots person, I was using my money calling meetings and making sure that this party stands in my local government; and again, my Aunt was a House of Assembly member then, and she was complaining about the governor but I didn’t see what she saw then and I insulted my aunty. I had to pay fine to the Umu Ada because I insulted her because of the governor. I told her, you should not insult the governor before me; but I did not know she knew the governor more than I did. My sister was a force to reckon with; she was in charge and a very good grassroots person. She had almost all Ideato people on her side.

I tried to fight my sister by using my own money to mobilise people in Ideato, because I relocated to my place for two years to ensure that I retain the people’s support for Governor Okorocha.

But if it is a matter of trying to install successor, he is not the only governor doing so; by the way what is he doing differently from what Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing in Lagos State where he single-handedly determines who becomes what?

Well, I don’t know what Tinubu is doing in Lagos because I am not there. What I hear about Tinubu is that he makes leaders and he recognises leaders. Let me say for instance; in Ideato North; my name is Love Udensi, I was an SA (Special Assistant to Governor) in Abia State before I came to Imo State.

I have tasted politics. I joined Imo State politics during the time my brother –Orange Drug – was contesting for governorship and that time I was investing; putting my own money; I didn’t collect money from Orange Drugs; giving out my own money to people that could help my brother to win; and when he could not make it, all of us joined hand and worked for Ohakim, from the directive we got from our leaders.

Now the incumbent governor is also my brother; I didn’t expect him to give me money at the time we were trying to see how he could win; I was using my money calling meetings and mobilising people. I can vividly remember that when he marked one of his birthdays and they called us for a meeting at the Rochas Foundation on Okigwe Road; and said that each local government

Well, I don’t know what Tinubu is doing in Lagos because I am not there. What I hear about Tinubu is that he makes leaders and he recognises leaders

would take care of the people they would bring to Owerri. I effectively took care of the women we brought from Ideato North. I brought three buses; fully loaded. I gave them money; they cooked their rice and prepared their salad. I bought all brands of drinks and chilled them with ice block. I also gave each of the women N1,000. No leader in any local government gave N500, but I gave N1,000. Calculate 18-seater into three and know the amount of money I spent. I still donated money when they said we needed to do so to do something. I have always spent without getting anything, even N50 (fifty naira) from government.

When the time came for him to pay us back, then he just went and brought people from outside and they now label you one thing or the other. You know in politics, you recognise who recognises you; I have been in this politics for a long time, and I always do my best in terms of working very hard to deliver.

It was because of the way I worked that Senator Osita Izunaso made me his campaign coordinator during his race to the Senate. I worked very hard and he knew that I worked very hard. Since that time, he has been of help to me. I have got no assistance from Governor Okorocha despite my investments in his government.

Each time I ask for compensation, they would tag me an Izunaso person or that I am in Senator Izunaso camp.

Is Izunaso not an APC man; is he not his friend; so, why are they segregating?

Why would they push us out and others would be reaping from where they didn’t sow? It is too bad my brother.

Are you now working for Eze Madumere?

For now, as a leader in APC, I am not working for anybody. I am the newly elected APC chairman in Ideato North Local Government. What I believe is, who the cap fits, let him wear it. That is me.

You speak like someone who is not happy. Does this reflect the views of the masses of this state?

Everybody! Even the breeze; the air we are breathing now; if it is possible to ask the air in this state the situation of things here; it will tell you the same thing I told you. I must tell you that the people you see around the governor today are all sycophants. They are not really with him in truth; and I am not a sycophant. Love Udensi is a real person, and I am straight. I don’t live fake life.

Ninety nine percent of those following him are living fake life. In the morning, they will be green but at night they will turn yellow. I don’t do such politics.

If I am not with you; I will tell you; no pretense. * This interview was conducted before the recent national congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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Politics 2019: Kwankwaso inches closer to PDP OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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t is no longer a question of if but when the embattled Senator representing Kano Central in the National Assembly, Rabiu Kwankwaso, will leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The immediate past governor of Kano State who emerged first runnerup at the APC presidential primary in 2014, is a member of the nPDP faction within the APC. In the last one week, the former Kano State governor who was elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 election, has been in talks with chieftains of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in what political pundits say is his imminent return to the party he dumped in the buildup to the last general elections.

Political commentators say President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to meet with the faction over alleged marginalisation in the governing party and the failure of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s oneman reconciliation committee, indicate strongly that the ex-governor may have entered a cul-de-sac.

According to a school-of-thought, the development is a plus for the Liyel Imoke-led Contact Committee saddled with the responsibility of bringing in aggrieved politicians from other political parties and forming alliance with other parties. Since the inauguration of the panel in May this year, Kwankwaso becomes the second nPDP heavyweight to identify with the main opposition party after controversial Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Dino Melaye, technically ‘defected’ to PDP during Senate plenary.

Nonetheless, some pundits have argued that this is a drop in the ocean considering the fact that there are more

Rabiu Kwankwaso aggrieved nPDP members still in APC. These include Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, Sokoto State Governor and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara State, former PDP national chairman Kawu Baraje, former Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, his Rivers State counterpart and current Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Senators Barnabas Gemade, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamakko, among others.

They hinged their argument on what transpired in 2014 when Atiku led five PDP governors and several federal lawmakers to defect to the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The impact of the Contact Committee is yet to be felt. If you carry out a comparative analysis with what happened in the buildup to the 2015 general elections, you will realise that APC benefitted more from heavyweight defections than PDP is currently enjoy-

ing. I can count the number of defections PDP has enjoyed so far. Apart from Atiku, no political bigwig in APC has formally pitched his tent with PDP. “It should also be noted that the planned defection of Senators Kwankwaso and Melaye to PDP is not as a result of the efforts of the PDP Contact Committee per se but to the fact that the duo had been frustrated by their respective governors.

“From the unhealthy rivalry between Kwankwaso and his successor, Abdullahi Ganduje on the one hand and Dino Melaye and his governor Yahaya Bello on the other hand, it doesn’t take rocket science to know that they are on their way out of APC,” a political analyst, Kenneth Eze told BDSUNDAY. Meanwhile, the senator who has endeared himself to the people through his Kwankwansiyya Movement has explained that he shunned the Convention to avoid a clash between his supporters and the governor’s.

He also expressed regret that all the

Congresses conducted by his faction in the state were not recognised by the national leadership of the party.

His words: “Our presence will create embarrassments and a lot of friction at the (Convention) venue.

“I wish to inform the leadership of the party and the general public that we had wanted to be part of the National Convention but regrettably all the congresses that we conducted at the wards, local government councils and at the state level were not recognised by the outgoing National Executive Council of the party”.

Indications have also emerged that the senator is set to take another shot at the presidency to confront President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

National Coordinator of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, hinted that Kwankwaso was still consulting widely on which platform to realise his presidential ambition.

Bichi who was Secretary to Kano State Government during the Senator’s stint as governor, said: “Kwankwaso’s political ambition to be President is still there and nothing has changed about it for now. We are still consulting with supporters and stakeholders on which of the platforms to use to actualise his aspiration”.

Other PDP chieftains that have indicated interest to contest the 2019 presidential race include: ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governors of Ekiti and Gombe States, Ayo Fayose and Ibrahim Dankwambo; former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau; former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki; immediate past Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee Ahmed Makarfi as well as Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Observers believe that as much as Kwankwaso still enjoys some level of cult followership up North, he will find it extremely difficult to garner same measure of support down South, as he is widely perceived as an ‘ethnic and religious bigot’.

‘Economic strangulation is the greatest challenge Nigerians are ...

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for the appointment of chairman of the INEC muse be spelt out and not that somebody will come as a president and side-step the criteria and begin to bring other considerations, particularly those that are parochial and self-serving. If you go to UK today, once you are on the street, there are CCTV cameras monitoring you. The cameras will take photographs and deposit at the right place; and this has helped them and other countries in combating crimes. We have our own satellite, what has it sent to you or of what use is that satellite? Yet we see all manner of preventable atrocities being carried out openly in our society.

As a newspaper person, how has our satellite helped you to do your job? They bought CCTV cameras and put them in Abuja; what has the nation benefited from it? To what use have they put them? These cameras are there yet they are bombing Abuja. They say Boko Haram is infiltrating Nigeria; have they caught any of them through the

use of the CCTV cameras? What we see now is that instead of going after criminals using the instrument of power of the state, leadership is now criminalising and demonising some individuals while ‘sanctifying’ some others depending on where their support lies.

Ahead of the 2019 general election, some church leaders are already sensitising their congregation, even to the point of telling them to go for their voters’ cards. Why do you think is the reason for this level of political awareness?

Be sincere to yourself; has the present economic condition affected your pay in the office?

Tell me. Has it not occurred to you that the present economic situation has led some people into telling lies and other things they would not have ordinarily liked to do. So, whether it is pastor or member telling others to prepare for 2019 and the need to use their voters’ cards wisely; or whatever any other advice they may be giving; I cannot judge

them now; because the economy has brought out the other side of many people. People have been pushed to the wall. Anybody advising people to look well is not advising wrongly. If you are a Joseph in Egypt and you live in plenty but your brethren in Canaan are going through famine; if you close your eyes and say ‘let them perish’, you are not doing well and you will not enjoy that palace. These pastors are just doing so out of concern for their members.

Again, some others may have been hit by hard times so badly that they are encouraging their members to go into partisan politics in order for them to bring something home. They are like Jacob who told his children to go with Benjamin to Egypt, even though he did it with pain in his heart, but that the entire family does not perish in hunger. But it appears to me that economic strangulation is the greatest challenge many Nigerians are facing now, and it is pushing them to take wrong steps.

But what must ministers of God do at this time; what should be their stand?

It is a matter of principle and background. Some people come from a very bad background.

Their fathers that should correct them are not doing better. Those around them who should influence them are not doing better.

Some of them, the environment they find themselves is negatively influencing them. Their mentors are not doing well.

The church itself is now on a sinking ground; the leadership is not after what is right. And when you try to correct them, they say ‘you are an angel now, leave us the devils’. They do not take advice in good fate.

Sad to say; some pastors have done like some in the Old Testament who compromised in order to save their lives. Some of them also want power too; they want to rule in the spiritual and physical realms. But they should take a decisive step and know that a pastor should be detached from any-

thing politics; so that they can be so apolitical to be able to correct their members and to be able to correctly advise those who want to go into politics on the right things to do and how to positively impact the people if they get into office. But they are not sending them with the mindset that they will be a blessing to the country but with the mindset of saying ‘the governor is coming to our church today; he will do the first reading and they will donate’; that’s why they are sending them to join politics.

Where would you like to see your ministry in the next five years?

I don’t answer that question the way people want me to answer it, because there is nothing God has said I should do that I don’t do instantly. The future of my ministry is in his hand. It is the Lord’s church and as long as we do his will, he will always guide us. Whatever I want to, if God wills, after I have laid it to God, I keep it in my heart.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

TheWorshippers Government must take responsibility for insecurity in Nigeria- Baptist clergyman The pastor of Shephard Hill Baptist Church, Obanikoro, Lagos, Reverend Israel Kristilere, in this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, speaks on the insecurity in the country, calls for resource control and the youth ministry of the church. Excerpt: Since January 1, there have been incessant killings of innocent Nigerians across the Middle-Belt region of the country; what do you think is wrong with our security architecture? t is totally disturbing and sad and by my own little records; we have not had it so bad like this before and the way the criminals seem to be eluding the authorities make some of us feel probably the government is either deliberately looking elsewhere or somebody somewhere somehow is involved. There are no evidences for us yet but that is what the thinking pattern looks like because those committing these crimes are not ghost.

Sometimes it points at ethnic cleansing, sometimes it points at religious cleansing; sometimes it points at land grabbing because when a whole community is destroyed, somebody can come to grab their land and continue to live there saying it is his land. As Christians, we have been praying but I think the hour of prayers alone is gone and we need to start acting and making those we call our leaders to be responsible. Secondly, our government needs to be responsible, even if they are not the ones doing it, but because it is happening under their regime should make them take action; it is pathetic and I think government should take responsibility and stop taking actions that make us look like we do not have a government.

The insecurity in the country has given voice to the call for state police and resource control; do you think Nigeria is ripe for state police?

When it comes to state police; it is not about if Nigeria is ripe for it or not, it is about if it is right or wrong. As far as I am concerned, if truly we want sanity in this country, state police is the way to go because with state police we will be able to monitor ourselves.

If an outsider comes to invade our village, he can’t enter without us, and why would I be watching till an outsider comes to kill my people – whoever is against state police is one of those sponsoring evil. Let every state be able to monitor themselves and then the issue of resource control is 100 percent.

Those against resource control are those who do not have resources but are stealing and wickedly taking the resources of others.

Those two issues are not just matters of being right; they are matters of justice, fairness, equity, and fair play. I am not saying we will not help those who do not have, but they should also develop themselves.

What is so sad is that even those who are producing the larger resources for this country are being punished – they are the ones getting less of the resources, and I think God is not happy with that, maybe that is why we are going through all these things. I am 100 percent for state police and 100 percent for resource control, and whosoever is against that might have a hidden agenda.

Every day we see new generation churches spring up in Nigeria, what is the Baptist doing to keep the youth within the confines of the church?

I am glad to say that it’s not like the church is not aware of what is happening, but let me make a few corrections with those who go out to the Pentecostal. It is not like they are going out of the faith; they are still in faith,

I

and that is the joy. What should have been a greater concern is if they are going outside of faith entirely; it will be a serious matter. But, we cannot lose sight of the fact that many of our young ones in the orthodox churches like us Baptist that I call the evangelicals because I believe Baptists are not orthodox – we are the first to break away from the orthodox; others now broke away from us.

Now, there is no doubt that many of our youth are leaving the Evangelical churches for the Pentecostals: what we do presently is to make sure that whatever they think that they can get over there that we offer it here, as long as such is biblical. I am one of those who believe that some of those who leave; leave because they want to experience spiritual vibrancy, but to God be the glory; the Baptist church of today is far different from the Baptist church of years past. Many of the things that made many of our young ones to leave many years ago are not what is making them to leave now. It does not mean that we have really gotten it: there are still many areas that we need to change; our polity, system of governance which at times do not accord necessary respect for whoever is supposed to lead, that does not allow leadership to lead is one of those things that is affecting.

We are trying to encourage them in terms of providing empowerment programmes, because some of them leave because of empowerment; they see this Pentecostal churches offering them opportunities to thrive and fly, so we are working on that and planning programmes that can draw youth and make them stay. Above all, we are gradually changing from the formal way of thinking only adults should lead the church. We are now allowing/giving opportunity to the young ones to lead and that is encouraging them to stay.

What is your impression of the youth ministry in the Baptist church and how vibrant is it?

It is vibrant but not to the level that one would really say we have arrived: the truth is that we are still far behind; I must confess that we still have some churches that have not given the youth the opportunity to serve.

There are places where majority of their deacons and council members are old people and that is becoming a concern. But, I must say that because of the recent development and what the Nigeria Baptist Convention is doing in terms of sensitising churches to see the need for a change in our attitude towards the youth in opening up opportunities, we are having a better youth ministry than it used to be, but I must still add that we have a long way to go.

In the area of marriage; most youth prefer going to the registry than getting wedded in the church. Does this pose any concern for you?

I may not want to agree with you that most youth – to the glory of God, I have been in this church for about 12 years now and I must tell you that 90 percent of my members, who got married, got married in the church. Only few: maybe those who made mistakes and I said because of the mistake I can’t do it for you or just few individuals who chose to go to the court. Other churches may not have my experience, but I

Reverend Israel Kristilere of Shepherd Hill Baptist Church, Lagos

think most of the people who go to the registry went on the basis of ignorance. To the glory of God, I have been used to enlighten some of the youth on two crucial issues that have taken the youth to the registry instead of the church – some of them see church wedding to be flamboyant and extravagant wedding which is not so. I got that vision in 1993, that is about 25 years ago when I first celebrated a wedding for a couple: I was in Ogbomosho then – 6am on a Thursday morning and all of us that gathered were not more than 20, and that wedding is as legal as any wedding done anywhere. We need to let the youth know that we can do wedding in the church without spending so much: I have celebrated a wedding here before that I inform the couple that only the people invited will be in the church that is, myself, my pastors, few choir members and whoever they see outside these must have been informed by the couple; so, we need to change their orientation. Secondly, some go because they want a legal document they can present anywhere, but they also need to know that the document we give them in the church, if it is a church that is properly licensed by the government – so whatever we do here is licensed by the court. So, these are the two issues which some of them do not know they can get a legal document from the church and some of them do not know they don’t have to spend so much money to wed in the church.

Looking at the education sector in Nige-

ria, what in our opinion is wrong with the sector?

What went wrong was not only with the educational sector, it is a total problem we are faced as a nation – economic, sociopolitical which dovetail into the educational misadventure. What do I mean by that; many years back, when a child is attending public university or institution anywhere, you can tell when he leaves the institution. However, look back in the last 15/20 years, things have changed: a child spend 8 years for the first degree, however only three and half year is spent in school, which sometimes we cannot blame the lecturers for, because they have to get their ends together; when they see a counselor who do not go to secondary school earning 10 times what they receive as salary; so it is a general problem. So, I will say the incessant strike in our educational sector badly affected the students, instead of the teachers having the normal time to teach them: even when they resume back the lecturers will rush them and some of the courses they are supposed to take will not be taken. So, our general problem as a nation has badly affected the concentration of the lecturers which should have offer quality education, and have equally affected the students which should have focus more on it; and it has also made us to be producing the people we are producing. Now, to correct that we need to make sure the lecturers are well paid – if you look at it, most of the people we say are half baked are actually in the public universities.

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Inspirations All I have is yours

PASTOR I.S JAMES TEXT: LUKE 15

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he older brother often does not get as much attention as the ‘prodigal son’ even though he is himself ‘prodigal’ in some ways. In some uncanny way he is a fitting reflection of those who wear religion as a badge. Who try to beat the rest of society with their religiosity.

Who, like is written in Proverbs 20:6, ‘try to proclaim their own goodness’ but who can find a faithful man that passage asks? And for the avoidance of any doubt, this is not a bashing either of the older brother but an exhortation to those who wear his famous garb to replace it with one of humility and consideration of their own frailties. So if you find yourself in the place of the older brother: (v.31a) Appreciate what you have.

Realise the value of relationship with the Father. Your relationship with God is the most important thing in this life. (v.31b) Recognise that God already offered you all that He has.

You have a secured inheritance from your service and long association with the father. From your loyalty and your nearness to Him. Only always remember that nearness should always be of heart and hands. Be near in spirit as well as in flesh. Do not fall into the category of those who worship with their lips but their hearts are far from the father.

If you can stop being stop being angry, bitter and resentful of others, you can enter into the best that God has laid out for you in Jesus’ name. If you can find it in you to rejoice at the prosperity and good fortune of others, instead of always quick to judge and criticize them, you might see the clouds lift off from over your head.

God has promised that you will live out your days in prosperity and your years in peace but you have to extend goodwill to all men. Cleanse your heart of ill-feelings towards those who you think are not making as much spiritual sacrifices as yourself.

Begin to see God in the real light that He is. He is not a tyrant, slave-driver or monster. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Because we cannot often tell when His reward will happen on us, we encourage one another to hang in there. He will come through for you. It is but midyear already. You will have your own celebration. You will dance in the name of Jesus. Go in and rejoice with those whose turn it is today. It will be yours tomorrow.

It might even be yours before today is over.

You never know. Sow in others what you want to see in your own life.

Another quick counsel to as many who feel like the older brother is this: be quick to accept terms of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God, Jesus said. Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. The wisdom that comes from above, says Apostle James, is first of all peaceable… Did you notice how recalcitrant the older brother seemed as his father tried to persuade him to join the party for his brother. He just would not be pacified. He held on to his position even as his father pleaded. We do not how the discussion finally ended, whether he

shunned his father eventually or whether he went in and enjoyed himself. But the moral is, follow peace.

Do not always fight to win every argument. You may win the argument and lose the relationship. Which is better?

Besides, you do not know everything.

Every one of us knows only in part. May wisdom come to us in Jesus name. For God has so much in store for us than we realize and will ever know. Let Him unveil them to us in His time, and as He wills.

Only make sure your eyes are perpetually on Him, for like Jesus said, ‘When the Son of man comes, will He find faith in the earth?’ Will He find you loyal to His ways and His causes? Surely, He will come through for us all.

Declaration: You will dance and nothing will be lacking in your life, in Jesus’ name.

• Concluded Dr. Iruofagha James is the Founding Pastor, Glory Christian Ministries, Odo-Olowo Street, Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, Ijeshatedo, Lagos. www.isjames.org Tel: 08060599144

Unplugged

REV. YOMI KASALI

@rev.yomikasali

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ohn was worried sick about the television set not working, the match was on and the noise was being heard at the Neighbours house, he kept clicking the remote control device but no feedback, at one point, he banged the television badly. About 25 minutes into this snag, he ran out of the house with the television set, feeling frustrated. Since he did not have a good relationship with his neighbours, he went to the bus stop to get a cab, he finally got one and found himself in his in-laws place, his lovely wife was wondering why he ran inside panting and forgot to greet the parents in Law until after the match.

They were very upset with him but he got away with the African style

apology, which was to fall down flat on his belly and apologized for his manners a while ago. The parents of course understood and just laughed it all off, he left with his wife and they called the electrician to come home and fix the television set, the technician busted into laughter for about 5 minutes after he got to John’s house and motioned to the socket with the words... ‘nothing is wrong with your TV, it is simply Unplugged’. John felt very embarrassed and sad, the wife could not stop laughing and he just togged along with both of them.

I will like to inspire you today with the story above towards realization of your Purpose in life and Christ.

Many people are struggling daily with frustrations and depression simply because they are Unplugged to the right Source of power. They may even be in the House but aren’t functioning because they are Unplugged to the right source hence cannot be a blessing to the Landlord and other people. A television set is useless without being plugged to the power source.

There are lots of believers that are still Plugged to the World and hope to get the best from the Lord

but unfortunately that cannot happen because God wants you to be Unplugged from the world and their systems for you to become Great and discover your Purpose in life.

Until we detach from wrong associations and attach ourselves to the right people, we may never become what He has made us all for. I will share some thoughts with you on what you should Unplug your life from now.

3 TIPS ON WHERE TO UNPLUG FROM 1. UNPLUG FROM WRONG ALLIANCES: Paul told the Corinthian church to Unplug from Wrong associations or the World in scriptures and be ‘separate’, yet not to isolate ourselves from people but Unplug from their influences in life. ‘Be Not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness, and what Communion has light with darkness...wherefore come out (UNPLUG) from among them and be ye separate...’(1 Corr. 6 v 14-17).

2. UNPLUG BEFORE YOU PLUG IN MARRIAGE: This is the most controversial statement with respect to

Unplugging, but the scriptures tells us that Men must Leave their fathers and mothers before Cleaving to their wives in marriage. ‘And said, for this cause shall a man leave (UNPLUG) father and mother, and shall cleave (PLUG) to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh’ (Matt. 19 v 5).

3. UNPLUG FROM WRONG THOUGHTS: Solomon clearly told us that ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…’(Prov. 23 v 7), which aligns with the Master’s teaching on preserving ones minds by Godly thoughts only because Character is formed

by Thoughts. Jesus said in Matt. 15 v 11-13, ‘not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man...every plant which my Heavenly Father had not planted, shall be rooted up (UNPLUGGED)’.

I hope you have been inspired with this piece today. Kindly send me a mail or get in touch with me if this has blessed you today. Make sure you Unplug from Wrong things immediately.

Blessings and Be Inspired.

Rev. Yomi Kasali is Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Feature 9mobile champions the cause of environmental sustainability Poor waste management culture in general, and especially risks associated with plastic materials have further increased the vulnerability of human, plant and marine life, and the entire ecosystem to environmental hazards. Hence, corporates like 9mobile are driving the advocacy for responsible environmental behaviour. Anthony Anaba reports.

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he ravaging effect of poor management of our environment is fast catching up with all of us, as the growing menace of poor plastic waste disposal becomes a major threat to human, plant and aquatic lives all over the world. In recent times, inefficient disposal and management of plastic refuse is considered a ticking time bomb that requires increased attention before it explodes.

Just recently in Thailand, a pilot whale died after eating more than 17 pounds of plastic bags that were washed into the ocean. The distressed whale was found in a canal and aquatic veterinary experts in a bid to stabilise it, assisted the mammal in vomiting five plastic bags. It died thereafter while an autopsy exhumed eight kilogrammes of additional plastic rubbish from the whale’s stomach.

According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in oceans annually, comprising 80 percent of all ocean litter. Frighteningly, this implies that plastic has now joined the long list of threats to humanity and this doesn’t bode well for anyone.

Fittingly, efforts to increase awareness of the dangers of plastic are being upscaled with the UN choosing ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ as the theme of this year’s World Environment Day (WED), commemorated every June 5 to draw global attention to critical environmental issues and call for collective action from individuals, corporates and governments.

Aligned to the above, innovative telecommunications company, 9mobile, adopted environmental sustainability as one of the core components of its tripod Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) focus, with education and health being the other platforms. Since its launch into the Nigerian market over nine years ago, 9mobile has invested significantly in environmental protection and preservation.

Its strategic interventions include outreaches to communities and schools, and partnerships with key stakeholders for public enlightenment on the importance of environmental conservation and the promotion of responsible behaviour towards our environment.

Its footprints include sponsorship of the 2015 World Environment Day Lecture organised by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Abuja while trading as Etisalat. The lecture themed ‘Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care’ aimed to encourage people to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and become change agents to preserve the earth.

Boye Olusanya

In 2016, the telco partnered with the Nigerian Environmental Society and the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) to promote responsible business operations and conformity with international best practices on environmental standards, by participating in a tree planting event in Lagos.

9mobile also in the same year launched its Community Sanitation Support Programme (CSSP) in three communities: Lukosi in Ogun State; Molete in Oyo State and Adewole-Adeta, Kwara State.

The company provided training, working kits and waste bins for community sanitation volunteers, and also mobile lines to enhance communication between the volunteers and members of the communities; thereby giving further fillip to its goal of promoting sustainable environment.

In line with its passion for youth empowerment, the company also organised a one-day seminar for students of its adopted school, Government Girl’s College, Dala, Kano State with the objective of training them as ambassadors of good hygiene and environmental sustainability. The seminar with the theme, ‘Driving Nigeria’s Environmental Health’ also featured a

tree planting exercise supported by functionaries of the Kano State Education Board and management of the school. Recycling bins were also presented to the school for effective waste management.

To further underscore its commitment to environmental sustainability, 9mobile established an Environmental Management System (EMS) to improve its environmental performance. The company’s EMS was certified to ISO 1001:2004 Standard for Environmental Management in the first quarter of 2017, making 9mobile the first Mobile Network Operator in Nigeria to achieve this certification.

It extended its environmental preservation drive to Kano state in 2017, with the launch of a ‘Street Clean up’ campaign, through which various communities across the state were equipped and assisted to keep their environs clean.

In commemoration of the 2018 World Environment Day and as part of its efforts to help reduce plastic pollution and drive environmental sustainability, 9mobile had a sensitisation and awareness campaign on environment-friendly actions, including recycling; at Oshodi Senior High School, Oshodi, Lagos on Tues-

day, June 5. It also donated recycling bins to the school while students received branded writing materials and T-shirts.

While interacting with the students, Oyetola Oduyemi, manager, Public Relations and CSR, 9mobile, encouraged Nigerian youths to imbibe environment-friendly behaviour saying a healthy, wellfunctioning environment is crucial for the continued survival of man and other creatures.

“9mobile is passionate about equipping our youth to be effective leaders in the near future. This is why we are commemorating the World Environment Day with you, as a further demonstration of our commitment to empower the youth with the right knowledge required to make you environmentally conscious. In about 15 years from now, some of you will be leaders who will determine policies that will have impact on the environment as well as our lives. As such it is critical that the right foundation of environmental consciousness is laid from now, so that whether you are a governor, president, CEO or green Nobel Laureate, you will use your platform to support a sustainable planet.

9mobile wants you to appreciate that planet Earth is alive; and can

be hurt, but can also heal and thrive with the right attitude and positive actions. It is therefore our collective duty to ensure that our environment is nurtured and preserved, for us and succeeding generations”, she admonished.

Oduyemi added that, “In many parts of the globe we are experiencing heat waves, drought, threat to food security, and depletion of the ozone layer; all as a result of poor environmental protection practices.

As the human population rises, now at 7.8 billion people according to the latest United Nations’ estimate, we need to have more resources, not less.”

Given the fact that it takes between 100 and 1000 years for plastic to decompose in landfills while the ones on the ocean floor take longer, 9mobile’s intervention to join the fight against plastic pollutants and encourage recycling is quite commendable. Apart from protecting the environment, the company is also enjoining students, staff, stakeholders and the general public to create innovative ways to recycle waste; thus increasing the potential for wealth to be generated from waste, and confirming its rating as a sustainable brand that cares and empowers.

Sunday 01 July 2018

Bliss with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

Email: chiwuagwu@yahoo.com Phone number (SMS only) 08057511893

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BDSUNDAY 23

No comedian is a threat to me – Tomiwa Sage

I wasn’t destined to win BBA, Simi thrills UK fans GUS – Melvin Oduah A

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ctor, Melvin Oduah did not just become the toast of the entertainment industry.

Over the years, the Nollywood star had, at different times, been the man of the moment.

First, it was the Gulder Ultimate Search and later, he contested for Mr. Nigeria Universe and then, he followed it up by being a housemate at Big Brother Africa reality show.

Explaining to Bliss why he took part in all these contests, Melvin said he wanted to be famous in the entertainment industry.

“I couldn’t relax after the first contest I was a part of. I wanted something that would take me to the next level. My participation in GUS took me to the next level, though I was modelling before then. The GUS took me a step forward in my career. I went for Mr Nigeria competition and it also took me another step forward. As an entertainer, you should always want to keep growing. So the next biggest thing was BBA. I went there and it actually exposed me more, I am now a bigger person.”

But in all this contests, Melvin was always a runner up; he never became the eventual winner. However, the young man feels he wasn’t destined to be a winner in those competitions, as he told Bliss in a telephone chat recently.

“There is nobody that enters a competition and prays not to win.

But it is destiny. You go and try and do what you have to do but destiny will always have its way. It doesn’t feel good getting to the finals and not becoming the eventual winner. But that couldn’t make me enter depression mode. At least I got to the finals and anybody that gets to the finals is as good enough as the winner. I still take it as my destiny. If I was destined to win, I would have won,” he opined.

Now thathe has achieved his desire of becoming famous, Melvin said he doesn’t mind the challenges that come with fame.

“Whatever you get into, you must be ready for what comes with it. I knew my privacy would reduce but I was ready for all of that. I

signed up for it and I am okay.”

Rumoured to have dated Maria Nepembe, the Namibian housemate during the BBA season of which he was a part of, Melvin said a whole lot of people actually felt they were in a relationship.

“The whole of Africa felt so.

Anyway, everybody is entitled to their feelings and thoughts. We are still very close.”

At the moment, he has also been linked to Debbie Rise who was also a Big Brother Nigeria housemate, but Melvin debunked the allegation saying, “There is no romance in the air between Debbi Rise and myself.

We went for an event together and that was it.”

Most actresses don’t get paid for their roles – Mimisola Daniels

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ctress, Mimisola Daniels has said being an actress is not as lucrative as most people are bound to think.

InarecentchatwithBliss,theactresswhofeaturesmainlyinYoruba moviessaidtheluxuriouslifepeople seeactressesliveisactually‘filmtrick.’

“What I had expected in the indstry is different from what I saw especially in terms of getting paid.

It hasn’t been encouraging. The truth is most actresses you see living big certainly have something else they are doing. The up and coming ones who may not have anything else they are doing live higher than the income they make.

People see you outside and feel you are rich and you have money.

That is just film trick, there is no money. People think we actually make millions of naira as actresses. That is a lie.”

Mimi, as she is fondly called, said she has been able to survive just because she does other businesses that put food on her table.

“It is just because I have the passion for acting that is why I am still here. Also, I have something else I am doing by the side. That is how I am able to cope and I use that to balance.

I have produced two or three movies and I still get jobs from colleagues. It is not as rosy as people think; I can’t pretend.

I will advise the up and coming actresses or those wannabe actresses to have something else doing and not depend on acting alone.”

When reminded that most

young actresses crave fame more that money, Mimi said such mentality is not for her.

“I want the fame and money.

When you have the fame and no money, it doesn’t make sense. You have fame and you go somewhere and people will harass you and tell you to ‘settle’ them. But you can’t even do that because you don’t have the money. They wouldn’t even know. In fact, I don’t even want fame before money. I want the money before the fame.”

Talking about controversies in the industry, Mimi said she tries as much as possible to run away from anything that would link her to any negative story.

“I don’t want to rise with scandals. It can affect you in future. Now, when you become a big brand, corporate firms would not want you to be their ambas-

sador. They won’t see you as a role model.”

Once linked to have had an affair with Toyin (Aimakhu) Abraham’s ex husband, Niyi Johnson, Mimi denied the allegation.

“The story started when a picture of Niyi proposing to me went viral. But the picture was a movie shot. I think it went viral because he was having issues with his ex then. I tried to debunk the story then. So many people even advised me to take advantage of that controversy and push my brand. But I didn’t want. I don’t want to get popular with scandal.

I don’t want anybody to say that I snatched somebody’s husband. It is not worth it.

“I am not in a relationship at the moment and I didn’t date Niyi Johnson. He is like a brother to me.

I didn’t have a problem with his ex and current girlfriend. I used to work with Toyin Aimakhu. And his current girlfriend was on the set where the picture was taken so she knew it was a rumour. I am friends with everybody, I am not taking sides. I don’t have close friends in the entertainment industry.”

Talking about her kind of man, Mimi said, “He must be intelligent, God fearing and he must accept me for who I am. Most guys don’t want to marry actresses because they feel they are prostitutes. I believe the man I must get married to should allow me do my job. I have to eventually leave the industry and take care of my home anyway.”

ward winning singer, Simisola, popularly known as Simi, endeared more fans to her hearts recently. In faraway London, the Joromi crooner showcased her talents to her teeming fans thrilling them with her vocal cords.

The X3M music act was in the UK to support Adekunle Gold, her label mate who staged a concert in London tagged “Adekunle Gold + The 79th Element Live in Concert”.

Bliss gathered that Simi was super sensational dishing out hits off her sophomore album, Simisola.

Envious Nigerians pushed me to become Ghanaian – Hanks Anuku

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eteran actor, Hanks Anuku who relocated to Ghana few years ago and even naturalised as a Ghanaian citizen, has said many people in Nigeria were so jealous and envious of him as such, he had to leave.

In a telephone chat with Bliss recently, the actor, famed for his “bad guy” roles, said Nigeria was no longer favourable to him thus, the reason for his relocation.

“There were so many antagonisms around my life.

I had spiritual attacks and there were so many jealous and envious people around me. I couldn’t stand that.

People didn’t love me again.

I felt it. Jesus was not even loved by his own people and his people even killed him.

That was what happened to me.

“Nigerians can be very wicked. Most of them don’t know God. That is why we still have crisis in Nigeria.

Everybody is self cantered.

They look for money in order to suppress others. Rich people in Nigeria do not help the poor and the needy.

Girls look for money, they don’t look for God. I have decided to look for God and not money and God is providing for me because He is my provider. I felt it was a better way for me to find peace so I had to take the trip.”

Hanks disclosed that indeed, he found peace in Ghana.

“I found people who love

me more than Nigerians.

The decision to relocate was God’s decision and I would always do what God wants me to do. I am not supposed to be in one country for the rest of my life. I have been travelling since when I was a kid. If God wants me to go and live where people would love me, I would do that. If

they don’t love me in my own country, I would leave the country for them.

“It doesn’t stop me from doing anything. I have not committed any sin, I have not stolen from anybody and I haven’t raped anybody’s wife. I am just living the life that God wants me to live and people are just envious of that life. I didn’t make myself a celebrity, God did it.”

One thing that has yet to change in Hanks is his American accent. Explaining the reason behind that the actor said, “The love that you have for certain things keep you connected to that thing.”

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Feature Herdsmen massacre: Nigerians spit fire as Plateau continues to count losses

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BENJAMIN AGESAN, Makurdi

ince the beginning of this year, Nigerians have not stopped grieving the loss of their loved ones killed by herdsmen. These killings have been taking place daily, in some states across the country.

States that are mostly under the radar of the killer herdsmen are Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba and Kogi. Zamfara State, though in the far north, is also suffering the same fate, as many of its inhabitants are Hausas.

It all started on the 1st January, 2018 with Benue State being their first target. January 1 this year was described by Benue people as “Black Monday” as 73 innocent citizens of the state were brutally killed by suspected herdsmen. Although they were later not described as suspects, since the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore in the state came out publicly to claim that they sponsored the killings. The organisation had earlier issued threats at several fora, that they would attack and dislodge Benue people. They described the killing as a “revenge” for the 1, 000 herds of cattle allegedly rustled by Benue youths.

As an agenda allegedly planned by the killer herdsmen to attack, kill and occupy the middle belt, they on the 26th June, 2018 again launched a deadlier attack on the people of Plateau State, where hundreds of people were killed and houses, as well as properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

Reacting to the killing of over 200 people in Barkin Ladi , Riyom and Jos South Local Government Areas, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has ordered the redeployment of the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, with immediate effect.

Adie was replaced by Yobe State-born Bala Ciroma, who was until his new position the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

A terse statement issued on Tuesday by the spokesperson of Plateau State Police Command, Matthias Tyopev, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, neither gave reasons for the removal nor explained his new posting.

Responding after the killing, the Chairman of the North Central zone of MACBAN, Danladi Ciroma, who signed a press statement, said herdsmen in the state had lost about 300 cows in the weeks leading to the attack.

Ciroma accused the communities of hiding cattle rustlers among them as well as frustrating peace efforts of the state government.

He said: “These attacks are retaliatory. As much as I don’t support the killing of human beings, the truth must be told that those who carried out the attacks must be on revenge mission.

“There have been recent reports of cow rustling and destruction of farms between Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen. The people carrying out these criminal activities are well known to the communities but the communities are hiding them.

“Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu.

“Since these cows were not found, no one should expect peace in the areas. Even soldiers that went after the criminals to recover the rustled cows were shot by the armed rustlers who eventually escaped with all the cows.

“The government of Governor Lalong has

done a lot to restore peace, but the criminal elements hiding among their people are the ones frustrating these peace efforts.”

Ciroma added that security agencies should be fair to all parties, and not neglect any report presented by herdsmen, saying “because such report can lead to attacks and deaths if not properly handled.”

He said: “Criminals thrive a lot in Berom communities, but when the herdsmen, who are always victims of their crime, react with attacks, they blame the government.”

Hundreds have been killed this year alone in attacks by suspected herdsmen and there have been clashes between the herders and farmers, with President Muhammadu Buhari vowing to bring the killers to book.

The leaders of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore of Plateau State in a press statement purportedly signed by Badu Salisu Ahmadu, National President said: “Our attention has been drawn to the series of campaigns being waged against the Fulani community, following the killings in Plateau, where some civilians who have been tormenting the Fulani nation were justifiably hacked down.

“Why is it convenient for Nigerians to condemn the killings of Berom but fail to condemn the killings of Fulani people?

We frown at the conscious attempts to demonise the Fulani nation by the media and their collaborators; We wish to make the following categorical statements on the Plateau incidence: “The killings in Barkin Ladi were motivated by previous killings of Fulani men and women

by Berom youths in collaboration with certain minority ethnic groups in Plateau…”

Following their response to the Plateau massacre, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom commiserated with Governor Simon Lalong and the entire people of Plateau State over renewed attacks. He condemned the attacks and described the killing of children, women and other vulnerable people in Barkin Ladi as barbaric, inhuman and unfortunate.

He urged security agencies to arrest for prosecution, the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association who have allegedly claimed responsibility over the Plateau killings.

Abubakar Tsav, a former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, has revealed the cause of the current insecurity in the country under the guise of herdsmen killings.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption provoked some politicians who sponsored the killer-herdsmen in a bid to mar his re-election in 2019.

Tsav told BDSUNDAY: “We have a lot of people, who are involved in corruption in this country; people who have stolen too much from the country’s treasury.

“And since Buhari came in; the stealing has stopped and people who are not benefitting from the corrupt system are now afraid and they are fighting Buhari’s government through the killings by herdsmen. That is why they don’t want him to re-contest.

“People who have been living on corruption have now found out that they can no longer live on corruption again because Buhari himself is not corrupt. He is a straightforward and honest person. So, that is why they want to remove him by all means, so that we can go back to square one. They have no conscience.

“Even all over the world, other world leaders are commending Buhari for being an honest man and trying to check corruption.

Within the short time he has been in power, he has discovered that a lot of money was stolen

from our treasury. World leaders are happy with him, but in this country, they want him to be removed, so that they can continue to loot the treasury. They don’t love this country; they want corruption to come back, otherwise why are they saying the man should not re-contest.

“A lot of people have been involved in corruption, but since Buhari came in, there has not been room for people to carry out corrupt activities. So, they want Buhari to go, so that they will continue their corrupt acts.”

On what should be done to stem the tide of insecurity in the country ahead of the 2019 elections, he said: “If the security agencies take the right steps right now, the elections will be very peaceful. The most important thing is to try and disarm this people. We should also address the issue of corruption because what has brought all these problems to us is corruption.”

On the contrary, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on Twitter criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not arresting the Chairman, North Central zone of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Danladi Ciroma, after his claim that the killing of the 200 persons was in retaliation to the death of over 300 cows in the last few weeks by the affected villagers.

The killings in Barkin Ladi were motivated by previous killings of Fulani men and women by Berom youths in collaboration with certain minority ethnic groups in Plateau…

He described the killing as terrorism, saying, the killings by herdsmen is not Farmers/Herdsmen clash.

It is not a case of two fighting. Rather, it is terrorism.

Deal with perpetrators as terrorists and you will see these senseless killings coming to an end.”

One question Nigerians should be asking President Buhari is; has anyone been arrested for the killing of over 200 people in Plateau? Two hundred people killed in one day by people said to be retaliating loss of cows is a national disaster that should attract decisive actions not speeches. ”In saner climes, Presidents don’t go to sleep when over 200 of their citizens, including children are murdered; they take decisive action to bring perpetrators to book and prevent reoccurrence. But here in Nigeria, our president sees killing of over 200 people as two fighting.”

Also, Pastor Paul Enenche described the killing as jihadist activities and urged all lovers of freedom in Nigeria to rise and act. In the course of the Healing and Deliverance Service on Wednesday in Dunamis International Gospel Centre Headquarters Abuja, Paul Enenche addressed the recent killings in Plateau State Nigeria.

“Everybody who is a lover of freedom in Nigeria, rise and speak. Rise and act. Where an agent of the devil can sit on a judgment seat and sentence five people to death for killing a terrorist in Self Defence on their father’s land. I want to know how many people have been arrested so far for killing the two Reverend Fathers and the Parishioners. How many people have been arrested so far for killing the people (all over the Plateau region)?

“If you hate what is happening, speak out. We are waiting to hear the voices of Human Rights Activists. In previous administrations, at the tiniest thing, they will all rise (and gather) at The Eagles’ Square.

Where are you now? Everybody has been intimidated into silence; some charmed into irrelevance. Blood is flowing like water. People are dying like flies and everybody is mute...

“Somebody came and said that they are responsible for the killings in Plateau State and it is because the people stole 300 cows. So, they killed Human beings for cows; that is if it is true. And there is an Authority in the Land and the person who said it is alive and walking alive. That is demonic hypocrisy. But there is a God who rules in the affairs of men.”

Reacting to the killing, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo condemned the spate of killings in some parts of

the country noting that the Plateau attack whether retaliatory or not is a condemnable act.

The attack by suspected herdsmen on some villages in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau state over the weekend has left scores dead with properties and houses destroyed.

Osinbajo during a visit to the state, on Monday said, the attack by suspected herdsmen on innocent villagers is a condemnable act which everyone must ensure it ends.

“It is the responsibility of everyone of us, especially leadership. The leadership of the communities to ensure that we are able to bring about a situation of lasting peace. We must ensure that we don’t allow a situation where anybody gets away with this sort of killings.

“In the particular case of this local government, we were told that herdsmen attacked the village. This is a condemnable act. There is no reason whatsoever for killing any Nigerian. Even according to the law, if a killing has taken place, you are not allowed to kill in return. If you do it, it is as criminal as the very first act itself. This is an act that is condemned,” Osinbajo said.

The Vice President also noted that it is the responsibility of residents and their leaders to protect their community from falling victim of religious violence.

He urged the residents and their leader to, “seize the moment, to ensure that this is not allowed to continue.”

“We may have greater problems. We must not allow this to continue. We must not allow in this country, a religious crisis that becomes uncontrollable. If this sort of thing continues to happen, we will have the kind of crisis that we should not have,” Osinbajo said.

Also President Muhammadu Buhari has said that it is unjustifiable to blame him for the killing of Nigerians

by suspected armed herdsmen in different parts of the country.

Buhari vowed to prosecute the perpetrators of killings in Plateau State, assuring that he would not relent in his responsibility to protect the lives and properties of every Nigerian.

This is as Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau declared that over 200 people died in the attacks.

Lalong said the gory pictures of the killing of innocent citizens, women and children continue to “torment our hearts.”

The President spoke on Tuesday at an interactive session with stakeholders in Jos, the Plateau State capital, in the aftermath of the recent killings in some communities in the state.

Suspected herdsmen had laid a 48-hour siege to eight villages of Gashish and Ropp districts in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau.

The villages are Xland, Gindin Akwati, Ruku, Nghar, Kura Falls and Kakuruk all in Gashish District as well as Rakok, Kok and Razat villages all in Ropp District.

While commiserating with relatives of those who lost their loved ones, Buhari said the killings in Zamfara State was, however, more than the numbers recorded in Plateau and Benue states put together, stressing that Plateau killings should not be seen as a religious crisis.

Several measures has been taken by the Federal Government to end the incessant killings in the country, the Federal government eventually had its way when it made public its resolution to set up and fund cattle ranches across 10 states of the federation, in an apparent bid to assuage the thirst for destruction of the rampaging Fulani herdsmen. Unveiled at the National Economic Council’s National Livestock Transformation Plan, the government said that it was agreed with states as part of efforts to end the frequent attacks on farmers and other Nigerians by the negatively rambunctious herdsmen.

The government has now decided to set up 94 ranches to be funded with N70bn in the pilot phase of three years and then N179bn in a total period of 10 years. There will also be clusters of 30, 60, 150, and 300 cow ranch models in a location within the donated and gazetted grazing reserves. The designers of the programme say each ranch will be “an integrated business, which makes provision for (a) the development of commercial crop production to support livestock through the supply of quality fodder and other feed materials, (b) the formation of producers into clusters to create viable ranch herd sizes, and (c) creation of cooperatives to facilitate improved access to inputs, infrastructure, finance, markets, and support services.” Audu Ogbeh, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, concludes that there is no going back on the project. He said, “This conflict is not peculiar to Nigeria; it’s happening in Argentina; it happened in the U.S. in the 19th century, in Pakistan and others. So, this is what we should have started doing 20 years ago. We didn’t and that’s why we are where we are.”

He’s wrong. The 10-year National Livestock Plan is gratuitous, discriminatory and offensive. Linked with the controversial bill to establish a Regulatory Framework for the Water Resources Sector in Nigeria, the sinister motive of the initiators of the programme becomes obvious. As is often said, cattle farming is a private business, the responsibility for which should be that of the owners. Cattle farming in Australia, Canada

and the United States is purely the affair of the state or provincial government. In the US, cattle rearing originated in Texas in 1820.

In 1875, Texas (State) set aside three million acres in the Panhandle to raise funds for public projects. A Chicago syndicate purchased the property in 1882 for raising cattle, according to the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Private companies own the cattle business in Canada as well. Private businessmen equally operate the cattle business in Australia, with the S. Kidman & Co, owning 10 ranches, including the Anna Creek Station, reputed to be the largest in the world.

In Brazil, which is the second largest beef exporter in the world, the government aids the cattle trade by facilitating low-interest loans to farmers. Through this system, Brazil has grown to become a major player in the meat business.

Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretariat states that from an income of $1.9m in 1994, beef export income of Brazil jumped to $1.9bn in 2004, providing 360,000 direct jobs. Brazil’s cattle farmers own about 80 million cattle head in the Amazon region alone.

It has often been argued that ranching is the solution to the current scorched-earth policy of the Fulani herdsmen, but no one envisaged that the government would be the one to take up that responsibility of providing the facilities on behalf of the herders. Take, for instance, the case of people who run piggeries, will the

cattle rearing.

What has been apparent in the decision of the government is the fact that it has gone ahead with the plans of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association to march their cattle across any part of the country, whether the owners of such land like it or not. The government, through many of its agents, had insisted that there were grazing routes dating back to pre-independence period, which they imperiously insist must be respected. When the idea was resisted, it came up with the concept of grazing colony. Now, it is ranches on other people’s land. Whether it is called grazing route or grazing colony or ranches, what difference does it make? It is the same dogged resolve of the government-backed Fulani herdsmen to have their way playing out.

We insist that establishing ranches is purely a private enterprise. And the rule of common law requires cattle owners to fence in their animals. States that see its economic potential are free to decide to support and subsidise it with incentives. When this newspaper and other voices called for ranching, it was never suggested to be financed by the Federal Government. Just as state support has not meant government establishing rice farms, fish ponds, cotton farms, cocoa farms, cassava or soya beans farms or SMEs across the country, policies should be put in place to promote ranching, not compel states or enmesh the Federal

government go to this length in funding and providing space for them in all parts of the country? The case of the Niger Delta people is a good example of how a people have been denied their means of livelihood and yet nothing is done to change their situation. These are people that depend largely on fishing for their subsistence. But this means of livelihood has been taken away by oil spills, which have poisoned and killed the aquatic life in that area. What effort is the government making to dredge inland rivers for them in Sokoto or Maiduguri, for instance, to regain their fishing business? What is so special about cattle farming that it should be turned into a national responsibility?

No doubt, Nigeria needs to improve its cattle business to the modern age. But it should be the responsibility of states where cattle rearing is the predominant occupation of the people that should provide the enabling environment while the cattle farmers pick the bill. As the Federal Government did with the Anchor Borrowers Programme for rice, it should facilitate such loans for cattle farmers.

Such loans would be used to buy land in their states of choice. Besides, of the states to host the ranches –Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara – four do not have much to do with

Government directly in cattle farming.

The government has its rice policy but did not ask Kebbi and Lagos states to collaborate to produce the popular Lake rice brand: this was purely an economic decision by the two states. States that so desire and have advantage in livestock, may partner the private sector or collaborate as some are doing with rice. The ideal however is to create an enabling environment for local and foreign investors to move in, establish profitable ranches and help solve our food security crisis and eradicate the primitive practice of herding.

If the expectation is to see an end to the bloodletting currently sweeping across the land, it is doubtful that this is the right way to go about it. Many states in India have made laws prohibiting cattle damaging private and farmland, public roads, canals and embankments.

Intentional herding or grazing of livestock on another person’s land without their consent is criminal and must end here, too.

The most pressing responsibility of the Buhari government is to disarm, apprehend and prosecute killer-herders, halt their rampage and protect their victims. State governors should join the principled resistance platform of Governor Samuel Ortom, who has declared bluntly that Benue State has no vacant land to provide for ranches.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Feature Entrepreneurship: The widows’ alternative …As tears flow on International Widows’ Day in Port Harcourt IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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Introduction our husband drops dead; breadwinner has left you.

Darkness seems to envelop you. What do you do; run or run berserk? A team of lawyers and women organisations in Port Harcourt say such women should no longer lose hope run to entrepreneurship, the widow’s alternative.

Eugenia Marcus; FVI This was the narrative garnered from the venue of the International Widows Day (IWD) marked in the D-Line area of Port Harcourt under the auspices of Fresh View Initiative (FVI) founded by a widow, Eugenia Marcus. She said IWD is ratified by the United Nations (UN) and set the day aside to focus on the plight of widows so as to mobilise efforts towards their emancipation. According to her, this tries to review the burdens of widows.

She urged widows at the event to hear what the law says about widows and how widows can fight poverty. “Widows grapple with financial lack, school fees, health issues, etc.’, he added.

According to Marcus who made opening remarks at the event, the solution to the plight of widows is entrepreneurship. She pepped up the motivation by extracting the inner lessons of the biblical widow and her little left-over oil. The late prophet’s wife lost out after the death of her husband and was about to give up in the heat of her economic crisis, when a prophet came along. To help her, the prophet asked for anything in her hand. “This means, as you seek help up and down, pause, look and see that thing in your hand. It was a little oil left for the widow. Was it seed or food?

Two, she was asked to ‘borrow’ containers from everywhere. This endorses the principle of loans and borrowing to cause multiplication of seed. Next, she sold the surplus. This concludes the theory, which is, invest what you have, borrow what you do not have, create harvest, sell the surplus to survive. This experiment was

Cordelia Eke, lawyer and activist for women and widows

Ife Ibitokun, finance expert

conducted with a widow, and it worked.

It will still work today.” This attracted huge applause.

She went on: “It also works for nonwidows. Entrepreneurship is what every woman should embrace such that should a husband leave you, you can fall back on your small business. Those working are not left out of this strategy; keep a small business by the side. You never can tell.

By the way, you need that extra income. It may turn out to be the X-factor; that last ditch fund that may save you in strange situations.”

Marcus revealed that her NGO, Fresh View Initiative, was formed out of her own ordeal that taught her a lesson. “It was my ordeal in trying to move my business out of my home to a shop. I later sat back and tried to figure out how many other women out there were facing that same situation at one time or the other.

So, I started Fresh View initiative (FVI) to bring women together so we can tackle our problems before they overwhelm us.”

Business Finance by Ife Ibitokun of BizNurture To help women structure their small businesses for effectiveness, FVI brought Ife Ibitokun, a chartered accountant said to habour a passion for financial inclusion and literacy of SMEs. Ibitokun is said to be the founder & CEO of BizNurture Financial Services Limited that helps small businesses get access to finance with over 200 seekers so far processed with impact.

Ibitokun, with her rich background from the University of Lagos Nigeria, Cranfield School of Management in the UK, and Kobe University Business School, Japan, drilled the women with eye-popping details about how loose structures and poor financial records ruin very good businesses.

The expert said: “The place of recordkeeping in a business especially SMEs is crucial. Consider cost of sale in an SME because record keeping would help bring this factor out. The world is moving to business accountability which requires strict account keeping in your business place. Consider assets, sales, income & liability. Important; create a savings account for your business to lodge the

Eugenia Marcus, founder FVI

profit you make for the sake of the proverbial rainy day.”

She went on: “Absence of a structure for your business will crash any size of money. Starting a business, growing a business, and defending a business, are all important stages of a successful business. The key is, chase your debtors, else they conclude you are not keen on your money.”

Ibitokun went on: Keep records, bank all income, do cash reconciliation every day so you can catch the details every day, buy together to enjoy economy of scale, add value to your sales to retain customers, do feasibility studies, consider business risks of the product you want to do and the mitigations, and consider that not all businesses make profit immediately.

Cordelia Eke: Widows Rights The emerging voice for legal defence of women in the Niger Delta, Cordelia Eke, who is the secretary of the Port Harcourt chapter of the NBA and a dogged fighter for women & child rights as well as leader of the female section of the African Bar Association in Rivers State, took it from there.

She said: “When a man dies, harmful traditions emerge to torment the wife the man left behind. Find out what the law says on any matter concerning a widow. The kind of marriage rites you entered into will decide what a woman gets in a marriage.”

Eke mentioned the various types as court marriage called marriage under the act, marriage under native law, church/ mosque marriage (religious marriage).

She said there is a fourth marriage, marriage under no law at all, which is however validated by the many years of living together like husband and wife with children that have become factors in that union.

She went on to teach an aspect in the marriage under native law, saying it seems to allow people with wicked agenda to succeed. “It is amazing that women pursue these injustices with more aggression and more vigour against other women. There is trial by ordeal such as forcing the wife to drink water with which the corpse was bathed, making a widow sit on broken shell of cocoanut for

days, forced wailing, etc.”

She urged women to know that the UN has made treaties to protect widows and women. The Nigerian constitution gives right to life and dignity of human beings, plus freedom of movement. “These laws and conventions seek to protect you, but you must seek help to be helped; go to a lawyer or to court.”

Eke also pointed to the Criminal Code that she said treats wicked customs that are repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience as crimes.

“There is a lot to protect widows in Rivers State such as the 2003 law against drinking of bath water, etc. The fine is N300,000 or two years imprisonment; violence against a woman is N500,000.

The solution is, report to the police in case of maltreatment. Many women do not report due to ignorance, poverty, etc.

There are women lawyers ready to help widows and women in legal distress.” He gave the contacts.

Eke told the widows that there is an estate department in the Ministry of Justice that helps women whose husband’s estates (property) are being forcefully denied them. The unit acquires the right to manage such estates and remit funds for basic things such as feeding, school fees, the mother of the dead man, etc, until the dispute is resolved. “So, a widow has options: petition to the Nigerian Bar Association, find out more, go to God.” After hearing tearful lamentations from widows who are now stranded in courts in trying to seek justice, the legal activist observed that lawyers are fast losing their wigs and gowns due to professional misconducts. She said that the marriage act supersedes other laws. She advised widows to first seek economic power, then other things would fall into place. “Cling to God”, she counseled them.

The founder of Fresh View Initiative in an interview later revealed plans to educate more non-widows to reduce tragedies during widowhood. She also revealed plans to teach women to help their husbands live longer to reduce number of widowed women. She also said loan facilities would soon be part of FVI. This requires working with banks to create access to finance to widows and other women.

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Interview ‘Economic strangulation is the greatest challenge Nigerians are facing today’ Leonard Umunna, bishop and founder of Bible Life Church, is also a known public commentator. The cleric, who marked his 64th birthday anniversary last weekend in Lagos, also used the occasion to launch his newest music album. He spoke with ZEBULON AGOMUO on a number of issues, ranging from his personal life and the state of the nation. Excerpts:

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ou are 64 and looking very young. What is the secret?

The things that make me youthful and ageless are meditating on the word of God every day; I owe nobody and I borrow from nobody; I eat what is necessary for my health; I don’t have any burden that I go to sleep with; never. Above all, I give thanks to God always in everything and in all circumstances. That is on the youthfulness side. On what has changed as I advance in age; I want to give this candid advice. If you are not changing your mind as often as possible, to accommodate changes in your environment or in the world; you are not likely to grow further. You will stagnate.

So, if you are repeating same thing and expecting positive changes, you may be wasting your time. I always look for new things everyday to learn and improve on.

Secondly, if you are expecting to be big, you may not succeed. I do it like little drops of water that make a mighty ocean. I don’t have any area that I want to see little defeat let alone great defeat, because the scripture says, whatever I do shall prosper. So, qualification number one is delighting in the word of God and to be attentive to the voice of God always. If you know what humility is, be on that.

Each time you hold your events, either marking your birthday, launching your albums, etc, we see a lot of variety of activities, which suggests that you take time to plan your programmes; what is the secret?

This is a mystery. Work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply. The way into all this is God. He will give you insight.

He will give you ideas. But you have to on your own try to improve yourself everyday on what you do. To build yourself character-wise or in wealth, it takes determination on your part and taking conscious efforts to achieving your dream.

Talking about leveraging on good people around you; God gave me people in the church and those who work in my companies really cooperate with me and are part of my success story.

Importantly, your ability to hear God and be ready for a good change count a lot.

How may you compare Nigeria of the 60s and Nigeria of today in terms of quality of life

Leonard Umunna of citizens?

In the 60’s when Nigeria got her independence, wherever we went, everything was in order; the air was free and soothing. Anywhere you went you would see the European touch.

In those days; we had health inspectors move around. They would just come and begin to inspect everything including cooking utensils in the kitchen; and those who were found dirty were penalised. Government was interested in the health of the people. Things were done properly. Those were the days when a whole village would gather to welcome one of their own that just graduated from the university. It was a communal thing. In my place also, those who went on training to become Catholic Reverend Fathers were adored. Those were the days when every October 1, was marked with fanfare by all Nigerians; with great show

of patriotism. School children went for march past without any fear of anybody carrying out a bombing attack on anybody. We used to look forward to such occasions with great

The Nigerian aeroplane flew on Independence Day; it went up and crashlanded; ever since it hasn’t taken off again. It is so bad that every succeeding government appears worse than its predecessor

excitement. School teachers and principals were highly respected. But all these changed after the war. We now began to talk of who do you know? Merit disappeared; we began to talk of whose son are you; what tribe do you come from? Like the illustration I had always given; the Nigerian aeroplane flew on Independence Day; it went up and crash-landed; ever since it hasn’t taken off again. It is so bad that every succeeding government appears worse than its predecessor. They would come with lofty promises just as they have started again now; deceiving people, but the truth is that they have always failed to redeem their promises. They are promising again now that they will give you Eldorado, but we know them. I have told Nigerian leaders that the solution to the myriads of problems facing the country is in changing the name of Nigeria and changing

the constitution, these are the two solutions to bring back the country from the utter hopelessness it had sunken. I have told you that Nigeria as a nation vibrates a number that is very dangerous; and something must be done about it.

Each time people talk about Nigeria, it is lamentation and regret. Even those in government see hopelessness that’s why they always pass the buck. When do you think Nigeria will leave the lamentation arena?

We must take advantage of now, because it could soon be dark and late. I have said it before and will not stop saying it that to come out of our present predicament of quagmire or whatever you may choose to call it, we need to permanently change the name of Nigeria and the constitution; within one year of that change, there would be a new spirit, euphoria, enlightenment, and change of heart would begin to take place. I changed my name – I used to answer ‘Nwogwugwu’ but when I came to this knowledge, I changed my name to Leonard; and within one year the things that used to happen to me negatively, vanished and I began to see and experience progress in my life. So, if Nigeria can change that, that would be the permanent solution to the problems; but there are half measures – there’s need to get it right in leadership. Nigerians must be allowed to elect their own leaders. The practice in Nigeria has always been the selection of leaders by the cabal.

They are the ones who will agree on the person and then tell us to vote for formality sake. The way out is inculcation of discipline of vision and of burden. I keep asking, where is the blueprint – as we say master plan for 20 years. These are the things that should be formulated and incorporated into the constitution so that no president will come and bring his own. These things are very important, the president can bring his own good ideas in addition to what is already in the constitution, not that somebody will just assume office and begin to do as he likes to the advantage of the people and the country.

We must institutionalise discipline and attitude. We must spell out what an acceptable attitude should be in government. For instance, the criteria Continues on page 19

28 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Interview Our fashion outfits are for people who understand taste, quality - Onyemali Collins Onyemali is the creator of CEO’s Designers’ Label. He is a celebrity fashion designer and entrepreneur. In this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE, he speaks on how CEO’s Designers’ Label has carved a niche for itself in making outfit for CEOs and aspiring CEOs.

W

hen you are saying CEOs, are you saying your outfits are only

up with the sketch and once it is approved for production, we take body measurements which are called body detailing. This is to ensure that the measurement with which the outfit will be produced is suited for that person.

So, it will be difficult if you give that person’s shirt to someone else to wear, it will not be the same because it is not tailored to suit that body structure and joint.

for CEOs? Yes, we are fashion makers for the bosses, chief executives, people who appreciate value, that is what it connotes. Our fashion outfit is not for everybody; it is for people who understand taste and quality. Those are the people we are there to serve.

What made you choose this profession and narrow it down to CEOs? Being a professional at the same time an executive officer, I found out that in the Nigerian society, CEOs do not have readily available fitted clothes that befit their standards and status and they end up going abroad to get fitted clothes. So we decided to make this happen so that these persons do not go abroad anymore to spend our naira to buy dollars, instead they have these products readily available to them at their disposal. It is one of the things that inspired us to be CEOs’ designers.

Have you been able to win the hearts of these CEOs you targeted?

The answer is a big yes. Now you understand that good things are appreciated by the bosses and the people under them. No CEO sees anything good and walks past it. So if you are good and your collections are refining and tastefully made for people, a lot of CEOs will jump at them. So we have been working for CEOs and we are looking forward to having more of them patronise us.

Do you believe that social media is enough to promote someone’s fashion mind?

I think so but it depends on your targeted market. For most people who are active in the media world, most executive officers will not have much time to be chatting and going through Instagram, checking out photos, those people would rather read it in the media or watch TV. So it depends on your audience.

Some executive officers may have the time to do shopping online but not every one of them have time for shopping.

What motivated you into fashion?

Paying more and getting less.

First and foremost there are three issues in patronising the tailor. One, he is possibly going to give you what you never bargained for, especially in terms of finishing. Then he may also not deliver the job to you as at when needed. Some give you

less quality, others give you unfinished products, and to get them, you have to involve the police. All these variables are the reasons why we decided to make it a bit conducive for people to patronise made in Nigeria goods and services.

Let us talk about your creative style. What is the mark of CEOs apparel?

At CEOs, we don’t just make clothes for making sake; we have targeted fittings that we expect from our outfit. For instance you are coming to attend a function, we take detail body measurement, to know the structure of the person so that whenever you put on the garment, people will see that it is tailored and suited for you. It is not like those days when tailors would make clothes for you, you wear them once and you feel like you are wearing ‘buba’ and ‘sokoto’ and you can’t see the body structure. Men also have body structures like women do, but it is only here you see that people make clothes without detailing the body structure to suit them. So we decided to make it our trademark, strictly tailored to size. Tailored to size, means taking into consideration all the dimensions and body structure of a person to give you a nice fitting.

What is the vision for CEO? Our vision is to become one of the most sought after fashion houses in Nigeria and Africa. Our

vision is to deliver on our promise. If a client comes in and says I want to make a garment, we have you interviewed, get what you expect from us and deliver on those promises without any hitch or setback.

What is the biggest change in Nigeria’s fashion industry?

In Nigeria, a lot of the big bosses are beginning to appreciate our local styles. Take for instance in church, you will be surprised that the population of those wearing traditional clothes are more than the people wearing English. It is no longer an English affair. You see people going for conferences wearing traditional garments.

So it has become a style in the world and even foreigners are doing that already. So the reform is starting and moving and anybody now that doesn’t have good, cut to fit native outfits is considered not trendy today, as compared to how it was ten years ago.

Can you tell us about your products?

We cover virtually everything that has to do with fashion. We make native outfits, agbada, danshiki, kaftan, djalabia, suits, corporate trousers and shirts.

We also make shoes and perfumes and we stock accessories that are all CEO designed and made in Nigeria.

Which CEO would you like to dress if you were to make a pick?

I will like to dress Femi Otedola.

I have been following him on Instagram and when I see some of the outfits that he wears, I think we could make him look better.

I will like to dress Dangote as well as a lot of them. If you have money, your look should be very sharp and different from every other person who is struggling.

If you have made money, what really defines your person is the cloth you wear because from a distance, it speaks louder than even a trumpet could sound.

Making outfits for CEOs is a process. What makes your own process different?

What makes my process different are the finishing and quality of fabric. A lot of fashion houses in Nigeria today stock low quality fabrics but we don’t compromise on that. We give the best fabric quality to whoever can afford it. That is why we are not for everybody.

How does CEO ensure customers’ measurements are accurate and reliable?

We have a pre-section wherein we sit with the customers and they give us an idea what they want. Everyone has a history of what has made him run from one fashion house to another. So we start our interview session with knowing what you suffered in the past, and then tell us what you expect of us. We make a sketches or presentations of what we think he wants, based on his own description. We come

We hear the word business casual. What does it mean?

Business casual is dressing in the mildest form but still looking attractive and rich. Business casual entails wearing something that to you is not serious like slippers that are worth thousands of naira, trousers that are worth good money and a top that complements outlook.

Business casual means to be well dressed, without an intention of going for a board meeting but still looking very adorable.

Business casual comes in different patterns. You could have a top and pants combination where your shirt could be blue and black and you choose any of the colours of the pants to make a cap, your shoe or slippers, in such a way that it complements all of these colours. At the end of the day, you have this very casual and classy outfit.

What is the toughest thing about making clothes for CEOs? Getting a CEO to come for prefitting. It is called pre-fitting because first time you make clothes for someone, you expect that there could be one or two adjustments because some people like their clothes to be smart, some want them fitted, and all want them good. Good means free, not like body-hugging clothes, so you find out that you have an issue when it comes to getting a CEO to come fit their clothes, they are hardly available.

Time is of essence to their business. We quite understand that.

So you have made clothes and want the customer to come fit it, but the man is in America or in the UK and you are in Nigeria. That is the challenge with the CEOs. There are also women CEOs. Are they part of your clientele?

We have chosen our path. Our path is to make clothes for men and male CEOs. This is our niche.

Are there any other issues you will like to point out?

If you are not yet a CEO, we pray you become one soon so that we can give our services to you.

Saying we offer our services to CEOs only, does not mean we do not want the patronage of the aspiring CEO. Anybody who can afford our services in our sight is a CEO.

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BusinessInterview

Why closing borders to curb rice smuggling is futile – DG, Enugu Chamber of Commerce In this interview with Regis Anukwuoji, the director-general of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture Emeka Okereke, advised that the Federal Government should rather encourage local production of rice through other strategic means, than closing the nation’s land borders for a product that contributes only about 2percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

P

lease tell us about yourself?

My name is Emeka Okereke, directorgeneral Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

What is your reaction to the recent Federal Government plan to close Nigeria’s land borders so as to stop importation of foreign rice into the country?

Thank you very much. Actually, the minister for agriculture Audu Ogbeh, early this week announced that Nigerian borders would be closed for the reason that the government wants to discourage smuggling of rice from neighboring countries. As patriotic as the minister’s intensions are, it is like treating the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem and for how long can our borders be closed because of rice that contributes about 2 percent of production contribution to our GDP. Just 2 percent and we close all our land borders and meanwhile I do not know whether it is in tandem with ECOWAS protocol of free movement of our goods and human beings. That action to me is not the best way to go, government needs to be more pragmatic to encourage local rice producers find a way of deepening their capacity to produce more because this action is mainly artificial.

I mean the huge gap of rice demand in our country is still there and the truth remains that what we are producing locally cannot satisfy that huge demand. Therefore it could be another way of impoverishing the people because if we cannot produce enough for ourselves it means that some people are going to starve and incidentally, rice has become a major staple food in many Nigerian homes.

So, I would rather say that government should revisit the plan to close our land borders to the extent that it will also affect the movement of goods and services which is one of the key principles of the ECOWAS protocol. We are part of ECOWAS and we are a leading nation for that matter. The only thing we can do is to enhance local capacity and encourage competition, even though we want to protect our local producers, it hasn’t got to that point because even the local rice is not enough

to satisfy our demand.

Otherwise, you will be feeling the impact of poverty on the lives of Nigerians so I don’t think it is the best way to go, that is my take on this matter.

You talked about enhancing the capacity of local farmers, you are closer to the farmers; do you think government has not done well in support of local rice farmers?

Well, I think the government has done well in this direction it might not be enough, it can never be enough but I must commend the Federal Government for the effort they have put in place to encourage the local production of rice. There are no two ways about that but government needs to do more by way of access to more funds, equipment that will enable them to cultivate and produce more and find a way of bringing more people into the marketing of the rice because there are opportunities in rice farming.

In fact the good thing about this is that it portends that there are a lot of opportunities for people to go into rice production. You know it is a large scale commercial production project. It is not just for selfsustenance, even though that aspect is also good because if we can feed our families, it will go a long way in reducing poverty but we are talking of commercial production of rice and government needs to scale up the commercial farmers that are into agriculture in terms of funding, necessary seedlings and equipment to encourage them and also to find a way of encouraging cooperatives and

We are part of ECOWAS and we are a leading nation for that matter. The only thing we can do is to enhance local capacity and encourage competition, even though we want to protect our local producers

The DG ECCIMA, Emeka Okereke clusters.

Until then, I don’t think it is right for us to deepen the poverty level we have in the country because you want to encourage local production.

As I said earlier, locally produced rice is in high demand in the market but it cannot meet up with the demand, therefore something must be done to bridge the gap. Government must face these things, it is just like in automobile importation, you know the plants are not here to produce when you place a ban. The result is that people will use some other country’s borders to bring in these products and we are losing revenue too. We will be creating unemployment while the other countries develop, so we should not be in such a hurry. Yes we need to encourage our local production but in doing that, we should not snuff life out of Nigerians in order to encourage that.

Let us find a way of facing some of these things and use better strategies to encourage local production by discouraging unnecessary importation of products. For me, rice remains an essential product and as I said, we are not producing enough to satisfy our demand, so something must bridge the gap, the demand gap that is existing.

The Federal Government has started paying N5,000 to those it says are vulnerable in the society, as a way of cushioning the hard economic

situation. What do you think of this?

Well, I doubt if that will solve the nation’s economic problems or solve the poverty problems. You see, this issue of N5,000 is like what you have in the US, they call it social security, it is just to mitigate people who are unemployed or may be underemployed, to have some kind of pocket money because it is actually pocket money. It can in no way help in alleviating poverty. I would have rather that government should use this money to encourage entrepreneurship because when you give somebody N5,000, I think that is monthly, I don’t know how far that will go, however I think it will encourage despondency. As a matter of fact, I don’t know the criteria government is using to identify those they are giving the money.

They said the most vulnerable; I do not know the criteria they are using, so it is a defect on its own. For me, I do not think that the N5,000 they are giving out to people will do anything reasonable. Rather, I would think that government would have gathered this money and given it into a good number of people to get into entrepreneurship and become more productive so that they can involve more hands. That is my own take but I do know what they are trying to do.

I don’t know how useful this money will be to a family even if you are still on your own as a youth. Yes it can do one or two

things for you, some can use it to drink you know, or some social satisfier tendencies, I do not know whether it is helping to alleviate poverty in any way, or encouraging production.

Government should have channeled that money into production, even if there are very few people they are going to make the money available to. I think it would have been better. Of course I do not have the records of the people the government is giving the money to, to see how this N5,000 has been helping the families or individuals but for me, it doesn’t add up.

Enugu State Government last year introduced the traders empowerment programme, through which small traders in all the registered markets in the state are given a grant of N50,000 by raffle draw. As a manager of SMEs, what will be the impact of this grant to the state economy?

Well empowerment comes in different forms and in different ways. The idea to encourage, deepen capacity for commercial operators, traders in Enugu state is welcome. You know for an SME, even though the value of our currency has gone down N50,000 is still a reasonable amount of money that can help people to grow and expand their business.

In that direction I think it is a welcome development, more so, when the people the money is been given to are already in business, the money is to help them expand their business.”

I think is a very good idea and well thought out, bearing in mind too, that a good number of our people are into commercial trading and that level of encouragement for the micro and small enterprises operators can add good meaning to their lives and operations in business so I think is a welcome idea. I commend the state government for doing that. I am also speaking that the government can also look at those that are into production, not the number now, but for some people that can be catalysis’s to utilise the funds in their production processes and involve more hands, so I do hope that in the near future the government will also look at encouraging micro and small medium enterprises that are into production to expand their capacity of production that will go a long way to add to the growth of our economy.

30 Inside Lagos

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Sunday 01 July 2018

More opportunities for investors at LFTZ ...as 3,000 hectares unutilised, zone exports $735.8m finished goods Stories by JOSHUA BASSEY

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agos State government says 3000 hectares of land remain available to would-be investors at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) having utilised 241.3 hectares had so far.

Olayinka Oladunjoye, commissioner for commerce, industry and cooperatives, who stated this, also revealed that finished goods worth about $735.8 million have so far been exported from the free trade zone.

The LFTZ remains the flagship of the state government’s industrial development initiatives. It is conceptualised to develop an offshore economic growth zone, attract foreign investments, promote export, create job opportunities, transfer technology, minimine capital flight and establish a onestop global business enclave in Nigeria’s commercial city.

According to Oladunjoye, till date, the joint venture with the Chinese consortium has a total equity investment of

Bulldozers demolishing illegal structures and shanties near the Oko-Oba abattoir, Agege.

$180.4 million while about $140.20 million Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had been received.

She spoke to journalists in her office at Alausa, Ikeja, listing some of the achievements at the zone to include $200 million foreign direct investment from the Chinese consortium of investors.

“About N376.5 million has been spent on 14 corporate social responsibility projects for host communities including the establishment of a police station. 3000 hectares of land still available, while 241.3 hectares have been utilised,” she said.

The commissioner, also disclosed that a total of 125

Oshodi transport interchange now in critical stage- official

…contractor targets completion before December

L

agos is to intermittently shut some sections of roads within and around Oshodi to facilitate the completion of the Oshodi Transport Interchange project before December this year.

Adebowale Akinsanya, the commissioner for works and infrastructure gave the hint at the weekend, when he announced a temporarily closure of the Oshodi bridge to traffic, to enable the contractor, Planet Projects Limited, work on the skywalk component of the transport interchange.

The skywalk designed to link the terminal one and two of the project, such that commuters and visitors to the site can easily access both terminals.

“In the days and weeks ahead, there would be closure on certain sections of roads within the axis to vehicular and human traffic. We therefore solicit the cooperation and support of all road users plying the corridor to observe precaution signs on the road,” said Akinsanya on Friday.

Biodun Otunola, managing director/CEO of Planet Projects, an indigenous firm handing contract, told BusinessDay that the company was targeting to deliver the project before the

end of this year, aimed at giving Lagosians an efficient and effective public transport system.

“The idea is to give Lagosians access to efficient and effective transportation system, especially those in the lower and middle income brackets who cannot afford to fund their own private cars every day.”

“There are three terminals in all: Terminal 1 will serve those travelling outside Lagos and the west coast. Terminal 2 will service commuters heading towards Abule Egba and beyond and places like Mile 2, Okokomaiko and beyond, while terminal 3 will serve commuters going to Anthony, Ojota, Lagos Island and Ikorodu,” said Otunola.

T h e g ov e r n m e nt a n nounced a temporary closure of the Oshodi bridge to traffic, between the hours of 10:00pm on Sunday, July 1, and 5:00am on Monday, July 2, 2018.

According to Akinsanya, construction work at the project site has entered its critical stage and the contractor would be hoisting heavy structural steel trusses for the assembly of the skywalk component.

The skywalk, which is going to be the longest free standing pedestrian bridge in Nigeria at 53.4km long and six metres

wide, links terminal one and two buildings of the Oshodi transport interchange.

Following the closure of the Isolo-bound lane of the dual carriage bridge (Oshodi Oke) motorists (in both directions) are advised to use the second Anthony-bound lane.

Also, motorists approaching Oshodi from Anthony can access Town Planning Way through Ikorodu Road or Apapa Oworonshoki Expressway and then turn to Ilupeju Industrial Avenue to link Agege Motor Road via Ilupeju bypass and make a U-turn at Bolade and turn to Apapa Oworonshoki Expressway.

“For motorists coming from Isolo/Airport Road, you can enter the service lane at Charity and turn to Agege Motor Road at Oshodi and then link Ilupeju Industrial Avenue via Ilupeju Bypass and then turn to Town Planning Way to link up ApapaOworonshoki Expressway,” said Akinsanya.

“We encourage individuals and groups that may have cause to use the network of roads and bridges passing through, or linking Oshodi and environ, to be alert to disruptions and danger associated with movement of heavy steel and equipment,” he said.

investors have so far registered at trade zone while 59 others have signed lease agreement.

“In terms of job creation, about 726 Nigerians have been employed at the zone, with the active participation of host communities in projects, contracts and bidding process thereby providing

additional indirect employment.

Among the 18 manufacturing firms already established at the zone, according to her, include Yulong steel, Asia-Africa while 22 Free Zone Enterprises (FZEs) in operation have attracted about $500 million Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

She explained that finished goods worth $735.8 million have exported from the zone as at April 2018, with a total of $5.38 million (about N1.65 billion) paid as import duties to the Federal Government through Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Oladunjoye said to improve the ease of doing business, a fully computerised Customs Processing Centre has been established within the zone to remove logistics bottleneck.

“A police station, dormitory, patrol vehicles and motor-cycles have also been provided for police personnel to improve security along the axis,” she said.

One of the major investments rising into a reality within the LFTZ is by the Dangote Group. Considered the biggest industrial site anywhere in the world, the investment is combination of fertiliser, petrochemical and refinery plants.

The refinery will be 1.5 times the capacity of all the existing four refineries in the country as it refine 650,000 barrels per day.

Lagos moves to reposition Oko-Oba abattoir …demolishes illegal structures

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ver 500 shanties and illegal structures within and outside the Oko-Oba abattoir and lairage complex in Agege area of Lagos State have been demolished on the orders of the state government towards the upgrading and transformation of the complex for improved operations.

The demolition exercise was carried out officials of the ministry of agriculture with the collaboration of the ministry of the environment and the Lagos State taskforce on environment and other special offences.

Oluwatoyin Suarau, commissioner for agriculture, explained that the clean-up exercise affected shanties and illegal structures inside the abattoir and along Fagba railway section of the abattoir

complex.

According to him, the motive is to improve the hygienic condition of the complex and ensure best practices in the red meat value chain and not to witch-hunt anyone.

“I want us all to see this exercise as a positive development in the red meat value chain and not as government’s instrument to disrupt activities at the complex. Rehabilitation of the facilities at the Okooba abattoir is to ensure that operations at the complex meets international standard”, Suarau said.

He stated the commitment to ensuring best practices in the meat value chain, stressing that the clean-up exercise and the completion of various projects within the complex will be of benefit to all stakeholders

and the general public, as it will ensure wholesomeness in production, processing and consumption of meat.

He disclosed plans by the government to implement policies and programmes aimed at changing the face of abattoirs and slaughter slabs across the state, adding that at completion, the Oko-Oba abattoir complex will rank among the well equipped beyond the country.

“We have completed the fencing of the abattoir and the heap of refuse which had existed for several years has been cleared.

“Operations in the abattoir after this clean-up exercise will no longer be business as usual.

We are committed to implementing in phases planned projects that will transform the abattoir for good”, he said.

Tanker fire: NUPENG commiserates with victims’ families

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igeria Union of P e t ro l e u m a n d Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) have commiserated with families of the victims of petrol tanker fire which claimed nine lives and destroyed 54 vehicles at Otedola bridge, on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, on Thursday, June 28.

“We share in the pains of the families of the deceased, the injured in the hospitals receiving treatments and other victims who lost their properties as a result of the fire accident. It is really an unfortunate and avoidable incident,” Emmanuel Akporeha, president of NUPENG said on Friday.

The union lauded first responders such as the Federal

Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Police (for providing security), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) and other paramilitary operatives for their prompt action in rescuing the victims and bringing the situation under control.

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Personality Obaseki: Technocrat in the saddle in Edo adds another year

the other project(s).

To illustrate, the 1800 housingunit Emotan Garden project will source cement, sand, steel, and tiles from companies that are located in Edo State. The demand for these building materials will impact positively on the scale of these companies whose managers will hire more Edo youths to produce to scale and meet the demand of the housing estate.

This interconnection has also been factored into the ongoing repositioning of the colleges of agriculture in the state, which will train young graduates for the numerous large-scale farms in the state.

In same way, the Benin River Port is the link to the international market for companies that will operate from the Benin Industrial Park.

CRUSOE OSAGIE

G

overnor Godwin Obaseki’s emergence as the new political leader in Edo State was the product of a deliberate and intense search for someone who is conversant with the issues of development; inclusive socioeconomic growth anchored on industrialisation, and someone who can enthrone a sturdy and sane political order; people-centred and reforms-oriented governance propelled by the Rule of Law. Rare as the combination seemed, the lot fell on the investment banker cum politician given his flair for clear-cut strategies in delivering on assigned tasks and a knack for best practice.

With an illustrious career built in boardrooms and solidified in shopping for Nigeria-bound investments across the globe, Obaseki comes off as the resultfocused industrialist, who goes into investment negotiations with clinical finesse, armed to the teeth with raw data and guarantees as well as a deep understanding of the sanctity of contracts.

A team player On assumption of office, the governor assembled a team of mainly technocrats with clear tasks and performance evaluation framework that will measure periodically, input, output and outcomes.

Obaseki’s solutions’ ecosystem His close aides attest to his systems approach and orientation to issues and problems, which begins with defining a problem, designing and developing system solutions, with attendant models for evaluation.

The designed and tested solutions are set in legislation templates and transmitted as bills for enduring laws, to the legislature.

Development experts contend that the lack of depth and policy short-termism account in part, for policy failures in developing countries.

Governor Obaseki would rather create a network of related issues to a problem and proffer myriad of sustainable solution options for tackling the problems.

Creating an ecosystem of sustainable solution options to problems cannot happen in one day, which explains his disposition to engagement with experts and other stakeholders, to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Alaghodaro Investment Summit Obaseki’s predisposition to development models anchored on well researched ideas gave birth to the first edition of the Alagho-

Obaseki

daro Investment Summit, which brought together subject matter experts who converged on Benin City from November 10 - 12, 2017, to chart a better future for Edo people and residents in the state, with the theme, “Envisioning the Future.”

The three-day investment summit took the place of a one-year anniversary funfair that would have cost the state millions of naira, at a time the country was struggling to come out of a recession.

The governor assembled local and international investors and business leaders, bankers, policymakers, lawyers, the academia, industry experts and members of the diplomatic community for a three-day idea incubation session, covering agriculture, manufacturing, culture and tourism, civil service reforms, forest regeneration, education and healthcare.

A prudent manager of men and resources He took over the reins of power at a time the Nigerian economy was neck-deep in the worst recession the nation has witnessed in decades.

His expertise in the frugal application of scarce resources was called to task. At a time most states in the country, including the supposed rich states, were owing salaries, the Edo State government under his watch was up to date in salary payment. Civil servants received their salaries regularly before the end of each month.

From the early days as the chairman, State Economic Team, under former governor, Adams

Oshiomhole, Obaseki had developed an acute understanding of the developmental needs of Edo State, perfected which holes to plug for the state’s economic resurgence and when duty called, he wasted no time in providing a clear direction for his team.

He sounded a note of warning to all government officials, including civil servants, that there would be no room for frivolous spending of the state’s resources.

Specifically, the governor migrated revenue collection from analogue to digital platform to ensure transparency in the revenue collection process, embarked on the reform of the education, health, sports, and justice sectors and began the retooling and retraining of civil servants.

He has been nicknamed the ‘Wake and See Governor’ by Edo people and residents in the state,

Barely 18 months in office as the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has demonstrated that governance is about deep and strategic thinking, as well as the execution of peoplecentred projects that will enhance their wellbeing

who are overwhelmed by the ease with which developmental projects spring up in their neighbourhoods.

Investment/industrialisation drive From his close study of the state, he understands that the state possessed several strategic assets that make it an investor’s delight.

He had deployed this skill in brokering for investment for the globally acclaimed, record-setting 450mw capacity Edo Azura Independent Power Project (IPP), among others.

More so, the industrialisation plan pursued by the Edo State Government is quite grand and encompasses a wide range of strategically connected projects, namely; the Benin Industrial Park project that will host over 1000 companies; the 1800 housing-unit Emotan Garden project; the Benin River Port in Gelegele, which will serve as the gateway for evacuating products manufactured in the industrial park; an auto assembly plant; a modular refinery and pockets of innovation hubs that will be scattered across the state, amongst other projects.

On completion, these projects will not only see to the rise of the state as an economic hub, but as a cynosure of all those seeking to make an industrial city from what used to be a largely civil servants’ state.

The most intriguing part of Obaseki’s numerous conceptions, is the nexus between one project and the other. Edo State currently has a community of related projects, in which the main or bye product of one project is useful to

Education The governor’s penchant for technology-driven systems has also found expression in the state’s education sector, where techbased teaching method has been adopted in public schools.

The reigning Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) initiative, is winning hearts and minds of Edo people, most of whom have begun withdrawing their wards and pupils from private schools and moving them to public schools where information and communication technology tools such as minicomputers are now being used for teaching.

Edo-BEST is a basic education reform blueprint that prioritises the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in teaching, as well as harmonises teaching and learning outcomes across locations and promotes interactive classroom management model, among others.

Barely 18 months in office as the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has demonstrated that governance is about deep and strategic thinking, as well as the execution of people-centred projects that will enhance their wellbeing.

Keen watchers of developments in Edo would agree that Governor Obaseki deserves accolades for the clearheaded leadership he has provided in Edo State, amid a very turbulent economy, particularly, as he adds another year today.

Even though in his modesty, he is the last person to pay attention to accolades and praises, it would almost be a crime against nature to allow this day pass without wishing him a very happy birthday. * Crusoe Osagie is the special adviser on media and communication strategy to the Edo State governor.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

SundayBusiness

Ukah wins 2018 Pharma Entrepreneur Award ...Says, ‘I will continue to promote pharmacy profession’ Rosemary Chigbu

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harm Chris Ukah, publisher of PharmaTimes Health publication, has won the prestigious Pharma Entrepreneur of the Year Award of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Board of Fellows (BOF) for distinguishing himself in the practice of pharmacy in Nigeria.

The award was presented to him at the 2018 edition of the PSN Board of Fellows annual midyear meeting/dinner which held Wednesday, 27th June at the banquet hall of Sheraton Hotels and Suites, Ikeja, Lagos by Mojisola Adeyeye, a professor and directorgeneral of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on behalf of BOF. Ukah, who is also the group managing director of KCH, an emerging conglomerate with interest in publishing, production and marketing of high quality essential medicines was specifically celebrated by BOF for his outstanding and enterprising tenacity in setting up and nurturing PharmaTimes, a pharmaceutical/health monthly that he promotes.

Each year, the body of distinguished pharmacists in Nigeria, uses the opportunity of the annual event to celebrate members of the profession who have made significant and outstanding contributions in the promotion of pharmacy practice in Nigeria.

Other awardees at the event were, Pharm. Chris Ehimen, director, Nett Pharmacy, and Pharm.

Chibuike Uchemadu Agaruwa.

L-R: Chris Ukah, receiving the award from Mojisola Adeyeye, DG, NAFDAC

Speaking on the Theme: ‘Fundamentals of Nation Buildingthe Role of the citizen’, the guest speaker, Anao Abhulimen, a nprofessor had identified the display of selfish interest and parochial sentiments among public office holders in the discharge of their responsibilities as the root cause of the prevailing leadership crises in the country.

Abhulimen, who was the former Chancellor, University of Benin, emphasised that without enthronement of accountability at all levels of leadership posi-

tions in the country it would be difficult for Nigeria to achieve true democratic ideals just as he remarked that no meaningful development would be recorded in the country if people with compromised integrity continue to occupy leadership positions in public offices.

He reiterated the need for the participation of the citizenry in efforts aimed at promoting nation building because as he said, “the country needs all hands on deck in order to overcome the challenges of purposeful leadership in

Chivita partners SACCOF for healthy living CHINYERE OKEKE

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hivita, a brand of CHI Limited, has entered into partnership with the Sugar and Cholesterol Control Foundation (SACCOF) to support a campaign on health and wellness as well as increase public awareness on the nutritional benefits of 100% juice.

Speaking at a recent event in Lagos where both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding, Ademola Adesoye, president of SACCOF, said the collaboration would boost research into sugar consumption and control, adding that the partnership validated the commitment of Chivita to its ‘noadded sugar’ campaign.

Adesoye, a food technology expert, pointed out that the commitment was not only necessary for raising the awareness level but also critical to correcting the misconceptions about sugar consumption.

“It is important Nigerians understand that they need sugar to carry out their basic tasks. What is bad is

excess intake and what could be normal for one person may be excessive for another,’’ said Adesoye. ‘‘What determines the volume of sugar you require are your lifestyle and the amount of energy you need to discharge your responsibilities,’’ he said.

He also said that the simple sugars contained in fruit juices are mostly fructose which is naturally occurring in the intact structure of the respective raw fruits or vegetables, thereby making them very healthy and nutritional. ‘‘There have been cases where some people have low sugar level in their system and this is as bad as excess sugar. So, it is satisfying to know that Chivita is spearheading this campaign,” Adesoye said.

According to him, excess sugar intake without complementary active living is a likely cause of diabetes and associated diseases among many Nigerians. He therefore called for the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the campaign as well as more investment in researches and public sensitization.

The SACCOF president dis-

closed that the Foundation had carried out extensive research on Chivita 100% and that the results were commendable, adding that SACCOF was impressed by the company’s compliance to highest food safety standards, which are above industry regulatory requirements.

Deepanjay Roy, managing director, CHI Limited, said Chivita would, on the strength of the partnership, support the Foundation’s research works and other initiatives aimed at educating Nigerians on healthy living. Roy said that the company and SACCOF had shared values in boosting the quality of life, through enlightenment and support for consumer’s health and wellness.

“As a sustained initiative, we hope to support independent efforts by experts such as nutritionists and dieticians to show how fruit juice contributes to the health and well-being of consumers,’’ said Roy. ‘‘We will also create a sustainable discourse on the truth and science of 100% fruit juice and the No-added Sugar proposition,” he said.

Nigeria.”

The event was attended by distinguished personalities from diverse professional backgrounds and they include Fola Adeola, former managing director of Guaranty Trust Bank, and Founder/ Chairman, FATE Foundation as chairman of the occasion; Paul Ananaba (SAN), representative of Special Guest of Honour, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa; Anao Abhulimen, a professor, and former Chancellor, University of Benin, guest lecturer; Mojisola Adeyeye, a professor and director-general

of NAFDAC; Elijah Mohammed, PCN Registrar; Pharm. Chiedu Ojike Mordi Esq. Chairman BOF; Pharm. Ahmed I. Yakasai, PSN President; and Jimmy Agbaje, former governorship aspirant in Lagos.

Others include; Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, former MD Niemeth Intl Pharma; Victor Amuta, chairman Editorial Board of PharmaTimes; and Barr. NBE Nwigwe, former Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), and many other dignitaries.

Ukah expressed gratitude to BOF for the honour done him and PharmaTimes.

“I feel greatly honoured to receive the Pharma Enterprenuer Award of the Year from this august assembly.”

“The event of today is both gratifying and motivating because it signifies that what we are doing at PharmaTimes has made recognisable contribution in promoting Pharmacy profession and industry without our knowing it.”

“I consider it a unique entrustment backed by hard-earned reputation of the finest brains that our great profession has produced and as such I would not take it for granted.”

The awardee also expressed gratitude to Victor Amuta, chairman editorial board, for leading him into pharmacy profession. Ukah, however, promised to do all within his powers to continue promoting pharmacy profession and industry in Nigeria.

A highlight of the occasion was the launch of the ‘Say No To Drug Abuse’ campaign initiated by DG NAFDAC in collaboration with Young Pharmacists Group, to put an end to drug abuse in the country.

Healthcare delivery: Stakeholders launch pharmacy framework manual

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he Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), in collaboration with PharmAccess Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that provides access to funding, and other stakeholders in the healthcare value chain recently launched the Pharmacy Framework Manual to strengthen the value chain of the pharmaceutical industry by stimulating stronger regulation and providing access to affordable capital.

The framework, which was launched in Lagos, is expected to address the inadequate access to affordable capital for the procurement of pharmaceutical products at the last mile service delivery points that has posed a major challenge to the health sector particularly in rural and hard to reach areas where many of the low income earners live and work.

Elijah Mohammed, registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), in a statement said the

framework is the outcome of PCN’s partnership with other stakeholders in sector.

According to Mohammed, the partnership is borne out of the need to ensure adequate provision of equitable and sustainable access to life-saving medicines within the healthcare system, as enshrined in the National Drug Policy.

“The development of the framework was with the collaboration of relevant stakeholders and contents are in alignment with the policies and guidelines for the regulation of Community Pharmacists, Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors, Manufacturers, Importers and Wholesalers.

“The framework provides opportunities that would enable Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors to increase the scope and quality of their services through the provision of affordable financing and increased oversight,” said Mohammed.

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SundayBusiness Nutritional benefits of Whole Wheat Meal (Part1) Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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n April 23, 2010, at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting, the Associate of Science in Nursing, ASN through an unrestricted education grant from the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, sponsored a satellite symposium on: “Putting the Whole Grain Puzzle Together: Health Benefits Associated with Whole Grain.”

The symposium brought together researchers who reviewed the evidence associated with whole grain health benefits in the areas of: Whole grain phyto-nutrients, (2) Weight management, (3) Cardiovascular disease (CVD), (3) Diabetes, (4) Digestive health and ways to help improve whole grain dietary intake assessment.

The consensus is that the additive and synergistic effects of bioactive phyto-chemicals found in whole grains are responsible for the health benefits associated with a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Additionally, epidemiological studies from North American and European cohorts have consistently shown that consumption of whole grains is associated with reduced risk of CVD. In fact, Lilian Cheung, DSc, a Resident Dietitian, of the USDA and a lecturer on nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health recommends eating grains daily, and at least half of those should be whole grains. “You’re getting fiber, a healthy plant-based protein, vitamins, minerals, and a variety of phyto-chemicals that will improve your health.

In addition, several studies across the globe carried out over the years agree with the above stated.

These are by Professors Dagfinn Aune, Darren G.Serena Tonstad of the UK; Nana Keum, Edward G. Paolo Boffetta, Lars Vatten and DagfinnAune, Nana Keum from the USA and Professors Guo-Chong Chen, Xing Tong, Jia-Ying Xu, ShuFen Han, Zhong-Xiao Wan, Jia-Bi Qin and Li-Oiang Qin, all from China.

It is a similar scenario with studies by Jacobs et al, Liu et al, Steffen et al and Nettleton et al, on the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study confirmed the earlier stated study findings. So also did that by Kerri-Ann Jennings, the author of ‘;9 Legitimate Health Benefits of

Eating Whole Grains’ published on December 23, 2016. She however, advised that people purchasing processed whole grain products, should make sure that they read the ingredients list to give the assurance that they are made entirely from whole grains, not a mixture of whole and refined grains.

If these seem foreign, related studies carried out by eminent Nigerian food technologists and scientists, attest and align with the immense nutritional benefits of whole grains, including whole wheat meal presented as swallow foods similar to our local pounded yam,eba and amala. These researchers and erudite scholars include Prof. Isaac Adeyemi, Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS) and an expert on grains and milling technology, former VC of Bells University of Technology, Ota and Ugochukwu Uche Patrick, the Chief Food Technologist and Head, Pilot Food Processing Plants at the Federal Institute of industrial Research(FIIRO), Oshodi, Lago.

Others include Prof. Olu. Malomo, a professor of Biotechnology, Kings University Odeomu, Osun State and Mr. Sherif Olagunju, fsi, Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, NAFDAC as well as Ufondu Amalachukwu Nwamaka also of NAFDAC, Lagos.

According to Adeyemi, there are many health benefits of incorporating whole grain foods into your diet. Whole grain foods help lower the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. Contrary to popular belief, foods that

have whole grain do not add to weight gain. The reason why people gain weight is because of refined carbohydrates. These can be found in cakes, cookies, doughnuts, and other types of bread.

Both forms of fibre are important for bowel regularity and gut health, prevention of heart disease through cholesterol lowering properties, prevention of diabetes, obesity and prevention of constipation.

NAFDAC researchers insist that in addition to the effects of fibre, wheat contains numerous other components that may play a role in health and disease risk reduction.

These are polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin E, and phytosterols. The additive and synergistic effects of these compounds may contribute to the health benefits of whole grain consumption.

On his part, Patrick of FIIRO describes wheat as “the king of all cereals” and “ a treasured plant” because it is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, most of the essential amino acids and valuable minerals, ‘ all in one plant”!. Besides, it has been made popular because it possesses gluten which makes it possible for bread making. He adds that no other cereal is as nutritionally rich.

However, there are two varieties of hard wheat, with protein content of 14-15percent, used for bread and Soft wheat of 10-12percent protein used for biscuits and cookies. This is the type grown in Nigeria, at the Chad and Hadeija River Basin.

Prof. Malomo reiterates that whole grains as present in whole wheat meal they lower blood pres-

sure. The heart benefits of whole grains don’t stop with cholesterol and triglycerides. They also lower blood pressure, one of the most important risk factors for heart disease. One study found a 19percent lower risk of hypertension among men who ate more than 7 servings of whole grain breakfast cereal a week compared with those who ate one or less. A study of women also found a benefit. “Eating whole grains instead of refined grains substantially lowers blood.

He adds that they are effective against Type-2 diabetes, cancer and have positive effective effect on the digestive system, giving a fuller feeling and even contribute to longevity. So, the question is what really makes whole grains so nutritious?

The wheat grain or ‘caryopsis’, which is harvested for human nutrition, is composed of a number of different tissues: According to Jennings, whole grain kernels have three parts: Bran: This is the hard, outer shell. It contains fiber, minerals and antioxidants. Endosperm: The middle layer of the grain is mostly made up of carbohydrates. Germ: This inner layer has vitamins, minerals, protein and plant compounds.

The acronym is BEG, which means that whole grains are literally begging us to eat them! Grains can be rolled, crushed or cracked, but as long as these three parts are still present in their original proportion, they’re considered whole grains.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media

Experts point to benefits of cattle ranching for Nigeria CALEB OJEWALE

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igeria has been estimated to have 19 million head of cattle which on a conservative estimate of N100, 000 per head, translates to N1.9 trillion.

The cattle market is indeed filled with immense potential for beef and dairy production as well as job creation.

As experts have observed, Nigeria mostly imports cattle from other countries for local consumption as locally bred herds are unable to meet consumption needs. Seventy percent of the cattle business in Nigeria relies on animals brought from Cameroun, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and even Benin Republic.

Akinwumi Adesina , former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, had projected an increase in beef consumption in the country from 360,000 tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes by 2050.

In 2016, Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos state Governor, said 6,000 heads of cattle are consumed daily in the state, which may increase to 8,000 in the next five years, and this translates to present consumption of 2.19 million cattle annually in the state.

The incessant clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in different parts of the country are

becoming a worrisome trend like the Boko Haram carnage, necessitating calls for introduction of proper ranches for the cattle rearing business in Nigeria.

Audu Ogbeh, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development had first described the Federal Government’s ‘solution’ as creation of grazing areas in the country, where the herdsmen would take care of their cattle. “We will grow grass in the South to feed the cattle in the North, just as

Ogbeh

Saudi Arabia did,” he said at the time.

The rationale of the proposal however remains doubtful as it is unknown how government intends to regulate large expanses of land- where all manner of herdsmen will bring their cattle to graze.

Ogbeh himself has since become a proponent of ranching, saying at this year’s BusinessDay Agribusiness and Food Security Summit, that; When your cow in

Nigeria marches from Adamawa to Lagos that is a little more than exercise, therefore we have to confine Nigerian cows in ranches willy-nilly.

“And when we do, you young Nigerians here, I can assure you if you have just 20 milk cows behind your house, well secured, feeding the cows with at least 10kg of fodder per day, and 40 litres of water, then you will collect enough milk to be a very comfortable Nigerians without looking for a job.”

With an estimated 19 million heads of cattle valued at over N1.9 trillion, the cattle business has potentialities for significant growth, if ranches can be introduced, experts say.

The decision by herdsmen to migrate in search of greener pastures has also been described as counterproductive. The northsouth movement, and later the south north movement in search of pasture, consistently leads to losing whatever weight has been gained during grazing periods.

In the dry season, cattle could potentially lose as much as 50 percent of their weight, if there is no adequate feeding.

“Within the confines of the ranch, the animals can be sustained. You will be sure you can get feed and water for them, providing all these within the ranch. That then will minimise the movement outside the ranch in search of water and feed, in the

course of which destruction of farmlands and communal clashes occur,” Chryss Onwuka, a professor of ruminant animal nutrition told BusinessDay in a previous interview.

“In their [nomadic herdsmen] tradition, once their fields start thinning out and water becomes less available, they start moving towards regions where there is enough food and water. And all these tell on their [cattle] energy, which in turn reflects on their weight, gain; bringing about weight losses that they had hoped to gain by moving. The little potential they have for weight gain is lost in the course of transiting from one place to another. If they were sedentary, then their restricted movement would have translated into weight gain,” Onwuka said.

Olufemi Onifade, a professor of Forage and Agronomy explains, “for those who may want to go into cattle ranching, it is an encompassing business which requires a large area of land depending on the number of animals likely to be kept.

When the land has been acquired, it is important to have feed for the animals. One of the feeds they can provide for the animals is through growing grasses for pasture. They can plant the grasses depending on the number of animals and the grazing method they want to adopt.”

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Sunday 01 July 2018

SundayBusiness Dealing with illiquidity Talking Mortgage challenge in mortgage system with

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ne of the major challenges that has impeded the growth of the mortgage system in Nigeria is lack of liquidity in the system.

This ranks high among other challenges such as land titling, high interest rate and poor regulatory environment.

Mortgage in Nigeria, according to Femi Akintunde, Group Managing Director, Alpha Mead Group, is defined by availability, accessibility and affordability all of which, he says, are neither here nor there.

Nigeria has a heavy housing burden estimated at 17 million units. It also has low homeownership level conservatively put at a little above 10 percent.

All these easily find explanation in the mortgage system that is illiquid and unable to fund even low cost housing.

But, consciously or unconsciously, the inequality created by this lack of affordable housing has placed a moral obligation on all housing stakeholders to use every tool at their disposal to find solutions to providing access to sustainable and affordable housing finance.

The coming of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), a secondary mortgage institution that is private sector-driven with the public purpose of developing the primary and secondary mortgage markets by raising long‐term

Spiritonomics

Debo Atiba

www.spiritonomics.org

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hat we seem not to have it well does not mean we are disadvantaged.

What happens a lot of time is the fact that we do not know our advantage as children of God let alone utilise it. The preacher said that there is an evil that he has seen under the Sun (There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceeded from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. Eccl.10:5-7).

funds from the domestic capital market as well as foreign markets for providing accessible and affordable housing in Nigeria, was aimed to address this problem.

True to this primary mandate, the company recently completed its N11billion 13.80 percent Series 2 Bond Issuance under its N440 billion Medium Term Note Programme. The net proceeds will be used to refinance eligible mortgage loans originated by the participating mortgage lending banks.

It is pertinent to state that this is coming on the heels of its inaugural N8 billion 14.9 percent Series 1 Bond issue in July 2015 which was fully deployed towards refinancing legacy mortgage loan portfolios of the participating eligible membermortgage lending banks.

According to the company’s current Managing Director, Kehinde Ogundimu, “the Bond Issuance reinforces our commitment to encouraging and promoting homeownership in Nigeria by linking the capital markets with the housing sector and establishing an operating and viable secondary mortgage market to support the primary mortgage market.”

Ogundimu added that NMRC remains committed to transmitting the full benefit of the pricing efficiency achieved in its funding cost to home borrowers through the participating primary mort-

gage lenders, thereby lowering costs and driving activities that will deepen the mortgage market.

The last couple of years have seen spirited efforts by the mortgage refinance company to not only reposition the mortgage sector, but also to break down barriers to home ownership by providing liquidity, affordability, accessibility and stability to the housing market.

The company has the vision to be the dominant housing partner in Nigeria by providing liquidity and access to affordable housing finance and, in line with that, it has come out with ambitious and innovative initiatives aimed to improve mortgage market transactions and also fast-track affordable housing delivery.

When the company was established, the mandate given to it was to promote wider spread of home ownership, accessibility and affordability which explains the setting up of what it calls ‘Housing/Mortgage Market Information Portal (MMIP)’ aimed to enable it to gather data for intelligence and profiling of federal, states civil servants and informal sectors (off-takers) for affordable housing.

This is an effective policy and decision making tool on land allocation, infrastructure and concessions and, according to officials of the company’s, “MMIP enables decision on creating polycentric cities in order to de-

CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com)

congest major urban centres”.

The pilot implementation of this initiative is said to be already taking place in six cities including Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu, Port Harcourt.

Another initiative the company has come up with is the N M RC Mo r t g a g e Ma r k e t System (MMS) which is a transformational change that integrates the entire housing market, covering construction finance, primary and secondary mortgage.

The system which is available to all players in the housing industry has the benefit of removing duplications of effort in gathering data and documents; improving the turnaround time, reducing the cycle time of transactions and helping in making homes more affordable.

Described as a world class system that brings all players in the mortgage and housing market into a centralised technology ecosystem, MMS allows a systematic market to operate and concentration of activities to take place.

What the system seeks to achieve, besides bringing cred-

ibility and attracting investors to the mortgage market, is also to let players and sundry individuals know what is going on in the market. The system creates a marketplace where there is information flow and people can see what is going on.

MMS also allows market operators to track all the activities within the construction industry. With it they can see which developer is doing what and in which location. It also allows them to begin to compare prices and know which property is being sold and in which location. This way, the developers will begin to be more competitive in the way they do their developments.

For the mortgage banks, the new system allows them to begin to manage their own systems by themselves using the uniform underwriting standards which NMRC has produced and, with that, they can evaluate their applications based on the underwriting standard. It is hoped that the use of these systems for federal and state governments’ mortgage asset registry will reduce cost of homeownership.

received help, you have been marvelously helped.

How can we be helped?

You can never be of help to someone that does not need or ask for your help. You are seen as being intrusive in their affairs. It means also you don’t have respect for their personal space. Except there is a voluntary request for help, or an acknowledgement of the need for help no one can help or be helped.

How does God help?

Every time we are in control of our lives, or we fret and become anxious, God cannot help. Every time we permit sadness, sorrow or any feeling of despondency it’s a proof we do not trust God enough, and in circumstances like these, God cannot help. The only time the help of God is felt the most is when we relinquish the rein of our lives to Him, then he can HELP. And how do you do that? The truth is that The HELP

of God has never been far from any of us. The HELP of God is always in his WORD. When you take his word and you believe it, help has come for you. Resident in his word is his power, he said, I uphold all things by the word of my POWER. Can we imagine what ignorance has made us loose? When we are not abreast of the things of the spirit we do ourselves a great disservice and it is to our own disadvantage.

PURPOSE OF HELP: To relieve, to make happy, to remove stress, to be encouraged to be...

On our path in this life the obstacles and circumstances that have been set into motion because of the fall of man requires a higher power to help otherwise we all crash-land. For us to operate in our position of advantage we must walk in the consciousness of this truth.

Remain Blessed. @spiritonomics.org

Our position of advantage The conclusion of the preacher was not an assumption, but a detailed observation of life through facts and experiences.

What is a help?

The Dictionary describes HELP as: make it easier or possible for (someone) to do something by offering them one’s services or resources.

Synonyms of Help: To assist, aid, help out, lend a hand to, lend a helping hand to, give assistance to, come to the aid of, succor, aid and abet; be of service to, be of use to, be useful to; do someone a favor, do someone a service, do someone a good turn, bail/bale someone out, come to someone’s rescue, give someone a leg up; cooperate with, do one’s bit for, rally round, pitch in, chip in; get someone out of a tight spot, save someone’s bacon, save someone’s skin; muck in with, get stuck in with.

Who is a helper?

A person who helps someone else. synonyms: assistant, co-worker, fellow worker, workmate, teammate, helpmate, helpmeet, associate, aider, aide, colleague, supporter, partner, collaborator; subordinate, deputy, auxiliary, second, second in command, number two, right-hand man, right-hand woman, wingman, attendant, junior, acolyte; accessory, accomplice, henchman; sidekick What does it mean to be helped?

When what once looked to you as a load has been lifted.

When what was once a bother to you has ceased being a bother.

What you never thought could happen to you, what you never imagined could be yours has now become yours. When you look around you and your results far outweigh your strength, knowledge or wisdom then you have

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Equity Market Interim dividends, US trade wars to spur market rally as equities gain N257bn at half year Stories by TELIAT SULE

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uoted firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the first half of 2018 with a gain of N256.95 billion following a rise in market capitalization from N13.609 trillion on the last trading day of 2017 to N13.866 trillion on June 29, 2018, translating to 1.89 percent increase in market capitalisation during the period.

However, this gain pales into insignificance when compared with N1.38 trillion increase in market capitalisation at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

The All Share Index (ASI) closed last weekend at 38,278.55 points compared with 41,504.51 points at the end of the first quarter of 2018. At half year 2018, ASI posted a marginal 0.09 percent gains when compared with its closing figure on the last trading day of 2017.

Analysts are however of the opinions that the equity market will rally in the second half of the year as notable companies declare

interim dividends and institutional investors react to different trade wars being waged by the United States President Donald Trump on its allies.

“Interest rates normalisation in

Red Star Express posts N8bn revenue as PAT declines 19 percent ...Appoints Sideso, Barau as Non Executive Directors

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ed Star Express has announced its audited financial statement for the period ended March 31, 2018. Gross revenue rose by 15 percent to N8.41 billion from N7.29 billion same period in 2017. Gross profit for the period increased by 27 percent to N2.78 billion in March 2018 as against N2.19 billion in similar period last year. Finance income also trended upward by 32 percent from N17.68 million last year to N23.32 million in 2018.

However, the cost of sale rose by 10 percent during the period from N5.11 billion in March 2017 to N5.63 billion in March 2018. Administrative expenses increased by 38 percent while other income fell by 78 percent. Operating profit declined marginally by 6 percent from N656.63 million in 2017 to N614.93 million in 2018.

Both the profit before tax(PBT) and profit after tax(PAT) declined by 7 percent and 19 percent respectively. In 2017, the firm made N653.2 million as PBT compared with N610.59 million in 2018. Also, Red Star realised N347.56 million as PAT in March 2018 in contrast to N426.76 million in 2017.

It was cheaper for the company generating a naira income

this year compared with similar period in 2017. Cost of sales relative to gross revenue declined from 70 percent in 2017 to 67 percent this year. Profit margin fell from 6 percent in 2017 to 4 percent this year.

Meanwhile, the Board of Red Star Express has appointed Chioma Sideso and Sulaiman Barau as non executive directors. Sideso holds an LL.B from the University of Kent, Canterbury in the United Kingdom (UK) and an MBA in Business Administration. She has attended various training programs locally and internationally.

On his part, Sulaiman Barau has over 18 years of distinguished service as a public servant. He was a principal economist with the Nigerian Mining Corporation before he worked for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc. He was a two-term deputy governor at the CBN before he retired in 2017.

Sulaiman was educated at the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Universities of Jos and Bradford where he got B.Sc and MSc degrees. He attended several courses at Euromoney, Insead, IMD, Wharton, Harvard, Kellogg and Stanford Universities.

the US and fears about the forthcoming general elections are forcing foreign investors to sell down their stakes in the Nigerian capital market. But we expect the market to rally in the second half because

we anticipate higher consumer spending and upon the implementation of multi-fund structure by PFA”, said Razaq Abiola, head investors’ relations at the United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Listed companies such as Zenith Bank, GTB, Access, UBA and Stanbic IBTC have the tradition of declaring interim dividends at half year. This is expected to attract interest into the equity market because the fundamentals of the listed firms are still very strong.

“We expect investors to react to President Trump’s trade wars with China and Europe, because apprehension is high as no one is sure of its next line of action. So, in the second half of the year, most of the foreign investors will still come back into the Nigerian market”, Abiola added.

Since assumption of office, President Donald Trump has waged different trade wars with Mexico, Canada, China and recently, countries in the European Union. This is expected to have ripple effects on movements of funds in and outside the United states.

Meanwhile, as at the close of business at half year, 51 stocks appreciated in prices as against 64 stocks at the end of the first quarter. Similarly, 58 equities depreciated in prices compared with 35 stocks that closed in the negative territory at Q1.

Wema Bank appoints Ademola Adebise GMD/CEO effective September 30

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ema Bank Plc hereby announces the retirement of its Managing Director/ CEO, Segun Oloketuyi. He will be proceeding on terminal leave from July 1st 2018 after over 9 years with the Bank. He will be succeeded by Ademola Adebise, currently the deputy managing director of the bank.

Segun Oloketuyi was named GMD/CEO of Wema Bank Plc in June 2009. Upon joining Wema, he was tasked with returning Wema Bank to profitability following the 2008 banking crisis which saw the collapse of many banks. At that time, Wema Bank had negative retained earnings in excess of N66 billion and was declared a bank in grave financial situation by the regulatory authority.

In his decade-long leadership, he completely turned around the fortunes of the bank; recapitalizing the bank and returning it to profitability. The bank is now positioned to deliver dividends to shareholders in the near-future. In his time as managing director, the bank also regained its national banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which has allowed it to expand to the north and east of the country, significantly increasing its market share and customer base in the process.

The board and management expresses its profound gratitude to Segun Oloketuyi for his service and wishes him the best in his future endeavours. Further, Wema Bank Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Ademola Adebise as the Acting Managing Director/ CEO subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Ademola Adebise has been part of the bank’s executive management team since the transformation program began in 2009 and has played a pivotal role in the execution of the strategic turnaround programme for the bank. Adebise has over 28 years’ experience in the banking industry (inclusive of 4 years in management consulting), and has worked in various capacities in information technology,

Adebise

financial control & strategic planning, treasury, corporate banking, risk management and performance management.

Before joining Wema Bank, Adebise was head, finance & performance management practice at Accenture (Lagos Office) where he led various projects for banks in Business Process Re-engineering, information technology and risk management. He is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree holder in computer science from the University of Lagos. He obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Lagos Business School(LBS).

Adebise is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria). He is an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB) and a member of the Institute of Directors.

The Board is confident that the appointment of Ademola Adebise will lead to the continued transformation and growth of the bank, particularly as the bank positions itself as a market leader in Nigeria’s retail banking segment through technology and innovation.

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BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

LG Electronics’ 2017 global sales hit $55.4b, launches Oled video gaming contest in Nigeria DANIEL OBI

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opularity of video gaming activity has pushed LG Electronics with 2017 global sales of $55.4 billion, to introduce OLED Gaming Challenge in Nigeria. The maiden edition which held recently in Lagos saw contestants numbering 32 from all parts of Lagos state converged on City Mall , Ikeja the venue of the competition to keenly contest for the star prize of a 55” OLED TV. The event lived up to its expectation as contestants displayed uncommon zeal and excitement while playing for the top prize using their gamepads to outdo one another in the soccer video games.

L G El e c t r o n i c s o f ficially kick-started the OLED Gaming Challenge for lovers of video game in Lagos. This is to demonstrate to members of the public the beauty and the uniqueness of the depth of black in OLED TV especially when gaming on it. The event marked the

L-R: Bankole-Fujah Olarenwaju, First runner-up LG OLED Gaming Challenge; Oti Precious, Winner of LG OLED Gaming Challenge and Andre Oddiri, Second runner-up LG OLED Gaming Challenge, during the maiden edition of LG OLED Gaming Challenge held recently in Lagos.

beginning of series of seasons of the gaming challenge to come.

A statement said the atmosphere was filled with so much fun and excitement as hope were re-kindled as

well as dashed for the lucky winners and the losers. After scaling the number of contestants down to the top gamers, Oti Precious emerged the winner of the season one OLED Gaming

Challenge after defeating other contestants at different stages of the competition and carted away the 55” OLED TV prize.

Bankole-Fujah Olarenwaju and Andre Oddiri emerged

first and second runners up.

They walked away with 43” and 32”Game TVs respectively.

Vanjamin Kim, General Manager, Home Entertainment Division, LG Electronics West Africa Operations presenting the gifts on behalf of LG Electronics to the winners said in the statement: “this is just the beginning; we intend to have more of this kind of gaming challenge to engage more of our consumers who love gaming. An avenue like this provides us with the unique opportunity to appreciate our esteemed consumers who have continued to patronize our brands over the years.”

Oti Precious, who emerged as the winner walked away with the 55” OLED TV said: “My joy knows no bound and I am overwhelmed by this gesture from LG Electronics for putting together the gaming challenge which saw a large turnout of contestants, I must say I am really impressed they should keep it and it was a fun experience.”

APCON flags of 2018 training programme in Abuja

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he Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) will this week in Abuja flag off its 2018 training seminar.

The theme of the seminar “Effective Advertising Consultancy Management”, is designed for registered Advertising Practitioners and those who currently manage or are desirous of operating advertising agency, consultancy business and other areas of Integrated Marketing Communications.

It will be a prime opportunity for professionals to further expand their knowledge base, with benefits that will make the cost and time a worthwhile investment says Martha Onyebuchi, Assistant Director, Registration, Career Matters and Corporate Licensing.

She added in a statement that the series of the two day program with several sub-themes will be interactive and will be facilitated by highly regarded experts in the industry.

Imperial Leather, Canoe set fashion design competition among fresh Nigerian talents

Why subscribers can’t select only channels they want-MultiChoice CEO

Z Cussons foremost brands - Imperial Leather and Canoe have unveiled fashion design competition tagged ‘Masters of Style’.

The competition is set to kick off with the campus edition targeted at university undergraduates with talent in fashion designs According to PZ Cussons, the ‘Masters of Style’ competition is aimed at discovering young and budding talents aspiring to become fashion designers in the industry.

Speaking about the idea behind the competition, Head of Marketing, PZ Cussons, Charles Nnochiri said in a statement that

a l v o Ma w e l a , Chief Executive Officer of paytelevision giant, MultiChoice, has explained that the wish of subscribers across Africa to pick only the channels they want to watch from the packages offered will attract considerably higher costs if the model is adopted. He made this known in an interview on SABC News. Mawela explained that the model desired by subscribers “does just not work” and it is the reason MultiChoice bundles television packages in a few bouquets.

“The model doesn’t work. The model just doesn’t work,” he told SABC News, according to a statement.

Mawela stated that Canada went through a lengthy regulation change, which compelled paytelevision operators to adopt an a la carte model.

The model, however, has failed because subscribers have ended paying more for the same number of channels they have available

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the maiden edition of the competition would be open to only students of select universities across the country. “As you may know, our brands, Imperial Leather and Canoe are big on luxury and style and have over the years supported many initiatives that have promoted the entrepreneurial spirit amongst Nigerian youths.

We have only thought it necessary to set up a platform that will continue to give rise to fresh talents in fashion designing and give them the initial push and support they need to go on and achieve their dream of becoming top designers. The youth being the future of our Nation is

not Lip Service to the PZC brand. Therefore our need to invest in the brighter and productive future is what has given birth to the ‘Masters of Style’ competition’.

This maiden edition will focus on University o f Jo s , Po r t Ha r c o u r t , Benin, Lagos, and Calabar.

Students in these universities with talent and passion for fashion designing are encouraged to enter the competition by registering online at www. mastersofstyle.com.ng Only shortlisted participants will take part in the campus showcase at the various campuses.

Participants will be required to upload photos of their designs on the website, which they will also have to present during the campus showcase.

The winner of ‘Masters of Style’ 2018 will walk away with a cash prize of N500,000, an internship program with a top Nigerian fashion designer and a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase his/her collection at one of Nigeria’s top fashion shows.

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to them.

“Guess what? Today, there is no uptake because consumers end up paying more for the same number of TV channels they are getting today.

“So, it came up to a zerozero sum where they went through this whole process.

What consumers don’t understand is that we look at our research across the market and then what we do is that we bring everybody together with different tastes of content.

“In that way, we attract

a much larger audience and then prices come down.

That’s how we do our packaging in order to ensure that we keep the prices down. That will attract a bigger audience because we’ve got children, we’ve got sport, you’ve got movies and all other content that we have,” he explained.

He added that consumers continue to demand the a la carte model because they are not exposed to other markets, like Canada, where the model is used and it’s failing.

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Arts motionEmotion The socio-political effect of music on Chidi Kwubiri’s ouvre OBINNA EMELIKE

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usic has always been a centrifugal force within African society. Whenever we gather, music reflects our communal heartbeat, our identity, and our sensory memory. Music highlights socio-political thinking, projects our longing for balance and equality, and touches our deepest emotional reservoirs of identity, longing and belonging.

No wonder Chidi Kwubiri’s latest exhibition, motionEmotion, which opened on June 28, 2018 in Accra, Ghana, draws us into his world where brushstrokes, color, texture, and form are a continuum of emotions which have been awakened through the music he immerses himself in, influencing fresh experimentation in painting, sculpture and performance.

Speaking on exhibition, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, curator, motionEmotion, notes that, “motionEmotion takes us on a journey of sensory memory and perception as we see, discover, explore and respond to Kwubiri’s artistic expression by feeling the rhythm of his colors, the staccato of his partly concealed faces, bathed within a universe of thousands of dots and light moving in unison”.

She further notes that the phenomenon of music influencing art has been researched in the West by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter, whose philosophy of “Synesthesia” focused on the dynamics between music, art and spirituality.

“Colour is a means of exerting a direct influence upon the soul. Colour is the keyboard.

The soul is the piano with its many strings. The artist is the hand that purposely sets the soul vibrating by means of this or that key. Thus it is clear that the harmony of colours can only be based upon the principle of purposefully touching the human soul,” Kandinsky says.

In Africa, drummers, dancers, and masquerades have influenced and stirred the pulse of creativity on the communal level for centuries. The art, architecture and murals, such as in the uli and nsibidi tradition of Nigeria, are strongly rooted in the music, symbolism and spirituality of the community.

Obiago explains that Kwubiri draws on

Chidi Kwubiri at work in his studio

powerful childhood memories growing up in Umuahia, eastern Nigeria, and then builds on these, after years of living in Europe. “In his work we see clear African roots such as in Groove Marathon with the imagery of the talking drum, but beyond these visual references, his works have a universal essence, which makes them stateless and timeless”, she says.

For her, motionEmotion represents the physical manifestation of music stirring Kwubiri’s emotions leading to creative movement which is sometimes frenzied and pulsating, and at other times, melancholic and intimate.

As well, the artist’s color palette is influenced,

Hypnotize, 2018, acrylic on canvas, by Chidi Kwubiri, courtesy of Gallery 1957, Accra.

quickened, and finally explodes onto his large canvases under the influence of his playlist which includes all genres of music ranging from soul, funk, hip hop, to Latin, gospel, classic, jazz, blues, and high life.

“Kwubiri’s drips and brushstrokes invite us to join him in the dance of our souls as we rise to levels of hypnotic abandonment in his monochrome series. His works reflect the full rainbow of emotion and motion, from rhythmic dance, melancholic dreaming, groovy gyration, to soulful supplication. We experience the patterns of his artistic ouvre, which includes afro-beat and reggae crescendos.

Kwubiri’s exciting new works featuring globally celebrated musicians, have titles inspired by their most famous songs. Many of these tracks were youth anthems from the music of the 1970’s through to the 1990’s. His works reconnect us with the sensory memories of songs and movements such as Zombie

by Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, No Woman No Cry by the propheticBob Marley, Pata Pata by South African freedom fighter Miriam Makeba, One Love by Nigerian filmmaker turned preacher Onyeka Onwenu, and Hot Shot by reggae cowboy, Jimmy Cliff. These songs and Kwubiri’s painterly response reflect the global struggle for emancipation and equality, the protection of basic human rights, and the fight for freedom from oppression”, Obiago says.

Explaining his works, the artist says, “We see how Bob Marley or Miriam Makeba’s music touched souls and opened people up during apartheid. Fela, for instance, used music to address the social injustice in Nigeria; the inequality of life between the haves and

have-nots”.

Speaking further, Kwubiri says, “A lot of artists use music to talk about what is not working in the system. Music can communicate and also criticize what is not going well.”

According to the curator, Kwubiri’s stylized pointilism renders his musical icons in profile, with half the canvas exploding into an abstract universe of color and light reflected by thousands of dots and drips. There is even an homage to the “unknown” musician whose music woos us, but whose name has not made it to the limelight.

“Besides the musician portraits his new works touch on his continual quest for unification. His Heartbeat painting, in which a younger and older human figure are depicted in tender embrace within a speckled universe of melancholic blue, grey, and white, was created on the heels of an almost two year sojourn, when Kwubiri received the prestigious Misereor “Lenten veil” artist prize in Germany in 2017”.

Kwubiri’s artwork “I Am Because You Are” reflecting the age-old African philosophy of UBUNTU was used during a yearlong Lenten campaign. It became the artistic bridge of reconciliation in a country torn apart by the huge burden of Europe’s largest refugee community, and the increasingly divisive “migrant issue” in Germany.

“What inspired me were the rivers Niger and Benue. They join and coexist peacefully alongside each other, even though they originate from different sources. When these two forces of nature are able to look at one another and say: “Look, I am, because you are”, then this is precisely what I am trying to express,” Kwubiri explains during the campaign.

For the last eighteen months, Kwubiri travelled across Germany presenting his art and speaking at hundreds of events in schools, urban centers and in rural communities. His message was clear. We need to embrace the difference in others. We need reconciliation, acceptance, and empathy. Kwubiri’s art is a clarion call for global unification and acceptance of a diversified and richer “multi-kulti” society.

“We see an artist whose experience as an immigrant to Germany and assimilation into his new homeland, allows him to draw on his African roots in a positive and inclusive way. His response to the xenophobia which is being stirred across the world by the global migration crisis is to ask us to try to remember universal principles of love, communion and community, inter-dependence and joy which is most often evoked through artistic expression, whether it be musical or visual”, the curator notes.

But motionEmotion is not only about paintings. The exhibition displays Kwubiri’s deeper and broader creative spirit when he paints on a model during a live performance at the exhibition opening. He paints on a human canvas in tandem with a musical performance of Ghanaian popular music enjoining his audience to feel, hear, and connect with their own emotional reservoirs of creative memory.

“Music influences our lifestyle and state of mind. Music opens us up, makes us to have different views instead of seeing things in just one direction,” concludes the artist. “My heart is colorful when I listen to music. It sends sun straight to my soul when it is raining outside.”

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Arts River State sets for a promising NAFEST 2018

Art X Lagos announces winner of The Art X Prize With Access

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OBINNA EMELIKE RT X La g o s , West Africa’s foremost international art fair, in conjunction with Access Bank, proudly announced Bolatito AderemiIbitola as the winner of the 2018 edition of the ‘ART X Prize with Access’, an art contest instituted to recognise and support the best of emerging Nigerian visual art talent.

Bolatito was chosen from a pool of several dozen applicants by a jury of five renowned artists comprising; Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya, pioneering artist; Yinka Shonibare MBE, Turner Prize nominee; Wura-Natasha Ogunji, highly regarded visual artist; Sokari Douglas-Camp, Honorary Fellow, University of the Arts, London; and Oliver Enwonwu, gallerist and curator.

Access Bank’s collaboration with ART X Lagos stems from a mandate to support and contribute to the development of the art sector in Nigeriaby investing in Nigerian talent.The sponsorship of the ART X Prize with Access is a partnership that celebrates, empowers and provides vital professional development for a new generation of emerging Nigerian talents.

Speaking on the art contest, Tokini Peterside, found-

L-R: Amaechi Okobi, group head, corporate communications, Access Bank; Bolatito AderemiIbitola, winner, 2018 edition of Art X Prize with Access; and Tokini Peterside, founder/director, Art X Lagos, during the unveiling of the winner in Lagos recently.

er and director, ART X Lagos, explained: “The extraordinarily high quality of work we receivedspeaks volumes of the potential of the art sector in Nigeria. We are delighted to have the privilege to support the prize winner, Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, at this pivotal stage in her career.

With certainty that this will propel her forward towards a successful future within the African and global art industry, we look forward to unveiling Bolatito’s ambitious project at ART X Lagos 2018 in November. The project will introduce Bolatito to our international audience of critics, collectors and curators

from renowned institutions around the world. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Access Bank for their support for this initiative and to our stellar jury for their tireless commitment and generousity to this effort.”

Herbert Wigwe, CEO/ group managing director, Access Bank Plc, opined, “At Access Bank, beyond our vast collection of established artists, we believe that we are also responsible for empowering emerging artists. This is why we continue to support the ART X Prize - to celebrate the ingenuity of Nigeria’s emerging art talents. I can see the recipient of the ART

X Prize with Access being the next great artist of our time, endowing us with the potential and the privilege to shape the most relevant art that will come out of the African continent.”

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola emerged as the winner of the prize after live presentations to the jury members, alongside a shortlist that also included two other artists – Ayo Akinwande and Williams Chechet, as finalists. Bolatito is a trans-disciplinary artist working primarily in time based art, interactivity and performance. She lives and works in Lagos, and earned her Masters in Performance

Studies from Tisch School of the Performing Arts, New York University and holds a Bachelors in Communication Arts with a focus in Television/Film Production and a minor in Political Science from Allegheny College.

On the selection process, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya comments:“The finalists have demonstrated farsighted maturity in their presentations, in varied media, with demonstrable projects and feasible proposals. ART X Lagos must be congratulated for its professionalism in organising an international jury to deliberate on the ART X Prize with Access.”

As well, Yinka Shonibare, a jury member, also commented: “Aderemi-Ibitola, Chechet and Akinwande have all expressed contemporary cultural concerns in Nigeria through their works.

All of the finalists are very strong, so you can imagine what an impossible decision it has been for us! I am very proud to have been part of this exciting process.”

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola will receive invaluable opportunities for networking and mentoring to realize, promote, and contextualize her art project. She will also receive a N1million grant towards her project, which will be exhibited in a solo presentation at ART X Lagos 2018 from November 2-4, 2018.

Lagos promotes its culture, tourism in Ghana

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he new push to position Lagos as the tourism hub of West Africa and the entertainment capital of Africa was put on display in Ghana. Lagos State mounted an exhibition along with 20 other firms at the twoday event that took place at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel. A well attended travel event was supported by the Ghana Tourism Authority.

Lagos was represented

by Babatunde Anann and Adanma Oni both directors at the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The Lagos Tourism Video was played on the screen for most parts of the first day of the expo during breaks. The second day of the event was dedicated to tourism as both Lagos and Ghana Tourism Authority used the day to showcase their tourism assets. The Carnival Calabar dancers and the Ghanaian Carnival queens performed all through the event. In his presentation, Anann told the

audience about the changes the new administration has wrought in Lagos. Oni invited them to visit Lagos and to participate in the One Lagos Festival in December. With the participation, Lagos becomes the second Nigerian state to market its tourism abroad after Cross River and its Carnival Calabar.

Introducing Lagos State at

the event Ikechi Uko, organiser of Accra Weizo, said, “Lagos is the place to go for shopping and partying. Fashion and Religion are strong draws for one of Africa’s most exciting cities.

With over 10 daily flights by AWA, Arik, Air Peace, ASKY, Rwandair and Air Namibia 50 minutes at most you are home to fun in Lagos. Lagos is tapping into the desire of

Africans to know Lagos. Ghana Kenya and South Africa are the lowest hanging tourism fruits for Lagos. Outside UK and the Diaspora market in the USA, Ghana is the best place to market”. Ghana Tourism Authority hosted the guests to Ghanaian food and drinks.

Earlier on in the week, 42 tour operators and media from outside Ghana were taken

L-R: Steve Isokariari, chairman, BOT, NANTA, Ikechi Uko, organiser, 4th Accra Weizo, Babatunde Annan, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Pavelyn Musaka, Zimbabwean Ambassador to Ghana, Ada Oni, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Bilikisu Abdul, president, NATOP and Nkereuwem Onung, chairman, BOT, NATOP, at the just concluded travel expo in Ghana.

on a tour of Volta and Eastern regions of Ghana. For three days, they were taken to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and the Akosombo Dam. After a day at Ho they went down to Akosombo town for a night before leaving for Accra.

Members of the team spent three days touring the two regions before joining others in Accra. About 75 foreign delegates participated in the two-day expo and were joined by over 200 Ghanaian travel professionals.

In his speech at the event, Akwesi Agyeman, acting CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, praised Lagos for joining the Weizo family. He promised that Ghana will sign a long time MOU with the organisers to draw more Ghanaians to attend Accra Weizo. He congratulated the organisers for sustaining the event for four years. The acting CEO assured that Ghana will be in Lagos for Akwaaba African Travel market in Lagos this September.

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ith River State billed to host this year’s edition of the National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) later in the year, indications are the state is set to host the best and most colourful and entertaining NAFEST ever. Going by the preparations on ground, the state is set to beat the record that was set last year by the Kaduna State government, which was commended by the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), the organisers of the event, stakeholders and the general public for a successful fiesta.

In line with the dream of Segun Runsewe, director general of NCAC, to keep improving on the quality of the annual cultural festival, especially in the area of adding value to the creative industry and empowering the public, Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers State, have promised to deliver on the goals of the festival and surpass whatever record that has been set in the past.

Withtherecentcommissioning of the newly built ultra modern cultural centre at the heart of the city, which was formerly known as Obi Wali Cultural Centre, scheduled to be the venue for the one week long event, indications are that participants andNCACshouldexpectamost thrilling and successful gathering that will enjoy the personal touches of the governor, who is said to be committed to hosting the festival and using it to make a statement about the cultural wealth of the state and its leading position when it comes to tourism and creative industry.

The fact was led credence to by Tonye Briggs Oniyide, the state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, who described the centre as a game changer, adding that the state is gearing up for the forthcoming National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST).

In terms of facilities, the edifice, which has1800 seating capacity auditorium, features 48 guest rooms, 34 offices, governors’ lounge, media Centre, conference hall, two meeting rooms, five box offices, food court, with popcorn and ice cream bay and central dinner room as well as an elevator and power generating set among others.

She revealed that the governor in his directive gave an order for the centre and its facilities to reflect international standard and ambience, disclosing that this was strictly adhere to and that the governor is quite pleased with the final delivery.

She promised that everyone that comes into the complex would be amazed by what it has becoming, promising that it would be a befitting edifice for the host of various degree of events, including NAFEST for which it has been primed hence the prompt delivery of it.

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‘Don’t give house helps unbridled access to your spouse’ Titus 2:4 Women’s Marriage Mentoring Network, an international Network, held her maiden convention recently in Lagos.

Pastor Olufunto Violet Anekwe, president of the Network, in this interview with MODESTUS ANAESORONYE, gives useful information from a wealth of experience on building a happy family, especially for womenfolk. Excerpts:

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an you give brief comment about Titus 2:4 Women’s Marriage Mentoring Network?

Titus 2:4 Women’s Marriage Mentoring Network was established in Washington DC in September 2011 with a pioneer group of women pastors and pastors’ wives who shared a burden for the establishment and survival of Christian marriages. Besides, we met as Christians without denominational boundaries to take this ministry worldwide.

What are the objectives of the Network?

It was established basically to bring together older women mentors and younger women mentees to fulfill the injunction in Titus 2:4 which is about teaching the younger women how to love their husbands; which is becoming a daunting job these days.

What are the criteria for membership?

It is open to younger women; but older women who will be trained to be mentors must have been married to one Christian man for close to 20 years and still be in a loving, friendship relationship with him.

What are the qualities one must possess to be a good mentor?

A mentor with us must be ready to chase after her mentees even when they don’t believe they need anyone nosing into their business. She must love our Lord Jesus Christ and offer herself up for this work of service.

Does one need to have had a harrowing marital experience to be a good mentor?

No, one need not have gone through such.

In fact, the real challenge is maintaining love, patience and kindness through the years. Not allowing harrowing experiences is tough but can be done.

What are those things that mentees need to put in place to get the best from mentors?

They need to commit to being mentored.

There is nothing more frustrating than people who don’t keep appointments.

They would need to practice what they are learning.

As a marriage mentor and counselor, what are the special characters a woman must possess to make a joyful home?

She must be ready to keep her sweetness irrespective of what is going on; every woman has a sweet voice and she must learn to use

it always. She must conquer herself; her excesses, the strongholds in her personality that can make a man run out of being married to her. Her gifts and talents must be used for the good of her family and must not become weapons of marital destruction. For instance, her business acumen must be for the benefit of her family and does not entitle her to becoming the head of her home.

How can a woman manage a difficult home with a difficult husband? For instance, one that is easily provoked and is adulterous?

The Bible says, wisdom is the principal thing, in all your getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7.

A mentored woman already has solution to a lot of these issues. One is to be proactive and forestall imminent disasters. These problems don’t happen overnight, they are developed over time. The wise, mentored woman stops them from the onset with knowledge, love, communication, the word of God and prayer. She also checks herself and keeps looking inward to see what she

can do to be a better wife.

We have heard cases of house helps who destroyed homes, especially in the area of extra-marital sex; what are the measures that can be put in place to guard against such?

A wise woman does not go to sleep with both eyes closed. She is a watchman over her home both in prayer and alertness. She must feel the atmosphere of her home and put in checks and balances. She will not give house helps unbridled access to her husband; his food and privacy. Her house help will not dress seductively. She will be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying about her home. She will have daily fellowship with her household.

To what extent should couples allow external interventions, for instance, in-laws, in settling disputes?

It takes a village to make a home these days. Churches are getting less focused on discipleship of couples before marriage.

They are offering marital advice rather than marriage counseling and do not seem to

know the difference. We have more divorce cases without shame for some of the most frivolous reasons now than ever before. Inlaws, friends and pastors must be brought in before it’s too late.

Denial of conjugal rights is another phenomenon leading to divorce and home crises; how can this be managed, especially by women?

Sex denial from a wife indeed has serious repercussions in a marriage, albeit it is only a tip of the iceberg or shall we say the symptoms of a greater problem and not its root.

Before a woman will deny her husband, she has either gotten to her wits end and she is fighting back with the best weapon she knows or she is experiencing a backlash from past traumas which may have nothing to do with her husband.

How will you advise a young couple just embarking on the marital journey?

Join a couple’s fellowship right away. In addition, women, join us. If we are not nearby, read good Christian books on marriage. Find marriage mentors and learn from them.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

THINGS TO DO IN LAGOS Blue Lake Media unveils new artiste, Hi-10 Blue Lake Media’s operations consist of music publishing, digital marketing, below the line advertising, film production, brand management and a record label.”

With two singles titled ‘I Gat You’ and ‘24/7’ which have a soulful and nostalgic mellow vibe to it, there’s no doubt in mind that this lad will go places.

The company’s plan for the artiste is to make him one of the leading mainstream BLUE LAKE MEDIA have unveiled a breath of fresh air into the Nigerian music industry in the person of HI-10, an urban highlife artiste signed under its label.

A native of Ishiagu, Ivo LGA in Ebonyi state, HI-10 was born in Umuahia North LGA, Abia State. He started his music career in 2012 at Soundberg music factory. In the last 2 years, his talent and music direction has been developed by BLUE LAKE MEDIA. His music journey is nothing short of a miracle.

The C.E.O of Blue Lake Media, Chidi Uzoeshi says, “We are launching our company’s operations into the Nigerian market. We are using this opportunity to bring the general press together to unveil Joel Arochi a.k.a HI-10 as the first artiste signed to the label arm of the company.

THE BRIDGE (Enkay Live in concert) Date: Sunday 1st July 2018

Yeah, yeah, we know the super eagles didn’t live up to expectations but that don’t mean the fun of the World Cup has come to an end. You can still view matches while relaxing at fun spots like Rhapsody’s, Hard Rock café, etc.

So sip something and root for another team; don’t spoil the fun.

While you’re pondering on that, here are events happening today: SEXPERIENCE LIVE Date – Sunday, 1 July 2018 Venue – Bar Enclave, 1, Adeola Adeleye street, off Coker road, Ilupeju Lagos.

Time: 5pm Venue: EKO Hotels and suites, Victoria island, Lagos

PRINCEWILL ON STAGE Date: Sunday, 1 July 2018

Venue : AGIP Hall, Muson Center lagos Time: 3pm

Sunday 01 July 2018

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BDSUNDAY 41

BusinessDay MarketPlace with CEO Megasea Paint and executive director of Megasea Industries NIG Limited, Charles and Biola Oladapo It might have started out as a family business but these brothers have taken Megasea Group to a whole new level. Find out more about what they’ve been up to and where the business is headed.

W

hat’s the Megasea Paint Story?

Megasea Group of Company is a family run company incorporated in November 1992. Initially the company was involved in the manufacturing and marketing of top class wines and spirits, the brands being Megasea Gin, Megasea Rum, Arewa and Libra wine, with a trade name Megasea Distrillers. In the year 2003 the company diversified into the production of Table water under the trade name of Megasea Water. In 2004 the company further diversified into the manufacturing and marketing paints under the trade name Megasea International Paints. Our paint products are one of the highest quality in market. Over the years, we have introduced and upgraded the wide range of products to meet our customers demand/need. Our other subsidiaries are Megasea petroleum, Megasea Real estate and our CSR arm codename Megasea Foundation.

Megasea dominates a very chuncky share in the paint industry, how do you keep that up?

The paint industry harbour alot of players and the competition is quite stiff.

Our goal as an organisation is primarily to deliver quality products and services, this is the sole reason why Megasea Paint is waxing stronger with each passing day. We have a support system that enables our customers get the best out of products after purchase. Megasea Paint knows who our ideal customers are, therefore this has equipped our organisation with the right tactics on how to hold onto our market share and steadily expand. Within our market share, our organisation has implemented notable paint projects around Nigeria.

How do you generate revenue now?

Presently, Revenue is generated through outright sales of our product through our various distribution and marketing channels - be it wholesale or retailing. We are actively learning involved in both public and private partnerships that has resulted to bulk sales of our products. Furthermore, our ability to create bespoke colour mixes for our clients has proven to be highly profitable, our customers are always willing to pay as long as the result displays prestige and premium quality.

So far , we have executed various large scale project across the country and it is one avenue to generate solid revenue for the sustainable growth of a paint company.

What’s been your biggest challenge as a business?

For me the challenge in a broad scale is that unlike most countries in the world, some Nigerians are yet to derive pleasure from the beautification of the

personal space and this includes the use of painting coupled with the price to pay for quality paint.

In order to tackle this challenge we have a variety of brands that cater for various budgets and diverse clientele.

For a very long time, we have talked about Africa producing a very wide range of raw materials but processing has always been the problem in Nigeria, how do you cope?

Flexibility is one of the core characteristics of a business owner in Nigeria, without that attribute one will run out of business. The management of Megasea Paint has a culture of sustainability plan that we have developed and has evolved over time. Part of our approach includes partnering with processing companies that share same vision as ours, that includes having a proper schedule and timely delivery.

we can chew.

How do you deal with competition?

So far so good, Megasea Paint have a different perspective and approach on how we tackle competition. Most companies are using same overall approach in the market space and this means everyone has to squeeze through one narrow door, when all that is required is strategic planning, innovation and marketing flexibility. At Megasea Paint, we are constantly exploring, systematically

pany with operations in all major states and geo political regions to cater for the demands of our client. It is the joy of every business owner to see their organisation break through barriers and also improve the socio-economic status of the community they are present. We are working towards these goals through various means including exploring digital opportunities on social media.

At Megasea Paint, we work to be actively involved in community capacity building and one of such way we have highlighted to

Where do you see Megasea Foundation in the next 5 years?

Do your cost ever run higher than your profit?

Like any other business irrespective of the Industry, sometimes your cost run higher than your profit. Alot of factors lead to this Anomaly, some you have control over and other you don’t. We always ensure there is a proper balance between how much we have spent during cost of production and how much the product is been sold eventually. We keep track of the prices of raw materials in the market, study how much our competitors are selling; so therefore we don’t have to run at a loss. This has been our approach over the years. If we foresee a sudden drop in the prices of raw materials, we take precautions so we don’t end biting more than

will grow incrementally and so will our market segment.we will continue to be a major employer of labour, as we expand our operation with our Youth Empowerment Program that trains young adults on how to be come Entrepreneurs through painting as a skill. If we can help produce motivated youths who can display entrepreneurial skills.

And speaking to the co-founder of Megasea Foundation and EDMegasea industries NIG Ltd, Biola Oladapo, he had this to say…

The purpose for the creation of Megasea Foundation is simply to provide clean drinkabke water to urban and rural communities across Nigeria. The most recent report by UNICEF states that “No fewer than 69 million Nigerians do not have access to safe drinking water especially in rural areas”. We are targeting children mostly as it affects their education and their overall health. Megasea Foundation introduced into the market a handy portable filter, this water filter is cost effective and sustainable. It is important to note that this filter exceeds EPA requirement by the removal of 99.9999% of impurities, bacteria and protozoa. There you have it, the right tool to get the job done and lastly, We are to using our platform as a rallying point to raise awareness on the problems we are facing, bringing together all local and foreign organisations who are working on U.N Sustainable Development Goal number 6

testing and executing new strategies to stay ahead of the game.

The use of New Media, creating custom bespoke paint colours and the right Partnerships with different brand outside the paint industry has paved the way for our products to become widely acceptable in the market.

When will you say your business is “successful”?

My definition of success for Megasea paint is continuing to build a truly Nigerian that com-

deliver the growth we wish to see in our communities is creating opportunities for employment.

We are strategic about this as we know can contribute our quota regardless, towards Nation Building.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Megasea paint in 5 years will be an innovative Nigerian company that will continue to grow and capture markets. With the right strategy in place our business

We are ambitious in our approach, we hope to deliver clean water to over 100,000 school pupils every year and expands the number of beneficiaries progressively. In 5 years times we must be able to provide potable water to roughly 1,000,000 children because they are the most vulnerable. This is a monumental task we have taken upon ourselves and with teamwork, hardwork we will definitely achieve our goals our objective.

We hoping that in the next 5 years, the awareness level among the populace as regard the effects of contaminated water on Education and Health will increase by 50 percent. Furthermore, we envision Megasea Foundation playing a pivotal role in forging partnership that will bring a lasting solution to this clean water crisis, so individuals, stakeholders and the government can have a unified approach to this problem.

Interview By Uzochikwa Akumah

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Sunday 01 July 2018

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Life&Living

Building a million dollar side hustle: A take home for aspiring millionaires CEO and founder of the Slim Girl Shapewear brand launched her book ‘Building A Million Dollar Side Hustle,’ on the 26th June, 2018, worldwide, and despite its informative and educative nature on how to build a business from scratch, the narrative approach of the author is highly inspiring and will keep the reader stuck to its pages cover to cover; It’s a pure interesting and relatable narration of how she walked her way through the ladders to become a successful business woman while building a global brand.

Having gone through a lot while growing and building her brand, the book teaches the readers an interesting way to build a side hustle and successfully transform it into a global conglomerate. Exceptional tips on leveraging on the new media and technology are also included in this fantastic piece.

“In this book I shared my best kept secret to success and personal tips given to me by Million-

IFEOMA OKEKE

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ntrepreneurs around the world have continued to struggle with initiatives, steps and plans on how best to break even. Nigeria is not exempted from the trend, as three out of five businesses survive through the first five years of existence. This unfortunate trend has made financial institutions set up trainings on how best to tackle issue of young entrepreneurs closing shop after taking huge loans from the banks.

Despite the trainings, seminars and conferences put together by top organisations to end this trend, the situation is not getting any better. However, there seems to be a way out with Juliana Richards’ new inspiring book about her life and her journey to building a business empire.

Juliana Richards, who is the

aires all over the world. This book contains the good, the bad and the ugly about being a business owner,” the author said.

Building a Million Dollar Side Hustle is available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Walmart and would beavailable in Nigeria in July. This inspiring book is a must have for everyone.

Juliana Richards is the founder and CEO of Slim Girl Shapewear, a major player in the global shapewear and undergarments industry. She has also introduced a line of lingerie with the intention of leveraging her well-respected brand to gain market share. Born and raised in Nigeria, she moved to America with theAmerican Dream and a hundred dollars.

She started her company while still studying and that company, Slim Girl Shapewear has evolved into a million dollar enterprise.

The company has been featured on the Wendy Williams show and The Real amongst others.

Is your skin summer ready?

JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

I

ts summer time so you need to get your glow on!! Well, it’s always summer in Nigeria but some of us will probably be travelling out of the country to different sunny holiday destinations and we definitely want our skin to pop in pictures even without filter.

Imagine taking beautiful pictures at the Jumeirah beach in dubai, or in Marbella, Spain or even in Miami and your skin is glowing through the picture as if you just used a whole bottle of Rihanna’s Fenty beauty body shimmer. It can be a reality if you actually prep your skin properly and use the appropriate natural products.

We have to realise that just because one big cosmetic company brought out a new moisturiser, face wash, face scrub etc does not make it the best for your skin or the solution to your skin problems.

There is power in the natural products that we take for granted.

As a matter of fact, dermatologists have said that most of these off the counter products are manufactured with harsh chemicals such as Hydroquinone, which can cause damage to the skin over a period of time.

The face is the most delicate area of our body. It is also the first thing people see when they look at you.

This is the reason why it is more than necessary to give extra care and attention to your face.

Here are some tips on how to

use natural products to beautify your skin and keep it looking fresh and radiant.

1. Shea butter: The local African Shea butter is an all-natural organic product which helps to fade scars, wrinkles, stretch marks, dark spots, blemishes, skin discoloration and improves skin texture.

To make your own natural face scrub, just add some corn flour, brown sugar and essential oils to shea butter. The coarse brown sugar helps to exfoliate your skin and remove bacteria and dead skin cells. Use this once or twice a week to keep your skin clear and avoid over drying your skin.

2. Goat milk: has a myriad of benefits for the skin. In fact, goat milk is now found as an essential ingredient in new skin care products. It conditions and moisturizes

the skin. It serves as a great beauty treatment in the bath. Goat’s milk has smaller proteins, making it easily and quickly absorbed in the skin.

It is a well known beauty aid in fighting and treating serious skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

To make your own facemask, add some honey to goat milk and rub on your face. Leave on for a few minutes and wash off before.

3. Coconut Oil: Studies have shown that intake of coconut oil can help our bodies mount resistance to both viruses and bacteria that causes illness. More so, it helps fight off, yeast, fungus and Candida. It keepsthe skin well moisturised and soft.

4. Olive oil: Olive oil is a great skin moisturiser. It contains linoleic acid, which prevents water from evaporating. You can also add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil to warm bath water for a good, healthy soak.

5. Lemons: Lemon Juice citric acid gradually fades spots and evens out your skin tone. Lemons are a great source of calcium, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. These minerals and antioxidants improve the appearance and condition of our hair, nails and skin. The antibacterial and antifungal properties make them a natural alternative to treat acne and remove blackheads.

You can add a few drops of natural honey to a half lemon and rub on affected area and leave on for 10 minutes before with cold water.

They also help to get rid of oily skin.

Spa treatment gets better with Montaigne Place

M IFEOMA OKEKE

ostwomenwouldagree that beauty is not just a matter of outer looks but also inner beauty.

Take the face for instance; it is one of the most important parts of the body, It is also one of the most exposed, leaving it vulnerable to outside influences. Environmental factors, lifestyle, food and stress may cause skin to age resulting to uneven tones, dark circles, acne, pigmentation, wrinkles, fine lines and other visible signs of aging.

So how do you create and maintain beauty that makes you look literarily 10 years younger? Very simple, try the Murad Method facials at Montaigne Place Spa! Here are some reasons why they are so special: Murad’s facial treatments include massages, and not half-hearted ones at that. Extraction isn’t traumatic on the skin because the therapists use

their sanitized hands instead of tools and apply a lotion that aids the extraction process. So whether you need to treat oily skin, fight acne, brighten skin tone, manage your skin’s aging process, there Is a facial treatment for you.

Murad facial treatments are results-oriented facials that leave your skin brighter, smoother and firmer after just one treatment. No kidding, you see a significant improvement in just one treatment!

Now escape the busy routine and enter the calming environment at Montaigne Place Spa where Murad facial treatments are exclusively available in Nigeria.

Next time you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, or you like what you see and want to maintain it, book an appointment at Montaigne Place Spa and be guaranteed of a beautiful and younger looking skin!

Montaigne Place Spa is located at 226b, Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island Lagos.

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Entertainment Davido urges collaboration from American counterparts …wins Best International Act at BET Awards IFEOMA OKEKE

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n Sunday June 24, 2018, BET Networks recognized an exceptional lineup of artists, entertainers, cultural provocateurs and inspiring humanitarians across more than 19 categories at its 18th Annual Awards.

The ceremony, hosted by Academy and Grammy-award winner, Jamie Foxx, aired live from the Microsoft Theater at Los Angeles.

More than ever, the BET Awards continues to tackle and support culturally and socially relevant narratives and conversations, setting the standard for one of the most intently unconventional, news-provoking and talked-about broadcasts.

This year’s broadcast celebrates 18 years of impactful performances from the hottest names in the business and appearances from entertainment’s most talked-about players.

Nigerian musician Davido, won the “Best International Act” Awards, besting fellow nominees Tiwa Savage, Booba(France), Cassper Nyovest (South Africa), Dadju (France), Distruction Boyz (South Africa), Fally Ipupa

(DR Congo), J Hus (UK), Niska (France), Stefflon Don (UK) and Stormzy(UK).

During his acceptance speech, Davido sent his condolences to D’banj (who lost his one year old son) and also urged American artistes to collaborate with their African counterparts.

“And as I go on, I wanna talk

about Africa. My continent has been so blessed to influence many cultures,” he said.

“Come to Africa, eat the food, wear the clothes. Get ready for me, let’s collaborate. My album drops this year. J. Cole. Yo Quay, I’m waiting on that verse Quay.”

Nicki Minaj took over the BET stage with a fierce version of her

current single, “Chun Li.” She later re-appeared alongside 2 Chainz and Big Sean as featured artists on YG’s performance of “Big Bank.”

Meek Mill delivered a powerful performance of his first new song since being released from prison, “Stay Woke,” addressing the abhorrent inequalities in

the criminal justice system, and included vivid imagery of police violence and mass incarceration.

Presenters included the entertainment industry’s top actors, artists, and entrepreneurs including Michael B. Jordan, Kevin Hart, T.I., L.L. Cool J, Bobby Brown, Tyra Banks, Tyler Perry and Questlove.

MTN supports Nigeria’s cultural heritage through performing arts Multichoice launches 12-month

training for filmmakers

...takes Fela & The Kalakuta Queens to Abuja

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fter a successful run in Lagos, the critically acclaimed musical, Fela and the Kalakuta Queens opened in Abuja, on Friday June 8, 2018, courtesy of the MTN Foundation and Bolanle Austen-Peters Production (BAP).

The Musical “Fela and The Kalakuta Queens” is a demonstration of the rich cultural heritage Nigeria as a country is blessed with. The play which tells the

story of legendary musical icon and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, reveals the sensational life of the world renowned Queens of Kalakuta, unmasking common misconceptions about them.

Indeed the story of Fela and his Kalakuta queens is a compelling musical narrative of the honest and incomparable love and connection the icon had with his dancers (Queens) who left their homes to follow him, believing in

his vision of building a better community through arts and music.

Despite the unmeasurable value that can be attributed to arts and culture, over the years there has been a dearth in the support of the arts in the country, but this situation is gradually improving with brands like MTN consciously taking steps to reinstall and inspire interest in the learning of arts and culture.

The Foundation’s Chairman, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi OFR, Mni, at the opening show stated that MTN Foundation, through its different activities seeks to bring to the fore our rich cultural diversity.

The Foundation has continued to express its support for Nigeria’s arts and culture through commitments like Saro the Musical, Waka the Musical, and also the recently acclaimed Nigerian Universities Theatre Arts Festival (NUTAF) in Jos which is geared towards promoting cultural orientation and empowering the youths, thereby enhancing talent and creativity.

…appoints Femi Odugbemi as academy director ANTHONIA OBOKOH

A

frica’s leading video entertainment and internet company, Multichoice, has announced a fully-funded 12-month training programme for African filmmakers through the Multichoice Talent Factory Academy (MTF).

The fully-funded educational programme aimed at furnishing African filmmakers with the skills to work and innovate in film and television production will be admitting 20 deserving, young, talented people who will be trained for a 12-month period.

The programme which will take place at the West African regional MTF Academy based in Lagos, Nigeria will be overseen by acclaimed local film & TV industry experts.

“The Multichoice Talent Factory academy is the most exciting intervention in the African creative industries to date. There have been trainings on the structure business,

distribution and other areas, however this academy offers…” said Ace filmmaker and newly appointed Director, MultiChoice Academy in Nigeria, Femi odugbemi.

“I urge all current and aspiring filmmakers to take advantage of this huge opportunity provided

by Multichoice and apply for the program. It is indeed a huge opportunity to ignite Africa’s Film & Television industry and you don’t want to miss out on this.”

He added.

Following the adjudication process, 20 post-school MTF students will be selected to hone their television and film production skills in company of industry experts during the year-long programme that will begin on 01 October 2018.

Entries for the Multichoice Academy close 6pm on 5 July 2018. All aspiring young film & TV creatives can submit their entries on www.multichoicetalentfactory.com before the deadline on Thursday, July 5.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Travel

Participants at the event

Again, West African travel business pushes ahead at Accra Weizo …as airlines set to interline, tourism exchanges imminent OBINNA EMELIKE

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nce again, the annual Accra Weizo, a two-day travel expo, has taking the campaign for seamless travel, vibrant tourism exchanges, trade integration, and open skies across the West African region to a new achievable height.

For the first time in the history of aviation in West Africa, Accra Weizo was able to get the top three airlines in the region to discuss and commence action on interlining process.

Of course, the travel expo, which is now in its fourth edition, took off on a good note with earlier tours to the Volta and Eastern regions of Ghana.

Sponsored by the Ghana Tourism Authority, the tours exposed over 50 guests, including tour operators from across West Africa, travel media, tourism marketing boards and government officials to Ho, a tranquil and scenic city; Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, where nature, wildlife and man live in harmony; the humongous Akosombo Dam that presents itself as a construction wonder, among other destinations.

However, June 22, 2018, the first day of the expo, which happened to be the aviation day, witnessed a fantastic opening by Cecilia Abena

Dapaah, the Ghanaian minister for Aviation. In line with the theme of the day “Harnessing the Opportunities in Aviation Value Chain in West Africa”, the minister noted that the theme was a reflection of collective responsibility of the ECOWAS region to advance the frontiers of the aviation industry through air connectivity. “Air connectivity is key to unlocking a country’s economic growth potential, as it enables the country to attract business investment and human capital. An increase in air connectivity also spurs tourism, which is vital to many countries’ economic prosperity”, she said.

While commending the organisers of the event for offering travel professionals in the region the platform to brainstorm, the minister urged for the implementation of key initiatives such as the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) on “Open Skies” as well as ECOWAS Treaty on Free Movement of People among others.

Later, panelists at the Aviation Day gave participants reasons to be proud of their participation as they discussed and proffered solutions to topical issues affecting the aviation sector in the region. From Alex Nwuba, managing director, Smile Aviation, Richard

Kyereh, managing director, African World Airlines (AWA), Ghana, Ado Sanusi, managing director of Aero Contractors Airlines, Chike Ogeah, vice president, SAHCOL, to others, the aviation experts called for the review of aviation charges and implementation of open skies across the region.

But the biggest gain of the first day and probably of the entire travel expo was the agreement by some of the airlines to give the interlining process a second chance.

“I think interlining is the way to go. We are interlining with Arik now, I have also started interlining with MedView, I hope to interline with African World Airline and with a lot of airlines in the region.

I am talking with the bank, particularly Zenith Bank to see if they can create a platform for airlines to accept tickets from passengers from other airlines, and seamlessly payment reconciliation with the all parties including the guaranteeing bank”, Aero Contractor MD said.

On the other hand, Alex Nwuba blamed the lack of interlining to issues of trust, but promised to offer a platform that will help ease the process of interlining and payment reconciliation as IATA Clearing House barely works in the region.

As well, the hospitality section of the event, which parad-

ed industry giants such as Paul Kavanagh, general manager, Golden Tulip Accra, Didier Bayeye, marketing executive at Sun International South Africa, among others, called for the need to improve on hospitality services and products offering and equipping hospitality professionals with the right skills and certifications.

The second day, June 23rd, offered more highlights as panel of discussants tackled issues on the theme, Travel, Tourism and the Internet.

They delved into the effectiveness of travel bloggers, travel writers and influencers in the promotion of travel destinations in West Africa.

The panelists, who truly challenged themselves and after objective arguments, agreed that influencers, bloggers and travel writers are very important in promoting destinations in the region.

But they unanimously agreed that the future of travel in West Africa lies online, hence stakeholders should rebrand, retool and get all it takes to play online in order not to be left out. For them, online offers cheaper publicity, wider reach, global networking and easy entry for starters in travel business.

Another highlight of the event was Balafon Awards given to personalities and organizations that distinguished themselves in their services

across the region.

The 2018 winners include; Stella Fubara Director Africa, Dubai Tourism as Travel Personality of the Year in West Africa, Air Peace as Best Airline in West Africa, Cecilia Dappah, Minister of Aviation Ghana as Aviation Minister of the Year West Africa, Uloma Egbuna, MD, Tour Brokers international Nigeria as Tourism Man of the Year in West Africa among others.

Speaking on his impression on this year’s event, Ikechi Uko, publisher of African Quarterly Magazine, the organiser of the travel expo, noted Accra Weizo 2018 lived up to expectation as over 300 participants graced the two-day event not just for attendance sake but gained, networked, and sealed some business transactions with many follow-ups.

For him, one of the biggest gains of the event was the discussion and commencement of action on interlining process by top three airlines in West Africa on the platform of Accra Weizo.

Uko promised a better and bigger event next year and even more exciting tours to other regions in Ghana.

Some of the entertainment packages at the event, which hosted Lagos State from Nigeria, for the first time, are the breathtaking performances

by Carnival Calabar, Accra Queens among others.

Sunday 01 July 2018

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BDSUNDAY 45

Travel

NANTA unveils identity card to reduce fraud in travel industry Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

T

he National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, ( N A N TA ) o n Tuesday, June 26 unveiled the Nigerian Travel Practitioners, NTPIC Identify Card in Lagos.

Speaking during the unveiling of the identity card at the landmark Event Centre in Lagos, Bernard Bankole, president of NANTA said idea of the identification card became necessary so as to sanitise and decontaminate the downstream sector of the aviation industry.

Bankole maintained that NANTA has the belief that the industry identity card will help in identifying all the practitioners in the travel industry and put a check on them by ensuring that there is a proper database of all the agents in the industry as well

Bankole

as keeping statistical data to help the government plan for the industry.

He stated that: “In knowing the anomalies in the industry, the executive Council of NANTA, the umbrella body responsible responsible for all travel agencies

in Nigeria decided to think for a lasting solution to the industry that contributes billions of naira to the Nigerian economy. For instance, in 2017, a total of 504 billion naira was contributed to the economy”.

He pledged to work with

the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC to grow tourism and make Nigeria a key destination to visit in Africa, adding that without travel the effort of tourism is in complete futility.

Speaking at the event, Hadi Sirika, the Minister of State for Aviation, and Muhtar Usman, the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), who were represented by Edem Oyo-Ita, the director of Air Transport Regulations of NCAA, stated that the introduction of the industry ID card Is the right step in the right direction to bring sanity to the downstream of the aviation industry.

He advised the airlines to restrict their patronage to only members on the NTPIC data base.

The event attracted key players in the travel and tourism industry in the country.

Turkish Airlines, ZTO Express, PAL Air Ltd sign partnership deal

T

hemediabriefingand signing ceremony of the joint venture between Turkish Airlines’, Turkish Cargo successfully representing Turkey all around the world, Chinese cargo giant ZTO and Hong Kong based PAL Air Ltd. took place recently in Istanbul. This is yet another strategic step from Turkish Airlines before moving to the New Istanbul Airport.

This partnership, a game changer for the global express transport business, was sealed and signed by İlker Aycı, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and Mei Song LAI, the Executive Committee, ZTO Express Chairman and Vivian Lau, Vice-Chairman of PAL Air Ltd. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, expressed his delight stating “Today, I feel privileged to welcome you all for the signing ceremony of a great partnership agreement between the biggest brands of China and Turkey.

“We are announcing the

signing of MoU to build a Joint Venture company to operate as a Global Express/ Courier company mainly focusing on Global E-commerce market with full door to door services.

“We are now delighted to make this strategic move into Global Express business together with the strong partnership of ZTO, the best and largest Express company from China and our long term cross border forwarding partner PAL Air Ltd. from Hong Kong. The Joint Venture, after reaching quickly to fully functional and operational levels, is expected to take place within the world’s largest integrators.”

The services of the new global express joint venture company which will be based in Hong Kong, will include all door to door logistics activities; trucking, collection & distribution, freight transportation, cross docking and final mile delivery. It will also include warehouse management, order and supply chain management when necessary.

Air Peace gets first female captain … emerges best carrier in West Africa

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igeria’s leading airline, Air Peace on Monday matched its pledge to always ensure gender equality with action, giving one of its female pilots, Sinmisola Ajibola command of its cockpit.

Sinmisola, who joined Air Peace in February 2017 as a Senior First Officer (SFO), made history as the airline’s first female captain. She is from a family of pilots - father and four brothers, three of whom are with Air Peace.

Presenting the new captain to Allen Onyema, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, for decoration, Victor Egonu, the Chief Pilot, said he predicted Sinmisola’s elevation on the first flight the latter did with him.

Decorating Sinmisola with her captain epaulletes at Air Peace Corporate Headquarters in Lagos in company with Oluwatoyin O l a j i d e , t h e a i r l i n e ’s

Chief Operating Officer, WellingtonEyimina,Director of Flight Operations, and Victor Egonu, chief Pilot, Onyema said he was proud of her achievement.

He urged the new captain to sustain her outstanding performance in and out of the cockpit.

He praised the airline’s pilots and their other Nigerian colleagues for displaying excellence in the cockpit as well as standing tall among their counterparts across the globe.

Barely 16 months after launching its regional flight services, the airline has proved its mettle on the West Coast of Africa, picking the Balafon Award for “Best Airline of the Year in West Africa 2018”.

The airline was presented with the award at the opening session of the 4th Accra Weizo in Accra, Ghana on Friday. Air Peace launched its first regional service to

Accra on February 16, 2017.

It added Freetown (Sierra Leone), Banjul (The Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal) to its regional route network a year after on February 19, 2018.

Ikechi Uko, the organiser of the 4th Accra Weizo and Publisher of ATQ News, said Air Peace emerged winner of the Balafon Award because of the efficiency it had brought to bear on its regional operations. The Balafon Awards was instituted

by ATQ News in 2009 to recognise individuals and organisations who have distinguished themselves in aviation, travel and tourism in West Africa.

“This award”, Uko said, “recognises your airline as the Best Airline of the Year in West Africa 2018 for your outstanding activities in sustaining functional and efficient operations with expansions in West Africa, thereby adding value to the aviation and travel industry as your airlines continues to thrive in becoming a dominant face across West Africa.”

Speaking after receiving the award, Chris Iwarah, Ai r Pe a c e C o r p o r a t e Communications Manager, said the carrier was pleased that its intervention in fixing the challenges of air travel on the West Coast of Africa was yielding positive results.

Rewards Travels and Tours, Donald Ullah, Dicta Travels, Melvina Enok, Lufthansa’s General Manager Sales Nigeria & Equatorial Guinea, Robin Sohdi, Lufthansa Group’s Sales Products and Programs Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, Adenike Macaulay, Tifa Travels and Tours, Uchenna Anyanwu and Travel Plans and Tours, Stanley Unaichi during the first “New Distribution Capability (NDC) Partner Programme” training for travel agents and corporate clients by Lufthansa in Lagos

Lufthansa conducts first training for new NDC partner programme in Nigeria

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he Lufthansa Group has recently conducted its first NDC Partner Programme virtual training in Nigeria.

Travel agents were invited to take part in the full-day, webbased training to improve their knowledge on reservation and ticketing with the NDC web solution, SPRK. The session was led by the local Lufthansa Group sales office in Lagos together with additional program experts based in Frankfurt and Dubai.

A total of 56 agents actively participated in the training where they could take part in open discussions and have their questions immediately answered. After completion of the course, participants were awarded an official certificate of completion.

Robin Sohdi was enthused about the day and the wide

variety of topics discussed relating to the NDC Partner Programme; including some entry level questions about making reservations through to more challenging ones relating to refunds and rebookings. “We are looking forward to setting up our next training in Abuja and Port Harcourt,” Robin Sohdi, General Manager Sales, Nigeria & Equatorial Guinea, Lufthansa Group, said. Lufthansa Group introduced the NDC Partner Programme and website in Nigeria in May of this year.

The website also allows for the easy registration for the NDC API web-based booking and service platform “SPRK”, which many agents in Nigeria have already registered for since launching the website.

The website is accessible to all and is beneficial for travel agencies, corporates and

travel technology providers as they can now find detailed information online at www. lhgroupairlines.com/ndc.

Travel agencies interested in using the free of charge NDC web solution SPRK, can now register to access the booking and servicing platform by simply filling out the online form available on the new website. Until the end of this year Lufthansa Group will be offering a special incentive of 1EUR per coupon for agents using the NDC API solution SPRK. The Lufthansa Group achieved the highest IATA NDC level of certification already in 2017 and continues investing further in innovative NDC solutions which improve the capabilities and offers for its travel agency partners and furthermore, strengthens its leading position in the industry.

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Sunday 01 July 2018

Health&Science Oyo State to establish welfare centre for street children, orphans ...to renew MoU with UCH for the Ibarapa Community Health programme

AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan.

O L-R: President, Nigeria Medical Association, Faduyile Francis presenting an award to Medical Director, Smile 360 Dental Specialist, Amy Shumbusho at the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards NHEA held at Eko Hotel and Suite where Smile 360 won the best Dental Clinic in Nigeria. Apara Akinsunmi, Adanna Okpara and Isioma Nwani watch in admiration...recently

Smile 360 Wins NHEA Awards 2018

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or the fourth consecutive years, the leading dental and orthodontic clinic Smile360 has bagged the award for the ‘Best Dental Service Provider of the Year’ at the 2018 Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards which was held on the 22nd of June 2018 at Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The award was received by Smile360 clinical director Amy Traore-Shumbusho who was accompanied by some of her team members on stage.

Spreading the news of the win and expressing her zeal, Amy took to social media; writing “On behalf of the Smile360 team, I, Amy Traore-Shumbusho, would like to use this medium to thank our lovers and supporters for helping us bring the NHEA 2018 ‘Dental Service Provider of the Year’ award home!

“I cannot aptly express the fulfillment my heart abounds right now, but I just want you all to know we profoundly appreciate this. This marks our fourth consecutive win, and it says a lot about our efforts and contributions to dentistry in the country,” she said.

Well-wishers have seen responded with congratulatory messages; with many patients asserting to the commendable works of the clinic “Congratulations Amy! You have taken dental care to another level.

Appreciate your service and the excellent staff you have! I am still rocking my braces with style.”

The clinical director followed up with a heartwarming speech which was posted on her page; briefly narrating the inception of Smile360 and appreciating supporters and lovers of the clinic as well as the NHEA committee for recognizing their unyielding efforts and contribution to dentistry in the country.

Th e a w a r d w o u l d m a r k Smile360’s fourth consecutive win at the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards; starting with the first win in 2015 then 2016, 2017 and 2018; all in the ‘Best Dental Service Provider of the Year Category’.

The clinic offers an array of worldclass treatment, using surfeit of cutting edge equipment – some of them include;Invisalign, endontic treatment, Digital Smile Design, cosmetic dentistry, implants, Hollywood smile, among others.

Amy has stated the clinic’s fore-

most goal umpteen times, describing it as an unwavering effort to change the way dentition is perceived in Nigeria and Africa at large.

“Smile360 dental specialists has been in the forefront in advocacy and ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery in Nigeria by making quality Services available.

“We are a highly specialised dental practice with local and global recognitions, to our credit amongst many others “Winner of the best Dental Service Provider of the year 2015, 2016, 2017 and currently 2018,” Amy said.

Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards NHEA is designed to celebrate and recognize the best individuals and organizations that have contributed in a remarkable manner to the improvement of the Nigerian healthcare sector. It also recognizes the rapid growth of the healthcare sector, and the capacity of individuals to influence and set new performance standards in Nigeria and beyond. The Award focus on elevated performance; the creation of new business models; recognising and embracing new trends; market leadership; inspirational performance.

yo State Government is to establish a welfare centre which be taking proper care health and wel being of street children and orphans.

The centre would also help in addressing the health and social needs of other vulnerable people in the state.

Abiola Ajimobi , governor of Oyo State, who made this known while received members of the new governing board of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, led by the Chairman, Bagudu Shettima, when paid him a courtesy visit in his office, said: “this to inform you that plan is at an advanced stage for me to establish what a Child Welfare Centre, which will see to the welfare and wellbeing of those children in need of parental care.

“It is my belief that this will help in addressing the health and social needs of our people in Oyo State and reduce the rate of child abuse, child trafficking and the use of our youths for nefarious activities like thuggery and brigandage, “ Ajimobi said.

According to him, the establishment of the centre would further complement several efforts of his administration in the provision of qualitative healthcare services and other socio-economic interventions in the state.

“The general wellbeing of the people of Oyo State is one of the top priorities of our administration and that is why we have invested heavily on health facilities and evolved policies in the health sector, which are today being emulated by other states across the country, “. “it was the same gesture that led to the establishment of Access to Basic (Health) Care (ABC) Foundation by his wife, Florence Ajimobi, through which, he said, many less privileged people had been assisted at no cost,” said the governor.

Ajimobi who reiterated his administration’s commitment to assisting UCH to emerge as a leading health institution in Africa, commended the institution for regularly fulfilling its civic responsibility through regular

payment of tax.

He urged the board and management of UCH to improve on the standard for which the health institution was known all over Africa, pledging that his government would not hesitate to offer assistance when required.

He said: “UCH, like the University of Ibadan, is one of the three reasons why Oyo State is regarded as the intellectual capital of Nigeria. We are proud to have the institution in our state and it is our determination to ensure it remains the best, not just in Nigeria, but in Africa.

“I also want to use this occasion to appreciate UCH for also fulfilling its civic responsibility to the state government through regular payment of tax. For those who do not know, UCH is presently the highest taxpayer in Oyo State.”

Speaking earlier, Shettima expressed appreciation to the governor for his unflinching support for the health institution, assuring that his board would consolidate on the various successes associated with it.

He disclosed plans to hold a special retreat that would aggregate the strength of the institution to further impact on the state’s health sector and the nation at large.

The board chairman also hinted the governor about some of the activities already lined up to commemorate the institution’s 61st anniversary, the theme of which he said was the ‘Rebirth of Excellence’.

He said efforts would be made to build more on the collaboration between the state government and UCH with the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) for the Ibarapa Community Health programme.

According to him,while we seek for more collaboration with the State government as well as more assistance in the area of land donation, we pledge, in the spirit of the 61st anniversary of UCH, to renew the MoU for the Ibarapa Community Health programme.

“We want to put on record that Oyo State has been very supportive and we will build more on the collaboration.”

Agencies offer $100,000​funding for drug research on diseases endemic to Africa ISAAC ANYAOGU

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he African Academy of Sciences (AAS), University of Cape Town (UCT) Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are offering $100,000 in funding per project for the discovery of new drugs for diseases endemic to Africa over the next two years.

The new funding will be given through a call for proposals for Drug Discovery to researchers in Africa to identify new drug candidates, particularly for malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases and to create a network of drug discovery and development scientists that

will initiate, develop, share, evaluate and disseminate best approaches and practices within the research community in Africa.

This is the third call for proposals administered by the AAS’ Grand Challenges Africa (GC Africa), a scheme implemented through the AAS and the NEPAD Agency’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA).

“This partnership will benefit Africa by developing the capacity and augmenting efforts to discover and develop drugs for diseases that are prevalent on the continent and are otherwise being affected by a market bias that has seen drug discovery efforts on the continent hampered,” said Tom Kariuki, AESA / Director of

Programmes in a release.

Africa represents 17 per cent of the world’s population but bears a disproportionate 25 per cent of the global disease burden with subSaharan Africa carrying 90 per cent of the global cases of malaria while 2.5 million who fell ill with TB in Africa in 2016 represented a quarter of new TB cases in the world.

Drug resistance is also compounding the disease burden requiring for Africa to build capacity and step up drug discovery activities.

The new funding will be given to projects that identify new chemical entities with potential for drug development in diseases of local relevance for Africa and to expand institutions’ drug discovery research capacity.

Selected applicants will also benefit from a network of drug discovery scientists in Africa and across the globe, linking them to peers, mentors and providing them with access to resources and technologies Kelly Chibale , founder and director of drug discovery and development centre, H3D at the University of Cape Town, said: “The attractive aspect of this programme is that it focusses on highlighting and investing in those who are present on the continent. The partners involved are proactively seeking to identify and fund talented African-based scientists to succeed and not to merely survive. This will result in an effective increase in the numbers of productive and contributing African

drug discovery scientists as well as an increase in the quality and impact of drug discovery science generated in Africa by Africans.”

“Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) is proud to support the effort to identify new drug candidates for the big three diseases of malaria, tuberculosis and Neglected Tropical Diseases via this call for proposals,” said Timothy Wells, MMV’s Chief Scientific Officer. “At MMV, our focus is on bringing forward the nextgeneration of medicines to help defeat malaria. Through these grants, together with our partners, we aim to support the next-generation of African scientists to get involved in this endeavor for malaria as well as other diseases.”

Sunday 01 July 2018

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Sports

FIFA says no anti-doping violations registered at 2018 World Cup

Stories by ANTHONY NLEBEM

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IFA’s anti-doping authorities have confirmed that zero violations of anti-doping regulations have been registered at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia , FIFA Chief Competitions and Events Officer Colin Smith said in a statement.

“We have conducted over 2,700 tests,” Smith told a news

conference in Moscow. “Every single player participating in the World Cup has been attested at least once. I say at least once because in many cases the average figure is higher.”

“We have the testing of minimum of four players at every match,” the FIFA official noted.

“All of the samples are sent to WADA accredited laboratory in Switzerland. There has been

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scandal.

Rosell is also suspected of having received some five million euros illicitly as part of Nike’s sponsorship deal with the Brazilian team.

Rosell, his wife and the four others are accused of mounting a “criminal organisation”.

He resigned as Barcelona president in 2014 over the murky transfer dealings that brought Brazilian striker Neymar to the club from Santos.

He was later cleared of all charges in connection with an alleged tax fraud case over the

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ore than 1.5 million Fan IDs have been issued for the spectators by the end of the FIFA World Cup Russia group stage, General Director of the 2018 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Alexei Sorokin said.

“Even we, the organizers, are surprised by the figures. Some 1.5 million Fan IDs have been issued out of 1.627 million confirmed ones,” Sorokin said.

According to the LOC, Russian citizens received the biggest number of Fan IDs (874,000), followed

by Chinese nationals (61,000) and US citizens (50,000), whose teams are not participating in the World Cup in Russia. Mexico ranks fourth (43,000), followed by Argentina (36,000), Brazil (32,000), Colombia and Germany (29,000), Peru (26,000) and Egypt (23,000).

Some 428,000 Fan IDs have been delivered abroad by mail, and among the most popular destina-

tions were Lima (12,000), Buenos Aires (10,000), London (9,000), Sao Paulo (8,000), Dubai and Beijing (7,000).

More than 700,000 foreign football fans have come to Russia.

The LOC expects that several more thousands of fans will head to the FIFA World Cup knockout stage.

According to the LOC estimates, on June 14-28, some 6.7 million passengers arrived by 41,300 flights at a total of 13 airports in 11 host cities. Foreign air carriers performed some 2,800 flights. On June 12-28, more than 213,000 passengers traveled by 487 trains free of charge.

The attendance of the group stage matches hit 97% and more than 2.6 million tickets were sold for 48 games.

More than 17,000 volunteers of the organizing committee and another 18,000 city volunteers worked at the matches.

no anti-doping infringement or violation to date.”

Last week, FIFA announced in its statement that it had already conducted its own probe into allegations of doping abuse among players of the Russian national team and they turned out to be false. The organization added that its own investigation’s results had been approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Ex-Barcelona boss to stand trial for money laundering ormer Barcelona president Sandro Rosell will stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team, a court said Friday.

Spain’s National Court, which deals with major corruption cases, added that Rosell’s wife, an Andorran lawyer and three other people would also stand trial.

The 54-year-old is suspected of having siphoned off 15 million euros ($17.5 million) in illegal commissions from a TV rights deal for the Brazilian national team along with Ricardo Teixeira, the former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

Rosell had previously lived and worked in Brazil, where he forged many business links.

The contract was signed in 2006 to hand over the rights to 24 Brazil friendly matches to a company based in the Cayman Islands but tied to a Saudi group.

Altogether, Rosell and his wife received some 15 million euros in their accounts, of which 6.6 million went to them and the rest was destined for Teixeira.

Teixeira, a former FIFA vicepresident, has been indicted by US Justice Department prosecutors investigating the FIFA corruption

FIFA says 92% of FAN IDs issued out as W/Cup enters next round

transfer following an agreement with prosecutors.

Rosell is nevertheless being probed for fraud and corruption relating to a parallel complaint filed

by Brazilian investment company DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar’s sporting rights at the time of his transfer.

DIS claim it was cheated out of its real share because part of the transfer fee was concealed by Barcelona, Santos and the Neymar family.

Rosell can still appeal the judge’s decision to send him to trial.

LaLiga opens interactive museum in Moscow

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aLiga, the best league in the world, will be part of the football festivities in Moscow this summer with ‘LaLiga Space,’ an interactive showcase at the heart of the city’s iconic Red Square.

The museum, located in the GUM department store, was opened at an event featuring LaLiga Ambassador Diego Forlan, LaLiga’s delegate in Russia Daniel Cerejido and legendary Russian LaLiga star Alexander Mostovoi and will run from 27th-28th June and 11th-15th July.

‘LaLiga Space’ will allow football fans the opportunity to get closer to the emotion and passion of Spain’s top division, watch videos of the most memorable moments in LaLiga history, learn more about its clubs, players and league, as well as discover the innovative technology that enhances the LaLiga viewing experience for millions of fans around the world every week.

‘LaLiga Space’ will open its doors on the 27th and 28th June, as well as the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th of July, giving football fans plenty of time to personally see what makes LaLiga oneofthemostwatchedglobalsporting products in the world. This interactive and exciting museum located in Moscow’s GUM department store further highlights the global reach of LaLiga, from where 81 players have been selected across 22 national teams to play at the 2018 World Cup. In fact, all 20 clubs from the 2017/18 LaLiga Santander season have representatives at the tournament.

For the first time, the LaLiga

Santander trophy will visit Russia, giving every fan the chance to have their picture taken with the main prize fought over by the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and many other of the league’s top players. Visitors to ‘LaLiga Space’ will be able to check out a model LaLiga changing room, sit by the lockers used by their heroes and take photos with their favourite stars’ shirts.

Official LaLiga balls from past seasons will be on show and an interactive map will allow fans to see whichLaLigaplayersarerepresenting their nations at the World Cup. There will also be a space where visitors can experience El Clasico first-hand with 360° headsets and a GIF creator to capturefanscelebratinggoalsliketop LaLiga stars. In addition, there will be the chance to meet a number of former LaLiga players who have starred at previous World Cups.

Football fans from across the globe will also have an opportunity to get close to many of LaLiga’s former players who will be present in Moscow, pick up some autographs and meet their footballing idols.

BDSUNDAY

NEW YOU CAN TRUST

I

SUNDAY 01 JULY 2018

Beyond the madness on the Plateau!

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onsider all these screaming headlines: ‘Taming the beast on the Plateau’ (March 24,2010), ‘Bloodbath on the Plateau again!’(Dec,29, 2010) and ‘Who will stop the madness on the Plateau?’ (September 11, 2011).

All these are the titles of my opinion essays as previously published under my Drumbeats column in Daily Independent newspaper. They were apparently meant to draw public attention to the spate of killings of innocent souls in the state once adjudged as one of the most peaceful in Nigeria.

As events have since proved not much has been achieved by those in the corridors of power to stem the tide of the unfortunate bloodbath. On August 29,2011 twenty innocent Nigerians were gruesomely murdered during the violence sparked at Angwan Rukuba Road, Jos. Muslims had to celebrate their Ed el Fitri indoors as no one dared to visit the amusement park and other places of tourist attraction. Yet, the worst case scenario was to follow.

The newspaper headlines painted the picture of horror with facts and figures: ‘Five more killed in Jos.’ (Daily Independent, August 31, 2011). Next came, ‘Family of eight wiped out in Jos’(Daily Sun, Sept 5, 2011). Soon after was: ‘Another family of eight wiped out in Jos’ (PM News Sept 9, 2011). These grisly and despicable killings, added to the highly disturbing massacre of 500 Berom natives in Dogon Nahawa by some blood thirsty herdsmen on Sunday, March 7,2010 was akin to a horror movie than a harsh reality. My immediate response back then was a question: Has Nigeria turned into such a lawless state that evil now holds sway with impunity?

Precisely on September 11, 2011, this was the concern I raised: “For how long are we going to tolerate the crass absurdity of unmitigated murders in our nation state, Nigeria? Indeed, my continued outrage at the recurring bestial blood-letting on the Plateau since 2001 is predicated on the apparent impotence on the part of both the Federal and state governments through the security forces to rein in the monster of the orgy of violence”.

According to reports then, some armed Fulani herdsmen went on a bloody rampage in Heipang near Jos on Sunday, September 4, 2011. By the time they were through, the family of Chollom Gyang, including his wife Hannatu, six children and a four month old baby were dispatched to their early graves! And in a subsequent sweeping strike by unidentified gunmen another family of eight, including a visitor were

hacked to hideous death at Foron village in Barkinladi Local Government Area at about 1.00 am. That was on Friday, September 9, 2011. It was the fourth of such beastly attacks in Plateau state within one week!

Worse still,on another Sunday, June 24, 2018 some 135 innocent souls were summarily dispatched to the great beyond in villages such as Razak, Ruku, Kura and GanaRopp, all in Gashi District in Barkin Ladi LGA of Plateau state.

Expectedly, the killings have triggered global outrage. The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has expressed concern over violent conflicts between farmers and herders, particularly the Plateau attacks. The Amnesty International (AI) has said by failing to hold murderers to account, the Federal Government is encouraging impunity that is fuelling rising insecurity across the country. The Director Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, stated that AI has independently verified estimated figures indicating that since January 2018 “at least 1,813 people had been murdered in 17 states, which is double the 894 people killed in 2017.”

Said he: “The death tolls reflect killings as a result of farmers-herders conflict, communal clashes, Boko Haram attacks and banditry. We are gravely concerned about the rising spate of killings across the country, especially the communal clashes between farmers and herders and attacks by bandits across at least 17 states”.

Cumulatively, the mindless mass murders have equated Nigeria to the Hobbes state of nature. Hobbes describes sovereignty as the soul of the Leviathan. According to him, a “natural condition of mankind” is what would exist if there were no government, no civilisation, no laws, and no common power to restrain human nature.

Under such situation life would be “nasty, brutish and short.”

The gory situation symbolises a country whose leaders cannot afford the ­­much needed security of lives and property in line with the basic principles of government. That is, as enshrined under Section 14, Sub-Section 2(b) of 1999 Constitution as amended.

So, what is the way forward? While awaiting the reordering of the security architecture by President Muhammadu Buhari, one would state the obvious. The current over centralisation of the police at the centre cannot help us out. It must, like

AYO OYOZEBAJE Baje is Nigerian first food technologist in the media and author of ‘DRUMBEATS OF DEMOCRACY’

To attain the UN ratio requirement of one police officer to 400 citizens of a country, the Nigeria Police Force needs to recruit 155,000 to police Nigerian population of approximately 182 million

the all-powerful federal structure, be diffused to the states and their communities. They know where the insecurity shoes pinch them and would find the requisite solution.

Secondly, we under-policed. According to IGP, Ibrahim idris: “To attain the UN ratio requirement of one police officer to 400 citizens of a country, the Nigeria Police Force needs to recruit 155,000 to police Nigerian population of approximately 182 million.” Besides, even with the number we have, only 20 per cent of the nation’s police strength of 350,000 is engaged in core police duties of protecting lives/ properties and ensuring peace in the country.

The remaining 80 per cent, representing the lion’s share, “are just busy providing personal security to some prominent people on guard duties”. That is, according to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Benin, Mr. Rasheed Akintunde.

The third significant factor is to critically analyze and find lasting solutions to the recurring, raging war over land ownership between the natives and the herdsmen. To do so, we need the Root Cause Analytical Approach, RCAA. It would be recalled, that Mario Machungo, in his poignant piece entitled:“Good Leadership Counts” presented at the 1999 Kampala Conference for Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa(CSSDCA) had focused on the imperative of strengthening internal security. He stated that the inter­related problems of security, stability and development must be solved through home grown methods.

And most importantly, we must do away with the cruel, callous and crass culture of impunity. All those found to have killed innocent souls must be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law. Only this would send the warning signal that no Nigerian, no matter his social/political status, ethnic or religious colouration can kill a fellow citizen and got Scot free!

Quick Takes

Off the Cuff

Do we need to stammer on our poverty status?

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hat poverty has become endemic in Nigeria is no longer news. That people now go to bed on empty stomach because of lack of food is also not arguable; what is news is the denial last week by the Federal Government that Nigeria’s poverty level has reached a crisis point.

Recently, Brookings Report had rated Nigeria as the new global headquarters of poverty, but government said it was not so.

It faulted that the indices used in arriving at the report may have been compiled when the country was in economic recession.

Despite the spirited effort to put a lie to the report, Nigerians know the true position of things. They know that their government has a way side-stepping the truth, whether now or in the past. The Nigerian government has always denied everything even when evidences stare them in the face.

How would anybody deny the fact that poverty now walks the streets of Nigeria on fours? What are the indices to determine a country that is doing well or otherwise?

In a country where parents are selling their children for a bag of rice? A country where parents are staging the kidnap of either their own children or vice versa? A country where ritual killing has become the order of the day all in a bid to conquer poverty? A country where able-bodied youths, graduates in various disciplines, roam the streets because there are no jobs and the environment is increasingly hostile for entrepreneurship? A country where employers of labour sack workers on account of inability to pay salaries? If I may ask, what are the indices of poverty? We read stories and hear the news about Nigerian youths migrating to Europe and they are not deterred by the enormous danger on the way; we are talk-

ing about a country where brain drain is becoming rampant so much that people of 60, 70 years old are relocating to Canada, just to have a meaningful life for the remaining days on earth and for their immediate family members. Is it not because of poverty that we see all manner of restiveness in the country?

Is it likely that if a youth had a good job after his graduation, he would prefer to be an “Area Boy” (street urchin)? What is the genesis of Boko Haram, Niger Delta militancy, etc; do they not have anything to do with poverty? Instead of making excuses or trying to play the ostrich, government should put on its thinking cap. The Report is not to slight or denigrate any government but to spur those concerned into action. I think this is the most honourable thing to do in this circumstance.

N226.90bn

This is the total amount of money raked in as profit by 12 banks in net fees and commission in the first quarter.

Barbaric Shiites!

The bloody display in Kaduna recently by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, was really barbaric.

They murdered a policeman in cold blood and they were caught on camera behaving as if they were under some influence. What manner of religion is this?

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