BusinessDay 09 Jun 2019

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‘For agric to play significant role in Nigeria’s economy, it must be technology-driven’

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s promise:

“I will rid Apapa of gridlock in the first 60 days of my government.”

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42 p 41.

We need security, Nigerians cry out As Buhari unfolds agenda this week

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OBINNA EMELIKE, INIOBONG IWOK and VICTORIA NNAKAIKE (Lokoja)

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n the last four years, the security situation in Nigeria has become a concern to many citizens. Increasingly, there

have been calls on the Federal Government to stem the tide of the ugly trend.

With the kidnapping of 685 people and death of 1,071 people in crime-related cases across the country in the first quarter of 2019 alone, it is obvious that the security challenge in Nigeria

is worsening as the number of victims is expected to double at the end of the year.

The development has made Nigeria to be on global spotlight for the bad reasons, especially with one of the world’s highest rates of kidnap-for-ransom cases, ranking with the likes of

Iraq, Venezuela and even Afghanistan.

The ugly situation, which is growing out of hand even in the North-West region of the country formerly regarded as the safest in the country, has resulted in Continues on page 2

The die is cast: Nigeria gets new senate president Tuesday

Ninth Assembly: 99 senators-elect endorse Lawan as Senate President Omo-Agege threatens fire OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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head of the inauguration of the Ninth Assembly and election of Presiding Officers slated for Tuesday, June 11, ninety-nine senators-elect have endorsed the candidacy of Ahmad Lawan for the position of Senate President.

The breakdown includes 60 All Progressives Congress (APC) senators-elect, 38 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members while one was elected on the platform of the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

Barau Jubrin, secretary of the Ahmad Lawan Campaign Group, revealed this at a meeting with lawmakers-elect in Abuja on Saturday.

Barau went ahead to call the names of senators that have so Continues on page 2

Ahmed Lawan, a contender

Mohammed Ali Ndume, another contender

Statist tendencies, unfriendly environment hindering Nigeria from replicating MTN, Dangote, other successful businesses CALEB OJEWALE

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n recent times, Nigeria has been unable to recreate successful companies such as

Dangote Cement Plc, Seplat, GTB, MTN and others, which by virtue of business-friendly decisions by government at some point, have been able to take advantage of opportunities to

rapidly grow, become success stories, and contribute to economic development.

While in the last four years, Nigeria has pursued improvement of its ranking in the World

Bank Ease of Doing Business, the growth on that index has not been reflected in the economy, much less ease of operations by local businesses. In some Continues on page 5

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We need security, Nigerians...

Continued from page 1 many outcries across the country.

It has also intensified calls for state police as many Nigerians appear to have lost confidence in the ability of the Nigerian Police to curtail the rise in crime rate. And it also seems that Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector-General of Police, has given up on the grounds of poor funding/logistics and lack of manpower.

Between last year and now, President Muhammadu Buhari has held a number of security meetings with security apparatchik inside the Aso Rock Villa.

However, the angry and helpless Nigerians are tired of the excuses by the security operatives, and insist that government is failing in its core mandate of providing security for the citizens.

The worse for some is that despite all the security and anti-corruption chants and clouts, President Buhari, who was re-elected on those grounds, seems to be hanging so much hope on his security chiefs that are still trying to figure out how to address the security challenges.

On two or more occasions, Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno State, the immediate past governor of Borno State, had cried to the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, to seek help from the presidency over the worsening insecurity in his state.

In July last year, a coalition of concerned Nigerians under the aegis of ‘Nigerian Citizens’ wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. In the letter titled, ‘Nigeria mourns and cries for security, peace and justice’, the group referred to Section 14(2)(b), 1999 Nigerian Constitution, which states that “… the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government …”

The group raised concern over the spate of killings in the first six months of last year, and indeed in the past three years, describing it as worrisome.

“In the first six months of this year alone, more than 5,000 Nigerians have been killed in violent attacks by persons or groups described in various places as ‘armed pastoralists’, ‘rustlers or bandits’, ‘thugs’, ‘political opportunists’or any

name they are given, but Nigerians are dying,” it noted.

According to them, “In some cases, these perpetrators have decimated entire communities and the little social infrastructure which these communities depend on, including schools, hospitals and places of worship. In nearly all of these cases, there has been neither arrest nor diligent prosecution.”

The group also stated that more “worrisome has been the lack of urgency and proactiveness on the part of government to end these killings and bring perpetrators to book. While the killings have been particularly pronounced in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, no region of the country has been spared from the spate of insecurity. From Benue to Kaduna to Ebonyi to Cross River; from Zamfara to Plateau to Adamawa and their frequency has escalated from month to month.”

Expressing their worry over the ugly state of affairs, the coalition said: “We as citizens are appalled by government’s failure to diligently protect lives and property. From community to community, the narrative of organised criminal groups attacking unarmed, vulnerable citizens and taking over their homes and communities has persisted. Without doubt, the festering impunity has emboldened these attackers who continue to expand their dragnet and the effrontery with which they attack these communities.”

As the President presents his four-year agenda on June 12, the Democracy Day, the Nigerian citizens expect to see well-laid out plans on how the new administration hopes to secure their lives.

They would want to hear from the President how he hopes to take the country to the next level, security-wise.

Akilo Angwe, a lawyer, wonders why the security chiefs are still in their positions despite “their below average performance” in the last four years.

“In a sane country, the Inspector General of Police will not be confirmed because things are falling apart under him and he has already given up”, Angwe said.

While no position has yet been taken on the creation of state police

L-R: Uja Tor Uja, executive secretary, Nigeria Christian pilgrim Commission (NCPC), paying tribute to the wife of his former head Media NCPC, late. Pastor Fred Romeo Adewumi Obika JP, Deaconess Oluwatoyin Jewel Obika, during the funeral service at RCCG Maranatha Church Gbagada Lagos State. today.

in the country, governors of the 36 states of Nigeria appear not happy because the Federal Government wishes to be in control as always.

While Kayode Fayemi, chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), thinks the issue requires consultations, Seriake Dickson, chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, insists that the governors were in support of the state police and have told the President during their meeting with him at Aso Villa on Friday.

As the president prepares to present his agenda on June 12, many are offering security content of the agenda.

Chukwuma Okoli, lecturer/ resident researcher, Department of Political Science, Federal University Lafia, calls for stricter measures, such as life imprisonment or death penalty, in dealing with the kidnapping menace. “After all, the crime of kidnapping is a maximum threat that requires an equally maximum deterrence,” he said.

Emeka Iduma, a security expert, says that the creation of state police will help to curb security challenges as each state decides on how best to fight crime and others will learn

News

ActionAid Nigeria urges FG to provide system for strengthening public enlightenment Victoria Nnakaike, Lokoja

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ctionAidNigeriahasurged the Federal Government to provide a system for strengthening public enlightenment in Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes (GEEP) and other social investment programmes of the Buhari administration to gain more ground.

The ActionAid Nigeria disclosed that it participated in monitoring

the programme and affirmed that the scheme had contributed in addressing the problems of outof-school children and youths’ unemployment in Nigeria and had also impacted greatly on the lives of Nigerians.

According to a press statement by the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, and made available to journalists in Lokoja, the organisation said it had been following the comments and thoughts of concerned Nigerians on the implementation of the NSIP in Nigeria.

It commended the technical members of staff of the NSIP led

by Maryam Uwais for the job done so far, saying, however, that there is still room for improvement.

“ActionAid acknowledged that the N-SIP contributes in addressing the problems of out-of school children and youths’ unemployment in Nigeria and knows the programmes are impacting the lives of Nigerians albeit at different levels; we believe more Nigerians can be reached if the voted funds are released,” Obi said.

from the most efficient ones.

However, he thinks that no effort at fighting crime will address the challenge properly apart from sorting out the root cause, which is unemployment.

“As long as many youths are jobless and roaming the streets, they will find a way to exert their youthful energies and unfortunately, in the negative ways”, Iduma said.

Ebenezer Babatope, a former minister of transportation, said.

“The security situation is becoming alarming and disturbing, may be the President has taken the right step by saying we should have state and local government police, that to me is a step forward and I appeal to those in charge to approve it.”

According to him, “The issue of state police was contained in the Constitutional Conference of 2014 Report; go and check it, but the current government people threw it away; the President must act fast or we are in danger.”

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has urged government at all levels to take relevant actions or put in place enduring machinery to stem the tide

of ever-growing spate of insecurity and impunity across the country.

Gift Omoniwa, executive director of Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID), who led other CSOs in the state to mark this year’s celebration of National Day of Mourning in Kogi State, said that the Nigerian society has had enough of the killings in many parts of the country, adding that since the rate of violent activities via kidnappings, armed robbery, banditry and ethnic clashes have reached the roof top, relevant stakeholders should increase their efforts and restore peace in society.

“Since we are still grappling with the level of insecurity and the growing spate of impunity, that necessitated the National Day of Mourning as a result of increased police brutality, armed banditry, Boko Haram, militia, herdsmen and electoral violence; we have been compelled to again draw the attention of government and all relevant stakeholders to live up to their mandate of protection of lives and property of Nigerians,” Omoniwa said.

Ninth Assembly: 99 senators-elect ...

Continued from page 1

far endorsed Lawan’s candidacy.

Explaining the reason for the endorsement, the campaign group Chairman, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi from Kebbi, a second timer, explained that they proactively nominated Ahmed Lawan to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015.

Recall that the race for the next Senate president and Bukola Saraki’s successor has been narrowed down to two candidates, Lawan and Mohammed Ali Ndume.

Whereas Lawan has since

been anointed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), leadership of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari, Ndume has stuck to his gun, insisting that he will try his luck on the floor of the Senate on the Election Day. Omo-Agege insists only 2011 Standing Rule will be used Meanwhile, Ovie Omo-Agege has threatened fire and brimstone if the Senate Standing Order for 2011 is not used for the election of Presiding Officers in the Ninth Continues on page 41

Sunday 09 June 2019

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Nigerians waiting for President Buhari’s June 12 speech Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari is expected to grace the commemoration of June 12 as Nigeria’s new Democracy Day with an enduring speech that will, according to his aides, assuage the feelings of Nigerians, allay their fears, reassures them of inclusion and generally conceptualise his “Next Level” agenda.

President Buhari refused to deliver any speech on May 29 during his inauguration for second term of office, which stunned the nation and sent tongues wagging as to his real intentions for the country. His aides and supporters defended him, saying that President Buhari will capture all what Nigerians need to hear in the June 12 speech.

So what are Nigerians waiting to hear from Buhari on June 12 speech that could be distinct from others, that will raise the expectations of Nigerians and bring hope to those who feel marginalised in his first term?

Speaking to BDSUNDAY on Friday, a senior lecturer with Baze University, Sam Amadi, said that the President should capture expectation and the concept of his Next Level vision with a commitment to inclusive governance and set new dimension in the war against poverty and also put more women in government.

“Clearly the President has to frame a narrative about his second term. Governance is practical but it is first and foremost, conceptual. We are faced with the crisis of poverty which arises from not just low production but skewed distribution. The president should pick on inclusion as a major theme and

that inclusion will revolve around three key things: There should be a national inclusion in appointments which will diffuse the centrifugal forces that detract development and generate trust and credibility to the distributive process. So, the speech should focus on inclusion and the drive to address poverty,” he said.

Amadi, who is a former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said further that it has become incumbent on the President to also assure the women in his speech and take steps to include them in governance. “It is critical because we need to get the women to fully participate in the social and political life of this country. We need to see more women in political leadership and appointive positions.

“What this does is that gender justice tells the investor the level of openness of our society. If women are participating, it shows the degree of the openness for new ideas in the socio- political economy. Gender presence is proxy for innovation and creativity, it is a proxy for the removal of patriarchy, which itself does not allow innovation, so part of the new economy is that innovation will drive economic growth and women participation will assist in doing that,” he said.

He admonished the President to tackle the high level of female illiteracy and lack of social mobilization especially in the north adding that the criminality especially banditry and kidnapping going on “is a function of the collapse of the socio-economic order. It is not just security issues, people are basically disillusioned. For the past 20 years we have not done anything to improve the life of the people, we must give them skills, we have opportu-

KWASU VC wants govt to restore subvention …As 25 graduate with first class SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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bdulrasheed Na’Allah, a professor of English, and the vice chancellor of Kwara State University, Malete, has appealed to the state government to restore subvention for better performance and development.

Na’Allah, who made the appeal on Saturday at the convocation ceremony of the institution, noted that KWASU is waxing stronger despite challenges confronting it.

According to him, the University has been operating without subvention from the state government for almost five years.

While listing the giant strides the school has recorded, Na’Allah noted that KWASU was able to survive without subvention from government due to the proactiveness of the management. ”We started with the mindset that the government cannot be 100 percent responsible to fund University, thus, that was what helped us to forge ahead and be able to pay

salaries as and when due,” he said. ”We strategised through different programmes introduced to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), mobilise resources and we also took loans to sustain ourselves. And it is of utmost happiness that we have achieved so far,” the Vice Chancellor further said.

He further said: “I recommend strongly that the new Kwara Government should restore that subvention. Education is the major priority of our state. Imagine how our University will be if we are getting subvention every year.

“There is the need for constant support from government to the University to do better in academic pursuit,” he added.

He assured that the institution with its unique programmes is determined to assist in diversifying economy and committed to contributing immensely to the nation’s development.

The Vice Chancellor disclosed that 25 out of 1, 196 graduating students for the 2018/19 academic session bagged first class degree (honours).

nistically use them for politics, so this is a challenge the President needs to address including human security.

“Therefore, I will tell the president to use the opportunity to put the narrative that his second tenure is about inclusive growth, it is about bringing the poor into the mainstream, bringing in regions that feel offended or feel marginalised back to the mainstream and bringing women, the girl-child into productive socio-economic activities. That is what the speech should be- to promote democracy that will deliver efficient welfare to the people, democracy that enhances cohesion, democracy that produces human security,” he said.

He also advised the President to capture the interest of the rural poor and focus on rural development in the way the Chinese did it in terms of reactivating cottage industries and commercial activities at the local level where the poor people live mostly adding that Nigeria can solve the poverty problem in less than five years if the right things are done.

Katch Ononuju, however, said that he was not optimistic about any speech from President Buhari, stressing that no speech no matter how flowery in content will change the nature and character of President Buhari. He alleged that Buhari is only interested in championing the Fulani agenda but assured that

such narrow agenda will not succeed because of the diversity of Nigeria. He said that expecting anything from Buhari was tantamount to begging to be deceived.

“Nigeria is resilient because of its diversity, nobody can appropriate Nigeria. If you are expecting anything from Buhari then you are begging to be deceived as Buhari through his mistakes is revealing his arms,” he said. But a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Garus Gololo, told BDSUNDAY that the President did well in his first term and wants him to capture the essence of the Nigerian dream of unity, oneness and inclusion in the speech.

(L-r) founding president of Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Olutumbi Joanna Maduka , national treasurer APWEN, Funmi Akingbagbohun, president APWEN Felicia Agubata, former Minister of Industry Nike Akande, publicity secretary APWEN (Lagos Chapter), Atinuke Owolabi, and Chairman APWEN (Lagos Chapter) Laolu Adedapo- Aisida, during the 2nd annual lecture of Olutumbi Joanna Maduka organised by APWEN recently in Lagos.

Abia Poly hosts Ubachi, President’s NYSC Honours awards recipient GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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he management of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, has commended Okehi Ubachi, a Business Administration graduate of the institution for being a good ambassador of the Polytechnic. Ubachi was one of the 168 people that won the 2019 President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Honours Awards.

The award was in recognition of his outstanding performance during his National Youth Service, in

Tangoza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

Ubachi executed many projects to his credit, which include, reconciliation of two-communities that have been in dispute for many years.

As a lover of academics, and his desire for a better future, he established new primary schools and donated books and writing materials to the schools. For these laudable projects Ubachi bagged the President’s award, as well as gained an automatic employment in the Federal Ministry of Defence, Abuja.

He was also offered scholarship

for his Masters Degree and PhD programmes, at Manchester University, United Kingdom.

Ezionye Eboh, a professor and rector of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, while hosting the recipient at the Council Chambers of the Institution, commended Ubachi for the great achievement, stressing that he has written his name in gold.

This is also as Eboh, commended three students of the department of Physics Electronics, who returned a missing wallet containing huge sums of money and other valuables to the owner.

Abia govt trains Nigerian army, Navy, others on emergency medical skill set UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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team of certified instructors from the United States of America under the American Heart Association’s HeartSaver CPR AED programme engaged by the Abia State government has commenced training of selected officers of the

Nigerian Army, Navy and the police in an emergency medical skill set that include cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED), Basic Life Saving (BLS) and first aid care.

Others undergoing the training include officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, the Nigeria Prisons, the Abia State Fire Service, and Life

guards at several swimming pools.

The training is being organised under the auspices of Abia State Emergency Medical Services and would last for eight days.

A statement by the Abia State Government said the objective of the training was to deepen the coverage for emergency care in Abia as the beneficiaries would be deployed to work in Abia.

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Traditional rulers, others express hope on Buhari’s 2nd term IFEOMA OKEKE

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t the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2019, invited guests who witnessed the occasion, including traditional rulers, politicians and business moguls, expressed the optimism that the second term of Mr. President would be far better than the first.

They also hoped that his policy would be well articulated and executed to sustain the administration’s development stride across key sectors of the economy.

Appolus Chu, King of Okori (Egbere Emere Okori, Eleme) and Paramount Ruler of Ogale, (Emere Ogale) in Rivers State, said: “We are expecting the best from this new dispensation of political leaders. We also hope that this administration will end satisfactorily for all Nigerians.”

Chu advised further that,

“We should identify our mistakes and then improve on these mistakes and when we do that, we would gradually get much more mature in democracy.”

For His Royal Majesty, Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni, the Attah Igala, his expectations are that there should be rapid development in the nation, peace in every section of the nation and better economy.

His other anticipations were that the issue of job creation and employment generation would be a priority as far as the Buhari administration is concerned.

They also expressed the hope that the President would bring more women on board.

Pauline Tallen, a former minister and ex-deputy governor of Plateau State, rather went spiritual. She said: “With the collective prayers of Nigerians, the President will make Nigeria better, put smiles on the faces of Nigerians and carry

women along.”

Aliko Dangote, a business guru and chairman of Dangote Group, he hopes to play his own part by galvanising the business community to partner government for the good of the nation.

“Definitely, it is a good partnership between us and the government and definitely we would take Nigeria to the next level”, Dangote said, noting that although the last administration tried its best, it could do better this term.

“Normally, in the first term, they don’t usually show their strength. So, this second term, I am sure would be much better than the last term”, he added.

Others further expressed the hope that the President would avoid some pitfalls, having learned from his mistakes of the last administration. They hoped that in the last four years, Buhari must have learned a lot of lessons, and then would avoid anything that cause hindrances to his administration.

L-R: HRH, (Dr) Appolus Chu and HRH, Alh. (Dr) Muhammad Sani Haliru Dantoro, (Kitoro IV), Emir of Borgu, Emir’s Palace New Bussa, Niger State in the midst of other dignitaries.

Abia raises infrastructural development council UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia.

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he Abia State government has set up the Infrastructural Development Council to cater for the infrastructural needs of the state with the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as the Chairman.

Richard Nwala, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Works disclosed this in Umuahia while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting the governor held with contractors handling road projects in the state.

He said that the incom-

ing commissioner of works would serve as the vice chairman of council.

According to him, other agencies that made the list of the council include Abia State Road maintenance Agency (ABROMA), Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Programme, (NEWMAP), Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP), and the Ministry of Education.

Nwala disclosed that Ikpeazu directed all the contractors handling roads in the state to go back to site immediately with a view to completing such projects, adding that funds had been released to them.

The permanent secretary hinted that the governor directed that a total of 20 roads be completed within the first 100 days of his second tenure.

The roads he said include the completion of the rehabilitation of Emejiaka, Opobo/ Emelogu, Ntigha/Nbawsi, Etche, Dan Fodio, Emmaculate, St Paul’s roads in Aba as well as maintenance of Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia township roads.

Others are the Umuikaa/ Umuene/Umuob, Ebenma Egege, Ohokobe Afara roads in Umuahia, Ukome Road, Agbama housing estate, Station Avenue and Udeagbala road.

Statist tendencies, unfriendly environment ...

Continued from page 1

cases, it appeared government agents were out to kill businesses that even employed thousands of Nigerians.

As analysts have noted, for Nigeria to create new successful companies; the likes of Dangote, MTN and others, government has to do away with the notion that it is the best manager for commerce and business. Rather, the private sector should be supported with the enabling environment to thrive, grow and support economic development.

“Where the government is just scared of free market and elite, the likes of MTN, Dangote or other big businesses cannot emerge,” said Bongo Adi, a senior lecturer of Economics at the Lagos Business School.

At the end of May, the performance of stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was the best in 15 months courtesy of Dangote Cement Plc and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, the market’s biggest firms.

Dangote at the close of trading of Friday had a market capitalisation of N3.22 trillion while MTN closed at N2.77 trillion. Yet, MTN has been the victim of government’s harassment in recent years, despite being the most successful and biggest non-oil investor in Nigeria till date.

Both MTN and Dangote represent in a way, beneficiaries of two government policies that sought to create thriving industries, expected to result in generous contributions to economic growth and job creation. Since the return to democracy in 1999, some of the successful companies in Nigeria today enjoyed government’s policies that allowed private sector players to drive economic growth. Under the current dispensation, even in spite of the ease of doing business chant, free market is in reality frowned at and viewed with suspicion.

In the year 2000, Dangote Industries acquired Benue Cement Company from the Federal Government as part of its privatization exercise. BCC operated a 0.9Mta plant in Gboko, which was subsequently upgraded by the Group to 2.8Mta. This

acquisition at the time would not have happened if the government was statist-inclined and not business-friendly.

In 2004, the company commenced the construction of the Company’s first cement production plant (Obajana Cement Plant).

In 2007 the Obajana Cement Plant was commissioned with two production lines and capacity of 5 million tonner per annum, making it the largest plant in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In July 2010, the company’s name changed from Obajana Cement Plc to Dangote Cement Plc, by October of the same year, it listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange following merger of DCP and BCC. Today, Dangote is the most valuable company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The journey to its current position may have been thwarted if government policies did not favour the need for privatisation, instead of wasteful state-run enterprises that continually post negative results.

As Adi explained, the major challenge of Buhari government is the socialist attraction it has. “They are worsening the situation by creating perverse incentives to moral hazards, inculcating the culture of laziness and slothfulness in the system,” he said.

These have a way of demoralising work and productivity, and are the greatest danger to having a thriving economy. Yet, unemployment remains unchained; rapidly climbing up even as the population expands faster the economy is growing.

According to the Q3 2018 report on unemployment rate as compiled by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), unemployment in Nigeria has risen from 18.8 percent in Q3 2017 to 23.1 percent in the third quarter of 2018, estimated at 21 million people. The unemployment situation is dreadful, particularly when the increasing rates of insecurity across the country are put into consideration.

Even the manufacturing sector that should ordinarily be able to absorb a substantial portion of the workforce is bogged down with myriads of challenges from electricity, to multiple taxations and lack of infrastructure to support production.

Of these, electricity particularly stands out with about 40 percent of manufacturers’ expenditure spent on alternative energy sources such as fuel, diesel, gas, low-pour fuel oil, coal and inverters as they grapple with incessant power disruptions, which cripple production activities. As long as this situation persists, it is impossible to imagine new companies springing up, much less becoming successful.

According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), paucity and high electricity tariff have posed dismal challenges for Nigeria’s manufacturing sector over the years. As BusinessDay reports have noted, many multinationals no longer rely on power distribution companies as they see the DisCos as unreliable.

Nigerian manufacturers have complained about franchisers of natural gas that dollarize payment of the energy source and selling to them at $7.45 per standard cubic meter (scm), which is above the international price of $2.5.

Till date, government is yet to champion and enforce compliance with the basic and logical expectations of pricing, which is commensurate with what obtains in the international market.

Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria’s most valuable bank by market capitalisation, prides itself with introducing online banking and SMS banking in Nigeria. GTB’s growth is largely attributed to how it has used technology, particularly in the subset of telecommunication to expand its frontiers. However, if government had not at some point deregulated the telecoms sector, it is doubtful GTB would have grown to its current status by relying on the now defunct NITEL. For Nigeria to produce new successful companies, the government’s preference for handouts as a way to end poverty, would need to be replaced with policies that allow the private sector drive growth in the economy.

Instead of giving handouts, providing critical infrastructure and amenities will enable businesses thrive, create jobs for millions of unemployed and contribute to economic development.

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News ‘I have lost weight’, says Sanwo-Olu, one week after resumption ...Vows to end Apapa gridlock Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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agos state Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos State has said he has lost weight due to pressures of work.

Sanwoolu, who was sharing his experience with State House Correspondents, Abuja, after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and later, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, described his schedule as hectic and demanding.

Speaking after the meeting called to address the security situation in the country, the governor described security as “everybody’s business” but quickly added that “as a governor we also have a major responsibility to ensure that as number one security officer of the state, security of lives and property is also paramount.

He tasked government at all levels to get to the root cause of the current security challenges facing the nation, including how to bring the menace to an end.

“So, it’s a work in progress for us as a state and for me in particular, it’s something that I take very seriously.

We are not just to be mouthing it but we make sure that we put resources in place and strategies. We’ve been talking about domesticating and pushing part of the initiatives around security trust fund that we’ve done,” he said.

“We will continue to engage, and

continue to identify the sources, the underlining issues. Are they economic? Is it more than that? So that we will also attack the root cause. It is something that for us as a government that is looking for investors, we certainly must continue to be in a position where we can give confidence to all our investors that it’s a safe haven to come and invest,” the governor said.

Asked if a regional cooperation was part of the plans to deal with insecurity in the South West, Sanwoolu said: “It’s still work in progress and we have a south west leader who I am sure has also addressed the press on the matter.

“I don’t want to be at the risk of preempting what that body will do, let us wait for them to come up with a proper action plan at the regional level and let’s see what solution it will come with.”

Speaking on his experience as governor of Lagos state, he described the challenges he is facing as “real.”

For him, to be governor of Lagos is not a tea party, as according to him, “l don’t sleep until the traffic has gone down; l won’t sleep until l have resolved the Apapa gridlock; it’s real.”

“I dare say that I have lost weight and probably I will lose a little bit more but I think it’s what the job entails and is to also ensure that you have the right team of people that would also support you. So, when as a leader, you show that leadership support, then the message itself will

trickledown and trickledown very well and that is why we have to take that very bold idea and you’re going to see a lot,” he said.

“So, it’s something that l have psychologically prepared for. So, the best thing to do is to ensure that you are not about looking for what the other person did but it’s for Lagosians to see you do what you said you are going to do for them. You don’t do it

A

kwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Moses Ekpo has launched his biography titled ‘Trials and Triumphs’ and unveiled the Martha and Moses Ekpo Jnr. Foundation which is aimed at supporting social development within the state.

While inaugurating the Foundation, Udom Emmanuel, governor of the state who was recently re-elect-

Ekpo

ed on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), lauded his deputy for his dedicated support, his reliable counsel and being a role model in moving the affairs of Akwa Ibom State forward.

“The biography on the Deputy is a testament of being resilient in life no matter the challenges and obstacles faced, and urges Nigerians to always have hope, believe in God and be resilient in achieving their goals,” he said.

The governor also stated that the books would be procured on behalf of the state government and institutionalised in the public schools in ensuring that students have access to such materials which would help them grow and learn to be exemplary citizens of the state.

Moses Ekpo said the mission towards the institutionalising of the foundation is one driven by the passion and zeal to implementing and funding projects that will improve the welfare and education of Nigerians.

According to Ekpo, “The principal aim of the foundation is to accomplish my mission of funding and implementing improved access to quality education, health

they have started clearing it. So, for us, it’s not just to do it but to ensure that we sustain it. So, sustainability is critical,” he said.

According to him, “It’s to build a model where it’s sustainable and we are also involving the big players; we are discussing with them - the shippers council, the shipping lines, NPA, NIMASA and all of them that are stakeholders in the conversations around port utility, we are settling it.

Uchenna Idoko, executive director, Centre for Economics (CGE Africa) (third Right) with some participants at the One-workshop on ‘Social Protection Policy for Women in Nigeria Extractive Communities’ held in Lagos.

Akwa Ibom deputy governor launches biography, unveils Foundation KELECHI EWUZIE

from the office, you have to do it from the road, you have to do it so that people will see and truly know that you mean business,” Sanwoolu further said.

The governor also assured Lagos residents of his resolve to ensure that the Apapa gridlock will not only end, but establish a sustainable plan to tackle the issue.

“It’s a work in progress. If you go to Lagos now, you will see that

care, strengthening the capacity of education and health professionals to achieve sustainable livelihood.”

The Deputy Governor further stated that the foundation would also focus on funding bursaries for students engaged in strategic and innovative courses, provide access to high quality health care to low income population, funding bursaries for health care professionals especially those in remote rural areas and tackle the roots of chronic poverty through financial literacy trainings amongst others.

Also speaking at the event, the chairman of the occasion, Paschal Dozie stated that “Ekpo did not let his trials truncate him from achieving greatness in life, emphasising the need for Nigerians to always celebrate any success or milestone attained.

“Trials and Triumphs which talks about the life of the deputy governor is one which has been long overdue as he recommended it to all Nigerians considering the quality and contents as people would learn from an exemplary figure and role model on how to be resilient and forge ahead despite tribulations,” he said.

SPAR partners RTF on nationwide children auditioning

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PAR Nigeria in celebrating Nigerian children recently partnered with RealTime Films (RFT) festival to host a Kids audition session at SPAR Ilupeju, where five of the auditioned children were shortlisted with an option to pursue their acting career and develop their skills.

John Goldsmith, the group marketing head, SPAR Nigeria, said the partnership with RealTime Films festival will help bring to fruition the aspiration of various children that are interested in the movie industry.

“The future of the Nigerian society is in the way in which the children are developed. At SPAR, we are always looking for ways to creatively engage children and hone their skills. There are lots of ways of developing children and we are glad to be partnering with Real Time International Film festival to bring forth the potentials of Nigerian children,” he said.

Stanlee Ohikhuare, the artistic director of RTF, while speaking on the initiative said some exceptional children were discovered in the areas of acting, monologue, dancing and singing during the auditioning. “...

Plans are already underway to feature the shortlisted children in a film

alongside Nollywood a-list actors and other celebrities. The movie will be premiered at the cinemas and also during the upcoming film festival.”

SPAR Nigeria recently organised the Children’s Easter Carnival across various cities namely, Calabar, the Cross Rivers State capital; Enugu, the Enugu State capital and Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital. Similarly, the brand hosted Nigerian children to a party across various cities in the country for the 2019 Children’s Day celebration, simultaneously at the various premises of SPAR outlets nationwide.

This memorable event saw children engage in various games and other exciting competitions during the Kids Fun Day and all participants went home with various freebies courtesy of SPAR Nigeria.

“As an organisation, we have always ensured that no part of the country is left out of our outreach projects. We desire to give every child in Nigeria memorable and unique experiences whenever they come in contact with our brand. The SPAR Children’s Day Party is a way of building the confidence of the Nigerian children and also to develop their innate abilities,” Goldsmith, further said.

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Nigeria must jettison its unprofitable foreign policy – Afinotan Josephine Okojie

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ucky Andrew Afinotan, a professor of Political Science at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), has described Nigeria’s current foreign policy orientation as ‘Mumuism’.

The professor made this declaration while delivering his inaugural lecture titled, ‘Concentricism and Foreign Policy: Nigeria in the 21st Century’ at the Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State recently.

In what he referred to as the poverty of Nigeria’s concentricism and a foreign policy of mumuism, Afinotan noted that one of the most fundamental features of Nigeria’s foreign policy is the contentious assumption that Nigeria is the giant of Africa, and as such has a manifest destiny to lead Africa and the black race in general.

According to the university don, this perception is grounded upon Nigeria’s potential, and its location as a black African country.

He stated that policy makers in the country not only embraced this view, but bear it as a foreign policy disposition towards the sub-region, the continent and the black race in general, this he said has resulted to frustration across the globe as the country’s actual performance has

Afinotan

fallen below expectations.

“The country, in spite of several opportunities, has up till now failed to live up to the expectation of its admirers and well-wishers across the world. Nigeria has been a global disappointment- because in spite of its immense gifts of human, natural resources and lebensraum, it has failed to impress,” Afinotan said.

He added that every state within the international system always pursues its national interest defined as power, and that states’ interests rather than all their values or ideological preferences shape their actions in every case, noting that

international politics is, of necessity, amoral or nonsentimental or messianic or altruistic.

“That is the case with politics among nations on the world stage. The survival of every nation-state depends on this. In this perspective, there are no filial considerations of race, colour or creed, no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, but only permanent interests. Nigeria as a state in the global arena cannot be an exception,” the professor said.

He consequently opined that since international politics is power politics, a nation that voluntarily sublimates its core national interests in

order to pursue a policy of messianism and altruism in a world of ‘Social Darwinism’ and can only be described in local parlance as a “mumu” nation, and its foreign policy a politics of “mumuism”.

“Nigeria must by dint of hard work, dignity, integrity and patriotism, living within the reality of its realm, attain to true greatness, not make false and unrealistic claims to international leadership. Any policy that falls short of these ideals, and continually sacrifices itself in order to please others or makes pretenses to a false respectability is a politics of ‘mumuism.’

“The idea of concentricism was formally introduced under the Buhari junta of 1983, by Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, a professor of Political Science who later became the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, before being appointed by General Buhari as Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs in 1984,” he noted.

Professor Afinotan further observed that certain potentialities associated with the Nigerian state may have contributed immensely to the development of the assumptions upon which the leadership illusion has been founded. These he categorised into demographics, climatic features, land mass, extensive forests and game reserves.

Ihedioha raises panel to probe Okorocha SABY ELEMBA, Owerri

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overnor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State has constituted an 8-man committee to ascertain the financial transactions of the State under the leadership of the immediate past Governor, Rochas Okorocha (May 2011- 2019).

Abraham Nwankwo, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), an administrator and bureaucrat will head the committee, while Nick Oparadundu, a former local government chairman during the days of former governor of the state, Achike Udenwa is the secretary of the probing committee.

Other members include Charles Onwunali, Kelechi Omeni-Nzewuihe, Chima Aliliele, Charles

Nwogu, Udeze Ibezirim (Mrs) and Ify Maureen Okafor (Mrs).

According to a statement which was signed by Uche Onyeagocha, secretary to the Government of Imo State (SSG), the committee would ascertain and document the locations of and balances on all bank accounts operated by Imo State government, its ministries, department and agencies (MDA’s) from 2011 to May 29, 2019.

The committee would also review all the financial transactions and where necessary a forensic audit, with a view to ascertaining sources of funds and the applications of same.

The committee would further review such disbursements/applications of state resources in order to ascertain the propriety of charges leveled on accounts, interest payment

on loans and deposits where applicable; authorisation etc and the operations of the Imo State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Other references include conducting government/ financial reviews of key agencies of government with a view to documenting all revenues generated or subventions/allocations

Ihedioha

between 2011 and 2019.

The committee being chaired by Nwankwo would further review the propriety of applications/disbursements of state resources between 2011 and 2019 and recommend measures that would strengthen internal controls and enhance the performance of those key agencies of government of Imo State.

Si m i l a r l y, Go v e r n o r Emeka Ihedioha has further approved the constitution of a committee to review appointments, recruitments, etc in line with the resolutions of the Imo State House of Assembly and this committee is headed by Okey Anyanwu.

This committee would evaluate the recent appointments of Head of Service, permanent secretaries, Solicitor-General, accountants and heads of extra-ministerial departments.

Glo revamps evergreen theme song in new star-studded TVC to boost 5X recharge

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neofGlobacom’s theme songs that warmed the airwaves many years ago is back.

The song, “We got people talking”, is back in a new TVC featuring top class artistes in the Nigerian and Ghanaian music and film industries, such as, the Juju Maestro, King Sunny Ade, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, Afropop crooner, Davido and nine other stars.

The song has been repackaged to promote Globacom’s new offering, tagged 5 times voice recharge value.

As the name suggests, the package offers Globacom subscribers five times more value on every recharge to call all networks.

In essence, with every recharge, Glo subscriber receives 500 percent bonus. A subscriber who recharges his phone with N100 gets N500 value, while one who re-

charges with N200 receives N1000.

A recharge of N500 gives the subscriber a total of N2,500 value, while a recharge of N1,000 gives the subscriber N5,000. The offer is available on physical recharge via the USSD code *555* followed by the recharge pin.

The theme song which speaks of the empowerment Globacom has given the people to express themselves also feature Omawumi Megbele, Yemi Alade, Ghanaian actress Martha Ankomah and Ego Ogbaru.

The flick also features Flavour, Phyno, Tekno, Bez, Sani Danja and Van Vicker of Ghana.

“We got people talking” was first released by Globacom in 2010 to critical acclaim. The revamped edition has also captured the imagination of the young and old and is currently making waves on the internet.

Amstel Malta unveils TVC to celebrate, support Super Falcons

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n supporting the Nigerian female national team, the Super Falcons’ France 2019 World Cup in showcasing the power of women, Amstel Malta recently unveiled a new television commercial (TVC) tagged ‘We’ve Got Balls.’

Th e n e w c a m p a i g n , which seeks to highlight how women are living their best lives while excelling in their various fields no matter their profession or background, features Super Falcon players like Onome Ebi, Rita Chikwelu, Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene, Asisat Oshoala and Tochukwu Oluehi.

The TVC also feature other celebrities like Tiwa Savage, Dakore Egbuso– Aka nde, Tonto Dikeh, Ihuoma Linda Ejiofor–Suleiman and Cynthia Nwadiora (Cee-C) who were the lead acts in the Amstel Malta’s new campaign celebrating the Power of Women.

The campaign, which was produced and directed

by Kemi Adetiba had Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko, a leading contemporary Nigerian photographer, as the official photographer. With an all-female cast and crew, ‘We’ve Got Balls’ campaign is the first of its kind putting

Amstel Malta among top global brands that recognises the power of women and the herculean efforts they have to put in to come out tops.

Ngozi Nkwoji, the portfolio manager, non-alcoholic brands, NB Plc., said the release of the campaign is timely, as Amstel Malta hopes to cheer the Nigerian Super Falcons on to victory in France as they prepare for the Women’s World Cup. “We are solidly behind them and we celebrate them,” Ngozi said.

“Amstel Malta is reaching out through this campaign to the greatness in the heart of every Nigerian woman, young or old. Women have played pivotal roles in Nigeria’s history, and Amstel Malta issues a rallying call for women everywhere to rediscover their voice, be inspired and to find a new motivation and zest for living,” stated Ngozi.

Through an all-female led video ad campaign, Amstel Malta casts the spotlight on the remarkable role of women in society. The campaign showcases its stars being in command of their territories, unapologetically living their best lives and not being confined to what society makes room for.

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PhotoSplash

L-R: Tobi Adegboyega, senior pastor, SPAC Nation; Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, and Nims Obunge of Peace Alliance, when the two pastors paid the former president a courtesy visit in London.

L-R: Tomi Rotimi, CEO, Xclamations (Nigeria’s first high street store); Omodara Adeniran, SME brand manager, Segment Anchor; Tope Fajingbesi Balogun, founder/host of She-EO; Maisie Dunbar, International speaker and founder of the Maisie Dunbar Spa Global Experience in Washington DC; Adebimpe Ihekuna, head, banking products, products & marketing support, FirstBank and Tolu Jaiyeola, CEO of The Shred Station, Nigeria’s first mobile shredding company at the She-EO conference in Lagos recently.

L-R: Bitrus Nabasu, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST); Yvonne Odu-Thomas, director, Legal of the Ministry; Eucharia Oparah CEO, Nigeria Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), and Osahor Onyemeachi, representative of chief of defence staff, AVM, at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NILEST and Defence Research and Development Bureau (DRDB) in Abuja. NAN

L-R: Blessing Didia, vice chancellor, Rivers State University of Science and Technology; Boma Oruwari, deputy vice chancellor, and Isaac Obipi, dean of Student Affairs of the University, at the University’s 31st Convocation Lecture in Port Harcourt. NAN

L-R: Olumide Adediji, human resources director, Fan Milk; Titilayo Raji, head, wetlands and biodiversity, Lagos State Ministry for the Environment; Herve Barrere, MD, Fan Milk; Abiodun Bamgboye, permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry for the Environment, and Funmilayo Dawodu, head, tree planting and maintenance unit, LASPARK, at the launch of One Planet One Health and tree planting ceremony organised by Fan Milk in commemoration of World Environment Day.

L-R: Daniel Peter, representative of the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEVT); Rufus Egbeba, director-general, National Bio-Safety Management Agency (NBMA), and Imah Obioh, executive director, Institute for Physics and Ecology, at the 2019 World Environment Day celebration in Abuja. NAN

L-R: Cathy Amato, founder, Latiwa Development Foundation; Josephine Anenih, former Minister of Women Affairs; Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia-South Senatorial District, and Jesper Kamp, ambassador of Denmark to Nigeria, during a strategic meeting on women participation in governance and politics organized by European Centre for Electoral Support in Abuja. NAN

L-R: Mabel Evwierhoma, Book reviewer; Mabel Evwierhoma, provost of College of Medicine University Ibadan; Isowu Okediran, wife of the Author; Wale Okediran, author of Tales of a Troubadour; Rotimi Akeredolu, governor, Ondo State; Dotun Oyelade, representing governor of Oyo State, at the presentation of the book in Ibadan. NAN

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Inside Lagos Sanwo-Olu seeks harmonious relationship with lawmakers …says executive, legislature accountable to Lagosians Stories by JOSHUA BASSEY

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overnor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, says he expects to have an harmonious working relationship with the 40-member state House of Assembly over the next four years.

The assembly was inaugurated on Friday, with Mudashiru Obasa, (APC-Agege constituency I), again elected speaker of the ninth assembly. Obasa was speaker of the eighth assembly which ended its session on Thursday, June 6.

Proclaiming the ninth assembly, Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, said a harmonious working relationship with the house was necessary to take Lagos to greater heights.

“Some few days ago, I took the oath of office as the 15th governor of Lagos State. Today, I am in the hallowed chamber of the House of Assembly to inaugurate the 9th assembly in line with section 105 (3) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sanwo-Olu said he was particularly grateful to Lagosians who voted massively for APC, as evident in the composition comprising 100 per cent members of the great party.

“This is an eloquent testimony to the unwavering commitment of our people to progressive ideals which we have sustained since 1999.

“As we commence the legislative duties, it is important to remind ourselves that although we

Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor, Lagos State, congratulates Mudashiru Obasa, the newly elected speaker of the 9th assembly of the Lagos State House of Assembly, at the Legislative Chamber, Alausa, Ikeja on Friday.

belong to different arms of government, we are all accountable to the people of this great state who have repose a great deal of trust and confidence in our party.’’

According to him, the essence of the principle of separation of powers is to ensure checks and balances as well as to guarantee the independence of each arm of government.

He noted, however, this did not discourage partnership as long as it would serve the overall interest and good of the people of the state.

“Let me use this opportunity to assure you that the executive arm of government under my watch encourages harmonious

relationship among the three arms of government.

“Lagos State has always been a pace setter in this regard and we will continue to remain one.

He added that as progressive partners, both the executive and the legislative arms have a joint responsibility to raise the bar and move governance to the ‘next level.’

According to him, the journey of four years has started and now is the time for all to put their hands on the plough and activate the process of fulfilling promises made to the people.

The governor said that no single arm of the government could function efficiently without the

Insecurity: Southwest mulls summit JOSHUA BASSEY

W

orried about the growing spate of insecurity in the region, governors of the south west zone have decided to hold a regional security summit that will bring all critical stakeholders together to brainstorm on how to stem the tide.

Speaking after a special meeting at the Ondo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Friday, Gov-

ernor Rotimi Akeredolu said the DAWN Commission has been directed to coordinate the summit aimed at further promoting the developmental agenda of the South West region.

“There’s an urgent need to stem the growth of criminal activities and banditry in our region and as leaders, we must be proactive in our approach to addressing the issue,” Akeredolu said.

He stated further that a consulting firm, KPMG has been

appointed to review the tenure of the group managing director of Oodua Investment Company, which has all the southwest state governments as shareholders.

The meeting was attended by governors of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ondo, Rotimi Akeredolu; Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi; Oyo, Seyi Makinde and Osun, Gboyega Oyetola, where Akeredolu was adopted as chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum.

Six charged with theft of bags of rice from accident scene

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ix men who allegedly stole 56 bags of rice from an accident scene, on Friday appeared in an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos.

The suspects, Julius Oyetunde, 28; Baba Aliu, 32; Kasimobi Ezirike, 37; Uchenna Ejimofor, 26; Sunday Edward, 58; Ogbonna Chiemere, 24, are charged with conspiracy and theft.

Five of the defendants pleaded not guilty, while the fifth defendant, Edward pleaded guilty.

The prosecution counsel, Kehinde Olatunde, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on June 5, at 3.30 a.m., at Otto Cross Road, Ebute Meta.

Olatunde alleged that the defendants stole the 56 bags of rice valued at N840,000 belonging to the complainant, Kamaldeen Adegbeti.

He said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The chief magistrate, O.O. Olatunji, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N100,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.

She adjourned the case until July 1 for mention and for facts and sentencing of the fifth defendant.

support of the other arms.

He charged the house on oversights, speed and accuracy in the discharge of duties in order to impart greatly on the lives and wellbeing of the people and assured of his commitment to the full implementation of the 2019 budget, which he signed last week.

“In the coming days, weeks and months, I will be seeking your kind considerations for the quick passage of various bills that will be forwarded to you from time to time to get legal backing where necessary for the execution of some of our programmes,’’ he said.

Azeez Sanni, the clerk of the

house, who took the roll call of the 40 members, sought for nomination for the position of the speaker and the deputy speaker.

Following this, Moshood Oshun (APC-Lagos Mainland II) nominated Mudashiru Obasa and was supported by Oluyinka Ogundimu (APC-Agege II). And in the absence of any counter nomination, the clerk closed the nomination.

Similarly, Tunde Braimoh nominated Wasiu Eshinokun-Sanni (APC-Lagos Island I) for the position of the deputy speaker, seconded by Desmond Elliot (APCSurulere I).

Obasa, a fifth term lawmaker, was decorated and took the oath of office, following which he reeled out names of other principal officers of the house.

Sanai Agunbiade (APC-Ikorodu I) emerged the majority leader while Wahab Jimoh (APC-Apapa II) emerged the deputy majority leader.

Rotimi Abiru (APC-Somolu II) emerged as the chief whip while a second-term female lawmaker, Mosunmola Sangodara (APCSurulere II) emerged the deputy chief whip Obasa, who reiterated the need to push further special status for the state, tasked the executive arm on the need to ensure implementation of laws.

“We are ready to collaborate with other arms of government, especially the executive, for the success of this administration; our doors are open,’’ he said.

About 29 members of the house are returning for various terms while 11 are newly elected.

LUTH: Services in jeopardy as ARD on strike

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edical services at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, in Mushin, are currently in jeopardy, as Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), on Friday began an indefinite strike over alleged nonpayment of outstanding salaries and allowances.

The ARD is also demanding for the payment of outstanding arrears owed house officers, resident doctors and residency training fees.

Other demands include lack of resident doctors and house officers across all units, lightening up of the dark portions within the hospital environment.

Recall that the resident doctors and house officers had staged a peaceful protest on May 22 followed with two days warning strike on the same issues.

Kayode Makinde, president, LUTH ARD, said that the hospital management has refused to seek audience with the association since after the warning strike Makinde said ARD executives have no option than to embark on the indefinite strike, adding that members of the association would not resume work until all their demands were met.

According to him, 65 house officers are being owed between one and five months’ salaries.

“With the present numbers of house officers (177), it means one out of three house officers is currently being owed salaries. House officers are not enrolled on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform so what is the reason for the perennial delay in payment of their salaries?

“House officers are bonafide members of the association of resident doctors LUTH. “As at today, there are 255 resident doctors in LUTH; between 2014 and 2015, there were 547 resident doctors in LUTH. “So, 86 resident doctors are being owed one to three months salaries on the IPPIS platform.

Makinde said that no resident doctor in LUTH has been sponsored for examinations and update courses in five years, and LUTH is the only centre in Nigeria in this regard.

When contacted, Olufemi Fasanmade, the chairman, LUTH Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), told said that the present agitation started when the association demanded withdrawal of the administrative query given to some of its members.

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On Sanwo-Olu’s action-packed style of governance

Frank Aigbogun editor Zebulon Agomuo DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

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

F

or Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, it has been a dream start to his tenure in office. With the speed of light, Governor Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat have hit the ground running at the nation’s ‘Center of Excellence’.

The Governor’s First Day in office started with an interactive visit to major Ministries, Departments and Agencies at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja where he interacted freely with Civil Servants, majority of whom were amazed to see him in such a down to earth posture.

The governor was also at the Staff Bus Terminus where he Civil Servants to connect with the noble cause of bequeathing good governance to the people of the State, adding that everyone must contribute positively to the new drive to reform the society and take it to a higher pedestal.

A major highlight of the gov-

ernor’s visit to the terminus was his pledge to inject between 30 and 40 new busses into the fleet, a declaration that generated wild jubilation from the crowd. Exactly 3 days after, the governor made good his promise as he handed over the 35 new buses to the Civil Servants.

Still on his First Day in office, the governor signed his first Executive Order to address the issue of traffic control and management, fixing of potholes on the roads, sanitation as well as cleaning of drainages in the State.

While signing the Executive Order in the presence of Security Chiefs and Heads of relevant agencies, the governor stressed that the support and cooperation of military personnel cannot be overemphasized especially in the implementation of the Order.

Governor Sanwo-Olu also charged the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, to effectively carry out their functions by ensuring strict compliance with all extant traffic rules and regulations as prescribed in the enabling law, adding that LASTMA officers would, henceforth, be working till 11pm.

Governor Sanwo-Olu equally directed the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) to be more communicative and advisory on issues of bad vehicle wipers, spare tyres and non-provision of jacks in vehicles, among others.

On that same day, Sanwo-Olu visited Apapa where he assured that there are plans to find a lasting

solution to the gridlock in the area.

The governor stated that Apapa’s gridlock is multi-faceted, and would be tackled appropriately.

On his way back to Lagos House, Ikeja, the governor apprehended and directed that a driver who drove against traffic on Eko Bridge be prosecuted in line with the provisions of the Traffic Laws.

On his second day in office, Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the Olusosun dump site in furtherance of his pledge to improve the environmental situation as contained in the first Executive Order on Environmental and Sanitation Matters. He disclosed plan to expand the dumpsite to accommodate more waste, saying: “We want to expand the facility to 42 acres so that trucks can have a quicker turn -around time”.

On his fourth day in office, immediately after leaving the Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Ikeja, where a thanksgiving service was organized for him and his deputy, governor Sanwo-Olu headed to Badagry Expressway where he pledged that contractors would be back to commence work on the road by the end of June.

On Eid-el-Fitri day, when he hosted Muslim faithful in Lagos House, Ikeja, the governor disclosed that his government will soon release emergency hotlines to the public to call the Lagos State Public Works for immediate fixing of potholes and roads that need urgent repairs.

“Our Public Works Corporation would soon start fixing all the

potholes on our roads” he stated.

Going by his action packed one week in office, Lagosians are, no doubt, poised to witness renewed vibrancy and dynamism in the governance of the state. Certainly, this governor is prepared for the task of governing at the ‘Center of Excellence’.

Considering his pedigree in governance, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, no doubt, has all it takes to guide the State to the path of greatness.

The experience he has garnered both in the private sector Public Service should be sufficient to give him clear-cut direction and the needed analytical mind to steer the ship of the state afloat.

Mr. Sanwo-Olu is not new to the dynamics of governance in the state as he has worked in various capacities as Special Adviser, Deputy Governor’s office, Honourable Commissioner for Budget & Economic Planning, Honourable Commissioner for Commerce & Industry and Honourable Commissioner for Establishment & Training among others.

One thing that is surely going to work well for him would be his resolve not to allow the allure and authority his office wields transforms him into a different personality. In his inaugural speech, the governor promised never to change and become something else. He said: “The Babajide Sanwo-Olu you see today shall not change and try and become something I am not”.

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

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Perspective NIMASA: Of new cabotage compliance regime and 5-year waiver cessation Anthony Andem

I

t was John Sununu who said the constant need for special waiver was symptomatic of a poorly written public policy. It is a signal that the cost of compliance is unreasonably high, the benefits are hard to measure, and either legislators or regulators have failed to do their work.

The Nigerian maritime sector is a growing and developing sector, with promising opportunities. And administrators who must plot the affairs and future of this important sector are challenged to find and adopt strategies that are also promising because change is occurring at an accelerated rate in all sectors, all over the world.

Yesterday is gone, today we are in, and tomorrow we do not know, thus, continuing today’s strategies and initiatives is risky, so is turning to new ones.

Therefore, moving along the change trend in the country and the maritime sector of the world economy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), under the leadership of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has decided to review the country’s Cabotage Act in the overall interest of the nation. This is in line with Nigeria’s local content legislations and the vision that drove the introduction of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).

Within the context of the Cabotage Act is the framework, otherwise known as the four pillars, which are that: Cabotage vessels must be whollyowned by Nigerians; they must be registered in Nigeria; must be crewed by Nigerians; and must be built in Nigeria. It was to facilitate these lofty ideals that concept of waivers was introduced, to cater for the maritime capacity deficiencies in Nigeria, but with Nigerian seafarers enjoying the right of first refusal.

Waivers, thus, became a routine practice by NIMASA to voluntarily and intentionally relax some legal advantages, claims, requirements or rights over foreign vessels carrying out Cabotage businesses within Nigeria’s territorial waters.

However, the regime had a caveat that demanded the engagement of Nigerian seafarers in all associated pillars of Cabotage with the aim of aiding the growth of the country’s maritime capacity, through placement of qualified Nigerian seafarers in the mandatory seatime training with Cabotage vessels.

It was the hope that the Nigerian seafarers, upon engagement in the sea-time training with Cabotage vessels, would be equipped with the necessary maritime skills needed to bridge the gap of maritime capacity deficiencies within one year of their internship.

With this, they could take over manning of such vessels. This

was rarely achieved prior to the advent of Dakuku.

Dakuku, on assumption of office as Director General of NIMASA, inherited a number of initiatives, programmes and policies geared towards ensuring the growth and development of the sector through optimal harnessing of the country’s rich maritime resources.

One of such initiatives was the Cabotage waiver regime.

Though waivers regime had its benefits, the fact remained that Nigeria and Nigerians were short-changed by foreigners who became the dominant force in the lucrative maritime space of Nigeria, particularly in the area of manning. This saw a large number of beneficiaries of the NIMASA NSDP and other sponsored maritime studies graduates struggling to have the mandatory sea-time training to qualify them as maritime professionals comparable with their international counterparts.

However, the leadership of NIMASA under Dakuku is changing the narrative. It is engaging in formulation of a number of policies with associated

strategies for implementation, one of which is the recently announced “NIMASA Cabotage Compliance Strategy (NCCS)”.

This is aimed at encouraging indigenous participation in shipping, particularly with regard to manning, which is the core of Cabotage waivers. It is instructive to reiterate that NCCS is not targeted at driving away foreigners, but to encourage full participation of Nigerians in the manning element of the Cabotage pillars.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, “Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria increased to 25.20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 25 per cent in the third quarter of 2016. Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria averaged 19.20 per cent from 2014 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 25.20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a record low of 11.70 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014.”

The periods of these statistics fall within the Cabotage waiver regime, which means that contributions of the maritime sector also impacted unemployment in the country.

...Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria increased to 25.20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 25 per cent in the third quarter of 2016.

Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria averaged 19.20 per cent from 2014 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 25.20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a record low of 11.70 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Therefore, NIMASA’s policy to temporarily suspend Cabotage waivers is purely in the national interest, as the country hopes for a huge multiplier effect. With this strategic posture, the scourge of unemployment would be drastically reduced because the jobs which were hitherto done by foreigners would be taken by Nigerians, hence complementing the Federal Government’s employment generation drive.

It is believed that with NCCS, along other government directives and programmes, like the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Nigeria would see a number of interventions, such as port reforms, development of inland water transportation, and encouragement of indigenous involvement in maritime business. These would in turn create jobs and reduce unemployment in Nigeria.

As an agency of government charged with the responsibility of ensuring effective regulation of the Nigerian maritime space, it is expedient that this policy be put in place to better position Nigeria and the Agency, in particular, to achieve its vision and mission to enhance maritime capacity in line with the best global practices towards Nigeria’s economic development.

Manning is a core element or pillar of the Cabotage Act because every other pillar revolves around human resources. Without human input, building, flagging and ownership would be impossible. So sound policies on manning are needed for the country’s maritime breakthrough.

This may seem to be a herculean move, but from all indications, NIMASA, under the

leadership of Dakuku, is committed and ready to ensure full enforcement of this new policy, notwithstanding the potential pressure and resistance the International Oil companies (IOCs), who were the major beneficiaries of the waiver regime, are likely to put.

The readiness of the Agency to ensure a holistic implementation of NCCS is evident in the intervention vessels, which NIMASA is prepared to commission as part of the measures put in place not only to fight piracy and other maritime crimes, but also to complement the implementation efforts of the new waiver regime and resistance management.

It would be recalled that NIMASA recently issued a marine notice of temporary suspension of the issuance of waivers on manning requirement under the Cabotage Act and mandated all Cabotage Officers to ensure strict compliance with the new directive. The aim of the NIMASA’s new waiver regime is to ensure a full takeover of the manning aspect of Cabotage vessels operating within the maritime territorial limit of Nigeria by qualified Nigerians who are currently not being given opportunities by foreigners.

This is a step in the right direction and marks a watershed in the history of the Agency. As Nigerians await the benefits of this new Cabotage regime, it is instructive to note that the cooperation of all stakeholders is needed to optimise the expected gains. On its part, NIMASA is poised to transform and position the nation’s maritime sector to be a major player in the world’s maritime community.

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Politics Can Oshiomhole survive his many battles?

James Kwen, Abuja

O

ne difficult question that appears to lack a definite answer within the All Progressives Congress (APC) circles is whether Adams Oshiomhole, the party’s national chairman can survive his many battles.

Oshiomhole’s battles had begun last year when he deviated from the norm and introduced the direct method in which all registered party members participate for conducting primaries ahead of the just concluded general election unlike the indirect method where only selected delegates vote.

Though some states insisted and adopted the indirect method, there were crises as other factions used the direct approach leading to parallel primaries that has engendered strife in the party before and after the elections.

The direct primaries pitched many governors, ministers and senators who were stripped of powers of selecting delegates that could do their biddings via indirect primary.

Those most affected were then Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State who lost a second term ticket; Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, whose candidate could not scale through the primaries; Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, whose governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu lost primary election, Abduraziz Yari of Zamafara State whose Senatorial primary and his candidates for other elections were rejected by the Independent National Electoral (INEC) and their victories at the general elections recently overturned by the Supreme Court.

Another scenario was the Rivers State primary elections in which the Rotimi Amaechi, a former minister of Transportation-led faction and that of the Magnus Abe, then senator for Rivers South East, conducted parallel primaries, a development that denied APC in the state the opportunity to field candidates for the 2019 general election.

Also, Oshiomhole was fingered out for allegedly being behind the screening out of Adebayo Shitu, former minister of Communications from the Oyo governorship primary election on account of not participating in the mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Aisha Alhassan, then minister of Women Affairs from the Taraba gubernatorial primary election on the ground of divided party loyalty.

There were also allegations that the APC National Chairman had collected bribes to favour certain candidates in the primary elections, a factor responsible for his alleged arrest by the Department of State Services last year.

Oshiomhole literally triumphed over the pre- election battles but while he was obviously consolidating on his political conquest, there came a judicial thunder strike on the APC when the Supreme Court ruled that all the votes won by APC candidates in Zamfara State were useless, as the party did not conduct valid primaries as required by law and ordered that the party with next highest votes cast should be returned elected.

Consequently, the then APC Governorelect in Zamfara, Mukhtar Idris, Senator-elect, Governor Yari who was already making moves to become Deputy Senate President in the 9th Assembly, among other National and State Assembly candidates were thrown into the situation of the biblical Moses who

Adams Oshiomhole

actually saw the land of Canaan but could not enter.

As another straw that would break the Carmel’s back, the Zamfara tsunami has exposed Oshiomhole to a fresh political battle first declared by his second-in-command, Lawal Shuaibu, APC deputy national chairman (North), who demanded for nothing less than Oshiomhole’s resignation.

Shuaibu, in a letter dated May 27th, 2019 addressed to the Chairman, noted that in advanced democracies, people who fail to add value or build over and above what they met on assumption of duty show some civilised examples and “they honourably resign”.

He said: “It is my honest opinion that your ability to ensure this party flourishes is deficient as you lack the necessary composure and you also don’t possess the capabilities and the requisite experience to run a political party.

“I write this letter to you with a very deep (sic) heart and high sense of responsibility. I write this letter thinking because I am a critical stakeholder in the APC project.

“I write this letter with my hands shaking, arising from the realising of my involvement in a project that is currently seen as failing, even before achieving the ambition of its founding fathers. I never found myself in any failed project.”

According to Shuaibu, “In advanced democracies, people who fail to add value or build over and above what they met on assumption of duty show some civilised examples, they honourably bow out.

“In that connection, therefore, I want to advise you to take the path of honour, to step aside and allow the party to embark on the onerous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation in those states it was weakened by the effect of the last primary election exercises.

“Or even the task of recreating the party where it is on the path of extinction, arising from the loss of a sitting APC Government, for example in Zamfara State, where you directly, personally created the problem leading to the painful complete loss of APC’s electoral fortunes.”

“From up to down, all these are uncontestable facts. You cannot exonerate yourself from what happened to APC (in) Zamfara State, thereby destroying the hopes and aspirations of 534,541 APC members and supporters,” he said.

Shittu, the immediate past Communications minister had swiftly backed the moves for Oshiomhole’s removal, as according to him, “Oshiomhole’s exit is necessary to avoid the APC going down in 2023”.

He noted that, “this is somebody who met the party having 26 states. By the time he (was through) with shenanigans and destruction, the party is left with barely 20 states or so

It is my honest opinion that your ability to ensure this party flourishes is deficient as you lack the necessary composure and you also don’t possess the capabilities and the requisite experience to run a political party

now. My fear is that if he is not removed before 2023, my fear is that there is a possibility of APC going down.”

Similarly, a group known as APC World Think Tank Committee, WATTAC has risen in support of the calls for the resignation of Oshiomhole, S.N Nzeh, WATTAC chairman, lending his voice to call for the APC Chairman’s resignation, he said: “Thanks Mr. Oshiomhole, you can now resign. One way to understand any period of history is to see how different historians have written about it”.

Nzeh noted that “remarkably, under Oshiomhole’s watch the political juggernauts of our great party in all corners of the country decamped to other political parties.

“Party conflicts in various states were not equitably and professionally handled in line with the procedure for the hearing and determination of complaints or allegations under Section 21(B) of the APC constitution (as amended 2018). These unsettled scores gave rise to parallel primaries in Imo State, Zamfara and Rivers State respectively.

“When we turn to APC political scene, the first thing we all should emphasis is the continuity of the party now and after 2023. In order to avoid to be a party of ramshackle, inefficiency and munitions of trouble, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole should quietly resign.”

Why Oyegun struck Despite the hue and cry against Oshiomhole’s alleged balkanisation of the APC, his predecessor, John Odigie-Oyegun, who led the party to the resounding victory in its first electoral outing in 2015, has always maintained a dignified silence even as the house he suffered to build is being pulled down, as it were.

But Oyegun was not indefinite as he was rattled by an allegation from chairmen of the

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Politics Suspension of Daar Communication’s operating licence: Matters arising?

T Daniel Obi

John Odigie-Oyegun

Lawal Shuaibu

party in his region of laying a poor foundation. A forum of South-south APC chairmen including Amos Lalabunafa (Bayelsa State), Ini Okopido (Akwa Ibom State), John Ochalla (Cross River State), Ojukaye Amachree (Rivers State), Aslem Ojezua (Edo State) and Jones Erue (Delta State) had dragged him (Oyegun) into the matter.

The state chairmen, who disagreed with Shuaibu’s claims that the actions of Oshiomhole were responsible for multiple court cases bedevilling the various state chapters of the party, said the ex-APC leader should be blamed for the party’s woes.

“It was the landmines created by his predecessor (John Odigie-Oyegun) who was bent on destroying the party before departing that fueled the unfortunate situation and wondered why Shuaibu was just raising the issues,” they said.

Oyegun would have none of such namecalling. He fired back at Oshiomhole, whom he said lacked the capacity and temperament to lead a ruling party.

Ray Morphy, a public affairs adviser to the former APC National Chairman said one of Oshiomhole’s mistakes was the comment on “booby trap” and accused him of acting contrary to the decision taken by the APC’s NWC. “Oshiomhole failed because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party,” Odigie-Oyegun was quoted as saying.

He further said that “He (Oshiomhole) engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members. Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed, Oshiomhole is degrading and demarketing the party. Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his ‘agbero’ style of engagement”, he said.

important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stands for,” Issa-Onilu said.

“The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP. We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations.

“It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules”, he stated.

Oshiomhole/APC launch verbal missile on Oyegun Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC National Publicity Secretary apparently acting on the directives of the National Chairman said the immediatepast National Working Committee led by John Odigie-Oyegun as National Chairman lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules.

He alleged that this resulted in widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014.

“Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office. The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more

APC NWC denies Shuaibu Issa- Onilu said Lawal Shuaibu assertions in the letter to the National Chairman portrayed the NWC as a bunch of cowards looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame following undesired results in his home Zamfara State.

“When he [Senator Lawal Shuaib] alleged that the National Chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this.

“The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes is important qualities of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person,” he said.

According to Issa-Onilu, “Since the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC came to office, we have been doing our best to institutionalise the best ideals of progressive politics. We understand that we must bring everyone under the fold of the party, where all of us would be subject to our party’s rules and conventions.

We understand that impunity can provide temporary advantage and even successes.

But ultimately, those successes would be short-lived.

Observers say that it is too early to say that Oshiomhole would cave in to pressure and bow out. They however, converged on the view that the crisis rocking the APC could be devastating if it is allowed to fester.

“Anybody who tells you that all is well with the ruling APC is the greatest liar of the 21st Century. Their future really depends on how ferocious they attack the bug eating deep into their root. Oshiomhole surely needs to drop some negative mannerism if he must succeed as the national chairman of the party, going forward,” an analyst, who craved anonymity, said.

he National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) last Thursday suspended the operating licence of the African Independent Television, AIT and Ray Power FM stations owned by Daar Communications Limited.

The action was taken under the watch of President of Buhari, who in 2015 after being sworn in as president declared that he has converted into a democrat from his character and attitude as a military head of state about 34 years ago when he restricted press freedom under Decree 4, banned political meetings, among others.

Buhari as head of state in 1984 had promulgated Decree 4 which was regarded as law against press freedom.

Section One of the controversial Decree No. 4; entitled, ‘The Protection Against False Accusations Decree No.4, 1984 states “Any person who publishes in any form, whether written or otherwise, any message, rumour, report or statement … which is false in any material particular or which brings or is calculated to bring the Federal Military Government or the Government of a state or public officer to ridicule or disrepute, shall be guilty of an offense under this Decree”.

The obnoxious law had the provision that offending journalists will be tried by open military tribunal, whose ruling would not be appealed in any court. It would be recalled that Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of The Guardian Newspapers were sentenced under the Decree.

In a similar fashion, while announcing the suspension of the licence of Daar Communications stations, the NBC Director-General, Modibbo Kawu, said the shutdown was over infractions committed by the media houses including their inability to pay their licence renewal fees and the airing of a Presidential election documentary while the matter was still before a tribunal, among others.

“The commission’s monitoring reports on AIT/Raypower indicate the use of divisive comments accredited to the segment of Kakaaki, tagged, Kakaaki Social, where inciting comments like ‘Nigeria is cursed, we declare independent state of Niger Delta,’ ‘Nigeria irritates me,’ ‘this country is gradually Islamising,’ and other similar slogans are used without editorial control in breach of the broadcast code.”

Though Daar Communications last Friday obtained an injunction from Abuja High Court ordering the immediate reopening of the stations but stakeholders have since kicked against the NBC order on AIT. The first to protest is the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Christopher Isiguzo, who said in a report that the shutdown “simply signposts the return to the dark days. The NUJ will not accept any attempt by anybody, no matter how highly or lowly placed, to arm-twist or gag the media from freely expressing itself.”

In the same vein, the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) described the NBC action as shocking and repressive. President of the guild, Funke Egbemode, said the action of the NBC and the Federal Government was unbelievable.

“This action is unbelievable. Why would government do this in a democracy? This action is unacceptable and will not stand,” she said.

In his reaction, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar said, “The legislature has been challenged. The judiciary has been tackled. If we stand by as the press

loses its independence, there will be little to differentiate us from a dictatorship. This should not happen.”

Chieftain of PDP Femi Fani-Kayode Fani-Kayode, on his part, warned that the worst had yet to come under the present administration.

Three media sector non-governmental organiSations have also condemned the suspension, describing the Commission’s action as unwarranted, unjust, and a violation of the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.

In their joint statement in Lagos signed Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Lanre Arogundade, Director of the International Press Centre (IPC); and Richard Akinnola, Director of the Media Law Centre (MLC), the organisations accused the NBC of constituting itself into the accuser of Daar Communications, the prosecutor and the judge, in violation of the rules of natural justice and the right to fair hearing.

Citing the statements credited to Daar Communications stations where it was said that inciting comments were said to be made, the media NGOs disagreed, arguing that the content referred to by the NBC does not violate any legitimate international professional broadcast media standard as the comments are not hate speeches and are not inciting.

They stressed that it is not the role of a broadcast regulator to protect a government from scrutiny or criticism, adding that by seeking to shield the government from embarrassment contrary to acceptable

C o mm e n t standards of media regulation, the NBC had become too partisan, thereby exacerbating its obvious lack of independence, and concerned only with ingratiating itself with the political party in power.

The media NGOs expressed concern that the NBC as currently constituted is obviously being held hostage by the government with its immediate past Chief Executive Officer and the current DirectorGeneral both facing trial on charges of corruption under this same government, adding “under these circumstances, it is difficult to see how the Commission can perform its functions independently, fearlessly and with credibility when it continues to operate under such a cloud.”

They argued that the role of the media is to serve as the marketplace of ideas with a clear responsibility under Section 22 of the Constitution to hold the government accountable to the people and provide the government with unvarnished feedback from members of the public who rely on the media to express their views on all issues relating to the management of their affairs.

They described the NBC’s action as an attempt to muzzle the media and unduly restrict freedom of expression, adding that it is unacceptable for the Commission to attempt to punish a media organisation for providing feedback to the government from members of the public by airing opinions which though potentially embarrassing to the government, were not illegal or prohibited under any law.

The organisations contended that even if the NBC was correct in its claim that the airing of certain content in a single programme on AIT was wrong, that could not justify the closing down of the entire station and other sister radio stations which had not been accused of any wrongdoing.

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Politics I will not be the speaker of APC; I will be the speaker of the House - Dyegh John Dyegh who holds a doctorate degree in Economic History represents Gboko/Tarka federal constituency of Benue State and is aspiring for the position of speaker of the 9th House of Representatives. In this interview with some journalists in Abuja, the third-term lawmaker speaks on his ambition and why the north central should produce the speaker. JAMES KWEN brings the excerpts: Why did you throw yourself into the ring to contest for the office of speaker? How prepared are you for this position? believe that I have the requisite experience and competence to lead the 9th House of Representatives having spent eight years in the Green Chamber. I am mentally, physically and psychologically prepared and it is my conviction that my colleagues who know my abilities and capabilities would like to have a speaker like me. Remember, I am coming in for third term and in the legislature, the longer you stay, the more experienced and efficient you become. So, I am coming into the race with a rich wealth of legislative experience that will benefit Nigerians. Again, my decision to contest for speaker is also a response to the clarion call by my Constituents, Honourable colleagues in the House across party lines, party faithful and other stakeholders in the North Central geopolitical zone and Nigeria in general, for me to offer myself for this office. And like I said, when I was making my declaration, I am ready to offer my time and talents, and make sacrifices for the good of every Nigerian. Also, my decision to join this race is based on my unyielding faith in a united and prosperous Nigeria.

I

So, what exactly are you bringing to the table should you be voted as speaker?

We intend to ensure enhanced capacity of Legislators and Legislative support services through training and retraining to enable the 9th National Assembly pass National Priority Laws in critical sectors such as Security, Employment and Productivity, Power and Agriculture. Thirdly, we will deepen oversight processes of the National Assembly to ensure value for money and project performance by MDAs in compliance with the Appropriations Act. My administration will also instill openness in the financial operations of the National Assembly to guarantee accountability, transparency and responsiveness.

Most importantly, we intend to initiate Legislative measures and Laws that will promote and engender national unity, providing equal opportunities to all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, political, social and religious affiliations; and work with Legislators in a multi-partisan manner for the stability of the House and Nigeria at large. We will also work round the clock to create effective collaboration with NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Groups and Development Partners for active participation of all sectors of the Society in the Law making and Legislative processes. Then, we will sustain and deepen independence of the

John Dyegh

National Assembly and ensure harmonious interdependent working relationship with the Executive arm of Government without undermining the principles of Separation of Powers.

Your number one agenda is to seek for the amendment of the Constitution to prolong the tenure of legislators from four to six years. How feasible is this?

It is not a personal or partisan stand.

It is a proposal that when implemented will benefit Nigerians; it is an idea that will deepen and strengthen our democracy. Don’t forget that the legislature is the only arm of government that has suffered so much interruption and legislative knowledge is garnered over time.

But with what we have today, not much of the institutional knowledge is there because of the high turnover of legislators.

Lawmakers are elected for four years and most of them are not return; and then we have a new set, so a lot of experienced lawmakers are thrown out. If you look at the judiciary, judges spend many years on the bench and this gives them enough experience to deliver quality judgments.

Again, look at the executive; for example the civil service. Civil servants are allowed to grow on the job and by the time they get to the position of directors or permanent secretaries, they become authorities in their fields. This is adding value to their job. But when a lawmaker comes in and spends only four years and leaves, Nigeria loses her investment in the person.

So, straight six year tenure can help to improve our legislators.

You said you are 100 percent loyal to the party, but why did you join the race for speaker less than 24 hours after the APC publicly zoned the position to south west and even endorsed Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila?

My loyalty to the party is not in doubt. I did the party’s bidding in 2015, in spite of the odds against us then. I worked for Gbajabiamila and supported him fully. But this time around, we are giving the party an option. We are giving members of the Green Chamber an option to look at fair play. We are insisting that there must be fair play in Nigeria. We are insisting there must be fair play and justice in the Green Chamber. We have no quarrel with that.

My loyalty to the party is 100 per cent.

When I was doing the party’s bidding in 2015, everybody said I should go the other way, I said no let me do the party’s bidding.

I am a party man. So, if I am giving the party an option today, they should also look at what I did for the party yesterday.

What is your relationship with Speaker Yakubu Dogara?

The Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara is our leader in the House of Representatives even though he is one amongst equals. I have nothing against him. It is true that I worked against him in 2015, but the moment he was elected speaker, we accepted him and we do not have any problem. We relate very well. That is politics; the fact that I did not vote for him in 2015 does not make us enemies.

There are insinuations that you belong to

a coalition of lawmakers led by Speaker Dogara, which is looking for a north central candidate for speaker, and you are being favoured by the group. How true is this?

I will be happy if this is true. But I want people to know that when you are canvassing for votes, you do not restrict your campaign to a particular group or political party. We are 360 in the House and each of us has a vote; but we are from different political parties. So, being an APC member should not make me to limit my campaign to only APC members I must seek for votes from my colleagues in APGA, Labour Party, SDP, PDP, AA, APM, APC and indeed from all parties. In fact, the coordinator of my campaign in Benue is a Labour Party lawmaker. He is not even an APC member. I am the only APC lawmaker from Benue state in the House, so if I say I will go only for APC members, it means I will lose all lose votes from my own state.

You have to understand that if I become speaker by the grace of God, I will not be the speaker of APC, I will be the speaker of the House of the Nigerian people and that is the House of Representatives. So, we have to get this right in our minds. I don’t think there is any of us contesting for speaker that would not seek for votes across party lines. Even in the general elections, it was not only APC members that voted for me to return to the House for the third time. The votes came from party members and non-party members.

People from different walks of life voted for me. I know as a fact that PDP and SDP members voted for; It is a fact that Labour Party and APGA members voted for me; PRP members voted for me, ADC members voted for me and so and so forth. So, don’t expect me to be a divisive speaker; I will be a speaker that will unite the House to be able to pass quality laws that would stand the test of time and improve the lot of our constituents.

How do you intend to resolve the perennial unhealthy fight between the legislature and the executive?

Everybody is concerned about the constant misunderstanding between the legislature and executive arm of government.

I believe there is no harm in disagreeing in order to agree; but when it degenerates to a level that the Nigerian people are left to suffer, it does not augur well for us as a nation. We intend to run a responsible House that will be anchored on the principles of separation of powers and check and balances. We will work for Nigerians and Nigeria. Whatever decision we would take will be in the interest of the nation.

We will not allow our personal biases or interest to override national interest.

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Politics Interrogating the 8th Assembly legislative agenda of Representatives core function of the Legislature which is to make law, the 8th Assembly pursued its representational role as elected representative of the people to speak for the people of Nigeria, passed many resolutions covering all areas of our national life that concerned the people from insecurity to terrorist attacks, murder, kidnapping, killings, education, health, Nigeria in Diaspora, unemployment, youth, women, etc.

“In terms of oversight responsibility of the House, we investigated many of the Ministries to expose corruption in line with section 58 of the constitution. It is the deliberations of the House on members motion that get the police and other government agencies to embark on using local governments as a basis for recruitment using Federal Character principles”.

James Kwen, Abuja

T

he 8th House of Representatives (2015– 2019) which came to close Thursday, took off with a legislative agenda against a background of huge expectations from Nigerians about the way government business is conducted.

To address these expectations, the House set to implement a Legislative Agenda that will position it to deliver legislation in aid of development and reforms aimed at improving conditions of living in Nigeria.

As clearly spelt out at the beginning by the Speaker of the 8th Assembly, the agenda outlines steps and prioritises legislative actions required to achieve set goals and objectives.

“This Legislative Agenda takes lessons from the experiences of the 7th House of Representatives and seeks to consolidate the gains and achievements thereof.

The House recognises that there remains widespread citizens distrust of public institutions and government generally. It is also recognised that there is a lot of public misconception and misperception about the functions and contributions of the legislature to Nigeria’s overall socioeconomic and political development. Yet, the legislature’s contributions to Nigeria’s democracy remain critical and important.

“The 8th House of Representatives will assert its role in providing leadership in the areas of accountable and transparent government, citizens engagement, as well as constituency representation. The House of Representatives will collaborate with its counterpart in the Senate and other arms of government to legislate for the common good of the Nigerian people.

“Our legislative activities will cover critical spheres of life in Nigeria. The House will legislate to achieve reforms in Nigeria’s national economy and development, tackle poverty, unemployment, confront the scourge of corruption, terrorism and security challenges in the country.

“The House will also give priority to green legislations to address environmental challenges such as desertification, erosion and pollution. The 8th House of Representatives will also work assiduously to improve the governance process in Nigeria by legislating to cut the cost of running government, reduce wastage and tackle National Revenue leakages.

“The House commits to playing its part in rescuing Nigeria from the clutches of hunger, poverty, disease, social, economic, political and infrastructural quagmire. The 8th House of Representatives, as a Peoples’ Parliament, will be

Yakubu Dogara

sensitive to public demands for transparency and accountability not just by the House of Representatives but also by government at all levels.

“Our legislative actions would therefore seek to build public confidence and trust and be responsive to citizens’ questions regarding the conduct of legislative business. The House will work for public good and serve as the institution that defends the rights of the people to an accountable and transparent government.

“The House’s relationship with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will be that of partnership and collaboration to deliver on citizens’ expectations of the legislature”.

At the close of legislative agenda, the House said it has passed 382 out of 1643 bills presented in the life span of the 8th Assembly; resolved 1413 out of the 1588 motions sponsored and considered 205 out of the 1192 petitions received.

Giving account of its legislative business, Edward Pwajok, chairman Rules and Business Committee of House stated that, “in the first session, 685 bills were introduced and 68 were passed.”

“In the second session, 379 bills were introduced and 41 were passed. In the third session, 446 bills were introduced and 94 were passed. In the fourth session, 143 bills were introduced and 63 were passed. The total I repeat, 1643 bills that we presented and 352 were passed.

“For motions, 1413 were resolved, 1137 were referred to various committees, 17 were withdrawn and 1 was deferred leaving a total of 1588. The House received and lay on the table, 1192 petitions, lay and yet to be consider 22, considered on the floor of the House 205, and rejected 2. 108 of the bills came from the Senate, 1465 of the bills were private

members bills”.

On other areas of achievement of the House during the period under review, he said, “This 8th Assembly made history by altering the constitution. This Assembly successfully alters many sections of the constitution, including giving the State Legislature and Judiciary financial autonomy.

“We also lower the age limit for those contesting in the not too young to run bill, which opened up the space for our younger citizens to offer themselves to be voted for offices.

“We also amended the constitution so that if there is any vacancy or something happen to Mr. President, the Vice President will not only step in but retain power and the same thing too for governors.

“It is through this Assembly that private members bill changed democracy day from May 29 to June 12. It is this Assembly that increased the minimum wage to N30, 000 as against the 27, 000 proposed by the executive.

“There are many progressive bills passed which are awaiting assent. There is one to remove age discrimination because we have earlier declared state of emergency on unemployment so that our employed youths and graduates will receive favourable attention by the public service.

“Abolition of first degrees and HND dichotomy, granting married women in the public service options of citizenship, either citizenship of their father or husbands, repel and enactment of new company and allied company act which has not been amended since 1990 to ease doing business in Nigeria.

“Prohibition of estimated billing by electricity distribution companies, establishment of the North East Development Commission and also we have passed the South East Development Commission bill, “Apart from bills which is the

Agenda for the 9th Assembly While the 8th Assembly (Reps) could be said to have done its best though not necessarily to the satisfaction of many Nigerians, the 9th Assembly which takes off Tuesday is expected to pursue agendas that would further entrench democracy and development in Nigeria.

Stakeholders in democratic governance have suggested a revisit of the unsigned Electoral Act amendment bill, bills that will boost economic prosperity and strengthen institutions as the main legislative agenda.

According to the stakeholders, poor electoral system, economic uncertainties and weak institutions are the bane of Nigeria’s social, political and economic advancement.

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) told members-elect to start work early and conclude work on the electoral framework in good time, well ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Yakubu urged them to come up with a review of the electoral law that would assist the commission to begin work on post-2019 elections review and road map to 2023 as the success of Nigeria’s elections depends on the electoral legal framework.

“As a process governed by law, the success of elections in Nigeria depends, to a large extent, on the electoral legal framework and most importantly in ensuring adherence to the law.

“The tendency to delay electoral reforms, particularly the review of electoral framework until it is too close to the elections, leaves the commission with little time to develop processes, including regulations and guidelines, make required consultations with stakeholders, embark on effective voter education, including sensitisation, train staff and organise deployment for the elections.

Similarly, Idayat Hassan, coordinator, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) called on the incoming 9th Assembly to as a matter of urgency work on electoral reforms and avoid been rubber stamp in the guise of harmonious executive legislative relationship.

“The most important agenda should be electoral reform from day one. The Executive must not just pursue harmonious relationship now that she has majority in government but most also send executive bills to the NASS for passage,” she suggested.

Joseph Otteh, executive director, Access to Justice, affirmed that amendment of the Electoral should be focus of legislative agenda by the 9th Assembly to curtail the electoral malpractices.

“There are several areas where the National Assembly can help improve governance, beginning from reviewing the process that brought many of them in as lawmakers. That could be a good point of departure. If we do not strengthen the integrity of our electoral system, we will see an escalated level of abuse of the system in future elections,” Otteh said.

According to him, “Nigeria needs new electoral laws that will provide not just improved balloting procedures, but nondiscriminatory and mandatory enforcement of criminal laws governing the conduct of elections and tampering with election results.

We should ensure that those who participate in perverting the electoral system must be kept away from the system for a very, very long time as a deterrent.”

Jude Uzoma, coordinator, Foundation for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth, wants the 9th National Assembly to be very committed and look at public outcry with a view to ending poverty, poor education, lack of adequate water supply, accommodation and many other issues.

Uzoma also advocated reworking of the Electoral Act amendment bill, making laws that will strengthen anti graft agencies and diversify the economy.

“I look forward to the National Assembly passing laws, not just passing laws and making sure the existing laws become functional.

Particularly when we talk about the Electoral Act that the President refused to assent to in the last National Assembly, you will realise that it is not just because the President feel entrapped by the Electoral Act,” he said.

“It was probably because certain clauses were politically inclined and to favour some interests. So, in the 9th National Assembly we don’t need all that, in as much as we want the President to assent to the Electoral Act, there must be amendments,” he further said.

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Politics Nigerians are too complacent towards governance - Egberongbe Mufutau Egberongbe, newly elected member of the House of Representatives representing Apapa Federal constituency, also a two-term member of the Lagos State House of Assembly since 2011. In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, reveals his plans to tackle the Apapa traffic logjam. He also spoke on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, among other issues. Excerpts: The opposition parties have alleged that the February election for the House of Representatives that you won was rigged; how would you react to the allegation? ell, I am not aware of that; the election that brought me into office to the best of my knowledge was credible. I cannot be in so many places at the same time but for Apapa and my area, the election was free and fair. Look at the voting pattern for the President and National Assembly election; you would see that the election was not premeditated for it to go otherwise. But if you look at the Governorship and House of Assembly elections you would see that the designs were very different; it speaks a lot about the personality of President Buhari and the other candidates. So, if the election was rigged, the voting pattern and the election scores would have been different. You can see that the pattern in all the elections was the same, the APC swept the state.

W

chamber and observe what the Assembly is doing. We invite them when a law is being proposed and a public hearing is about to hold, how many of them show up? Even during election people would not come out to vote, the media have a role to play; it is not true that our actions are being premeditated.

What are we talking about, even as a businessman the policies of the state still drive your business; so, you can not shy away from governance.

The PDP said they would have done better, but for the threat to non-indigenes in the state by the APC; do you think they have no point there?

The opposition party had their way in some local government areas in Lagos State, in Surulere the PDP won Assembly seat and in Amuwo Odofin, Ogene Karo also won House of Representatives seat back; is it not true? These people are non-indigenes; these are mere excuses. If PDP can win election in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, they can win anywhere in the state if they are popular. If Rita could give the APC candidate that won in Ajeromi Ifelodun a close race, that speaks volume; otherwise how could this candidate win their constituency?

Some Lagosians were wondering why Ambode refused to sign Lagos 2019 Budget before leaving office, rather SanwoOlu signed it; does it mean Ambode was instructed not to sign?

I would not want to speak for the outgoing government; but what I can say is that government itself is a continuum; the individual just represents the government, and wherever Ambode stopped the new administration will start. Governance is a continuum, and you can even remember that the former governor had said that all commissioners should pull out of government and handover in their respective ministries about three weeks to the expiration of the administration tenure, so how can they function? Who would drive the budget?

What I know is that the most important thing is, let have the light, roads and all the basic infrastructures and good environment.

I don’t know the logic by signing a budget just days to your departure, what we should be bothered about is what percentage of the budget goes to recurrent expenditure; gives us roads, infrastructure, etc.

We give in to sentiment a lot in this country; we need to spend our time on issues that move us forward; it is petty.

You are representing Apapa constituency which is associated with traffic logjam, and congestion at the port; what is your strategy at getting the authority to tackle this?

The traffic situation has always been a problem in Apapa; serious traffic logjam orchestrated by the tank-farms, the trucks that go into the port. It needs serious surgery; if you like call it serious emergency, but the new Governor of Lagos State has started well. There is presidential directive chaired by the vice president and Kayode Opeifa, a former Commissioner for Transport in Lagos, who is the vice chairman.

But the efficiency should be different; we should look for alternative source of transport, we should look at the water as a means of carrying containers out of Apapa.

We need to look at the rail too; the rail lines have been in Apapa for a long time but they are not fully utilised. A train-tank has 100 containers; so we should use more of the marine water way as alternative way of transporting goods. I am also suggesting

Mufutau Egberongbe

that in the call up system, we should let the trailers carry their goods in an arranged format of 20s or 30s; through this way they can be more orderly. They can be stationed as far as Sagamu and come one by one. And another solar terminal in Liverpool would be commissioned soon; I hope that when this is done the traffic logjam would be a thing of the past. There is the urgent need for the Federal Government to help Apapa from the degradation it has suffered in recent times; they have destroyed all the roads including the bridges. We need an intervention fund to be used in repairing the roads; this is why they have suffered degradation this need to be abated. Many people have left Apapa.

The current plan is not working; I have been advocating for a solution for the traffic logjam in Apapa for a long time. I can remember that I even brought the former governor of the state, Babatunde Raji Fashola to Apapa to see things for himself.

Even the present Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat was part of that team which was because of series of letters and advocacy to the house and I think one needs to speak and galvanise this issues.

The right agency can do it; and we citizens need more discipline; we are not disciplined, journalists should rise up; there should be more advocacy in the media so we can win this.

You have been in the House of Assembly for eight years and elected to the House of Representatives now, what are the memorable moments?

Yes, I was in the house for eight years, and

from 2015 to date I was the adviser to the Speaker on political matters. When you are in such position, the whole state becomes your constituency; that is a bigger responsibility; that is otherwise you are able to tackle this issue of traffic logjam in the state.

The physical planning law involves about three agencies; that is the Lagos urban renewal; we can begin to go on and on.

But there is the perception that the Lagos House of Assembly is a rubber stamp?

People most times would just sit down and make general statement; how many of them have come to the House and sit down and observe the proceeding of the House. The House is rubber stamp and the governor came with Visionscape thing and we said no. It was so strong that it had to be revisited after it had been signed; we brought in stakeholders; we had to suspend it when we noticed complaints from Lagosians. The Visionscale thing came from the executive; the House was able to hold its own.

Look at the time it took to pass the 2019 Budget, in some states this is not the case; for example in Ekiti State when the former governor, Fayose sometime ago went to the House to submit the budget, he had the gavel in his hand. But that is not the case here; we have professionals who went through the bill thoroughly.

Nigeria and some other countries have the best legislative House. People are too complacent when it comes to their responsibility; people should know that it is their responsibility to come to the

What should be Buhari administration’s priority in this second term?

The primary responsibility of government is to secure lives and property and there is a serious correction between economic growth and state stability; economy can always strive in a secure environment; so the issues have to be checked.

We have not done enough in terms of punitive measures for kidnappers in the country and the culprits; there is need for strong penalty to be meted out to them as punishment. We also need to have a role for the Obas and Chiefs and you think the monarchs do not know their domain more than us? The monarchs have the security guards and they just need to be empowered. I mean in terms of giving them allowance; the issue of security he should think more toward true federalism. Each state needs to grow at its pace, whatever resources need to be used in the state, let prune down the functions on the exclusive list and let the states have more of the responsibility.

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Interview

Keffi Road, the new high road boosting Nigeria-China development - CHEC MD Managing Director of China Harbour Engineering Company Nigeria Limited (CHEC), Zhang Wenfeng, says the Keffi-Abuja-Makurdi Expressway being expanded by his company is a new high road boosting Nigeria-China development trajectory. In an interview with a select group of journalists, which visited the Keffi–Makurdi road project’s construction site in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wenfeng reels out CHEC’s achievements in the implementation of Keffi-Makurdi Road project and its implications for Nigeria’s transportation system, employment and economy. INNOCENT ODOH was there. Excerpts:

C

an you talk us through the profile of your company and its work activities?

CHEC is a subsidiary and a major construction and engineering arm of China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), which ranked No.3 among Engineering News Record in 2018 and first of Chinese construction companies for 10 consecutive years. Different from other subsidiaries, we are authorised by the Chinese government to handle overseas businesses, meaning our focus is on the international markets. CHEC provides a full scope of services including EPC (Engineering-Procurement-Construction), BOT(Build-OperateTransfer) and PPP(Private-PublicPartnership) contracts in both public and private sectors, and our business covers marine engineering, dredging and reclamation, roads and bridges, railways, airports and so on. Also, CHEC’s 80 branches and representative offices have a global footprint across over 100 countries with more than 15,000 staff undertaking hundreds of international projects with a total turnover of 21 billion U.S. dollars. We are contractors, manufacturers, investors, developers and operators, and this is in accordance with our role in global infrastructural market as an integrated service provider.

What has been your company’s experience in Nigeria?

CHEC entered the infrastructural market of Nigeria in 1994.

Having accumulated an extensive knowledge of Nigerian market after 25 years’ endeavor, CHEC has executed various projects across different fields, including dredging works in Calabar River, rehabilitation of Terminal B of Warri port, and construction of breakwater in Lagos. So far, there are two largescale ongoing projects, Lekki Port and Keffi Road Project, with a total contract amount of over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, an evidence of CHEC’s technical and financial capacity.

Tell us about some of your projects in Nigeria specifically, Lekki deep sea port and the AbujaLafia road.

The Keffi-Markurdi road project starts from the southwest of Abuja, crosses Federal Capital Territory and the states of Nasarawa and Benue. The contract amount is $542.14 million, 15percent of which is funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria and 85percent is by China EXIM Bank in the form of Preferential Export Buyer’s Credit. The expansion and dualisation of the existing carriageway promises to ease the long suffering of commuters and motorists on the Keffi-AkwangaLafia-Makurdi road. Lekki Deep Sea Port is located in Lagos Free Trade Zone. And after completion, it is going to be the most modern and efficient port south of Saha-

Zhang Wenfeng ran Desert. Lekki Deep Sea Port is to be executed through two construction phases, after completion of Phase I, the designed annual handling capacity will be 1.2 million TEUs and the total investment of Phase I amounts to 1 billion US dollars. After Phase II, the handling capacity will be enhanced to 2.5 million TEUs in total, which is approximately twice Nigeria’s current actual annual turnover.

The project is to be carried out through the BOOT, the BuildOwn-Operate-Transfer mode. A large portion of funding sources is secured by CHEC and China Development Bank.

Would you care to elaborate on the relationship between Keffi-Makurdi road project with the Golden Triangle Loop Plan?

To my knowledge, the Federal Government of Nigeria proposed the Golden Triangle Loop Plan in 2012, which is centered on the capital Abuja, and connects the port city of Lagos in the Southwest, the port city of Harcourt in the Southeast, and the city of Kano in the North. This national upgraded highway network is expected to strengthen economic and social ties between the major cities and the capital city Abuja. Up to this point, the expansion and dualisation works among Lagos, Abuja and Kano have been accomplished, while for the remaining part of the plan, Abuja to Harcourt, a small section from Enugu to Port Harcourt has been finished, and completion of Keffi-Makurdi-Enugu will mark the full actualisation of the Golden Triangle Loop Plan.

This is why the smooth execution

of the project is of vital importance to the transportation system of Nigeria. Furthermore, the project also promises to assume the role of trunk line in the national expressway network and promote regional interconnection between West Africa, Central Africa and North Africa. Not only does the intended dual-way four-lane design of the project enhance transportation efficiency in Nigeria, but also markedly improve traffic safety management. The completion of Golden Triangle Loop Plan, to which CHEC is sure to contribute its fair share, will substantially enhance traffic conditions and boost international trade.

What do you hope to accomplish with these projects and other future projects in Nigeria?

We believe this project is of immense significance to the economic and social development alongside the project, the intercon-

...Nigeria was actually geographically outside the planned route of BRI in the first place. As BRI proceeds, Nigeria expressed her interest and aspiration to China, wishing to board on the express train of development as she formally signed the cooperation agreements in 2018, and China embraced Nigeria in good will

nection within the region, and the bilateral trade between China and Nigeria as well as the rest of Africa.

Therefore, we will make every effort to ensure the smooth execution of the project while boosting local employment, promoting economy and fulfilling our social responsibilities.

Tell us about some of your accomplishment that shaped China Harbour?

We have undertaken many iconic projects across the globe.

Here are some for your information, the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port, which is constructed through four phases and by far the world’s largest and most advanced fully automated terminal with a designed capacity of over 40 million TEUs; the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacau Bridge is up to now the longest sea-crossing bridge in the word with the longest immersed tunnel. As the world’s largest steel bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge used up 420 thousand tons of steel merely for the part of main beam, which is equivalent to the weight of 60 Eiffel towers combined! Since its establishment, CHEC has always been committed to a corporate culture with its core value of “keen responsibility, excellent rewards and win-win cooperation” and the maxim of “inclusiveness, integrity, innovation and dedication”. Bearing this in mind, we deliver iconic projects with professionalism while fulfilling our social responsibility and seeking sustainable development.

What is your impression on the Belt and Road Initiative?

When it comes to the Belt and

Road Initiative (BRI), I believe it would shed new light on the development of projects related to the overall social welfare of Nigeria and the issue of international project financing. As you would know, Nigeria was actually geographically outside the planned route of BRI in the first place. As BRI proceeds, Nigeria expressed her interest and aspiration to China, wishing to board on the express train of development as she formally signed the cooperation agreements in 2018, and China embraced Nigeria in good will. It was commented by the Minister of the FCT, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello in 2019 that “having joined the Belt and Road Initiative this year, we are therefore poised to take advantage of all that it offers to meet our goals of economic diversification and infrastructural enhancement.”Owing to the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese construction companies are now presented with country-specific mechanisms through which funding can be secured with the help of large financial institutions such as China EXIM bank. This is why in the past few months we have discussed with relevant Federal Ministries to work out mutually beneficial solutions to project financing in order to meet Nigeria’s vast demand in infrastructure.

We also discussed about the second phase of the Keffi-Makurdi road project, as well as the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos Nigeria. For your information, 85% of funding sources for Keffi-Makurdi road project are provided by China EXIM bank in the form of Preferential Buyer’s Credit, the long-term interest rate of which facility is only 2.5percent. This is what Nigeria can benefit from compared to traditional commercial loans for largescale infrastructural projects. As for the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which, as you know, is direly needed to tap into Nigeria’s immense potential in economic trade, the water depth must be over 16 meters, and yet the existing water depth is merely 13 meters, which cannot meet the requirement of berthing and shipping for large sea generation container ships.

Therefore, CHEC, as the EPC contractor of Lekki Deep Sea Port, discussed with Nigerian Port Authorities about investment opportunities, decided to set up an SPV company that oversees the construction and future operation of Lekki port and became the major shareholder to ensure alignment of interest between the Federal Government of Nigeria and CHEC. Last but not least, Chinese construction companies are now encouraged to invest in international projects for better alignment of interest with the host country. I believe the Belt and Road Initiative will provide more solutions not only for Nigeria but also the Chinese construction companies.

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SundayInterview

‘For agric to play significant role in Nigeria’s Ahead of the launch of a proposed modern, technology-driven agriculture city, Agrictech City, scheduled for June 12, 2019, SEYI ABIMBOLA DAVIDS, chairman and chief executive officer, Extralarge Farms Limited, and his wife, Moji, managing director, in this exclusive interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, spoke on the innovation the company has brought into agriculture in the country, introduction of Xtratoken, the first Agric-backed Digital Currency in the world; need to take agriculture to a higher level using technology, among other issues. Excerpts:

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ay we know how you came about the model of the innovation you are bringing into agriculture?

Actually, I spend some time in Europe; and I have been to many, many places outside Nigeria. By God’s grace, I have been able to put into practice what I saw over there into what we are doing. I just had training in agriculture for personal use but I did not know it was going to go commercial until I was praying one day and God said I should come back and go into agriculture. And the rest is story.

The name of your business is Extralarge Farms. What makes it extra large?

It is extralarge because of our modus operandi. There are so many challenges in doing the type of thing we are doing.

And these challenges are not things that will go away in the immediate because of people’s perception about agriculture.

My son is in the university and he doesn’t want to come back to be a farmer. If we don’t modernise what we are doing, agriculture will die in Nigeria; and we have a large population. How do we move forward? So, the thing is, let’s see how agriculture can be more creative, so that more people can flow into it. People will not really flow into it if we do not put necessary measures in place. For example, when we decided to take the business to a bigger level – because extralarge has been around for sometime; we have been running it on our own, but we decided to bring in more people, which has helped in many ways, including selling our produce.

The next thing we did was to bring out a package we called ‘Recession Exemption Package’ whereby everyone who invests into it gets 100 percent profit. When we started, people never believed in what we were going to do. But it turned out to be a smart one. Many people came in; they doubted initially, they were asking us; ‘how are you people going to pay 100 percent profit knowing full well that agriculture is not like any other business?’ But we gave them the assurance and the plan we had on how to achieve it. When we make promise we abide by it. One thing that has helped us so much

in Extralarge. We have people in school who also invest in Extralarge. We have provided the table for empowerment and that’s why we say it is all about food, farming and empowerment. In line with an adage in Yoruba land that if you take away food out of poverty. There is actually no poverty because you wake up every day and you are assured of your food, you have less worry. So, at Extralarge, we have a complete solution and that’s why you now see us venturing into housing and all that. Take away food, financial problem and housing out of man’s problem, I don’t think there is any other major problem. Again, talking about a nation; it will take us further to discuss about Extralarge token and the Agritech City. Every nation has its own currency. So, as we are a nation now, we need to have our own currency; something that we trade with; something that is generally acceptable to us. It is still another form of empowerment to all our members.

in Extralarge Farm is God’s integrity. We started with vegetables and then moved to other products. We have rice; palm oil, wondermeal; groundnut, among others.

Everything about Extralarge is organic.

Wondermeal is made of rice and unripe plantain. You eat heavy; you stay light.

These are things we have continued to churn out; then the food network came.

How does the food network, work?

The wife: We have in mind to create a community; another nation within Nigeria where we will have I million people who are farmers, but are also consumers.

The essence is that these people will be directly or indirectly involved in produc-

ing what they eat. That also supports the name Extralarge, because coming together of one million people into a community for a particular cause, which is agric, is no longer large, it is simply extralarge. So, Extralarge Food Network is just about this large number of people, with varied choices of what to eat- rice, plantain or wondermeal or vegetable.

What I mean by indirectly is that we have provided a platform under investment packages that help you to farm without necessarily being the one involved in the farming processes. So, whether you are a banker, a lawyer, a medical doctor or editor, whatever it is you do, you can be a farmer.

Or you can be involved directly in the farming processes, in the practical farm work. So, everybody in this community is farming in one way of the other. You might be in the processing; marketing or any other sector, but you might be adding value in one way or the other. So, in this community of one million people, we produce what we eat and eat what we produce. And before we think about the larger community of Nigeria as a whole, we feed ourselves first. That’s why you hear us say, Extralarge family; because we know we are actually a family; it is not just about business. Again, we call it Extralarge because this is the first farm, not only in Nigeria but all over the world that has it at the back of its mind to empower people through agriculture. Here, we don’t talk about business as usual.

Here you don’t see one person getting richer and richer whereas others are not getting anything. We carry every family member along. It is providing a means of employment to a lot of people; we have a lot of prisoners in the Extralarge family, whose only source of income is what they earn now from what they do

You mentioned Agritech City. What is it about?

Let me begin this way; in everything that we do, in every human phase, there is always a period of challenges. Now, sometimes, you start something thinking it’s going to be smooth-sailing but you suddenly notice that the ups and downs are very many to face. We believe in our dreams; we believe in the family dream, which is the Extralarge family members – they must be comfortable. So, talking about some challenges that gave rise to the Agritech dream, God led it in our heart to go into garri processing; and then we planted the cassava, harvested and produced the garri but we were not selling. We fasted and prayed, yet we were not selling. So, we gave it out to our fellowship members and said, ‘maybe, that’s how God wanted it.’ Then one day, God just dropped an idea, ‘add this to this; and this to that’, and that’s how we came out with Super garri’. Super garri is made up of honey; coconut milk, calcium, protein and some other thingsabout nine items altogether; and very crunchy.

You can drink it and eat it anyhow. We added value into the normal garri and that’s how the demand picked. We sell it to people and they take it out. If you have challenges in agriculture, don’t give up. Just find a way around it. Now, talking about Agritech City; in the olden days there was a period of slave trade.

It was laudable at that time, simply because they were using some people to work in the farms. Immediately after the slave trade was abolished, continuity because very difficult. So, they sat down to think about the way forward, and that’s how their own Agritech started. So, they now saw that they no longer had human labour; but there must be a way, a better way to do their farming. So, they did it via technology which was very limited at that particular time. You will agree with me that some of these foreigners that were used in the farming process in Nigeria are no longer available right now. Most of them have been exposed to modern farming through the Internet and now, it has become difficult for them to leave their country to come and do agric the way they were doing it before. So, they have decided to stay back in their own country to do what they used to come here to do. So, nobody wants to be slave to another person. Now, it is increasingly difficult for an average foreigner to come to Nigeria to do farm work. Even in Nigeria, a lot of people that come from the agrarian areas known for large scale farming, are no longer interested in doing so. You see many of them preferring to come down to Lagos to ride Okada (commercial motor cycle) that gives them instant money. So, nobody wants to wait for profit for a long time. We have a

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economy, it must be technology-driven’ vision for agriculture – if it must continue at this stage, it must be technology-driven or technology-back. That’s the vision of Agritech City. Without technology, it will be difficult for agriculture to get to the level we want it. Every government is saying it that the way foreigners are no longer interested or available will affect food production for next year. So, if we see it and not proffer solutions, it would be very unfortunate and dangerous. Agritech City will be backed by technology. We have already got partners. People are ready to partner us.

Countries from Europe who are coming in with technologies to make the Agritech City what we expect it to be.

For instance, the Ambassador of Belarus will be coming for the commissioning of the Agritech City on June 12, 2019. And we will be going to Belarus very shortly. All the machines and all the technology they are bringing down here are ready. We also have partners from Israel and China that are coming in to support what we are doing. Agritech City is also not just about technology; a farm house is where you rest. When you come into the city; we are going to marry technology with agriculture.

So, shall be having hotels, guest house, cinemas, estates, inside the Agritech City. It is a very large city that comprises everything.

It is not going to be as if you are in Nigeria.

Everything that makes life enjoyable will be there. One other thing is that we will be treating people with herbs. For instance, we plant white carrot which is anti-oxidant. It cures cancer and people come to buy it from us.

There are some other herbs that people can eat raw. So, when you are sick and you come to Agritech City; we look for herbs food that will take care of you. By the time you come into Agritech City, the serenity; the ambience alone will surprise you. It is a home away from home. It is a life time investment and we are also going to have Extralarge Microfinance Bank.

Are you in talks with some financial institutions to help you realise this ambitious dream?

No; it’s just within the Extralarge family; that’s why we have our token and many others. I am not in talks with any bank on this project but we have some partners. The most important thing is to make sure that agriculture is the first thing. Once the machines come, we start the production and we want to churn out food in large quantity. Farmers in Extralarge are putting resources together to finance our projects.

People must eat and as long as people must eat, Extralarge will continue to be in business. We have about five containers of wondermeal to be sent to Saudi Arabia. So, the food is being exported. I assure you that by the time people see what we are doing, they would want to come and be part of it.

But they want to see what we are doing first.

How do you deal with the problem of insecurity? These days, farmers are said to be prevented by bandits from going to their farms. What measures have you put in place to check this?

Agritech City is a technology-backed environment. For every advanced city, one of the things that is common is heavy security; not with only human eyes but with 100 percent secret cameras everywhere; with dogs and human personnel manning places. We have an Israeli who is backing up the security; that’s the agreement we signed. All over the world people are concerned about their security; so, the first thing you have to make sure you have in any residential or business environment is the security of lives and property in that place.

That is the first thing we put in place in Agritech City. Again, we have taken vital steps to ensure security will not be compromised.

There were some farm lands we bought and later we discovered that people migrated

people who believe that great things are possible in Nigeria and those who believe in possibilities.

To sign on; you just go to the website www.extratoken.com and then you can subscribe on that site to get at least one token; it cost $100 (100 dollars) for now.

The more popular the project becomes and more realistic, the more the value of the token appreciates. You know cannot do anything in the Extralarge farm without the token. So, it becomes an essential commodity. The token appreciates. For those who will take advantage of it now, they will enjoy it in the long run. You fill the form online and you will be directed there on how to make payment and your portal will be opened for you immediately, like the e-wallet where you can actually check your transactions. When the Agritech City takes off by God’s grace; we are going to have an access card for every token holder where you can transfer some amount of money from your token to a transaction wallet. You want to make payment for something, for purchases, pay for accommodation, travelling ticket, access loan from the bank, buy food, and many other forms of transactions; that will help you do such things. Even if you are visiting Agritech City; no matter which country you are coming from, the value of your currency ends at the gate.

You will not transact business using your currency. You must have the currency of the city which is the token.

Welcome to Extra Token | Extra Token cows to those places; if they were just Fulani settlers we could easily talk to them; but when they are the violent types we do not go there. Again, we will provide 24-hour surveillance in our farm settlements. When you have surveillance 24 hours, nobody comes to your farmland.

Agritech City is situated in the South West, Ogun State to be precise. We’ve been around that area for quite some time now and we know the security level in that environment. We are going to provide security cameras in Agritech City.

Security gadgets in that place is going to cost a lot of money but it is the best we can do because of the calibre of people, both within and outside the country, that will be coming there.

You mentioned that Extralarge farm is now exporting Wondermeal and other things, but Nigeria was recently rated as the poverty headquarters of the world. You have not finished feeding Nigerians, why exporting?

You must understand that we did not

start with exportation; we started with production and selling to our family members (Extralarge family members).

When a food is good, you give it to your family, they will tell others. So, when people started taking it to their family members abroad. The desire for it began to grow. Now when went for Gulfood (food exhibition) last year and we took along some wondermeal; people were saying ‘O, I saw this in America’; ‘O, I ate this in London’; etc., and it was like that; we were able to get a major distributor for the Gulf Zone – GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries; which is a laudable one. If somebody can look at what an average farmer is doing in Nigeria and then it is acceptable in those developed countries; it means there is a future for us and we are on the right track.

How does one become a member of the Extralarge family?

When it is launched on June 12, 2019 it is for people who can see the future, it is

L-R: Ayo Oyoze-Baje, author and media consultant; Moji Abimbola Davids, managing director, and husband, Seyi Abimbola Davids, chairman and chief executive officer, both of Extralarge Farms Limited, and Zebulon Agomuo.

Do you have any collaboration with any government agency or ministry?

Yes; presently we have created the awareness and we have allowed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to know what we are doing and how we tend to go about it.

As we move on, we shall be inviting other ministries like the Ministry of Trade and Commerce; Ministry of External Affairs; Tourism and others. We shall also carry along all the state governments, because we want to have every state represented inside the City. We shall be having celebrations like festivals for each state. So, it is not just something we can do all alone, we need the collaboration of others.

How do you source your seedlings?

Well, there are different types of seedlings when you come to things that we do.

There are many people and institutions that sell seedlings- the IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) is there; you can get good seedlings there.

In fact, there’s nothing you want that you cannot really get from them. What we are doing is to create a partnership between all farmers and stakeholders in Nigeria in agriculture. For example, when we were in Umuahia (Abia State) for a seminar recently, the Plantain Farmers Association reported that their plantain has been getting bad and they have not been able to find solution. You know plantain has a very short life span. But coming on board, we need a lot of plantain because of the Extralarge Wondermeal. We now have to speak with them; we off-take the plantain from them, once it is planted without chemicals. We will give them our specification, off-take the plantain from them and then use it for production; so that Wondermeal will continue to be as healthy, and as organic as it should be. If you are able to bring out the value in all these farm produce, then, every farmer will smile home at the end of the day.w

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Interview

Buhari, in-coming ministers must lead by example - Eholor Patrick Eholor, Edo-based social critic and human rights activist, is the founder of One Love Foundation. The foundation is into empowerment of the less-privileged and protection of the rights of the masses. In this interview with IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, he sets agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari in the next four years and other topical national issues.

What is your agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari as he has assumed office for another four years? f you followed the activities of President Muhammadu Buhari when he was a military head of state with his second-in-command, the late Tunde Idiagbon, you would know that he meant well for the country. But today, if you cannot trust a messenger, can you trust his message? If the President is surrounded by people alleged to have been corrupt, just to borrow the word of the National Chairman of his party, Adams Oshiomhole, that once you defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) all your sins have been forgiven, how do we now believe in the transparency and integrity of his government? As a result of being an APC member, the anti-graft agencies like EFCC, ICPC do not file charges against politicians that defected to the party; they also fail to continue with the trial of those that defected to the party. If for example, a man like Adams Oshiomhole who staged-managed the commissioning of the non-functioning of the so-called ‘five-star hospital’ by the President four years after his first tenure as president allowed to walk freely without being questioned and tried by the antigraft agencies, to me, it is a shame and it makes mockery of the widely publicised fight against corruption by the APC-led Federal Government. It is disheartening and height of pretence if the president does not know that he is surrounded by corrupt people. If he means well for the country, in the next four years, he must do the will of God and the people that give him the mandate and power to preside over them.

He must also first realise that he is over 70 years of age and has contested for the position of president for four times before God finally answered his prayers; because of that he must first of all build more prisons to accommodate the corrupt Nigerians including those in the APC and not only those from the opposition parties, if he really wants to govern the country well. He must also fulfil his promise to publish those that looted the country. He should have the political will to do so no matter whose ox is gored. He should remember that, he is not a Methuselah, and cannot live forever but we pray that God gives him good health to be able to achieve his mandate for the people of this country.

He must stand firmly; have the courage to do all that he promised the people. He should know that the citizens are hungry, suffering, unemployment and poverty rates have astronomically increased in the midst of plenty. As he settled down to constitute his next cabinet, I appeal to him not to reappoint any of the immediate past ministers into his cabinet.

They all failed the country and the various states they represented especially those from the Niger Delta region. He should and must ensure that the next minister of Education must have an undertaken with Nigerians not to send any of his/her children to a private school or outside the country except public schools. He should ensure that henceforth, no minster, political or public office holder, should send their children to any

ernment chairmen, among others should be used to develop the health and education sectors. If he does that, Nigerians will forever be grateful to him while in office and after office.

I

Patrick Eholor

other school except the public schools.

That will make the government to be more committed to the adequate funding of public schools across the country.

If their children are in the public schools they will not only provide adequate funding but they will also ensure that all the dilapidated public schools across the country are adequately fixed. I also want to appeal to the president that if he really believes in the country and incorruptible as he claimed, he should stop going abroad for medical checkups and treatment. He should ensure that the next minister of Health should be one that is medically sound that can provide the needed medical treatment to the president. He should show a good example by attending the same public and private hospitals in the country instead of going abroad for medical treatment.

His constant going abroad for medical treatment is a total lack of confidence in the country’s health sector.

The president’s continued medical treatment abroad means the so-called reforms in the health sector to address medical tourism is just a political gimmick. The president, in the next four years, should remember that we used to have the Nigerian Airways, which was our national air carrier but today that’s history. I will want the president to do everything possible to bring that back to the country. Today, one of the busiest airways in the world is Ethiopia Airway.

Ethiopia is not as rich as Nigeria but I made bold to say that its major foreign earning comes from the airline business.

We thank God that prominent Nigerians escaped death in the recent Ethiopia Airway near-mishap in Lagos. The president should have that political will to bring back the Nigerian Airways. He must

also endeavour to probe all the past managing directors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDCC).

The commission was meant to augment, complement our needs as the people of the region but those charged with the responsibilities of running the affairs of the commission have all enriched themselves with it. So, from the inception of the commission, I appeal to the president to probe all of its past managements from the inception to date.

He should also try to strengthen the judiciary against some judges who allegedly sell justice to the highest bidders especially when it comes to election petition cases. Without strong and effective judiciary, the executive will also be weakened.

But if the judiciary is strengthened there will be effective checks and balance in the government. I want to draw the President’s attention to a rumour currently making the rounds that the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki was recently invited by EFCC on a petition boarding on fraud. It was alleged that the sum of N2billion came to the state from the Federal Government when he complained of security challenges in the state and he (the governor) only released N500million to the state coffers and pocketed the remaining N1.5 billion. I wonder what security problems he has? In that same month, he was alleged to have received about N600 million as part of his monthly security vote from the state government.

The entire money now amounted to N2 billion. What is he doing with N2 billion? Mr. President, if your government is going to succeed and genuinely and to stand tall among the famous world leaders, you must initiate an Executive Bill to eradicate security votes. The money collected by state governors, local gov-

Now that the President has been swornin for the second term in office, the inauguration of the National Assembly and that of the State Houses of Assembly will take place Tuesday; what will be your message to the ninth National Assembly as well as the incoming members of the Edo State House of Assembly?

My message is very clear, those we voted for to represent us, their take home package monthly is too much, more than what the world leaders get. If a country cannot pay N18,000 or N30,000 minimum wage, why will a senator be receiving about N20 million for constituency projects. So, I want the President to look into it very well with a view to making legislation a part-time business so that they can really and truly represent us. On Edo State House of Assembly, the outgoing lawmakers are rubber stamp members. But we are happy, now that there seems to be a tussle between the predecessor and the successor. The tussle is a very genuine one and in the long run, the people are going to be the beneficiaries. I want to assure that the business of lawmaking after the fight is not going to be business as usual. The people are getting wiser and asking questions about governance in the state. Recently, by virtue of Freedom of Information Bill (FOI), I called on the state governor, Godwin Obasski to explain to me and the good people of Edo State why he has borrowed the sum of N100billion in three years whereas his successor left only about N45 billion debt for him to inherit. I also want to know if the borrowing was genuine or not.

What message do you have for Nigerians as President Buhari begins his second term in office?

Now the nation’s population is estimated to be about 200 million. I told you earlier that though President Muhammadu Buhari is claimed not to be corrupt, he surrounded himself by corrupt people. If you cannot trust a messenger you cannot trust his message too because the President is our messenger. We sent him to Aso Rock by our votes. To answer your question, I want to say that Nigerians are very versatile, brilliant and very hardworking.

We have been celebrated by the United Nations for the brilliant wars we fought in Liberia, Congo and all the peace keeping missions across the globe. Nigerians need regular power supply to run their businesses, good schools and employment so that the gap between the rich and the poor will be narrowed. So that the son of a shoemaker can aspire to be governor of a state, member of House of Assembly, House of Representatives, senator, local government chairman, commissioner, among others while the daughter of a woman that sells ‘akara’ can also aspire to be a Supreme Court judge, chief judge of a state or a magistrate. He should try to narrow this gap because if he fails to narrow the gap and continues to rely on the status of the elite, then we still have a long way to go. The problem Nigeria has is elite status.

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Society Watch

‘Living in bondage’ CHUKA UROKO & AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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hese are not the best of times in Nigeria.

There was a time in Israel of old, when it was reported that people lived in fear. “In those days, it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil” (2 Chronicles 15:5; New International version).

Events in modern day Nigeria are reminiscent of those that characterised the build up to the conspiracy and eventual tragedy that consumed the Roman king, Julius Caesar as recorded in one of William Shakespeare’s tragic plays, Julius Caesar. The events were so horrible and frightening that Shakespeare noted, “it is either there is civil strife in heaven or the earth, so saucy with the gods, where incenses insurrection.”

Happenings in the country today are clearly euphemism of the traumatic experiences of Andy Okeke (Kenneth Okonkwo) in the popular Igbo movie, ‘Living in Bondage’, who, despite his ill-gotten wealth, lived in fear and agony as he was haunted and terrorised by his wife’s ghost until he lost everything.

An d y, i n t h e m o v i e p r o duced back in early 90s, was a desperate young man who was misled into using his pret-

ty loving wife, Merit Okeke (Nnenna Nwabueze) for money rituals.

What is happening in Nigeria today can only be likened to an insurrection of both the aggrieved gods and hungry, angry and in some cases, vicious and blood-thirsty youths who have allowed themselves to be used by the devil and invidious power brokers in the country.

As a result, the whole country is living in bondage because everybody is a victim. Everyone’s freedom is chained. As it is today, individuals have no freedom to move; speak, eat when he or she wants to, or do anything on his/her own accord. Indeed, Nigerians are in total bondage because the prowling devils are no respecters of persons or position. Not even those in political power are free.

Just a few days ago, during the Sallah celebration, the level of insecurity in Nigeria was made manifest as security agents were seen guarding the President and governors at their respective praying grounds. While the political leaders and other prominent individuals were bending down to pray, the security personnel were seen turning left and right, perhaps to prevent any eventuality.

This means that we have reached a point in Nigeria where worshipping in the

church or mosque has become a mere formality because the worshippers have no faith any longer that their safety and security are guaranteed even in the house of God. But that is what times in the country demands.

Despite all the efforts of government and the security agencies; despite countless security meetings at the highest levels of government and

”

Boarding commercial buses has become a high risk as “one chance” (criminals and armed robbers who operate in commercial vehicles) operators are on the prowl

despite several operations with intimidating code names mounted and proclaimed by the military apparatchik aimed at arresting the ugly trend, Nigerians are not free from fear.

Many Nigerians have stopped embarking on journeys outside their places of residence by road, except by air. The nation’s highways have become dangerous to travel on as kidnappers, ritual killers, armed robbers and bandits lay ambush for money and body parts. They lie in wait for motorists, snatching their vehicles and herding them into bushes, demanding huge ransom for their freedom.

Th e m i n d b o g g l i n g t a l e s of torture, rape and death by those who had passed through the ‘valley of shadow o f d e a t h , ” m a k e p e o p l e ’s heart quake. And there is no end in sight to such blood chilling tales.

These sad narratives have become everyday affair. The disclosure that those who have no one to redeem them by paying the ransom most times end up being killed by their abductors has increased the apprehension level in society. And to think that this is happening in a country where poverty has built it headquarters makes the whole scenario scary.

A newspaper columnist last week noted that “Nobody is

immune to this madness. The rich are not safe; the poor are in panic. Security agencies s e e m t o be h e l p l e s s , bu t I won’t join the thinking in some circles that they are part of this game of death. No. They may not seem to be doing enough, but the conspiracy theory, plausible as it may seem, isn’t that straightforward.”

The story of a woman trending on the social media, how she, her husband and their nine-year old daughter suffered in the hands of kidnappers, makes the heart of every reader to bleed. The family has since returned to their base abroad, but the memory of their trauma in their fatherland has not left them. They still live in the bondage of the bestial treatment meted out to them in the kidnappers’ den for six days!

It is said that for every story of escape or personal account of ordeals in the hands of kidnappers or ritualists, there are, perhaps, about nine others that are never told and will never be told, either because the victims decided to suffer in silence or, by default, chose to pay the supreme sacrifice.

Most of Nigeria’s highways have become a hideout for suspected herdsmen, who perpetrate the act of banditry and kidnapping against travellers.

Today, travelling to the EastContinue on page 22

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Society Watch Why survival is becoming a luxury in the slums of Ajegunle

W

JONATHAN ADEROJU

alking down a popular street in Ajegunle on a cloudy Monday evening, I saw young boys between 15 to 18 years, muttering incantations and behaving awkwardly on the street in a broad day light.

I thought they were mentally deranged, but was baffled when some people spoke in hushed voices that they were cultists.

Cultists! I screamed, considering their age. Moreover, these innocent-looking teenagers who are supposed to be in school or probably at home running errands are now on the streets to cause havoc. From rape, stealing , gangsterism, touting, all manners of assaults, to any kind of crime you can imagine, these fellows are very vulnerable.

The worse is that they are unleashing themselves in Ajegunle that is already notorious for its ghettos and high crime rate associated with slummy areas.

Worried about safety of lives in the slum, I made efforts to understand how residents live with such hooligans in their midst.

Mama Chiboy, a middleaged woman who runs a local bar in the area, frowned at my inquest, fearing that I would walk into trouble. But on noticing my genuine concern, she opened up. “My brother, it is not easy here. We cannot tell all we see inside this Ajegunle. Everybody wants to be noticed, fight for superiority

and the worst is that the children have taken to the streets and yet they said they are the leaders of tomorrow; which tomorrow”? She asked.

She is not worried about the many brothels that harbor prostitutes, but about how teenage girls who are still under the roof of their parents sleep around with men even without protection.

“If you hear the meager amount these men pay to sleep with these girls, you will understand the level of sufferings that is driving them into prostitution. Some even sleep with thugs who in turn pay back by molesting their rivals or former boyfriends”, she explained further.

As i d e t h a t , t h e l e v e l o f school drop-outs is alarming in Ajegunle as many take to touting, commercial bus driving or conducting, car wash

and all manners of menial jobs. But those who have guts do robbery, high level thugs for politicians, tax agents among others.

The sad thing about Ajegungle is that the area, which was once famous for breeding creative talents, sports men and women, celebrities among others now breeds criminals. What happened, if one may ask? The irony is that while the city breeds talents, the talents leave to develop other areas in Lagos or Nigeria, once they rise to fame.

“We no longer have football stars coming from here like before because all the stars that started here have all left to Lekki, making those living to feel dejected. What is wrong in developing standard stadium here, football academy, movie village, art gallery, among others to en-

courage youths here to use their energy positively”, an aggrieved resident lamented.

Tracing the history of the area, the man explained that people in Ajegunle should be living in affluence because the area was supposed to serve as residence for the low cadre workers in the old Nigerian Ports Authority. If the low cadre NPA staff had lived here since then, the man argued that they would have grown in position by now and at least, buy and redevelop the old houses they lived in before moving to Lekki and Ajah.

Of course, insecurity and neglect by government, especially lack of social infrastructure have driven some businesses that would have grown in the area to safer areas. Same businesses also employ people from Ajegunle and pay them peanuts.

“Apart from Mobil, there are no good companies in Ajegunle. Those who work in good companies in Apapa do not live in Ajegunle, so how will good money circulate, earning are low here and people resort to self-help in anything they can find to survive”, another resident said.

A tell of the poverty level in the slum is the beating of electricity company staff who try to cut the source of light to some houses, and fight by landlords to collect their monthly N3000 to N5000 rent, common scenarios that make one think twice on establishing business or living in the area.

In some extreme cases, fight of superiority among rival cults, touts and thugs have often led to the burning of houses, cars, business places with the culprits never apprehended till date. So, it is survival of the fittest amid slum madness.

Ho w e v e r, r e s p i t e i s n o t in sight as the bad state of roads, poor development and insecurity in the area have worsen in the last 10 years a n d h a v e s e e n t h e e xo d u s of many enterprising people from the area.

Bu t on e a re a t h e y d on ’ t move to, according to Emma Orizi, an aggrieved resident, is Apapa because of its proximity to their area. “If I make money, I will move to a place far from here because closeness to your former area reminds you of the sad stories from time to time, especially if you wish to change things but do not have capacity to do so”.

‘Living in bondage’ Continued from page 21 ern part of the country from Lagos through the Benin-Ore Expressway, and to Ibadan or Abuja, have become a voyage of death as bandits and kidnappers have, on regular basis, brutalised and terrorised innocent Nigerians.

Alarmingly, many Nigerians, who are into the business of buying and selling but are based in the Eastern commercial cities, especially Onitsha and Nnewi, are finding it difficult to travel from their base to Lagos to do their businesses due to the horrible state of the roads.

Insecurity in Nigeria has been making life unbearable as farmers in the rural communities find it difficult to go to their farms due to fear of

herders’ attack.

In the last two years, many farmers in Enugu and Benue states have lost their lives to herders’ attacks while many villagers have fled their villages and now living in internally di s pl a c ed perso ns (IDPs’) camps due to threat to lives and property, thereby hindering the Federal Government’s diversification agenda, which was hinged on promoting growth in agriculture.

The National Youth Ser vice Corps (NYSC) was set up with a view to promoting national unity. Today, the aim is almost defeated as many Nigerian parents find it difficult to release their children to go to far away states especially states in the north to do the one-year mandatory national programme.

Today, Nigerians are not

even safe while in the “comfort of their homes.” People are being swindled, kidnapped and abused right inside their living apartments. Boarding commercial buses has become a high risk as “one chance” (criminals and armed robbers who operate in commercial vehicles) operators are on the prowl.

In more sane environments, while government is in a social contract with the people, governance is a service owed by the governor to the governed. Government anywhere in the world, especially in a democratic system, is about the people. In Nigeria , it is absolutely not. Government is about self and a privileged few.

An otherwise rich country but made poor by visionless and rudderless leadership, Nigeria seems to be a jungle

where only the fittest survives. Executive and leadership arrogance, insensitivity and impunity are such that make an unborn child to revolt in the womb and the dead to tumble in their graves.

A country where citizens die in droves, where hunger has pushed many to the dustbin, where poverty and lack of social safety nets have coaxed and, in most cases, coerced the youth to take up arms, debase their womanhood and take the fall in order to make ends meet, yet government seems unperturbed, is one in dire need of redemption.

Social insecurity is anti-economic growth because it does not support investment that leads to economic growth, job creation and wealth generation for household stability, family bonding and societal

cohesion.

It is trite logic when the government says it is attracting foreign direct investment when local investors with all their local knowledge and experience are scared to invest in their own country. It is also hypocritical when government and its agencies say the country is self-sufficient in the production of some agricultural products, especially rice, when hunger and poverty are the main precursors of the social insecurity in the land.

Until the impunity and insensitivity that define government and governance at every level in Nigeria give way to introspection, responsible, caring, responsive and selfless leadership, the country will continue on its long trek out of the present bondage in which the citizens are living.

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Focus

Ninth Assembly: Battle rages over DSP seat ... As concerns mount over exclusion of South East for presiding officers’ position OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, ABUJA

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ttention shifts to the National Assembly, as the much awaited inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly and election of Presiding Officers will hold on Tuesday, June 11.

Seven candidates are vying for the position of Presiding Officers in the incoming Ninth Senate.

Breakdown of the figure shows that while two lawmakers-elect are contesting for the position of Senate President, five others are jostling for the seat of Deputy Senate President.

The two aspirants for the position of Senate President include Ahmad Lawan (North EastYobe) and Ali Ndume (North East - Borno). In the same token, the five Deputy Senate President aspirants include: Francis Alimikhena (South South - Edo), Kabiru Gaya (North West- Kano), Ovie Omo-Agege (South South - Delta), Orji Uzor Kalu (South East - Abia) and Robert Boroffice (South West - Ondo).

While the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) has micro-zoned the position of Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives to Lawan, Femi Gbajabiamila and Ahmed Wase respectively, the zoning of Deputy Senate President position has remained a subject of

controversy.

This comes at a time there are growing concerns in some parts of the country over lopsided appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari.

A political pundit, Emmanuel Adelaja condemned the APCled government for treating the South East like second class citizens, adding that this will create a feeling of disenchantment amongst people from the geopolitical zone.

“They are left with the crumbs of appointment to pick up. It doesn’t give them a sense of belonging to the Nigerian state.

And it is an unfair and imbalance power arrangement in a multi ethnic and multi religious society like Nigeria. It leaves you with a feeling of being left out,” he told BDSUNDAY in an exclusive interview.

However, Kalu insisted that he will run for the position of Deputy Senate President, regardless of the governing party’s stance on the matter.

Speaking on Channel’s Television’s Sunrise Daily, Kalu said this would give South East a sense of belonging.

According to him, giving the Southeast a worthy position is in line with ensuring that the nation is ruled with equity.

“Let me be honest with you even if the party ask me not to run, I will run on the floor of the House, this is one position I have to run for because you cannot leave the South East alone, you can’t leave

Orji Uzor Kalu

Omo Agege

them behind.

“We are in the process of doing the right thing and the East will be given a place in the scheme of things. I am asking that the East should be given the Deputy Senate president. There is a high level of discussions about that and I’m sure that by partisan it would be a law in the House,” he said.

It was also observed that APC senators-elect are not keen on who gets the deputy senate president seat as all eyes are on the Senate President position.

For instance, when our correspondent tried to get the views of some senators-elect at the unveiling of Lawan’s proposed Legislative Agenda for the Ninth Senate in Abuja on Friday, they were evasive with their answers.

While Ifeanyi Uba (YPP, Anam-

bra) could not give a definitive answer when asked by our correspondent, another lawmakerelect, Uba Sani, said: “I don’t know about the Deputy Senate President. I know that a lot of candidates at this moment are more concerned about who is going to be the Senate President.

If we resolve that, the rest probably will not be a difficult issue.

We will come to that. And I know when we reach the bridge we will cross it”.

Analysts have attributed the development to the inability of the governing APC to show direction. However, sources say this is deliberate in order not to negatively affect Lawan’s chances.

In an exclusive interview with BDSUNDAY, National Chairman of Actions Peoples Party

(APP) and Spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Party (CUPP), Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, lamented that this would alienate the people of the South East.

He said: “It is because of the leadership insensitivy on the part of the President that he will do an arrangement that excludes the South East and North Central and doesn’t care about it. There is no basis where you have the Vice President and the Speaker from the same region. The Vice President is Tinubu’s nominee and you bring a Speaker that is being nominated by Tinubu.

“Apart from the imbalance that comes with it, this will further isolate the people from the South East. But we are looking at the credibility of the candidate the President is bringing. A man that had been convicted for dishonest act in the State of Georgia and then a man that says he is fighting corruption is bringing him. Can’t you see that the President is just being funny with his fight against corruption?

“As I speak you you now, there is a new development. The Deputy who is running as Deputy Speaker to Gbajabiamila has violated the Code of Conduct Act. He has companies which he awarded constituency projects to. He awarded them to his wife and children.

“It is against national unity and creates more division in the country and the choice is also morally and constitutionally wrong”.

Philanthropist donates multimillion naira tennis court and sports equipments to school REGIS ANUKWUOJI

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he people of Mmaku, in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State last weekend rolled out the drum in their numbers to remember and honor one of their great sons, Anthony Andeh, a foremost Nigerian boxer. Anthony Andeh who was born 16 August 1945, to the family of Mr, and Mrs, Andeh of Otokwu Mmaku, was the first Nigerian Olympic gold medalist in boxing. He competed in the men’s featherweight event at the 1964 Summer Olympics, and then won the gold medal in the lightweight event at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica and his younger brother Davidson Andeh was the world amateur champion.

Anthony Andeh, ruled Nigeria and African Lightweight Championship for many years before he was dethroned by Obisia Nwakpa.

The remembrance was triggered at a ceremony of the commissioning of an Olympic standard tennis court and boxing kits that run into millions of Naira constructed by Bob Andeh, Anthony’s son as a gift to the people of Mmaku and Enugu State located at Mmaku

High School Mmaku, where Bob attended secondary school, to encourage youths in sports and education development.

Despite the court, Bob and Toby Okechukwu member representing Awgu, Aniniri and Oji-River federal constituency renovated two school buildings each, with solar energy to encourage the students and reduce the rate of school drop outs.

Commissioning the three projects, Toby Okechukwu, expressed joy over what Bob did and described him as a lover of his people. “I am happy about what our brother has done; this is how to be a philanthropist, this is how to have community spirit. It is evidence that he is taking after his father, we are encouraging him to continue in the way he is going, history and God will always remember him,” Okechukwu said. Speaking on why he renovated a building block at the school, Okechukwu said it was part of his programmes as a member representing the zone, that his focus essentially is education knowing that once a child is educated such a child has been given his future. He said it was a pathway to success and that “based on that, we renovated a school block and hope

to do more because we talked with the school management.”

On why he decided to construct such a big project in the rural area and what actually inspired him, Andeh said it was not only to attract sports men and women to the rural areas for training where they will have less distractions but also to give back to the people that nurtured and brought him up. “It is necessary for one to look back and think about the development of where he or she comes from, my father was a boxer and his younger brother also was; my father gave out some sports equipment to

many schools in Mmaku and Awgu; he tried to bring younger ones up in sports activities but unfortunately our people at that time didn’t understand what he was driving at, but today with the grace of God and the help of my Mmaku brothers as far as we have life we must continue until we succeed in developing sport talents in Mmaku and all parts of greater Awgu and Enugu State in general.”

“The only regret I have today is that my father is not around; today would have been the greatest day in his life,” he said.

“We know we have talented players in all the fields of sports outside the tennis court, we also have a standard football field on going to meet up with every sports activities. Remember, Mmaku once had a formidable football team Mmaku Tempest in the 70s, that team is not dead, it is sleeping and we are going to wake it up soon,” he said enthusiastically.

He further said: “I decided to go for Olympic standard because aside the fact that it is my taste, I believe that Enugu State government and the sports council can equally make use of the facility in case of any tournament since the distance from Enugu capital is not

far. It will increase the interest of youths in school.”

On the renovation of school building with solar energy, the young Andeh lrecalled that those school blocks were built by their fathers with hard-earned money gotten from palm wine and it will not be good to allow the school dilapidate “while God has blessed some of us with little money to assist.”

“My advice to other young men is that we should use whatever we have to assist our various communities in one little way or the other not necessarily money,” noting that ideas most times, “work wonders than money”.

To make sure the standard Olympic Tennis court lacks nothing as per facilities, it was contracted out to a well-establishing tennis court construction company, Cuti Tennis, a Lagos-based company which has been constructing all over Nigeria. The philanthropist appealed to government at all levels to post qualified teachers to the school, pointing out that the equipment will amount to waste if they are not put to proper use by the teachers to direct and teach the students on the best way to manage the equipment.

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Arts When artists ‘knock on wood’ at Alexis Galleries OBINNA EMELIKE

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o doubt, there seems to be dormant names in the Nigerian visual art landscape; names that excite gallery owners and move global art collectors to pay dearly for works bearing these notable signatures.

But the intrigue is that legendary or master artists of today started small years ago. As well, some budding artists with eyes on stardom are somewhere in the corner, working hard, improving on their works, trying new techniques and are getting better everyday. They are the masters of tomorrow.

Some of these determined artists are among the six who participated at a onemonth artists’-in-residency programme, which held at Alexis Galleries, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Starting from May 6, 2019, the six artists locked themselves out of distractions in the residency programme tagged ‘Knock on wood’, which required the artists to explore wood as the only medium for their work.

The artists, who have participated in some residencies in past were excited, yet challenged because ‘Knock on wood’, which offered wood as the only medium, took them away from their comfort zone of painting on canvas.

The challenge was exactly what Patty Chidiac Mastro-

Francis Sewanu Agemo

Darlington Chukwumezie

giannis, founder/director, Alexis Galleries, needed to help these artists think out of the box and challenge their creativity.

Of course, the works on display at the residency are sheer beauties, generous showcase of creative ingenuity and pointer to the fact that the artists are becoming master in no distant time.

Fr o m S a m u e l Te t e katchan, Chukwuemeka Michaels Osisiego, David Taiwo Olatunde, Kelvin Chukwudi Ubani, Francis Sewanu Agemo and Darlington Chukwumezie, it was networking, exchange of ideas and tools, and most importantly, healthy rivalry for the one month residency.

For Chukwuemeka Mi-

chael Osisiego, a graduate of Fine Art from the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 2007, the residency brought out the artist in him because of the challenge to work on wood rather than his usual painting on canvas.

He presented three wonderful works; Expectancy, On your own, and Various ideas.

Explaining his work, On Your Own, he says ‘You are on your own in this life’, depicts how life is lived in the society today. “You have to be rich to enter the colorful side of life, and when people manage to cross the golden line to a life of affluence, they don’t want to go back to their former status”.

For, Expectancy, he says, one attracts to himself the

Samuel Tete-katchan

feelings inside him because nature sees you and offers you same thing you feel.

On the benefit of the residency, Osisiego, who runs a studio at Anthony Village Lagos, says, “I have also exchanged and learnt from my colleagues here, especially faster and more efficient techniques. Residency is about learning”.

But what thrilled David Olatunde, who works primarily with acrylic, oil and wood is the learning of new techniques that make his work easier now.

He adopted the new techniques in the works he executed at the residency; A step of a thousand miles, Afro and My private domain.

Explaining some of his

Kelvin Chukwudi Ubani

works, Olatunde says, “My first work is ‘A step of a thousand miles’; because we believe that you have to take a step to move, once you make a decision, take a step to actualize that decision” His second work entitled ‘Speak out’ is a further campaign for the welfare and protection of the girl-child. It features three figures that tried to speak out but cannot because they are in a cage”.

Also speaking, Francis Sewanu Agemo, a graduate of Fine and Applied Art from Delta State University Abraka in 2008 and a native of Badagry says, “The residency is exciting because it is his first time to work on panel. “I always paint on canvas and acrylic. When I was invited to work on wood, I saw it as opportunity to try new thing.

So far, I have been able to translate what I do on canvas on wood. It also offers me opportunity to begin to express myself on wood after this residency”.

For the artist, who was also on a residency at Alexis Galleries in January, and who finished as a sculptor in school, the residency brought him back to sculptor. “It is not difficult shifting from painting to sculptor; just that sculptor requires more strength than painting, and not always fast to finish”.

In same vein, Samuel Tetekatchan, who came from Ghana, paints on canvas, but the residency is special for him because of its wood focus. “It gives me another feeling and reminds me of

my root. As a Christian and Catholic, we have statues and crosses created by artists”.

He is also appreciative of the organisers. “This residency is projecting the future masters; it is one month, but looks like training for one year because we are learning from each other. It is a big school that Madam Patty is creating”.

As well, the residency is fulfilling for Darlington Chukwumezie, who is on his second residency with Alexis Galleries. “The first one was easier because I was working on canvas; my specialty. But this is a bit challenging having to work with wood and using tools that you have not used before on wood”.

Kelvin Chukwudi Ubani, a graduate of Fine and Applied Art from Abia State University, appreciates Patty for challenging the creativity inherent in all of the artists because wood form of art, according to him, entails courage, passion and technical know-how.

The Abuja-based artist, who travelled to Suleja, Niger State to source wood for his work at the residency, says he benefited most from networking and exchanging ideas with his colleagues.

Some of his works at the residency include; Family, Generation, The gods are wise, made from very old roots of trees, bones and infusion of Pepsi can to appreciate the sponsors.

However, there is one thing that resonates among the artists, it is appreciation of

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Arts Patty Chidiac Mastrogiannis, founder/director, Alexis Galleries, for her sustained support for artists, promotion of their works, initiating healthy rivalry among them and grooming them to become masters tomorrow.

On her part, Madam Patty says her support is the only thing she can offer and will not relent in her contributions to the empowerment of artists, development of art and making art to reckon in the economy of Africa, starting from Nigeria.

However, the works ex-

fiong Isaac (metal sculptor), Olorunyemi Kolapo Obadiah (painter from Abuja), Oyelusi Olusunkanmi (painter) and Dr. John Oyedemi (painter), were happy to encounter Patty and impacted by her generosity.

Today, the six artists, who participating in the Knock On Wood residency project are drawing from the generosity of Patty.

Explaining her passion for the arts and commitment to grow the arts, she says, “I am passionate

Chukwuemeka Michaels Osisiego

David Taiwo Olatunde

ecuted by the six artists on the knock on wood residency will be exhibited in October this year at Alexis Galleries.

But credit goes to Patty for introducing artists’ residency to her already burgeoning profile and plethora of exhibitions in 2018. The maiden edition of the one-month artistin-residence programme at the Gallery II, which doubles as a studio for the artists, hosted six artists selected across generational gaps, from emerging to established artists, to build a sustainable relationship that will inspire innovative thinking.

At the end, the artists, which included; Oluwole Omofemi (painter from Ibadan), Samuel TeteKatchan (sculptor/painter from Ghana), Sunday Ef-

about arts. I have always been an art collector from that time I decided to open this place. I am a philanthropist, I like to help people. I am a giver too. So, helping artists to go up is a passion of mine. Since I like to collect, I opened this place and I started helping people that I thought needed my help, this is how the art came to be. I get even more excited when the artists soar, then I know that I was able to contribute to that success”.

The artists residency project is part of Patty’s passionate for art and dedication of her gallery space, and studio to the development of budding Nigerian visual artists. Yet, she goes the extra mile to donate part of the proceeds from her art business to charity.

Iké Udé’s ‘Nollywood Portraits: A radical beauty’ photography exhibition opens in Lagos ..Arts connoisseurs, corporates, celebrities grace exhibition

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ew York based, Nigerian born fine art phot o g r a p h e r, Iké Udé’s solo photography exhibition has opened at Alliance Française at Mike Adenuga Centre, 9, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The exhibition will run until June 16, 2019.

The exclusive preview of the exhibition took place on May 31, 2019. It was attended by art connoisseurs, members of the Nollywood industry and top corporate gurus including; Bella Adenuga Disu, executive director at Globacom, Sandra Obiago, a renowned curator, Osahon Akpata, project manager, Nollywood Portraits, Sadiq Daba, Ozzy Agu, Uti Nwachukwu and Eku Edewor.

There were also several filmmakers’ present including; Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Tope Oshin Ogun and Charles Novia.

Titled ‘Nollywood Portraits: A Radical Beauty’, the exhibition is showcasing 64 enthralling portraits of members of Nigeria’s vibrant movie scene, Nollywood.

In the portraits, which are full length and captured in uniquely elegantly style, Ude’ orchestrates a histrionic filmic atmosphere of light and colour, whereby the industry’s illustrious veterans, in company with the next generation of emerging talent pose in classically staged shots. Pictographic depiction includes a cross section of industry personalities, such veterans as Olu Jacobs, Sadiq Daba, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke Linus, Kunle Afolayan and rising stars including; Alexx Ekubo, Enyinna Nwigwe, Linda Ejiofor, Kehinde Bankole and several others.

Explaining the distinctiveness of his style at the exclusive preview event, Ude revealed that it comes from

L-R: Ike Ude, Bella Adenuga Disu, executive director of Globacom and Osahon Akpata, project manager of the Nollywood Portraits, during the exclusive preview of the exhibition.

his background as a painter.

“I was formerly a painter; hence, my photographs employ a painterly language and longer-time process in the making of the pictures.” The “making-ness” of the picture is the definitive word because the portraits that emerge are no longer just pictures showing a moment of time captured by exposed film; they become works of art realized over periods of time.

“The whole exhibition is in colour. There are 64 individual portraits and one grand group portrait of all the subjects, which I named “The School of Nollywood”, a reference to and departure from Rafael’s 1509 fresco, The School of Athens which can be seen at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The painting is of a grandiose architectural framework, depicting prominent philosophers of Greek antiquity, posed in a manner whereby they dominate but do not crowd their environment”.

Ude further described Nollywood as the Nigerian and African mirror par excellence while also revealing his immeasurable admiration for members of the industry

The school of Nollywood 2016 by Ike Ude

because of their industriousness, tenacity, DIY-can-doattitude, cleverness, confidence and swag.

With these works of portraiture, Udé seeks to complement the discourse on the representation of Africans in cinema, from colonial domination and inferior stereotypes to one of intellect and creative agency in telling our own stories.

Speaking of what takes a photograph memorable, Ude said: “The style, the how (composition, form, lighting, colour) and other precious, unquantifiable intangible poetics. I think that emphasis on political or socio-political content of a picture becomes irrelevant once the topical issues of the picture fades or are forgotten with the passage of time. But an exquisitely and imaginatively, well composed picture is invariably timeless in its appeal, regardless of when or where it was made”.

Udé is an aesthete, dandy, writer and founder of the seminal artfashion print magazine aRUDE, 1995-2009. In addition to the accompanying coffee table book, Nollywood Portraits: A Radical Beauty published by Skira in 2016, he

is also the author of Style Files: The World’s Most Elegantly Dressed, published by Harper Collins in 2008 and Beyond Decorum published by M.I.T Press in 2000. Vanity Fair included him in the magazine’s International Best Dressed List in 2009, 2012 and 2015.

He has been described as a master portraitist along with Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt van Rijn and Andy Warhol and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and has been reviewed in a number of publications including Art in America, The New Yorker, Art Daily, L’UOMO Vogue, Flash Art, and The New York Times. His articles on fashion and art have been published in magazines and newspapers worldwide.

Throughout his innovative career, Udé’s work has been exhibited at Leila Heller Gallery, New York (2013), the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence (2013), the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis (2014), the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam (2014), the Palm Springs Museum of Art, Palm Springs (2015), and the National Academy Museum and School, New York (2015), amongst others. Udé’s work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum, Washington D.C., The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York, the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT, the Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, NE and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, Providence, RI. He currently lives and works in New York.

The exhibition is sponsored by Ford Foundation and curated by African Artists Foundation.

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Travel

Accra Weizo sets for 2019 edition …to recognise Top Conference Centres in West Africa Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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iding on the success of its past four editions, Accra Weizo, a two-day travel expo for stakeholders within the West Africa region and beyond, is set to host travel and hospitality professionals on its fifth edition.

Akwaaba African Travel Market, the organiser of the two-day annual travel event, is promising more exciting and impactful outing this year.

Once again, the event is offering a fresh breath for African travel, and tourism from June 28-29, 2019 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana.

Aside the annual Balafon award, one of the highlights of this year’s edition is the recognition Top Conference Centres in West Africa. The recognistion is aimed at appreciating the efforts of the centres at creating employment, boosting quality of infrastructure offerings and ultimately growing the Meetings Incentives Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in West Africa.

Already, African Travel Quarterly (ATQ), the organiser of the Balafon award, has opened nominations for 2019 Balafon West African Travel and Tourism Awards as part of events for the 2019 edition of Accra Weizo, the annual travel event.

It would be recalled that in the 2017 edition, Accra Weizo hosted the awards for ‘Top 100 Tourism Personalities in West Africa’ and at

Panelists on ‘hot seat’ at one of the sessions of the 2018 Accra Weizo

the 2018 edition it hosted the ‘Top 100 Hotels in West Africa’. Beside its annual Balafon award in 2019, atqnews.com seeks to position the leading conference centres in West Africa in positive light. The winners of the categories have been selected via nominations to atqnewsawards@gmail.com before June 4, 2019 and it will be ratified by a board made of specialist and media.

Like in other editions, the award categories for the Balafon awards are: Travel Personality of the Year in West Africa, Tourism Man of the

Transcorp Hilton Abuja wins big at 2019 World Travel Awards …Named Africa’s Leading Business Hotel for fifth consecutive year

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ranscorp Hilton Abuja has been recognised as Africa’s Leading Business Hotel for the fifth consecutive year at the prestigious World Travel Awards.

At the 2019 Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, held at the Sugar Beach – a sun resort, Mauritius on June 1, 2019, Transcorp Hilton Abuja scooped five of the eleven awards won by Hilton properties, as voted for by travel and tourism professionals globally.

The hotel, which is owned by Transcorp Hotels Plc, the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, was recognised in the following categories at the 2019 World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony with hundreds of industry leaders in attendance: Africa’s Leading Business Hotel: Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Nigeria’s Leading Hotel: Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Nigeria’s Leading Business Hotel: Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Nigeria’s Leading MICE Hotel: Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Nigeria’s Leading Hotel Suite: Presidential Suite at Transcorp Hilton Abuja.

Receiving the awards on behalf of the hotel, Owen Omogiafo, managing director/chief executive officer, Transcorp Hotels Plc, said, “It is an honour to have been recognised by

the World Travel Awards 2019. The award is a testament to the genuine passion and dedication our hotel puts into going the extra mile for our guests. Thank you to all our guests and our amazing team members at Transcorp Hilton Abuja who are at the heart of our successes; without them we would not have been recognised for this great achievement.”

Kevin Brett, general manager, Transcop Hilton Abuja, said, “We are honored to have been recognised by the World Travel Awards 2019.

This recognition is a testament to our commitment to excellence and to providing an outstanding guest experience and is a reflection of our hotel’s exceptional team members and facilities. Winning the award for Africa’s Leading Business Hotel 2019 is also recognition for the destination of Nigeria being elevated among the best on the African continent.”

The prestigious World Travel Awards, established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry, have become a key global institution of the industry, and are recognised as the ultimate hallmark of quality worldwide. The winners set the benchmark to which all others aspire.

Year in West Africa, Aviation Man of the Year in West Africa, Hotel Personality of the Year in West Africa and Aviation Minister of the Year West Africa.

Other categories are: Tourism minister of the year in West Africa, Best Airline in West Africa, Best Hotel in West Africa, Best Airport in West Africa (for government agencies), Best Ground Handling Company in West Africa, Best Tourism Marketing Award West Africa, Top three (3) tourism Events of the Year West Africa and Top ten (10) Conference Centres in West Africa.

As well, in appreciation of the positive impact of Accra Weizo on the country’s tourism sector and economy, the Ghana Tourism Authority signed a five-year MOU with the organisers of Accra Weizo at the World Travel Market in London last year. The MOU is to jointly organise the successful expo with the owners Akwaaba Travel Market.

Accra Weizo has been organised in Ghana for four years now and the 2019 edition holds from June 28-29, 2019 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana.

At the London fair, Akwasi Agy-

eman, the acting CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, signed on behalf of Ghana, while Ikechi Uko signed on behalf of Akwaaba Travel Market. “This agreement offers Ghana an opportunity to help build up an already thriving platform into a bigger event. We recognize the efforts and contributions of the organisers but we want the event bigger than it is and we believe it will bring more travel professionals to Ghana”, Agyeman said.

On his part, Uko thanked GTA for the partnership. “It takes a man with a vision to see the power behind such platforms and move to take ownership of the project for the growth of Tourism in Ghana. I applaud the CEO and his team for this collaboration. We expect that with the goodwill of the government of Ghana Weizo will grow bigger”. The agreement spells out roles by both sides and timelines to be managed by a joint committee.

Ghana is the leading Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination in West Africa and ranks Number One on ICCA ratings. Hosting Accra Weizo reinforces the positioning of Accra for MICE and Ghana for tourism.

Weizo has successfully brought travel professionals from different countries to Ghana for tourism business. It is themed for seamless travel in West Africa.

Ghana has declared 2019 the year of return in commemoration of 400 years of slavery. It has since hosted many events to mark the year. Accra weizo will be one of the international events listed for 2019.

Farewell to Madam Tourism

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n Saturday May 18, 2019, dignitaries and stakeholders in the beauty and make-up sector witnessed the opening of WABIO Beauty Studio in Lekki, Phase 1.

The unique thing about the opening was that Madam Fatima Garbati cheerfully cut the tape to usher in the public into the beauty outfit for business.

Of course, Ebele Enemchuckwu, former Mrs Tourism United Nations, was happy to woo the calibre of Madam Garbati to open her outfit. She was truly lucky because Madam Garbati was actually the Mother of Nigerian Tourism then.

Yet again, the presence of Madam Garbati was well-felt at the 2019 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), which held at Ile Ife, Osun State. From the Ife Grand Resort; venue of the AGM, the Ooni’s Palace, and to the tourist sites, Madam Garbati’s presence and impact were felt.

But unfortunately, those were the last public outings of the woman who was unarguably a tourism Amazon in Nigeria, who died on May 31, 2019 at the Obafemi

Awolowo Teaching Hospital in Ife. For those who do not know much about her while she was alive, she had decades of experience in the tourism and aviation industry and is a champion to the bedrock of legislations and enacted rules that have impacted positively to the sustainability of tourism legislation in Nigeria and Africa.

She truly loved and lived for tourism despite starting with the aviation sector.

Late madam Fatima Garbati was one of the founding members of Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) and former general manager, Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Late Fatima Garbati, cutting the tape for the opening of WABIO Beauty Studio in Lekki Phase l, Lagos, last month.

Garbati, who was a past president of NATOP, alongside other executive members of the association, contributed immensely to the creation of the Calabar Christmas Carnival, which is a yardstick of tourism engagement in Nigeria.

In addition, she geared the association towards creating network and synergy along various chains of tourism products, as well as, encouraging it to support profitable, working relationship with other countries, most recently South Africa.

During her stay at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, she championed consumers’ issues with a focus on tourism sector, and in 2006, headed the committee that resolved the consumer protection rights and payment of compensation to families of victims of air mishaps in Nigeria. She continued to embody true tourism values by being a focal stakeholder engaging with the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Ministry of Information and Culture, and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOURS).

Fatima had in the past represented Nigeria internationally on several platforms, of note as the chairperson of IATA investigating panel for 10 years, representing English-speaking West Africa and Nigeria at the ‘Yamoussoukro Decision’ meetings until 1995.

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BDSUNDAY 27

Travel How AirFrance plans to eliminate 210 million single-use plastic items by the end of 2019 Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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n World Environment Day, on board flight AF378 from Paris to Detroit, Air France replaced most of the single-use plastic items distributed to customers with products made from biobased materials; It’s the end of the road for plastic cutlery, cups, stirrers amongst others. For this year’s World Environment Day, passengers on flight AF378 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Detroit were offered products made of bio-based materials instead of single-use plastic items usually distributed on board, in keeping with airline rules and health regulations.

Air France has announced its decision to eliminate 1,300 tons of single-use plastic.

In this way, Air France will eliminate 210 million single-use plastic items by the end of 2019. They will be replaced by sustainable alternatives on all flights.

This represents 100 million plastic cups replaced with paper

cups; 85 million plastic cutlery items replaced with products made from bio-based materials and packaging; and 25 million plastic stirring sticks replaced with wooden stirrers.

Since November 2018, Air France has replaced the plate and cutlery set used for the second

SAA ‘NewBrandsXPO Exhibition Support’ beneficiaries emerge

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ifewalk Travels, Grandeur Travels and Triplisters Limited have been named beneficiaries of the NewBrandsXPO (NBX) - South African Airways (SAA) Exhibition Support towards participation at the NewBrandsXPO holding at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos on 19th and 20th July 2019.

The three emerging businesses were selected via an open and transparent application process, and they will be showcasing their unique travel products and services at the South African Airways pavilion of this year’s exhibition and workshop.

Ohis Ehimiaghe, regional manager, West, North and Central Africa, SAA, while speaking at the unveiling, noted: “Lack of mentorship and inadequate exposure are among the major challenges that start-up companies and emerging businesses face.”

“As part of our commitment to the growth of the Nigerian travel industry, we are happy

to facilitate the participation of these budding agencies at the NewBrandsXPO to give them much needed exposure, and pleased to welcome them into our year-long business mentorship programme, designed to help them stay competitive and profitable.”

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance.

NewBrandsXPO is a one-stop shop for organizations seeking to launch new products and services in-market, and get instant feedback. It is promoted by Heventin, a corporate event and brands activation company, and Uburu, an integrated marketing communications consultancy.

meal on long-haul flights with a “BON APPETIT” bag.

By the end of the year, these innovations will result in the elimination of 1,300 tons of plastic.

In addition, since 2015, Air France no longer supplies plastic drinking straws on board, representing a reduction of 1.3 million

plastic items.

A showcase for the future of air travel Flight AF378 on June 5 from Paris to Detroit is operated by Boeing 787-9, the latest addition to the Air France fleet. A new-generation aircraft, the Dreamliner offers a large number of operational

advantages, including 20 percent lower fuel consumption than older aircraft and a significantly reduced noise footprint.

Pilots will optimize the flight path according to the weather conditions and the weight of the aircraft. These eco-piloting techniques will make it possible to achieve a controlled fuel consumption of around 2.7 litres per passenger per 100 km.

One ambition, one commitment and concrete results Air France is committed to reducing its environmental footprint in order to offer its customers a responsible travel experience and acts on a daily basis to limit the impact of its operations.

Air France has set itself three major objectives to meet this challenge which include reduce and offset its CO2 emissions; reduce, recycle and reprocess its waste and reduce the noise footprint of its operations.

The actions carried out by the Air France group since 2011 have already made it possible to reduce its CO2 emissions per passenger by 20 percent and to reach the 2020 target by 2018.

SAHCO Managing Director wins ‘Integrity Man of the Year’ award

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he Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC, Basil Agboarumi has been awarded the 2019 Integrity Man of the year by the Nigerian Association of Christian Journalist (NACJ) at the Sheraton Hotel and Suites, Ikeja.

The event organized by NACJ is the 7th Annual Integrity Award Night and Lecture with the theme ‘Integrity is Everything’ was attended by the crème-de-la-crème of the society and dignitaries from all professions.

According to Charles Tola Okhai, Secretary General of NACJ during his keynote address, the association was formed to contribute their quota to Nigeria by organizing the Integrity Award in 2013 to promote integrity across all spectrum of the society. “We developed a product called integrity lecture and awards to address lack of integrity in our society and that is our vision”.

While emphasizing on the level of scrutiny before an award is given to individuals, the organizer said the NACJ award is not for everyone because every recipient must have proved beyond reasonable doubt that their life has been lived with integrity in every sphere, stating that the award is not strictly for Christians as many people may erroneously believe as some previous recipients have been people from other faith

with high level of integrity in their various fields of operations and personal lives.

According to him “We don’t give awards for the excitement of giving awards, once you receive our awards, we continue to monitor your activities and your dealings at all levels”.

Dino Melaye, who was the keynote speaker at the event emphasized the importance of integrity in governance. Melaye stated that integrity is very important in governance because no elected official, either in government or in the private sector will steal from his people, stressing that the number one thing anyone needs to be a successful politician is integrity and that earnestness and purpose are components of integrity.

Chikwendu Udensi, the chairman of the occasion, said he offered to chair the event because of the level of integrity inherent in NACJ’s processes over the years, stating that every receiver of the award are truly men and women of integrity and he is happy to be in such category.

Basil Agboarumi was given the 2019 Prestigious Man of Integrity Award due to his selfless service to humanity with a high sense of Integrity. He expressed his surprise at how he was chosen to be a recipient of such an impressive award. He went on to say that he felt honoured to be given an award

alongside honorables, senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Seasoned Professionals and even non Nigerians as well.

Agboarumi emphasized that life is all about Integrity and that it means standing for what is right and upright even when one is alone.

He went on to say that the Nation needs people that are driven by Integrity, not eye-service and are not influenced by anything.

He is an enthusiastic and passionate professional with more than 18 years of experience with increased leadership skills and abilities in Aviation Ground Handling and Public Relations and Management demonstrating a strong background in Government, Corporations and Non-profit organizations.

Agboarumi joined the Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited, then a subsidiary of the Nigerian Airways, as the pioneer staff/Head of the Public Affairs Unit.

After the privatization and subsequent takeover of the company, Basil was appointed the Head of Corporate Communications with a mandate to spearhead the rebranding of the new company.

He was elevated to the position of General Manager in 2013 and thereafter made to head the Corporate Communications and Information Technology departments, providing leadership for the day to day operations of the units.

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Life&Living

Special gift ideas for Father’s Day

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Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

rom cool-guy colognes to skin care essentials, there is a kit for every kind of guy. More so, dads on their special day. It’s always easy for people Celebrate mums on mother’s day and get them thoughtful gifts, but when it comes to father’s day, we crack our brains trying to figure out the best way the appreciate the men in our lives who protect and provide for the whole family.

Let’s make this year’s Father’s Day on Sunday June 16 a special one for fathers by getting them thoughtful gifts to celebrate all their efforts.

Shoes: More than likely, your dad has a professional wardrobe that’s well rounded, but when it comes to sneakers, he probably wears the

same pair all the time. Instead of letting your dad run his current sneakers into the ground (literally), gift him with a new pair to upgrade his style. Even if your dad already has a closet full of sneakers, another pair will always make for a great gift.

From classics that never go out of style to modern runners, minimal designs, and all wool sneakers, there are best options to give your dad this Father’s Day. Ties: It might seem like a small accessory, but it make the big difference to any man’s outfit. Make your dad look like the classiest man in the room with the Gunmetal Executive Clasp Tie Bar from Ties.com. As fashion accessories go, neckties are about as functional as the wigs worn by aristocratic men in old European portraits. As it turns out, both traditions trace back to the reign of Louis XIII of

France, a period when swashbuckling capes, wide-brimmed hats, and ruffled shirts were in fashion (this is the time of the Three Musketeers and Cyrano de Bergerac, after all).

Shirts As with most annual occasions, you don’t want to be buying the same gift every year. If you think that you want to get the special men in

your life something different this time around, check out this list of Father’s Day shirts online. It doesn’t matter what he’s into, you’ll find something for him.

When it comes to Father’s Day shirts, this one says it all. You can choose from 5 different colors which means you’re guaranteed to get one he will love. Everyone he passes in the street will know how

much of an amazing dad he is just by the tee he’s wearing.

Cuff links: A man’s taste is easily known by his choice of accessories. No better way to show impeccable taste than the brand that defines class.

Cufflinks are the hallmark of a stylish, well-dressed man. And, these days, there are lots and lots of choices when it comes to picking a pair to wear or to gift. Occasion is probably the first thing most people think about when purchasing cufflinks. Chances are, you already have an occasion in mind for your dad, and that’s why you’re shopping.

However, although cufflinks are a greatloop addition to almost any outfit (traditional or formal black tie outfits). You can even go a step further by personalising it with your dad’s initials for a more special touch.

Ways to reduce wedding costs for yourself and your guests IFEOMA OKEKE

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t’s easy to get carried away when wedding planning, and with so many different factors to consider – from the venue to the wedding dress and the honeymoon – bills can soon pile up. But a few clever cutbacks can not only help to save money for the bride and groom, but also for your wedding guests. Read on for some expert advice…

What to cut first Couples looking to cut the cost of their wedding may want to consider how those who are already married successfully trimmed their budgets.

Nationwide’s survey found the wedding dress was the most likely item to be “downgraded” to save money, followed by the number of guests, the invitations, the venue and the food. Many high street stores now sell wedding dresses, or brides on a budget could go for a more vintage look by trawling second hand and charity shops, or auction websites for a bargain.

When it came to the aspects of the wedding most likely to be ditched altogether, canapés came out on top, followed by favours, cars, suit hire and a paid-for bar.

Perhaps for some people, having home-made canapés with a personal touch, rather than ditching them altogether, and swapping champagne for cheaper forms of bubbly, could be a compromise.

If you need to go into debt, do your research If you can’t see any way of avoid-

ing getting into debt, at the very least it’s important to compare loans to get the best deal. Kevin Pratt, a consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “As with any borrowing, it’s also wise to set a schedule following the wedding to make sure you can repay it in good time.”

How to cut the cost for your guests While trying to keep a tight rein on their own budgets, nearly twothirds (63%) of brides and grooms

actively consider how to reduce costs for guests attending their weddings, according to research from American Express. It found the top three ways brides and grooms try to reduce costs are: choosing a venue within a close distance to family and friends to reduce travel costs, selecting a stag or hen do that won’t be too pricey, and asking guests not to buy gifts.

Here are some tips from American Express for couples planning a cost-conscious wedding for their

guests: Alert international guests early: Once you know the date, ensure any guests flying in to attend the wedding know as early as possible, so they can secure the best travel deals.

Negotiate room deals: Many accommodation providers will provide a discount on rooms if you make a block booking for your guests.

Consider the venue carefully: If you don’t want your guests to break the bank, look at the price of drinks your venue is providing to ensure there are some budget-friendly options.

Make gift lists affordable: If you are sending out a gift list, ensure there are items that fit all budgets, so guests don’t feel concerned about not spending enough on you.

Points can make presents: Check how many rewards points you have on your cards. There may be enough to buy wedding favours for guests with them, so they have a small gift.

Sunday 09 June 2019

Bliss with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

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

A lot of people thought I won’t make it – DJ Spinall Bright Chimezie to judge Hi-Life

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J Spinall has grown to become one of the successful Disc Jockeys in Nigeria. But the guy who does wonders on the wheels of steel has said that a lot of people felt he would not make it when he was coming up.

In the new episode of MTV Base’s Behind the Story, the talented DJ talked about his journey to success as well as his near encounter with failure if he had ever listened to the words of disbelief people kept sowing in his mind.

He said, “Initially, all I just wanted was to make it and I needed to show the world that nothing is too difficult to be achieved. I heard a lot from people that I will not get there, but I saw it as a challenge to grow and be better. The hardest part was getting people to believe in the dream.”

Born Desmond Sodamola, the multi awarded-winning DJ used the TV show to highlight and share some success tips and steps he took to become the celebrated DJ he is today.

He equally expressed his love for his career and how it was very difficult for anyone to believe in his

Fest regional auditions

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ith decades of experience when it comes to Highlife music, it didn’t come as a surprise when the organisers of 2019 HI-Life fest announced veteran musician, Bright Chimezie, as a regional judge.

And as the Life Continental Lager has commenced the 2019 edition of Hi-Life fest, a music talent hunt aimed to celebrate highlife music, which is the predominant music genre in Southeastern Nigeria, the musician, alongside some other judges, would determine the fate of some Nigerians hoping to be a part of the talent hunt show.

talent. He emphasised his belief that no dream is unattainable and shared insights into how much work he put in to ensure that he achieved all his set goals.

He s a i d , “ Fo r e v e r y b o d y out there, in any locality, your dreams are very valid”.

While explaining that the music industry is growing rapidly day-by-day DJ Spinall encouraged every young person in it to strive to be and do better while keeping hopes high.

DJ Spinall also revealed during the interview with MTV Base’s VJ, Ehiz, that while there is a strong competition in the industry, only those who can overcome their fears, go through the process of constantly developing their crafts to be among the best and never stop working hard can excel. He hints that with the fierce competition, only the strong can survive as there are limited slots for great people in the industry.

“33” Export thrills Jos with Connect Experience

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ome residents in Jos, Plateau State had a great time of their lives when “33” Export delighted consumers with another edition of its Connect Experience.

The event, which was hosted at Legend’s club, had hundreds of guest in attendance, as consumers came together to unwind and bask in the fun atmosphere.

The night featured various games including Jenga, and Connect 4. Winners of these games went home with gifts and prizes such as generators and standing fans.

But music took centre stage.

The DJ on the wheels blasted hit songs back to back and the residents got on their feet and danced nonstop.

Prior the Jos edition, Lagos, Uyo, Port Harcourt and Makurdi have had a taste of the excitement when the Connect train birthed in these cities.

With great music, exciting gamesandanall-aroundconvivial atmosphere, the connect experienceshavebecomeafan-favorite ashundredsofconsumersgather to network and unwind.

Over the years, the brand has been revered for fostering bonds and with the next edi-

tion in Abeokuta on the 14th of June, guests and consumers can look to get the very best of fun and excitement when the Connect train arrives.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of “33” Export and the brand is hosting 33 of these connect experiences all through the year in locations such as Lagos, Jos, Uyo, Aba, Makurdi, Benin and Akure.

The regional contest kicks off at the New Berries, Abakaliki road, Enugu on the 9th of June, 2019 where contestants will audition in music and traditional dance categories.

Apart from Chief Bright Chimezie, renowned African dance scholar/instructor; Dr. Akaz, and actor David Jones-David will also lead the team of judges.

The contest, which returns for its third installment, has produced remarkable highlife music talents who have grown to become bonafide stars of the genre. As usual, the competition will see the Hi-Life train move across different locations in the Southeast region in search of a

hopeful who will be crowned as the next highlife king.

Attendees at the regional auditions will be thrilled by musical and dance performances by the contestants, with the winner and the first runner-up qualifying for the quarter-final stage of the competition. There will also be special guest performances by previous Hi-Life fest contestants, as Life lager continues to support their progress in the music industry.

The overall winner of the 2019 Hi-Life Fest is set to go home with N5m, while the first and second runners-up will also go home with

N2m and N1m respectively.

Speaking ahead of the Enugu auditions, the Brand Manager, Life Lager, Chidi Egwu urged highlife musicians and enthusiasts in the coal city to come out en masse to enjoy the spectacle.

“We are happy to bring back HiLife Fest for the third consecutive year. The success recorded in past editions is a clear indication of the impact of this competition. Life Lager champions the progress of the people, and hi-life fest gives us a platform to showcase the remarkable talents from south-eastern Nigeria. We look forward to a great outing in Enugu.”

Hi-Life fest is an initiative of Life Continental Lager Beer, from the stables of Nigerian Breweries Plc.

MTN Foundation takes Theatre for Schools to PH

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s part of a new initiative to spur the growth of theatre arts in Nigeria, the MTN Foundation recently said a big ‘YES’ to several aspiring young thespians in four different secondary schools in Port Harcourt, in the Theatre for Schools initiative.

The schools include: Aladumo International school, Navy Secondary School, University Demonstration Secondary School and Ziva Tops.

Speaking on the initiative, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Nonny Ugboma said the initiative is designed to create a platform for secondary school students, mentored by Theatre Arts majors from prestigious Nigerian universities, to showcase their talents in the performing arts and receive recognition for their accomplishments.

“It is also aimed at discovering the next generation of thespians from their young age,” she said.

A visit to these youngsters

during their rehearsals with their student coaches in the theatre shows the determination and healthy competition among them. The youngsters wowed the audience during their performances at the competition as they transformed into different characters; mothers and fathers, an old man, a dancer, a lover boy, a messenger and even a prop.

At the end of the competition,

Navy Secondary School was declared the winner of the southern regional Theatre For Schools competition, Aladumo International school was given second place, Ziva Tops got the third position and UDSS, Port Harcourt took the fourth position.

The final competition comes up in Lagos where winning schools from regional competitions will compete for the grand prize.

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Feature

When SARS men bit more than they could chew in Rivers

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IGNATIUS CHUKWU

o n s o Ak u k a , a young man of post-teenage age, sent insulting text messages to his mummy’s sister (aunt) in the midst of a mild intra-family beef; the next thing he saw was men of the dreaded but highly despised Anti-Robbery Special Squad (SARS) who whisked him off to their Port Harcourt operational base where he passed through unprintable hell. He left the next two days with broken legs. He is still recuperating in a village in a bonesetter’s home. He has nobody to cry out to for help, even as his aunt is said to be flaunting her ability to have contacts with SARS. This is why the fear of SARS in Rivers State seems to be the beginning of wisdom. With such awareness of the powers of life and death, the SARS men who sometimes operate in unmarked buses and dish out hell to ‘suspects’ in domestic matters took on a boy whose mother fries ‘akara’ (bean cake) in a neighbourhood. Kofi Bartels, a popular On-Air-Personality (OAP) with Nig Info FM Station in Port Harcourt was passing and felt for the poor lad who was allegedly screaming his innocence along with his mother. The lad was being violently forced into a bus by the SARS men. Such victims hardly make it back, and Bartels knew this much.

The popular radio personality and compère tried to intervene but thought better, and pulled out his camera to capture the moment the lad was being stuffed into a waiting unmarked

bus. This was how he bought trouble on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

According his outcry, the SARS men descended on him with merciless kicking and smashing.

When they realised who he was, the matter grew worse; “Oh, those journalists who always condemn SARS on radio every day?”

He said they now took him to their headquarters where he was summarily tried and found guilty of being a newsman, of meddling into matters, and other offences such as recording with his phone.

The beating took a hellish turn, he stated. Bartels said he never believed he would come out of it alive. One said if he was one of those who arrested him, he would have wasted him. Others threatened to throw him into a cell full of gay suspects so they would deal with his anus. He now realised such cells exist that are full of different vampires that could do nasty things to persons thrown to them at will like Daniel to lions.

Bartel said his matter got to a former SARS Commander who pressed on the men to free him, else, he would have joined the growing number of persons disappearing in the Garden City.

This was not without warning him to “watch your back”, something he understood to be that his file is not closed yet. For this he cried thus: “I’m taking their threats to my life seriously and will be putting authorities on notice. But please be aware, if anything happens to me or my family and friends, you know who to suspect.”

Bartels was carried back home with his leg broken, his body like a pulp. He said his body was red. Soon, his outcry hit the airwaves and the national and

international media community took it from there, full of rage and fury. Nigerians (especially Rivers people) remembered their agonies in the hands of SARS operatives and recalled that the Inspector General of Police claimed to have reformed SARS and had prohibited them from domestic matters, debt collection, and matters outside armed robbery and violent crimes, none of which Bartels or Nonso came close to.

The body of journalists in Rivers State was livid with anger and sent a definite statement to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Usman Belel, demanding apology, action, etc. Other organisations took strong positions, too. The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, described the torture that Bartels went through as barbaric and an act of cowardice.

The NUJ, in a statement signed by its Secretary, Ike Wigodo, on Thursday, condemned in strong terms Bartel’s handcuffing and the threat to ‘waste’ the life of the young man, and regretted that a security agency paid to protect lives and property could turn itself into a monster terrorising innocent citizens in the country.

The NUJ, therefore, demanded an unreserved apology from the Rivers State Police Command within 14 days for the assault against Mr. Bartels or risk its activities boycotted by journalists in the state.

Many groups continued the outcry. The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL) said it received the news with utter consternation, saying was more shocking the anger of the SA men was more inflamed upon recognition of their victim as one of the journalists

that had been giving them sleepless nights, using his expertise on radio, by way of speech. “His capital offence was speech”.

The statement signed by its acting director, Nwennenda C. King, went on; “This is happening less than two days that Mr. President of the Federal Republic in response to a recent report by the National Human Rights Commission, openly vowed that the rights of citizens must be respected and protected under the rule of law. IHRHL will continue to speak for a policy position that gives hope to the helpless in society, even if all other voices turn silent.”

The IGP however, acted swiftly to stem the tension. He ordered the arrest of those involved and soon, five operatives were said to have been arrested.

The IGP also sent a delegation led by the newly posted SARS officer, Jovina Iwuh, and the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, to Bartels employers and colleagues at Coolwazobiainfo on Thursday.

On this note, a notable citizen and friend of the media, Dakuku Peterside, commended the IGP Muhammed Adamu, for standing against brutalisation of the ‘Port Harcourt journalist’. Peterside, the director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), who expressed shock over the inhuman treatment of the journalist, said the action of the Inspector-General would send a strong signal to the bad eggs in the squad and the Nigeria Police Force, in general, that the Police Chief is ready to tackle cases of human rights violations committed against innocent Nigerians

by some cops.

While sympathising with Bartels over the harrowing experience he suffered in the hands of the cops, Peterside, who said that journalists should not be gagged from performing their professional duty, which includes being watchdog of society, pledged to stand by the broadcast journalist. The top marine administrator stated that journalists play a pivotal role in the development of every society, and should be counted as such and not as enemies.

While praying for Bartels’ quick recovery from the injuries inflicted on him, Peterside commended journalists in Rivers State for exercising restraint in the face of provocation even as he noted that such indiscretion as exhibited by the FSARS operatives could have generated violent response from the gentlemen of press. “Our journalists deserve respect and should be so accorded. Kofi Bartels has been a neutral umpire who uses the medium of radio to propagate fair, equitable and justiciable Rivers society. He has maintained the strictest principles of balanced reportage even as he motivates robust dialogues in all his live radio programmes. The treatment handed to him is condemnable and does not represent what he deserves,” he declared.

He praised the Rivers State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for standing with Bartels, saying their action has proved that the Union caters for its members and is ever ready to share in their burden of grief.

More citizens are calling for immediate prosecution of the SARS operatives and adequate compensation to Bartels.

Sunday 09 June 2019

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Feature

The four epochs of Nollywood, by pioneer Okechukwu ‘Paulo’ Ogunjiofor

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i o n eer Nol l y wood a c t o r Ok e c h u k w u “Paulo” Ogunjiofor says the industry has entered the final frontier or the fourth epoch of its evolution where global investors will join hands with local ones to create products for a worldwide audience. He calls the fourth epoch, the Investors’ Market.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Masters in Film Production at the School of Media & Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Ogunjiofor stated: “The fourth dimension is the final frontier of Nollywood where investors from all over the world will come to Africa and Nollywood to make their millions because there are a few people who are trained and have the requisite skills to tell stories and drive people to the cinemas and create a lot of eyeballs that would watch the films at cinemas and then put monies and profits into the pockets of the investors.”

He added, “That is the rise of the final frontier that we got to in 2013, and then the likes of the World Bank started to give us money, and the federal government instituted what they called Project ACT,and a lot of grants started to fly around from all around the world. Now that the grants are flying around and the banks are offering money to an industry that they never took notice of before, we need people who are trained in the art of filmmaking and also trained in the business of filmmaking.”

He endorsed the Masters in Film Production for its vision of producing industry-ready graduates that would man the new Nollywood of global standards.

Ogunjiofor’s latest work is Amina, a biopic on the life of the legendary Queen Amina of Zaria. He identified the three earlier epochs of Nollywood as the producer’s market, the marketer’s market and the viewers’ market.

In the producer’s market, he said, “they were just producing films and moving into the market, but they were good stories, and by creating those good stories, Nigeria had a new brandout of the brands that were in the world.” In the “marketer’s market”, he stated, “the marketers in the market who were not trained in the business of filmmaking but had shops and distribution avenues in the market hijacked the market from those who were professionals and began to tell the stories to the whole world. That was when the industry got misguided again because they were now telling stories that were no longer

...Says, Nollywood entering final frontier

Briefing on the audiovisual studio at the School of Media and Communication.

driven by passion and professionalism but by gain and profit.”

Nollywood then moved to the next stage, the viewers’ market. “So we moved from that level and came to the place where the likes of (Mahmoud) Ali Balogun and some other people, who decided to take us back to filmmaking, moved us into the third stage called theViewers’ market.

“Now the viewers market meant that for us to tell our stories and make money because the marketers had failed us, and the producers were not making money from the content they were creating. They realised that people needed to migrate to the cinemas so that they can then watch films, pay for it before it gets to the hands of pirates who call themselves ‘marketers’. So you see this third level was where we were as of 2009.”

The next was the Investor’s Market with expectations of entry of global players and the global competitiveness of Nollywood.

Ogunjiofor endorsed the MFP course at SMC. Box: The four epochs of Nollywood, by Okechukwu Ogunjiofor The first one was in 1992

when a few people gathered and made a film called Living in Bondage. It was just a form of passion that drove them to create a new platform so that people can tell stories using lesser equipment. Nobody was fooled that the equipments they were going to be using then – VHS machines – were at par with the big formats.

No. But it was just so that there would be a new brand of filmmaking; a new way of doing the old things so video was introduced into filmmaking so that we liberalise it and demystify the 35mm, 16mm formats that we were using in those days and it became a global phenomenon; everybody could now make film.

That first level was the Producers’ market; they were just producing films and moving into the market, but they were good stories, and by creating those good stories, Nigeria had a new brandout of the brands that were in the world. You had the Bollywood, the Hollywood and the Nollywood but there is no other film industry in the World that you can call by name.

It broke away from the norm of what Bollywood and Hollywood were doing so there was a new form of telling stories that the

FilmHouse cinemas founder Kene Mkparu with journalists at one of the four Editing Suites at the School of Media and Communication Pan Atlantic University.

Okechukwu Paulo Ogunjiofor with SMC Dean Dr Ikechukwu Obiaya May 14 at announcement of the Masters in Film Production

World was very curious about.

That was why when the Dean was talking, he was saying that we don’t essentially need to change how we tell our stories, but we need to up our game as to the level of technicality that we put into them.

From that moment where we were telling stories from the Producers’ perspective, we moved to the next epoch called the Marketers’ market. In this second phase, the marketers in the market who were not trained in the business of filmmaking but had shops and distribution avenues in the market hijacked the market from those who were professionals and began to tell the stories to the whole world. That was when the industry got misguided again because they were now telling stories that were no longer driven by passion and professionalism but by gain and profit.

So we moved from that level and came to the place where the likes of (Mahmoud) Ali Balogun and some other people, who decided to take us back to filmmaking, moved Us into the third stage called theViewers’ market.

Now the viewers market meant that for us to tell our stories and make money because the marketers had failed us, and the producers were not making money from the content they were creating. They realised that people needed to migrate to the cinemas so that they can then watch films, pay for it before it gets to the hands of pirates who call themselves ‘marketers’.

So you see this third level was where we were as of 2009.

But by the time we moved from 2009 to 2013, the economy of the country was rebased, and suddenly the whole world took notice that what we were doing was very, very essential to the growth of not only Nigeria but the whole world. Of course,

when you go to countries like Ghana and Kenya , you find variants of Nollywood because there is something to base it on.

Now on this fourth dimension, calledthe Investors’ market is why I’m here. When I was told that there was an MSc. programme coming up, I knew that this is what we need to get to the fourth dimension. The fourth dimension is the final frontier of Nollywood where investors from all over the world will come to Africa and Nollywood to make their millions because there are a few people who are trained and have the requisite skills to tell stories and drive people to the cinemas and create a lot of eyeballs that would watch the films at cinemas and then put monies and profits into the pockets of the investors. That is the rise of the final frontier that we got to in 2013, and then the likes of the World Bank started to give us money, and the federal government instituted what they called Project ACT,and a lot of grants started to fly around from all around the world. Now that the grants are flying around and the banks are offering money to an industry that they never took notice of before, we need people who are trained in the art of filmmaking and also trained in the business of filmmaking.

This is why I am so excited today; that History is being made, and somehow, nature/God has brought me to be part of this event. So I must say to you, Dean, this is something I am very proud to be part of. I am happy thatI was invited. I canhear your words to would-be filmmakers or maybe some people who are already making films which are here today. I know in the few months and years to come,they will gravitate into this final frontier and begin to reap the rewards because you are trained and have the requisite skills. Thank you so much.

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Sunday 08 June 2019

Tribute The man at The Synagogue at 56 Tribute to Kudirat Abiola, heroine of Nigeria’s democracy

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EMMANUEL UMOHINYANG

ne of the hallmarks of truly great men and women is their ability to shine beyond the estimation of their adversaries, even in the most difficult of situations.

The distinguishing factor for such people is that even when they seem to fall, they get even stronger in spirit and never fail to forge ahead From infancy the traits of greatness are always very clear to see in such people for those who can truly perceive.

For such people, a clear vision, dedication, commitment, hard work and an unwavering commitment to God is a defining virtue.

It does not really matter what their background may look like, the unique goal they have set for themselves is always the driving force. For those who God has obviously created for a mission and are able to realise that early enough, the grace to excel is ever present.

Indeed, for Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly called T.B. Joshua, his life and impact on humanity could be likened to great book, each with an interesting chapter.

This is in view of the fact that this great man of God is many things personifiedapostle of our Lord, Jesus Christ, hope to millions of hopeless people globally, teacher, chorister, philanthropist, author, father of millions, hope personified, succor bearer, friend of the poor, a gift to this generation and more.

His church, Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) singularly brought Ikotun-Egbe once considered a jungle to prominence on the world map due to its impact on that neighbourhood.

This is because it’s coming to that environment was such that the big and mighty across the globe started trooping to that axis for spiritual healing. With this came a major boom for the economy of Ikotun and its environs as millions of businesses sprang up to key into the great opportunity.

Hotel and allied business received a major boost, earning millions of dollars due to large numbers of foreign visitors trooping into Nigeria from across the world.

It was not for nothing therefore when hoteliers shouted from the roof tops that government should save their businesses when some people tried to take advantage of the contro-

versial building collapse at the church to pull down TB. Joshua. This is instructive.

SCOAN, Joshua’s church is on record as “Nigeria’s biggest tourist attraction and the most visited destination by tourists in Africa”.

The Federal Government had in the recent past through the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) acknowledged that six out of every ten foreign travelers coming into Nigeria are synagogue-bound, raking millions of dollars into government coffers in the process. Using technology which has made his job very impactful, Joshua has continued to reach all the nooks and crannies of the world like never before.

His church’s television channel, Emmanuel T.V, through which he preaches undiluted word of God is the world’s most viewed channel on YouTube.

One of the striking things about this great preacher of the word is that, not only does he emphasise holiness, he is never tired of preaching about the importance of love and giving, which he says are essential messages of Jesus Christ.

He even takes it further

Pastor TB Joshua by practical demonstration, which is exemplified in action from time to time in different parts of the world.

Even Joshua’s critics acknowledge that he has no doubt demonstrated that he is number one friend of the poor around this clime.

From the abundance that God has given him, the Prophet has reached out to millions of people from far and near, most of who are not members of his church.

He has even taken it further by making his members toe the same line of giving to the needy in the society.

According to him, this was a major message of our Lord Jesus Christ and needed to be done to give hope to hopeless in the society.

Aside this, Joshua continually teaches that there is love in sharing because whatever God has given us does not belong to us alone.

It is therefore not surprising that SCOAN distributes lorry loads of food stuffs regularly to the needy in different parts of the country.

Though he has his own share of challenges like every human being, this great televangelist is a man not ready to be consumed by negatives. This he clearly demonstrated as a child with what seemed like a hopeless future.

However, his strong conviction which was sharpened by his early connection with the Bible opened his eyes to the words of God and marked a major mile stone in his life.

This no doubt is one of the things that confound his detractors as they never fail to wonder where he gets the strength to rise when they think he has fallen.

Even Forbes, the famous international magazine had in 2011 described Joshua as third richest pastor in Nigeria, though the church did well by debunking the report. The magazine must have relied on the Prophet’s philanthropic activities which cover many areas including scholarship, health, sports and more as the basis for this.

For instance, Joshua’s church was reported to have sponsored a Nigerian student for a PhD at Oxford University in 2012 to the tune of one hundred thousand pounds, same for thousands of others sponsored from primary to university levels, locally and internationally.

This was aside providing over five hundred thousand dollars worth of humanitarian aid to victims of earthquake in Ecuador in April, 2016. The Forbes report however has its positive side as the report suggests that Joshua has a huge financial war chest.

The truth of it all is that Forbes was only acknowledging that Joshua was expending so much in an assignment he is carrying out so diligently. Other widely respected international magazines have also named him among the world’s most influential personalities.

However, it is a thing of joy that nobody has linked him with purchasing private jets and needless show of wealth in a nation so blessed, but with so many poor people.

As he celebrates yet another milestone, on June 12, 2019, here is wishing the man in the Synagogue, Prophet T.B. Joshua, a happy birthday.

Umohinyang was until recently, convener, Re-elect Buhari Movement.

Quote: “You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”

Martin Luther King Jnr She had the eerie premonition of her impending death. But she decided to move out on that fateful day, braving the odds and ultimately paid the supreme sacrifice. For Kudirat Abiola, the heroine of democracy, it was all borne out of her uncommon love, not just for her then incarcerated husband, Chief Moshood Abiola (of blessed memory) but for her fatherland- the country called Nigeria. Specifically, it was for the enthronement of the dictates of democracy in Africa’s most populous nation.

It has been some 23 nebulous years after the tragedy but one can only imagine the heart-rending trauma her seven children went through in those dark days of the Abacha-led military dictatorship. With their famous father in the gulag, losing their mother in that despicable and heartless manner, at the hands of the cruel, callous and conscienceless killers riles beyond tears!

Comforting as the declaration of Kudirat, their mother as a martyr of democracy; with her name inscribed in the Hall of Fame, as well as June 12 now recognised as the Democracy Day in memory of their late father’s frozen electoral victory at the 1993 presidential polls may be, the pain still runs even deeper into the marrows, knowing that justice is yet to served. Worse still, that the mindless murders still breathe the air as free men!

What matter to us as individuals and the country are the moral and political lessons to learn from the unfortunate events. To do so, we have to glean from the memories recounted as described by Dr. Joe OkeiOdumakin, Founder of the Women Arise for Change initiative. Incidentally, she was with the Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and it was just few minutes of dropping off from the car with Kudirat that she was assassinated.

That was on the 4th of June, 1996.

She had this to say at the 23rd Anniversary event recently held at the Abiola compound in Ikeja, Lagos: “Yes, it is already 23 whole years that our Heroine of Democracy and epitome of enduring courage, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola passed on to the great beyond, albeit, abruptly. Just like yesterday, we remember with

Late Kudirat Abiola sad memories the way and manners our champion of democratic struggles was gunned down by some assassins.

“Alhaja Kudirat was courage personified. She stood as a colossus among the army of democracy who stoutly resisted the unjust diktat that culminated in the annulment of June 12 elections. She displayed uncommon courage, virtue and doggedness where many men turned to jellies at the sight of gun or money.

She roared like a thunder at many pro-democracy gatherings insisting that the right thing be done in our nation.

She added: “Her death was necessitated by her consistent insistence on due process and strong belief in tenets of democracy in the struggle for the restoration of her husband’s stolen mandate, as the duly elected president of Nigeria in 1993.

“Late Chief MKO Abiola was equally poisoned while in custody of the federal government, owing to his resolve not to renounce his victory at the polls adjudged nationally and internationally as the most credible, free and fair elections in the annals of Nigeria’s democracy till date”. Odumakin also emphasised on the need for the government to do all in its powers to free Leah Sharibu and some Chibok girls still held in captivity.

While speaking on behalf of the family and representing KIND, Ms Hafsat AbiolaCostello, Kudirat’s daughter expressed immense gratitude to all those who have stood with the family over the years. She also used the opportunity to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring June 12 as Democracy Day as well as the decision to honour her late mother, placing her in the Hall of Fame.

Furthermore, she harped on the need of the federal government to replicate the Ethiopian gender balance in government model as Nige-

ria presently occupies the 180th position of the 190th positions of countries with gender balance in government. “We have realized that countries with gender balance in governance are more stable in development and progress” she noted.

The other issues that reverberated amongst the speakers at the event are the imperatives of fighting the rampaging monsters of insecurity, unemployment and the spin-off effects of mass poverty and criminality that have bedeviled the country over the years.

The focus of government should however, be that of declaring total war against poverty as June 12 symbolizes freedom from mass poverty.

These, they all reiterated would have been the focus of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola and by extension, Kudirat if they had been allowed to steer the ship of state of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political waters.

Amongst such patriots who spoke with passion were: Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu- NADECO Chairman, Barr. Femi Aborisade, Executive Director, Grassroot Democratic Initiative, Activist Comrade Rasaq Oladosu; Country Rep, Africa Wide Movement for Children. Others included Comrade Bola Olanrewaju; Deputy President, Campaign for Democracy (CD), Deacon Bayo Obatungashe; Former Auditor CD, Comrade Banji Ajayi.

Also on the list of dignitaries were: Ms Ada Agina Ude, Executive Director, Gender and Development Action; Comrade Ayo Adewale, Immediate Past Chairman, Amuwo Odofin LGA and Comrade Akanni Iromini.

The annual event, which was organized by the Women Arise for Change Initiative (WA) and Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) was well attended

by Activists, friends and family of the slain Heroine of Democracy. It climaxed with laying of wreath and 23 ‘Gbosas’ for the boisterous and daring spirit of Kudirat.

Speaking on the way forward, Dr Joe made some demands that Kudirat Abiola must be immortalised by naming a national monument in her honour and closure should be brought to the trial of her killers by ensuring that justice is done in the case. “We have consistently used the occasion of her gruesome murder in the last 23 years, to call for justice to be done over her brutal assassination”.

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BDSUNDAY 33

Health&Science Kidney function tests: Everything you need to know

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idney function tests are simple procedures that use either the blood or urine to help identify issues in the kidneys. There are a few different types of kidney function tests that investigate various aspects of kidney function.

A kidney function test may check to see if the kidneys are filtering waste products too slowly. Another type of test may see if the kidneys are leaking proteins into the urine.

A doctor who thinks a person may have a problem with their kidneys may order a kidney function test, but regular testing can be helpful for all adults.

As the National Kidney Foundation note, 1 in 3 adults in the United States is at risk for kidney disease, and many people with early forms of the disease have no symptoms. It is important to diagnose and treat the condition early before it can do any permanent damage.

In this article, learn about a variety of kidney function tests and their results.

Overview Kidney function tests target either the blood or urine and measure different aspects of kidney function.

Often, doctors will order more than one test at a time to get a broader picture of the overall kidney function.

The kidneys play an essential role in keeping the body healthy. Their main job is to filter waste materials from the blood and send them out of the body in the urine.

Kidney damage can prevent the kidneys from filtering the waste properly, leaving it to remain in the body and cause dangerous symptoms.

Regular testing may help identify issues such as kidney disease in very early stages, making it possible to halt the progress of the disease.

Doctors may also order other tests to get more information about the kidney, such as imaging tests or a biopsy.

However, these are the various types of kidney function tests.

Urine tests Urine tests may either require a small urine sample or all of the urine a person

produces in a 24-hour period.

Urinalysis Urinalysis is a broad urine test that helps doctors identify underlying issues or determine which test to use next.

Urinalysis may help identify many undesirable particles in the urine, such as blood, pus , bacteria, sugar and protein If the test comes back positive for one or more of these particles, it may indicate an underlying issue, such as: kidney or bladder infections, kidney disease, kidney stones, diabetes Creatine clearance test A creatine clearance test is both a blood and urine test.

It involves collecting all the urine a person creates in 24 hours, as well as taking a small blood sample.

Creatine is a waste product in the body that occurs naturally from daily use in the muscles.

Do c t o r s c o m p a r e t h e amount of creatine in the urine sample to the levels of creatine in the blood. This comparison shows how much waste the kidneys are filtering out, which may be an indicator of their overall health.

Blood tests For blood tests, a doctor or nurse will insert a needle into a person’s arm to draw a small sample of blood. The person may need to fast beforehand or do the test first thing in the morning.

Serum creatine test Serum creatine levels that are too high may be a sign that the kidneys are having trouble doing their job. Doctors will also order a serum creatine test as part of the creatine clearance test.

Th e N a t i o n a l Ki d n e y Foundation note that serum

creatine levels above 1.2 for women or 1.4 for men may be an early sign that the kidneys are not functioning as they should. These numbers may rise further as kidney disease progresses.

Doctors may also calculate a person’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using this test to confirm their diagnosis or order more tests to check their results.

The GFR test takes the results of a serum creatine test and adjusts them for a number of other factors, such as age, gender, and race. The typical GFR value is 60 or above. A GFR around 60 or below is a sign of kidney problems.

Blood urea nitrogen test The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test checks for other waste products in the blood, such as urea nitrogen.

Urea nitrogen occurs as proteins from food break down, and elevated levels may be a sign that the kidney is not filtering these waste products effectively.

A typical BUN level falls between 7 and 20 milligrams per deciliter. Higher values could be a sign of an underlying condition affecting the kidneys.

With that said, many other things can affect BUN levels, such as medications or antibiotics. A diet that is very high in protein diet may also affect levels.

Doctors will typically compare these results to the results of a creatine test to get a better understanding of how well the kidney is filtering this waste.

Imaging tests Imaging tests may help doctors identify any physical changes to the kidneys, such

as injuries or kidney stones.

Ultrasounds Ultrasound tests use harmless sound waves to take pictures. Doctors may order an ultrasound to look for changes in the shape or position of the kidneys. They may also request an ultrasound to check for tumors or blockages, for example, kidney stones.

CT scans A CT scan uses a series of X-ray images to create a more in-depth, 3D picture of the kidneys. It may help identify any structural changes or deformations in a kidney.

Sometimes the scan requires injecting the person with a dye, which can be problematic for people who may have kidney disease.

Biopsies In some cases, doctors may want to perform a kidney biopsy. This is a process that involves inserting a small needle into the kidney to remove kidney tissue. The doctor will send the tissue to a lab for testing.

Doctors may order a biopsy when they need to identify a specific disease and see how well it may respond to treatment. They may also use a biopsy to determine the progression of kidney disease.

Takeaway Kidney function tests are a vital part of diagnosing and treating disorders that affect the kidneys. Even if a person does not yet have symptoms, some people may need to undergo regular testing.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recommend that people at higher risk for kidney issues receive regular kidney function tests. People at high risk include those with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and a family history of kidney disease or kidney failure Regular kidney function tests can help identify problems in the kidneys early and when the outlook is best.

By following a treatment plan, people can help prevent progression of the condition.

Working directly with a doctor is the best way to monitor and manage any signs of kidney damage or underlying conditions.

Culled From Medical News Today

Nigeria set to showcase opportunities in W/Africa food, beverage industry

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ANTHONIA OBOKOH

igeria is set to take part in a new innovative food and drinks trade show in Lagos which more than 150 retailers will have the opportunity to connect with suppliers, distributors and manufacturers, both local and international.

According to the press statement made available to BusinessDay, Food and Beverage West Africa (FAB) launches on Jun 18th-20th at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island.

The organisers say the show has secured the backing of many businesses and trade associations which recognise the significant opportunities, the show will bring to food and drink retailers, restaurant owners and food distributors in Nigeria and West Africa.

Adding that more than 5,000 visitors from the F&B industry are expected to attend the free to-attend three-day event and Just Food, the region’s leading provider of quality, global food equipment brands, is a Gold Sponsor of FAB West Africa.

Tunde Ogunrinde, JustFood’s Chief Executive Officer, explained that the food and beverage industry is rapidly growing across West Africa.

“We are supporting FAB because we want to continue to be part of the growth and this event provides the platform to meet all key stakeholders in one place.”

“Other businesses partnering FAB include SPAR, the largest chain of hypermarket stores in Nigeria of which saw sales of €110,781,000 (N44.7 billion) in 2018, and NASCO, a leading export and wholesale company based in the UK,” he said.

FoodPreneurs Hub, the online community inspiring and motivating food entrepreneurs, is another partner for the show.

Its spokeswoman, Olushola Oladejo, says: “We are supporting FAB West Africa because it is giving food entrepreneurs like us a great opportunity to showcase our businesses to the world at the same time partner with international businesses.

“The retailing sector in Nigeria is growing fast, due to

Nigeria’s rapid urban developments and the country’s fastgrowing middle class. This is a huge opportunity for retailers.

Supermarkets are also increasing in their numbers across the country.”

In addition to food and beverage businesses, several trade groups are partnering with the show, including REFSPAN (Restaurant and Food Services Proprietors Association of Nigeria), NASON (the National Association of Supermarket Owners of Nigeria), the Balogun Business Association, the Oke Arin Traders Association, Onitsha Main Markets Traders Union (OMMATU), Ogbaru Main Market Traders Association (OMMTA), Eziukwu Road Traders Association and the Association of Food Vendors in Nigeria (AFVN) REFSPAN is a group of major restaurants and food services operators in Nigeria, which includes leading companies such as Sweet Sensation, Mama Cass, and Chicken Republic among its membership.

It is fully recognised by the Federal and State Government as well as by the public as the umbrella body of quick service restaurant (QSR) diners.

Food and Beverage West Africa is organised by BtoB Events, which also launched the successful Beauty West Africa exhibition in Nigeria last November. Not only are they now launching the FAB event, BtoB is also launching the West Africa Automotive Show in Lagos later this year.

BtoB Events’ Managing Director is Jamie Hill who has successfully been launching and running exhibitions in Nigeria for over five years and is keen to promote local businesses.

“The exhibition will host a specific ‘Made in Nigeria’ SME zone, enabling local SMEs to benefit from this annual platform and showcase what they have to offer alongside the local and international power houses across the sector,” says Hill.

“By offering local SME’s the opportunity to participate we hope to facilitate their growth in the market and work towards the long-term goal of increasing local production and exports from Nigeria across the region.”

NNPC, Chevron move to end malaria scourge in Ondo, Niger Delta communities YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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etermined to drastically reduce malaria scourge in the country, especially at the riverine areas, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Chevron Nigeria Limited, a Joint Venture arrangement between NNPC and Chevron International, has embarked on aggressive campaign in the riverine areas of Ondo State, urging the people to maintain hygiene.

The event, tagged: “Roll back malaria programme,” was scaled up with awareness lecture on the

dangers, causes and prevention of the deadly disease in Ugbo, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.

Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), an operator of the Joint Venture (JV) between NNPC and CNL, engaged Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRPA) to handle the programme for people across 500 riverine communities yearly.

Edna Ohunayo, the state WRPA Coordinator, noted that the annual initiative had been beneficial to people of the area, whose environments are prone

to breeding mosquitoes causing malaria.

Similarly, the resource person, Raphael Awofe, Lieutenant in the Nigeria Navy, who doubles as Medical Officer of Nigerian Navy, Forward Operational Base (FOB), Igbokoda, lamented that children under five are the major victims of malaria.

Awofe sensitized the people on the causes, dangers and global best practices to curtail malaria scourge, demonstrating how the mosquito nets could be effectively used in the various households.

While the General Manager,

Policy Government & Public Affairs of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Esimaje Brikinn, affirmed that it is one of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by the company to better the health of the people.

Brikinn added that NNPC/ Chevron Joint Venture would continue to partner with the Federal and state governments in the drive to eliminate malaria in the nation.

According to him, “CNL places the highest priority on the health and safety of its neighbouring communities, workforce and protection of the environ-

ment and its asset.”

The state Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, lauded the oil company for the intervention programme, saying it would tremendously help to reverse the scourge of malaria in the state.

Adegbenro noted that the programme would complement the health insurance scheme embarked upon by the state government to ensure the people have access to quality and affordable healthcare.

“We are almost through with the one percent consolidated fund that is coming from the

Federal Government. A lot is happening in the health sector and very shortly everybody will enjoy free healthcare with any financial embarrassment.”

Responding to the proliferation of quack health personnel and medical doctors in the area, he assured that the monitoring team in the ministry would soon launch its operation fully in the area to arrest the culprits.

“We are also trying to employ more skilled hands for this area; if we have enough skilled manpower in the sector, it will eradicate the issue of quack practitioners.”

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Sunday 09 June 2019

SundayBusiness Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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very encounter with the Managing Consultant/CEO of Jovana Farms, Prince Arinze Onebunne, has always proved to be intellectually elevating as his enthusiasm for agripreneurship remains a sustainably rewarding one. This time around he is urging the youth, retirees, farmers and other private individuals to embrace bee-keeping because it is highly lucrative.

Apart from the fact that honey and other resources generated from bees have huge economic potentials for export, beekeeping is capable of looking after millions of jobless Nigerians.

Interestingly, Onebunne has taken his crusade across the country, not the least being the workshop on the economic potential of bee-keeping held at Omega Hotel, Abuja a few years

The economic sweetness in Bee-keeping back.

According to him, there is increasing awareness on the therapeutic values of honey.

Unlike other therapies, it has no historical dwindling effectiveness on any disease. Since the advent of apitheraphy till date, the efficacy of honey in preventive and curative treatments has been on the increase as man’s knowledge of it increases. For more than a century now, there is no known side effect of honey as it is the case with all medicinal drugs.

Said he:“One of the most interesting aspects of honey – diet is in its effective way of correcting speedily, the malfunctioning of human organs. For example, should a pregnant woman indulge in honey diet and extend its use to her baby after child birth, she will realize the benefits, ranging from good health to eventually easy labor. Added to that are the remote chances of the child having malformed organs. “Since human beings first tasted honey, they have been fascinated by bees. Constantly, human raid the bee nests for their honey, but did not know about the bees.

Today, keeping bees can be a rewarding hobby or a fulltime business. Specifically, he noted that: “People keep bees for various reasons, such as for honey, royal jelly, propolis, bee venom, pollen (bee-bread) and bees wax for their ability to serve as pollinators of crop, or simply for the fun of learning more about the interesting and complex insects.

Bees use honey for their food and the excess they now pass out as waste into the combs which man collects and presses out as raw

honey”.

It is worthy to note that thousands of people worldwide are processing this bee ‘waste’ into honey, exporting it and quietly making their millions by the day! There are no less than 50 exciting reasons why you should be involved in bee keeping business.

Almost anyone can keep bees. But the major problem with bee- keeping is that they have their ability to sting. To start the business, a bee-keeper must find a suitable location, gather the proper equipment like gloves, bee slit, hive tools, bee hat and veil, smoker, torch and bee brush. Others include ankle and wrist straps, plastic containers, centrifugal machine and finding a source of bees.

It is always a good idea to go for training or move closer to beekeepers before one gets started.

Bee keeping and grasscutter farming are the cheapest minilivestock business one can think of. In both grasscutter farming and bee keeping one does not need to buy any food for them like one does in fish farming, poultry farming as well as pig farming.

In his words: “Overtime, people learn how to take care of honey bees, professional beekeepers, recommend purchasing new hive boxes and frame or making your own in a standard size.

His admonition, borne out of years of experience is that only qualified personal should handle the bees, because of their aggressive nature, while some bee keepers use protective gear to spray the hive with soap and

water. The water will penetrate the lungs and the soap will cut off their oxygen supply. If one is yet to develop an interest in bee keeping and he tends to believe that bees go out of their way to attack people- naturally the bees are aggressive, but only as a defensive measure. Bees have been known to chase people in a swarm for a long distance, but this only happens to people who have no prior knowledge or training for bee-keeping.

He explained further “Although, bees cannot talk, their language is vibration. For instance, to indicate distance to other bees in their hive, the scout bee uses a loud buzz and a demonstration dance. Wings vibrating swiftly as the bee dances in circle indicate that the find is within 150-200 metres of the hive. The directions in which the scout moves, and at what speed, helps communicate to the others where the source is located”.

“Honey bees need nectar, pollen and water to feed the hive and make their honey. Bee keepers hold the bees by moving the hives from time to time to areas where there is a good source of nectar and pollen.

“Once the hives are in place, some of the worker bees go out scouting. This is usually done within a radius of about 2 kilometres from the hives. The scouts then report back to the hive to indicate to other bees where the nectar and pollen source are to be found.

“However, a high quality product is important for every honey operation. Following key rules in the extraction process

will determine honey quality. For example, excessive heat during extraction will darken the honey.

Certain export marketers have minimum standards for distance and the level of sugar breakdown due to heat. To prevent heat damage to the honey, producers need to carefully manage the wax melting process and pay attention to storage condition”.

Bees contribute about $50billion annually to the economy of the United States and the country imports about onethird of these bee resources to substantiate its local production.

Other countries such as Britain and Germany import bees and its resources which are used in different sector of the economy.

“There is no doubt, that this country has comparative advantage in the business of bee keeping than those developed countries because the nation’s climatic condition supports this highly lucrative business of bee keeping all year round” he said.

The organizer of Jovana Farms Nationwide Sensitization AgroSeminar Project, Prince Arinze Onebunne, said that with the necessary assistance from the government, the good knowledge of bee keeping in the country has the capacity to sustain local production, consumption and assist in saving and earning huge foreign exchange for Nigeria.” He surmised. That is another foodfor-thought for our policy makers.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 08057971776

Cabotage finally unbundled from the shackles of waivers Alayaki Ganiyu

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t was always going to take strong political will and determination of one person to put an end to every act that stunts growth. Such willpower was found in abundance in one man, the man currently at the helm of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Dakuku Peterside took a keen interest in NIMASA’s transformation after his appointment about three years ago. He never shirks a challenge when it comes to innovations and issues close to his heart. The issue of coastal and inland trade, popularly known as Cabotage, is one of such.

Virtually stakeholder and expert knew that the purpose for the promulgation of the Cabotage Act would not be realised if the issue of waivers was not decisively dealt with. But the challenge was the courage to deal with waivers.

The Cabotage Act in Nigeria is modelled on the Jones Act in America, which was promulgated in 1920 to regulate maritime commerce in the United States. The Act requires that goods shipped between US ports are to be transported on ships that are built, owned and

operated by US citizens or permanent residents. So as early as the 1920s, the United State knew that the country’s indigenous maritime capacity would not grow if there was no law to protect its citizens.

In fact, the Jones Act was tagged a protectionist legislation before it was passed.

It, therefore, means there is no harm in protecting Nigerians through the Cabotage regime.

Precedents had been set since the early 19th century.

Interestingly, Nigerian stakeholders were ready to face the consequences, in order to reap the expected economic benefits, when the Act was passed in 2003. But somehow, the system began to find a lazy way out through the issue of waivers on the building, ownership and manning of ships after it was clear that there was no way waiver could be applied to registration.

The waiver issue kept creeping into the Cabotage regime and, perhaps most painfully, the level of unemployment in the country kept mounting, as Nigerians kept on losing vital job opportunities to foreigners. It was an unfortunate situation. Despite the enormous job opportunities, Nigerians were schemed out of petty employments onboard Nigerian vessels.

It was amazing that in most cases, Nigerians were the ones that came up with the excuses that there were no qualified Nigerians to take charge of some aspects of their ships. However, seafarers kept lamenting that there were qualified Nigerians who were simply being denied job opportunities due to them.

The problem was never that the Cabotage Act was not properly crafted to suit the Nigerian environment. The Act attached exorbitant amounts on waiver requests to manning requirements to deter prospective applicants, namely ship-owners, shipping companies, and agents from making applications, as the Nigerian alternative would be cheaper.

To take care of teething troubles during the implementation of the Cabotage law, applications for highly skilled crew, such as captains, chief engineers, chief officers, and first mate, were made less expensive than those of second engineer, second mate, and cooks. This because it is common knowledge that the number of Nigerian skilled officers could not adequately cater for the shipping industry needs because of the volume of trade.

But surprisingly, despite the measures put in place to grow Cab-

otage, shipping companies tended to prefer the use of foreigners on their vessels to Nigerians, even for jobs like crew members as low as cleaners, not minding the cost. This was probably because the viability of the maritime sector made the cost of waivers infinitesimal in ratio to the expected profit. Nigerian maritime workers continued to remonstrate and ask what kind of foreigners could cook the Nigerian meals better at least to go to the simplest of all tasks on vessels.

Cabotage was, therefore, being dangerously preyed on by a master waiver predator, which was not going to leave its catch except it saw a master hunter. That hunter the regime found in Dakuku in 2016.

Sometime in 2017, NIMASA came up with a publication that it was temporarily going to suspend the issuance of waivers on manning requirement under the Cabotage Act. Obviously, this was to test the waters. The effect of the publication was tremendous, as it led to a rapid increase in the number of Nigerians on board Cabotage vessels.

The Dakuku-led maritime administration continued to source sea time for graduates of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) because itwas also mentioned that the dearth of

trained and certified seafarers was the reason waiver applicants could not get Nigerians to work on board.

At that time, the NSDP programme, which was an interventionist programme floated by the Agency, was facing its own challenges of sea time training.

So the NIMASA management took the carefully crafted strategy that had answers to every stage of implementation to solve the waiver problem. In early 2018, Dakuku held a no holds barred meeting with the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and gave a warning that for any vessel working for them with a foreigner on board there should be a succession plan for a Nigerian to take over under the guidance and training of the experienced foreigner. So as they were applying for waiver they were coming with a trainee that will takeover in the shortest time possible.

From then, it was evident that the biggest hurdle to Cabotage Act implementation had been scaled.

So when recently the Agency called the stakeholders to announce that it had finally suspended waivers, especially on manning, indefinitely, the message obviously sank in.

Alayaki works as a PR Officer at NIMASA.

Sunday 09 June 2019

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BDSUNDAY 35

SundayBusiness How helpful are developers-lenders partnerships to home buyers?

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ne of the brilliant ideas that real estate product suppliers always flaunt as bait to product buyers is the partnership that exists between them and mortgage lenders who, according to them, are there ready and able to give mortgage facility to the buyers.

Whenever there is a real estate event where these developers and lenders meet, a major sideline event is the signing of partnership agreements which leaves one wondering the purpose and the interest those agreements and partnerships are meant to serve, given experiences of mortgage subscribers.

Currently, a lot of things are changing in tune with unfolding realities and one only hopes that these new partnerships are coming to change what used to be the nature, character and intent of what was known of partnerships between estate developers and providers of housing finance.

Almost always, when experts, home seekers and sundry stakeholders gather to discuss the mortgage industry in Nigeria, the focus is generally on reasons for the slow growth of the industry and poor access to housing loans which they blame on high cost of funds, demand for high equity contribution by lenders, etc.

But there are more yet un-

known. Oftentimes, little or no note is taken of other contributors to this slow growth among which is the huge stress which mortgage lenders pile on borrowers and the empty partnerships which some of the lenders deceive home seekers into believing that they have with estate developers, giving false hope that they are just a few steps away from home ownership.

Part of the statutory functions of primary mortgage banks (PMBs) and mortgage lenders generally is to provide housing finance to those who need same to build, buy or renovate existing houses. But, in more cases than one, those who apply for loans from these lenders hardly get them and where they do, they are often subjected to harrowing experiences through near-impossible requirements that leave the borrowers stressed out and almost frustrated.

Many have been cajoled into subscribing to buying their houses through mortgage only to get in and find out that the invitation is a mere cover shielding the stress and pain in accessing loans for their dream houses.

“My experience with one of these lenders is better imagined than expressed”, says Israel Okafor, a staff of an oil company who applied for mortgage loan from one of the PMBs. Okafor explains that he was “deceived” by the PMB into believing

Procurement and Supply Chain

with Gob-Agundu Uche Branch chair (CIPS), Nigeria

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Definition ollaborativeprocurement is not easily defined but one definition comes from Colin Cram. Cram defines collaborative procurement as being when two or more groups of people, or organizations, engaged in procurement, work together for mutual benefit. This definition can be extended to create a new dimension known as c Commerce or “collaborative commerce”. A simple definition of c Commerce is “performing commerce collaboratively with trading partners using Web Based Information Integration (WBII).”

Background The concept of collaboration is not new. Professor Maria Rey explains in her report “Supply Chain Collaboration” that Japanese companies in structures called sogo-shoshas are “clusters of related companies with common ownership and strong single leadership that offer each other privileged access to products, services and personnel.” This concept is similar to that of a virtual

organization and derives from another Japanese concept Keiretsu; an organizational collective of manufacturers, suppliers, trading and finance companies, that is based around mutual shareholding and cooperation. The virtual organization is defined as: “A temporary network of independent organizations linked by information technology to share skills and costs in pursuit of a common goal.”

As the corporate world develops g l o b a l l y, a n d m a n a g e m e n t structures flatten and become more agile, collaboration between organizations becomes increasingly common to facilitate the realization of corporate and public-sector goals. The use of technology has increased the ability of organizations to collaborate not only in their supply or value networks, but also in the use of collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment methodology (CPFR). CPFR seeks cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply

that it was in partnership with a developer who was building over 500 housing units of various housetypes at relatively low prices for mid-low income earners.

“The PMB told me that it was also financing and marketing the estate and, at the same time, providing mortgage for prospective buyers.

My attraction was not as much in the financing and marketing aspect as it was in the comparatively low interest rate of 17 percent and 10year loan repayment period which the bank dangled at me”, he said.

According to him, the bank demanded just 20 percent equity contribution from him for any of the housing units that he wanted to buy from the estate selling for between N5million and N8 million per unit, adding that as a demonstration of his readiness to take up the mortgage and buy the house, he made an equity contribution in excess of 30 percent of the cost of the house.

“Over six months down the line, the developer, the mortgage bank and I have been on a Round Robbin, occasionally stopping at the middle of nowhere only to discover that, in all of this, it has been motion without movement. It has been one story after another”, he fumed.

Ayodeji Adediji, is an ex-banker who worked with one of the big names in the industry, but resigned because “I want to do my own thing and see what impact I can make on

Talking Mortgage with CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com) the economy from this point”.

He also has a similar experience, differing only in the approach adopted by his own lender who, he said, has kept his N5 million which he paid as equity for the house he wanted to buy from a developer who is also in another empty partnership with the mortgage bank.

“As I speak to you, my money has been with the mortgage bank since the past eight months; I am told it is in escrow account in which case it is not yielding any interest for me; the developer is very slippery and insincere with delivery date for the estate. Every day, like a fraudulent referee, he shifts the goal post. By the last count, he has shifted the delivery time three times and still counting”, he lamented.

A banker, who does not want his name mentioned also shared his experience, saying he came close to losing his money to developers over unrealistic delivery dates. He lamented that on each occasion, his money was given back to him after he had nurtured and came close to

realizing a home ownership dream.

People with these experiences will hardly ever seek mortgage facility, nor will they encourage any of their relations or friends to have same experience and this is one of the major factors that slows the growth of the mortgage industry.

Not too long ago, in a move aimed to address the housing problems in Nigeria, some notable PMBs and real estate developers entered into another strategic partnership aimed to provide housing and mortgage for prospective home buyers. That partnership which, it was hoped, would in 24 months deliver a residential community comprising 554 housing units is yet to make any impact.

This is a worrisome development that may continue to stultify the growth of this all important industry. The setting up of both the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the National Housing Fund (NHF) were well intentioned, but their operations have justified the good intentions.

Collaboration between organisations chain. Efficiency is therefore created through the decrease in costs that result from the electronic sharing of processes across the supply network, e.g. logistics, merchandising etc.

Virtual organizations are based on co-operation facilitated by technology and underpinned by trust, core competencies, equality, and a shared vision.

Explanation Collaboration in the supply chain Business today involves a far greater degree of collaboration and thisislargelytheresultoftechnology enablers such as the Internet, the reduction of communication costs and the increase in cloud computing.

Collaboration is also seen as a new enabler that can help business create competitive advantage.

Today’s technology is undoubtedly one of the principal enablers at the application level as it facilitates the integration of business processes, but this must be supported by both information systems and people-based decisions. The CIPS therefore believes that there are two fundamental requirements for collaboration to work: • Technology must deliver the right information to the right people at the right time and in the appropriate context to make quality decisions, and, • Technologymustenablepeople to use information effectively, so this can be used at the appropriate points in the business process.

There is no doubt that today’s

technologies facilitate process integration which enables disparate companiestocollaborateandyetstill achieve their company objectives.

Interdependency between supply chain partners is continually increasing and this means that information, such as forecasting and planning, must be shared between organizations so market expectations can be met. Global competition is forcing companies to form alliances and to collaborate, so they can differentiate themselves in an increasingly consumer driven market place.

There are many different collaboration structures, some formal, but many others informal in their structures and we will consider some of the more common ones in this section.

Shared Services is a form of public-public partnership and is of particular interest to smaller public bodies that have less capacity to deal with procurement and back office functions in a corporate way.

Some of the most common are the operating or delivery models where the shared service uses a common operating and service delivery framework. Another example is a lead organization where an organization consolidates and centralizes a business service that is then shared with other organizations. An example of this is “SCOTS Connect”, a range of IT products and services offered by the Scottish Government.

There are a variety of models for joint procurement including, but

not limited to, purchasing consortia and centre led action networks (CLAN). Mary M Aylesworth in her paper “Purchasing Consortia in the Public-Sector Models and Methods for Success” identified five structural models of purchasing collaboration operating across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The “Local Network” is usually a relatively informal relationship often between a mix of public entities. They join to obtain better pricing, share information and in some cases share resources.

The “Voluntary Co-operative” is the most common form of purchasing consortia and can range from informal groupings to highly structured groups. In this model purchasing managers source products and services based on needs defined by the participating organizations. The Central Buying Consortium (CBC) is an example of this model and is a loose confederation of 17 local authority members. The work of the CBC is carried out by a Management Committee and Technical Panels.

More information can be found on the CBC web site4. The third model is the “Regional Purchasing Agency”.

This is a pseudo- cooperative type of consortium where central government bodies receive services from the Agency, but their control and input are limited. The fourth and fifth models are Member Owned Service Bureau and ForProfit Enterprise.

36 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 09 June 2019

TheWorshippers CAN will never sell its integrity for a morsel of bread - Ayokunle Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), recently held a breakfast meeting with the Christian Press Association of Nigeria (CPAN) tagged ‘Christian Response to Global Persecution’ in Lagos. He fielded questions from journalists. SEYI JOHN SALAU was there. Excerpts: CAN’s recent visit to the President on election victory generated some controversy among Nigerians; what is your reaction to that? led CAN executives to Aso Rock because we do not know where government will fall, and constitutionally when INEC has declared someone winner, that person remains winner until the court rules otherwise, and we cannot wait until that time and open our eyes to allow things get worse and worse. We went to see the President and I told him – since INEC declared you winner we have to accept that, but as you are coming back do things 100 times better than you did before.

If you said you have worked on security, we want you to work better 100 times – I think that speaks volume. Number two: we told him to make deliberate effort to reduce unemployment; if you don’t reduce unemployment, kidnapping will not cease. Other violent activities will not cease, because an idle person is a ready tool for violence in Nigeria. If you put the issue of employment top priority and youth can be gainfully employed, you will stop violence.

We told the president that you must pay attention to the issue of social welfare, infrastructure must be improved, roads must be repaired; unlimited power to manufacturers: how can you develop? How can investors come when they know that it will cost them extra money to operate in our country than anywhere else?

There have been allegations that CAN as presently constituted has been compromised by politicians. How would you react to this?

Any government knows that CAN will never sell its integrity for a morsel of bread. When I took over, the wall around the ecumenical centre in Abuja had fallen off and there was no money in the coffers. We needed around N23million to put the wall back. Salvation Ministry of Pastor Ibiyeomiye gave us N10million; Redeemed Christian Church

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of God gave us N8million and the Baptist Convention gave us N10million. We used N23million to put the wall back and put the remaining in the coffers of CAN. There was a land allocated to us more than 25 years ago at Abuja City Gate. They call it convention ground.

The allocation was done when Pope came to Nigeria. One side of the land was given to the Muslims and the other given to Christians. The Muslims developed their own to become hajj camp and that of the Christians was not developed. After sometime, the Muslims encroached on the land belonging to us. They began building a property there. Somebody gave me a hint on this and I moved into action immediately. We wrote to government and we have been assured that action will be taken.

But we got to a stage that the FCT made us to know that we could not recover the land again; that it had been re-allocated. But, they have decided to allocate another place to us, which will be prime and larger than the first one. By the grace of God, the minister of the FCT should by now as I speak sign the land for another portion. I was not the president when it was allocated. But because of our carelessness we lost what belonged to us.

The church and Christians are being persecuted, especially in the North; what is CAN’s position on the persecution of Christians and Nigeria’s membership of OIC? I was in Washington DC to present our position on the state of persecution of the church in Nigeria.

If somebody says we are not being persecuted; why will the government allow a negotiation that will free other Muslim girls and keep the only Christian girl in the group with the Boko Haram abductors? If Boko Haram is not out to exterminate Christians, why did Shekau say he will ensure that Sharia is implemented through the country? They see those of us who are fighting for fairness in the scheme of things as

Samson Olasupo Adeniyi Ayokunle, CAN President

enemies. Those of you who have followed my activities will know that I have been against the membership of Nigeria of OIC. I went to see President Buhari over it and he told me Nigeria’s membership could be challenged. The Christian lawyers who are to provide the briefs have been foot-dragging. They tell me they are still gathering data. I can’t go to the court on my own because I am not a lawyer. In the North, churches can’t get Certificate of Occupancy.

When we speak to our people they tell us it is for the state government to act. The problem is that our people in government place political advantage above the spiritual. Christians are not able to defend the faith because they will like to please their principal and retain their job. Our people are more political than the politicians and we know that politics can blind fold. The persecutions from fellow Christians have been relentless. Some even go ahead to say I am a jihadist. What informed this allegation? A church broke into two in my area in Ibadan. They hold their services in the same premises.

Every Sunday they would end up

with the police because they were always having fracas. As responsible church leaders we had to close down the church until they were able to settle their differences. That is what made some of them go to the media to call me a jihadist. I want to urge you, money is not everything. Your conscience is above any money people can dangle before you. We have few years to spend here on earth. We shall give account of our sojourn here. Have you not seen the son of kings becoming beggars?

Many of us were not born with silver spoon. We were born in villages and never thought we would be where we are today. Please be bold enough to say no to any misleading publication. People wrote blackmail against me and sent it to the other faith. The people had to call me and said to me: why do your people behave like this?

Finally, why do most Christians shy away from partisan politics?

The bible says the children of this world are wiser than the children of light. By our background, by our knowledge of the world, we put first the kingdom of God and the affairs of this world appear to be dead to us.

Because there is a seeming naivety on un-embracing knowledge that we are supposed to have or our seeming pattern of the things of this world.

Number two is doctrinal; the church has been teaching about separation of church and state.

The church is apart, the state is the world and you should have nothing to do with the affairs of this world.

By that doctrinal background you don’t find many Christians in politics.

And the ones you find there are not backed up by the church neither are they sponsored by the church.

So, once they get there they didn’t see themselves as representatives of the church. They went as lone rangers that even their own families have rejected, living the part of being separated from the world back to the world. Politics is dirty you must not be there: instead of seeing it as dirty because we have left it for dirty

people; we clean people must go there and clean it up. The third aspect is related to the second: the church has failed in discipleship– to prepare people for leadership.

When we talk about leadership, we don’t talk about leaders in the world. The time has now come as part of resolution to take the bull by the horns and prepare people for leadership in the world. We have been the architect of our problem that we are experiencing now: I and the CAN Chairman, Oyo State met with the present Oyo State governor. About two weeks to the election; he came to my office in Ibadan and I said the CAN Chairman should follow him. I wanted the CAN Chairman to follow him because I wouldn’t want anybody to misquote me– somebody must be able to say ‘yes I was there, this was what he said’.

When he came, I looked him in the face and I told him; those of us you see here, myself and the Chairman, we look for nothing personal from you; what we demand from you is that if the government is taken away from a Muslim who have been here and given to you, you must make us proud. You must be better ten times like Daniel was better ten times than his contemporaries. If you are better ten times, why do we need to be complaining about you, but if you are going to move Oyo State people backward then it’s better for the Muslim to continue; that was what we told him. Number two: we told him, be ready to listen to the church, your constituency, your family; if you don’t listen, that may be the beginning of the end for you.

Do not make yourself incommunicado to the church leaders; we must be able to reach you and be reachable to the people you want to govern. Then be accountable by being an accountable governor – you are being given a rear opportunity out of the many qualified people that can even be in this position and perform better.

Archbishop Obembe was a man of lofty spiritualities – ICCAM SEYI JOHN SALAU

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he International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries (ICCAM) has described the late Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe, founder and Archbishop of El-Shaddai Bible Church, as a man of lofty spiritualities that carried great and distinctive grace for kingdom innovativeness.

This eulogy was made by ICCAM at a recent press conference on the funeral arrangements of Obembe who until his death was the leader of ICCAM at Great Grace Cathedral, El-Shaddai Bible Church, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Taiwo Akinola, the Apostolic Presbyter, ICCAM who spoke on behalf of the entire ICCAM membership, said Obembe was a notable charismatic Archbishop, and perhaps the first Cardinal of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria. “Through the various arms of the gospel ministry in which he was involved, he served meritoriously on various committees both at national and global levels

L-R: Members of the International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries (ICCAM) at a recent press conference announcing the burial arrangement of Archbishop Obembe, who was the Apostolic Prelate of ICCAM until his death.

L-R: Bishop Anietie Etukudo of Livingproof Bible Church, Ogba; Opeyemi Eniola Gaji (Daughter of Obembe); her husband, Yemitayo Yusuf Gaji; Senior Olanrewaju Obembe; and Bishop Taiwo Akinola, the Apostolic Presbyter, ICCAM at the press conference for late Archbishop Obembe burial arrangement held recently in Lagos

representing the interests of Christians, particularly the Pentecostals,” Akinola said.

According to Akinola, in 1987 Obembe pioneered the printing of the Amplified English Bible in West Africa, and as a confirmed scholar he had three separate PhDs in Missiology, Systematic Theology and Christian Education.

“His death, though, a gain to the heavenly host, is a loss to many of us who saw him as a leading light and a pathfinder for many Christians who have the apostolic vision to serve the Lord in their generation.

He was a thoughtful leader in his time who spoke boldly the mind of Christ to both the lowly and the highly placed. He was heard, seen and acknowledged by men in power and authority as one promoting the cause of Christ and Christians. He was an eloquent speaker, an erudite scholar, an accomplished author, and undoubtedly, a great motivator,” Akinola said.

The late Archbishop Obembe had an unusually large heart that encompassed all, and never withheld anything that could be beneficial to

anyone, even to his own detriment, Akinola said.

“To many of us, he was not only a leader but also a father. We proudly call him father because no other appellation suits a man who led others by carrying them on his shoulders to achieve or attain greater heights of success at no gain to himself,” he said.

According to burial arrangement made available by ICCAM, a special El-Shaddai Night of Worship will be held on Monday, 10 June, to kick-start the week-long burial activities. The first Night of Tributes by body of Christ, anchored by El-Shaddai Bible Church comes next on Tuesday, 11 June while the second Night of Tributes to be anchored by ICCAM will hold on Wednesday, 12 June.

Service of songs will hold on Thursday, 13 June climaxing into the Funeral Service and Internment, which will hold on Friday, 14 June by 10am. According to ICCAM, all events except the internment are scheduled to hold at El-Shaddai Bible Church, Great Grace Cathedral, Osborne Road, Corporation Drive, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

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BDSUNDAY 37

TheWorshippers Inspiration With Rev. Yomi Kasali

@rev.yomikasali

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any years ago when I was in boarding school, I noticed a Hen protecting her chicken from a very large bird hovering in the sky above the place where the chickens were scattered.

I had not seen such a scene before; I was struck by the commitment of the Hen and also amazed, of course she guided the chickens out of harm’s way. The following day, I approached the same Hen when she was feeding her chickens and noticed the ferocious speed with which

The hen and her chickens she ran towards me in an attack mode.....I ran away as quickly I could possibly do.

I want to Inspire you today with the above story of the Hen and her Chickens, But moreimportantlybecausethe Lord Himselfspoke about similar one in Matthew’s gospel, ‘how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’ (Matt 23 v 37).

Our Lord compared His affectionate love for Israel with that of the Hen towards her chickens, unfortunately though, He said the People refused His protective wings and compassions. My heart is broken because of the harsh insensitive response of the nation of Israel towards a kind God, but even more saddened by the response of the church towards a loving Christ as well today.

4 Morals of the story The wings are powerful: The Lord mentioned the wings of the Hen as strong enough to give covering to the chickens from the ‘bombs’ of the vultures and attacks of the enemy. I know the wings will give more than protective covering from the enemy; it also gives shade from the scorching heat of the sun which is weather. I pray you will put your trust in the wings of our Saviour to

protect you (Psalm 91 v 1-2) and not in the antics of men.

The hen is a fighter: I am sure the message was clear to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about losing a great Fighter in Christ; the Hen is a fighter when it comes to the matters of her chickens. I witnessed the same several years ago and I ran from a seemingly harmless hen because her chickens were involved in the battle. God will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.

The chickens are scattered and stubborn: Unfortunately as it is with natural chickens, so it is with human beings because we are a stubborn bunch that is scattered away from safety. I am amazed at how we would refuse the love of our Saviour for some economic safety nets placed by politicians.

Many people trust Governments more than God especially in the Western countries.

The enemy is afraid of the angry hen: This is the reality on the field and sad for believers. We do not know how scared the devil is when it comes to your matter with God, he knows Jesus loves us jealously and will do anything to protect us. I know how much I love my daughter and will do anything to protect her. Be rest assured that God will not leave His Own. He loves you and the devil knows he cannot mess with you when you are under the wings of your Maker.

I hope you have been Inspired.

Blessings.

CCC Michael parish, Warri, celebrates annual children harvest

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he Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Michael parish, Warri, Delta State recently celebrated its annual Children’s Day harvest in jubilation, giving thanks to the Almighty God for divine fa-

vour and visitation over the past year.

According to the church, the annual children’s thanksgiving celebration is a testament of how far God has helped the church while thanking God for the various

miracles over the years in the church.

“The parish annual harvest day celebration was a blissful occasion as the children entertained the congregation with entertaining choreographic dance and ex-

citing games to keep the day glowing,” said Most Superior Evangelist Seraphin Thiokpassiou, the parish priest of the church as he advised the children to stay close to God and be respectful to their elders.

The call - JONAH 1:1-7

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call is a bid or signal transferred by a person (caller) to another person (the called) for attention.

A lot of us fail to see that we are called, while some of us feel that only Church ministers are called, it’s not true because every Christian is called, in fact, everyone created is called into a purpose, an assignment or a duty. THE BIBLE says that “The harvest is much but the labourers are few”, we have too many people who are doing nothing to contribute to the KINGDOM OF GOD. JESUS speaking one time said, in MATTHEW 12: 30 “IF YOU ARE NOT GATHERING YOU ARE SCATTERING”. This interpreted to us that any Christian who is yet to activate his/her call is not helping at all.

Your call is the purpose for your existence; make sure that on daily basis you function in the area you are called by GOD ALMIGHTY. To activate the call on your life is to Minister; if you give to someone in need you have ministered, any time you solve a problem you minister. I agree we have a lot of people called into the Pastoral ministry though, yet I can tell you that we have more people called into other ministries like, Giving (Abraham) , Wisdom(to solve problems (Solomon)), Peace Making (JESUS), government (Samuel), family welfare (Moses), leadership (Aaron), writing (John the beloved), Singing (Solomon), Dancing (David), comic display (comedy (David)), fashion (Dorcas in the BIBLE). We have a lot of people like these whose call is still dormant, that’s why GOD ALMIGHTY has made choices on those to use for major assignments.

The scripture says, “MANY ARE CALLED, FEW ARE CHOSEN”. We have special men who carry out multiple assignments because there is no division of labour in the BODY OF CHRIST. Christians must wake up; in your everyday living bless a life, affect a person’s intellect and life style, pick up assignments in Church, Some of us have been blessed with good ideas for business,

Peter Ojefoh

marriage, sports, leadership, relationship, etc. It’s time to use it for GOD ALMIGHTY. A lot of us go through trials and struggle because we have refused the call, remember Jonah in the BIBLE who refused the call and almost lost his life, he automatically became cursed, even the boat he entered was cursed, his environment was cursed, so he ended up in the belly of a fish; the fish naturally is supposed to tear him and kill him, before swallowing him, but it didn’t because the fish was sent for a special assignment, so even a fish understood and answered it’s call.

The question is: What is your purpose, what have u allowed to go bad because you were present but yet did nothing about it; these days when we hear about the CALL, our minds are focused on the pulpit, or a Church of our own. If it is so, then what happens to those who are called to preach in buses, vehicles, streets, media, school fellowship, even social media, what about the counsellors (Ahitophel) who are supposed to give good counsel to people.

Find your Call and improve on it through prayers, Study and Passion, Love, Faith, Manifestation and a Sound Mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 “He Has Not Called Us Into The Spirit Fear, But Of Love, Power And A Sound Mind.”

Sunday Quotes: The Presence Of God Is The Presence That Absence Evil Presence Sermon By: Peter Ojefoh Church Location: Blissful Grace Assembly JeddoWarri, Delta State. Nigeria 07018784342 . Facebook /: Blissful Grace Assembly, Jeddo. YOUTUBE: Blissful Grace Assembly. Email: peterchiyere0@gmail.com

Book launch

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book, ‘Overcoming the World’- a 21st Century manual for Christian youth, authored by Ngozi Uche-Egwuatu, will be publicly presented/launched on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at Amuwo Odofin Local Government Secretariat, 41, Road, Festac Town, Lagos.

Time is 11am. According to a statement by the author, Florence Ohia will be the special guest of honour, while Pastor

Samuel Oguegbu, will be the guest of hono u r .

E m manuel Otokhine and Pastor Tobi Kelechi Atumah will be the co-launcher and book reviewer, respectively.

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BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

Oando, a brand in crisis but fights back Stories by Daniel Obi

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ando, an African indigenous energy company operating in the upstream, midstream and downstream is currently facing brand crisis. Though it is fighting back to regain any lost image, but already perception damage may have been sustained by the top oil company.

There is likely to be image issues as Oando appears to have faced two crisis too many under three years while in actual fact, the present crisis started in 2017. The image issue has culminated in crashing of share price following investors’ apathy. The penultimate Friday, the share price dropped 9.6% to N4.20 How the company manages the present crisis will determine the eventual value and brand position the company will continue to enjoy from its publics. Experts say crisis management is the process applied by an organization to deal with disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization.

The crisis started when SEC in 2017 received two separate petitions from investors about alleged regulatory misconduct by the management of Oando Plc, a company that is listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges.

Upon the receipt of the petitions, SEC entered into action to investigate the allegations by setting up powerful investigative panel to look into the infractions by the quoted company.

“The general public is hereby

notified of the conclusion of the investigations of Oando Plc, SEC said in a statement by its spokesperson, Efe Ebelo recently.

“The findings from the report revealed serious infractions, such as false disclosures, market abuses, misstatements in financial statements, internal control failures, and corporate governance lapses stemming from poor board oversight, irregular approval of directors’ remuneration, unjustified disbursements to directors and management of the company, related party transactions not conducted at arm’s length, amongst others,” the statement said.

Apart from the panel that investigated certain infractions of securities and other relevant laws observed, SEC said it also engaged Deloitte & Touche to conduct a forensic audit of the activities of

Oando Plc. Acting upon, perhaps the findings and recommendations of the panel, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC the capital market regulatory body, a week ago came down heavily on Oando Plc, The commission immediately barred the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, and his deputy, Omamofe Boyo, from holding director positions of public companies for a minimum of five year period.

The capital market regulator also directed other members of the Board of the company to resign their positions forthwith and also directed the convening of an extraordinary general meeting of the company on or before July 1 to appoint new directors.

The sanctions are believed to be among some regulatory measures

Arla Dano drives milk intake in Nigeria, celebrates 2019 World Milk Day

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s part of efforts to commemorate the 2019 World Milk Day, Arla Dano, maker of Dano Milk joined the rest of the world to celebrate milk and the goodness it brings. This is part of the company’s efforts to drive milk intake in Nigeria due to its numerous benefits.

Riding on this year’s global campaign theme ‘Enjoy Dairy’, Arla Dano held a spectacular farmthemed event tagged ‘On the farm with Dano’ at the Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, the 1st of June, 2019 with over 2,000 guests in attendance.

Dano Milk kick-started the World Milk Day celebration with the ‘9ja MilkFest’ campaign on its social media handles via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @danomilkng where the brand reached out to other brands in the milk and beverage category to join hands in nourishing Nigeria. The brand also announced the campaign to all its fans and followers as well as dairy lovers using teasers and three

hashtags to drive the social media campaign; #9jaMilkFest, #Enjoy Diary and #World Milk Day with over fifty million impressions.

Following this, charity visits were made by Dano Milk to communities and orphanages in Enugu, Ibadan and Lagos. Over 1,000 women and children in total was said in a statement to have benefited directly from the dairy products and materials donated by the brand, putting smiles on their faces and leaving them with the goodness DANO brings. The visits were in company

of the Brand Ambassador, Rachael Okonkwo aka ‘Nkoli Nwa Nsukka’ in Enugu, ace comedian, FunnyBone in Lagos and Olusalako aka SLK in Ibadan. Residents in these communities touched by the charity visits could not hide their joy and excitement as they commended the brand. The brand also reached out to consumers through activations in schools, neighbourhoods, and markets across the country.

According to the Marketing Manager, Ifunanya Obiakor, according to the statement ‘’On The Farm with Dano” was informed by the need to showcase the entire process from grass to glass, helping to bring the awareness consumers need to have natural, healthy, good quality dairy nutrition every day. As a brand committed to the well-being of our consumers, we are celebrating milk and the nourishment it brings, and World Milk Day is a day that affords us the opportunity to bring the excitement that milk offers in an educating and entertaining way”.

by the SEC to remedy the infractions by the sacked management of the company.

Since then, Oando and some other stakeholders have kicked against the SEC’s sanctions. In a press statement issued on its website, Oando responded to the SEC’s report saying: “Oando is of the view that these alleged infractions and penalties are unsubstantiated, ultra vires, invalid and calculated to prejudice the business of the Company. The Company has not been given the opportunity to see, review and respond to the forensic audit report and so it is unable to ascertain what findings (if any) were made in relation to the alleged infractions and defend itself accordingly before the SEC. The Company reserves its rights to take all legal steps to protect its business and assets whilst remaining committed to act in the best interests of all its shareholders.”

Speaking on the damage done to the brand since the inception of the investigation, the Chief Finance Officer, Oando Plc, Olufemi Adeyemo in a report said: “The damage cannot be quantified. We require credit to run our business and this has come at an extra cost, one that we would ordinarily not have incurred.”

Since the latest pronouncement of the sanctions by SEC, the public, both international and local curiosity has been aroused, willing to understand the issues more.

It was also reported that business personalities such as Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC bank had taken to social media to publicly ask the SEC why it would not share the findings of the forensic audit with Oando thus giving the company an opportunity to defend

itself.

Looking at brand implications of the issue around Oando, a brand expert, Ekine Akonte said that SEC is unfortunately addressing public quoted company’s governance issues on the public stage. “This could be to serve as deterrent but such moves in the open with sanctions announced publicly will obviously impact negatively on the affected company as brand’s equity will be affected.”

He however cautioned Oando on its communication approach to tackling the issue. “Unfortunately many managers are talking at this time”, which should not be the approach. Oando should identify a spokesperson on this issue. While advising Oando to be diplomatic in the way it is talking to stakeholders, Akonte said Oando should be talking to select critical stakeholders, including distributors, suppliers and capital market operators and regulators. He believed that Oando should be discreet in using the press to justify its case.

It must be noted that every organization is susceptible to crises but if this happens and there was not earlier preparation to tackle it, more damage could be sustained.

It is necessary for every organisation to anticipate crisis and prepare communication and engagement process earlier enough to minimise damage.

It is not sure whether there are political undertones in the petitions and sanctions against Oando. However, experts believe that Oando should be given the opportunity to defend itself. The company should also apply strategic communication and engagement tactics with relevant stakeholders to come clean.

MTN donates playgrounds to primary schools in Ikoyi

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nformation and communication technology (ICT) company, MTN Nigeria, gave the students of Ireti and Hope Nursery and Primary Schools, Ikoyi, Lagos, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. On Friday, May 24, 2019, the students of the schools were surprised with a visit from popular Nigerian songstress, Chidinma Ekile and child comediene, Emmanuella as the company handed over two refurbished playgrounds to the school among other gifts such as school bags and essential school learning materials.

Thecelebrities,ChidinmaandEmmanuellajoinedtopexecutivesofthe company led by the Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, to treat the children to a fun-filled day of gifts and memorable interaction. Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Rahul De presented the two newly refurbished playgrounds that will enable students of the schools to play and have fun, which will in turn aid their capacity to learn.

Rahul De, expressed his excitement at the company’s gift to the

school saying: “Children are a constant reminder that we have to continue to do better, be better and improve all aspects of our lives. The drive and tenacity expressed by these children at such a young age is especially exciting, which is why we believe that access to facilities such as these playgrounds will be beneficial to the students, the schools and their communities as they will serve as avenues for the children to express their vivid imaginations.

He further stated that “At MTN Nigeria, we believe in empowering the Nigerian child and equipping them for the future. This is why we are also donating learning materials to students in order to give them a better educational experience.”

Under its What Can We Do together initiative, executed through its social investment vehicle, MTN Foundation, the company has also donated school supplies and learning materials to more than 60 primary schools across Nigeria to brighten the lives of the children and make learning easier.

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LifestyleHomes&Suites

Paul Ojenagbon pauloje2000@yahoo.com

UPDC’S Pinnacle, Metro City, in Abuja

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he property colossus, United Africa Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc has a huge presence in Abuja, the nation’s Federal Capital. Some of the projects have been completed while some are ongoing.

Pinnacle, as the name implies is a premium residential estate located in the highbrow Maitama area in Abuja with picturesque landscape filled with ample trees and lush green vegetation in line with the master developer’s goal of sustainability. The estate comprises 27 luxury apartments broken down into 20 units of 3-Bedroom apartments, 4 units of 4-Bedroom apartments, 2 units of 4-Bedroom maisonetes and 1 unit of 1-Bedroom apartment. A few units of the dominant 3-Bedroom apartment type remain; the other types are sold out showing huge acceptance of the development.

The development is actually a joint venture between UPDC Plc and Imani and Sons Nigeria Limited. All the housing units have luxurious finish and are superbly equipped with fitted kitchens and air-conditioners. The kitchens are fitted with gas cooker, oven, cabinet, heat extractor and what have you. There is a laundry room with washing machine and the other details for home wash operations.

The 3-Bedroom apartment with one room boys’ quarter covers 256 square metres built up space and carries a price tag of N188.9million made up of the selling price and add-ons of incidental expenses.

The title on it is certificate of occupancy issued at the Federal Capital Territory.

Metro City, another one of UPDC’s rave of the moment proj-

ects in Abuja is located in a serene residential area of Apo-Dutse, Abuja. It is expansive, covering a huge area of 11.7 hectares of land.

It comprises 104 units of the following housing types: 5-Bedroom detached houses, 4-Bedroom Semi-detached houses, 4-Bedroom Terrace houses, 3-Bedroom Bungalows, 2&3-Bedroom flats while serviced plots are also available for sale from a minimum size

of 500square metres.

The prices on the units are inclusive of incidental expenses such as VAT and other charges.

The 5-Bedroom detached house with 2-room boys quarter goes for N90,000,200, the 4-Bedroom semi detached house with 1-room boys quarter for N75,004,400, the 4-Bedroom terraces with 1-room boys quarter for N55,686,710, the 3-Bedroom flat for N36,246,440

and the 2-Bedroom flat for N27,934,490. Being promotional prices, they can change any time especially with increased demand.

Like every other development on the UPDC’s exquisite stable, Pinnacle and Metro City are well serviced with ultra modern and state of the art facilities such as borehole and water treatment for potable water supply, alternative

sources of power supply to stem outages and efficient sewage treatment. Recreational facilities include swimming pools and gyms. The estates boast of good roads infrastructure that are well maintained over time. Metro city, in addition has a shopping Arcade and soft alluring landscape. UPDC provides management of the estates from the Estate Management Offices.

Digital living in Octagon Smart City

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ctagon Smart City is located at Warewa near Arepo on the LagosIbadan Expressway, backing the popular Citiview Estate, about 15 - 20 minutes’ drive from the Central Business District of Ikeja and also about 30 - 35 minutes to the Third Mainland Bridge. The development is being undertaken by Smart Homes Project Investment Limited.

The home types include 2-Bedroom

apartments, prototype 3-bedroom semi-detached apartment and maisonettes.

Each delivery is paid for off plan, based on pre-ordered terms. Each request is attended to as it comes and executed when the necessary commitment payment has been made. The next delivery is slated for June 10, 2019. At the moment, 6 units of the 2-Bedroom units are available; two are on the upper floor

and 3 on the lower floor. An apartment on the upper floor carries N7.55Million price tag, lower floor N6.95 Million while the 3-semi-detached unit is priced at N14 Million.

Initial deposit required is about 20-30% of the total price, while the balance can be paid through mortgage loan at 18 percent per annum, as the developer has some partnership with a mortgage bank.

The sum of N950, 000 is required

as deposit for the 2-Bedroom apartments. Delivery and handover date for second batch is between September 15 – October 28, 2019.

There is a mortgage/rent to own plan whereby a prospective buyer can pay at least N950, 000 for the first year, move into the apartment and pay N1.5 Million per year for the next five years.

Prominent features of the estate are include captivating exterior

facade design, large windows for ample lights and ventilation , smart phone enabled switches and sockets, smart voice power automated home facility.

Finishing components on the homes include anesthetic curved, arched roof, balcony terrace (for upper floor), smart keyless entry security doors, entrance porch consisting of 50mm Aluminum railings, vitrified ceramic tiles in all rooms and living area. Kitchen cabinet is to be fabricated with Wenge coloured HDF boards or other choice option.

Painting of spaces is of emulsion in double layers.

Facilities in the estate include street lights, tarred/paved estate road, beautiful greenery, automated gate, rich neighbourhood, estate security and 24/7 surveillance by security personnel, beautiful estate gate houses and perimeter fencing.

There is parking space for at least 2 cars (of the unit owners).

The title is deed of assignment which is being processed into certificate of occupancy.

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Crime WATCH Man lands in prison for forgery, breach of trust Stories by INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

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ustice Salisu Garba of the FCT High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, May 13, 2019, ordered that one Marshal David Umoh be remanded in Kuje Prison.

David and his company, Dihoen Consult Limited are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on an eight-count charge bordering on breach of trust and forgery.

David had earlier fled to Ghana when he realized that the EFCC was investigating his fraudulent activities, prompting the Commission to declare him wanted in the media, a statement issued on Monday by the Acting

Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Tony Orilade, said.

Ghana soon became inhospitable to David as his employers in the country read the publication. And he had to flee back to Nigeria.

He was apprehended on his return in the country in April, 2019 by the EFCC and was arraigned today, after investigations have been concluded.

One of the charges reads: “That you, Marshall David Umo and Dihoen Consult Limited, on or about the 27th of May, 2009, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, while being entrusted with certain property to wit: the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) by Abba Musa Rimi for the purchase of 400,00.00 units of shares

of Nigerian Flour Mills did commit criminal breach of trust by dishonestly converting the said sum to your own use and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penalty Code Cap 532 laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 2004 and punishable under Section 312 of the same act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges. In view of his not guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, I. G. Odibo, asked the court for a trial date and that the defendant be remanded in prison custody.

However, the defense counsel, Abel Adaji, told the court that he had an application for his client’s bail, which the prosecution counsel protested because it was served the court same morning and he needed time to respond to it.

Consequently, the defence counsel asked for a short adjournment and prayed that the defendant be remanded in EFCC’s custody. The prosecution counsel objected to the prayer, preferring a remand in prison custody hence the defendant was already in court.

Justice Salisu Garba adjourned the matter to Friday, May 17, 2019 for hearing of the bail application and ordered the defendant to be remanded in Kuje Prison.

Police rescue two kidnapped victims, arrest three suspects …Recover two AK 47 rifles, 258 ammunition

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olice operatives of “Operation Puff Adder” currently on a nation-wide offensive against kidnappers and other dangerous criminals, yet again, recorded victory with the rescue of two kidnapped victims and subsequent arrest of three male suspects and the recovery of two (2) Ak47 rifles and Two hundred and fifty eight (258) rounds of live ammunition of 7.62mm caliber.

This was disclosed on Sunday by the Force Public Relations Officer Frank Mba, stressing that the two victims were Ali Abu Sale, male, 34 years and Bala Bawa, male, 37 years. The victims were earlier kidnapped from their residence at Maijaki village via Lapai LGA of Niger State on 1st May 2019, and held at two separate kidnappers’ camp.

They were rescued following a joint tactical rescue mission involving Police men from the Technical Intelligence Units, Special Tactical Squad and other undercover operatives attached to Operation Puff Adder.

“While Ali Abu Sale was rescued at Mai Lamba forest near Lapai, Niger State, Bala Bawa was rescued at

Gada Biu on the outskirts of Abuja. Prior to the successful rescue operation, the kidnappers were demanding for a whopping ransom of Eight Million Naira (8, 000,000 naira) for the two victims,” the statement said.

The statement added that three suspects: Mohammed Bello, aka Dan Hajia 42 years, Suleiman Musa, aka Dan Auta 38 years and Abubakar Bello, aka Abu Kango 28 years, all males, are currently in police custody helping in the ongoing investigation. One of the suspects, following a serious gun duel with the rescuing Police Operatives was fatally injured and subsequently died

from the gun shot injuries. Investigation into the case is continuing, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has commended the efforts of the Police Operatives on the successful rescue of the victims. He also thanked members of the public for continually assisting the police especially through the provision of credible information in the fight against kidnapping and violent crimes.

He promised that the police will continue the intensive onslaught against kidnappers and other heinous criminals until the battle is won.

Two illegal gold dealers forfeit N39m, property to FG

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, secured the conviction of two illegal gold dealers, Bukar Mandara Zarami, Managing Director, Bukar Mandara Zarami Limited, and Kar Nap Fenan Wuyep before Justice Muslim S. Hassan of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The convicts alongside a company, Bukar Mandara Zarami Limited, were re-arraigned today on an amended two -count charge bordering on possession of 35.58 kilogrammes of Gold Bars wrapped in six bags without appropriate permit, a statement issued on Tuesday by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Tony Orilade, said.

Count one reads: “That you, Bukar Mandara Zara-

mi, on or about the 9th day of November, 2018 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dealt in 35.58 kilogrammes of gold bars wrapped in six bags without appropriate permit; and you, therefore, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 134(c) of the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act, 2007.”

“Count two reads: “That you, “Kar Nap Fenan Wuyep, on or about the 22nd day of May, 2018 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court , without going through any financial institution, accepted cash payment of the sum of $19,440(Nineteen Thousand , Four Hundred and Forty United States Dollars), from one Bakkkuk Steven Goyol, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by the Law; and,

you hereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1)(a), Section 16(1) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as Amended and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.” The defendants pleaded guilty to the charge preferred against them.

In view of their plea, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, sought the leave of the court to review the facts of the case.

Oyedepo informed the court that the first defendant, Zarami, was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on November 11, 2018 with 35.58 kilogrammes of Gold Bars wrapped in six bags.

He further stated that “He was brought to the Lagos Zonal office of the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission, EFCC, where the gold bars were measured and counted in the presence of the first defendant, his counsel, a representative from the Ministry of Mines and Steel. All parties present signed the measurements document.” The prosecution sought to tender in evidence the signed measurement document and the first defendant’s boarding pass. Both the document and the boarding pass of the first defendant were admitted in evidence as exhibits P1 and P2.

The prosecution counsel further told the court that investigations revealed that the first and second defendants did not have the appropriate permit to possess or deal in 35.58kg of gold.

Oyedepo also told the court that, though the first

defendant, in his statement to the EFCC, stated that he gave an official of the Ministry, Steven Bakkuk, about N3, 000,000 (Three Million Naira) as royalty, investigation showed that the actual amount he was supposed to pay as royalty was N6, 772, 64,16k (Six Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy -two Thousand, Sixtyfour Naira, Sixteen Kobo).

Oyedepo said: “This shows clearly that there was no appropriate permit for that quantity of Gold Bars. “Investigation further revealed that instead of the official from the Ministry, who received the money from the first defendant, to put the funds in the treasury, he transferred the sum of N700,000.00 (Seven Hundred Thousand Naira) to the third defendant, who is a Director in the Ministry of Mines and Steel.

“This led to further investigation into the account of Bakkuk, whose account was used for transfers of unlawful enrichment.

“It was discovered that about N28m in tranches was sent to the third defendant.

“On May 22, 2018, the sum of $19,440 (Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty United States Dollars) in cash was given to the third defendant, which is in excess of the amount authorized by Law to be received in cash and it constitutes an offence against Money Laundering Act 2011.”

The prosecution sought to tender the statement of account of Bakkuk in United Bank for Africa, UBA, and the statements of both the first and third defendants.

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NewsExtra Private sector leaders set agenda for Emefiele in second term ... Say infrastructure, import substitution, consumer credit, mortgage key Hope Moses-Ashike

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he Nigeria’s private sector leaders including Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man/owner of Dangote Group, Jim Ovia, businessman/founder of Zenith Bank, Atedo Peterside, banker/ entrepreneur, and others gathered on Saturday in Lagos to set agenda for Godwin Emefiele, who was reappointed for a second term as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.

At the consultative roundtable with the CBN governor, titled ‘Going for Growth’, these leaders pointed some key focus areas that will help stimulate growth in the economy.

The areas are infrastructure, specifically power, import substitution, consumer credit, mortgage, financial inclusion and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), among others.

In his welcome address, Emefiele said the roundtable allows the organised private sector, not only to air their views but also provide some inputs into the roadmap to be unveiled in due course of achieving greater growth and job creation in Nigeria. “Our goal in participating in this roundtable session today is to generate valuable insights from key stakeholders on the role Monetary Policy authorities could play in formulating and implementing policy measures that will support improved economic growth, as

Emefiele

well as the creation of jobs in Nigeria both in the near and long run”, Emefiele said.

He said the CBN took a number of actions in the last five years to support the growth of the economy in the face of the challenges that confronted the nation, following the massive drop in crude oil prices between 2015 and 2017.

These measures, he said, “have helped in achieving the Macroeconomic stability we see today with inflation trending down to 11.37 percent from 18.72 in January 2017; exchange rate stability

Ninth Assembly: 99 senators-elect ...

Continued from page 2

Senate.

Omo-Agege, who is also a senator-elect representing Delta Central, stated that he has the backing of the Presidency even as he maintained that he would be elected as Deputy Senate President.

Recall that he had allegedly led thugs and invaded the hallowed chambers of the Senate in April last year and snatched the Mace.

Controversy had trailed the use of the 2015 Standing Order, as senators had accused the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, of illegally amending the rules to provide for secret voting instead of open voting that was used in 2011.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Omo-Agege said: “The Senate Standing Order 2015 was not amended by the senators. It was amended by the outgone Senate President in connivance with the former CNA. Order 110 of the 2011 rules makes specific provisions on how you amend the Standing Rules. That was the procedure that was adopted by Seventh Senate before it expired.

“In 2015, to the extent that the 2011 rules were not amended that ought to be the operative rule for use in the 8th Senate because it is the valid and subsisting rule. I can tell you there was never a time when this 8th Senate amended the 2011 rules. So what that means is that the 2015 amended rule is a Saraki rule. It is Saraki Standing Order it is not the 8th Senate Standing Order and I can assure you it would not be used on Tuesday because it is not valid”.

When journalists reminded him that the same Standing Order was used throughout the life of the 8th Senate, he said: “Well anybody can distribute anything. Its use will be determined on Tuesday.”

He further said: “I am very confident that I will emerge the deputy Senate President on Tuesday 11th when the 9th Senate convenes. I have support from APC caucus; I have support of the leadership and the caucus of the party. I also have the support of the Executive arm.

As we go into this context, I am very confident that come Tuesday, I will emerge the next Deputy Senate President”.

at current levels with considerable convergence and reserves build up to current level of over $45 billion compared to $23 billion in October 2016.

“Although we had hoped to achieve a lower level of interest rate, this became impossible given the normalisation of Monetary Policy in the United States and the over 60 percent drop in crude oil prices between 2014 and 2016”.

He noted that the Apex bank also deployed measures aimed at supporting improved productivity of the Nigerian economy, by

restricting access to foreign exchange on 43 items that could be produced in the country and also strengthened its intervention programs which helped in restarting the flow of credit to critical sectors of the economy.

Responding to the lingering call by Nigerians for a reduction in interest rate, Emefiele said: “I have also heard a lot of people suggest that all they want is for the CBN to reduce interest rates. In fact, for us at the CBN, achieving a low interest rate regime will give us a great sense of accomplishment. Indeed, given our determination to stimulate economic growth, it is obvious that we would want to pursue a policy of moderating interest rates. Yet, in an environment where inflation recently was as high as 18.72 percent, it would be counter- productive to reduce interest rates because any attempt to ease interest rates under a high inflationary environment will no doubt retard growth. While we are delighted that we have been able to fight inflation down to very low double digits, we believe it is still too high for the Nigerian economy.

Our goal is to moderate it down to single digits”.

He asked the leaders and policymakers, to strengthen their resolve over the coming years to stimulate growth and job creation by putting in place unconventional policies that would help insulate economy from shocks in the global economy.

“It is in an attempt to stimulate such discuss that we decided to participate in this session today. I will therefore encourage participants to

highlight important building blocks that will lead to greater economic growth in our beloved country. We are eager to listen to your ideas and views on how we can help improve productivity and investments by companies operating in Nigeria; reduce our dependence on imported goods that can be produced in Nigeria; and increase our exports of non-oil goods and services”.

In his welcome remarks, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos Sate, said his administration would continue to support the CBN’s efforts in ensuring continuous economic growth.

He encouraged the CBN to continue to play its part especially in providing infrastructure to help boost power for businesses to thrive.

Others in attendance include Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Coronation Capital, Herbert Wigwe, group managing director, Access Bank plc; Hamdah Ambah, managing director/CEO, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, other bank CEOs, captains of industries- telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, and other stakeholders.

Dangote said some of these issues have been discussed about for a long time but the challenge is implementation.

He said there was the need to have a bigger consultative roundtable for all stakeholders including the ministry of finance, budget and planning among others. He added that the private sector needs to partner the government in achieving the desired economic growth.

Don’t release outstanding N30bn bailout fund to Bello, Kogi PDP tells CBN, FG Victoria Nnakaike, Lokoja

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ogi State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has begged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Government not to release the N30 billion outstanding bailout fund to Kogi State government, alleging that previous intervention monies were embezzled by the governor.

This is coming on the heels of the state governor’s intensified efforts in lobbying the APCcontrolled Federal Government to secure release of further N30 billion bailout.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Bode Ogunmola, saying the question that needs to be asked is how has the governor utilised funds released to him in the past.

The party further emphasized that the state is hugely indebted and is owing workers’ salaries to the tune of 38 months after

taking several intervention funds and loans from banks without any development to show for it.

“All that the administration has embarked upon is reckless looting of state resources. Any attempt to compromise by the CBN, would be a great disservice to the suffering people of Kogi State.

“The bailout itself is not a free fund; the money is a loan that will be paid back over a period of

Bello

time with 9percent interest. Any government that prides itself in probity will ask questions of how past releases were utilised before committing Kogi State into further debt.”

PDP noted it is not against paying workers their entitlements, but called on the CBN to heed to their earlier suggestion to initiate moves and probe past utilisation of earlier releases and make arrangements to pay workers directly.

“Any further release to Governor Yahaya Bello would amount to a disservice to the povertystricken workers of Kogi State.

The government is financially reckless, with penchant for looting state resources and has the penchant not to pay salaries.

“We asked the CBN to pay Kogi workers directly. Any attempt to release the balance of bailout to Governor Bello, would amount to giving him his pay-off, because the government has been rejected and would be voted out in November.”

42 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 09 June 2019

Sports

Stakeholders call for corporate Rape Allegation: Mastercard cancels Golf: sponsorship to grow the game endorsement deal with Neymar

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Stories By ANTHONY NLEBEM

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astercard, an American global payments and technology company has decided to suspend an advertising campaign that had Brazilian football player Neymar Jr as the leading star, ahead of the Copa América tournament in his homeland, until the case of an alleged rape that has been brought against the player has been resolved.

“We have a series of marketing campaigns planned to be linked together during the Copa América but we have made the decision to suspend all of them, including Neymar as our brand ambassador, until the issue is resolved,” Mastercard said in a press release. Ambassador Neymar does feature in this message on the company’s Twitter feed.

Other brands that sponsor Neymar have already shown concern about the player’s situation. Sportswear company Nike said they were “deeply worried” and Redbull also issued a statement saying that they were uncomfortable with the situation.

On Thursday, a video was released showing what appeared to be hidden footage of Neymar and his accuser on the bed of a hotel room, ending in a physical disagreement.

Neymar is not just one of the world’s very best footballers, but earning more revenues from advert for more than two dozens of the world’s biggest companies.

The PSG superstar is one of the most marketable sports stars in the world - earning around £14m a year from his sponsors Companies around the world know how important footballer endorsements are to bringing them customers.

After the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mastercard extended its contract with Neymar Jr. Further tightening the bonds of a successful partnership, Mastercard and Neymar Jr. extended their contract after the World Cup. From now on, the athlete, who

represented the brand in South America, Latin America, Central and Caribbean, will have its contract expanded globally.

The story between Mastercard and Neymar Jr. began in December 2015. Some of the campaigns carried out were “Surprises Have No Price” and “Go To The UEFA Finals With The Mastercard”. Recently, the campaign’s “Goals That Change Lives”, “Start What Has No Price” gathered Neymar Jr. and Leo Messi to start the social movement.

But the rape allegation involving the Brazilian star could further crash more endorsement deals and global brands will not condole any bad image that will affect their brands negatively.

Ruiz demands £40m for a rematch with Joshua ...Joshua confident he will reclaim his Heavyweight title

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arely one week when Andy Ruiz Jr stopped Joshua in the seventh round to become the new Heavyweight World Champion, the American-Mexican boxer has demanded a whooping sum of £40 million for a rematch with Nigerian born British boxer Anthony Joshua in the UK. Ruiz, the huge underdog sprung a shock last weekend to drop Joshua four times before stopping him in the seventh round.

AJ immediately triggered the rematch clause with the second fight due to take place in November or December.

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is the frontrunner to host the second installment with Madison Square Garden and the T-Mobile Arena also in the frame.

Ruiz is likely to pick up £10m for the rematch, double his purse for his first clash with Joshua - but he is ready to demand more.

“Right now my team, they are negotiating everything right now. I have just got to stay busy, stay healthy and be ready for the rematch,” Ruiz

told Fight Hub. “I would love it to be here in the United States or in Mexico you know. It all depends on the team and what they negotiate.

“If they want me to go over there (UK), they have to give me $50million. If they want to come over here… It’s just negotiations you know.”

Ruiz is keen to host the fight in Mexico, but that is highly unlikely with the terms of the rematch already agreed through the original contract.

And Joshua is confident he

will reclaim his place at the top of the heavyweight division.

“Congratulations to Andy Ruiz, he has six months to be champion because the belts go in the air and he is going to have to defend against myself,” Joshua said.

“I would not mind if it was in New York again, I wouldn’t mind if it’s in England. New York opened their arms for my team and me and it was phenomenal.

I have to correct what went wrong and get the job done in the rematch.”

olf stakeholders believe that the sport is more than just a game.

To the avid golf player, there is nothing better being in a good golf course, withy big time players and rewarding competitions. Connoisseurs of the sports also believe that it can effectively drive the tourism industry in Nigeria if things were put in order, as reported

by Guardian Newspaper.

Speaking during the recent PGAs of Europe tour of Nigeria, Seventh Sports’ Director, Daisi Olotu said the country had a

phal, spoke on ways to repositions the game in the country.

Zenera and other stakeholders want to leverage on the experience shared by the PGAs of Europe to rebrand the PGA of Nigeria, adding that a committee is already working out the programme.

“The state of golf in Nigeria belies not just its potential, but also the reputation it used to have in the past. “If you look at the calibre of amateur games; the individuals who play in the various amateur clubs in Nigeria, the frequency

big gap in its golf development to fill, adding there was an urgent need to put all necessary infrastructure in place. He said, “Seventh Sports is partnering with the PGAN to fill the gap we have discovered as experts in the business of sports marketing; the PGAN that I can see at present is not what it ought to be – it deserves more than what it is now.”

Olotu believes Nigeria’s professional golf would only improve if certain things were put in place. “In the first place, the PGAN has no befitting secretariat. The members’ welfare also needs to improve in line with the global standard. “Also, we have to look at the quality of tournaments played annually; the content and participation; these and among others is where we are coming in to fill the gap.”

Also, speaking on the need to reposition Nigerian golf is Meka Olowola, Managing Partner at Zenera Consulting.

Olowola said there is an interesting positive movement in golf globally, adding that the return of Tiger Woods to the top with victory at the August Masters in April has ushered in a new verve to the game.

Olowola was among the stakeholders, who met with PGAs of Europe Director of Development, Martin West-

within which some of the clubs played, especially Ikoyi Club, which features an average of 200 people in an event (the most played course in the world) and then you juxtapose that with the quality of the PGAN and the positioning of the PGAN, you know that there’s a significant gap and that there is much work to be done.”

He lamented that in its recent history, Nigeria had a lot of beautiful clubs, “where we used to have very interesting competitions, including the Lagos Open, which Vijay Singh came here to play in; we had Peter Akakasiaka, the only Nigerian who went to play in the British Open.

“We need to go back to those days and this is the time to hit the iron on the head as it is hot, because there is a renewed interest in golf beginning with Tiger Woods following his strong comeback, winning the Masters Open.”Olowola believes Nigeria ride on the fresh wave of enthusiasm to resuscitate the game to revitalise, rerestructure and re-engineer the PGAN. He added: “That is what Zenera has come to do. We are speaking with the PGAN to be able to dimension a brand strategy that will get us to the desired future.”

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BDSUNDAY 43

Sports

Six months after national festival, Rivers athletes protest over unpaid salaries IGNATIUS CHUKWU & SAM ESOGWA

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ix months after the 19th national sports festival, athletes who represented Rivers State are yet to receive their full salaries and allowances.

The Rivers State contingent to the national sports festival had, at Abuja, venue of the event held in December 2018, threatened to boycott it if they were not paid their salaries and allowances which they said were being owed since 2017 then.

However, the leaders of the Rivers contingent were able to manage the disquiet in their camp.

But Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Port Hharcourt, some angry athletes blocked the Rivers State Government House gate in protest against unpaid accumulated salaries and allowances.

The placard-carrying protesters, numbering about twentyfive, were demanding for the payment of their salaries and allowances.

Some of their placards read: “Boma Iyaye and Sunday Adeyeye took our money. They should pay us,” “Wike is a good man. He has released our money

but some people are holding it,” “Coaches were being paid N400k and N500 thousand instead of N1-2 million. And total money athletes received was N240,000 instead of N720,000,” among others.

Some of the athletes were lying down on the ground, blocking the main gate of the Government House, thereby preventing vehicles from driving in and out of the government house.

Every plea by the policemen and other security personnel on

duty for the athletes to shift in order for vehicles to pass fell on deaf ears.

The angry athletes said they preferred to die there rather than leave without their allowances, adding that they were tired of living in hardship after doing the state proud in various sports competitions.

The athletes, many of who are Yoruba by origin, complained bitterly of neglect and ill treatment by the immediate past commissioner for sports, Boma

Iyaye, and one Sunday Adeyeye whom they claimed is the state’s sports consultant, accusing them of hijacking the money the state government released for them during the last national sports festival.

According to them, the government released over five hundred million naira for payment of their allowances and general welfare but regretted that only stipends were paid to them, in the neighbourhood of N240,000 a year which amounted to N20,000 monthly whereas the state government promised to pay them N60,000 monthly.

Shola Shoremekun, a paratable tennis coach, said he had been working for Rivers State since 2011 during which he had participated in three sports festivals, winning 24 gold, 32 silver and 31 bronze medals in the process.

Shoremekun, who expressed dismay over the ill treatment being meted to them, called on the Rivers State Government to fulfill its own part of the bargain by ensuring the payment of their accumulated allowances.

Quazeem Oniga, who said he is the coach for the sport called ayo, lamented that despite

their achievements for Rivers State in the last sports festival, their full allowances were yet to be paid.

“We have been making Rivers State proud. During the last sports festival, Rivers State came second. Delta State came first. I won silver and bronze in ayo. The fault is not from the governor. The governor is a good man. He appreciates sports but the problem is those in charge of sports,” he said.

Asked if they had ever taken their complaints to the former commissioner for sports, Boma Iyaye, the ayo coach answered in the affirmative, adding that they had lodged several complaints to the commissioner but on each of the occasions, they were either told that the government had not released all the money or promised that something would be done about it.

Quazeem Oniga expressed disappointment that they should be subjected to such maltreatment and appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike to come to their aid.

It was not possible to reach the immediate past commissioner for sports in the state, Boma Iyaye, as at the time of filing in this report.

HiFL holds draws, unveils teams jersey ahead of 2019 season UEFA Nations League 3rd-place playoff, final take centre stage today ….. as 32 teams set to fight for honour ANTHONY NLEBEM

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s teams prepare to slug it out in the 2019 edition of the Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL), draws for the group stages was held as the new team jerseys and logos were unveiled. The 32 teams that qualified for the group stage were draw into eight groups of four teams each starting from Group A- Group H from the Sahel and Coastal divisions.

Group A has UNILAG Marines, FUTA Tigers, EKSU Mountaineers, OAU Giants. while Group B has UI Pioneers, AAUA Luminaries, LCU Gladiators, LASU Blazers. In Group C, UNIUYO Tuskites, IAUE Minders, DELSU Titans, UNICAL Malabiites, will do battle to qualify for the round of 16. MOUAU Bloomers, RSU Dolphins, ESUT Explorers, NDU Oilers were ceded in Group D as Group E will feature UNIBEN Royals, FUOYE Dazzlers, FUNAI Hawks and UNIZIK Cardinals. Teams in Group F include NILE Rovers, FUTMINNA Transformers, PLASU Boulders, UNILORIN Warriors. while Group G plays host to ABU Nobles, KUST Pyramid, ATBU Bravehearts, UNIMAID Dessert warriors. The last group, Group H will have BUK Stallions, NSUK Miners, BSU Weavers, UAM Tillers.

Games in group stages will be held across the eight host institutions that were automatically ceded for the draws for ease of games logistics and facilities. The first two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the round of 16.

Explaining the reasoning behind the modalities for the draws, the Director of PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Sola Fijabi said the format was reviewed to enhance the league and create more excitement for its teeming fans.

“HiFL is a game changing initiative and it is heart-warming that the league has gained acceptance across higher institutions in Nigeria. We have reviewed the rules of the game in line with our experiences from last year and global trends in football and collegiate sports. We have done this in conjunction with our partner, the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) and other technical partners. Our desire is to create a league that would be of pride to us as a company, the Nigerian universities and indeed our esteemed sponsors,” Fijabi said.

It would be recalled that StanbicIBTC, one of the major sponsors of the league recently signed a five years deal with the league. Regarding sponsorships, Fijabi said, “Our sponsors have been very supportive.

We truly appreciate their alignment with the HiFL vision. While we acknowledge the commercial involvement, more appreciated is their support for the social development of Nigerian youths through sports. We sincerely hope that these engagements will yield the desirable outcomes in due course”.

In his remark, the President of

the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA), Prof. Stephen Hamafyelto enthused that NUGA is committed to ensuring a more successful outing taking key learnings from the past edition.

“We are ready at NUGA to ensure that the 2019 HiFL session is a success. Our member institutions are ready and roaring to go. We are pleased at the execution of the 2018 season despite the initial challenges.

We are committed to ensuring that our students and indeed sports loving Nigerians have thrilling experiences across the match centres, commencing from the group stages.

We sincerely thank the sponsors for their ingenuity in supporting this course,” Hamafyelto said.

The draws which held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos was witnessed by sports pundits, school administrations, captains of industry and other football enthusiasts. The Group games starts on June 18 and will be played over 21 weeks. The round of 16 will be played in a return leg elimination onward the finals where the Super Four teams will play in a grand finale to be held at the Agege Township Stadium, Lagos.

L-R: Mutiu Adepoju, Ex International; Sam Ocheho, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Trustees; Guillermo Castello-Perez, Laliga delegate in Nigeria and Charles Nnochiri, head of marketing PZ Cussons, Consumer at the 2019 Higher Institutions Football League Draws held on Friday.

… all games Live on DStv, GOtv

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he final match of the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League Final between hosts Portugal and the Netherlands, as well as is the third-place playoff between Switzerland and England will be broadcast live this weekend on DStv and GOtv. Portugal defeated Italy and Poland at home and away respectively, and drew the reverse fixtures to get through to the semi-final. Coach Fernando Santos’ side breezed into the final of the competition after their talisman and captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, netted a hattrick in their 3-1 win over Switzerland in the first semi-final game at the Estadio Drago on Wednesday.

In addition to the in-form Ronaldo, A Seleção will also bank on the likes of Bernardo Silva, veteran Joao Moutinho and more importantly, their supporters as their 12th man to win the trophy and add to continental triumph of Euro 2016.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, began their competition on a stumbling note after they lost away to World Cup champions, France. They, however, bounced back in remarkable fashion, defeating Germany and France at home, before finishing their League A campaign with a draw against Germany away. Ronald Koeman’s

men marched into the final after a commanding 3-1 victory against England at Guimaraes in Portugal. The Oranje will depend on their youthful attackers such as Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong to deliver the goals, while relying on teenage sensation Matthijs de Ligt and experienced defender and captain, Virgil van Dijk to provide the needed steel at the back.

Both teams have met 13 times, with the Iberian side winning seven wins compared to two for the Dutch. Their most recent meeting was a friendly in Geneva in March last year in which the Netherlands won 3-0, thanks to goals from Depay, van Dijk and Ryan Babel.

For the Third-place game, the English Three Lions will hope better their record in the losers’ final after they lost to Belgium at this same stage during the 2018 World Cup. But Switzerland, experiencing a resurgence under coach Vladimir Petkovic, will want to use the game to continue their strong showing at recent international competitions.

Both games, which kick off at 2pm for the Third-place and 7:45pm for the Final on Sunday, will be broadcast exclusively on SuperSport 3 to DStv Premium and SuperSport Select 4 to GOtv Max subscribers.

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Why no challenge will hold back China’s development

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hich side will win out in the ongoing trade war, China or the US? That was a question I was asked the other day, when I had the honour and pleasure to address hundreds of students in the prestigious University of Abuja on China’s development and its foreign relations.

No one will emerge as the winner in a trade war. China wants trade, not war.

Honestly.

Since it took office in 2017, the new US administration has threatened additional tariffs and other measures and provoked frequent economic and trade friction with its major trading partners. In response to the economic and trade friction unilaterally initiated by the US since March 2018, China has had to take forceful measures to defend the interests of the nation and its people. At the same time, committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation, China has engaged in multiple rounds of economic and trade consultations with the US in an effort to stabilize the bilateral commercial relationship.

China’s position has been consistent and clear -- that cooperation serves the interests of the two countries, that conflict can only hurt both, and that cooperation is the only correct choice for both sides. Concerning their differences and frictions on the economic and trade front, China is willing to work together with the US to find solutions, and to reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement. However, cooperation has to be based on principles.

There are bottom lines in consultations.

“China will not compromise on major issues of principle,” the newly-issued white paper by China, namely China’s Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations, reaffirms, “ China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it will fight one if necessary. China’s position on this has never changed. ” Besides a preface and a conclusion, the 8,300-character white paper issued on June 2

by State Council Information Office devotes three sections to elaborate on the damages of the trade frictions provoked by the United States, the U.S. backtracking on its commit-

ment in the consultations, and China’s commitment to credible consultations based on equality and mutual benefit. It offers a complete and accurate account of the whole process of consultations and presents the facts and truth.

As it clearly states, every setback in the trade talks was caused because the US side was flip-flopping and breaking commitments.

Its accusation on China’s “backpedaling” is merely an attempt to distort the facts and blame the innocent party for its own wrongdoing.

You may also recall, on September 24 last year, in response to the US accusation on China’s “unfair trade practices”, China issued the white paper, namely The Facts and China’s Position on China-US Trade Friction, which was an authoritative response and refutation to the baseless blames by the US on trade deficit, intellectual property rights and technology transfer.

The two white papers provide a comprehensive picture of the China-US economic and trade consultations, and present China’s policy position on these consultations.

I didn’t talk much on the white papers while I was in UniAbuja, though. My response to that big question kept a focus on some fundamentals of China. My argument was, people could draw their own conclusions on any big issue concerning China, such as the outcome of the China-US economic and trade consultations, once they truly understand China as it is.

I mentioned the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Founded in 1921, came to power in 1949, the CPC has always been the backbone of the Chinese people. From a extremely humble beginning, the CPC is now the largest and strongest ruling party in the world. Over the past 98 years, whether in times of weakness or strength, whether in times of adversity or smooth sailing, the CPC has never forgotten its founding mission, nor wavered in its pursuit. It has united the Chinese people and led them in conquering countless challenges, making enormous sacrifices, meeting setbacks squarely, and courageously righting wrongs. Thus the Chinese people have, time

and again, overcome the seemingly insurmountable and created miracle upon miracle.

China’s development may not be all smooth sailing. Difficulties or even perils are inevitable. Whatever the future might bring, China, under the leadership of CPC Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as its core, is confident of meeting challenges head on, turning risks into opportunities, and opening new chapters.

No challenge will hold back China’s development.

I mentioned the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

With a history of more than 5000 yeas, the Chinese nation created a splendid civilization, made remarkable contributions to mankind, and became one of the world’s great nations. But with the Opium War of 1840, China was plunged into the darkness of domestic turmoil and foreign aggression; its people were ravaged by wars, saw their homeland torn, and lived in poverty and despair. Foreign bullying and domination persisted. All those unequal treaties imposed on China.

No sovereignty and dignity to speak of.

Humiliation diplomacy was the norm for China for over a hundred years, until the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

The People’s Republic of China has been pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace since its founding 70 years ago. The new China advocates the five principles of peaceful coexistence.

It has not and will never give ground on issues of principle.

China is committed to credible consultation based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. However, China will not bow under pressure and will rise to any challenge coming its way.

China is open to negotiation, but will also fight to the end if needed.

I also mentioned China’s commitment to reform and opening up. Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind. China will not close its door to the world; we will only

Zhou Pingjian (Zhou Pingjian is Ambassador of China to Nigeria)

become more and more open.

President Xi Jinping announced in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that China would adopt a number of major reform and opening-up measures, strengthen institutional and structural arrangements, and promote opening up at a higher level. Measures to be taken include expanding market access for foreign investment in broader areas, strengthening international cooperation on intellectual property protection, increasing imports of goods and services, implementing more effective international coordination on macro-economic policies, and putting more focus on the implementation of opening-up policies. A more open China will have more positive interactions with the world, which in turn will advance the development and prosperity of both China and the world.

“Cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the US and win-win is the only path to a better future,” concludes China’s newly-issued white paper, “As to where the China-US economic and trade consultations are heading, China is looking forward, not backward. Disputes and conflicts on the trade and economic front, at the end of the day, need to be solved through dialogue and consultation. Striking a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement serves the interests of China and the US and meets the expectations of the world. It is hoped that the US can pull in the same direction with China and, in a spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, manage economic and trade differences, strengthen trade and economic cooperation, and jointly advance China-US relations based on coordination, cooperation and stability for the well-being of both nations and the world. ”

Quick Takes

Off the Cuff

Nigeria’s Nostradamuses and 2023 presidency

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n the words of James Freeman Clarke, “A politician thinks of the next election; a statement of the next generation.

A politician looks for the success of his party; a statesman for that of his country.

The statesman wishes to steer, while the politician is satisfied to drift.”

The fuss about who becomes the president of Nigeria after President Muhammadu Buhari has become so deafening and irritating that those behind it must be called to order.

It began shortly before the 2019 general election when some politicians began to make it a point of campaign. At that time, the South East geo-political zone, for instance, was threatened that it would lose the opportunity if it voted any other party other than the All Progressives Congress (APC). At the same time, voters in the South West were told to massively vote for the APC to enable power return to the zone in 2023. Since after the elections, some politicians have been unrelenting in saying who would be

the next president and who is not entitled to it. Not just that they are saying that some zones would not smell it, they are being specific on individuals they think should have it. President Buhari was returned for a fresh four-year term and has just been sworn-in, constitutionally. He has yet to unfold his agenda as he has not made any speech, which he has reserved for June 12. It is diversionary, therefore, to begin to talk about 2023 at this point, when the administration has not even taken off. There should be at least, a space of two years before people begin to openly talk about who succeeds or does not succeed the President. But what we see now is an army of Nostradamuses (Nostradamus was a Fresh astrologer who foresaw the future. All his predictions have been proven to come to pass) who have risen to flaunt it before everyone that they have been anointed to be the next president.

When people behave this way, you begin to imagine if they have become God, the Omniscient. How come they have known

tomorrow so vividly that they speak assuredly that come rain or shine they would be this or that in the next four years, particularly in a country where death rate has become scandalous.

This is a country where seemingly healthy people drop dead the next second after they step out from doctor’s office, or even after they just return from medical trip abroad.

By the way, who has his own life in his own hands? Or who has seen from his crystal ball the Nigeria of 2020, 2021, 2022, not to talk of 2023. From what we have seen in this country, one year is as bottomless as eternity that no one can predict what is going to happen within the 12 month space. To aspire is human, but to go about talking about the sacrosanctity of becoming the next president is tantamount to assuming the all-knowing role of the creator of the whole universe. It amounts to playing God. And it is dangerous.

3,853 This is the number of people in Bakana, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State said to have received free medical services at the 32nd five-day medical mission conducted by the O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation.

From the horse’s mouth “It is my wish to inform the public that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) did not make any statement to the effect of the content of the publication either in Abuja or anywhere for that matter.”

- Gidado Sidikki, chairman of MACBAN South East zone, refuting a publication credited to him that the group threatened to attack the South East.

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