BusinessDay 10 Mar 2019

Sanwo-Olu, Agbaje hopeful of victory

Bauchi guber: Abubakar, Mohammed promise to accept results

as Salis gives condition for accepting results no threat to APC in Lagos, presidential election credible—Tinubu Joshua Bassey

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overnorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and

the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Babajide SanwoOlu and Jimi Agbaje, respectively, have expressed optimism that they would win the election, just as Bola Tinubu, former governor

James Kwen, Bauchi

of the state says there’s no threat to APC in Lagos.

On his part, the governorship candidate of Alliance for De-

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ohammed Abubakar, governor of Bauchi State and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Saturday’s governorship

election, has promised to accept the outcome of the result of the election.

Similarly, Bala Mohammed, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and governorship candidate of the main op-

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Stock market in ecstasy as Nestle, ??Apapa: Day only one truck was on the port city bridges GTB, Stanbic IBTC reward investors with N129bn p. 42 p. 40

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inside Complete your projects before handover, residents tell Ambode

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Babajide Sanwo-Olu, All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate casting his vote Ikoyi Lagos, during the Governorship and House of Assembly election, yesterday

Jimi Agbaje, Peoples Democratic Party PDP governorship candidate, casting his vote in Apapa, Lagos, during the Governorship and House of Assembly election, yesterday.

Pictures by Olawale Amoo

Situation Room blames voter apathy on militarisation, poor conduct of Feb 23 polls Ajimobi loses as Sanwo-olu, Agbaje, Ladoja, Makinde, Alli, Lanlehin win units

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Nigerian universities: educating for a bygone future

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CHUKA UROKO, AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja, JOSHUA BASSEY, OBINNA EMELIKE, INIOBONG IWOK & ATTAH ADGIDZI, Lafia

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he Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has blamed voter apathy from the state and Area Council elections on the alleged militarisation of the exercise as well as poor conduct of the February 23 Presidential and National

Assembly elections.

The group also expressed concerns over widespread cases of vote buying in Sokoto, Zamfara, Ekiti, Kebbi, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Ondo and Borno States, among others.

In a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, Convener of Situation Room, Clement Nwankwo, noted that these incidences could undermine the credibility of the outcome of the election.

He explained that the group received reports from its observers and networks across the country.

According to the convener, the heavy deployment of security personnel for the elections created fear in the citizenry, adding that citizens are not only worried about the neutrality of security personnel but also the integrity of the electoral process.

Nwankwo said: “It would appear that while logistics preparations for the Governorship and State Legislative elections may have improved from the earlier election of February 23, concern remains that there are still some shortcomings. Reports

of late delivery of materials and delayed commencement of polls were received from some states, including Imo State. Situation Room is also concerned about INEC’s handling of its personnel and Ad-hoc staff. Our observers report multiple cases of protest

by INEC officials and Ad-Hoc staff on issues around welfare in Anthony, Ejigbo, Ketu, Mile 2 and Ojudu Berger in Lagos State and Vom in Plateau State.

“Situation Room continues to be concerned about the exces-

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Cover

Situation Room blames voter apathy on...

Continued from page 1

sive and intimidating deployment of military and security personnel throughout the 2019 Nigeria General Elections. Under Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act, security personnel can only be involved in electoral duty as requested by INEC. The Act specifically states: ‘PROVIDED that the Commission shall only request for the deployment of the Nigerian Armed Forces only for the purpose of securing the distribution and delivery of election materials and protection of election officials’.

“The Situation Room continues to voice its concern with the level of deployment of the military in the elections. The level of deployment of military arsenal including fighter jets and attack helicopters remains a serious concern for us. Indications from the field on the low voter turn-out points to concerns from citizens on the military deployment.

In Egbe community, Alimosho local government of Lagos, voter apathy was deep-seated, though not without some variance. Contrary to what many see as voter apathy that explained the low voter turnout in virtually every polling unit in that community, Abiodun Abdulateef, a resident, said their case was that of the electorate resenting the electoral process.

“It does not make sense going out there to waste your time and energy in a flawed process in which the results are predetermined”, Abdulateef told BDSUNDAY. He recalled that the experience on February 23 was still too fresh in the mind for anybody to leave the comfort of his home for “an exercise that has no meaning”.

Anayo Okoli, a business man, shared this view, adding that the threat on some people to stay away from the election “is also responsible for what you see out there”. “It is there thing; let them do it the way they want it”, he said in anger.

In Nasarawa State, turnout of voters was low. Most of the voters who spoke with BDSUNDAY attributed the low turnout to the disappointment they had in the last exercise where their votes did not count at the end of the day.

The poor turnout was a reverse of the February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections where the turnout was massive with much enthusiasm in voters to exercise their franchise. In most of the polling units visited in Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa-Eggon and Obi, Doma and Akwanga local government areas, INEC officials were the ones waiting for voters to come and cast their votes.

The conduct of voters was peaceful and orderly, as the card readers in most of the polling

units functioned properly. Ibrahim Yusuf, the polling officer in Lungu Wambai polling units in Lafia, said that the reading of the card was successful, but the only challenge was the authentication of finger print, which made them resort to the use of voters register.

At the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, some Corps members recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as ad hoc staff for the Area Council Elections decried low voter turnout in some parts of the nation’s capital.

Abdulkadir Soliu, a polling officer, at Polling Unit 018, at Post Office, Area 10, said “the turnout was very, very low; it is not impressive at all, compared to the Presidential and National Assembly elections.”

He noted that less than 30 percent of the 3,269 registered voters at the center turned up for voting, even though the electoral officials commenced the exercise as early as 8am. He added that of all the 7 Card Readers available to the staff, only one malfunctioned.

Soliu also urged that INEC should do more sensitisation, adding that the local elections are very important because they are about bringing government closer to the people than even the presidential and national elections.

The Situation Room revealed that there were reports of observers and poll officials being arrested across Oruk Anam LGA of Akwa Ibom State by military and police personnel with phones and other personal effects being confiscated. There were also reports of the military arresting polling officials and carting away materials in Ini LGA of Akwa Ibom State. In Okrika LGA, there were reports of military interference in the process.

According to him, “the Situation Room is concerned that despite this high deployment we are still having pockets of violence. In Ezza North LGA, Ebonyi State, suspected thugs were reported to have set fire to election materials at the RAC. In Etinan LG in Akwa Ibom State, Youth Corp members were attacked by suspected thugs while voting materials were snatched and a police officer shot in Odukpan LG of Cross River state. Six (6) journalists were kidnapped in Ahaoda West LGA of Rivers State. We had seven (7) deaths so far today.

Two (2) in Egbe Yagba in Kogi and the others in Rivers States including Emilia Gilbert a former Chairperson of Andoni LGA”.

It is a dangerous development that, incrementally, Nigeria is degenerating in every aspect of its development as a nation.

It appears to be in its worst in electoral process. Every election cycle is worse than the one before it. The February 23 presi-

dential and National Assembly elections, as bad and bloody as they were, are already better than March 9 governorship and state assembly elections.

Similarly, 2015 elections were better than what we have seen in 2019, meaning that in the last four years, the country’s democratic journey has been retrogressive rather than progressive.

Correspondingly, voter apathy has nosedived over the years.

Available record shows that in 2007, voter turnout was 67 percent; in 2011,it was 52 percent while in 2015, it come down forcefully to 43 percent. It was estimated that the turnout in the February 23 presidential election was below 40 percent.

While calling on political actors to call on their supporters to exercise restraint, Nwankwo also urged the electoral body to ensure that the collation of results at the ward, local government and state levels are in line with its own guidelines and extant laws.

Meanwhile, at polling unit 019, on Lateef Jakande Road, Ikoyi, where the APC governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu voted, the party also emerged tops, securing 124 votes to beat PDP which got 26 votes. Jimi Agbaje governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has defeated Sanwo-Olu to win his polling unit 002 Ward A, in Apapa, Agbaje, who had previously contested the governorship election in the state in 2011, 2015 and lost, scored 79 votes, while Sanwo-Olu of the APC polled 63 votes. The APC, however, won the State House of Assembly election in the same polling unit, polling 73, while the PDP scored 66.

Conversely, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State lost his polling unit with 112 votes to PDP’s 145 at Ward 11, Unit 20, Oluyole Community Grammar School, Oluyole in Ibadan South West local government area.

But a former Governor and leader of the coalition against APC, Rashidi Ladoja, won his polling unit for PDP. The gubernatorial result showed PDP got 180 votes to APC’s 34 at Ibadan North local government.

Likewise, Sharafadeen Alli who was the gubernatorial candidate of the ZLP but stepped down for Makinde of the PDP, delivered his polling unit. In Alli’s family house, Biro compound, Oke Aremo, Ward 3, unit 022, PDP got 126 to APC’s 32.

Oluseyi Makinde, PDP guber candidate won in his polling unit, 001, ward 11 of Ibadan Northeast local government with 165 to APC’s 71. Also, the candidate of ADC who stepped down for Makinde, Olufemi Lanlehin won the polling for the PDP. In Ibadan Northwest, ward 8, unit 2, PDP polled 136 to APC’s 68.

Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture, casting his vote in Kwara State, yesterday.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Governor of Kano State, casting his vote.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and his wife, voting yesterday.

Sunday 10 March 2019

The Grand Master

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is now

It is said that the real worth of a life is not how long it is lived But in the weight of the value it bequeaths One man whose achievements remain a lesson to everyone that admires greatness And in whom the Almighty God has restricted nothing good Is Otunba (Dr) Michael Olasubomi Balogun, CON. To him, it’s God’s grace in abundance The cerebral icon says he cannot thank God enough.

As our Founder, The Olori Omo-Oba Akile Ijebu, turns 85 We at First City Monument Bank Limited, celebrate you The legacy you have bequeathed us, shall be forever cherished.

HAPPY GRACIOUS 85TH BIRTHDAY SIR From all of us at FCMB

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Sunday 10 March 2019

The 2019 Governorship and State House

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, casting his vote at VGC polling unit, during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos.

Former governor , Adebayo Alao-Akala voted at his Ward 10 Unit 13 Polling Centre in Ogbomoso North Local Government.

Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate casting her vote in Ikoyi.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed casts his votes at PU 008, in his home town, Share Ifelodun local of Kwara State.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, casting his vote

Bola Tinubu, APC, National Leader casting his vote in Alausa.

Ladi Balogun, group managing director/ CEO, FCMB Group, casting his in Ikoyi, in Lagos.

Mudashiru Obasa, speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, casting his vote at Orile Agege, Lagos.

Pictures by Olawale Amoo

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of Assembly elections in picture

President Muhammadu Buhari (l) with his wife, Aisha Buhari, briefing newsmen after voting at Ward A’ Kofar Baru 003 Sakin Yara Polling Unit, during the 2019 Governorship and State Assembly Elections in Daura, Katsina State, yesterday.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan being accredited for Bayelsa House of Assembly election, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

Nyesom Wike, governor, Rivers State, voting in Rumuepirikom in Obi/Akpo Local Government Area of Rivers.

Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State, being accredited to vote in the State House of Assembly elections, at Emokpae Primary School, Oredo Local Government Area, Edos State.

Nasir El-Rufai, governor, Kaduna State casting his vote, at Unguwar Sarki Ward in Kaduna.

Abdulaziz Yari, governor, Zamfara State (l), his wife Hadiza Yari voting in Garka Mallam Isah polling uniton, Zamfara State.

Dapo Abiodun, All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, casting his vote at Ita Osanyin, Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area in Ogun.

Najeem Salaam, speaker, Osun House of Assembly, voting at Oke-Odo Ilupeju, Ejemu Area, Ejigbo, Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo casting his vote at Olusomi Compound, Totoro/Sokori in Ogun State.

Bukola Saraki, Senate president casting his votes at Ode Opobiyi in Ajikobi Ward, Ilorin.

Pictures by NAN

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Sunday 10 March 2019

News Atiku laments low voter turn-out, says committed to challenging outcome of Presidential polls

I expected Atiku will challenge my victory in court - Buhari Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said the decision by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to challenge his defeat in court did not take him by surprise The President stated this after casting his vote alongside his wife, Aisha, at the Kofar Baru 003 polling unit, Daura, Katsina State, for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.

The President, speaking with journalists after exercising their franchise, stated that he had expected that to happen.

Adamu Sambo of NTA had sought the President’s reaction on the decision by the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to challenge the outcome of the February 23 presidential

Buhari

election, President Buhari in his response said: “I expect that to happen.”

Al s o r e s p o n d i n g t o question about the flashpoints and reported cases of violence across the country during the week, as well as his advice to Nigerians on Election Day,

President Buhari, however stated that he will leave it to the law enforcement agencies especially the police, adding that “they have been meeting virtually on a 48-hour basis to make sure that they have identified the flashpoints, as you mentioned, wher-

War averted in Rivers as Gov Wike escapes disqualification in Abuja court over certificate forgery Ignatius Chukwu

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ears were rife that Rivers State would go up in flames Friday afternoon as many waited for an Abuja High Court which fixed ruling on a case seeking to disqualify Gov Nyesom Wike from contesting the elections the next day, due to a court case.

Danger signals were everywhere in parts of Rivers State especially within the multinational corporations that were already secretly shutting down over what armed youths would do the moment the court pronounced Wike not eligible.

There would have been no time to get another court to award a stay of execution.

It was believed that armed youths would have shut down the state to stop any elections without Wike.

Some companies had made contingent arrangements to keep their gates shut for days if the court had disqualified the governor in the last minute. They feared the worst but may now have relief.

Now, Friday afternoon, reports came that the judge said he could not

disqualify Wike. The judgment has left the state free to continue the other pockets of shooting caused by army operations which the party termed military invasion which the claimed had affected 50 houses belonging to chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

One Elvis Chinda had accused Wike of attaching forgery birth certificate to his Form CF001 submitted to INEC on November 2, 2018, for clearance to participate in the 2019 general election, was forged. According to the Plaintiff, “As at 3rd October 1986, there was no local Government Area known as Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in existence

Wike

in Rivers State. “As at 1986, Rumuepirikom was not in Obio /Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, but in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State being the parent LGA from where Obio /Akpor Local Government Area was carved out”.

The plaintiff argued that INEC, “is not in a position legally to disqualify Wike from contesting the governorship election except the court gave an order disqualifying him for the breach of Section 182 (1) (j) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

Meanwhile, the court, in a judgment that was delivered by Justice Iyang Ekwo, dismissed the suit on the premise that the plaintiff failed to prove the allegation beyond reasonable doubt.

The court held that the allegation, being quasi-criminal in nature, ought to be proved beyond every reasonable doubt, a burden it said the plaintiff filed to discharge against Wike. The judge also raised many other weaknesses of the case and freed Wike to carry on with the elections. He rather berated the plaintiff.

ever they are and make arrangements to counter it.”

Also in Abuja, the Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari was amongst the first set of voters at the ward 021/022 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking after voting Kyari described the process as “peaceful and orderly” even as he urged Nigerians to be peaceful in all their endeavors. “ The country need peace and as you know, without peace, there can de no development. So, at all times, let us preach peace” The Abuja Area Council election had been marred by low voters turnout, even as most people were observed going about their businesses as shops open in most area councils At Kuje, articulated trucks and other vehicles were seen moving about freely even as security operatives were seen at various road blocks maintaining law and order.

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ormer Vice President and defeated Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday lamented what he saw as low turnout of voters in Governorship and State Assembly polls, blaming it on irregularities observed in the presidential election.

Atiku made the observation while speaking to newsmen in Yola shortly after casting his vote at the Ajiya polling unit 02 of Gwadabawa ward of Yola North Local Government at about 12.35 pm.

“There is low voter turnout and I believe it is because of the last election which was marred by a lot of irregularities,” Atiku said.

He urged the electorates to be law-abiding to enable the conduct of peaceful election.

Speaking on his defeat at the Presidential polls by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, the former Vice President said he was committed to challenging the outcome of the election.

He called on his supporters to remain calm and await the outcome of his legal action.

Atiku

Shootout in Obosi, Anambra, two feared dead JOSEPH MAURICE OGU

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wo people were reportedly shot dead in Obosi, Anambra State, while many sustained several degrees of gunshot wounds.

The shooting was not unconnected with the State House of Assembly elections in the state. There was no governorship election year

in the state.

“There was a shootout at Obosi. I heard the gunshots. When I came out, I was told two people were dead and some sustained bullet wounds,” said an eye witness who craved anonymity.

The violence, which escalated into gun battle was reportedly caused by the power struggle between members of the People’s

Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressive Grand Alliance Party (APGA) in Obosi, according to eyewitness who does not want his name mentioned.

“It should be between PDP and APGA,” he said, adding that there has been a big rivalry between a strong member of PDP who is from Obosi and another strong member of APGA, equally from Obosi.

Oyo ADC senatorial candidate shot dead

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emitope Olatoye, a Senatorial candidate of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) in Oyo State and former member of the

House of Representative was yesterday shot dead after the gubernatorial and House of Assembly election by gun men in the state.

Olatoye a former lawmaker popularly known as Sugar died at the intensive care unit of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

Delta guber poll: We are in the contest to win - Ogboru Francis Sadhere, Warei

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elta state gubernatorial candidate under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Great Ogboru on Saturday said he was in the gubernatorial race to win.

Ogboru who spoke to journalists immediately after casting his vote in ward 8, unit 1 at Abraka Grammar

School, Abraka, said he did not join the race to lose.

“We have gone into the contest because we believe we will win and we will win,” Ogboru said.

While saying that the election has been peaceful so far, Ogboru noted that there were pockets of violence in some parts of the state, alleging that elections were conducted overnight in private residents of some opposition leaders.

“Reports reaching us says

that elections were conducted overnight in Burutu and Bomadi local government area of Delta.

“There are pockets of violence here and there and the security agents are doing their best to calm the situation.

“In most of the riverine communities the requirement to use the card readers were not adhered to. In any case this is just the beginning, so let’s see how the day ends,” Ogboru said.

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News ‘Zone Senate presidency to South East as assurance for 2023 promise’ UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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harles Obinna Chukwunaru, the YPP House of Representatives candidate for Bende Federal Constituency in the last Presidential/ National Assembly election, has appealed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the seat of President of Senate to the south east.

Chukwunaru, who is also the President of Eastern Nigeria Development Association (ENDA), said that the APC should demonstrate its willingness to zone 2023 Presidency to the South East now, by zoning the Office of Senate President to the South East.

In an interview session with select journalists in Umuahia, he disclosed that that ENDA is an association of Young Progressive Professionals from the eleven states of former Eastern Nigeria.

He pointed out that “the APC produced two Senators of South East extraction in the January 23, 2019 Presi-

Chukwunaru

dential/National Assembly election, one of whom should become a ranking member of Senate due to his past legislative experience. Hence, there will be no excuse this time for the continued marginalisation of the South East by the APC-led Federal Government since its inception in 2015.”

Chukwunaru, who is also an international scholar and

political technocrat, noted that the failure of the APC leadership to zone the office of President of Senate to the South East would further feed the perception of oppression, marginalisation, repression and exclusion of the South East from access to political and economic participation in Nigeria, thereby fuelling the call for separation from the centre by people of

the zone.

The President of ENDA further called for the immediate restructuring of the country by President Buhari in order to ensure peace, security and accelerated development of Nigeria in general and the Eastern Nigeria in particular.

“The only starting point for any meaningful restructuring of Nigeria must start from bringing back the one and only genuine 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which was suspended by the late Major General J.T.U Aguiyi Ironsi since 1966,” he said.

Chukwunaru advised that the 1963 Constitution could be amended to reflect present realities in Nigeria; while maintaining its original Regional fundamental principles.

The peace theorist and expert in Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, asserted that the present Federal working document also known as the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) is a mere Federal working document concocted by past military governments to benefit the

Peterside calls for active involvement of women in devt of Nigeria’s blue economy AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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akuku Peterside, director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has called for the involvement of more women in the growth and development of Nigeria’s maritime sector.

In his message to Nigerian women on the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day, marked globally on March 8 as directed by the United Nations, Peterside also commended Nigerian women for their contributions in a male-dominated maritime sector.

According to him, Nigerian women had made enormous contributions to the socio-economic wellbeing of the country, adding that there is need for more active involvement of women in the efforts to build a strong blue economy.

“Women are builders and good asset keepers, and Nigerian women are even much more. I salute and respect you, great daughters of Nigeria, on this occasion

Court adjourns ex-Niger Gov, Aliyu’s N2bn Ecological Fund trial to April 15 Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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ustice Yalim S. Bogoro of a Federal High Court, sitting in Minna, Niger State, has adjourned the trial of a former governor of the state, Babangida Aliyu, to April 15, 2019.

A statement issued by the Acting Spokesman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Tony Orilade, said Aliyu, fondly referred to as “Chief Servant” is standing trial along with his then Chief of Staff, Umar Nasko. They are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission, EFCC, for their alleged involvement in the laundering of the state’s Ecological Fund to the tune of N2 billion, released by the Federal Government in 2014.

Prosecuting counsel, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, on March 6, 2019 brought before the Court an application seeking for adjournment, noting that he needed time to sit with the investigation officers, who at the moment were on election duties.

He said: “We apply for exhibit, which is huge because we just came into the matter, and I was told that the application for the exhibit tendered had to be approved by his lordship, who is no

longer here but comes to sit in this matter.

“It is this morning that they told me that the application has been approved. The exhibit is not something that I will just sit down, hear it and say I am ready to go on with it without reading it because what is worth doing [at all] is worth doing well.

“Some of my witnesses are not around because they are concerned about electoral matters. So those are the reasons why we apply for a new date.”

Counsel for the first defendant, Olajide Ayodele, SAN, raised no objections to the application.

Aliyu

PDP to Buhari: Atiku will soon reclaim his stolen mandate Iniobong Iwok with agency report

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he People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop “gloating” as Atiku Abubakar, its candidate in February 23 presidential election, will soon reclaim his “stolen mandate” at the tribunal.

The party was reacting to Buhari’s statement that the PDP still had questions to answer on how it spent the huge resources that accrued to the country from oil sales between 1999 and 2015.

In a statement over the weekend, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, said it is Buhari that has some explanations to give concerning how some monies were spent under him.

According to the statement, Buhari’s “renewed attack” on the PDP is a ploy by the president to “divert public attention from the overwhelming evidence that he rigged the elections.”

“The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) charges President Muhammadu Buhari to stop gloating and showboating on Nigerians with the stolen 2019 Presidential mandate, as the people’s

candidate, Atiku Abubakar would soon retrieve it from him at the tribunal,” the opposition party said.

“The party further describes President Buhari’s renewed attack and blame game on PDP administrations as a lame attempt to divert public attention from the overwhelming evidence that he rigged the elections, as well as from the plots by his Presidency

to obstruct the clear winner, Atiku Abubakar, from going to the tribunal to reclaim the mandate freely given to him

by Nigerians.

“It indeed speaks volumes that President Buhari, in his claimed integrity and anticorruption stance, is grandstanding over the violent rigging of the elections and his attempt to foist himself into a second term in office on the pedestal of stolen votes.

of International Women’s Day for your monumental contributions and achievements in the maritime sector, in particular, and Nigeria, in general,” Peterside said in a statement signed by Isichie Osamgbi, head, Corporate Communications of NIMASA. Continuing, he said: “As we strive to build a virile Blue Economy capable of diversifying our nation’s economy and creating prosperity for the Nigerians, we seek your participation as equal partners in the collective task of taking Nigeria to the next level because together we all can proudly accomplish this historic duty of creating a continental paradigm for the sustainable use of the world’s ocean resources.

Peterside has been an advocate of greater women participation in the maritime sector in Nigeria and Africa, and this agrees with the global push for professional and social equality. This is in line with the focus of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) this year, which is, “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community.”

UNSC reforms top agenda as Nigeria chairs Africa Group Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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igeriahasassumed the c ha ir ma nship of the African Group at the United Nations even as it pledged to pursue reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), peace and security around the world, consolidate Africa’s position and to enhance the status of women.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, George Ehidiamen Edokpa, said that Nigeria took the chairmanship position from Benin Republic on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 for the month of March at African Union Observer Mission at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Nigeria’s Ambassador/ Permanent Representative to the UN, Tijjani Bande, who took over from Jean Claude do Rego of Benin Republic on behalf of Nigeria, making his remarks, said that Nigeria would strengthen Africa’s position in the UN from the point of view of the continent.

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PhotoSplash

L-R; Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, head, marketing & communications, Standard Bank Group Africa Region and, Author of “The Pressure Cooker”; Yemisi Ayeni, non-executive director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and chairman, NASCON Allied Industries Plc; Baker Magunda, MD, Guinness Nigeria; Mo Abudu, media mogul, filmmaker and owner of Ebony Life TV; Tara Fela-Durotoye, CEO, House of Tara International, and Awele Elumelu, CEO, Avon Medical Services and Trustee at the Tony Elumelu Foundation at Guinness Nigeria›s Spirited Women›s network in commemoration of 2019 International Women›s day in Lagos.

L-R: Linda Ochugua, head of digital subscription, BusinessDay Media; Eseohe Ehiguese, business development executive, Ascentech Services Limited; Arun Kumar, group manager, business development, Ascentech Services Limited; Yvette Dimiri, head, audience engagement, BusinessDay Media, and Kingsley Agu, talent acquisition analyst, Ascentech Services Limited, during the media partnership visit for the #CareerExpoNg 2019.

L-R: Ugochukwu Emebiriodo, junior curator, AAF; Nguveren Ahua, development nanager, AAF; Valentine Ohu, MD/CEO, LOOSE Media, and Uzoamaka Umeh, creative director, LOOSE Media, at the media briefing organised by LOOSE Media in Lagos recently.

Kemi Okusanya (l), general manager, Visa West Africa, and Chinonso Ndimantang (r), marketing and communications manager, Junior Achievement Nigeria, with Female Secondary School students, at Visa Nigeria’s Mentorship Session to mark International Women’s Day.

Members of NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), and International Chamber of Commerce (ICCN), at a rally to celebrate International Women Day in Lagos.

L-R: Malomo Modupe, president, Ographi Co-operative Society; Oluwayemisi Nathaniel, representative of National Council for Women Society; Mary Ekpere-Eta, DG, National Centre for Women Development (NCWD); Chy Schwimmer, president, Association of Virtuous Women in Pilgrimage and Tourism of Nigeria, and Queen Anusionwu, chairman of Queen Fideltex Nigeria Limited, during a news conference to mark 2019 International Women’s Day organized by NCWD in Abuja. NAN

L-R: Olumide Sholanke, director, human resources, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited; George Polymenakos, MD, NBC Limited; Abiodun Peters, legal director, NBC Limited, and Mihaela Bendic, head, quality and sustainability, NBC, during the celebration of International Women’s Day by Nigerian Bottling Company Limited in Lagos.

L-R: Enahoro Azeta, digital strategist, Street Toolz; Justicia Amedu, lead account manager, Street Toolz; and Zanna Zakaria, the Wali of Bornu, MD/CEO of Kain Energy Limited, and Keynote Speaker, at the 2019 West Africa Brand Excellence Awards in Lagos recently.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

PhotoSplash

L-R; Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, head, marketing & communications, Standard Bank Group Africa Region and, Author of “The Pressure Cooker”; Yemisi Ayeni, non-executive director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, and chairman, NASCON Allied Industries Plc; Baker Magunda, MD, Guinness Nigeria; Mo Abudu, media mogul, filmmaker and owner of Ebony Life TV; Tara Fela-Durotoye, CEO, House of Tara International, and Awele Elumelu, CEO, Avon Medical Services and Trustee at the Tony Elumelu Foundation at Guinness Nigeria›s Spirited Women›s network in commemoration of 2019 International Women›s day in Lagos.

L-R: Linda Ochugua, head of digital subscription, BusinessDay Media; Eseohe Ehiguese, business development executive, Ascentech Services Limited; Arun Kumar, group manager, business development, Ascentech Services Limited; Yvette Dimiri, head, audience engagement, BusinessDay Media, and Kingsley Agu, talent acquisition analyst, Ascentech Services Limited, during the media partnership visit for the #CareerExpoNg 2019.

L-R: Ugochukwu Emebiriodo, junior curator, AAF; Nguveren Ahua, development nanager, AAF; Valentine Ohu, MD/CEO, LOOSE Media, and Uzoamaka Umeh, creative director, LOOSE Media, at the media briefing organised by LOOSE Media in Lagos recently.

Kemi Okusanya (l), general manager, Visa West Africa, and Chinonso Ndimantang (r), marketing and communications manager, Junior Achievement Nigeria, with Female Secondary School students, at Visa Nigeria’s Mentorship Session to mark International Women’s Day.

Members of NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), and International Chamber of Commerce (ICCN), at a rally to celebrate International Women Day in Lagos.

L-R: Malomo Modupe, president, Ographi Co-operative Society; Oluwayemisi Nathaniel, representative of National Council for Women Society; Mary Ekpere-Eta, DG, National Centre for Women Development (NCWD); Chy Schwimmer, president, Association of Virtuous Women in Pilgrimage and Tourism of Nigeria, and Queen Anusionwu, chairman of Queen Fideltex Nigeria Limited, during a news conference to mark 2019 International Women’s Day organized by NCWD in Abuja. NAN

L-R: Olumide Sholanke, director, human resources, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited; George Polymenakos, MD, NBC Limited; Abiodun Peters, legal director, NBC Limited, and Mihaela Bendic, head, quality and sustainability, NBC, during the celebration of International Women’s Day by Nigerian Bottling Company Limited in Lagos.

L-R: Enahoro Azeta, digital strategist, Street Toolz; Justicia Amedu, lead account manager, Street Toolz; and Zanna Zakaria, the Wali of Bornu, MD/CEO of Kain Energy Limited, and Keynote Speaker, at the 2019 West Africa Brand Excellence Awards in Lagos recently.

Sunday 23 December 2018

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10 Inside Lagos

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Complete your projects before handover, residents tell Ambode

S

Stories by JOSHUA BASSEY

ome residents of Epe, the home town of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, have again called on him to complete all outstanding projects started by his administration in the area, before exiting power.

Ambode, who lost his re-election bid in the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) primaries to his party man, Babajide SanwoOlu in October 2018, is leaving office on May 29, 2019 after a four-year term. He was sworn in on May 29, 2015 The residents in separate interviews said that some of the road projects started by the government in Epe have been abandoned.

One of them, Dayo Adebayo, lamented the poor state of EpeIkorodu Expressway, saying it was time the state government focused on it to alleviate the sufferings of the residents.

“The potholes on the road are sinking deeper and becoming unbearable for motorists. The journey of 45 minutes now takes more than two hours,’’ she said.

Adebayo said that many accidents being recorded on the road were a direct consequence of its neglect by the government.

“Every serious government must show concern when the lives of the citizens are in danger.

Ongoing construction of Pen Cinema Flyover in Agege, Lagos. This is one of the projects Governor Ambode will not complete before leaving office

The government can’t watch people being injured and their lives put at risk on the road,” he said.

Juliana Adaba, a female motorist wants the government to intensify efforts at completing the some road projects, some of which are at 70 per cent completion level.

“Governor Ambode-led ad-

ministration has done well in the area of infrastructure development but more should be done.

The administration should use the remaining months in office to complete ongoing projects across the state.

“The era of abandoned projects should be over. Government should ensure completion of the projects before leaving office, ‘’

she said.

Adaba also urged governor to fast-track completion of EpeIjebu Ode Expressway project.

“That major link road to Epe is becoming an eyesore and not convenient even for other intra-state connections. If government can complete the expressway, it will boost trade within the southwest region,”

EKEDC to demolish illegal constructions on right of way

E

ko Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EKEDC) says it will begin demolition of illegal constructions under its right of way.

The chief executive officer of EKEDC, Adeoye Fadeyibi, disclosed this during a customers’ consultative town hall meeting with Apapa residents. EKEDC is one of the two electricity distribution companies operating in Lagos.

According to Fadeyibi, the town hall meeting became imperative to rub minds with the customers within its network on the challenges facing the company. He decried the high rate of energy theft and illegal constructions along the company’s right of way by customers within the network.

Fadeyibi said that the measure

became necessary against the backdrop of billions of naira being lost to various forms of energy theft and vandalism in the zone.

He warned: “Any act of infraction will be met with a stiff penalty. Enough is enough; Eko Disco will no longer tolerate this act of illegal tampering of our equipment and electrical installations.

“Tampering with Eko Disco meters, installations, distribution lines, equipment or assault on any field worker will attract a jail term.

“The management of EKEDC will no longer handle these actions with kid gloves; this is no empty threat. If you disregard this warning, you do so at your own risk,” he said.

The EKEDC boss said it cost the company a huge amount to replace vandalised equipment and meters damaged by custom-

ers in a bid to bypass.

He said the company would also commence effective prosecution of energy theft suspects, and publish their names in the national dailies.

“We appeal to our customers to avoid engaging in bypassing of meters because it is criminal and punishable under the Electricity Regulation Code of Conduct Act. “l advise our customers to exercise a little patience with EKEDC, as we promise to address all issues regarding billings, metering and other challenges,” he said.

He added that the newly introduced Metering Assets Providers (MAP) by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) would address the metering challenges when it finally kicks off, as the company has completed all

processes regarding MAP. “We are ready from our own end, but expecting the regulator to give the go-ahead,’’ Fadeyibi said.

He said that the company was expected to commence effective metering of its customers under the MAP arrangement this month, once the regulator gives its go-ahead.

The area commander, Area ‘B’ Police Command, Apapa, Mohammed Adamu, applauded the electricity distributor for the appreciable improvement in power supply in Apapa axis.

Adamu warned electricity consumers to desist from attacking EKEDC’s officials.

He urged consumers to use dialogue in addressing the disputes instead of engaging in violence and attack of officials in the course of doing their official duty.

Lekki airport land not dumpsite, says official

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agos State government says the land on which its long proposed Lekki International Airport is to be sited is distinct from area earmarked for dumpsite, and therefore, not being encroached or turned into a dumpsite.

The state commissioner for commerce, industry and cooperatives, Olayinka Oladunjoye made

the clarification in response to a story published by BusinessDay titled “Lagos yet to find investors for Lekki International Airport 10 years after”.

The story published on Monday, March 4, 2019 had carried a rider that “part of the airport land is being turned into a dumpsite” But Oladunjoye, in a rejoinder signed by Sola Ogunmosunle,

director, public affairs, ministry of commerce, industry and cooperatives, said no part of the airport land measuring 3,900 hectares is being turned to a dumpsite.

According to the rejoinder, “I hereby write to set the records straight and inform that the airport project would be developed on a 3900 hectare land that is distinct and properly delineated from the

area earmarked for the dumpsite.

Note also, that in line with best practices, the airport site has the requisite buffer zone and not contiguous with any other project, not even the dumpsite.”

The ministry was, however, silent on what the government is doing to secure investors for the project, more than ten after it was proposed and the land earmarked.

he said.

Mufutau Jimoh, an indigene of Epe, lamented that since Ambode lost out in his re-election bid in October, some road projects across the state had been suspended.

Jimoh urged the governor to complete the projects he embarked upon.

“If all these projects are not completed, it will end up like other abandoned projects. It might end up being a burden to the incoming government.

“The new government will come with its own projects idea.

Therefore, the present administration should complete the projects at hand, ‘’ he said.

Also speaking, Tayo Ogunade, a resident of Epe, lauded the effort of the Ambode-led administration in providing Epe with a befitting road networks but said more could have been done.

“I am appealing to the governor to use a few months left to ensure that projects already started are not abandoned because I have noticed that for the past few months, government has not been doing anything on the road project.”

“All projects have been left half way. This is not encouraging. The uncompleted projects are costing motorists a lot and also leaving the community with unbefitting road conditions, ‘’ saidOgunade.

28-year man charged with murder

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28-year man, Bashiru Ibrahim, alleged to have killed another man by hitting his head on a stone, has been before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos.

Ibrahim, who resides in Ikate Palace in Lagos, is facing a onecount charge of murder.

The prosecutor, Oladele Adebayo, told the court on Friday that the defendant murdered one James Lontam, aged 45, on February 16, at Ikate Elegushi, Lekki, Lagos State.

He a l l e g e d t h a t t h e d e fendant caused the death of Lontam by hitting his head repeatedly on a stone, in contravention of Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which stipulates death penalty for murder.

The chief magistrate, O.O. Olatunji, ordered that the defendant be kept behind bars pending advice from the state director of public prosecutions.

Olatunji adjourned the case until April 8 for mention.

Sunday 10 March 2019

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Comment

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Resisting the assault on the spirit of Lagos

Frank Aigbogun editor Zebulon Agomuo

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

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure GENERAL MANAGER, ADVERT Adeola Ajewole ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

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DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

@Businessdayng

H

ighlighting the ethnic and tribal composition of our great country is always a hurting venture for patriotic and detribalized minds.

Unfortunately, the nation’s elite, rather than emphasise more on the things that bind us together, often play the ethnic and tribal cards for chiefly selfish and other primordial considerations.

It is common in Nigeria for political jobbers and certified opportunists to unnecessarily play tribal and ethnic cards. Usually, the strategy is to pretend as defenders of the people, while indeed they have selfish considerations.

In Nigeria, Lagos remains a major melting point for all, irrespective of tribal and religious differences. There is no other State that has opened its doors to accommodate Nigerians of various shades as Lagos does.

This is the spirit of Lagos. It is this tradition that subsequent governments in the state has

been building upon for years. The State government is motivated by a strong desire to build a State where everyone could productively earn a decent living, in a safe and secured environment. The main goal is to have a State where ethnic and tribal considerations count for nothing.

In Lagos State, in terms of strategic positioning, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is, perhaps, the most crucial of all the State’s MDAs. It is the ministry that priorities the expenditures of the State government. It is a testimony to the non tribal disposition of the State government that this all important agency was once, for eight years, under the leadership of Mr. Ben Akabueze, a professional banker and economist of Igbo descent. To further reinforce its non-tribal posture, the Lagos state government named a few of its housing estates as well as a Parks after prominent Nigerians like Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu respectively.

In the past nineteen years, Lagos has continued to show the way forward in its commitment to an indivisible Nigeria where no one is denied of opportunities for self actualisation on mundane considerations. The state’s primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities and, indeed, other such infrastructure remain accessible to all Nigerians without any discrimination. The State Security Trust Fund has continued to ensure the safety and security of every Lagos Resident. The public

primary and secondary schools in the state have continued to open their doors to all Nigerian, irrespective of tribal and ethnic affiliations.

In Lagos state, excellence and competence remain major factors in the recruitment of its workforce. While some states employ or even retrench based on tribal considerations, Lagos state has simply continued its policy of absorbing qualified Nigerians into its Public Service. It is on record that sometimes ago a State in the South East disengaged ‘nonindigenes’ from its workforce.

This has never been the case in Lagos State.

The relative peace being enjoyed in the state is a reflection of the unrelenting effort of the State government to accommodate various interest groups in the State. On a regular basis, the State government organizes stakeholders meetings with the leaders of the ethnic/tribal communities in the state to rub mind together on how to make Lagos a better place for all. Specifically, the State government has a healthy relationship with the various ethnic and tribal groups in the state. The result of this robust relationship is the atmosphere of peace and harmony that currently reign in the state.

The issues involved in the development of Lagos State and, indeed, Nigeria transcends ethnic and religious sentiments. The brotherly love and bond that have existed between the Lagos State government and the diverse eth-

nic and tribal groups in the State must not be compromised. Fifth columnists, whose major preoccupation is to fan the ember of disaffection for self-seeking interests must not be allowed to profit, as it is their practice, from the current false campaigns. The hospitable nature of Lagos indigenes is legendary.

In a political season, unusual things happen and perhaps we are living in an interesting time.

There is too much at stake for anyone to begin to incite non indigenous population against their host state. It is a very dangerous and unwarranted pattern. The sad manipulation of our people through ethnic, religious and sectional differences has caused a lot of harms to our nation. It breaks the unity of our people and turns their attention away from the urgent and real matters of public interests.

Given the current thinking in Lagos State, it is strongly believed that all stakeholders in the state should play a major role in ensuring the full realization of the lofty policies and programmes of the State government for common good of everybody. Therefore, to further strengthen the current development strides in the State, there must be continuous constructive engagements and collaborations between all groups, interests and actors in the state.

This is the only way forward. This is the true spirit of Lagos.

Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Perspective

Now is the time for the People’s Constitution

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AYO OYOZE BAJE

mendment of a nation’s constitution is never a tea party.

Especially given our peculiar challenges of long-drawn ethnic disharmony, political marginalization of some sections of the country, bloated bureaucracy, over concentration of political and economic powers at the executive arm of government and a legislature considered as one of the most expensive on Planet Earth.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the 2019 general elections have brought to the fore, once again a greed-propelled polity; a hypocritical heist characterized by high wire carpet bagging, highly monetized and obviously skewed in favour of the rotten rich. The onerous task should therefore, neither be the exclusive preserve of our recycled politicians nor be carried out in a blistering hurry.

For instance, it took the United States (U.S.) 67 good years to tinker with theirs, all with the aim of satisfying the wishes of the people. Simply put, it must be thorough, painstaking and all-inclusive with the outcome not seen to have been tinkered by some vested interests. Unfortunately, the exercise that was carried out by the National Assembly in 2013 was viewed by some concerned Nigerians such as members of the Nigeria Bar Association(NBA),some seasoned politicians and the Pro National Conference Organisation (PRONACO) as both a ‘wild goose chase’ lacking in depth to align with the wishes of the average Nigerian.

While there is a general consensus that the military-imposed 1999 Constitution handed down

by Decree No.24 of 1999,with the anomalous refrain alleging that it emanated from ‘we the people’ has its defects, the position of the NBA is that only a referendum could validate the constitutional proposals. The

laughable one-day gathering of lawmakers in the 360 Federal Constituencies in 2013 could not amount to the referendum. It is worrisome too that the National Assembly, in its suspicious hurry could not even wait for the Justice Belgore Committee set up by the erstwhile Presidency to submit its report before swinging into action.

On its part, PRONACO, speaking through Mr.Olawale Okunniyi, though agreeing that the National Assembly is empowered by Sections 8 and 9 of the current constitution to amend it, it should not mix up the members’ interests with that of the entire good people of Nigeria. So, who is afraid of what and who? That is the million- naira question.

Lending his voice to the raging debate, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN),the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos argued and convincingly too, that Nigeria was “yoked by an uneven and defective federal structure

and cannot be fixed by mere constitution amendment”. One shares his feelings on this. More so, the legislators that have not adequately enjoyed the trust and faith of the generality of Nigerians.

Defending the lawmakers, the then Deputy Majority Leader, Leo Ogor asked that; “what type of referendum are they seeking? That Nigerians should reject the constitution or accept it?” The fear of such lawmakers is that they would not want to be held responsible for the disintegration of Nigeria as the referendum may be a catalyst for agitations for those wanting self-determination.

But for yours truly, there lies the crux of the matter of our fragile unity. Should we act as the ostrich and bury our heads in self-delusion that we are united while we are not? Or, should we for once, summon the courage to look at ourselves in the face and identify, as well as iron out the grey areas of the factors that

have held us together so far? For how long are we going to look at the symptoms of our institutional dysfunction instead of tackling them at the roots?

For now, the main areas of the constitution crying for urgent amendment include ensuring true, fiscal federalism; devolution of enormous and corruptioninfested economic powers from the centre to the federating units, settling the insidious indigene/ settler dichotomy once and for all and equality of all Nigerians before the law, irrespective of ethnic, religious and political differences. We want autonomy for all Local Government councils to stop being tied to the apron strings of overbearing state governments, whose chief executives dip their hands where they should not. Creation of states, though desirable should rather be based on economic viability rather than on base sentiments.

Other critical areas deserving urgent attention include instituting long-lasting judicial reforms

that would do away with the insulting culture of impunity. It should be such as to bring offenders of financial crimes to justice within six months. There should also be drastic reduction in the emolument of public office holders so that law making is on part time basis. But would our current legislators muster the required patriotic courage to do this? I have my doubts.

Any constitution that would tolerate the widening gap between the rich and the poor, as apparent in massive number of unemployed youth while their state governors fly above them in questionable private jets is not for us.

In fact, there should be social security buffers to cater for the needs of the vulnerable members of the society including pregnant women, children, the jobless, the aged and the sick. Politicians should not deliberately under fund public educational institutions only to send their children to the most expensive, choicest others outside our shores. Any legal document that would encourage corruption in high places through spurious plea bargaining for the rich while the less favoured citizens are sent to jail for stealing fowls is not for us.

The next constitution must not be viewed as a contraption, by the incoming National Assembly with the hidden motive of a political vendetta. It must be allembracing. The views of all Nigerians; of variegated social strata and professional callings must be aggregated. The notion should not be given that the law makers already have their answers to our multifarious questions and have only taken some of us on a long donkey ride.

Above all, what would matter most is having in place politicians that emerge as the people’s true choice to implement the dictates of the constitution. The time to enthrone a bottom-up approach to governance for the socioeconomic pyramid, founded on the people’s wishes is now!

Pakistan, Nigeria trade volume steadily...

Continued from page 19 Nigerians have been going to Pakistan to seek education and there are some who go on their own and there are some who go on scholarships. So, there are more than 1000 Nigerian students in Pakistan who are undergoing educational training in Pakistan and this number keeps increasing day by day and Pakistan welcomes Nigerians into their universities; we have well established universities for these students.

How have the collaborative efforts between Nigeria and Pakistan helped in addressing Nigeria’s challenge of infrastructure and how involved is Pakistan in the area of infrastructure in Nigeria?

Unfortunately, we are not in a very big way involved in infrastructure development because some of these other fields have not been covered between Nigerian and Pakistan. But we have the capability and whenever we are asked we can assist in the field of roads

construction, building, dams and big infrastructure. We have the capability to help Nigeria but up till now we are not in this field.

How long have you been in Nigeria?

IcameherelastJulyandIfindthat Nigeria is very interesting country especially now that the elections have been held with lots of activities. That happens in all countries and the good thing is that democracy is here in Nigeria and well established now. We congratulate

President Muhammadu Buhari, whohasbeenre-electedandwewill like to see him in Pakistan because I think that a visit by Buhari to Pakistan is due in the near future and I am sure that if this visit takes place, a lot of development will take place inthemutualrelationsandimprovement of relations.

We will also like to share cultural exchanges with Nigeria because Nigeria is very rich in culture and we would like to exchange cultural delegation with Nigeria

also. It is very important that we have people- to- people contact.

Unfortunately there is no direct flight from Pakistan to Nigeria till now. Many years ago there was a direct flight by Pakistani airline to Kano that was a long time ago due to commercial reasons. But we have this proposal in mind that we must have direct flight and that way the people- to -people contact, the business exchanges, the cargo, everything will improve. So this is one area which needs more attention.

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Personality of the week

Obasanjo: A gadfly @ 82

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ZEBULON AGOMUO

ove him or hate him, former President Olusegun Obasanjo is an enigma.

Ayodele Kusamotu, a barrister, chairman and principal counsel at Kusamotu & Kusamotu Law firm (The Greenfish Chambers), in an interview with BDSUNDAY described the former president as such.

“In all honesty, General Obasanjo is an enigma of sorts. A military head of state and two-term civilian president, he is renowned around the world. The international community usually seeks his opinion,” Kusamotu said.

Beyond that, Obasanjo is a gadfly. In simple explanation, a ‘gadfly’ refers to a person who intensely and constantly criticises others for the purpose of getting such people to do the right thing.

Plato (the Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece and the founder of the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world) in his ‘Apology’ for the life of Socrates reminds us that all societies need a ‘gadfly’ to sting the ‘steed’ of state into acknowledging its proper duties and obligations: “I am the gadfly of the Athenian people, given to them by God, and they will never have another if they kill me. And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my own sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against the God by condemning me, who am his gift to you.

“For if you kill me, you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long I and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.

You will not easily find another like me, and therefore, I would advise you to spare me,” Socrates said.

When former President Olusegun Obasanjo used the opportunity of his 82nd birthday anniversary celebration in Abeokuta last Tuesday to announce that he would continue to criticise President Muhhamadu Buhari until he (the president) improves his style of governance, he put everyone on notice that he was not going to be cowed or intimidated into licking the boots of anybody.

He thus, confirmed his gadfly status when he said he was qualified to criticise any government policy and leader found wanting in the discharge of his or her duties.

That was his response, after the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Gbadebo, reportedly urged him to stop criticising President Buhari.

Obasanjo

Inthelastthree-and-a-halfyears, Obasanjo has written a number of letters, passing a no-confidence vote in the Buhari administration.

Apart from written documents, he has on several occasions tonguelashed the Katsina-born president on the same score.

At the lecture to mark his birthday, the Alake of Egbaland had urged Obasanjo to sheathe his sword, saying: “You all know that I was an officer under General Buhari, so each time Obasanjo criticises my boss, I always stand to say, my senior (OBJ), please leave the president alone! At 82, Baba is still fighting on, please fight less and be a consultant to everybody.”

In response, Obasanjo said: “In democracy, there is always room to criticise a policy, government or a leader if (they are) not doing well”.

“In a democracy, you criticise a policy, a government or a leader.

Democracy is not a family affair, even if it’s my brother that is there, and he is not doing what I believe he should do, he must be criticised that is what democracy is all about; criticism,” he added.

“So when I say something, I know what I am saying. So if I say anybody in government in Nigeria is not doing well, let that government prove that it is doing well.

“It’s not anything personal, so Kabiesi (king), your boss Buhari, there is nothing personal between him and me. Just as you say, he is your boss. I am his boss with all due respect. Now the point is that I have been in that position longer than any Nigerian will ever be there.

“So, when I say something, I know what I am saying. Kabiesi, any time you say, leave my boss

alone, I say he is your boss, but I am also his boss so you can also ask your boss to leave his boss alone and do the right thing,” Obasanjo said.

Underscoring the enigmatic qualities of the personality of Obasanjo, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the guest lecturer and president of the Inkatha Freedom Party of South Africa, said that African leaders have a lot to learn from the leadership style and wealth of experience of Obasanjo.

Buthelezi made the observation in his lecture ‘Colonialism, Apartheid, Freedom and South Africa Rising’, insisting that Obasanjo has a distinguished heritage “worthy of emulation by those in positions of authority”.

It was also his belief that Obasanjo’s legacy would outlive him, noting that development and growth will flourish if leaders “displayed determination, and give a continuous hope and insightful governance”.

Perhaps, President Buhari also understands the innocuousness of Obasanjo’s virulent criticisms of his style of governance, hence his brotherly greetings and fair words, describing the former head of state as “a passionate and great patriot who deserves accolades for his immeasurable contributions to our democracy and national unity.”

The President was large-hearted when he acknowledged that “regardless of our political differences with Obasanjo, I still hold him in the highest esteem because his contributions to the development of the country overshadow those differences. Chief Obasanjo gave a good account of himself and

inspired his juniors with his wit and other leadership skills.”

He also noted that “Nigeria’s successful transition to democratic rule in October 1979 was one of Obasanjo’s remarkable contributions to national development.”

In his tribute posted on his facebook wall, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), scripted: “No living Nigerian has given as much to Nigeria in peacetime and in war as you have.

“May almighty God grant you many more years in good health and continued service to Nigeria and the world at large.”

As a human being, some of Obasanjo’s positions on some issues may have been misunderstood even by his closest allies. But as it is said, in politics there is only permanent interests and neither permanent friend nor foe.

Three years ago, when the former president marked his 79th birthday inside the same Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, some apparatchiks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Segun Oni, the then deputy chairman, South, were in attendance.Theopposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members led by Godswill Akpabio, the then Senate minority leader (who has since decamped to the APC), among other dignitaries, converged on the venue to pay homage to the former president.

At the event, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State and minister of transportation, extolled the virtues of the celebrant.

“Nigerians agreed that you love Nigeria and I have never seen a Ni-

gerian that disagrees that you love Nigeria. So, they believe that at all times you want to save Nigeria and that is where the disagreement starts.

“As you want to save Nigeria, areas you may take a decision, some will support, others will not support. I think Nigerians will agree that you’ve made a lot of infrastructural contributions to the development of Nigeria. Until recently, during the Military regime you served first, a lot of the assets Nigeria had, if they mentioned the names, they will mention your name,” he said.

Amaechi also noted that, “anytime you are out of government and you withdraw, crises come, you come back to the scene to help out and to ensure that we are not destroyed as a country and because of those roles, Nigerians have continuously prayed for you.”

On his part, Godswill Akpabio declared that Akwa Ibom would have remained the same and under-developed if Obasanjo had not allowed his governorship candidature in 2007 as powerful political cabal at that time in the state would have truncated his chance of becoming governor.

He said: “I think all of us are in one accord that the man (Obasanjo) is a nationalist and he remains the President of Nigeria forever.

What you don’t know is that in my state, Obasanjo remains the man of justice in the annals of our history. When I was about to contest for the governorship with some powerful politicians, I didn’t know anybody in the Aso Rock, except the gateman.

“I only knew the gateman because he was from Akwa Ibom State, but I was contesting with the former ministers, people from NNPC and some very influential people, but immediately I saw Baba Obasanjo through the gateman, he spoke with me and assessed me as well as the other contestants and stood for justice, that was why I became the governor of Akwa Ibom.

“It was through him (Obasanjo) thatItransformedAkwaIbomState; this is a place where you will see a 70km road without a pothole and you also see an Airport with the best and longest runway with the best lightingsystemlikethatofHeathrow in London. Through Obasanjo, we have done a lot for Akwa Ibom and wenowtagourstate,landofuncommon transformation.

“We are forever indebted to him and I want to say that government and the people of Akwa Ibom State, will be grateful forever for what Obasanjo did for us through me.”

As Nigerians wish him Happy Birthday with many happy returns, many have also urged him never to relent in his role as the “Conscience of the Nation.” According to those who hold this view, “without such critical roles played by Obasanjo, it could have been worse” for Nigeria and Nigerians.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Politics Two-party system, independent candidacy as antidotes to chaos in Nigeria’s electoral system

T

Iniobong Iwok

he chaos which characterise t h e n a t i o n ’s electoral system, resulting from the multiple political parties which participate general elections has brought to the fore the need for a reform of the electoral process which would allow a two-party system and independent candidacy, but with strict regulation.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), more than 75 political parties participated in the 2019 general election, but investigation revealed that the large number of political parties ended up confounding eligible voters.

Political observers have attributed this to poor voter education on the part of INEC and the political parties.

INEC had said that the commission was bound by law to register any group which met its criteria.

However, due to Nigeria’s large and diverse ethnic groups, political parties are often formed and seen as a mirror of these ethnic groups.

It was until 1922 when the Arthur Clifford Constitution introduced party system that formation of political parties was witnessed in Nigeria.

Prior to the First and Second Republic, ethnic groups in Nigeria were associated with different political parties which promoted political fragmentation, and increased ethnic sentiment and tension.

Except during the illfated 1993 election, when only two political parties were decreed into existence by the military, recent experience has shown that the large number of political parties has ended up throwing more confusion into the system.

Though, some would argue that multiple political parties may have deepened democracy in Nigeria and opened up the political space, recent experience has shown that leaders of these parties merely used them as platform for

Muhammadu Buhari

negotiating for political appointments and contract.

It is generally acknowledged that most of the registered political parties only exist on paper and lacked grassroots structures across the country to win elections, while most of them will go into oblivion after the 2019 general election.

In the recently concluded presidential election, the combined votes of other political parties, apart from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) amounted to less than 3percent of the total votes.

Po l i t i c a l o b s e r v e r s have, however, argued for amendment to the Constitution for a return to two-party system, while independent candidacy should be allowed.

There have been several attempts made in the past to amend the Nigeria’s constitution to accommodate independent candidacy.

Three year ago, Stella Oduah then a Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District presented a bill to the National Assembly on the need for an independent candidate.

The Bill titled: 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill 2016 (SB. 228) in the tradition of the Senate was introduced and read for the first time by the then Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume and the

Mahmood Yakubu

Clerk of the Senate.

This Bill seeks to amend sections 131 (c) 177 (c) 62 (2) & 106 (d) of 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended which stipulates that candidates for elections must be sponsored by political parties.

Oduah had taken to her twitter handle to declare her intentions to sponsor a bill that will ensure the provision for independent candidacy in Nigeria and called on her colleagues at the Senate to support the bill when it is presented on the floor of the Senate.

According to her, “The impact of this cannot be overemphasised as it will create room for independence of candidates in Nigeria’s electoral system and give more well-meaning citizens opportunity to participate in governance.”

She had pledged to do all within her reach as a lawmaker with support from her colleagues and the 8th Senate leadership to ensure that this opportunity is secured for Nigerians.

“I will do all within my power, with the support of my colleagues of the Nigeria Senate to ensure that this democratic freedom is secured for Nigerians,” she stated.

However, the 7th National Assembly had debated and supported the independent candidate clause and made an alteration; by inserting a new paragraph (d), which reads, “He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party or he is an independent candidate” in the fourth amendment to the 1999, however the bill failed to scale through before the end of that assembly.

A reintroduction of the bill in the National Assembly in 2018 saw it suffer similar fate, while the #NotTooYoungToRule Act was passed into law; the independent candidacy bill was rejected by the lawmakers.

Pundits have however, advocated for independent candidacy but advised that it should be

You can see that our mushroom political parties failed; a lot of them would not exist after the general elections.

Right now, we have political parties that are controlled by their founders who impose candidate and run it like a cult

regulated and not for all comers, while political parties should be reduced to two or three.

Olasupo Ojo, a former National chairman of the Civic Liberty Organisation (CLO), stated that independent candidacy was desirable in the country, stressing that it would reduce corruption in the country and lead to good governance.

“You can see that our mushroom political parties failed; a lot of them would not exist after the general elections. Right now, we have political parties that are controlled by their founders who impose candidate and run it like a cult.

“We have experienced it in Nigeria before; the best local government chairman we had in my state was an independent candidate. That was in the 80s; we have not had it good since then. It is just like someone like me, I don’t want to join any political party in the country, but I may wish to contest.

“You have founders of this party choosing who they like as candidate; it contributes to bad governance and corruption; because the public office holders want to steal money for their parties and sponsor their programmes”.

However, the National President of Voters Awareness Initiatives wale Ogunade, suggested that if the country would adopt independent candidate it

should not be an all comer affairs but regulated by INEC. Ogunade further stated that there was the urgent need for the National Assembly to amend the electoral law and limit the number of political parties in the country.

“I know we are in democracy, but it is not obvious that the multiple party system is not working; do you see what is happening now? How many votes did most of them get? Do they have structures? Let just wait and see if you see most of them after general elections. I will advise we have two or three parties.

“I support independent candidate, it opened up the political space, but if you say that it means everyone may come out; there must be regulation and procedure, you don’t just come and say my name must be in the ballot paper because you think you are popular.

You must be known and have some level of acceptance in the polity.

“Look at what is happening in the recent general election; some people are scoring three and eight votes. Independent candidacy should be for people who are popular and not someone who is popular on facebook and think he can win election.”

Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recently said that INEC was going to do something about the number of parties after the elections.

Okoye blamed the huge number on those who designed the constitution (who made the registration of political parties very liberal), said: “You are aware that there’s a fourth amendment to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that gives the INEC the power and authority to deregister some political parties that did not meet a certain threshold after the general election. So, with that, there’s a possibility that, that may act as a check on the number of political parties we have.”

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Politics Wike says ‘no shaking’ but army intensifies strikes at his power points …PDP says over 50 homes of chieftains attacked, many arrested …Bloodshed as Ateke Tom’s base attacked again …Wike says no amount of gunboats can stop him to appeal to the Presidency, the Inspector-General of Police and the GOC 6 Division of Nigerian Army, to call the soldiers in Rivers State to order and allow for peaceful, fair and transparent elections on Saturday.

Ignatius Chukwu

T Preamble

he Army had been busy in the 24 hours leading to the governorship elections in Rivers Sate where almost 16,000 policemen were on duty. By Friday, the Army ws said to be striking at some bases believed to be power points of Governor Nyesom Wike.

Wike is perceived as a string politician who believed in building power bases in communities empowered to deliver their areas. He used to mock former governor, Chibuike Amaechi, for preferring to rely on men and women of intellectual value without being electoral assets.

Wike believes that any power broker worth his or her salt would deliver his area. He is known to easily recount names of every ward leader in the state and he is said to know exactly what is needed for election in every ward in the state.

His opponent fear what his foot soldiers can do on the eve of an election.

Now, soldiers seem to visit many power points and are said to be attacking them, arresting people. The home of the commissioner of education, Tamunosisi Gogo-Jack was the first to be in the news on Thursday where he was arrested by soldiers. The Army confirmed the arrest but did not explain his offence and that of his family and entire household that were arrested. Army sources said they had all been handed over to the police (SARS).

Next, uproar came from the home of Ateke Tom, former warlord and godfather who was crowned king by Governor Wike a year ago, at Okochiri, near Okrika.

Life was said to be lost with blood stains shown in photographs circulating in the internet. The PDP said about 50 home have fallen to the army.

The governor has however, said no amount of gunboat approach would dislodge him in the yesterday poll. He had won a court case many feared was strong enough to stop him from contesting. He said he feared no force.

The APC has also cried out, saying men from the Rivers State Neighbourhood Watch Corps have started invading home and arresting their (APC) leaders too.

No reaction has come from them.

Nyesom Wike

Wike has briefed the heads of the US and UK on developments. The PDP also called on journalists and foreign observers to report the happenings in the state.

Ateke Tom suffered a big raid when Amaechi was governor and had to flee. Then, he was militant lord and head of some groups where he was said to have seen some battles that took lives. Amaechi refused to accept him as a militant but a person who should answer for his alleged offences.

Ateke returned when the former first lady rallied all opponents of Amaechi for a showdown with the then governor. When Amaechi party lost, and Wike won, Ateke relaxed and became a king. Now, Ateke is under attack again as Amaechi returns to seek power base once again.

PDP outcry: 50 houses raided by Friday noon The PDP in the state appealed to journalists and international observers in the state to be alive to

their responsibilities by reporting the invasion, harassment and arrest of PDP members by elements of the Nigerian military.

The PDP in a statement in Port Harcourt said the call became necessary against the backdrop of monumental atrocities being unleashed on members of the PDP in the state by soldiers.

The party regretted that at the last count, over 50 houses belong-

There is no way that the PDP will lose Rivers State and they tell the world that the elections are free and fair

ing to prominent members of the PDP across the state have been destroyed while many homes have also been cordoned off, holding PDP members hostage for no justification.

The PDP reminded journalists and foreign observers of their place as the bastion of hope for the common man, even as it urged them to do the needful so that the world would appreciate the inherent dangers such actions portend for the survival of democracy in the country.

The Rivers PDP, which also described journalists as co-travelers in the developmental journey of the State, said Rivers people are counting on their support and cooperation in this regard.

The party regretted that this spate of intimidation and harassment by soldiers is but a ploy orchestrated by the opposition APC to cause chaos and anarchy in the State, and create room for declaration of a state of emergency.

The PDP also used the media

Wike: No shaking, no matter gunboats Wike had made it clear that star wars launched against him would not move him and would not get him out of power. He declared that there is no way that the PDP can lose the Governorship and State Assembly elections because Rivers people are firmly with the party.

Governor Wike further declared that the Governorship and State Assembly elections would be used to end the illegal activities of the political monster of Rivers State.

Speaking during a town hall meeting with leaders of Rivers East Senatorial District in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Governor Wike charged the people not to be intimidated by soldiers, as they have a duty to vote for him and other PDP Candidates on March 9, 2019.

He said: “There is no way that the PDP will lose Rivers State and they tell the world that the elections are free and fair.

“Even if we want to play politics, how would they explain to the International community that PDP lost to an unknown party that did not campaign.

“How many soldiers will they deploy to implement the rigging. I am not worried about their bringing more troops from Sokoto and Kafanchan, God is our security. During the Presidential and National Assembly elections, they struggled for 25 percent, but they did not get it”.

The governor said that Rivers State has passed the stage where a failed politician will direct the people on who to vote three days to the election. He said nobody will play God in Rivers State.

He emphasised that Rivers people must stand firm to ensure the victory of the PDP on March 9, 2019. “Nobody should be afraid, come out and vote for the PDP. Your votes will be counted. Your votes will be protected”.

The governor urged Traditional Rulers to insist on credible polls across the state. “We will win on Continues on Page 17

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Politics Rivers guber debate: Security threats, economy, open governance dominate public debate, but rotation dominates private debate …Tongues wag over Wike’s absence

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Ignatius Chukwu & Innocent Eteng

his is purely a postmortem.

At the Rivers Governorship Debate 2019, issues around the insecurity that drives away investments and keeps Rivers people in the cities never to go home for fear of abduction took the upper hand in the debates. Even when any other matter was raised by the moderators, the candidates dragged it back to insecurity and need to tackle it. The other two issues that dominated the debate were the economy of the state that may have been drowned in the endless political crisis that has been ongoing since 2012. The other is the hunger in the state for open governance, where citizens say they do not get access to the annual budgets of the state government in the past four years, and access to policies that guide actions of the state government.

The unseen debate While these broad topics dominated dialogue and debate at the ‘Rivers Debate’ organized by the Rivers Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum (REIF) led by an energetic entrepreneur, Ibifiri Bobmanuel, the issue of rotation and a chance for the riverine section of the state to produce a governor rather seemed to engage the citizens in private discussions and at rallies.

The state government and the REIF want the people to know that what decides the fate of a people is how efficient the machinery of the government is made to run. The masses seem to believe that what guarantees the support of the citizens is if they feel accommodated in a polity ruled by justice and equity which can only be promoted by the assurance that every citizen has equal access to power.

The confluence of these two logics seems to decide the flow of political dialogue in such a multi-ethnic state, and the denial of this seems to subsume the passion of the people while floating other matters. This underlying emotional volcano was almost pricked open at the BBC Debate in the state where a citizen asked an Ikwerre-born candidate what he was

Odoyi Lolomari (m) with Ibifri Bobmanuel (r) and an aide to Lolomari (l).

doing in the governorship slot when Ikwerre people and the upland had governed the state since 1999. The candidate, Isaac Wornwu of Labor Party seemed to parry it by arguing that competence and capability were more important in these matters.

The audience did not pursue that matter any further in the open debate but seemed to allow their minds to discuss it unheard.

The debaters REIF has strong partners and financial backers led by the Social Democratic Network (SDN) and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). It also had strong media partners that ensured that the debate was dominant on air and in print.

The major drawback seemed to be getting who would face each other in the debate, an issue that ruined most other debates in Nigeria including the federal level. REIF had solved this in 2015 and Rivers’ was adjudged the best in Nigeria.

This time around, international interests showed much interest they way they did in 2015, and were ready to come down to make the candidates sign a peace pledge.

The wage in progress however was the judicial order to remove the All Progres-

sives Congress (APC) on the ballot. The matter dragged endlessly in court, until the presidential election came and went.

Another party, Accord Party where one of APC chieftains ran to grab a ticket was knocked out again at the courts. Magnus Abe who organised his own primaries in the APC was equally knocked out in court.

Thus, the three largest opposition forces in the state were knocked off the ballot.

More, most other candidates kept declaring en masse to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Nyesom Wike. It looked like a one way contest without a viable opponent. It was thus difficult for REIF to pin down opponents to confront Wike at the podium let alone at the polls. The debate which cost tens of millions without government funding or anything from politically exposed persons, according to Bobmanuel, kept shifting.

Thus, those that eventually mounted the podiums were Wornwu of Labour Party, Victor Fingessi of Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Precious Elekima of Social Democratic Party (SDP). So, it was one Ikwerre, one Okrika and one Kalabari.

Those looking for competence looked at three candidates, those looking at rotation saw only two (Okrika and Kalabari).

Wike’s absence The factor that kept exciting the public was the expected clash between PDP

Candidates jostle to take the platform to show their worth, to win minds, to shine even if they do not end up winning Victor Fingessi of ADP on the podium

Isaac Wornwu of Labour Party

(Wike) and APC (Tonye Cole, backed

by Chibuike Amaechi). When this failed, many waited for a clash by others probably prodded by APC against Wike. Just as it happened at the BBC Debate, Gov Wike failed to show up. Many had expected him to come and deal final blows on the APC with robust policy enunciations and explanations but he did not show up. Many had expected to throw some questions bothering them on various areas even if APC was not there, but he failed to show up.

Insiders said he did not feel there was any serious person to face but of a truth, there were many serious issues to face, if it were to be an issue-based election.

The Commissioner o Information, Emma Okah, however, told BDSUNDAY that the governor had other emergency engagements that came up on that same day.

Considering that the date was always shifted for his convenience, the commissioner’s explanation may not totally satisfy the organisers and members of the public.

The attitude of the other debaters also cast gloom of the huge costs spent and how this panned out. The one hour delay on air was a sign to all Nigeria that there is something wrong with Rivers State.

Debaters anywhere in the world take it serious. Candidates jostle to take the platform to show their worth, to win minds, to shine even if they do not end up winning.

In Rivers State, funds raised by others are allowed to waste.

Many interviewed in the hall said it was sign that the candidates had other things in mind than how to win the hearts of the people or they already knew how to win other than issues in the public domain.

If elections are not won or lost on issues, then primordial calculations such as zoning, vote-buying, use of thugs, military advantage, engagement of local warlords must be the real deals. So, where would that leave the business owners and elite minds?

Bobmanuel steps in The president of REIF, Bobmanuel, seemed to read the minds of the audience and he tried to rub in the essence of the debate. He said most of the issues raised at the 2015 edition and put on a communiqué signed by all were taken seriously by the person who won. He named many of them such as roads to the seaports, roads in industrial areas (especially TransAmadi), reopening of courts, etc. He did not mention how insecurity has grown bigger and how access to government contract bidding or budgets have been an issue. Tax harmonisation was also an issue but the business community aggress that the present administration has always intervened but tax has not been harmonised after 15 years of trying.

Security Fingessi of ADP seemed to be most certain. He said he has been a security consultant for decades and he knows what the issues were. He said he would simply

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Politics Wike says ‘no shaking’ but ....

Continued from page 15

One of the trustees of REIF, BJ Chap Jumbo, with Wornu unveiling the peace pledge

make calls and a meeting is held and all issues resolved within six months. He said he had been helping companies to achieve this. He said yes to Neighbourhood Watch system.

Wornwu said he would deal fairly with all groups and get insecurity. He said he would not accept the Neighbourhood Watch idea to fight insecurity because it is politicised.

Elekima of SDP said he would use money in the pockets to appease the youths because he would boost the economy at the community level and bring joy to all.

Economy This seemed to biggest section of the debate. The question may of them tried to grapple with was how they would run the state which needs at least N600billion per year to meet basic and developmental goals in the face of about N300billion revenue for the state per year. Fingessi said he would use security to attract companies and IGR, Wornwu said he would diversity the economy, while Elekima said he would build 92 industries in the communities. He said he would give N5billion per month to each LGA to drive industries as well as 35 percent of all IGR plus 15 percent of it to LGAs. Many wondered how he would give N115billion plus N120billion for Recurrent needed to pay salaries and run the government, all making about N235billion per year. Where was he going to get funds to build his dream Ring Road that may cost over N200billion?

Wornwu floated his idea of a rice revolution and cassava and heavy returns to agriculture and agro business. None realised that Rivers is still an oil-based economy and its wealth in the short term would still be in oil and gas. They all said they would help the youths change from

Precious Elekima of SDP

illegal refining to modular refineries but none said anything they did sine the FG has been asking the Niger Delta states to partner with them on modular refineries or bring equity for youths on this. There is $500million BoI/China fund to help those willing to go into modular. It seems unheard of by those eager to govern the state.

The three candidates seemed to tear in three definite directions. Whereas the Action Democratic Party (ADP)’s Victor Fingessi said convincing fleeing companies to return through a security architecture would do the trick, his Labour Party counterpart, Isaac Wonwu said diversification especially back to agriculture was better. Precious Elekima of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) however floated a radical departure, saying the solution is in creating a community based investment and management strategy.

Pelted by each of three moderators (Segun Owolabi of Rhythm, Florence Keyamba of Social Democratic Network (SDN), and Kofi Bartel of Nigeria Info, backed for follow ups by Ignatius Chukwu of BusinessDay, all in Port Harcourt), each of the three contestants tried to be realistic as well as win the hearts and votes of the Rivers people.

Open governance Times flying but the issue of lack of access to budgets and absence of budget breakdown, annual ministerial briefings, etc to help the citizens understand financials of the government and projects so far done was raised. The candidates all said they would run an open government, same way Wike had promised at the platform in 2015.

There was no enough time to tackle them on this and the governor that everybody wanted to take up on this was luckily absent.

Conclusion The Rivers Debate series seems to be the best next thing that has happened to the state in recent years in the face of odious politics. As Wornwu said on behalf of the others, REIF has made a big impact by the huge costs it puts with its partners to allow the Rivers people engage each other in politics. He pleaded it be sustained. Others interviewed said the group should move further and organise debates on other teething issues in the state such as violence, rotation, youth behaviour on investments, jobs, wealth, etc. REIF organises business roundtables on business matters too.

Saturday because we know that God is with us. Those who think they have the power will face God. They want to disrupt the elections to instigate postponement. Do not fall into their hands”, he said.

He noted that the illegal arrests by the military will not stop the victory of the PDP during the Governorship and State Assembly elections.

“If they arrest 2000 persons, they will see more 10, 000. Our people should be security conscious about their movement because these people are very desperate “, the governor said.

Governor Wike noted that he has planted key projects in all the Local Government Areas of the state. He said after his re-election more projects will be executed for Rivers people.

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onueze Okocha said Governor Wike has done well and will be voted in for a second term. “Never mind, there are threats and many of us are listed for arrest, people of Rivers East will stand with you till you emerge victorious”.

Again, Wike briefs US diplomats Governor Wike saw what would happen and engaged the international community ealier on. Now, he seems to have huge rapport with the US and the UK reps in Nigeria who have either relocated to the state or fly in every other day.

Thus, Wike on Friday (March 8, 2019) met with the United States Consul-General to Nigeria, John Bray, and the Political Officer of the British High Commission in Nigeria, Louis Edwards.

The joint meeting which lasted about one hour, had the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, Deputy Governor Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Rivers State PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, and the senator, Lee Maeba, in attendance.

The diplomats were said to have visited Governor Wike on the heels of mass arrests of PDP leaders by security agencies. The Rivers State Government and the PDP have issued several statements alerting the world on the illegal activities of security agencies ahead of the elections.

Governor Wike, according to his media aides, tabled the concerns of the government and people of Rivers State before the American Embassy and the British High Commission. At the end of the meeting, the diplomats declined comments as they left to continue with the 2019 Governorship and State Assembly elections in Rivers State.

APC too cries out over Wike’s Neighbourhood Watch Corps The APC has found something to cry out about, too. A chieftain, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said late Friday that Wike’s neighborhood watch had gone on rampage, allegedly threatening and arresting APC leaders.

He described the group as Gov Wike’s private army that was banned by security agencies and said they now harass, intimidate and kidnap some key members of APC in Rivers State. He described the action as most unfortunate, disheartening and a threat not only to democracy but a plot tantamount to promotion of unrest in Rivers State.

He said: “The illegal group armed to the teeth is now going about in full military attire

ransacking the homes of some mapped out leaders of APC and threatening them not to venture to visit their homes for the 9th March polls unless they were bringing their various coffins for their burial.

“Those mapped and threatened are Dakuku Peterside, the DG NIMASA, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Netherlands, Oji Ngofa, Davies Ikanya, Tonye Princewill, Sokonte Davies, ED Marine and operations, Nigerian ports Authority, Chris Amadi, the NDDC EDFA, Asita Honourable Asita, Aso Weneh, Andrew Uchendu, George Tolofari, Chidi Lloyd, Victor Giadom, S. A. Ngeregbara, and many more. “The idea according to the sponsors of this group is that once these leaders are neutralised the reelection bid of Governor Nyesom Wike will sail effortlessly without any hitch.”

Eze in the press statement he personally signed and circulated to the media in Port Harcourt on Friday disclosed also that the life of the governorship candidate of the African African Alliance Congress (AAC), Awara Biokpomabo, the candidate adopted by the entire Rivers State people to replace Gov Wike as the next Governor of Rivers State is under threat as this group has threatened to kidnap him and cause him not to vote during the election thereby nullifying his candidature technically after the use of the court to stop him failed.

Eze highlighted that the group boasted that elections will not hold in the key areas where APC has its strongholds particularly

in the Ikwerre Local Government where the Minister of Transportation and APC leader in South-South region hails from.

Eze maintained that the celebrated case of abductions of Ikenda Clinton parents last night and the unholy visit to the home of Emma Chinda by this group gives credence to the sinister plot against APC leaders in Rivers State.

Eze further stated that this group in their unwholesome and devious plot also intends to harass innocent citizens of Rivers State and turn around and attribute their atrocities to the army in order to tarnish the good image of the Nigerian Army. “Therefore, it becomes imperative that the security agencies posted to the State should up their game and secure Rivers state from the hands of these misguided elements.”

Conclusion: The elections were set and the nation can only wait for the outcome of both the fighting and the voting.

Note: This report was written before the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections yesterday

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Consumer Watch ‘You can buy that product cheaper with good bargaining power’ NGOZI OKPALAKUNNE

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argaining with sellers over the price of a product sometimes can be very challenging for some consumers especially when one does not have an idea of the exact price of such product.

Investigation by Consumer Watch has shown that some consumers prefer buying goods with prices stamped on them. This may be due to the fact that they do not have the time for bargaining or they are afraid of being embarrassed by the sellers.

On the other hand, an interaction with some sellers revealed that consumers who spend time to bargain are often rewarded at least once.

A consumer Affairs analyst, Tod Marks in his report tagged, “Tips on successful bargaining”, he stated that people are always afraid to ask, which may be the reason they avoid bargaining all together.

“There is a tremendous fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of looking cheap, and a mortification at hearing no,” Marks added.

However, he gave the following tips for winning bargaining.

• Do your homework.

If you need to, do a little research on what you’re bargaining for beforehand. That way you’ll know what a fair price is, and avoid asking for a price

that’s way too low.

•Show your intelligence.

If you’re negotiating for an antique and you’re an antique collector, mention that. Even better, share some specific product knowledge with the seller.

Chances are, if the seller knows you’re an educated buyer, they’ll be more willing to work with you.

•Be discreet.

Don’t start bargaining with a salesperson in front of a large

U.S, NGOs call for concerted action on marine wildlife conservation

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he United States Public Affairs Officer Russell Brooks has appealed to Nigerians to treat the conservation of the oceans and aquatic wildlife as an individual responsibility, in order to preserve marine habitats for future generations.

Speaking at a forum organised by the United States Consulate General in Lagos in collaboration with the International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI) and Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative to commemorate the 2019 World Wildlife Day, Brooks observed that as much as 40 percent of the world’s oceans are negatively affected by human activity, including overexploitation of marine species, loss of coastal habitats and pollution.

The US Public Affairs Officer who spoke on the theme, “Life

below Water”, highlighted the crucial importance of the oceans and marine species to human development and emphasised the necessity for increased conservation education.

“Marine wildlife has sustained human civilisation and development for over a thousand years, from providing food and nourishment, to providing material for handicrafts and construction. We cannot take their survival for granted. We can reduce some of the negative effects of our activity on life under the water, by working hard to spread the message to reduce marine pollution.” Brooks said.

Speaking earlier, the Communications Director at ICCDI, Abiodun Adekoya, noted that effective climate change mitigation in the country would require concerted action by governments and individuals, with an emphasis on conservation education, recycling programme and the creation of a legal framework for the nation’s policy on the environment.

It could be recalled that in 20 December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that March 3 of every year would observed as World Wildlife Day.

group of other shoppers. If they hear you’re getting a deal, they’ll want one too. A salesperson will be less likely to negotiate with you if they know they’re going to give that same deal to 10 other shoppers.

•Be diplomatic.

“Sweetness will win every time,” Marks explained. “Come in with honey, not vinegar.”

Salespeople will respond much better to an offer coming from a friendly, low-key customer than

a demanding, stern customer.

Show them you’re willing to work with them.

•Give them an incentive to bargain with you.

If you’re buying a car at a dealership, tell them you’re planning on bringing your car back to them for repairs. If you’re at a mom and pop hardware store, tell them you always try to support local businesses when you can. Merchants will be more

likely to offer you a better price if they have a reason to.

•Ask open ended questions.

It’s easy to say no if someone asks, “Can I get this for 15 percent off?” It’s not so easy to say no if someone said, ‘I really love this 60 inch TV, and it would fit perfectly in my bedroom, but it’s a little out of my budget. Is there any way you could help me?”

Don’t make it easy for salespeople to tell you no, the expert said.

“Give them the opportunity to expound or elaborate, not cut you off.”

•Use silence.

Yes, periods of silence in a conversation can be awkward.

But when it comes to negotiating, silence is a great tool. If you resist the urge to fill it, the seller might just say yes to your offer in hopes of avoiding the silence.

•Seek a cash discount.

Merchants have to pay fees when you use an ATM to make a purchase. They can avoid these fees if you pay in cash, so bring some cash and ask ahead of time if the seller will give you a discount if you don’t pay with a card.

•Bargain on items at the end of the year, and where competition is high.

Most stores look to clear their shelves right before the end of the year, which means that sellers will be more likely to bargain with you at that time if it means they’re going to sell their merchandise.

Green bean and tomato salad with buttermilk dressing

Ingredients *1/2 cup buttermilk *2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice *1/2 teaspoon garlic powder *1/2 teaspoon onion powder *3 tablespoons olive oil, divided * Kosher salt *Freshly ground pepper *1 pound wax or green beans, trimmed *2 large leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved, cut into 4” pieces *1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved *1 large heirloom tomato, sliced *1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves *1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Preparation 1. Whisk buttermilk, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 tablespoons oil in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

2. Cook beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until

just tender, about 3 minutes.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander set in a bowl of ice water; drain. Place beans in a large bowl.

4. Return water in pot to a boil and cook leeks until just tender, about 3 minutes; drain.

Transfer to colander in ice wa-

ter; drain and add to bowl with beans. Add cherry tomatoes and remaining 2 tablespoons oil and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve salad over heirloom tomato slices drizzled with buttermilk dressing and topped with mint and chives.

Sunday 10 March 2019

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Interview

Pakistan, Nigeria trade volume steadily improving – Envoy The High Commissioner of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Nigeria, Waqar Ahmad Kingravi, a retired major general, says that the cordial bilateral relations between his country and Nigeria have improved trade volume between both countries in the last five years. In this interview with INNOCENT ODOH, the envoy also stresses the need to re-establish direct flights between both countries to boost people-to-people relations, adding that collaboration with Nigeria in the area of fighting terrorism is yielding the desired results. Excerpts:

W

hat is the current level of bilateral relations between Nige-

ria and Pakistan?

Traditionally, the relationship between Nigeria and Pakistan has been very good. Right from the time that Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Pakistan established diplomatic relations with Nigeria because Nigeria is a brother country with whom Pakistan desires very good relations because of Nigeria’s importance in Africa as well as in the world.

Over the past few years, these relationships have improved further once our President Manmoon Hussain visited Nigeria in June 2014. Subsequent to that visit we have established a commercial consular office in Lagos and because of which our business relations have improved a lot. So these steps are going on to further improve the business relations between both countries. In other fields also like defense and diplomacy, we support each other in international fora. So our relations are very good.

At the time your President visited Nigeria five years ago, the volume of trade between Nigeria and Pakistan was $70 million.

Both countries targeted an improved trade volume of $1 billion in five years. How far has this been achieved in the last five years?

Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach the $1 billion target. Basically the problem in this regard is that the products which Pakistan can provide include agricultural products, food stuff and textiles. These are the major products bedside many others. But there has been a gradual decrease in demand because of Nigerian efforts to indigenise and rather reenergise their textile industry, and the food and agricultural industry.

So, on the other hand, Pakistan imports from Nigeria mainly in the LNG. So we are still way off the target but we are trying our best to increase business interaction with Nigeria as much as possible. For this purpose we keep on having exhibitions and delegations. We exchange delegations and we also

Waqar Ahmad Kingravi

participate in various trade fairs whether it is for medical equipment, agricultural field or textile and pharmaceuticals.

So, the efforts are on to increase the volume of trade but we have not reached the target of $1 billion. In 2017 the total volume of trade between Nigeria and Pakistan was $143 million and in 2018 it jumped to $441 million. So what Pakistan imported mainly was the LNG and that was a very major chunk. Out of $441, $274 million was what Pakistan imported and $175 million was what we exported because of the oil and LNG. But Pakistan has been exporting rice and textile to Nigeria. But you know that there is a ban on rice now in Nigerian. So trade in this area has some limitations. But Pakistan will offer pharmaceutical goods, chemical and surgical materials, tractors and agriculture equipment to Nigeria and there is potential for improvement.

Recently there is study between Pakistan and Nigeria to carry out improvement in the production of fertilizers. We have very big companies that manufac-

ture fertilizers and you have a lot of gas. And gas is raw materials for fertilizers, so Pakistan can help in the establishment of plants and have joint ventures with Nigeria in the field of fertilizers production.

And in the petroleum fields, also we have companies that can go out and do business with Nigeria.

There was also the proposal to establish the Nigeria-Pakistan joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a platform to facilitate trade between private sector business men of both countries. How far has this gone?

Efforts are still on going to establish the joint chamber of commerce between Nigeria and Pakistan. But on the other hand we have delegations from other chambers, which are in Nigeria.

We have interactions with them and also we have trade development cooperation and our own chambers in Pakistan which are directly interacting with the chambers over here in Nigeria.

Our efforts are to establish joint chambers with the ECOWAS in addition to Nigeria. However, it is taking lot of time, the MoUs have

been exchanged and signed but further progress is yet awaited to finalise these agreements. There are some delays on both sides because of the various agencies involved. But soon they will be finalized.

One other area of relations between both countries is security and defence. Both countries are challenged by the threat of terrorism. We have Boko Haram in Nigeria and the question is that the collaborative efforts of both countries against terrorism appear under the threat of increasing terrorism. What is your take on this?

As far as security is concerned, we have very good relations with Nigeria and we have been cooperating to a great extent. As you rightly pointed out, Nigeria and Pakistan are facing similar problems of terrorism but Pakistan has curtailed terrorism to a very great extent in the last couple of years.

The experience which we have gained in fighting terrorism and carrying out counter terrorist operations we are transferring this experience to the Nigerian armed forces through training and exchange of visits.

We invite officers of the Nigerian armed forces for courses in Pakistan; we conduct counter terrorism courses, and last year a battalion of Nigerian Special Forces was trained in Pakistan.

This year again we plan to do that.

Besides that, the weapons and equipment which Pakistan can provide to Nigeria are available all the way and Pakistan has been going all the way to assist the Nigerian armed forces.

Pakistan has provided light aircrafts for surveillance to Nigeria and we have offered to provide fighter jets to fight these insurgents or terrorists in the border areas and the far-flung areas where these militants carry out action and cross over to the other countries.

So, it is not only Nigeria but the efforts of neighboring countries are required. So Pakistan is assisting in any way that we can to improve the capabilities of Nigeria to engage and neutralize those militants in the shape of weapons

and equipment that we are providing to Nigeria.

What is the role of Pakistan towards the peace and stability Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government?

Pakistan had great relations with Afghanistan because they are our Muslim brothers and they are similar people living on both sides of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and they are from the same tribes. So Pakistan has influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been trying to establish peace in Afghanistan through this influence because it is in the interest of Pakistan if Afghanistan is stable.

The main fight is by the local Afghans against people who have come from abroad such as the Americans. Previously it was NATO, and Afghans are fiercely independent people, they do not like outsiders to come and dictate terms to them. So this time the problem the Afghans have is with the foreign troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has taken a lot of initiatives to resolve this problem politically and peacefully through involving the regional countries, which include China, Iran, Russia and USA. So Pakistan has an important role in the establishment of Peace in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has traditionally been ruled by a coalition of people who represent all different areas of the country. You cannot have one group of people from the north or from the south to rule over Afghanistan that will be very difficult. So you have to have representation from all parts of Afghanistan for peace to reign.

Pakistan through its friendly relations with the powerful groups is helping in establishing peace in Afghanistan.

How many Nigerians are seeking education in Pakistan?

Fortunately, Pakistan has very good educational institutions and previously also a lot of professors from Pakistan came to Nigeria in the 70s with doctors and engineers also. So we have the capability to train the people either here or in Pakistan. Lately, Continues on page 12

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Interview

We diversified into agric to create job and provide food for Nigerians – Odiuko In this interview, the Chairman Tshabron Group, Charles Okeke Odiuko tells SABY ELEMBA that contributing to job creation for the youth and providing food for the teeming Nigerian population have pushed Tshabron Group to diversify into agriculture, floating Tshaborn Farms, with its Fish Farm located at the Owerri-Onitsha Road Industrial layout.

But his worry is the complete ruin of the infrastructure in the layout which demoralises potential investors. Excerpts:

W

hen some Nigerian investors want to diversify their business, agriculture hardly comes into their mind because they say it is not a money spinner or a cash-cow business but you have gone into agric. Can you tell us what have prompted you or what you have seen in agriculture and so many other industrialists or businessmen have not seen it?

Any business man or a Nigerian investor who is responsible enough, who thinks about the growing population in this country and feels much concerned, I think should have a good plan not only for his family but what he can do to sustain the growing population of Nigeria. Apart from contributing to reduce the growing unemployment in the country by creating job opportunities for the youth, every living person must eat food and farming is one of the sectors that provide food. If massive investment goes into agriculture, I think we should be able to alleviate our problems of food scarcity in this country. So we went into farming to create jobs and it is a business I have always loved to venture into.

You said Tshabron group has established Tshaborn Fish Farm, could you tell us where it is located and how you started?

Alright, we acquired a farm that was being run by its former owner, we bought it entirely and the fish farm is quite massive, located in the heart of the Owerri-Onitsha Road Industrial layout, near Irete, Owerri West Local Government Area, here in Imo. It is the area that the state under the late Sam Mbakwe, the former governor, designated as the industrial layout of the state.

The fish farm is quite massive with about five boreholes spread throughout the length and breadth of the farm and with 14 big fish ponds which can in full capacity produce up to 150,000 fish a month.

So we have moved in there and we have also as I am talking to you, started harvesting the first set of fish.

There is no business that does not have challenges;

that has been abandoned by the successive governments; no government has been able to do any development or reconstruct the broken infrastructure including the roads. So, you find out that many vehicles that come in there either to load or offload or to carry out fish always stuck into the mud. So, it is terrible and frustrating having your business located in such an abandoned area which could have by now seen as the hub of manufacturing for the South East and South-South regions of Nigeria.

Investors are apprehensive of this industrial estate, not only that there are no good internal road networks, but because of other problems including security. Are you pleased will the level of security in the area?

Let me tell you, there is nothing like security there; the police post there has been closed

‘

Charles Okeke Odiuko

there may be some challenges facing the fish farm, could you share with us those teething challenges?

Well, I can say that we are doing well by our own estimation but the main problems are still the same the business community is facing in the state especially in the industrial estate. In the industrial layout, the number one challenge and which is the main challenge everybody faces is none availability of power; it is the main issue, power is the albatross.

To generate power, we have to run the generators we have, the fuel generators and the diesel generators and you know the cost of buying fuel and diesel, they make the business seem very, very uninteresting because at the end of the day you input everything you have used for production, and you

will find out that you are almost running at a loss.

But because we have these other fundamental challenges or responsibilities in the country, to contribute in the provision of fish, food and jobs for the Nigerian populace and the urge to create employment opportunities, we are forced to run the business with determination even though we have not started to make any profits from the fish farm sector of our business but with time, we will break even. We see ourselves deriving from being counted as one of the firms helping to alleviate the hardship in this country caused by unemployment.

Another challenge is the decaying internal road network because our farm is located in the heart of the industrial layout. This industrial estate is one

And we have also this challenge of herdsmen because this is the area you see cows flocking everywhere

for a long time, weeds and grasses have covered that place and as a result a lot of stealing and robbery are going on in the area; the only thing is for you to engage your own security to safeguard your investments by using the police or engaging your staff. But it is not easy to get people in Nigeria who are honest workers.

Why do you say so; is there any ugly experience you would want to share with us?

The pervious manager in the fish farm, I brought him from Asaba and trusted him very well. The ponds were stocked with fingerlings; but I did not know that he was not an honest man. I lost a lot of money from that business; I did not know that he was selling them at night, stealing from the business he was managing. And we have also this challenge of herdsmen because this is the area you see cows flocking everywhere. There may be times you come out and if you do not close your gate, you will see cows all running into your farm and destroying things.

Are there things you would want to tell the incoming government in the state to do?

Yes, the government has a lot to do for the purpose of enhancing the living standard of the people and encouraging industrialists and investors.

The state government should look at the industrialisation sector of the state and the industrial layout created by Sam Mbakwe administration. It is a very wonderful concept of that administration which set out that area for industrial cluster.

Government should provide the enabling environmentselectricity; good roads, water and security so that investors both local and foreign will take advantage of the enabling environment and invest. If this is done, jobs will be created, crimes and criminalities would be curtailed, and government can earn a lot of revenue and boost its internally generated revenue (IGR).

The teeming unemployed youths will get work and when they are gainfully employed, the government may not have too much problems in checking crimes in the state; revamping that area is the surest way to reduce crime in the state.

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LIFE&LIVING

ARTS Travel ENTERTAINMENT @Businessdayng

International Women’s Day special

BDSUNDAY 21

Celebrating top Nigerian women in the arts

22

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Life&Living

Women’s Day made special with innovation for homemaking movie, play a game or check social network to catch up with friends and family left behind.

T

Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

echnology defines our era and it knows no gender. With female students outnumbering men at universities, the future points to more influential women-led businesses and startups. Women will become consumer tech early adopters, so it’s important to consider what women want because their influence will only increase. As gender equality increases, so does the need for technology to adapt.

Realising the need for gender equality, socially responsible companies across the world are lending their voice to advocate for gender parity.

For more than half a century, LG has celebrated the efforts of women world over with products that are friendly to operate while giving women the leverage they need to compete with anyone and develop their potential to the fullest.

Breaking of the Female Stereotype More women are making up the overall workforce, with some work areas being dominated by them. This goes to show the progress being made towards gender parity. This breaking of the female stereotype has led to more women working, and governments have now turned to promote women as not just workers, but leaders of small and large

Robot Vacuums Grow in Popularity Reducing the tedious and timeconsuming task of cleaning is empowering. Robot vacuums take cleaning to a whole new level with their versatility and efficiency. LG delivers the ultimate cleaning solution with its HOM-BOT, enabling consumers to take control of their home and still have enough time to appreciate themselves and each other this Women’s Day. It showcases an innovative design that absorbs vibrations and reduces noise, making it one of the quietest robot vacuums in the market.

companies. We now live in a world where successful business women and leaders of countries are not hard to come by, which proves how women can not only hold responsible positions but also excel in them.

According to Hari Elluru, head of corporate marketing, LG Electronics, West Africa operations, “It’s hard to argue against the positive change towards women in workplaces, education institutes and society.

Traditionally men have been seen as technologies’ early adopters, but more women are influencing the technology trends we see today.

He stated that LG is committed to bridging the gender gap across

the world through smart technology and convenience with performance.

“Consumers are willing to spend big on technology if it helps them work. LG offers products workers desire, with added unique features, like the light-weight design, to increase convenience and efficiency at work. We tend to promote tech towards improving personal life rather than work life, but a happier work life equals a happier home, and LG has products are perfect for making the working day easier”, he

added.

LG makes the perfect study tool for female university students in the LG gram series of laptops.

Widely known as the lightest laptops on the market today, LG gram devices make portability a breeze! LG offers both powerful and lightweight laptops for aspiring scholars making it easier than ever to travel around campus with perfect study companion, replacing books and heavy school material while ensuring one can watch a

Doing Dishes in a Breeze Doing dishes post a dinner party at home or daily is no longer cumbersome thanks to the advanced technology and dishwashers available now. With an ease of just putting the dishes in the washer and pressing the START button, this chore is no longer a gender-biased task only for the women to perform. It is so easy and convenient that any family member be it your husband, brother or even your dad can do it in a breeze.

Setting New Standards For Dishwashers Another innovate products manufactured by LG to create a smart kitchen is the SteamClean dishwasher. It is equipped with one-of-a-kind TrueSteam technology. This revolutionary product sets itself apart from the competition with steam technology that not only cleans more effectively but also more efficiently.

LG SteamClean delivers a host of unique performance-enhancing technologies to give customers a whole new way to wash dishes. By spraying the contents with steam at the end of the cycle, the LG dishwasher reduces undesirable water spots by 40 per cent!

Gender parity is fundamental to whether and how economies and societies thrive. Ensuring the full development and appropriate deployment of half of the world’s total talent pool has a vast bearing on the growth, competitiveness and future-readiness of economies and businesses worldwide.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The theme for this year’s celebration is #BalanceforBetter.

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Entertainment

23

‘Rogba Arimoro’s Tokunbo, what do you do in your car?

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How Wale Adenuga’s ‘KNOCKOUT’ will excite viewers this Easter

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s the Easter season draws near, people are already looking out for where to go catch some fun.

There may be no need to look far as Cinema lovers in Nigeria are in for the best of moments this Easter, as Knockout, Wale Adenuga Productions’ big budget film goes into cinemas across the country on Easter Friday, April 19.

Producer of the star-studded film and Managing Director of the production outfit, Wale Adenuga Jnr, says the film offers Nigerians the best of comedy for the coming Easter Season and beyond.

He explains that the organisation has put the best of its resources into this film and encourages cinema lovers to come and savour the memorable moments

that the film promises.

Arguably the most star-studded film in Nigeria’s recent history, Knockout features Sola Sobowale, Chiwetalu Agu, Toyin Abraham, Patience Ozokwor (Mama G), Odunlade Adekola, Ngozi Nwosu, Jide Kosoko, Segun Arinze, Desmond Elliot, Hafiz Oyetoro, Ali Nuhu, Kenny Blaq, 9ice, Charles Okocha, Woli Arole, Gbenga Adeyinka, Klint Da Drunk, Akpan & Oduma e.t.c.

The film is directed is by one of Nigeria’s leading female directors, Patience Oghre.

In the film, news about a boxing competition with a cash prize of One Billion Naira ($3 Million) hits town and sends a group of people into a hilarious frenzy, after which they devise mischievous means to participate with firm eyes on the prize monies.

The clumsy boxer they choose

and the crazy characters they meet along the way result in a myriad of mayhem and madness.

Wale Adenuga Jnr, explained that the television space and cinemas have one thing in common, they thrive on content. “We have created good content for the television audience for years no doubt, but we were also observant of some good Nigerian films coming out in the cinemas over the years and this spurred us to also want to provide content to that audience-the Cinema goers.

However, the audience should not assume for a second that production standard for television has been used in producing this film. We teamed up with professionals with experience in making some of the world class standard Nigerian films in recent times, and we are proud of what we have come out with.”

was surprised to see a collection of short films (‘Tokunbo’, ‘Change’ and ‘Penance’) showing in a cinema and I changed my purpose (I had another film in mind). While short films are getting attention in this age of technology because they are highly accessible, movie reviewers and critics often ignore them. It turned out one of the short films (‘Penance’) is pretty old even though it started showing in the cinemas on the 1st day of this month. Both ‘Tokunbo’ and ‘Penance’ are incredible and are Noolywood films.

Rogba Arimoro’s ‘Tokunbo’ was mind blowing, and I think very engaging. What Rogba Arimoro did was equally tasking, I bet you more tasking than making a long film. The director was able to weave so many things into a 12 minute film. This makes short films tasking. There is lack of space in short films unlike in the longer films where film makers have the luxury of time and space to develop characters and issues. On the contrary, each scene in ‘Tokunbo’ was apt and heightened with so much meaning. Told from the angle of a Tokunbo (fairly used) car, a one angle shot film using a Samsung phone, it is not magnanimity to rate the film from cast, script, to production 9 over 10.

The film is set in a car. Starring Kiki Omeili and Ibrahim Suleiman, ‘Tokunbo’ is a story of how so much of our life is lived in a car and how our everyday life is captured in motion. The film suggested life is a motion, a movement from one

ing perspective in story telling in Nollywood.

The performance was great.

Kiki Omeili and Ibrahim Suleiman’s chemistry would have carried ‘Tokunbo’ even if the script wasn’t so good. Their performance in connivance with what is a good story made the time used in seeing the movie worthwhile. The karaoke performances and dance moves while sitting in a car made the due’s acts creative and convincing. The cast dumped on me memorable lines with their elocution for instance when Kiki Omeili told Ibrahim Suleiman to: ‘look at me, is that what you married?’ The performances and dialogues were dynamic, alternating and wearing different shades and convinced us that life is a journey of different roads.

The title of the film can be adjudged very imaginative. It gave out little and held back so much. Such a metaphoric title sounds flat, keeps the viewer imaginatively alive in an attempt to connect the story and the performance to the title. The title also pointed to the fact that cars are stories and imagine if everything that has happened in your car has been filmed. What kind of story will a record of such experiences entail?

Does the film connect with you on a personal level? For me it did when I remember the gossips, fights, love making, scheming, wooing, crying, frustrations, celebrations, and strategising that go on in my car.

The editing of the film is also very important to mention. It shows

phase to another albeit, not an easy road. The story revolved around a couple (Kiki Omeili and Ibrahim Suleiman), from the jealousy and insecurity that characterised their courtship, the surprise that came with engagement, gayness of marriage, the climax that came with child birthday, to the anticlimax of tragedy. This sounds like a long film right? But it is not. For instance, a very short scene in the film where Ibrahim Suleiman together with his friend was wearing a tuxedo was used to tell us about the wedding between Kiki Omeili and Ibrahim Suleiman. Such scene is made to say a thousand words with the help of the viewer’s imagination whose duty is to fully develop these short scenes in their minds without the meddlesomeness interpretation that comes with well developed scenes. The story was entertaining, persuading and informing, providing an original and refresh-

prowess to be able to edit a film shot with a phone. The success of the film perhaps, the main reason the film was successful for me is the fact that the film was perfectly edited. However, the only aspect of the production I find flawed is the costume. The attempt to convince us that Kiki Omeili was all skulls was not very successful. The head looked too artificial and somehow exaggerated. The costume made her head look bigger and with a funny shape too. Why didn’t Kiki shave her hair for real? Well, short films are usually low budget films and may not have been able to afford such sacrifice. The film is just impeccable even with this one flaw.

I would have no hesitation in recommending ‘Tokunbo’. It is worth your time, money and popcorn.

Selense Oyoko, fast rising rap artiste, releases debut single

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hukwuebuka Odini, a fast rising rap artiste, has released a debut single titled Kubaka.

The Orlu, Imo State-born artiste who was recently signed by On-On Record Limited, released the single over the weekend in Lagos including a video.

The release is part of a five-year contract, which he signed with the recording company. The record label also used the single release event to unveil the artiste who stages as Selense Oyoko to the public.

Speaking on the debut single, Senlense Oyoko who started playing music at 12 years old explained that he decided to go into rap music because the rap genre afforded him opportunity to easily express himself. “Rap allows me to fully express myself. I am at my best when I rap”, he said.

Also commenting on the new deal he signed with On-On Record,

the artiste explained that, “I felt delighted that beginning with the new video, I would be working with a new organisation in promoting my music. Nobody taught me how to sing, I saw myself in the industry because it was deposited in me naturally”.

Expressing confidence in the creativity of the new music talent, Justin Edet, CEO, On-On Records Limited, said Oyoko is a talented

artiste who is passionate about music and that his new video, Kubaka, which means keep clapping in Igbo would appeal to a lot of Nigerians, especially the younger generation.

He further assured that On-On Record is committed to pushing the artiste to global fame, as well as, in fulfillment of the new agreement their signed with him.

The music promoter, who has worked with many artistes, disclosed that what keeps an artiste in the profession is passion and not necessarily the material benefit. “Many artistes started with late Fela Anikulapo Kuti as at that time, but not many of them were known because they came in not because of the passion they had for the profession and therefore abandoned it when they encountered challenges”.

He further revealed that the artiste would be touring several states in the country in the next few weeks to promote his single.

Destiny Isiguzo Follow on instagram @destinyisiguzo and on twitter @isiguzocid

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25

Arts International Women’s Day special

Celebrating top Nigerian women in the arts Obinna Emelike

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n Ma r c h 8 , the world celebrated women across the globe and their achievements, as well as, reflected on their challenges.

Bearing in mind the many challenges women face even today, especially violence and need for gender balance, the International Women’s Day 2019 campaign was themed; #BalanceforBetter, a call-toaction for driving gender balance across the world.

However, BDSunday is celebrating the International Women’s Day by spotlighting top Nigerian women in the arts.

Below are some of the amazons in no particular order: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Born on 15 September 1977, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian novelist, writer of short stories, and nonfiction. She considers herself a feminist and is committed to the wellbeing of the female folks across the world with her writings.

“I think of myself as a storyteller, but I would not mind at all if someone were to think of me as a feminist writer...

I’m very feminist in the way I look at the world, and that world view must somehow be part of my work”, she said in an interview.

Nike Davies-Okundaye

Bolanle Austen-Peters Adichie is on the list because of her blossoming writing career.

She published a collection of poems in 1997 (Decisions) and a play (For Love of Biafra) in 1998. She was shortlisted in 2002 for the Caine Prize for her short story “You in America” and her story “That Harmattan Morning” was selected as a joint winner of the 2002 BBC World Service Short Story Awards. In 2003, she won the O. Henry Award

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for “The American Embassy”, and the David T. Wong International Short Story Prize 2002/2003 (PEN Center Award). Her stories were also published in Zoetrope: AllStory, and Topic Magazine.

Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), received wide critical acclaim; it was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction (2004) and was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (2005).

Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), named after the flag of the shortlived nation of Biafra, received the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. In 2014, Half of a Yellow Sun was adapted into a film of the same title directed

by Biyi Bandele, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton.

She publishedThe Thing Around Your Neck in 2009.

In 2010 she was listed among the authors of The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” Fiction Issue. Adichie’s story “Ceiling” was included in the 2011 edition of The Best American Short Stories.

Her third novel, Americanah (2013), was selected by The New York Times as one of “The 10 Best Books of 2013”.

In April 2014, she was named as one of 39 writers aged under 40 in the Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club project Africa39, celebrating Port Harcourt UNESCO World Book Capital 2014. In 2015,

she was co-curator of the PEN World Voices Festival.

In March 2017, Americanah won the “One Book, One New York” programme.

In April 2017, Adichie was elected into the 237th class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the highest honours for intellectuals in the United States, as one of 228 new members to be inducted on 7 October 7, 2017.

Her most recent book, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, published in March 2017, had its origins in a letter Adichie wrote to a friend who had asked for advice about how to raise her daughter as a feminist.

Bolanle Austen-Peters She is the daughter of Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. While many thought she would continue in the family craft, she followed arts; her passion. Today, the lawyer turned artist, theatre guru and art entrepreneur is a voice to reckon with in the Nigerian art scene.

In 2003, she founded Terra Kulture, the Nigerian arts, education and cultural organisation. She created the Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions (BAP) in 2013.

Through BAP, she furthered her passion for theater production with stellar plays such as SARO the Musical, which received a number of accolades and reviews from

the BBC and Sky news. Since then, BAP has produced five additional commissioned plays. In December 2014 and April 2015 BAP Productions produced SARO the Musical at the Muson Centre involving music, drama and dance.

Austen-Peters further produced a Broadway-style musical production titled Wakaa The Musical from December 30, 2015 to January3, 2016 at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

BAP Productions’ Wakaa the Musical was the first Nigerian musical to be staged in London’s West End, playing at Shaw Theatre from July 2125, 2016. She produced Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, which premiered in Decem-

Peju Alatise

ber 2017.

Beyond world class theatrical performances, she produced 93 Days, a feature film on the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, which premiered on September 13, 2016 in Lagos.

One of her remarkable feats was on March 26, 2017, when she opened Terra Kulture Arena, the first purpose built private theater in Nigeria, which she conceived and built.

Austen-Peters worked as a Consultant to the Ford Foundation Lagos and helped raise millions of dollars for the Museum through Arts and Business Council.

Nike Davies-Okundaye No doubt, Nike Davies-Okundaye is a household name in the African arts landscape. She is one of the internationally acclaimed female artists from Nigeria, who has made

astounding strides in textile, visual arts and mixed media painting in the global arts scene. An Amazon in her own right, Nike is the woman behind the Nike Art Empire with galleries, art shops and training centres across Nigeria and the world.

There is hardly any important museum in the world that does not have Madam Nike’s work. She is an artist of many parts - she drums, directs plays, dances, paints, and trains young adults to do all of the listed.

However, this year 2019, marks her 50 years of promoting and exhibiting traditional and contemporary African art across the world.

Sandra Mbanefo Obiago Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, a social activist, art collector, and filmmaker.

She runs SMO Contemporary Art, which specialises in showcasing contemporary art in non-traditional

Toyin Sokefun-Bello

exhibition spaces, focusing on established and emerging artists based in Africa and the Diaspora.

SMO holds cutting edge art exhibitions, which showcase masters and exciting new talent expressing their creativity through art, performance, film and new media.

SMO is experienced in organizing symposia, conferences, training and events, which provide a platform for the creative industry to inspire and strengthen humanity’s aspiration for the good society.

Peju Alatise Peju Alatise is a household name in the contemporary African art. The foremost

Nigerian female artist, who holds a degree in Architecture, is a mixed-medium artist, poet and published writer whose interdisciplinary work has garnered attention on the global art stage.

She is known for her largescale, sculptural works tackling contemporary themes most recurring of which is gender and its associated politics. With her works, Alatise transcends barriers and questions status quo in her country and Africa at large.

Her guts is commendable and obvious with the passion she addresses social, political and gender-related issues as her primary subject matter, through artistic work that also captures the joys and pain of womanhood in modern-life-African traditions.

Alatise is a 2016 fellow at the Smithsonian Institute of African Art. She has participated in several international solo exhibitions and her works are in private and institutional collections around the world.

Horses, one of her works, and a triptych piece of artwork, sold for over £30,000 at Bonhams, the foremost British art auction house in London, a few years ago.

At 2014 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, her work was generally adjudged to be the standout piece created in response to the kidnapping of 234 Chibok girls. It featured a series of panels of anonymous Nigerian girls using the Ankara fabric. It was titled, ‘Missing’.

Again, she was among the three Nigerian artists, who helped the country to rewrite her story at the Venice Biennale’s 57th edition in Venice, Italy, which Nigeria participated for the first time since the 122 years history of the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, also known as the Olympics of the art world.

At the exhibition, Alatise mirrored the future with her installation tagged, ’Flying Girls. The installation was eight life-sized sculptures of girls with wings and birds in mid-flight.

As well, the Nigerian female artist was announced as the 2017 recipient of the highly coveted FNB Art Prize at the 10th installment of the FNB JoburgArtFair.

TY Bello Toyin Sokefun-Bello, better known as TY Bello, is one of

Nigeria’s most recognized artists. She came to public attention in the early 2000s as a member of the music group Kush. Beyond music, she has also built a reputation as one of Nigeria’s foremost photographers and is a member of the talented photography collective Depth of Field.

Her evocative portraits never fail to rouse strong emotions and have made her one of the most applauded and keenly sought after portrait photographers in the country. Indeed she has the unique distinction of having photographed three sitting Nigerian presidents.

TY Bello organizes an annual photography exhibition to raise funds for orphans in Nigeria. She is also the director of Link-a-child, an NGO dedicated to proliferating information on orphanages in Nigeria and seeking sponsorship on their behalf. In July 2011, TY Bello was honored by the non-profit Communication For Change organization in a five-part documentary film series titled RedHot. Mercy Johnson Since 2004 when she played the role of Jane in the movie, The Maid, Mercy Johnson has become a household name in the Nigerian movie industry and wining thousands of fans across Africa.

Her performance in that movie paved way for her into getting more roles in movies such as Hustlers, Baby Oku in America, War in the Palace, and many more. In 2009, she won an award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 African Movie Award ceremony, and then Best Actress award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for her role in the comedy movie Dumebi the Dirty Girl. In December 2011, she was listed as Google’s most searched Nigerian celebrity, a position she also held in 2012. From April 1, 2017 till date, she has been the senior special assistant (SSA) to the Kogi State governor on Entertainment, Arts and Culture.

She has featured in over 100 movies, most of which in leading roles, nominated in over 17 awards and has won over seven of them.

Omawumi Born on April 13, 1982 as Omawumi Megbele, the top female music artiste who stages as Omawumi, is a Ni-

Mercy Johnson

Sandra Mbanefo Obiago

Omawumi Megbele gerian singer-songwriter and actress of Itsekiri ethnicity in Delta State.

Omawumi rose to prominence as a contestant on Idols West Africa. Omawumi, with her strong voice and out-going personality, was voted the 1st runner-up of the competition when it ended in May 2007. Since then, she has had numerous performances on the stage with musicians such as P-Square, 2face Idibia, D’Banj, Banky W, M.I, Sasha, 9ice, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Carl Thomas, Angie Stone and Donell Jones, Angelique Kidjo , among others She gained attention as the 2007 runner-up on West African Idols, a reality TV show part of the Idols franchise. While her first album, Wonder Woman, a 17-track album, made impact, The Lasso of Truth, her second album, was a commercial

success in Nigeria.

She also played roles in movie in the Nigerian film industry. Omawumi played a minor role in the 2009 edition of the V-Monolugues, a play that reflects the negative issues affecting women in Nigeria. She also starred in the musical play Olurombi.

She had a minor role in the movie Inale, a Hollywood/ Nollywood Bongos-Ikwe production, starring Hakeem Kae Kazeem, Dede Mabiaku, and Ini Edo. In 2011, she starred in Funke Akindele’s Return of Jenifa. Moreover, she starred in Yvonne Nelson’s House of Gold (2013) alongside Majid Michel and Ice Prince.

She’s also part of the campaign called “Rise with the Energy of Africa”. The songstress is also the Lifebuoy Brand Ambassador for Nigeria and leads Lifebuoy’s handwashing campaign in Nigeria.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Travel Trail of two oceans on Rovos Rail

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Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

f you are looking for a lifetime experience, such that fantasies of an old-time Orient Express-style adventure become real, then you have to think Rovos.

Of course, Rovos Rail, the acclaimed “most luxurious train in the world” awaits your patronage to offer you a luxurious vintage train journey through majestic landscapes across the southern African region, parts of East Africa and now to Angola.

The train, which is aptly tagged African Pride and in operation since 1989, is pulled by an 1893 built locomotive, probably, one the oldest operating locomotive in the world today. The intrigue is that Rovos, which is a meticulously restored antique train, carries no more than 72 guests on each journey.

No matter the station you board the train, the Pretoria, South Africa-based rail company is exceptional in its services.

The experience, which ranges from three-day to fifteen-day journey amid stopovers, museum visits and other activities begins with an elaborate experience at the departure lounge where a stylish sendoff foretells the elegant experience ahead. Best of wine is served while passengers are serenaded by notable entertainers.

The luxurious cabins, which come in three categories; Royal, Deluxe and Pullman suites, have hostesses attached to each to cater for all the needs of the travelers and also in-cabin phones to get a hostess’ attention.

They are exactly the vintage

luxury you imagine, with darkwood paneling, plush linens, beds that become couches and a writing desk stocked with monogrammed stationary. All the suites come in a range of sizes, but have a green, brown and orange color scheme that magically matches the vista outside.

With all these leisure trappings, the cabin is best described as a 5-star accommodation on wheels with a mini bar; a kit, electricity power sockets, air conditioning and complimentary shoe shining service. The luxury continues with a private bathroom, toilet and hand-pull device to heat the bathroom in the event of cold.

Rovos train is as good as an open car while on the move. It offers an observation deck with wooden benches where passen-

gers can savour the best of nature and forget the cares and noise of metropolitan living.

However, there is unique and lifetime opportunity to experience the rail offering and to put to the test its acclaim of “the most luxurious train in the world”.

In July 2019 Rovos Rail will set off on a new 15-day expedition from the Indian coastal city of Dar es Salaam on the eastern side of Africa, traversing across Tanzania, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Lobito in Angola on the Atlantic Ocean.

The expedition will be the first time in history that a passenger train will travel the famous eastto-west copper trail on this route.

“To be able to introduce a new adventure after 29 years in operation is exciting and presents me

with a refreshing operational challenge,” says Rohan Vos, owner and CEO. “It has taken over two years to acquire permission and have our proposed itinerary approved by the respective authorities. My team and I have flown across our borders on a few occasions to meet the relevant officials, drive the route and conduct site visits in an effort to smooth the way as best we can for our band of intrepid travellers who will hopefully join us on this expedition.”

The inaugural voyage sets off on July 16, 2019 from Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital (a city familiar to Rovos Rail as it has been running its 15-day Cape to Dar trip since 1993), and includes a game visit in the Selous Reserve, a fly-in two-night safari in the South Luangwa National

Park (Zambia) and a city tour of Lubumbashi (DRC). Thereafter it joins the Benguela line for short walking tours detailing Angola’s recent history with journey’s end in Lobito. The voyage is available in reverse departing from Lobito (Angola) on August 2, 2019.

To experience the lifetime journey across two oceans in Africa, interested passengers are to pay from US$12,820 per person sharing, vary according to suite type and are fully inclusive of accommodation, meals, all alcoholic and other beverages. The fare also includes room service, laundry, an on-board historian and doctor, as well as, excursions and the fly-in two-night safari including accommodation, meals, bottled water and a limited wine selection as per released itinerary.

Encounter nature at Obangogo S

tanding at an imposing height of 700 meters Obangogo Hills in Egunbe community in Kabba, Kogi State is an eternal spectacle; inspiring fascination and awe in equal measure. Among the dozens of hills that surround Kabba, Obangogo is singled out for its myth. While the fables surrounding, which may sound ridiculous, are chiefly promoted by the locals, its allure is being discovered all over again in recent years by an increasing stream of visitors who are out to verify the supernatural powers that resides in the mountain or simply take advantage of the leisure benefits.

Obangogo is many things to many people. To some it is a mesh of interlocking caves where the people hid from advancing armies and slave raiders in times past. There are legends alluding to a King, Elegha, the Ako Kereje, Kereje whose coffin turned into a stone. A part of the hill is said to sound like the talking drum.

At the peak of Obangogo is a pool of spring water, which is believed to possess healing powers. Similar curative ability is believed of the five mystical lakes on the hill called ‘Ako’. The rock formation on the hills provides a spectacular and engag-

ing phenomenon that will interest photographers and film makers. To others, Obangogo is a haven of peace for meditation. The hill is wonderful. There are caves in the hill that people hide in during the wars and slave raiding.

It is also believed that any prayer rendered on the hill will manifest.

The hill is located about kilometers about five kilometeres off the Okene – Kabba Expressway by the permanent site of College of Education (Technical), Gbeleko.

The increasing pride of Kabba indigenes in promoting their cultural assets has compelled many of them to join the join the celebration tied around Obangogo during Christmas period. As the scope of the festivity expands every year, the Kogi State government may have to exploit the economic and social values of the festival by providing the necessary infrastructure like accessible roads, electricity and accommodation.

Perhaps, it may not be out of place to task wealthy and influential sons and daughters of Kabba to step and provide these facilities, if the government fails to do so.

Since the Kogi State government has not shown a desire to exploit the

vast tourism potentials in different parts of the state like the colonial heritage in Lokoja, expecting government intervention in Obangogo, while

desirable, may be far-fetched. The Kabba people can force the hand of the government to see the vast revenue that can accrue to it and the incred-

ible streams of revenue that come to the locals if Obangogo is developed to maximize its advantage for sightseeing, adventure, picnic, holidays and business.

A group of Kabba indigenes led by Steve Babaeko, the founder and CEO of X3M Group, have begun a deliberate process to elevate Obangogo Hill into the reckoning for consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The undiluted culture and natural history recommend the great tourist attraction for such global recognition. This may not be a difficult task since all they need to do is to follow the laid-down procedures which similar sites like the Sukur Kingdom and Osun Osogbo Grove to achieve this much needed global recognition.

Ben Owoleke, the curator of Obangogo Hill, has been striving to catch the attention of the world by creating awareness for the hill. Since 2013 when visitors started visiting the mountain, the number of visitations has increased every year. But Owoleke thinks the rural enclave has all the trappings to lure more numbers than it receives now. He is leading a committee that is commissioned to woo more visitors to the awesome hill, and surrounding beautiful rural enclave.

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BDSUNDAY 27

Travel

International Women’s Day: Air France Klm celebrates female customers Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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n commemoration of the International Women’s day 2019, Air France KLM has with the group HEAR WORD through a stage play titled “Hear word! Naija woman talk true” Air France KLM invited its esteemed female customers from different business horizons to view this play at the MUSON Center on the 6th of March 2019.

‘Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True’ is inspired by multi-generational stories of inequality and transformation. Staged by director and writer Ifeoma Fafunwa, the show grapples with the issues affecting the lives of women across Nigeria, and the factors that limit their potential for independence, leadership, and meaningful contribution in society.

Combining song and dance with intimate portraits of resilience and resistance, the show celebrates women who have broken the culture of silence, challenged the status quo, and moved beyond barriers to achieve solu-

tions. The show featured a cast of leading Nigerian actresses such as Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Joke Silva, Elvina Ibru, Omonor, Ufuoma McDermott, Zara Udofia-Ejoh, Rita Edward, Debbie Ohiri, Odenike and Oluchi Odii) as well as percussionists Emeka Anokwuru and Blessing Idireri.

“Air France KLM is pleased to partner with Hear Word in celebration of the 2019 International

Women’s Day. Air France KLM is committed to gender diversity and professional equality. We have a strong and long standing commitment to gender equality in the workplace, key partnerships to fight sexism, the education of young girls and the feminization of professions while supporting, inspiring and helping women develop their talents.

“We have supported and we are

still supporting women in important positions within our establishment from flight captains, ground staff to our CEO. In Nigeria we have supported talented Nigerian women in different sectors, their resilience, passion, go-getter attitude towards achieving their goals is admirable, and is a message that resonates very deeply with our company values,” Remco Boehre commercial director Air France KLM Nigeria & Ghana said.

Moreover, Air France and KLM continue to offer their customers the best of service as it plans to introduce on the Lagos route during summer 2019 new retrofitted planes on the Lagos Paris route, while the Lagos Amsterdam route on KLM has been enjoying the new World Business class cabin since the year 2018.

Furthermore, we have recently opened top of the range lounges in Paris, Amsterdam and New York.

On the North Atlantic route, Air France KLM in conjunction with Delta Airlines has the most extensive network flying to 26 direct destinations and connecting to more than 265 cities.

Emirates skywards feted at Loyalty Awards 2019

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or the second consecutive year, Emirates Skywards, the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai, was presented with the accolade for ‘Excellence in Management’ at the Loyalty Awards 2019 dinner held in Paris on 19 February 2019. The award was received by Nejib Ben Khedher, senior vice president, Emirates Skywards.

The awards ceremony was organised during the 15th edition of the Loyalty & Awards Conference

by Global Flight, a leading independent management company focusing on customer loyalty and loyalty programmes in the travel industry.

In 2018, Emirates Skywards was recognized for its use of data science to optimize member engagement through relevant and timely offers. This year Emirates Skywards earned top honours for continuing to take personalization to the next stage by introducing its industry-first, dynamic flight

upgrade and Cash+Miles promotions for members who log in and book their flights via Emirates.com The targeted offers which are easy to access and positioned visibly during the booking experience, are driven by over 150 parameters linked to the member’s loyalty status and flight selection.

The system will be further enhanced in the coming months with the use of advanced predictive modelling and artificial intelligence as well as by making this functionality available on Emirates’ mobile channels.

“A core principle that drives the Emirates Skywards loyalty programme is to constantly enhance the value that our members can derive from their Miles by evolving our propositions.

“To this end, our ‘in-path’ offers available when booking on Emirates.com provide an attractive opportunity for members to realize tangible savings when using their Miles to access upgrade

rewards and purchase Cash+Miles tickets. Since launch in 2018, we’ve witnessed considerable growth in engagement with members redeeming nearly 1.5 billion miles on these offers,” Nejib Ben Khedher, said.

Emirates Skywards currently has a global base of over 23 million members. Over the last 12 months, the programme has significantly broadened its value proposition to members by offering not only more opportunities to earn Miles but also combining them with more avenues to utilise Miles.

In addition to expanding the programme, Emirates Skywards is also enriching its content on digital channels by leveraging the Emirates app to better communicate opportunities to earn and spend Miles to members.

Last month, Emirates Skywards inaugurated its new one stop customer touch point in Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (DXB).The Emirates Skywards

BA to upgrade cabin as part of £6.5bn investment for customers

B

ritish Airways is set to deliver significant changes to the onboard product and service in its First cabin as part of its £6.5billion investment for customers.

The new look and feel, set to take to the skies from March 31, will include new bedding, amenities and menus that would not look out of place in a revered five-star British hotel.

The airline’s First customers

will be offered super-soft, sophisticated new male and female loungewear designed exclusively by luxury British fashion brand Temperley London.

The loungewear will be coupled with bespoke British Airways amenity bags, featuring Temperley’s “Star” design. The bags will be filled with products from No 1 British Skincare brand, ELEMIS, including products from the highly sought after Ultra Smart Pro-

Collagen range. The amenity kit contains the essentials to cleanse, revive and hydrate.

The airline’s chefs have also designed new delicious A La Carte menus that focus on fresh seasonal ingredients of British provenance. The new menus will be served on elegant bone china crockery, designed exclusively for the airline by high-end British tableware designer William Edwards. The new tableware will be

accompanied by contemporary cutlery from Studio William.

The airline will also be introducing a new signature afternoon tea service, showcasing the great British tradition of high tea. The menu will include a selection sandwiches, delicate pastries and scones, as well as a wide range of tea infusions.

As part of the changes, British Airways is also investing in new Dartington glassware.

BA to upgrade cabin as part of £6.5bn investment for customers

B

ritish Airways is set to deliver significant changes to the onboard product and service in its First cabin as part of its £6.5billion investment for customers.

The new look and feel, set to take to the skies from March 31, will include new bedding, amenities and menus that would not look out of place in a revered five-star British hotel.

The airline’s First customers will be offered super-soft, sophisticated new male and female loungewear designed exclusively by luxury British fashion brand Temperley London.

The loungewear will be coupled with bespoke British Airways amenity bags, featuring Temperley’s “Star” design. The bags will be filled with products from No 1 British Skincare brand, ELEMIS, including products from the highly sought after Ultra Smart Pro-Collagen range. The amenity kit contains the essentials to cleanse, revive and hydrate.

The airline’s chefs have also designed new delicious A La Carte menus that focus on fresh seasonal ingredients of British provenance.

The new menus will be served on elegant bone china crockery, designed exclusively for the airline by high-end British tableware designer William Edwards. The new tableware will be accompanied by contemporary cutlery from Studio William.

The airline will also be introducing a new signature afternoon tea service, showcasing the great British tradition of high tea. The menu will include a selection sandwiches, delicate pastries and scones, as well as a wide range of tea infusions.

As part of the changes, British Airways is also investing in new Dartington glassware. Travellers will now be able to enjoy the airline’s fine wines and champagnes from sophisticated stemware, while soft drinks and spirits will be served from elegant cut-glass tumblers.

Kola Olayinka, British Airways’ Regional Commercial Manager West Africa, said: “As part of our £6.5bn investment for customers, we’re changing parts of the travel experience in our First cabin.

Our teams of designers, chefs and customer service experts have carefully thought through the details we know matter most to our customers.

“In this, our centenary year, we’ve sought out some of the best British designers and manufacturers to work with to ensure travelling in First with British Airways is an unforgettable experience.”

The airline’s First customers will benefit from an improved turndown service for the perfect night’s sleep, thanks to new luxurious 400 thread count bedding, accompanied by a foam fibre mattress topper. Customers will also receive a stylish new day blanket and bolster cushion.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Off Duty With When Oba Akiolu led top dignitaries to First Bank’s 125th anniversary flag off Bolatito Adebola Mobile: 08053859391, email - iambolatito@gmail.com twitter - @iambolatito

O

b a Ri l w a n Akiolu of Lagos may not have been a major stakeholder in First Bank, but he pulled other stakeholders in the bank to make a rewarding celebration at Nigeria’s numero uno bank, FirstBank, for a momentous outing when the Bank celebrated its 125th founding anniversary. The MD/CEO of the bank, Dr. Adeduntan and his executive committee members came out to welcome this large entourage of Oba Akiolu, the traditional ruler of Lagos, as they approached the auspicious venue. ‘FirstBank is doing very well and we have to encourage the staff. Let the integrity of banking be the watchword, God be with all of you. FirstBank is

Globacom celebrates Anthony Joshua

N GMD, FBNHoldings handing over the anniversary flag to the CEO, NSE

spread all over the country and I pray to Almighty Allah that they will continue to grow from strength to strength,’ opined the Eleko of Eko. The event was

well-attended by all and sundry, just as the Army Command band provided good music to the delight of all. Meanwhile, the flagoff event signaled the be-

ginning of an all month celebration through the month of March 2019, which was replicated in all the branches of the bank across the nation.

Echoes from UBA’s maiden UK branch opening

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t was a night of panache and superb manifestation of a well-packaged business event and perfection for businessmen, entrepreneurs and Africa’s business leaders. The night was actually conceptualised to celebrate the beginning of a new mark of the foremost African financial house, United Bank of Africa, as the bank kicked off its operations in the United Kingdom.

At the upscale ceremony which held at the prestigious Shard in the city of London, UBA UK was formally introduced to business leaders across Europe and Africa, with a renewed commitment from the UBA Group of its readiness to galvanise trade and commerce between Europe and Africa.

At the event, the Group

Echoes of UBA launch in London

Chairman, Tony Elumelu, was excited by the authorisation of the relevant regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom for UBA to upgrade its operation and further fulfill its aspirations of deepening trade and investment flows between Africa and Europe. In the same vein, the bank’s MD/CEO,

Kennedy Uzoka, was also on hand to intimate potential customers of the bank in the UK, of their readiness to take their services to the peak of modern banking services customer-friendly products.

Some of the top dignitaries in attendance were the President of Dangote

Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Shaukat Aziz, Member of the British House of Lords and Executive Committee Member of the All Party Africa Group, Rt. Hon Lord Anthony Tudor St. John, amongst many others.

The event, as expected, was not short in entertainment, as three of Africa’s leading showbiz aficionados from Nigeria, Dbanj, Wizkid and Star Boy, performed spectacularly and exhilaratingly to the admiration of guests, who kept on demanding for more tunes from the artistes. The night was indeed a defining moment for the bank, given the looks and demeanours of the hosts and their equally excited guests.

Mama Bakassi celebrates 73 with new business

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he name, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, a.k.a. Mama Bakassi, connotes a motherly figure and an exemplary role model to those who have come in contact with her.

Despite clocking 73 years a few days ago, Mama Bakassi, as she is fondly called, is ever thankful to God as her creator. She threw a talk of the town soiree to celebrate with her friends and loved ones. The influential politician of note and philanthropist has never ceased to amaze her admirers with her down to earth persona. She is so daring with an amazing humanity

personified nature.

Those close to her divulged that there is nothing Senator Ita- giwa can’t give just to uplift humanity towards paddling a charitable cause.

On that day, the delectable

former Special Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, launched her state-of-the-art restaurant, located on Akin Olugbade Street, in the upscale Victoria Island, Lagos. The eatery aptly named ‘Echos of Calabar,’ is a one-storey palatial building, tastefully furnished to suit class and panache. The restaurant will when fully functional serve an array of sumptuous and tastefully-prepared local and continental delicacies.

Trust Mama Bakassi, she will never venture into a failed project. It was indeed a double celebration for the

virtuous woman, as she was joined by some of her bosom friends like Princess Abbah Folawiyo, Ali Baba, Ini Edo, Ifu Enada, AY and his wife, Helen Paul, Shola Shobowale, Ngozi Nwosu, Uti Uwachukwu, Ndidi Obiorah, Folorunsho Alakija, Mo Abudu, amongst many family members who trooped out to celebrate the smooth-talking jolly good fellow.

Senator Florence was seen all through with an endearing smile to welcome invited guests to the edifice, which also has an outfit in Calabar, called Calabar Kitchen.

igeria’s indigenous telecom company, Globacom appears to be evolving with the times as times evolve in capacity to assimilate global best practice and deploy the same at home for the advancement of society at large.

Th e c o m p a n y c e l e b r a t e s Wo r l d Bo x i n g He a v y w e i g h t Ch a m p i on, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua , as they bring him on board as their brand promoter. The bricklayer-turned boxing champion gave a ringing announcement of his status as a Nigerian and revealed the parallels between him and Glo, because ever since Joshua emergence on the world boxing scene, he has attracted a lot of scrutiny from Nigerians trying to establish if he had any attachment to his roots, Nigeria.

He went on to compare life’s

challenges with boxing, saying, “It’s like when we are up against the rope. You don’t stay down, you’ve got to fight. You have to dig deep to be a world champion.”

Trumping his Nigerianess, Joshua announces: “There’s always been a big piece of my heart as a Nigerian, and I do believe that it is that piece that sets me apart. It always says to me, ‘never give up; dream big! We come from a nation of warriors and that is why I believe in Glo. We have that same tenacity and that Nigerian fighting spirit, that makes us game changers! We are relentless.

We don’t just face our challenges; we step into the ring to win again and again and again. If you believe in yourself, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Yeah, I used to be a bricklayer in England, but now I am heavyweight champion of the world!”

Feyisola Adeyemi marks 40 with glee!

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electable and irresistibly charming Feyisola Adeyemi, a Nigerian London-based couture artiste is in gay mood as you read this. She just clocked 40 years, an age people believe life begins at. Feyi, as fondly called, and often referred to as “D Red Carpet Queen,’ is the CEO/Creative Director of LuxuryByFeyi fashion brand.

Feyi recently collaborated with Aston Martin London to showcase her SS19 collection “Black Swan” during the London Fashion Week.

On her birthday, she threw an exclusive 40th birthday dinner party at the prestigious and luxurious “The Mayfair” hotel in the heart of West End, London, United Kingdom. The party was a cozy, intimate, fun and a glamorous celebration, graced by close friends and family members. In attendance were entertainment and media consultant guru DJ Abass and wife, Sam and Tola Onigbanjo of Women for Africa fame, Yvonne Ayegbeni, Chioma of GlamAfrica Media, Uriel Ngozi

Oputa, Brenda David of Celario and many more. The birthday girl looked elegant and chic in her own designs.

When asked about the inspiration behind her brand, Feyisola said her efforts are to create a voice that encourages women and the young female generation, particularly from the African decent, not to limit themselves, to break boundaries and be the best version of themselves globally. Most especially in the luxury industry which has been dominated for a while now by the western market. Feyi wishes herself an outstanding year of prosperity and peace.

Sunday 10 March 2019

Bliss with Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

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Your opinions don’t define me, Mercy Aigbe blasts fans

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ollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe just wasn’t ready for jokes earlier this week as she blasted her fans and followers on social media.

The actress who gained popularity featuring in Yoruba movies posted her jaw-dropping picture on her instagram account. Apparently she knew haters weren’t going to spare her over the picture that bared her massive cleavage, as such; she had to tell them their opinions do not matter to her at all.

In her post which she titled ‘Letter to association of ‘holier than thou’ ‘saints’ ‘social media preachers’’, Mercy said, “Please I posted this pix (and) I know my cleavage is showing! I love it.

Please if you don’t, kindly unfollow or go to lindaikeji to leave your self-righteous and hypocritical comments.

“Need I remind y’all that your opinions don’t define me neither do they pay my bills. So sincerely, your opinions are meaningless to me. Please spare me all those comments oh! Cos I am too busy and won’t really have time to be blocking your fake asses till later in the day. My advice is drink plenty of water and mind the business that pays your bills, life isn’t that hard.”

But her rant didn’t stop some of her fans from commenting and subtly admonishing her style.

With the handle, @balogunmorenikeji one of her followers posted, “@realmercyaigbe: You are condescending much...You shouldn’t expect positive comments always because you are not perfect. Even if you are, we see things from different perspectives. We follow you out of love.

Learn to handle criticism without sounding like you are better off.

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ovie director and producer, Hauwas Allabura stunned many recently with her new movie, Code Wilo, which she released and premiered in Lagos recently.

Indeed, the evening was a super night of fun, glitz and glamour when Heritage Bank hosted the private screening of this Cut 24 Production’s political blockbuster, ‘Code Wilo’.

Set at Terra Kulture, the evening saw stars grace the red carpet in great style with the theme of the event as “African Style Elegant”.

And Nigerian celebs turned out in large number looking radiant and every inch African for the movie premier.

Among the celebrities that attended the movie include: Femi Odugbemi, Shaffy Bello, Yaw, Sophie Alakija, Efe Irele and more stepped out in gorgeous designs for the movie premiere.

Speaking at the premiere, Hauwa expressed her delight in being able to explore her creative skills while telling a unique story.

“After my last movie “The Eve” I wanted to tell a story that is unique and relevant to the state of the country. One that beautifully ex-

plores the rich culture of our land and distinctively addresses the issues we are faced with,” she said.

Giving a short synopisis about Code Wilo, Hauwa said the movie is a story that touches on themes like pre-election violence, politics, the horrors caused by the powers that be in certain areas in the South-South pre-1999 democracy.

Gideon Okeke, other football fans celebrate with Heineken

These are your fans. You are free to block anyone. For me, you are 100% replaceable.”

Also another follower with the handle, @lilyjohnson340 posted, “God said those I love I chastise...

We love you and that’s why we are telling you. As a mother, you are a role model to a lot of us so we wanna always see you that way...With all due respect please

help us close am small biko. You are a good woman, dress the way you want people to address you so that some little brats that are not up to you will not insult you biko. Love you so much uh.”

And with the handle, @its_sirdemmy, another fan wrote, “@ realmercyaigbe I love the way you act but stop putting on prostitute dress. Habaa it’s unfair na.”

Skiibii, Falz storm MTV BASE 14th anniversary

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igerian celebrities including Skibii, Falz and so many others had a blast few days ago when MTV Base celebrated its 14th year anniversary. It was indeed a night of exhilarating fun and non-stop excitement as the music channel marked 14 years of showcasing African music to the world.

And some powerful Nigerian artistes like Zlatan, Chinko Ekun, Skiibii and Ycee stormed the stage at the event and performed to the teeming guests who were there to have great fun.

With over 1500 party goers in attendance, the MTV Base partnered event featured everything from dance competitions to a relaxing poolside for guests to unwind at.

When asked about why it is important to create such a complete experience for MTV Base fans, Solafunmi Oyeneye, Senior Channel Manager of MTV Base, said, “At MTV Base, we like to go big or go home. We knew that including our faithful audience in this year’s anniversary celebration was something we

Hauwa Allabura out with “Code Wilo”

had to do, so it was imperative to ensure that they came to a party that would give them the complete MTV Base experience that they have come to know and love.”

It was truly a memorable moment for many of the attendees as they got to interact with their favourite A-list celebrities.

Speaking on the exciting jubi-

latory night, MTV Base VJ, Dada Boy Ehiz said, “MTV Base has helped a number of careers in this industry move to the next level, including mine, so it is great to see all these musicians, managers and talent come out to celebrate the platform that showcased and continues to showcase African excellence to the world.”

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ctor and model, Gideon Okeke and some other Nigerian football fans had a great time earlier in the week in Lagos at an event organized by beer brand, Heineken® At the event, which was during one of the premium viewing experiences hosted at Farm City Lounge, Lekki, Lagos, Heineken revealed that it will be delighting football fans across Nigeria with unique, premium viewing experiences for the rest of the UEFA Champions League Campaign while also giving consumers an opportunity to watch the semi-finals and finals live in Europe.

The UEFA Champions League is one of the most followed sports competition in the world with an audience of about 1.1Billion. With the 2018/2019 season approaching the final stage in the next few months, Heineken is set to back up its 25-year sponsorship of the prestigious tournament by providing fans with exciting and entertaining ways to enjoy the football matches.

As part of this commitment to providing fans and consumers with the most remarkable and unmissable moments from this year’s Champions League, Heineken has partnered hundreds of outlets across Nigeria to deliver premium viewing experiences to consumers nationwide.

The premium viewing experiences have kicked off as the UEFA Champions League returns for the second leg of the round of 16.

These viewing experiences will see fans across Nigeria experience the UEFA Champions League in a new and exciting way as Heineken seeks to give fans a truly premium and unmissable experience.

Speaking on the announcement of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Emmanuel Oriakhi said, “The UEFA

Champions League is the most coveted trophy in club football, and one of the most followed sporting spectacles in the world.

Heineken’s rich history with UEFA has brought us some of the most iconic and unmissable moments in the history of football. From the unforgettable volley by Zidane to seal the 2001 Champions League final to the miracle of Athens where Liverpool overturned a 3-goal deficit. These are the moments that make football such a passionate sport and we want to share these unmissable moments and experiences with fans across Nigeria. This campaign will see Heineken provide hundreds of experience centers where fans can view the Champions League matches in a premium ambiance that only Heineken can deliver.

“We also plan to reward lucky fans with opportunities to watch the UEFA Champions League Semi-finals and finals live. We’ve had a tremendous relationship with our consumers and we want to share in their passion for the game.”

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Sunday 10 March 2019

LifestyleHomes&Suite

White House appeal for royalty in Carlton Gate

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xuding splendor and surrounded with perks of royalty, it could well pass for the famous White

House, the seat of government and power in Washington D.C, United States. But this other ‘White House’ is in Lekki, Lagos, and seats on 800 square metres

of prime land in the up market Carlton Gate Estate that detours off the Chevron Head Office Road. The unique piece of architecture has been the cynosure of eyes in the exclusive neighbourhood and generally in the Lagos realty in recent times. Superbly finished in splendid royal white décor, the 5-Bedroom house attached with 2 room boys’ quarters, study room and cinema room, is conceived for private occupation and for outright purchase with a hefty price tag of N500million (slightly negotiable) slammed on it. The title on the house is Governor’s Consent which is the most superior title that not only bestows right of ownership on the buyer but also the right to dispose of it if need be. The sublime development is on the elegant stable of Landberry Homes Limited. Carlton Gate Estate is already home to an amazing collection of head turning, elegant houses, yet this one comes with such refreshing difference.

Some unique features set the white house apart from others, it is generally a well secured compound of aristocratic hue with a paraphernalia of digital controls that are technologically driven.

It is located in a serene, residentially friendly environment, confined within a perimeter white coatedwall fence and held under bespoke, remote controlled motorised black gate.

According to the developer, Hassan Ismail, the house can be controlled from any part of the world using a phone device by simply dialing a security code to stimulate instant response.

It is also said to have some highly sensitive cameras/audio recorders in some hidden places in the house, known only to the owner, ostensibly to monitor happenings within the house especially in his absence. It has inbuilt sound system with

speakers tucked exotically away into spaces in the ceiling to belch out music. The building is internet automated with aWiFi facility that gives ready and easy access to users. The floor is richly tiled while doors and windows are bullet proof. Electricity supply is conveniently diversified with 50Kva sound proof generator, inverter and solar options complementing mains electricity supply.

The entire house is fully airconditioned, fitted with exclusive wares and furnished with furniture to meet 21st appeal.

The buyer does not have much to bring in merely except suitcases of personal belongings and clothing. The sanitary wares which

Paul Ojenagbon pauloje2000@yahoo.com

showcase bath tub and showers are of the highest quality. The kitchen is Italian, spacious and fitted with cooker, microwave, oven and fridge.

The unbuilt ground is firm and well paved. A fully fitted gym avails the buyer and his folks to hone their bodies and stay healthy. The lush given area provides perfect natural setting to exhale and have good time out.

The security around the house is further enhanced with Close Circuit Television (CCTV). DSTV package is dual view while intercom communication is connected to all the rooms which are large and well ventilated and all ensuite.What is more, there is ampleparking space for several cars.

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Feature

How SureGifts corporate rewards, loyalty solutions can help HR managers stay within budget SureGifts, a rewards, loyalty and online gifting company, recently held its first HR workshop themed, ‘A Networking Workshop on the Rise of Digital Revolution in Human Resources’ to empower human resource professionals, talent managers and finance heads on how to steer organisational growth through recognition and reward system leveraging technology. SEYI JOHN SALAU examines the role gift cards and e-vouchers can play in improving the overall employee experience and organisational culture.

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successful‘employee reward system’ optimally improves morale and keeps staff focused on the overall organisational goals. Hence, gifting within an organisation is a clear message to staffers from human resource (HR) managers that the employer really appreciates their contribution to the organisation, especially its ‘bottom line’ (profits).

In Nigeria, most organisations usually tie their rewards and recognition to festive seasons and year end. Employees are accustomed to receiving traditional gifts such as rice, oil, chicken, cakes and hampers filled with all sorts of provisions and food items. However, organisational rewards and recognition system can be remodeled to help both the organisation and employees save resources for long time purposes through gift cards and electronic vouchers (eVouchers).

“Small gifts have a powerful psychological effect. This effect can be disproportionate to their value when they are viewed by the recipient as recognition of a job well done oraspecial effort made. Sometimes employees are happy with a word of thanks and do not feel a small gift is necessary. However, the act of givingisastrong,almostceremonial way to provide recognition to employees,” said David Tong, a senior consultant at Mercer.

Panelists at the one-day HR workshop opined that reward contribution should be meaningful to employees, and it should carry some monetary value. According to the panelists, people change because of the benefit of the change, hence there is a need for corporate organisations to incorporate gift vouchers into their reward and recognition scheme.

“HR must design and development a strong communication strategy; you can never over communicate. Employees’ reward and recognition must be tied to organizational goals,” Emmanuel Michael, the head of people experience, Letshego Microfinance Bank.

However, for Lola Esan, director of people and organization, Ernst & Young West Africa, “Organization and clients need to engage. Identify some good

reward system packages tied to money” that is, the reward system must have some monetary value, said Lola.

“Employees’ recognition and reward is a culture within an organisation and has to be organic in nature,” said Nkechi Runsewe, head, talent and organisational development, FBNQuest Merchant Bank.

Often times, companies allocate budgets to rewards annually, of which allocations for activities and plaques relating to retreats, long service awards, birthdays, anniversaries, employee of the month, giveaway campaigns and more are catered. In most cases however, a large part of the budget is spent on logistics and packaging which reduces the actual offer to the selected recipients. This in itself is a problem.

However, SureGifts has identified this and has positioned to help companies solve this issue with electronic or physical gift cards. By loading amounts on gift cards, branding them with company elements, and disseminating, companies cut out the stress and excessive logistic costs.

SureGroup offerings to Nigeria’s digital ecosystem SureGroup is a pan-African group of companies providing global solutions for non-cash value transfers. The group’s primary business offering is in connecting brands and people through its branded value solutions.

The group includes SureGifts, SureCredit and SureRemit. SureGifts is Nigeria’s largest and lead-

ing sole aggregator and distributor of gift cards, which makes the company the pioneer of the online gift voucher redemption system.

SureGifts also retail gift cards for merchants and different brands.

SureGifts is addressing the logistical challenge associated to gifting, thereby making it easy, both for recipient and for the sender to plan and deliver a reward and recognition system that is redeemable online and offline.

Established in 2014, SureGifts began as a small business exploring an unusual gifting solution in Nigeria: gift cards. In the U.S.A and other Western countries, gift cards are ingrained in the culture of gifting and giving, and hold a mass appeal as its use cuts across digital, mobile and physical channels, unlike traditional gifts that come as specific products or items.

Through its loyalty solution, SureGifts has been able to build and develop custom loyalty platforms that are tailored to meet business needs. It equally integrates into existing loyalty solutions for point-voucher conversion and redemption. Also, within its four years of operation in Nigeria, SureGifts have sold N2 billion worth of gift cards with over 500 merchants on its platform.

Aside from handling rewards and loyalty, SureGifts has noted its vision to build a formidable datadriven business in order to help companies make more informed decisions on incentives, promotions and consumer behaviour.

“We’re in a data-driven economy that requires a deep under-

standing of buyers by studying patterns in purchasing behaviour.

Having launched the first online gift card business in Nigeria, SureGifts possesses a wealth of knowledge about the rewards and gifting culture in Nigeria, especially in the digital sense. With this knowledge, we’re working towards helping businesses build better relationships with their employees,” said Omolara Awoyemi, the managing director of SureGifts.

Why digital gifting and voucher is beneficial to companies A gift card is a proven effective financial way to motivate and reward employees. It is perfect for benefits and occasions such as birthdays, weddings, holidays, rewards, anniversaries, and bonuses. It constitutes an elegant and perfect gift that allows the recipient with the freedom of choice.

Recipients of a gift card can even deploy it to pay for their utility bills. With gift cards, companies no longer have to worry about the size, colour or how trendy and functional a gift is.

In Nigeria, gift cards have also proven effective for many reasons. Its customizability, portability (can also be delivered via e-mail) and limitless access have been some of the reasons why HR managers go for this solution.

Also, rather than restricting employees to tangible items like rice, oil, cakes, and others, gift cards give the freedom of choosing gifts from an infinite range of items from some of the biggest stores across Nigeria including Jumia, SPAR, Samsung, Filmhouse Cin-

emas, Hubmart, Ruff and Tumble, Game, Startimes, and other merchants on its platform.

By deploying gift cards for reward and recognition, employers of labour will easily stay within budget, since gift cards are not affected by inflation or short supply. It also saves the trouble of products sourcing, and schedule timely events such as employee top of mind awareness.

Gift cards gives visibility of spending and history of spending is available in real-time. No transaction fees for digital vouchers and are customizable to employee event or occasion. Gift cards can be sent to thousands of employees with no logistics costs involved.

Motivated employees are good for the performance of the company. Greatest possible freedom of choice memorable trophy gift creating lasting reminder of an achievement with guilt-free spending. However, gift cards also help to improve employee performance long-term positive feelings towards the organisation.

An employee incentive is designed to increase overall work performance, reduce turnover, boost morale and loyalty. It also has sales executive incentive programmes intended to motivate salespeople to achieve set goals, as well as consumers and stakeholders’ incentive programmes.

“When companies give their customers our branded cards, and the recipient uses the card, they often come back to us when they want to give a friend or family a gift. They always enjoy the experience and desire to pass it on.

“The good thing about our cards is they don’t expire and it is more like kept cash for the recipient who can use it to buy stuff when they are broke or urgently need something,” said Adeoye Ojo, director and co-founder, SureGroup.

According to Ojo, SureGifts was set to deploy gift cards as a medium through which funds can be raised for projects and causes. “This will best suit corporate bodies’ charitable giving and Community Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Recipients will be empowered to choose exactly what they need and when they need them the most.”

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How CBN, Polaris Bank are extending frontiers of financial literacy to young minds The determination to meet the Federal Government’s 80 percent financial inclusion and literacy target by 2020 is pushing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) along with some deposit banks, notably Polaris Bank, to extend their frontiers in this drive to young minds in schools, hoping to nip in the bud mistakes some parents made by failing to inculcate in young ones the habit of saving from their early age, writes CHUKA UROKO

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ducation, it is said, breaks ignorance and liberates the mind which is why literacy is a must for every aspect of life and activity, especially finance. The belief in financial literacy is that where there is knowledge of finance, it leads to empowerment and helps an individual to make the right financial choices.

This belief, perhaps, informed federal government’s decision to launched, in 2012, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) aimed at reducing the number of eligible adult Nigerians that are excluded from the formal financial system from 46.3 percent to 20 percent by the year 2020.

But, before financial inclusion, there must be financial literacy which was why the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently organized a financial literacy stakeholders’ conference in Abuja with the theme, ‘Implementing financial literacy and consumer protection to advance financial inclusion in Nigeria’.

With barely two years to meeting the federal government’s 80 percent financial inclusion and literacy target, recent data released by Enhancing Financial Innovative and Access (EFiNA) indicates that 36.6 million eligible Nigerian adults, representing 36.8 percent of Nigeria’s population, still do not have access to financial services, underscoring the need to work harder on the exclusion rate from this year.

Towards achieving this target, CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the Abuja conference, unveiled four policy documents which are the revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy; the Financial Literacy Framework; the Consumer Protection Framework and the Consumer Education Framework.

The revised document developed with the support of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was principally prepared for banks and other financial institutions regulated by the CBN, but with extensive stakeholder consultation. It is the first of its kind, and provides policy direction for

Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor

the banking industry as well as serves as a guide for other subsectors of the financial system.

The performance of Nigeria’s Deposit Money Banks as the most important leg in the stakeholder map to achieving the 80 percent penetration and inclusion of the unbanked into the mainstream financial system by 2020, cannot be overemphasised.

Nigerian banks that have been in the forefront supporting the CBN since 2012, jointly and individually, through various organs of mass communication, have also made available different credit and funding options to small scale entrepreneurs and business owners, operating in the informal sector bringing them into mainstream financial system.

One area in which banks have made strides is in financial advocacy and literacy where the general banking public and students are taught the rudiments of finance.

On this score, Polaris Bank’s footprint in financial literacy has been remarkable, strutting the length and breadth of Nigeria to preach the gospel of finance

Tokunbo Abiru, MD, Polaris Bank

employing interactive financial literacy sessions as a platform to empower students with money management skills in schools.

Giving insights into the rationale behind the initiative, Tokunbo Abiru, managing director/CEO of Polaris Bank, said, “this is one of our tactical approaches to entrench savings culture at an early age and ensure an empowered life and a sustainable economy in line with CBN’s financial inclusion mandate.”

“As a responsible corporate citizen, it behoves on us to do what is appropriate for the betterment of individuals and the society at large,” he added.

Apart from the CEO, senior management and other categories of staff also take students through the rudiments of saving, budgeting, planning and preventing identity theft, among other things.

So far, the bank has organised interactive sessions on financial literacy to schools across seven states, namely Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Oyo, Bauchi and Benue. The sessions were facilitated by 155 employees of the bank led by the CEO. At OffotUkwa Secondary

School, Calabar, Cross River State and four other schools in Akwa Ibom State namely; Uyo High School, Bright Future International School, Nigerian Christian Institute and Redemption Academy, students took useful lessons on managing and saving money.

To underscore the importance of the initiative, Abiru taught the students ways to be thrifty and start saving for the future, urging them not to spend all monetary gifts they get buying things, but rather learn to keep a part of it in the bank and watch it grow.

In Ebonyi, the sessions with students held at Fountain of Knowledge International Schools, Jesus is Lord International School, Great Minds Academy International School, Success Impact Academy and Our Lady Schools.

In Zamfara State, students from Alhaq Academy, Gusau, SBMC Model School, Iman Global International Nursery/Primary School, Caliphate School and College of Education Staff School benefitted. Students in Oyo State were not left out as sessions held at Rosebud Col-

lege, Valencia College, Seed of Life College, Ogunsanya Girls Science Academy and Frontliners Primary and Secondary Schools. Overall, about 6,000 students have benefitted from the training.

Speaking with the students of Uyo High School, Abiru emphasised the importance of thrift and imbibing the culture of saving for the future. He advised that they should endeavour to be frugal and do more of savings.

“You are not too young to start saving. The time to start is now so that it can become a habit that will stand you in good stead in the future. You also need to be financially literate to avoid making poor financial decisions and to curtail the development of poor financial habits that can adversely affect you. When visitors come to your house and give you money, don’t spend it on snacks. You should learn to save such monies,” he counseled.

Explaining the bank’s outreach to the schools, Head, Sustainability and Consumer Protection, Polaris Bank, Bola Adesanoye, said it was part of efforts of the bank to deepen financial literacy and inclusion, especially amongst students thus extending the frontiers of sustainability advocacy.

“For instance, some adults are not financially literate, and they have been living with the consequences of this. We shouldn’t make the same mistakes some of our parents made by failing to inculcate the habit of saving in our young ones from an early age. We want you to grow and become fully rounded adults with minimal financial issues, hence the decision by the bank to take on this responsibility of deepening financial literacy in you, our pupils,” she said.

Aptly, it wasn’t just about talk; students that attended the sessions, especially those that gave correct answers to quiz questions, received educational gifts items and cash incentives.

Happily, a sizable number of the students joined the ranks of financially literate persons in the country at the end of the outreach.

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Feature

Nigerian universities: educating for a bygone future Nigerian higher institutions look like relics when compared to their peers in Asia registering patents for technologies of the future, writes ISAAC ANYAOGU.

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f you attended a Nigerian university, chances are that you graduated about as skilled as a soldier trained to wield a javelin in a world where wars are fought with precision guided firearms.

With lecture halls lacking electrical sockets and some Masters degree students compelled to produce handwritten research works, Nigerian Universities look like relics when compared to their peers in America, Asia and Europe registering patents for artificial intelligence, block chain technologies,5G network.

The rest of the world is leaving Nigeria behind in the race for innovative technologies that will shape tomorrow. Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese universities are emerging global leaders in patents for wireless communication, blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT), beating even peers from the United States according to a study by GreyB Services, a leading technology research and intelligence firm.

Emerging technologies Analysts at Bain, a global management consultancy found that the market value of Internet of Things, a technology that enhances interconnectivity of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, will reach over $520bn by 2021 allowing users greater control overtheir devices and providing increased security through voice command and a personal assistant.

Automation, or the use of electronics and computer-controlled devices to control processes previously handled by humans, is on the rise. The industrial control and factory automation market is likely to reach $269.5 billion by 2024 from $160.0 billion in 2018 says analysts at ResearchAndMarkets, a leading global research firm. Technology is leaving the sphere of large-scale manufacturing to simple process including operation at consumer stores. Through automationAmazon has eliminated the need for cashiers.

The rise of Bitcoin in 2017 has thrust cryptocurrency into the mainstream causing major disruption in the financial world. A study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance showed that by the end of 2017, there were 18 million users participating in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, now they show there are 35 million users.

Blockchain, used to describe the decentralized ledger that holds together cryptocurrencies, now has diversified applications from financial transactions to common business processes. A 2019 World Economic Forum survey found that 10percent of global GDP will be stored on block chain by 2027.

Through Artificial Intelligence, machines now have abilities including speech recognition, learning, planning and problem solving, once the exclusive preserve of humans. Academic institutions, large corporations and cyber security firms have begun to adopt artificial

University of Ibadan, Chinese Academy of Sciences – a tale of two computer science labs neural networks and the market is expected to grow from $21.46 Billion in 2018 to USD 190.61 Billion by 2025 according to researchers at MarketsandMarkets, a US-based research firm drawing insight from 200,000 markets around the world.

Major drivers for the market are growing big data, the increasing adoption of cloud-based applications and services, and increasing demand for intelligent virtual assistants.

New knowledge In preparation for this future, foreign nations are tweaking their curriculum, ramping funding into research and retooling their institutions to respond to these changes.

In China for example, primary and secondary schools teach AI courses in classrooms and technology companies are building personalised learning platforms with AI. In Nigeria, high school students stare at laptop computer with a sense of wonder. The result is that universities in these countries are competing with corporations to churn out patents. According to China State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) several higher institutions such as Zhejiang University, Shenzhen University and Chinese Academy of Sciences are on course to obtain patents related to blockchain applications developed on campus.

Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Sciences is eyeing a blockchain system that can “simultaneously support public, private and consortium block chains. Shenzhen University is pursuing a patent related to a specific use case – intellectual property rights for artists – which

uses the technology as a means to tag and trace works to create a tamper-proof artwork trading system.

In AI, 17 of the top 20 universities and public research organizations are in China, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences topping the list, according to a new data byGeneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Overall, American universities still dominate patent rankings, led by the University of California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

WIPO data further show an increase in AI-based innovations though it found that companies were far more active than universities and other public research institutions in filing AI-related patents, accounting for 26 out of the 30 top applicants in the field.

“There has been a quantum leap since about 2013,” Francis Gurry, WIPO chief told reporters in Geneva.

Nigeria lags In 2018, three Nigerian universities- Covenant University, University of Ibadan, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka – were included in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings which featured 1,250 universities in 86 countries. BusinessDay inquiries at these institutions indicate that none of them has a functional programme on wireless technology.

None of Nigeria’s 170 universities has a patent for wireless technology or in any of the emerging technologies. In the evolving world, patents in cassava blending technology may no longer suffice.

Nigeria’s education budget cannot deliver value

Some African countries are striving harder in this regard. Wits University in South Africa teaches AI, Morocco does too and Google is opening an AI lab in Ghana.

“Nigerian universities at this point are struggling to modernise and equip their computer science laboratories. Some of the universities are still not able to introduce and use basic technology in the classroom,” Terae Onyeje, managing director, Wowbii Limited, a company producing technologies for class instruction said.

The implication is grave. These technologies are forecasted to cut half of white and blue collar jobs in as little as five years. Many of the courses taught in Nigeria’s universities will be overtaken by automation and many Nigerian students could be excluded fromthe new digital economy.

Emmanuel Mkporjiogu, head of department Computer Science Department, Veritas University, Abuja said curriculum is a concern as administrators regard artificial intelligence as a component of computer science.

“Artificial intelligence comprises natural language, voice and text processing. It also includes robotics, machine learning and big data analytics. These things are not taught in our universities,” said Mkporjiogu.

“NUC needs to invite professionals who understand current AI trends to review the curriculum,” Mkporjiogu said.

Unlike in Europe, Asia and America where corporate labs turn out commercially successful inventions partnering universities, corporate Nigeria relies on talent from abroad for basic services. Google x, a corporate lab established by Google created self-driving cars but Nigerian universities are incapable of forging such partnerships as curriculum does not fit modern realities. The huge training cost of Nigerian banks for new hires speaks to a crisis in the education sector.

While public universities are too poorly motivated to think innovation,fundingconstrainsprivate ones. The average wage bill of a medium-sized private university per annum is about N500 million.

Setting up a well-equipped electronic engineering department costs about N80 million and profit is strictly a game of numbers. It takes

at least a decade to have the number of students needed to break even, administrators say.

With shoestring education budget, knowledge acquisition does not rank high in government’s list of priorities. Parents who want their children to be competitive would get better value abandoning Nigeria’s universities for institutions that provide practical knowledge in these emerging technologies.

Nigeria’s education budget compares poorly with China’s, who spent nearly 4.3 trillion Yuan ($675.3 billion) on education in 2017, an increase of 9.43percent from 2016. Nigeria has not dent UNESCO recommendation on 26percent budget spend for education. Even those hired to manage education are not the most qualified. The current Chinese minister of education is an academic administrator; Nigeria’s education minister is a journalist.

The future belongs to countries where businesses have successfully built incubators and innovation-focused research labs and partner with universities to establish creative solutions for problems that impact companies and consumers in big ways.

However, the beauty of technology is that late comers can leverage its innovative power to leapfrog early adopters. Nigeria can catch-up by setting up a national education plan, updating current curriculum and cutting down military spending to boast education budget. Tomorrow’s insurgents are often those poorly educated today.

University lecturers who teach graduate students entrepreneurship and management skills often shut down universities to protest poor wages. They must betasked to apply what they teach by creatively sourcing revenue to improve their own welfare.

Foreign universities build Alumni networks, set up endowment funds and strike up partnerships with corporations where they supply skill and knowledge in exchange for money and employment opportunities for their students. Nigerian lecturers should now be tasked to be inventive rather than fighting over wages like peasants.

Malcom x said the future belongs to those who prepare for it, Nigeria is not preparing hard enough.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Feature

Secrets of entrepreneurship:

How women may take over the business world – female strategist

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IGNATIUS CHUKWU omen must learn how to recognise and convert every ‘message’ in their system to money or commercial profit. The moment this is done, women would take over the future of entrepreneurship.

This is the new concept springing up in various female entrepreneurship incubation centres around Nigeria, especially Nigeria, spearheaded by a female lifestyle coach, ex-banker, Mounfiq Raiyan Abu, known more as the ‘Mindset Reset Coach’. She is the managing director/Chief Executive Officer of Raiyaninspires Consulting Limited.

Raiyan Abu unveiled the techniques at an entrepreneurship forum in Port Harcourt with a bias for women, Entrepreneurship Platform Initiative (EPI) where she exposed the top professional women and business magnets on how to harness the futuristic goals of the female entrepreneur.

The future of entrepreneurship is female Speaking at the induction ceremony of EPI led by Mary Bello Abu, Raiyan Abu revealed a recent research that found that the future of entrepreneurship is female. “This is because the world over, only five per cent of the entrepreneurial population is female and therefore this gives rise to certain opportunities which female entrepreneurs should set their future goals on.

Her assertion is that since women have many message facets and faculties, if they turn each to profit and commercial success, the ordinary woman would simply be a walking money machine.

All they would do is to learn that every single thing around them or they lay their hands on is money.

They would realize they are the only ones that can work from the home, from the backyard, from any space. They are also the ones that start any business with any amount as capital. For instance, a woman can from her kitchen feed 10 persons with her neighbourhood that need food badly but have no time to cook it, and make her profit quietly. A woman can run an online shop quietly without anybody knowing she is into big business.

The technique for women To take their position, women must define their future goals in business and work towards total takeover by meeting the needed goals. She said. “The first is the goal to fight for gender parity in business in terms of bank financing. This is because for now, most

Mounfiq Raiyan Abu, Lifestyle coach, helping women take over entrepreneurship

bankers are inclined to finance male-owned businesses”.

Women seem to be outsiders in the business world and the training is to help them create networks and platforms to interact and bond. The essence is the goal for inclusion and learning to share the spotlight with their male counterparts. Thus, they would target online world and achieve huge online influence and visibility.

Raiyan Abu told the women entrepreneurs: “Have the right mindset reset and don’t feel intimidated by men. By this, seek out what is right and always stand by it”. When she was in the bank, she said she initially was made to feel out of place in wearing her Muslim headgear but later learnt to stand by it as a right. Now, she said, she supplies the headgears, rather.

The next goal the EPI and other women must seek is the goal to learn to be more competitive.

“Women must also learn to have more financial discipline.” The era of business women to think that

every amount is good for baby food is over, they should plan what to spend and what not to, she admonished.

The strategist reminded women that more companies are introducing diversity in their lending processes and it is time women exploited this by seeking investors and financing. This was when she slammed the advice: “Learn to turn your passion into profit and monetize your message.”

She also harped on the criticality of branding and brand management: “Brand development is a key growth opportunity to harness on.”

Challenges on the way The future of entrepreneurship may be female but it is not a bed of roses for anybody, male of female. Many headaches worry them and these must be overcome first. She named them as inability to secure funding, saying female entrepreneurs in Nigeria often struggle to secure financing.

“Banks normally require collateral, like property, which women often do not have. Without ac-

cess to capital, it will be difficult for them to grow their business.

This is the biggest challenge faced by women-owned businesses across Nigeria as access to capital is crucial to any small business’ growth trajectory.”

She went on: “Lack of role models and access to mentorship programmes shows that quality mentorship plays a huge role in the success of any woman entrepreneur and her business. It is particularly helpful for women to be enrolled in mentorship programmes or have mentors who have faced the same challenges they have. Nigerian women entrepreneurs, especially startups, however, do not have this support network and end up drowning in the face of even the most trivial obstacles”.

She also mentioned inability to secure good business space, and cultural values and limitations.

“Although we live in an age and time where women are becoming more daring and opinionated, many women still face the challenge of running their own business because the society believes men should be the ones to make money and provide for the family. A woman exhibiting her entrepreneurial prowess is presumed as wanting to take over the leadership role of the husband. To overcome this entrepreneurial challenge, you must be prepared to break through this limiting tradition. You must stick to what you believe in.”

Another headache is that female entrepreneurs struggle with balancing business and family.

“This is because we naturally are the backbone of the family; we lay the building blocks on which the family foundation is built. So often times, women entrepreneurs usually find themselves torn between commitment to the family and business.

An entrepreneur: The backbone of the society?

It was important to let the women understand who an entrepreneurs truly is and they really do. “An entrepreneur is a man or woman who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. Not only that, the entrepreneur is that person that is inspired to solve problems, that is eager to create new opportunities and new ways of doing things. An Entrepreneur finds gaps in any given situation and closes them. We are risktakers, innovators, leaders, self starters, growth advocates and progressive thinkers. This is why entrepreneurs are the bedrock of any progressive society because we are relied upon to grow and

develop the economy and we should always endeavour to live up to this challenge.”

Rise of the female dragons She said: “In the last few decades, there has been a rise of female entrepreneurs. In the past, only men used to be known as entrepreneurs and addressed as such. There was no term as business women.”

She said entrepreneurship on the part of women began as a way of providing extra money in the family. Now, it has grown into the mainstay of most families.

“My mother for instance was a teacher; she taught me in my primary school, Air Force Primary School, Benin City, Edo State. But while my father was “the Business Man” that had a successful haulage business and known in our neighbourhood, my mother also contributed significantly to make ends meet.” Despite the growth in her income, she was not referred to as a business woman.

Now, she said, from the early 2000’s and now, the rise of female entrepreneurs has become commonplace. “Statistically, there are more female entrepreneurs in Africa than our male counterparts. While it is a welcome development, we do not have the influence, visibility and resources that our male counterparts have in order to be able to grow our business and thrive.”

Lifestyle entrepreneurs; other entrepreneurs She went on: “The female entrepreneur is not only about the business, but also about the impact. We are Life Style Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs because we are natural nurturers and we care a lot. However, we need to be able to control some of our inherent traits in order for us to have sustainability and longterm growth. In order words, we have our work cut out for us and we need to be quick on our feet and smart in our intellect in order to thrive for a very long time to come.”

She mentioned other different types of entrepreneurs and as global development continues.

“However, for the benefit of this program, there are three key types of entrepreneurs: Social Entrepreneur; those that pursue innovative solutions to resolve social problems; examples are non-profit organisations, NGOs. Serial entrepreneurs are those that always come up with new ideas, build a business and then sell it’ then start another business. Lifestyle entrepreneur is someone who creates profit from personal passion. It is worthy of note here that women are usually social or life style entrepreneurs.”

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BDSUNDAY 35

SundayBusiness Quincy makes foray into nutritious food industry Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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he increasing focus on the production and consumption of nutritious food items, aimed at stemming the surging tide of malnutrition in developing countries, including Nigeria, has led to several laudable initiatives by governments, corporate organisations and concerned individuals. This is a worthy cause as the prevalence of undernourishment (% of population), specifically in Nigeria was reported at 7.9 % in 2015, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources. In fact, over a period of 14 years, it has risen from 11.5 % in 2003 to 21.5% in 2017.

Worthy of note, also is that the burden from communicable and non communicable diseases is a significant health challenge facing

many developing nations. Among the non communicable diseases, is obesity, which has become a global epidemic associated with urbanisation.

The piece of good news however, as far as Nigeria is concerned is that a distinguished person, namely Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele, the chief executive officer, CEO Quincy Herbal Nigeria and global who clocked the age of sixty years months back has taken up the challenge for decades. And she has done a good job with it. Though the efforts of her globally recognised company were focused on the use of herbal drugs, she has recently made a foray into the food industry, with a similar aim. She is currently producing both Acha poundo and Acha Rice brands. In her words, the idea came up: “during the course of our practice in treating our obese client, we discovered that they have problems of what to eat that make them to be fat that will make them to be healthy.

“We discovered that Nigerians love rice now, meanwhile in those days we only ate rice once a year, especially during the Yuletide Season. But now, rice has become our staple food in Nigeria. So, we have to look for alternative to rice, because it is not what anyone that wants to be healthy should be eating every day. Some people in Nigeria can eat rice three time’s day and it can cause diseases like diabetes, obesity, heart problem.

If we are not able to tell them not to eat rice that is why the Managing Director went into research and came out with this ancient grain called Acha found

in the northern part of Nigeria”.

The nutritional benefits of Acha rice are profound because it is rich in energy, aids digestion, possesses iron and it is good for cardiovascular function, diabetics, aids digestion, glutenfree. It also promotes healthy skin, hair growth and is an excellent meal for weight loss. Acha is also known as fonio the oldest African and mainly Nigerian cereal. Acha rice could be eaten as a swallow food with stew or any choice of soups. For example, in Mali in some of their hospitals, they advise their patients to eat Acha to help control their blood sugar and cholesterol.

According to Quincy, “the best thing the government should do is to support the mass production of Acha rice with funding, provide an enabling environment, and raise awareness on its nutritional benefits so it could generate income back to the country’s economy”. Well said.

Good products sell themselves.

The result of Quincy herbal is out there for people to see the outcome and with that even some consumers advertise them by themselves. For instance, for the slimming tea, people who want to slim down are well advised to go for Quincy Slimming Tea and they have seen that it works!

It is instructive to note that she saw the overweight issue in Nigeria as one to confront as at the time she did. For instance, the World Health Organizations (WHO’s) technical report series of 1995 indicated that body weight significantly impacts on the health and disease status

of an individual. Specifically, extremes of body weight namely underweight and overweight/ obesity are associated with increased risk of disease morbidity and mortality. Diseases related to poor immune function such as tuberculosis are more common in underweight individuals, whereas cardio-metabolic disorders are more common in overweight/ obese persons.

These extremes of weight also tend to indicate the nutritional status of individuals and indirectly, the socioeconomic status. Urban and rural residents are usually associated with higher and many a times, poorer socioeconomic status, respectively and thus the greater prevalence of overweight/obesity may be seen more in urban dwellers.

She has also admonished Nigerian manufacturers to strive to meet international standards, in processing, preservation/storage and packaging. Most of the packages are still imported. These are areas that would generate employment. Nigeria needs to start producing, so that the end producer can make products.

Indeed, there are a lot of lessons to learn from Quincy’s business acumen now extrapolated into the food industry. These include the courage to take that first bold step, not waiting for conditions to be perfect; to begin in a small scale, square up against all odds and remain focused. She was able to identify opportunities as they cropped up.

Th e r e h a s a l w a y s b e e n competition in the herbal industry but she used her creative ingenuity

to modernize it, increasing her share of the market space.

She remained unfazed by that competition or the doubts people raised at the beginning; if she really knew what she was doing about it.Said she: “When I started the business, many Nigerians watched me for three years and when they saw I was making waves in the market, I saw many people doing herbal. But what I know is that Quincy Herbal has stood the test of time”.

It is therefore, a thrill to know that the young Nigerian lady, who back then in the ‘80s began her business with a little capital; who stooped to conquer by eating the humble pie, selling puff-puff pastries along the Lagos streets has become a global brand today, sought after all over the world, standing tall as an ambassador for the World Health Organisation (WHO). Interestingly as at today, Quincy has access to nature all over the world. She explained it: “If I am looking for a solution for a patient in Nigeria and I cannot find the herb in Nigeria, I have access to other countries where I can find such herb”.

There is little doubt that it is only a matter of time for her nutritious food products such as the Quincy Slimming Tea, Acha Rice and Acha Poundo will soon attract the much desired global attention. To the multiple awardwinning entrepreneur we say kudos!

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 08057971776

Kylie Jenner becomes youngest Tanzania-based Zola Electric expands to Nigeria Jonathan Aderoju billionaire in the world

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Jonathan Aderoju

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ylie Jenner beats Mark Zuckerberg to become the youngest billionaire in the world at 21.

It’s official guys as Kylie Jenner has been announced as the youngest billionaire in the world at the age of 21.

Forbes made this known as they released the annual list on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. At 21, she is both the youngest self-made billionaire and the youngest billionaire on Forbes’ ‘young billionaires’ list.

Jenner has amassed a personal net worth of $1billion through her wildly successful range of makeup, Kylie Cosmetics. She has now overtaken Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg who became a billionaire at 23.

She was surprised by the success of her cosmetics company which was only founded in 2015 but is now worth an estimated $900million.

“I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future,” says Jenner, who is the youngest billionaire in the world. “But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.”

This latest development is coming

Jenner

months after it was announced that Kylie was in a tie with music mogul, Jay-Z as the 5th wealthiest person in the world.

Kylie Jenner ties Jay-Z to become 5th wealthiest American celebrity of 2018 Kylie Jenner has become the 5th wealthiest American celebrity of 2018, the same position with Jay-Z. According to Forbes, the 21-year-old net worth of $900 million makes her a first-timer on the list. This list ranks the wealthiest American celebrities based on fortune they have amassed off their fame.

anzania-based renewable energy company, Zola Electric has announced the company is planning on entering the Nigerian market, after its successful growth and expansion in Tanzania, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana.

Zola Electric said it intends to bring clean, affordable, reliable 24hour power to Nigeria at a time the country’s economy is recovering and growing steadily after Nigeria’s economy slide into recession from August 2016 to September 2017.

The Chief Executive Officer, Bill Lenihan said the inroad into the Nigerian market was in line with the mission of the company to use distributed renewable energy solutions to make clean, affordable reliable 24- hour accessible for anyone, anywhere.

“ZOLA Electric is a power solutions pioneer that is now one of the most trusted brands in Africa’s distributed renewable energy market.

“We have successfully delivered our clean, affordable and reliable power solutions across Tanzania, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana.

We’re super excited to make our clean, affordable and reliable 24 power solutions available to Nigerian homes, business and organisa-

tions,” he said.

Zola Electric currently manages 200,000 installations, with more than 1,000,000 daily users, and the company plans to increase the numbers by its expansion into Nigeria.

It was disclosed that the company would expand its distributed smart storage + solar energy model and launch an affordable renewable energy alternative for Nigerians.

The company also deliver clean energy access to over one million households and businesses in Nigeria over the next three years. The expansion, according to the statement, was focused on improving environmental, health and economic outcomes while driving the transition to clean, renewable energy.

According to Lenihan he said Nigeria’s economy is fast growing into a powerhouse, and with the economy’s position as Africa’s larg-

est and population size, Nigeria is the right market for Zola Electric to make its expansion.

“Nigeria is a rapidly expanding economic powerhouse, with population growth tipped to surpass the United States by 2050. It is Africa’s largest economy and its biggest oil producer. Despite this, the Nigerian electrical grid is unable to meet basic energy demands.

“Power from the grid is unreliable and expensive and this has driven more than 100 million Nigerians to rely on diesel generators to power their basic energy needs in their homes or apartments.

“With the current electricity access deficit in Nigeria affecting an estimated 80 million people each day, ZOLA’s expansion will help Nigerian homes and businesses to access reliable 24 hour, with smart storage + solar for a monthly price that is less than the average energy outlay on diesel generators.

“By combining our PAYGo microfinance leasing and mobile money payments, ZOLA’s energy access model is financially inclusive and adaptable to energy need and income,” Lenihan said.

With the lack of power supply to communities in both urban and rural areas, there are opportunities for Zola Electric to utilise, but renewable energy is not a common alternative to power supply in Nigeria.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

SundayBusiness KWARA-CGGA tasks EFCC to probe KWSG over billion cash withdrawal SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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non-governmental organisation, the Kwara Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability, Friday asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ilorin zone to probe the state government over N1 billion loan it secured from a bank a few days before the general elections.

The secretary general of the group, Hassan Omoiya proved he had intelligence that the state government obtained the loan on 13th February from a bank using the remittance of Kwara State VAT allocation due in February and March 2019 as collateral.

“We urge the EFCC and indeed the Federal Ministry of Finance to determine the appropriateness of utilisation of credit facility of N1 billion by Kwara State Government at the twilight of general elections.

“Also, the status of VAT Account as collateral for the credit facility in the absence of prior approval and authorization from Debt Management Office and Federal Ministry of Finance in tandem with extant laws and regulation on granting of loan to State Governments.

“It is our expectation that your investigation will extend to individuals and corporate institutions that participated in the unwholesome act with a view of prosecuting the affected individuals and institutions

with attendant cost and penalty, he said Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ilorin zonal office, has uncovered about one billion naira cash withdrawal by the Kwara State Government a week before the postponed Presidential and National Assemblies Elections.

Those arrested and presently being interrogated in respect of the allegations include, the State Commissioner for Finance, Nurudeen Banu, the State Accountant General, Sulaiman Ishola, Head of Service, Susan Modupe Oluwole, Special Adviser, Commissioner for Energy, Eleja Taiwo Banu, Chief of Staff, Abdulwahab Yusuf Officials of the Secretary to the State Government, Officials of Government House among others.

It was discovered that about one billion naira was withdrew from the Kwara State Government’s Account domiciled with Stealing bank in which investigation is ongoing to unravel the beneficiaries of the huge amount of money.

An official of the Kwara State Government identified as Hafees Yusuf has also confirmed to the operatives of the Commission that he got instructions from his boss to withdraw some monies sometimes in February 2019.

“My controller of Finance told me that the sum of three hundred and fifty million naira was paid into the account of Kwara State Government, I was instructed by my boss to

raise checks of various sum of monies which I did and were dully signed by the controller of Finance, I withdrew the monies as I was instructed by my supervisor” Yusuf said.

However, a senior staff of stealing bank who is presently being interrogated by the operations of the commission told the anti graft body that the State Accountant General, Commissioner for Finance and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance are signatories to the account where seven hundred twenty million naira cash were withdrawn from the Kwara State Government Account domiciled in stealing bank located at post office in Ilorin between 7th to 11th of February 2019.

Th r e e Re l a t i o n s h i p Managers of Stealing bank, namely, RAHAMAN Alimi, Akinleye Ademola and Olarewaju Sarafa were said to be the one who parked the said money in bullion van and delivered personally to the Chief of Staff to the Kwara State Governor, Abdulwahab Yusuf between 7th to 11th of February 2019.

The bank officials told the operatives of the commission that they acted on the instruction of their boss which they identified as Rasaq Abolarin.

Meanwhile, the officials of the Kwara State Government have been given administrative bail after submitting their international passports and other travel documents to the commission.

Going Digital With

Wison Moore

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s an employer in Nigeria or any other African country, are you using interns? Do you know that the symbiotic benefits of a well-executed internship programme can skyrocket the sale of your goods or services to a mind-blowing success?

If implementing an internship programme has not been on your strategic marketing radar, these benefits of hiring interns might just persuade you to start implementing an internship programme.

Let’s get started.

• Interns come with lots of energy and fresh perspectives Interns are full of dynamic energy and are gifted with an awesome spongy eagerness that absorbs and explore every new thing.

Since they think way outside the box, they’re not afraid to challenge “the way we’ve always done it here” mentality.

Their fresh perspectives as newbies are valuable.

Many companies have benefited in situations where interns identified and even solved problems that have not been noticed by their full-time employees.

They can bring so much value to the table because of their youth, unadulterated minds, coupled with their amazingly inspiring creativity and perspectives. They are very savvy with digital marketing and social media.

Still not convinced?

Check this out!

• Interns are at home with the use of technology As digital marketing and the use of mobile devices continue to skyrocket, your nieces and nephews who are very familiar, effective and awesome in the use of these devices become not only valuable but sustainable.

Don’t be afraid, they are a most needed addition to the team of any forward-thinking company including yours.

The ease with which they use technology dramatically increases the ease with which the older team members can learn and appreciate technology too.

Additionally, interns understand social media in

Why every company should be using internship programmes ways that many CEOs or MDs don’t.

• Their trial period could lead to full-time employment Internship programmes can help you attract and retain effective hires that are already very familiar with your corporate culture and voice.

The programme makes it ridiculously easy to evaluate the skills and aptitudes of recent graduates before they are brought on board as part of your incredible team.

Understandably, as interns charm you with their motivating and refreshingly favourable skills and work ethic, in the future, your best move might just be to hire them as part of your team.

It is a known fact that interns stay with a company where they interned longer.

Interns can help you ac-

ing problems smoother and quicker.

• Interns are your brand evangelists Interns can be a team of unpaid brand evangelists who experience and say great things about your brand. These eager and passionate young people, who are tickled to be working, would tell the world about you and your brand if you offer them a mind-blowing experience.

Starting with their peers and family, they would tell with varying degrees of embellishments, all the “wow” experiences they’ve had with your company.

• Interns are amazingly productive Young minds are like sponges, they absorb information pretty quickly. And they are also great at multitasking. In other words, it

complish the ‘unreasonable’ Since interns are not part of the company and are not shackled by “normal ways” of doing things, they can spot threats, opportunities, and innovations early on, giving your company a needed competitive edge.

They very often see possibilities that are not readily seen by seasoned full-time employees.

In fact, many young people believe that they can single-handedly change the world, and they try doing just that.

It is, therefore, to your advantage that their not having any kinds of benchmarks that limit them, provide you with astounding opportunities to solve the ‘unreasonable’.

Interestingly, their lack of experience is really a great thing since young ones are not limited to the realities and possibilities that older people are afraid to even imagine.

• Interns help you complete projects you’re struggling with on target Those that apply as interns have a vested interest.

They want to use their accomplishments and experiences during this period as a reservoir of glowing achievements on their CVs. So by giving interns who naturally love challenging, real and meaningful projects that your company is struggling with, your organisation gets to solve your challeng-

takes less time to train an intern than the time it takes to train an older full-time employee.

Many of the jobs that fulltime workers toil with day in and day out, lack benchmarks, while the jobs that interns do have a start and end date. Due to that, interns are more productive.

Unless you count the rare promotion or job change, many employees work in what feels like a vicious cycle.

The rut leads to career burnout.

• Interns are eager to create their own footprint An i n t e r n s h i p p r o gramme is a trial period for both the intern and the company. The intern may also be looking to set the groundwork for a recommendation or a full-time position down the road.

On the other hand, the employer gets employees that she gets to know their competencies before they are brought on board as fulltime employees.

Have you considered hiring interns before? Will you in the future?

Moore is Director of Marketing Anaconda Marketing Ltd, a Lagos-based Digital Marketing Agency +234 080 579 37786 wilson.moore@anacondamarketing.com.ng http://anacondamarketing. com.ng

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SundayBusiness The need to insure risks in mortgage business

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or various reasons including poverty and ignorance, insurance penetration is still very low in Nigeria, not only among individuals, but also among institutions and many sectors of the economy. Yet risks abound in all these areas.

The mortgage sector in Nigeria is still growing at a very slow pace.

The sector’s slow growth can be attributed to a number of factors among which are poverty, ignorance and job insecurity, especially in the private sector of the economy. This, more than any other considerations, makes mortgage business in the country a risky venture that needs an insurance cover.

This means that the need to insure the risks associated with mortgage transactions can hardly be overemphasised. In an environment where mortgage is functional and effective, insurance is just a must because it serves as a lubricant oiling the engine of growth. In such an environment, mortgage and insurance go together. While mortgage is risk-prone, insurance is a hedge against risks.

Mortgage insurance is an insurance policy that protects a mortgage lender or title holder in the event that the borrower defaults on payments, dies, or is otherwise unable to meet the contractual obligations of the mortgage.

Investopedia identifies three aspects of mortgage insurance.

These are private mortgage insurance (PMI), mortgage life insurance, or mortgage title insurance. What these have in common is an obliga-

tion to make the lender or property holder whole in the event of specific cases of loss. Private mortgage insurance may be called ‘lender’s mortgage insurance’ (LMI) if the premium on a PMI policy is paid by the lender and not the borrower.

For these reasons and more, an active insurance industry is needed for the growth and development of a functional mortgage industry. The mortgage industry in Nigeria is still a fledgling and fingers are frequently pointed to an insurance industry that is not as active participant as it should be.

For some reasons, in this country, in spite of everything the people have learnt, policy is still shaping the industry whereas, in advanced economies, it is the other way round— industry shapes policy because people in the industry are the ones implementing the policy every day.

The mortgage industry in United States, for instance, has been robust for decades and it is with continued activity. One is not however, saying Nigeria should replicate what happens in the US here, because Nigeria has its own unique characteristics which must be recognized and respected.

What the mortgage players in Nigeria should do, however, is to make the US system a base-line because this system represents the global standard. Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja, a mortgage and finance consultant advises that “we have to start learning that system and adapt it to meet our own unique cultural system and unique needs”.

Nigeria needs to lay a very good

Procurement and Supply Chain

with Gob-Agundu Uche Branch chair (CIPS), Nigeria

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uying is the practice of exchange. In its simplest form, it is called purchasing, acquiring, obtaining, getting and picking up. Over time, buying as an art has evolved into the practice called Procurement having its clear cut structures and operating functional parts. In the course of time, procurement practice has also further evolved into a fully fledged profession having its own strategies, processes, procedures and policies.

According to the Business Dictionary, the buying process is the set of procedures used to identify products for purchase, verify quality and compliance of products and vendors carry out purchasing transactions and verify that operations associated with procurement have been executed properly. Different organizations have their own buying processes of various complexities depending on the industry in which they operate and the nature of the products being purchased.

The application of strategy to buying as well as forecasting, inventory management, supplier relations and other advanced buying practices have all combined to make buying more scientific and integrated than previously requiring smart approaches by professionals to achieve the goals of procurement profession. This explains why procurement leaders insist on proper training and onboarding of young practitioners of the profession. We expose them to the entire body of knowledge which form the practice and emphasize the need for them to acquire necessary tools required to thrive in the profession. It is expected that these strategic capacity development efforts will strengthen the skills of practitioners in the art and practice of the buying profession.

In this vein, the following presentation by Francis Churchill on The Six Fundamentals of procurement is expected to be of great use to young professionals in their quest to become procurement

foundation for mortgage industry growth to ensure that what happened in America in 2006 with sub-prime mortgage crisis does not repeat itself here. The Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) is a big possibility that can change and shape the mortgage system in this country and could also be an umbrella for the industry.

One of the high points of NMRC, as a secondary mortgage institution, is its long term, low rate global funds and, because the mortgage industry here is not yet buoyant, NMRC, whether it is succeeding now or not, can be a significant tool in achieving these attributes of a working mortgage industry.

Fasanya-Osilaja believes the mortgage industry should be shaping NMRC and not NMRC shaping the industry, advising that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the NMRC, should be listening to the voice of the industry. “Experience has proved to me that the CBN is quite ready to listen and learn. The problem here, however, is that the industry has been rather passive”, she noted.

Fasanya-Osilaja who is also the Housing/Mortgage Finance Consultant to the CBN on the Nigeria Housing Finance Programme (NHFP), noted recently that NHFP is creating the enabling environment for strengthening the Nigerian housing sector by setting up sustainable framework for mortgage originators.

These include financial institutions that provide housing finance, to access long-term refinancing.

Talking Mortgage with CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com) She added that the framework is setting up mortgage guarantee/ insurance as well as a housing microfinance scheme for strengthening Nigeria’s housing microfinance sector.

She revealed that the NHFP intervention includes a mass literacy campaign on consumer education, protection and responsibility with regards to housing finance in Nigeria.

“The campaign is aimed at educating every Nigerian on the right to own a home, the cost implications, advantages of taking loans to finance a home and to ultimately serve as a catalytic programme to jumpstart the housing market in Nigeria”, she said.

But the mortgage industry has to be standardised so that global players, from global perspectives, could view the local industry from the perspective of NMRC and mortgage banking association of Nigeria (MBAN) and see something to hold on to in their investment decisions.

Despite the current challenges, the Nigerian economy could conveniently support the growth of the

mortgage industry as the country is one of the fastest growing economies in the world where talent resource is amazing.

The mortgage consultant advised that Nigeria needs to understand that there is time for competition and also time for association and each is as critical as the other. “The only thing that will stop this industry from growing is over-regulation by people who are not in the industry and therefore, will not understand the effect of their policy on the actual market”, she said, emphasising the urgency of an active insurance industry to drive the needed growth in the mortgage industry.

As a step forward, mortgage insurance could come with a typical ‘payas-you-go’ premium payment, or may be capitalised into a lump sum payment at the time the mortgage is originated. For homeowners who are required to have PMI because of the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio rule, they can request that the insurance policy be canceled once 20 percent of the principal balance has been paid off.

Becoming an Expert of The Art of Buying experts.

The Six Fundamentals of Procurement Procurement isn’t rocket science, it’s not brain surgery and it’s not curing illness, junior buyers have been told.

For the most part, procurement is “absolutely about following a series of systems and processes” to identify, source and manage contracts, said Matthew Sparkes, head of financial services at the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), who describes himself as “not a procurement person by trade”.

Speaking to new buyers and non-procurement professionals with purchasing responsibilities at the Procurex conference in London, Sparkes shared six top tips for buying right.

• Identify customer need Identifying stakeholder or customer need, and separating it from what the customer wants, is crucial, said Sparkes. “If you don’t understand what that need is – it doesn’t matter what the want is – you’ll get it wrong.”

Using the example of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, Sparkes said the airport originally wanted “rows and rows of check-in desks”. The procurement team identified the real need wasn’t having enough desks, it was moving footfall quickly through the terminal. Armed with this understanding, Sparkes said the procurement team suggested an alternative solution based on

supermarket checkouts, reducing both check-in times and costs.

• Look outside your market Heathrow’s procurement teams were able to suggest an alternative to traditional check-in desks because they understood what other options were available, said Sparkes. Not only should buyers understand their own market, but they are always looking outside their market for innovation.

• Prioritise relationships Good contract management will give you what you expected to get and it’s important to regularly check suppliers are meeting contractual obligations. “But the relationship is the bit that will give you over and above. It will give you the growth, it will give you the innovation, it will give you the partnering if you want to run it that way,” said Sparkes.

Relationships take time, so think about which suppliers are more important to you and how this might change in the future.

•. Collect spend data Spend data is possibly the most powerful tool buyers have, said Sparkes. Data can help buyers get a view of exactly what they are buying, who they are buying from and frequency, thereby helping to find savings.

Analyzing spend data helped Sparkes save £3m on a single contract, he said. Widgets he was buying at a premium with a flexible ad-hoc contract were actually being bought very regularly. “The data essentially said for three years

we’d been buying this every quarter, pretty much at exactly the same time.” By changing the contract to help the supplier balance their workload he was able to get a much lower price.

• Communicate what you are doing When going to tender be clear about all aspects of what you are going to do in your procurement, said Sparkes. Be explicit about your market strategy and where you are in the tender process. “If you’re going to work well with people, you need to bring them on that journey with you, and that starts with the first engagement.

“It will also – and this is quite practical – reduce the levels of quite frankly annoying emails writing to get hold of ‘when are we doing this’ and ‘what’s the next step’.”

• Know your negotiating position Agree your position with your stakeholders upfront, including red lines and walk away points, before you start negotiating with supplier. “It’s absolutely about understanding what I can do in the [negotiating] room and not having to take things away,” said Sparkes.

It will empower you and generally help things go a lot smoother, he added.

In conclusion, the determination of procurement leaders to advance the professional practice of procurement must be sustained through continued emphasis on capacity development.

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TheWorshippers Kumuyi rallies CAN, PFN for strategic church growth in Lagos …To hold one-day ministers’ summit

SEYI JOHN SALAU

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he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in a strategic move seen at growing the church and building the body of Christ in Lagos, has finalised plans to mobilise pastors and ministers of the gospel across Lagos for a one-day ministers’ summit tagged, ‘Building the Builders’.

The one-day non-denominational ministers’ summit is convened by the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi in conjunction with the church leadership in Lagos. The summit, which is meant to build the body of Christ in Lagos for impactful gospel outreaches, will hold on Wednesday, March 27, at the headquarters of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Gbagada, Lagos.

The ministers’ summit apart from helping to build the builders in Christendom, would also feature a variety of activities, like seminars, workshops and inspiring messages; providing excellent opportunity for ministerial interface and networking.

Apostle Alex Bamgbola, chairman, Christian Association in Nigeria (CAN) Lagos State; Pastor William F. Kumuyi, GS Deeper Christian Life Ministry and convener, Ministers’ Summit; Bishop Sola Ore, chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Lagos State; and Rev. Toyin Kehinde, PFN Secretary, Lagos, at the news briefing on the forthcoming 1st Ministers’ development and networking summit in Lagos.

Alexander Bamgbola, the chairman of CAN in Lagos, at a joint press conference said the summit provides leaders opportunity to learn from one another.

“The minister’s training is an ongoing experience and he stands to gain a lot from God through others

who have trod the path he is treading,” Bamgbola said, stating that church ministry is the most responsible work for which no amount of conventional education can sufficiently prepare the minister.

According to him, the summit was coming at a time when the

body of Christ was in dire need to function synergistically so as to tear down the increasing menacing ‘gates of hell’ in the land.

“Again, by comparing notes with other ministers and sharing experiences, he gains deeper insight into the work of the ministry and

becomes effective and useful to his community.

This is why a summit like this promises to be a very refreshing time for ministers.

“Needless to say that this kind of summit will foster the much needed love and unity in the body of Christ which in turn will create a more enabling environment for meaningful and effective evangelisation,” Bamgbola said.

He commended Kumuyi for the initiative, saying the man of God had been a unifying force among Christians in Nigeria.

Sola Ore, the chairman PFN Lagos State chapter, said the summit would help unite the church, stating that maintaining denominational differences was creating a lot of division in the body of Christ.

“We believe this summit will provide Christian leaders, pastors, opportunity to experience some personal spiritual renewal.

So, we are asking pastors and other children of God to come for this conference. It is not about bringing you to join a particular church.

No more denomination barriers in the body of Christ,” Ore stated.

Many of today’s prophetic declaration are based on emotion rather than from God - Rev. Idowu Reverend Olusola Idowu is the pastor in charge of Ajayi Dahunsi Memorial Baptist Church, Ilasamaja, Lagos. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, he said INEC as an institution of government needs more of empowerment than decentralisation as being advocated for in some quarters. Excerpts: As we await the outcome of yesterday’s gubernatorial election, some persons have called for the decentralization of INEC following the way and manner it handled the pre and post 2019 election processes; what is your take on this? y take on that is; if the decentralisation of INEC is done; the question remains, would the system change? What I mean by that system is; it is not just about the structure of the system but the people who are involved.

We have a lot of things that have been decentralized, how much of that have helped to change the country. People have said lets go regional even as a country; who are the players if we decentralized and say ok, let this department be in charge of registration; let that department be in charge of orientation, let that department be in charge of election – at the end of the day, it is still the same body, we have only succeeded in decentralising: but then there would still be one person coordinating all the affairs, order wise there would be confusion. So, the question I would love to ask is: are we going to import different people to run these agencies? If it’s the same people, why can’t we empower and orientate them

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Reverend Sola Idowu

to that we can get results; what we need is results, not so much of system or structural change but results and then we work more on the personnel.

Considering the number of death recorded during elections; how can we curb the rise in electoral violence across Nigeria?

I will say more and more orientation should be carried out; and part of the way to curb it is also for clergymen not to be partisan.

When people come to us, let us welcome everybody even when

we have our own position because we are first of all human being too.

The clergyman also want good schools for his children, he want good road, and all the rest. So, we need to embrace everybody, we need to welcome everybody, but we also need to speak the truth and tell everyone that violence does no one any good. There is no one that can benefit from violence, those who perpetuate it as well as those who are victim; nobody can really benefit from violence in the true sense of it. So, I think we need to do more about orientation and more of education about the possible impact of violence on the polity.

In the past two seasons, we have had national elections preceding lent; what lessons can the church draw from this?

Let me start by saying it is a mere coincident because the lent season is usually around February/ March, leading to April depending on when Easter period is. The second note is that why it could be a mere coincident, it could also have some lessons for us as Christians that this is a time we need to conduct ourselves in a manner that will draw testimony to our confession of faith. That does not say that we should not conduct ourselves at anytime in a manner that draw testimony to our faith but, lent season is a time to retreat, refresh and seek the

face of God more as to what he wants us to be and how he wants us to live our lives.

The church and especially clergymen are supposed to be apolitical; however what is the implication of having people attending political campaigns with religious roles?

I must confess that what you said earlier remain our position: the clergymen are supposed to be father of all; they are supposed to embrace everyone, except those who have sold their heart to the devil – even those who have sold their heart to the devil, the clergymen are still expected to do what it takes to win them back to God. But I think it is an aberration for any clergyman to wear a spiritual rope to any political campaign. Of course they can come to us, we cannot stop them; they can come to the church, we cannot stop them; then take that opportunity as the father of all to tell them this is the state of the country and the expectations of the people, but to go to a particular rally of a political party it shows partisan politics which we try as much as possible to discourage; so it is an aberration.

Why do prophesy really fail: many prediction about the outcome of the 2015/2019 elections were wrong; is it that God no longer reveal his mind to us or we

don’t hear from God? I will say that honestly speaking we are yet to fully understand what we mean by prophesy.

Prophesy simply means to proclaim the mind of God; it’s usually in two ways, it could be front telling foretelling: front telling in the case of declaring what is already known to everybody but saying it so that everybody can hear. But, the foretelling is predictive: why one is proclamatory, the other is predictive. The one that is predictive; it is expected that whosoever is going to do that must have heard from God, but today people who parade themselves all around – sorry to say, while one is not trying to call attention to self, one is not even sure of their salvation experience; and you ask yourself who are they speaking for.

Some of these people are agents of the devil, some are agent of self, and some of these people are agents of politicians, and today in almost every family now we have somebody who is a pastor and it is like everybody can talk and predict what God is saying.

My simple answer to that is, if God has spoken through anyone, surely it will come to pass. So, for many today, they just look for indices here and there and they conclude this is what God is saying; so they speak more from emotion rather than from God.

Sunday 10 March 2019

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BDSUNDAY 39

BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

Empowering women to become entrepreneurial is for African benefit – AWIEF founder Irene Ochem is the founder/ CEO of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). The continental body is hosting a special business networking event to celebrate the 2019 International Women’s Day (IWD) on 13th March, 2019 in Lagos with the Theme “Building for a Better Tomorrow”. In this interview, Irene says Africa has dearth of female innovators and women in technology meaning untapped potentials for national economies and job creation. Irene strongly believes that men have a key role to play in this narrative of the Gender Agenda. Excerpts

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What is AWIEF all about and when was it formed? he Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) is a Pan-African women’s economic empowerment organisation which nurtures and actively promotes women entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa, through a portfolio of high impact development programmes, including the annual AWIEF conference, exhibition and awards event.

AWIEF was launched in 2015 with an international conference in Lagos.

AWIEF gathers business leaders, innovative thinkers, policy makers, corporate stakeholders and young female entrepreneurs from across the continent to release creativity and craft solutions for Africa’s challenges at its annual conference. This is bolstered by key accelerator, enterprise development and networking programmes that mentor and empower women as business owners and business leaders across several sectors all year round.

What would you consider as the achievements of the organisation in its last four years of existence?

Over its short existence, AWIEF has lived true of its mission of fostering the economic inclusion, advancement and empowerment of women in Africa through entrepreneurship support and development. We have achieved global recognition as a key African entrepreneurship ecosystem player and have established a track record in successfully creating and implementing bespoke and impactful business accelerator and women entrepreneurship programmes that have benefited several hundreds of women.

Accelerators Our flagship AWIEF Growth Accelerator is designed to support early-growth-stage womenowned and women-led businesses in diverse sectors with the business modelling and growth strategy required to scale their ventures. Launched in 2017, the program serves to enhance business linkages and investment readiness.

FemBioBiz Accelerator is an AWIEF women’s economic empowerment programme that focuses on viable business ideas and gender inclusion in the agrifood, health and nutrition sector.

With FemBioBiz, we work with women in the biosciences sector

but the programme also appeals to linked industries and crosscutting themes such as waste management and biodiversity.

VALUE4HER AWIEF is currently implementing in 10 Southern African countries, VALUE4HER, a project focused on strengthening women’s agribusiness enterprises.

AWIEF Awards In 2017, we launched the AWIEF Awards to annually honour and celebrate the achievements of women entrepreneurs and innovators across the African continent.

AWIEF Digital Hub We are continuously building the AWIEF Community of African women entrepreneurs. The newly launched AWIEF Digital Hub (http://ongea.africa/) is the first comprehensive African digital and online platform for everything related to women entrepreneurship on the continent. It gathers the strength of the AWIEF network and informs the world on the development of business women in Africa.

Annual AWIEF Conference The year-round activities culminate in convening and hosting the popular and widely attended annual international and multistakeholder AWIEF conference, exhibition and awards event that gathers under one roof the entire African entrepreneurship ecosystem and currently in its fifth edition. AWIEF2019 will be held on 29 and 30 October 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa with the theme: “Enhancing Impact: Digitilisation, Investment and Intra-African Trade”.

Does AWIEF have local bodies in different African countries?

AWIEF operates from Nigeria and South Africa. We are looking into opening local bodies in more regions and countries in the coming years.

The African body is billed to celebrate its 5th anniversary next week Wednesday with the theme “Building for a Better Tomorrow”, could you tell us more about this event and what informed the theme?

AWIEF is hosting a special business networking event to celebrate the 2019 International Women’s Day (IWD) on 13th March at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. IWD is set aside for the global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The theme “Building for a Better Tomorrow” is informed by the fact that women

Irene Ochem

are under-represented in formal entrepreneurial activities with huge consequencies for Africa’s overall development and economic growth. Africa has dearth of female innovators and women in technology meaning untapped potentials for national economies and job creation. Supporting and empowering women and girls to become more entrepreneurial and competitive is clearly for the benefit of the continent. This is in line with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

How many delegates are expected and who are the speakers at the forum?

The 13th March AWIEF event is organised in partnership with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Bank of Industry, GE Africa, Embassy of Sweden in Abuja, International Women’s Society, Nigeria and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).

Speakers include Vanessa Adams, Vice President, Country Support and Delivery: AGRA; Margaret Hirsch, Founder and CEO: Hirsch’s Homestore, South Africa; Ida Hockerfelt, Deputy Head of Mission: Embassy of Sweden, Nigeria, Patricia Obozuwa, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer: GE Africa; Honourable Leigh-Anne Mathys, Member of Parliament: Republic of South

Africa; Teju Abisoye, Director: Programme and Coordination, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund; Obi Asika, CEO: Dragon Africa; and Didi Akinyelure, Business correspondent, Nigeria: Thomson Reuters.

After the forum, what do we expect in terms of resolutions and recommendations to governments and organisations?

In Africa there is a lot left to be done to achieve gender balance and attain the SDGs by 2030.

Governments and organisations must intensify efforts to remove barriers and constraints that limit the ability of women to fully and equitably participate in the economy and public sector.

How would you assess gender equality in Nigeria?

Gender equality in Nigeria is very low both in government and the private sector. Nigeria has one of Africa’s lowest levels of female representation in parliament, far below other African nations such as Rwanda, Botswana, and South Africa where women hold more than one-third of parliament seats, even above some Western countries.

There are plethora of women bodies Pan Nigeria and Pan Africa. Do you think they are speaking the same language?

I think they are speaking the same language. The more awareness is created, the more chances we have for a shift in mind-set

and that African leaders start to recognise the need and benefit of more inclusive participation. We have unprecedented opportunities to collaborate in order to bring life-changing solutions to our problems. Our continent is unique. Our solutions must be home grown.

Do you think that men are disenfranchised as there are more organisations promoting women causes than men?

I do not think that men are disenfranchised, after all the gender balance is to their favour!

A lot of organisations like AWIEF have been at the forefront of advocating gender equality. Do you think Nigeria is behind/ slow on gender equality? What are the necessary barriers?

Yes, Nigeria is slow on gender equality and some of the barriers include: patriarchy, social and cultural bias, and access to education.

Women tend to be confused between achieving gender- balance through policies/ law, moral suasion or hard work, what do you think is the best approach?

The best approach for me is engaging with policy makers for gender mainstreaming as well as creating platforms for conversations and discourse that include men. Men have a key role to play in this narrative of the Gender Agenda.

In all honesty, considering nature of certain jobs, do you think gender-balance is achievable in all organisations?

We have seen a lot of women as leaders and super-performing in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

From your statement, “African women are reshaping the modern global economy. Yet, women own just one percent of the world’s wealth and only a fraction of that is attributable to African women”, what do you think is the fundamental challenge here?

The challenge is that of unequal access to finance, market, knowledge, productive resources, and business ecosystems and networks tailored for female entrepreneurs, all of these ingredients for business success and wealth creation.

AWIEF is addressing these issues with specific programmes designed to support, connect and inspire African women entrepreneurs. The creation and support of economically viable businesses is linked to promoting gender equality between men and women in working life.

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EquityMarket

Stock market in ecstasy as Nestle, GTB, Stanbic IBTC reward investors with N129bn

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Stories by TELIAT SULE arket sentiment improved significantly throughout last week following the announcements of more mouth-watering dividends for investors, BusinessDay Dividend Monitor 2019 computed by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) shows.

As at the close of business last week Friday, total proposed dividends rose to N499.97 billion from N371 billion in the previous week.

The increase in the proposed dividends came from Nestle Nigeria, GTB, Stanbic IBTC, Seplat Petroleum and McNichols Consolidated.

Nestle Nigeria has proposed N38.5 final dividend per share for the financial year ended December 31, 2018 and upon approval by its shareholders, will bring the total dividend paid in 2018 to N58.50 per share having earlier paid N20 interim dividend.

The current corporate action represents 244 percent increase over N15 dividend per share paid in 2017.

The food and beverages giant, Nestle posted N266.3 billion revenue in 2018 as against N244.2 billion revenue the company made in 2017.

Operating profit rose by 8.9 percent from N55.69 billion in 2017 to N60.6 billion in 2018. Profit before income tax rose to N59.8 billion from N46.8 billion, an increase of 27.6 percent during the period.

Total comprehensive income for the year was N43 billion, which was 27.5 percent higher than N33.72 billion it realised in the preceding year. Nestle Nigeria increased its corporate social responsibility fund (CSR) by over 1500 percent from N2.09 million in 2017 to N33.96 million in 2018. Beneficiaries of its kind gesture included Nestle for Healthy Kids School rehabilitation project in Ogun State which gulped N13.52 million, Nestle for Healthy Kids rehabilitation project in Abaji which gulped N10.645 million and Community water projects in Flowergate which attracted N9.8 million. The register of members will close on May 13, 2019 while its AGM will come up on

May 28, 2019.

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has proposed N2.45 final dividend per share for the full year ended December 31, 2018. This brought its total dividend for 2018 to N2.75 per share having earlier paid N0.30 interim dividend. This compares with N2.70

UAC appoints Ibiyinka Oriola as group finance director

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he board of the UAC Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Ibikunle Ibiyinka Oriola as the group finance director, a notice

by Godwin Samuel, company secretary and legal adviser stated.

Ibikunle worked as group finance officer, Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited where he had oversight on the group’s finance function. Prior to that, he was the group CFO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria responsible for executing

a broad range of finance and ancillary roles.

Oriola is a seasoned professional with 17 years experience gained from diverse functional roles covering finance, strategy, risk management and corporate finance. He has provided strategic finance leadership driving transformational and growth agenda of conglomerate businesses spanning several sectors such as hospitality, real estate, powe, agriculture and asset/funds management.

total dividend per share paid in 2017.

GTB’s 2018 interest income declined to N306.96 billion compared with N327.33 billion made in the previous year. A 4.8 percent increase in interest expense from N80.67 billion in 2017 to N84.53 billion in 2018 caused a 9.8 percent slide in net

interest income which fell to N222.43 billion from N246.66 billion in 2017.

Interestingly, fee and commission income rose to N52.4 billion in 2018 in contrast to N42.9 billion realised in 2017. Net fee and commission income increased to N50.47 billion up from N40.73 billion in 2017. Profit

before tax for 2018 was much better at N215.59 billion in contrast to N197.69 billion made in 2017. Profit for the year rose by 9.96 percent from N167.9 billion in 2017 to N184.6 billion in 2018.

In the course of the year, community and corporate social responsibility projects gulped N928.08 million up from N687.1 million expended on similar projects in 2017. The African Drum Festival and Art 635 Gallery were the major beneficiaries o f the arts CSR projects in 2018. Also, the Africa Centre Development, Orange Cycle Initiatives, Orange Ribbon-Autism Project, Simple Change Impact and the Swiss Red Cross Partnership topped the list of GTB’s 2018 community projects. And in education CSR, the annual Principals’ Cup and Financial Inclusion were the major beneficiaries.

Stanbic IBTC has proposed to pay N1.50 final dividend for the financial year 2018, an improvement over N1 that was paid in 2017. Gross earnings rose by 4.67 percent from N212.4 billion in 2017 to N222.36 billion in 2018. Net interest income fell to N78.2 billion in 2018 down from N83.6 billion in 2017. Non-interest revenue boosted IBTC’s profitability, rising by 15 percent from N89.2 billion in 2017 to N102.6 billion.

Profit for the year rose to N74.44 billion in 2018 up from N48.4 billion in 2017. Corporate social responsibility projects gulped N233.4 million in 2018 down from N436.6 million in 2017. The major beneficiaries were Deeping Financial Inclusion, N35 million; Lagos State Security Trust Fund, N35 million and the Global Fund for the eradication of Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, N21.8 million.

Seplat has proposed $0.05 final dividend per share for the financial ended December 31, 2018 just as McNichols will be paying its shareholders N0.05 final dividend per share.

Meanwhile, more than 43 stocks have appreciated by different degrees year to date. C & I Leasing still tops with 308.4 percent year to date gain. Others are Dangote Flour, 52.6 percent; Royal Exchange, 45.5 percent; Ikeja Hotel, 39.2 percent; Cutix, 37.2 percent among others.

NSE commemorates 2019 International Women’s Day

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, March 8, 2019, joined the rest of the world to commemorate the International Women’s Day (IWD).

The Nigerian bourse hosted a halfday symposium and ‘Ring the Bell’ for gender equality at the Exchange in Lagos. Themed “Balance for Better”, the event was targeted at galvanizing efforts in line with The Exchange’s objective to accelerate progress towards bridging gender parity.

The event, organized in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN Women, United Nation Global Compact (UNGC), World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEI), brought together male and female thought leaders from emerg-

ing industries to take a more holistic look at gender balance and its reality to businesses.

In attendance at the symposium was Eme Essien, Country Director, International Finance Corporation (IFC) who discussed the opportunities for women in key industries and shared insights on how technology could bridge the gender gap. It also featured panel discussion by experts across different fields such as Serah Makka-Ugbabe, Country Director, ONE Campaign; Olukemi Awodein, Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham; Olusola Amusan, Philanthropies Lead, Microsoft Nigeria; Lady Sandra Aguebor, Founder, Lady Mechanic Initiative; Ola Brown, Managing Director, Flying Doctors Nigeria and Debola Williams, Founder, Red Media Africa.

Commenting on the celebration, Olumide Orojimi, Head, Corporate Communications, NSE, stated, “As a sustainable stock exchange, gender balance is at the heart of NSE’s Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility strategy; we are building a hub where employees have access to the same opportunities and are able to grow their career irrespective of their gender.

“We promote a work environment that is inclusive as we believe that achieving gender equality is paramount to developing the society.

We have a female to male employee ratio of 1:2 and we are making surefooted steps to increase the number of women in our employment, especially those in leadership positions”, Orojimi said.

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BDSUNDAY 41

NewsExtra Even if I lose, I already have job in Abuja, says El-Rufai Abdulwaheed Adubi, Kaduna

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overnor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that he would not bother if he lost the gubernatorial election and that whatever the outcome of the exercise would not make him lose sleep.

Incumbent El-Rufai con-

tested in the yesterday governorship election, seeking a re-election.

About 36 other candidates from various political parties contested with him.

The governor, an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, reportedly lost at the Government House, losing to the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Isa Ashiru. He polled 116 as against the

PDP’s 142.

Fielding questions from journalists, at his polling unit 024, Ungwar Sarki ward around yesterday, El-Rufai said he was not under any tension over the election because President Muhammadu Buhari has already won his reelection.

“I have no fears if I win or not because the President has already won his reelection. The worse thing

Sanwo-Olu, Agbaje hopeful...

Continued from page 1

that could happen is for me to lose the election.

But since the President has already won his re-election bid, it means I already have a job in Abuja.

“Only my staff are jittery if I win or not and I usually share this joke with them.

But the security in the state has improved because everything has been orderly and from the information I am getting, polling units opened early,” he said.

L-R: Nkechi Ejesi, corporate communication manager, FrieslandCampina WAMCO; Maureen Ifada, marketing manager (Peak) ; Dolapo Otegbayi, head shopper marketing ; Ben Langat, managing director; Ore Famurewa, corporate affairs director; Stephanie Omobuwajo, senior HR Business Partner, and Bola Fadaka, employee relations manager, during the International Women’s Day Celebration held at the company premises in Ogba-Ikeja, Lagos with the theme ‘Balance for Better’

NIWA, Liebherr sign N1.6bn APC wins Ambode, Tinubu, contract for Lokoja River Port Sanwo-Olu’s polling units Victoria Nnakaike, Lokoja

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ational Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), has signed a N1,600,344.513 contract with Messrs Liebherr Nigeria Limited for the supply and installation of 64 tonnes mobile harbour crane for Lokoja-Jamata River Port complex.

The contract was signed at NIWA headquarters in Lokoja. Speaking at the occasion, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the board, Olorunnimbe Mamora disclosed that the contract signalled the beginning of the revamping of waterways transportation.

The NIWA boss equally disclosed that the project was one of the four river ports under construction

that is at the heart of the Federal Government, saying “The essence of building these ports is to enhance inland waterways transportation across the country and boost employment opportunities for our teeming youths.”

He also hinted that the agency was set to curb water mishap that had suddenly become a recurring decimal in the country of recent, adding that non compliance with NIWA code, overloading, over-speeding, substance abuse by operators and unworthy vessels as some of the reasons for the upsurge in water mishap.

Mamora however, emphasised that the agency had commenced steps towards curbing the occurrences, stressing that challenges of funding and personnel has been the problem facing the agency.

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agos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Bola Tinubu, former governor of the state, secured victory for their party, All Progressives Congress (APC) in their respective polling units in the governorship/state house of assembly elections.

The APC won at Ambode’s polling unit 033, Ward A, at Ogunmodede College, Ajaganabe, Papa

Epe, securing 262 votes, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), polled 62 votes in governorship election.

In the House of Assembly election, the APC also won with 253 votes while the PDP scored 61 votes.

At Tinubu’s polling unit 047, on Sunday Adigun Street, Alausa, Ikeja, APC scored 157 votes to beat PDP which got 11 votes.

The ruling party also won in the state House of Assembly election, as it grabbed 157 votes as against PDP, which secured 10 votes.

At polling unit 019, on Lateef Jakande Road, Ikoyi, where the APC governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu voted, the party also emerged tops, securing 124 votes to beat PDP which got 26 votes.

mocracy (AD) in the state, Owolabi Salis, has said he would only accept the results of the election if the process was free and seen to be fair.

Salis spoke with journalists at his Gbagada Estate Polling Unit 064, inside Atunrase, accusing some parties of attempting to buy votes and influence voters at the polling unit.

Sanwo-Olu spoke with newsmen after voting at his Polling Unit, 019, Lateef Jakande Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The candidate, who also described the governorship and states assembly polls as generally peaceful, said he was sure of victory.

According to Sanwo-Olu, a former commissioner for establishments and training in Lagos, having in the last few months met with various stakeholders across sectors of the economy, and sold his programmes, he was certain of securing a win.

The governorship candidate, who, however, acknowledged receipt of reports of late arrival of INEC staff and election materials in some parts of the state, said it was a temporary setback that would be overcome.

He said he equally had a slight delay casting his vote as a result of malfunctioning of the card reader at his polling unit, but was later resolved, enabling him and his wife to vote at about 11am.

Agbaje, who also expressed optimism that he would win the election, noted that the low turnout of voters witnessed in the elections may not be unconnected with the violence that rocked some parts of Lagos on February 23 Presidential/ National Assembly elections.

Agbaje spoke with journalists after voting at Polling Unit 002, Ward A, Apapa, appealing, however, to the voters in the state not to be deterred or discouraged from exercising their voting right.

BusinessDay observed general low turnout of voters in most parts of Lagos metropolis and late arrival of INEC staff with election materials, a development that led to delay in the commencement of voting in affected polling units.

“We have quite a number of units where elections have not taken off yet. We still have this confusion about card readers. We are having a situation where in some polling units, the card reader is not working, and people are saying they cannot vote.

“For me, however, today, fortunately after several attempts the card reader identified my fingerprints, but

what I am saying is that it has to be a uniform process.

“If the card reader is not working, is manual going to be allowed, is it not going to be allowed? So, we have that as an issue. We hope that, as the day goes by, we would have more people coming out to vote,” said Agbaje.

On the low turnout, he said, “in the case of Lagos today it could be as a result of what happened during the last election in terms of intimidation, in terms of thuggery, ballot snatching, violence.

“But there are deeper issues and that is that if the people do not believe in the process, then they ask themselves why bother? It’s a chicken and egg situation.

We just have to appeal to the people that they must come out to exercise their franchise,” he added.

Agbaje expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious in the election, saying, “the numbers are on our side.”

Meanwhile, the national leader of the ruling APC, Bola Tinubu has dismissed any form of threat to victory of his party in the ongoing elections in Lagos.

Tinubu, who spoke to journalists after casting his vote at polling unit, 043, Sunday Adigun Street, Alausa, said the major opposition party, PDP, was no match to APC in Lagos, and therefore, possesses no threat at all.

He said Lagos State since 1999 has been governed by progressive minds, adding that the state would continue to be administered by the progressives.

Tinubu also alluded to the financial strength of Lagos which, according to him, is a function of the ingenuity of the leaders since 1999.

“From N600 million monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 1999, the state today is generating over N30 billion monthly IGR. No state in Nigeria can boast of that.

They all depend on federal allocations. Lagos is the state that is building infrastructure and tarring roads with its IGR. That’s what the progressives in the state have done,” said Tinubu.

The former governor, while answering question relating to the violence that rocked some polling units in Lagos, especially Okota, in the February 23 Presidential/Assembly elections, said though unfortunate, it was not enough to discredit the overall outcome of the elections or to tag Lagos a violent place.

On today’s elections, Tinubu, who described it as orderly, reaffirmed his belief that APC would sweep the polls.

42 BDSUNDAY

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Sunday 10 March 2019

NewsExtra Intense lobbying as APC members jostle for juicy offices

Ilorin notorious criminal, Ariyo, 4 others to die by hanging

...President’s wife throws weight behind card- carrying members ...We are ready to tackle anyone who attempts to hijack this government - BSO

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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head of the May 29th second term inauguration of Pr e s i d e n t Mu hamamdu Buhari, there are indications that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have begun to mount intense pressure on the President for an early constitution of his cabinet.

This is just as some APC members have also begun intensive lobbying for juicy positions, especially ministerial positions.

Speaking at a Special dinner to celebrate the President’s victory, First Lady, Aisha Buhari, said the party must compensate those who worked hard for her husband’s re-election.

“I want to assure you that everyone who worked for the President’s victory will have their rewards this time around,” she said.

The same position was canvassed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika,

Buhari

who while praising the tenacity of APC members who persevered against all odds to work for Buhari’s re-election, noted that their perseverance led to the success of the party at the Presidential poll.

A credible source told BDSUNDAY that the President is already facing immense pressures to inaugurate his cabinet early to avoid previous mistakes

that almost grounded his administration It was gathered that since the President traveled to Daura, his home town, to vote in the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections, Daura has become a Mecca of sorts for politicians who are lobbying for positions.

Most of the lobbyists are said to be working through the President’s wife, Aisha,

who had been championing the course of the “forgotten APC members.”

But some of those who worked for the success of the President’s re-election bid such as the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) have also vowed to ensure that no one is allowed to hijack the administration.

In a telephone interview, a staunch supporter of the President and a leader of the BSO, Gidado Ibrahim said the President must be allowed to choose who to work with, this time around.

According to him, the Pr e s i d e n t h a s a l r e a d y strongly grounded himself in the affairs of the country and therefore, knows where to direct his attention based on his promises made to Nigerians during his campaigns “We need credible people. The President has promised to form an inclusive government and he must be allowed to choose the right people to work with,” Ibrahim said.

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n Ilorin High Court has sentenced a notorious criminal, Olatunji Ibrahim Ariyo and four others to death by hanging.

Ariyo who is popular in the state capital for his nafarious activities was sentenced along side, Ganiyu Sulyman Yaro, Timothy Oyebanji, Lukman Olateju Sanda and Akeem Olayinka (deceased).qJustice Adenike Akinpelu, the convict were tried on a six count charge for the offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, causing mischief by fire and theft contrary to section 6 (b) and 1 (2) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004 and sections 337 and 286 of the Penal code.

The court held that on 25th April, 2015, the convict committed the said offences at Agbarere area, in Ilorin.

“Each of the convict is

sentenced to imprisonment for a term of two years and the sum of N25,000 is imposed as fine on each of them on count 5 for causing mischief by fire.

“Each of the convict is sentenced to death to be executed pursuant to Robbery and Firearms Act on count 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the offences of criminal conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery respectively,” it stated Making appearance for the prosecution are the state Director of Public Prosecution, Barr. Abdulmumini Adebimpe Jimoh, Senior State Counsels, Kayode Adekeye and B. O Banigbe.

Barr. Toyin Muhammed Onanolapo appeared for the first accused while Barr. Ayodeji Azeez represented the second accused in the matter.

According to the proof of evidence, Ariyo with his gang invaded home of no fewer than eight families in Ilorin metropolis to carry out robbery attacks.

Apapa: Day only one truck was on the port city bridges CHUKA UROKO

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t looked scary and awesome; it had the aura of a graveyard; it all sounded incredible, yet true. Only one truck was on the three interlinking bridges that lead to Apapa from the National Stadium. That was yesterday, Saturday, March 9 2019. It is, indeed, a day to remember.

All the way from Ojuelegba through Stadium Bridge

up to Eko Bridge, branching off to Funsho William (Western) Avenue onto Ijora Bridge, there was only one spoilt truck on the way to Apapa.

That was the day Nigerians went to the polls to elect their governors and representatives at state houses of assembly. It was a dismal outing all over Lagos as voters stayed away from the polling units, citing intimidation and lack of faith in the electoral process.

Approaching Apapa, it was clear that even the trucks were also angry with Nigeria, its managers and the way elections in the country are incrementally degenerating into the precipice, moving from bad to worse as years roll by.

It was surprising that even the overzealous security agencies were not on the bridges. Commercial motorcycle (Okada) riders were not on the roads or bridges either. The whole environment

R-L: Mohammed Adamu, acting inspector general of Police; Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Sanusi Imam Galadima, representative of the National Security Adviser during the INEC meeting with Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in Abuja, before yesterday’s elections. Picture by TUNDE ADENIYI.

which has garnered notoriety for congestion and suffocation from one million trucks oozing voluminous fumes looked mournful, unusually quiet and deserted. It is a day to remember Nigeria has had six election cycles since its return to democratic rule in 1999. It is on record that each new election cycle is worse than the one before it, meaning that the electoral process managers are not learning anything new; the contestants (politicians) are becoming more desperate and vicious and the contestation itself is becoming messier each passing day.

Nigerians who do the voting are, increasingly, becoming disenchanted and losing interest. Everybody is angry and disappointed that rather than improving, the country is getting worse almost on all fronts. Apapa trucks seem to have joined this fray, but from history they may not be patient for too long.

So, expectation is that when work resumes fully on Monday, and Nigeria returns from the long hibernation induced by the elections, the trucks will come back forcefully, taking over all available spaces and squeezing other road users to a tiny and precarious corners of the roads

and bridges.

Trucks have done unimaginable things in Apapa. They are the reason residents have left their houses built with their life savings to become tenants and strangers in other corners of Lagos. Trucks have despoiled the Apapa environment; rendered investments useless and killed many businesses.

Trucks are the reasons house rents have gone down by over 50 percent, property values have depreciated and vacancy rate is in the region of 50 and 60 percent. This is why pensioners are groaning for lack of rental income on their property investment.

Trucks are, indeed, reasons over 40 percent of houses in the erstwhile burgeoning Apapa GRA are empty and deserted.

Before now, Wharf Road and Commercial Road used to be the ‘Central Business Districts’ of this port city where high net worth firms and banks had their offices and branches respectively.

Today, a walk through these ‘districts’ shows that most of the banks have either relocated or have the number of their branches reduced.

Because of the invasion of Apapa by these trucks, on Wharf Road alone, more than 10 banks and two eat-

eries have shut down their branches due to the pain and difficulty in accessing these branches, leading to loss of substantial customers in the area.

Unity Bank, for instance, which used to have four branches, now has two, Ecobank with eight branches has reduced to four and Access Bank with seven branches also cut down to four.

Eateries like Tetrazini has shut down, Tantalizer with three outlets has reduced to one and the only Mr Biggs eatery in Apapa on Creek Road is now out of the market. Film House Cinema inside Apapa Mall has also shut down. Even the famous Apapa Amusement Park which used to be a source of joy for the kids has been shut down due to low patronage.

The popular Eleganza complex that used to house over 1000 offices is virtually empty because the tenants have relocated or are out of business. The few tenants, who are still hanging on, owe several months of rent. The complex which used to be the centre of activities is now a ghost of itself, empty, deserted and dilapidated. And to the owner of the complex, it has become an investment gone awry.

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BDSUNDAY43

AcrossTheStates Amid heavy security presence, Deltans vote in guber/state assembly elections Mercy Enoch, Asaba

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mid tight security, the electorate in Delta went to polling units to cast their votes for their preferred candidates in the governorship and state house assembly elections held across the state.

No fewer than 50 gubernatorial candidates of the various political parties in the state, including the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) participated in the election.

There were also various candidates from the registered political parties contending for the 29 constituency seats in the state assembly.

There was heavy presence of combined team of security personnel along the roads and streets of Asaba, the state capital, as early as 6am, barricading the roads and streets even before the official time of accreditation and voting at 8am.

The security teams, including soldiers, policemen and civil defence, immigration officers amongst others, only allowed road users who presented their voter’s card, to pass through the roads. They also allowed people on essential duties access to the roads.

Election materials left most Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Registration Area Centers (RACs) before 8am from where they headed to the

polling stations.

In the Delta North Senatorial District monitored by our correspondent, the elections were held under peaceful atmosphere.

The state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who cast his vote by 8:40am expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious in the governorship polls.

Okowa was accompanied to the voting centre by his wife, Edith, and his children who voted in different polling units at Ward 2, Omi Primary School, Owa-Alero, Ika North-East local government area of the state.

The governor in a chat with newsmen shortly after casting his vote at Unit 3 said, “by the grace of God, I will emerge victorious; I have partnered with Deltans, I have worked with them, and by God’s grace, a lot of them will vote for me.”

“The only thing we are doing is to ensure that those who planned to use thugs to disrupt the elections will be handled by the security agencies because, aside plans to disrupt the elections, it would be a no contest situation,” Governor Okowa, who was beaming with confident smile, said.

He described the exercise as peaceful.

“So far, the electoral process is peaceful, and we pray to God that it remains peaceful; people are coming out in their large numbers to cast their votes, a lot of votes have been cast already despite the fact that it is still very early in the day; we hope that the voting process remains peaceful across the state.”

L-R: Oyo State Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; and his wife, Oluseyi, casting their votes at Ward 9, Unit 10, Adelabu Compound, Ibadan South East, Ibadan... on Saturday.

Taraba council boss advocates special voting for PWD’s, decries arrest of PDP members Nathaniel Gbaoron, Jalingo

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ashuka Ipeyen, the chairman of Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to make special ballot papers and boxes for voters living with disabilities (PWD’s) to ease their voting process in subsequent elections.

Ipeyen made the call in his Nyitan polling unit of Donga after voting in the last Saturday’s governorship and state house of assembly elections.

He explained that making special ballot papers and boxes for the PWD’s would amount to international best practice.

The chairman, who appreciated the people of the area for their turnout, however advised INEC to allow all votes to count.

Meanwhile, Darius Ishaku, governor of Taraba State, said the arrest of top PDP mem-

bers in the state have affected the turnout of Saturday’s election in Jalingo, the state capital.

Ishaku decried the development while interacting with Journalists in Igautu polling unit 04 Takum, where he voted at exactly 10:22am Bala Dan Abu, senior special assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity who confirmed the arrest, said that it was undemocratic.

“Voters in Jalingo are afraid of coming out to vote because of the arrest of Danladi Baido, member representing Karim Lamido/ Lau/Arda Kola, and the chairman of Karim Lamido, Idi Mali.

I have formally made complain, but nobody seems to be concerned this is undemocratic”, he said.

The governor applauded voters in the villages for coming out in their numbers to exercise their franchise.

At the time of filling this report, voting in most part of the state was peaceful with high turnout recorded except Jalingo where voters were scared to come out.

Bayelsa governor alleges APC, military collusion in election violence Samuel Ese, Yenagoa

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overnor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Nigerian Army of colluding in perpetrating election violence in the state, in the state House of Assembly election.

Speaking after casting his ballot on Saturday at his Oruware voting unit at Toru-Orua, his country home, Dickson said he received reports that voters were “held hostage at Okpoama and Ewoama.”

He stated that the state has “major challenges arising from the militarisation and clear failure on the part of agencies to do their jobs as it should be,” saying that over a thousand voters could not cast their votes and forced out of their communities.

The governor alleged that the “security forces couldn’t muster the courage” to tackle violent elements in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area who were stopping voters from going to their communities on Friday for voting.

According to him, the military, rather than confronting them, “were turned back by force, and you ask me whether we have a nation within a nation” while noting that some enclaves have been created in the

state by the military in connivance with APC leaders and coordinated by his predecessor.

“In Bayelsa State, enclaves have been created by the federal security agencies in connivance with APC leaders, coordinated

by Timipre Sylva all with a view to making Bayelsa ungovernable,” he said.

The governor also told newsmen that Bassambiri in Nembe Local Government Area that suffered electoral violence two weeks ago was visited by similar fate while at Anyama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, soldiers were aiding the election materials.

Dickson also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not being professional, courageous, competent and respectful of their own guidelines that ‘no card reader, no result’.

According to him, “The Resident Electoral Commissioner and his team in our state have not demonstrated the courage and professionalism, and the competence and respect for their own guidelines. Not my rules, their own rules. The ground rules were, no card reader, no result.

“But in Bayelsa, working in collusion with the security forces, they want to plant APC in Bayelsa by force - by fire by force. People who have no support, they give them military; militarise our places to intimidate.”

PDP alleges APC of vote-buying, disruption of polls in Ondo Hoodlums invade polling units in Ogbomoso, Ibadan, YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has alleged the All Progressives Congress (APC) of disrupting voting process across the state during the House of Assembly poll.

Clement Faboyede, the state chairman of the party who made the allegation while speaking with journalists at his Unit 5&6 Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government Area, noted that he got reports from across the state.

Faboyede accused Agboola Ajayi, the deputy governor of the state, of mobilizing thugs to snatch ballot papers and boxes at Ese-Odo area of the state.

“I have reports across the state that APC are going about with thugs snatching ballot box and papers, it even happened here in my unit, it took the combined efforts of the security agencies to chase them away.

“I was told the deputy governor was moving around with thugs snatching boxes in Ese Odo just to take majority in the house of Assembly,” he said.

Also speaking, Ayo Akinyelure, the senator elect for Ondo Central, said the APC are not popular, hence the reason they resorted to violence and vote-buying during the House of Assembly election.

At his Iselu ward, unit 2 in Idanre Local Government Area, Akinyelure noted that the party unleashed thugs to disrupt the voting process in PDP zones.

seize thumb-printed ballot papers, boxes,

Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan

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oodlums on Saturday invaded Ogbomoso polling unit at Oke Ola Farm Settlement, Unit Four of Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of Oyo State, and carted away thumb-printed ballot papers in all the units in the area.

Olamide Adewale, a man who called from the area, said the thugs allegedly armed to the teeth “just invaded unit 4A in Oke Ola Farm Settlement here in Ogbomoso South Local Government and forcefully drove away all the ballot boxes

en route Ogbomoso/Oyo road. They went in Oyo direction,” It was gathered that the ballot boxes at Ward 3 Unit 3 in Ibadan Northwest were allegedly snatched in the presence of security agents around 2pm.

Likewise, some members of the driver’s union allegedly chased away PDP, ZLP and ADC agents at Cooperative polling units, housing four polling booths in Ward 7, Oluyole Local Government Area.

Also, at ward 12 Odo Oba area polling units 19,20,31 and 32 in Ibadan South East ballot boxes were said to have been carted away by hoodlums.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

AcrossTheStates Police intercept thumb-printed ballot papers in Kano …As Ganduje foresees victory for his party Adeola Ajakaiye, Kano

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he police personnel attached to the Magwan Polling Centre i n Na s s a r a w a Lo c a l Government Area of Kano State have taken into custody a bus containing thumb-printed ballot papers meant for the Governorship and State Assembly elections.

The interception of the Toyota Sienna brand containing ballot papers, ink and stamps, was effected shortly after Kano State Deputy Governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, cast his vote in one of the polling units at the centre, in the early hours of the yesterday.

Eye witness accounts indicated that two vehicles alleged to be loaded with voting materials entered the polling centre, and the occupants were said to have called on one of the INEC ad-hoc staff with the intention of handing the materials to him.

On entering the Sienna car, some of the electorate waiting to cast their votes, who were suspicious of

the move, were said to have invited the security men attached to the polling centre. On interrogation, the occupants of the vehicle were said to be unable to explain their mission, which led to their arrest by the police.

On seeing that the Sienna bus has been impounded, the second car was said to have sped off, leaving the occupants of the Sienna bus, and the contents in the bus to be whisked away to the Police Headquarters in Bompai.

Me a n w h i l e , Ka n o S t a t e Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is the APC candidate for the governorship election, has expressed the optimism that his party will win the governorship contest in the state.

Ganduje gave the assurance while casting his vote along with his wife, at his polling unit in his townGanduje, in Dawakin-Kudu Local Government Area of the state, at around 10am yesterday.

He said the record of his administration in the last threeand-a-half years, are what informed his hope.

Odumakin decries low voter turnout, offers to lead protest over poor treatment of ad-hoc staff Iniobong Iwok

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ctivist Joe Odumakin has lamented the poor turnout of voters in Saturday’s Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly election in the state.

Speaking at her polling unit in Apapa, Odumakin, expressed concern over the poor turnout of voters across the state, while lamenting the late arrival of election materials in several poling units.

“The turnout has been low from what we discovered but Nigerians

must not be deterred; they must not, so that tomorrow you would not blame anybody for your situation”, Odumakin said.

Reacting to the protest of some ad-hoc staff in some parts of the state, Odumakin offered to lead protest against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stressing that there was no justification for INEC owing them.

“I am ready to lead protest against INEC; because these youths have put their lives on the line for this job and they must be paid,” she said.

Masari commends security agencies, peaceful conduct of polls in Katsina Awwal Ibrahim, Katsina

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he Governor of Katsina State, Governor Aminu Bello Masari, has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the security agencies and of the electorate during the governorship and the state House of Assembly elections yesterday.

Shortly after casting his vote at

Masari

the Adult Education Class Polling unit in Masari Ward of Kafur Local Government Area, Governor Masari of Katsina State expressed appreciation with the peaceful manner in which the elections were being conducted.

The governor stated that he was impressed with the way Security agencies are providing security for the electorate who came out to cast their votes.

The exercise in the state witnessed a very low voter turnout across the 34 local government areas of the state.

Although in some areas, especially in Katsina, the state capital, in some polling units a few voters were seen waiting for the INEC ad-hoc staff, even before their arrival.

The election was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere and without any Card Reader challenge.

There were notably more women than men who turned up to vote.

Adelabu, APC candidate, expresses satisfaction with election Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan.

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overnorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Adebayo Adelabu has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the Saturday’s poll, saying “I can tell you that the process is plain, free and fair.”

Adelabu, who disclosed this shortly after he cast his vote at Adelabu Compound Oke Oluokun, polling unit 10, Ward 9 Ibadan South East Local Government Area of the state, said: “I so much believe that we are going to have a credible election at the end.”

Adelabu

The APC candidate flanked by his wife, Oluwaseyi Adelabu said that the electoral body has been

able to learn from its mistake in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections.

According to him, “INEC has learnt from the mistakes of the last Presidential and National Assembly elections as it shows that its personnel appear to have been better trained now.

“I have confidence in INEC that the results which will emerge from the election would be a credible one and it will be acceptable”.

He maintained that the ad-hoc staff deployed for the election showed “expertise in their skills”.

He also expressed satisfaction with the turn out of the electorate in the area, noting that the people of the state have really come out to decide.

Ladoja commends INEC, says Commission’s performance has improved Akinremi Feyisipo,Ibadan

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ormer Governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja has commended INEC for improving on the performances saying the Adhoc staff arrived on time as against what transpired during the Presidential and National Assembly polls.

Ladoja who spoke with journalists shortly after casting his vote at his Ward 10 Unit 13 Ondo Street Bodija Ibadan polling centre, Ladoja however expressed concern over the allegations of ballot box snatching in Aperin, Ojagbo, Iwo Road and some other aress of the metropolis submitting thatbthe perpetrators were out mainly to cause confusion.

Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli spoke in the same vein noting that even though the voters turn out was good, the allegations of ballot box snatching was worrisome.

The Vice Chairman of APC Oyo South Senatorial District, Adekanye Adefisoye debunked the

allegations of ballot box snatching saying it was a false alarm from the opposition to curry sympathy from the public.

He described the voters turnout as fantastic while maintaining that everywhere was peaceful.

Similarly, Adebayo Alao-Akala expressed optimism that the APC candidate, Adebayo Adelabu will

Ladoja

emerge as the elected governor.

Akala said that people who have are yet to come out to vote will eventually show up before the end of the voting exercise.

Also, Senator Elect of Oyo North, Abdul-Fatai Buhari said the coalition of parties is not the determining factor of the low turnout of people Buhari affirmed that Akala’s alignment with the All Progressive Congress is a good omen for the party.

According to him, i pray and I hope my party’s candidate wins the election today. The turnout is a bit low, compared to what we had two weeks ago.

“We have a Candidate here who decided to support APC. Whether you like it or not, he has a sizeable number of supporters, and it is good for us.

While assuring that his party would be victorious in his senatorial district Oke-Ogun said Oyo north is a determinant of the election, it had always been the determiner of election since 1999.

My expectations from my successor - Ajimobi Akinremi Feyisipo,Ibadan

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overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that he expects his successor to leverage on the widely-acclaimed developmental strides of his administration so as to take the state to the next level.

The governor, who expressed the optimism that the candidate of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Adebayo Adelabu would be victorious in the election, advised the incoming governor to ensure that the tempo of development in the state was sustained.

He said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after casting his vote, alongside his wife, Florence, at Ward 11, Unit 20, Oluyole Community Grammar School, Oluyole Extension, Ibadan.

Particularly, the governor said his successor should leverage on his achievements in peace and security, infrastructural revolution, urban renewal, education and health, among others.

He said: “We have laid a solid foundation for whoever is coming after us to build on. I’m optimistic that the candidate of our party will emerge victorious at the end of this exercise.

“But I will expect whoever is go-

ing to succeed me to leverage on our achievements in peace and security.

When we came in, in 2011, Ibadan was notorious for criminal activities and brigandage which earned it the appellation of a garrison.

“You will agree with me that Oyo State of today is a peaceful state, and this peace is the German floor for the unprecedented development of the state. When you look around, you will know that Ibadan and indeed, the entire have witnessed tremendous turnaround.

“My successor should be able to improve on our achievements in education, health, agriculture, urban renewal and infrastructural revolution.

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AcrossTheStates Delta Guber poll: Uduaghan gives INEC pass mark Francis Sadhere, Warri

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mmediate past Governor of Delta State and APC Senatorial candidate, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Saturday gave INEC a pass mark in the conduct of the gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections.

Uduaghan who spoke to journalists after casting his vote at his home town, Abigborodo, Warri North, said though he might not know the security situation across the state so far, there was an improvement compared to the last election.

He said unlike the Presidential and National Assembly election, electoral materials got to the polling units early making it is easy for people to vote on time.

Uduaghan said the improvement might have been as a result of a protest the people carried out during the last election.

“About two days, they (INEC officials) started sending out the materials to the various local government councils and by yesterday, the materials would have been at the RAC (Registration Area Centres) and Abigborodo is a centre.

“But I think my party in Warri North protested. Based on our security experience, if you take the materials a day before the voting to any of the riverine areas, it is a very risky business because people can go there at night and vandalise

Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past Governor of Delta State, casting his vote during the 2019 Governorship and State Assembly elections in his home town, Unit 1, Ward 6, Abigborodo in Warri North, Delta State.

them. So, I think the party protested and INEC evaluated. So, it was this morning that they (INEC officials) left Koko but it was much earlier than the last time,” he said.

On the heavy security presence in Sapele council area, near Warri North, Uduaghan said, “I will not be surprised in the case of Sapele because you know that in the last exercise, there were some skirmishes and people died. So, I think

the security is tighter in these elections because of what happened in the previous elections.

“The security agencies usually evaluate what is on ground based on information and, of course, intelligence report. So, maybe the security arrangement, this time, was because of previous experience, currently information and intelligence report, which I don’t know,” Uduaghan said.

Bauchi guber: Abubakar...

Continued from page 1 beating people, wounding them seriously. These boys are citizens position People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria, citizens of Bauchi; they (PDP) promised to accept the were presumed to be my supportoutcome of the polls as a democrat. ers and some of them are in the While Governor Abubakar said hospital.

“They are snatching ballot he would accept the results based on his conviction that power be- boxes here and there. You know longs to God, Mohammed said he what President Buhari said, he said would accept the results only if the if anyone is caught snatching balelection was free, fair and credible. lot boxes he should be guillotined The Bauchi State governor, who but these people are doing it with spoke with journalists at Jahun impunity. It is unfortunate, but Makama Sarkin Baki 2 polling unit, that will not change outcome of Bauchi after casting his vote at the result because the support is about 9: 55am, stated that even if overwhelming.

“You may change one or two the outcome of the polls did not boxes, ten, twenty when there are favour him, he would accept it.

“It is God Almighty that gives thousands of boxes and almost power to whom he wishes and at 99percent are for Bala Mohammed the time he wishes. I am going to so there is no how you can go and abide by the will of the almighty. I change the trend. When sun comes am a strong believer in the will of out there is no hand that will take it back. So we are grateful to God and the almighty Allah,” he said.

The PDP candidate however, people of Bauchi for making a good told journalists after voting at the choice and I hope God will guide me Central Primary School, Yelwan not to disappoint them.

“I have foreseen crisis because Duguri polling unit in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State this man is doing a do-or-die politics that he would take whoever rigged and truly supporters are being beaten, the military is being brought in him out to court.

“Definitely as a democrat I will and I have heard a lot of money has accept any result. You know I am gone into buying votes; of course, a follower of Goodluck Ebele Jona- they are willing to make announcethan. We believe in democracy but ment for something that is fake. So, certainly my own difference with the moment they do that, there will him is that, if I have been short- be crisis”.

Also, Ali Pate, governorship canchanged I will not accept; I will go to court but if I am beaten clear, I will didate of the People’s Redemption accept and congratulate whoever Party (PRP) has raised the alarm that there were plans to rig the elecdefeats me,” he said.

On the conduct of the exer- tion at collation centers.

Pate called on the security agencise, Bala said: “We have some hiccups here and there, some bad cies to remain neutral in order to situations. We have learnt that Baba keep the peace being enjoyed in Yola, a Superintendent of Police is the state.

Election peaceful in Rivers - Amaechi

APM’s Akinlade; APC’s Kwara APC guber Abiodun, PDP’s Kashamu candidate laments win wards political violence in Ilorin

...Commends Police, Army for maintaining peaceful polls

RAZAQ AYINLA

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ormer Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has described the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in the State as relatively peaceful.

Amaechi, who is also the leader of the All Progressive Congress

Minister of Transportation Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi voting in his Ward 8, Unit 14 Ubima, in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State.

in the state, said his assertion was predicated on the fact that there had been no record of violence compared to what was witnessed in previous elections in the state.

Speaking to newsmen in his country home, Ubima, Ward 8, Unit 14, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State, where he voted for his choice candidates for both the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections on Saturday, Amaechi commended the Police, the Military and other security agencies for keeping the peace.

“So far, we have not heard of any shootings and killings. We are completely happy that the Army and the Police are everywhere maintaining the peace. We have held elections in Rivers State where over fifteen to twenty persons were killed but this is the only election that has recorded peace and it is because of the presence of the Military.

“The militants have fled because of the presence of the Military and we are voting peacefully. And you know, one thing about the Soldiers is that they are apolitical, they are neither supporting APC nor AAC or PDP. What they are doing is to maintain peace and ensure that nobody

disrupts the process. I think we will prefer to have this kind of election where everybody is having peace,” Amaechi explained.

Although he alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC compromised by recruiting card carrying members of the PDP as its ad-hoc staff, Amaechi insisted that the peace and tranquility experienced during the exercise was enough to adjudge the polls as peaceful compared to past elections.

“Beyond the fact that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers State recruited PDP members as ad-hoc staff, I think the process is a bit straight forward. For instance, in Khana LGA, the people are refusing to vote because all the ad-hoc staff are known members of the PDP and the electorates have said they would not vote until INEC changes the ad-hoc staff. So, the point remains that if not for the bias of INEC one would say that the election is to a great extent free and fair because nobody is intimidating the people and there is relative peace. But, unfortunately, the REC is unrepentantly a PDP member,” he said.

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dekunleAkinladeoftheAllied People’s Movement (APM); Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buruji Kashamu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have all delivered their wards for their various political parties in the Ogun state governorship election.

Akinlade, the candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, at his ward 3 unit 22, Agosasa in Ipokia local government, polled 343 votes to defeat his closest rival, Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 44 votes.

Both People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 01 and 04 votes, respectively.

At ward 3 unit 2 in Iperu local council area, Abiodun polled 240 votes to defeat both Akinlade and Kashamu who polled 71 and 5 votes respectively.

Kashamu of the PDP also won his ward 6 unit 26, Egbe, Ijebu-Igbo with 310 votes to defeat Akinlade of APM who polled 42 votes while Abiodun polled 20.

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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he Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman, has lamented cases of violence in the governorship and state houses of assembly in elections in the state.

AbdulRahman, while briefing journalists after casting his vote at his Idi Igba open space 004 in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state, disclosed that there are threat of violence which scared people to stay away from polling units, saying that cases of ballot boxes snatching and thugs invasion of polling units were also recorded. AbdulRahman, described the exercise seem less, commending the independent National Electoral Commission for providing the necessary facilities.

Also speaking, a former governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Mashood Mustapha, said there are cases of voters apathy in the morning, but the turn out has increased.

Mustapha also commended the electoral umpire for ensuring that the card readers work perfectly in the conduct of this governorship and state houses of assembly elections.

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Sunday 10 March 2019

Sports GTBank powers 2019 Lagos international polo tournament Countdown to National Institute …. as 33 teams vie for honors in five major cups for Sports summit begins

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Stories By ANTHONY NLEBEM

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enowned indigenous and international polo teams are set to convene in Lagos, Nigeria to compete for highly coveted trophies in the 2019 Lagos International Polo Tournament sponsored by leading African Financial Institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc.

This year’s competition will begin on March 13, 2019 and will see both Nigerian and foreign teams compete in five main cups, namely; the Silver Cup, Open Cup, Oba of Lagos Cup, Low Cup and Majekodunmi Cup. The participating teams drown from all the major polo clubs across the country, include twelve Silver Cup teams, fourteen Lagos Low Cup, five mediumgoal teams for Lagos Open Cup, and two heavy weight teams for the biggest prize, the Majekodunmi Cup. Commenting on GTBank’s sponsorship of the 2019 NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament, Segun Agbaje, Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said; “We love the game of polo, the passion and the symbiosis between the players and their horses, but most importantly, we hold a strong affinity to the sport of kings because it reflects quality, competitiveness and fair play; some of the values that have

L-R: Jide Sipe, head, event management, corporate communications and external affairs, GTBank; Kenneth Edet, chairman, Nigerian Polo Association; Ade Laoye, president, Lagos Polo Club and Seyi Oyinlola, tournament manager, Lagos Polo Club at the Press Conference to usher the 2019 Lagos International Polo Tournament held at the Lagos Polo Club.

made GTBank a Proudly African and Truly International Financial Institution.”

He further stated that; “Our sponsorship of the 2019 NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament, which has grown over the years to become one of the most anticipated social and sporting events of the year, demonstrates our strong belief in the role of sports in developing and uniting our society.”

Tournament Manager, Seyi Oyinlola promised that this year would get better as it has always been over the years adding that “it’s going to be a two weeks of thrilling polo experience for the lovers of the game.”

Oy i n l o l a w h o c o m mended GTBank, which is the main sponsor, stated that having gained reputation as the biggest polo

tournament in West Africa, the Lagos Polo Club look forward to delivering great values for the sponsors with the coming on board of Coca-Cola and Shell which joined BUA, WAPIC Insurance and others in sponsoring the glamorous fiesta.

Lagos Polo Club president, Ade Laoye said the host club is rejuvenated with the continuous infrastructural upgrade stressing that the stables were removed for safety of players and horses to go with international standard.

Laoye added that aside its international touch, the coming of teams from Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt , Ibadan, Abuja and foreign professionals in this year’s tournament makes it a truly national tournament to polish the standard Nigerian players.

Lagos Polo Club Acting Captain, Rotimi Makanjuela disclosed that nine professional players from Argentina , United Kingdom, South Africa , and professional umpires will also feature in the tournament. He also stated that over matches will be played while the tournament, remarkably, will for the fourth year running, feature a female player.

The first week billed to run from March 13, will see Lagos based teams and visiting teams from Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan and Port Harcourt vying for laurels in the Silver and Open Cup respectively.

The highly revered Oba of Lagos Cup, one of the biggest selected prizes, will also be decided in the first stage of the international polo extravaganza.

SO Nigeria athletes set for 2019 World Summer Games

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thletes of Special Olympics Nigerian are set to depart the shores of the country to join other participating contestants from around the world at the World Summer Games which will hold in Abu Dhabi, UAE from the 14th to 21st of March 2019. At a wellattended farewell reception held in their honour, the team was charged to excel in whichever games they were participating in.

The team will participate in 8 Olympic-type sports namely; Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Swimming and Cycling. It would be recalled that the team made the organization proud in the last World Games held in 2017 at Austria where 22 athletes who represented Team Nigeria returned home with 12 Gold and 10 Silver medals.

In a speech deliv-

ered by a board member, Charles Akindayomi, representing the Chairman of the board of Special Olympics Nigeria , Victor Gbol a de Os i bodu expressed confidence in the ability of the team to do well at the games and return victorious as they have undergone 9 months of intensive training and preparation.

“Team Special Olympics Nigeria will be represented by an 84-man delegate consisting of 60 Special Olympics Nigeria Athletes and 24 officials which includes coaches, caregivers and medical personnel who will assist them in the travel and competition” he stated.

He thanked sponsors including, Union Bank,

L-R: Angela Emuwa, Chairman Punch Nigeria, Charles Akindayomi, Member of Board, Special Olympics Nigeria; Nike Ibirogba, Member of Board, Special Olympics Nigeria at the Special Olympics Send forth Event for the World Summer Games held in Lagos.

Caverton Offshore Support Group, Vigeo Holding Limited, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Philips Consulting, Globacom, Sterling Bank, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Soulcomms, AXA Mansard and so many others for supporting the athletes and making their participation in the winter games in Abu Dhabi a reality.

This Games mark the culmination of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Special Olympics, and the beginning of the next fifty years of the inclusion movement.

Th e 2 0 1 9 S p e c i a l Olympics World Summer Games is one of the largest sports and humanitarian event in the world and it is expected to bring together 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches, 1,500 officials, 20,000 volunteers, 3,000 honored guests, 6,000 family members and over

s preparations for the National Institute for Sports’ Silver Jubilee celebrations gather momentum, individuals, brands, companies and sportsmen and women are strategically positioning for active involvement in the all-important event.

Among other things, the Institute will be recognizing different companies, brands, individuals and sportsmen and women who have contributed to the adevelopment of sports over the years in Nigeria.

To flag off the twoday event, a public lecture with the theme, “Activating Sports Potentials: Quality,

Jubilee celebration and convocation which was last held about 12 years ago. We are doing this in partnership with Marcoms agency. We are rebranding the institute by doing these things that we have not been doing in the past” He added that henceforth the convocation ceremony of students would be done regularly, opining that when this is done, it would encourage new students to be sure that when they are through with their studies, they would do their convocation ceremony.

“If we are able to do the convocation ceremony of this backlog of students from 2005

Economy and Lifestyle” under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, will hold in the morning of Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at Civic Centre on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Vitoria Island, Lagos while an Awards/ Gala Night holds in the evening of the same day at the same venue.

This will be followed, next day, by a combined convocation ceremony holding at the NIS Arena inside National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Director/CEO, National Institute for Sports, Dr. Eke Kingdom, disclosed that for some time now, some rebranding efforts had been on-going t the institute all of which would be sustained even after the celebrations.

In his words: “We are also rebranding and marketing NIS. We are going into our Silver

to 2018 and finish it; it is going to be an annual event, henceforth”, he concluded.

Kingdom, however, stressed that for NIS to be well recognized globally, the Federal Government has to come in by improving the institute’s budgetary allocation and its staff overhead.

He pointed out that with such increment; NIS would comfortably replace most of its dilapidated infrastructure as that would help its sports men and sports women do tremendously well.

The event which was earlier slated for the month of January was shifted to March due to the general elections.

Nonetheless, preparations for the NIS celebrations have been intensified and efforts have been made to mobilize the institute’s products and other stakeholders spread across Nigeria and beyond.

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BDSUNDAY 45

Health&Science Nigeria female entrepreneurs spurring innovative support to improve healthcare ...as NHIM initiates Female Founders Network

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ANTHONIA OBOKOH

n Nigeria’s healthcare entrepreneurship ecosystem, there is seemingly low visibility and support for female entrepreneurs, as gender diversity continues to grow.

This is changing, as women are showing dexterity in churning out disruptive innovations aimed at improving the country’s health outcomes - especially for vulnerable populations. They are confidently making their mark in the fastpaced, ever-evolving health sector.

The Nigerian Healthcare Innovation Marketplace (NHIM), an initiative of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) recognised the vacuum, and created the Female Founders Network (FFN) to spur interactions, provide relevant business support and build a sustainable community.

According to the NHIM Team, “The Female Founders Network (FFN) aims to support entrepreneurs with a strong purpose by connecting them to the brightest business minds locally and internationally. The network will provide access to the Nigerian healthcare start-up ecosystem, industry specialists, fellow entrepreneurs, global partners, talent, and capital.”

The team states that the

value-added incentives for female entrepreneurs belonging into the FFN include that innovators will gain access to PHN’s global network, of which benefits incorporate referrals/recommendations to local and international programmes, and linkages with partners.

They say selected innovations will have the opportunity to be showcased on NHIM’s online portal consisting of over 1000 users, and on its social media platforms. However, Start-ups will gain unlimited access to NHIM’s knowledge database consisting of country data and stats, research papers, and academic & business reports both local and

international.

The team added that entrepreneurs would gain access to NHIM’s Innovation Challenges and Hackathons where they will get opportunities to pitch their start-ups for grant funding. Also, innovators would have the opportunity to network and collaborate with other start-ups, experts and investors in the NHIM community through events, workshops, webinars, and mixers.

PHN led by business leaders as the country’s foremost private sector coalition that seeks to complement the government’s efforts to improve health outcomes in Nigeria by mobilising and leveraging private sector capabilities, re-

sources, reach and expertise.

PHN launched the Nigeria Health Innovation Marketplace (NHIM) as its innovation arm serving as a convergence platform for key players in the health innovation ecosystem.

The marketplace focuses on identifying, supporting and investing in promising innovations addressing critical challenges.

NHIM has made efforts to grow its community through the various components of the marketplace. In order to build a sustainable convergence platform, the marketplace is determined to cater to the needs of all key players hence the launch of the Female Founders Network (FFN).

Can supplements help keep depression at bay?

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ew research investigates whether taking nutritional supplements and changing dietary habits can help prevent depression.

On a global level, we are now facing two concerning epidemics, one of which relates to the health of the body and the other to that of the mind, namely, obesity and depression.

In the United States alone, approximately 70 percent of all men and women are overweight or have obesity, while about 6.7 percent of all U.S. adults live with major depressive disorder.

Previous studies have suggested that people who are overweight or have obesity are also more likely to experience depression, leading researchers to wonder whether making dietary changes could help fend off depression.

In a new study called the MooDFOOD trial, a team from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the University of Balearic Islands in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and the University of Leipzig in Germany decided to find out whether different dietary strategies would have any effect on mental health outcomes in overweight or obese

people.

“Because depression is such a common problem, finding effective and widely available ways to prevent depression at a population level is an important goal,” notes Prof. Ed Watkins, one of the study authors.

The researchers’ findings, which now appear in JAMA, offer some hope that certain dietary interventions could be helpful. However, the overall suggestion is that simply making nutritional changes may not be enough to prevent instances of depression.

Supplements bring no mental health benefits For the trial, the investigators recruited 1,025 participants who each had a body mass index (BMI) higher than 25, meaning that they were either overweight or had obesity.

The study participants were living in four different countries — the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain — and specialist assessments had found them all to be at high risk of developing depression, although none of them had depression at baseline.

The researchers randomly assigned about half of the volunteers to take nutritional supplements, including folic acid,

vitamin D, omega-3 fish oils, zinc, and selenium, on a daily basis, while the other half received a placebo.

Half of the participants in the treatment cohort also received psychological and behavioural interventions aiming to help them improve their dietary habits.

After a 1-year follow-up period, the investigators found that taking supplements did not have any protective effect against depression compared with the placebo.

“Diet and nutrition held promise as one means to reach large numbers of people. However, this trial convincingly demonstrates that nutritional supplements do not help to prevent depression,” Prof. Watkins explains.

Dietary patterns may play a role Behavioural therapy to ecourage better dietary habits yielded results that were more positive, but not significantly so.

This intervention did not perform better than the supplement regimen in keeping depression at bay.

However, attending the full number of sessions that the organizers recommended did seem to prevent some depressive episodes in participants who

complied with this advice.

“There was a suggestion that changing food-related behaviour and diet may help to prevent depression, but this requires further investigation,” Prof. Watkins points out.

MooDFOOD trial coordinators Prof. Marjolein Visser and Prof. Ingeborg Brouwer explain that their project, which is the largest randomized clinical trial of its kind to date, led to three major conclusions: “First, a healthy dietary pattern, [such as] a Mediterranean style diet high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, pulses, and olive oil, and low in red meat and full-fat dairy products, may reduce the risk of [...] depression.

Second, in people with obesity, weight loss can lead to a reduction in depressive symptoms.”

“Third,” they add, “current evidence does not support the use of nutritional supplements in order to prevent depression.”

Future studies, the team notes, should look further into how dietary patterns influence mental health outcomes and what types of dietary change are most likely to help prevent depression.

Culled from Medical New Today

3,200 benefit from Adelabu’s medical outreach AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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bout three thousand two hundred 3,200 residents of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital have benefited from a free medical exercise put together by friends of the All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in Oyo State, Adebayo Adelabu.

The week-long medical outreach which ended at the weekend was facilitated by some friends of Adelabu.

Free tests conducted included hypertension, diabetes, visual disturbances and malaria.

The leader of the team, Tola Olayemi,a medical doctor informed that the program was designed to connect with the people of the state and to provide free medical checks and free drugs to adults and children.

Free drugs were given on antimalarials (adult and children), antibiotics, deworming, anti-ulcer, pain relievers, multivitamins, and iron supplements.

The medical team, which included 12 medical doctors, three pharmacists and nurses visited Eleyele, Sango Motor Park, Bodija Market, Kudeti, Oje and Oniyanrin Market.

Others are Apete, Ologuneru, Ido, Sabo, Idi-Ape, Iwo Road, Monatan, Muslim, Oremeji and Alakia.

Some of the beneficiaries while expressing their gratitude, lauded Adelabu for his humanitarian gesture and commended the medical team for taken their time to volunteer to serve the people.

They implored the APC gubernatorial candidate to continue with the exercise when he eventually won the election as governor of Oyo State.

Total Health Trust commits to a healthy Nigeria

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eading Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), Total Health Trust, who turns 21 years this year, hosted a cross section of its clients at a cocktail event in Lagos on Wednesday to appreciate their support. The company reaffirmed its commitment to continuously add value to health insurance in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event CEO, Nick Zaranyika said THT has established itself as the leading provider of managed healthcare in Nigeria and its unrivalled 21-year industry track record has seen THT build a formidable reputation in Nigeria, making it the HMO of choice for over 200,000 members, over 500 corporate clients as well a key partner to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under whose supervision the company provides cover for selected government institutions. “ To t a l He a l t h Tr u s t (THT) is a leading pioneer in Health Maintenance in Nigeria. Its journey dates back to 1998 when the company started operations which marked the genesis of the managed healthcare sector in Nigeria. THT’s vision is to provide Nigerians with access to affordable, quality health care while creating a sustainable environment in which healthcare providers can deliver services.

The company’s success as a leading HMO in Nigeria attracted interest from an international investor which led to the introduction of a

new innovative comprehensive fee for service health insurance product in Nigeria, which provides enrolees the freedom of choice when accessing health care, a first for Nigeria.

THT has one of the largest networks of independent service providers, made up of over 700 private healthcare facilities and more than 1800 NHISaccredited clinics and hospitals throughout Nigeria.

“Our services over the years have been consistent with the quality we espouse.

We are proud to say THT helps make Nigeria healthier. We enable our customers to access affordable, reliable healthcare and we support healthcare providers in their efforts to deliver it. We manage healthcare so that our customers and our partners can thrive,” the CEO says.

He assured the company’s customers and partners of continuous superior services.

“We know a wealthy nation depends on healthy citizens. As a business, we have championed innovative ways to improve health insurance in the country and we are committed to supporting our clients to ensure that their employees and their families receive the best healthcare possible in Nigeria.

“We are committed to a healthy Nigeria, and will continue to drive cohesion in the industry in order to achieve quality healthcare.” he concluded.

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BDSUNDAY 47

Sports

Uefa, EPL investigate Man City over violations of Financial Fair Play Stories by ANTHONY NLEBEM

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he Premier League is investigating Manchester City for allegedly breaching financial fair play rules.

On Thursday, Uefa said it was looking into “several alleged violations” concerning FFP at the club.

Man City claim the allegations are “entirely false” and on Friday, manager Pep Guardiola insisted the situation would not affect his legacy.

The Premier League now says it is investigating financial matters and academy player recruitment at City.

German news magazine Der Spiegel has published a series of claims, based on leaked documents, that Premier League champions City have violated FFP rules.

Th e p u b l i c a t i o n also claims City made a banned payment of £200,000 to Jadon San-

cho’s agent when the England winger was 14 years old.

“The Premier League has previously contacted Manchester City to request information regarding recent allegations and is in ongoing dialogue with the club,” a Premier League statement read.

“The league has detailed financial regulations and strong rules in the areas of Academy player recruitment and third-party ownership.

“We are currently investigating these matters and will allow Manchester City every opportunity to explain the context and detail surrounding them.”

City won the Premier League in 2017-18 and currently top the table.

This season they have been investigated by the Premier League, Uefa, Fifa - over allegations they broke third-party ownership rules - and the Football Association,

over the claims relating to a payment to Sancho’s agent.

The club claims allegations in Der Spiegel are “resulting from the illegal hacking and out of context publication of

City emails”.

FFP rules are designed to ensure the amount clubs spend on their players and wages is approximately equal to what they earn in commercial revenue and prize money.

Uefa previously found City had breached FFP rules in 2014.

Th e t w o p a r t i e s reached a settlement, with City paying a £49m fine - £32m of which was suspended - while

their Champions League squad was reduced for the 2014-15 season.

In January, Uefa’s chief FFP investigator Yves Leterme said City could face a Champions League ban if the claims are proven.

2022 World Cup: FIFA eyes Oman, Kuwait as Qatar co-hosts

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I FA c o n t i n u e s t h e push to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, considering Kuwait and Oman becoming co-hosts with Qatar, which remains in the middle of a complicated diplomatic standoff with several Arab neighbors.

Qatar’s infrastructure is already stretched for the Middle East’s first World Cup, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants to add 16 more countries to the planned 32-team tournament. That’s too many games for the eight stadiums spread over just a 30mile radius in Qatar, a tiny nation with just 2.7 million people, most of them foreign workers.

Infantino has been lobbying for an expanded 2022 tournament for months, even suggesting some games in Saudi Arabia, which is leading the bitter isolation campaign with several Arab neighbors against Qatar. Kuwait has been trying to mediate the crisis.

FIFA is now looking at Kuwait and Oman, a close source told the AP on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Infantino visited Kuwait last month and Oman on Sunday.

Kuwait and Oman have have remained neutral in the diplomatic battle, which began in June 2017. Other

Gulf countries launched a boycott of Qatar over accusations it supports extremist groups, which Doha denies.

FIFA members have already agreed the principle of expanding the World Cup, with 48 teams planned for the 2026 World Cup being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Infantino first announced in April, 2018 that he wanted to fast-track the expansion to 2022,eventhoughQatarcould not cope with 16 more games.

Saudi Arabia has been leading the economic and travel boycott of Qatar with the United Arab Emirates, so holding games in those countries would be problematic. Infantino discussed that during a meeting with Saudi sports leaders at a meeting in Zurich, the person with knowledge of the situation said. The top sports government official in the

UAE acknowledged the fraught political climate currently impedes his country becoming part of Qatar’s tournament plans.

“As far as the co-hosting, currently with the crisis on, I think Kuwait can play a very important role,” Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khalfan Al Romaithi, chairman of the UAE General Authority for Sports, told the AP. “They have one big international stadium, and they are building two extra stadiums. That could solve the problem and it would be easier for the Qataris if the crisis is resolved because you could have Saudi Arabia and the UAE.” The World Cup is already operating in a curtailed 28day period from November 21 to December 18, 2022 after it was shifted from the usual June-July slot to avoid Qatar’s fierce summer heat.

Qatar is building just eight stadiums for a 64-game tournament.

Twelve would be necessary for 48 teams playing 80 games.

Stressing that “Qataris are my brothers,” Al Romaithi embraces Qatar’s right to remain the main host for the Middle East’s first World Cup. His view contrasts with the more hostile tone from the rest of the UAE’s governmen.

“The World Cup is a Qatari World Cup, not any other country,” said Al Romaithi, who is running to be elected president of the Asian Football Confederation in April. “This is their hard work. They won the bid in 2010 and they worked hard to build the stadiums and they are almost ready to host 32 teams.

“But if a decision is taken

by FIFA to increase to 48 then I hope that we all support which means the tension or problems in the Gulf is resolved.”

Ku w a i t h a s t h e 65,000-capacity Jaber AlAhmad International Stadium to host World Cup games, but there is a complete ban on alcohol in the nation. Qatar has exemption that allows foreigners to drink alcohol, but it has yet to confirm how available it will be in stadiums.

Budweiser is a major FIFA sponsor.

Oman’s biggest stadium has 34,000-capacity stadium, which is short of FIFA’s minimum requirement of 40,000 seats.

The decision to award the tournament to Qatar in a 2010 vote forced FIFA to deal with concerns about labor conditions for migrant workers, many building the stadiums. The bidding process for the 2026 World Cup was the first where FIFA assessed the human rights records of countries. Infantino told the AP last year that he would have to weigh up the human rights records of any countries added to the 2022 World Cup hosting.

FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani wants the governing body’s ruling council to decide whether to expand to 48 teams at a meeting in Florida next week.

“I support it,” Montagliani, who leads the CONCACAF confederation, told the AP. “I start in a positive way — unless there is something that makes me change my mind — i.e. Qatar doesn’t want it — or the analysis is negative then I would have to rethink my positive stance.

“I would think we have to have some sort of resolution in Miami because World Cup qualifying starts in some parts of the world this year.”

FIFA’s committee for organizing competitions

confirmed on Monday that Asia will kick off qualifying in June, even though the number of slots of the finals is yet to be decided.

“The same reason we expanded to 48 teams for 2026,” Montagliani said, “it inspires hope, giving more countries inspiration.”

The travel restrictions are also a concern for World Cup organizers who had banked on thousands of supporters traveling to the event from Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. There are several logistical hurdles to clear for an expanded tournament.

FIFA officials have ruled that Qatar, smaller in size than Connecticut, won’t be able to absorb the additional games, and now must decide if neighboring countries possess infrastructure that meets its exacting demands.

Potential hurdles include a ban on serving alcohol in Kuwait as well as the provision of training venues and airports.

Separately, FIFA will have to work out how to add 16 more games into a schedule that has been reduced to 29 days to appease European soccer leagues left furious by moving the tournament from its traditional June-July calendar to November-December because of the ferocious summer temperatures in the Gulf.

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Why the ‘Giant of Africa’ matters

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he results are in.

The giant of Africa, Nigeria, just completed its Federal election for president. The former military dictator and current president, Buhari, was re-elected. Or was he?

The 36 international and 120 domestic observers, overseeing voting in 119,973 polling places in 8,809 electoral wards, declared the election free and fair. But local civil society groups, and the opposition party, say otherwise.

They claim that the election was anything but, and that it was militarised.

Why does it matter?

Wouldn’t it just be easier to let the election stand unchallenged? That is what many in the West are arguing. Since it is impossible to know the extent of the “rigging”, they say, for the sake of stability in an unstable world, why not just let the election stand? This perspective fundamentally misunderstands both the role of the military in a democracy as well as the importance of the rule of law.

First, the complaints 1. Voter Disinformation.

It has been reported that in many of the locations, after being verified, people voted

for the House of Reps and/or Senate positions on the ballot, thinking they were thus voting for the President and his party.

Many Nigerians are illiterate.

The unused Presidential ballot papers were then thumb-printed by unscrupulous electoral officials for Buhari’s party and stuffed in ballot boxes. See one case here: https://www. facebook.com/chidi.cali/videos/10219710379808999/ Uz p f S T Ey M D I 5 M D E 0 M TE6MTAyMTk3MTAzODAxMjkwMDc/ 2. Systematic Disenfranchisement. In many of the locations where Abubakar Atiku, Buhari’s main challenger, is popular, there were patterns of voting materials arriving late, and of card readers not working properly. Thus, many people in those locations couldn’t vote.

3. Ballot Box snatching.

There are many reports of ballot box snatchings in Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. Hoodlums attacked some polling centres where there was likely to be heavy voting for the opposition PDP and burned election materials. Here is one of such cases in Lagos: https://www.faceb o o k . c o m / Gb y g 1 2 4 / v i d eos/10155750910231582/ UzpfSTE1NjMyMjI5OTQ6MTAyMTg0MDkwNjYyND -

g5ODQ/ 4. Invalid Votes. Tens of thousands of votes were invalidated for reasons that were never specified. In Niger state, which heavily favoured opposition Atiku for example, over 40,000 votes were rejected for no apparent reason.

5. Arrests and Intimidations.

Security agents were used to arrest and intimidate voters.

There are many reports in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Kogi states where the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) voters and party leaders were arrested by security agents.

6. Generally, the election was marred by many irregularities including multiple votings and over-votings. There are reports of centres and wards reporting numbers that are higher than the numbers on the voting registers.

Are there enough votes in play (in an election that was peculiar inasmuch as there was a profound increase in states like Borno, living under a state of emergency from the Boko Haram violence and not incidentally a Buhari stronghold) that these examples would matter to the overall result? That seems to me not the important question to ask, though that is what some Western governments are ask-

ing, and apparently answering “no”. The major opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, believes there are, and is preparing a court challenge to the election. He is claiming that there was widespread voter suppression, assaults by the military on citizens, and now a systematic crackdown on opposition leaders and their families and staffs.

The court challenge will eventually end up at the Supreme Court, whose chief justice, in an unprecedented move, was summarily removed from his position by Buhari just weeks before the election.

It is clear that Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, is becoming increasingly militarised, that the rule of law is in jeopardy. This matters not just for Nigerians, not just for Africans, but for all of us. Nigeria will become, after India and China , the third most populous country in the world in the next 25 years. While it has the largest economy on the continent, it also has the largest percentage of children out of school and the largest percentage of people in extreme poverty.

Unemployment is extraordinarily high and growing. Violence between herders and farmers has increased signifi-

MARGEE ENSIGN Ensign, a professor, is president of Dickinson College and former president, American University of Nigeria (AUN).

cantly and ISIS has recently launched sophisticated attacks on Nigerian military positions in a region where the Boko Haram uprising has gone on for years. This is a critical moment in Nigeria’s history: will democracy prevail, or will the country return to an illegitimate autocracy under a failing regime, with all the unrest and disruption that may provoke?

The Buhari regime has been, by any measure, a failure. If Nigeria does not focus its resources on basic human development and reduce violence - neither of which has happened under the current leadership - then the possibility for widespread violence is very real. In one of the most important countries in the world.

The world should be paying attention. And what was once called “the free world” should certainly be supporting democracy in a world increasingly marked by dictatorship.

Rights Group takes CBN to task on intervention in real sector

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h e Un i t e d Ac t i o n t o w a r d s Bu i l d i n g Institutions in Nigeria (UATBIN) at the weekend lamented that various interventions the Central Bank of Nigeria had released to the real sector between 2014 and 2019 had not yielded the desired results despite billions of naira expended.

The UATBIN, a not-for-profit economic rights and institution building advocacy organisation, also said it would be in the interest of the country and the economy “to appoint a new CBN Governor when the tenure of the present governor expires on June 3, 2019.”

The Convener of the group, Lai Omotola expressed the views in a statement he issued on Friday, noting that “busi-

nesses have suffered the most unprecedented shutdown between 2014 and 2019.”

The statement, also, said banks “have being turned into cash centres instead of investment and commercial Banks. If a vote were to be taken at the Bankers Committee, the vote will turn to be vote of no confidence on the team managing the economy of Nigeria. But such will not happen because they are scared.”

On its programmes, the statement said the CBN “has usurped the role of the banks in lending such that no bank can lend therefore access to credit is at the lowest since independence. Anchor borrower has taken the role of Bank of Agriculture and you need to know top persons at

CBN before you can enjoy such credit.

“The various interventions in real sectors have not yielded the desired results. To even get access to the intervention funds you need to sit one on one with the CBN leadership. I am yet to see the sector that benefitted from the intervention funds that made significant impact in the life of an ordinary Nigerian.

“The core business of CBN like reduction of interest rate is yet to be seen. Instead, we have seen rate going high, too high for any reasonable business to survive. The inflation rate has gone up to double digits and there has not been any significant leap to the positive.

“The exchange rate has remained stable and the CBN

leadership believes we should give him kudos for saving the naira at N360 to a dollar, this kind of narrative can only be in Nigeria,” the statement said.

In 2014, the statement said the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele inherited inflation rate of 8 percent; interest rate of 16.5 percent reserve of $40 billion as well as exchange rate of N164 by 2019.

It said he “is with inflation rate 13.5 percent Interest rate of 14 percent and exchange rate of N360 and reserve of $43 billion. Emefiele should be thankful to have been retained

by APC government when we know that it was the PDP government that appointed him.”

On t h e s e g r o u n d s , t h e statement said the time “has come for a change that will

take us to the next level. This is hinged on the need to bring someone with new ideas that will take the country to the next level.

“The issue of economy was rigorously debated at the just concluded presidential election and if the truth must be said a lot of people voted for Atiku Abubakar because they were not impressed with the state of economy.

“The CBN is a central part of the economy and as such the time is ripe to bring in someone that will transform the economy within the next four years. For us to maintain the status quo at CBN is to ascribe to the adage that says it is an act of insanity to expect different result from doing the same thing.”

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