Daily Times e-Newspaper Issue 7

Cassava Processing: Nigeria’s Untapped Goldmine

By Ugochukwu Onyeocha

accrued to it. The federal government of Nigeria and other relevant stakeIt is no longer in doubt that Agriculture holders in the nation’s economy have is big business with numerous benefits consistently maintained that the Ag-

ricultural sector is the major alternative to Nigeria’s over-dependence on crude oil. Seminars and policies have been organised and formulated to see

how the nation can benefit from the numerous opportunities accrued from the sector which also involves job and income generation.

DAILTY TIMES SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

NDLEA Clamps Down on Farms, Destroys 50 hectares of Cannabis plantation in Ondo

CBN Lists Criteria For Regulation Of Holding Companies

Drinks to Boost Your Immune System

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VOL. 1, NO 7

Dare 2 go fierce

Facts About New ‘European Football King’, Ronaldo

Mimiko Will Coast PDP To Victory In 2015 –Ozogoro P7

Things I Hate About Myself Became Most Celebrated –Uti Nwachukwu P 21

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here are reports that Governor Olusegun Mimiko has concluded plans to defect to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), how prepared is the party in welcoming him to its fold?

If Governor Olusegun Mimiko eventually defects to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we

Lagos Communities Where There Has Never Been Electricity

Nigeria Football Needs

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Restructuring

–Okocha

GMOs: Harmless or Harmful?

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SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

news

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Kamson Joins Lagos Guber Race

Mu’sodiq Adekunle

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igeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Olatokunboh Kamson, has formally declared his intention to vie for Lagos State’s number one seat, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Kamson was a two-time contender to fly the party’s flag in 2007 and 2011, but lost

during the primaries. He came close to picking the ticket in 2007 when he emerged second best.

While addressing party members at Shogunle, Lagos, Kamson said that all the factions in the party have closed ranks to work together as a team to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He enjoined them to eschew all forms of bitterness

and discrimination in order to present a formidable candidate that can win the heart of the electorate.

He said: “I don’t have any enemy; I am ready to work together with all party members to attain victory. None of my co-aspirants have the experience I have, based on my extensive working career as a public servant for over 25 years.

“If I am voted into office,

I promise to change some of the existing laws in the state, especially to stop the toll fees on the Lekki/Ajah Expressway.”

He lamented that there has not been any meaningful benefit to people at the grassroots, saying if he eventually emerges as the governor, there would be specific developmental projects for each of the local governments on quarterly basis.

Boat Mishap Kills Over 33 People In Niger Pita Chikwem,Minna.

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ore than 33 corpses were recovered in a boat mishap that occurred between Dere in Niger and Murtala bridge on river Niger last week which was conveying about 100 passengers to Lokoja market from Katcha local government of Niger state.

Our reporter gathered that it was pipeline patrol team that flashed their light on the boat round about 4:35am which made it to lose control and hit the tree and broke it into two.

It was also revealed that the boat took off from Katcha in Niger state carrying passengers from different walks of life to Lokoja market without protective jacket to prevent them from drowning.

About four people were rescued by the local rescuers while 5 persons escaped by swimming to the bank of the river thereby hanging themselves on the riverside trees to be rescued later.

It was also gathered that among the victims were people from Yawa and Baka in Lapai local government of Niger state, adding that the boat was conveying about 100 persons, over 100 bags of rice, many baskets of fish and other valuables which indicates that the boat was filled to capacity.

Niger state Police Public Relations Officer DSP Ibrahim Gambari confirmed the incident but it occurred outside Niger State jurisdiction.

Displaced persons in Michika, Adamawa State counting their losses as Boko Haram insurgents took over the village on Sunday

2015: Kwara Youths Hail Ahmed Mu’Sodiq Adekunle

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s the 2015 election draws, the Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed has continued to receive endorsement from various groups and associations, the latest being the Kwara State Chapter of

the National Youth Council, NYC. Chairman of the NYC, Comrade Kazeem Adekanye, in his address during a solidarity visit to the Governor at the government house in Ilorin said over One Million youths in the State have unanimously endorsed Governor Ahmed for a second term in office.

“I have the mandate of the over 1m teeming youths of the state to commend your administration for the excellent work you have done or initiated for the overall development of the state especially in the area of youth empowerment/employment.

Responding, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed advised the political

Kano Pillars Fc And Basketball Club Maintains A Prominent Position In Nigeria’s Sport

By Yakubu Salisu

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t has been revealed that Kano pillars have recorded an unprecedented feat in the football and basketball leagues in the country in the last three seasons.

There is however the need for more support for both teams, from the State government and stakeholders in order to maintain their elite positions in the next years.

The players and the coaching crew have been commended for their efforts and enthusiasm to excel which has been the primary factor for their excellent performance so far.

Kano Pillars FC and Kano Pillars Basketball Club have emerged victorious in their various leagues thereby serving as good Ambassadors of the State through sports. Their performances are unprecedented in the country in the sporting arena as no state in the Federation has achieved such feat in recent times.

Pillars FC is currently striving to set a record in the football premier league by becoming the first team to win the league

class not to politicise the future of Nigeria youths so that the future of Nigeria would not be compromised by a generation of youths inadequately equipped for nation building, just as he counselled the youths not to mortgage their future by selling their votes during the 2015 general election.

thrice, back-to-back. It is presently topping the league in the third consecutive season in readiness to achieve the feat.

The basketball team also won back-to-back titles and a ticket to represent Nigeria at the FIBA Clubs Champions League.

A basketball lover in Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Danpass, has advised followers of the game to support the Kano Pillars Basketball Club so as to bring more laurels for the state in the next season.

Danpass told newsmen in Kano that Pillars basketball team has over the years been making the state proud as it has dominated the nation’s senior basketball league in the past years, just as its football counterpart Pillars FC in the premier soccer league.

The sports enthusiast who is a business man disclosed that he was interested in mobilizing support for the team so as to continue to project the government of Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso in Kano.

He revealed that sponsorship of sports should not be left solely to government, urging multinationals and private individuals to contribute to its development. He believes that if supporters of the game pull resources together, the sky will be the limit for the Pillars Basketball Club; because they have been making the state proud in the last few years.

Recently, the Kano side defeated Mark Mentors of Abuja 89-88 points to emerge the 2014 basketball champions.

Uduaghan Calls For Support Of President To Tackle Boko Haram Mu’Sodiq Adekunle

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elta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has called for support and collaboration with President Goodluck Jonathan to enable him tackle the challenges of Boko Haram.

Dr Uduaghan who made the call during a church service at the Avenue Baptist Church, Warri, Delta State, said that the support was necessary because of the peculiar security challenges facing the

country.

According to the Governor, “there is no President that faced the type of challenges our President is facing today, let us rally round him and continue to pray for President Jonathan and our brothers and sisters in the North because they are facing a lot of challenges.”

“As a nation, we have the challenge of Boko Haram, we should pray that those who do not want others to live will not also live,” Dr Uduaghan said.

He scored his administration high in the area of security, noting that the peace and security agenda of his administration has ensured that gunshots which were familiar occurrence in Warri before his election were no longer heard.

He assured Deltans that even with few months to the end of his tenure, security operatives have taken proactive measures to ensure that the peace the people were enjoying would be sustained and improved on in the days

ahead.

Besides, the Governor assured Deltans of massive rehabilitation of dilapidated roads across the state in the coming months particularly those damaged by the rains.

“Most governors have their lowest rating during the rainy season because, construction work would be at its lowest ebb”, he stated asserting: “Rain disturbs construction work, but, we will start the construction and renovation of roads once the rain stops in the next two months.”

The Governor also challenged Deltans to keep the drains free of debris to allow free flow of water and control flooding, stating, “we should try and keep our drains tidy and for those of us who have money, do not build on the waterways because when there is flood, it affects everybody.”

“We should have a change of attitude towards environment, we should keep it neat for our own comfort and safety,” he emphasized.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

news

Indulge Nigeria To Hold Health Awareness Seminar

By Funmi Salome Johnson

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ndulge Nigeria Ltd, a healthy living advocacy company, together with its partners will kick off its wellness activities with a Lunch & Learn wellness seminar/workshop on Tuesday, 30th September at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Feel Good Festival (FGF), an outdoor wellness picnic which encourages quality family time and relaxation, follows at the Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, 15th November 2014 between 10am-5pm.

According to Dr Bisi Abiolam the CEO, Indulge Nigeria Ltd m the company has been boosting productivity at work places through its wellness advocacy, Feel Good Festival and Award for the past eleven years.

“Every year, the company’s event attracts participants from local firms like Popular Foods; Promasidor and Nigerian Breweries PLC among others” She further disclosed that this year’s advocacy programme promises to be another opportunity to promote healthy living.

“Despite the harsh economic reality of the present day, I am still thankful for the unwavering support of partners in this noble initiative to boost preventive care in Nigeria”

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LP, APC Trade words Over Recruitment of 2,000 Teachers …It’s Another Way To Deceive The People –Apc …Apc Is Only Living In Blindness And Are Enemies Of Progress –Ondo Press Secretary By ‘Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

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he All Progressive Congress, APC, in Ondo State has criticised the Teaching Service recruitment exercise being conducted by the present administration of Governor Mimiko led government.

In a statement issued to journalists in Akure, by Abayomi Adesanya, the Party’s spokesperson said the exercise is deceptive and a mirage to cajole the people ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Adesanya explained that the Recruitment Exercise does not have a genuine back up and it’s another propaganda orchestrated by the Labour Party (LP)

now Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in the state.

“What Ondo State people witnessed, since February, 2009, in the scope of employment and empowerment are nepotism, discrimination and partisanship. Friends and families of Mr. Governor are been smuggled through the backdoor, into the state’s Civil Service Commission, while bristling population of the unemployed Youths are left in the eternal joblessness, by the Mimiko-led administration.

Sacking and retrenchment of workers under the guise of flimsy excuses is the order of the day”.

According to the statement “If 2,000 qualified teachers

are genuinely recruited, in the highly-publicised recruitment plan of the government, and not the usual chicanery, trickery and media propaganda of the Mimiko-led administration, then, the Dr Olusegun Mimiko-led administration would have scored a point, truly beneficial to the good people of the State, since inception in February 24th, 2009”.

The statement further questioned why it takes the present administration long time to place advertisement for application into the teaching service system of the state despite huge revenue allocation entering the state.

“If it takes the government 6-years to embark on recruit-

ment exercise, how many additional years will it take the same government to finally get the teachers into the classrooms to teach our children?

No wonder, the mixed feelings and chariness that welcomed the recruitment plan from the good people of Ondo State, is therefore understandable in view of the antecedents of the government”.

“Therefore, it took the people of Ondo State by astonishment, that a government that has abandoned them for almost six uneventful years suddenly announced its intention to recruit 2,000 teachers. Is this August recruitment exercise a bid to shore up the dwindling popularity of the government”?

But in his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary, to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Eni Akinsola said instead of the All Progressive Congress, APC, to enjoin his members and people to embrace the good gesture, it’s busy criticising the exercise meant to quench unemployment and develop the education system of the state.

Akinsola said the action of the party as left no one in doubt that “it’s a party of blind critics and enemies of progress” in the state.

He noted that the Mimiko government is swear of the plight of people in the state and would continue to initiate policies that would better their lots.

Glasgow: Lawmakers Honour Commonwealth Contingents From Ondo State

By Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

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he Ondo State House of Assembly has hosted and honoured Athletes who made the state and country proud in the recently concluded Commonwealth games in Glasgow, Scotland.

At a plenary session held at the hallowed chamber of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Jumoke Akindele, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, congratulated and showers praises on the state’s contingents for performing optimally to the admiration of the people of the

state and the country at large.

She noted that the names of the Athletes would be included into the Ondo State Hall of Fame and be rewarded for their great performance.

“I laud you all for making the state proud and painting her picture on the map of sport achievement. I use these medium to call on all aspiring athletes that it is possible, you can also reach the height”, she said.

Eleven contingents from Ondo state, which includes; Nine Athletes and Two Coaches evinced fantastic skills in Glasgow. Out of the fourteen

medals won by Nigeria in the game, seven of these on count, were from the Ondo-trained Athletes.

Hon. Kunle Olajuyigbe, Chairman House Committee on Sports, Youth Development and Information appreciated the contingents for doing the state proud at the tournament adding that it was a great achievement.

Olajuyigbe said the state Athletes performed with vigor and slugged it out with the likes of Blessing Okagbare, the record breaker and still emerged with outstanding performances.

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

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world news

Police Kills Protester in Yemen During Protest

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uring a protest in Yemen on Sunday by Shiite rebels, a man was shot dead by police men while they were trying to disperse the protesters. The

Shiite rebels blocked the road to Sanaa airport as part of a protest campaign, demonstrators said.

According to reports, police shot tear gas canisters and deployed water cannon

against demonstrators who had camped along the road near the interior ministry.

The protest organising committee said one demonstrator was shot dead, adding that a number of protesters received gunshot wounds.

Sunday’s move came after protesters did not heed an ultimatum to clear the area, and apparently after some approached a checkpoint leading to the nearby interior ministry.

The Huthi rebels, also

known as Zaidis or Ansarullah, have been pushing for the government’s resignation, accusing it of corruption.

They have rejected overtures from President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi who has offered to name a new prime

U.S. Airstrikes Target ISIS Fighters Near Dam

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n a press statement, the Pentagon has said that the U.S. military launched airstrikes targeting ISIS fighters around a key dam in western Iraq on Sunday.

It carried out the airstrikes near Haditha Dam at Iraq’s request, according to Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.

Anbar Province Deputy Governor Faleh al-Issawi told reporters that Iraqi forces launched a ground offensive with the protection of U.S. air cover and strikes. The aim of the offensive, he said, was to retake the area around the district of Barawana, which is about 6 miles west of Haditha.

The city of Haditha and its dam have remained under the control of Iraqi security forces and Sunni Arab tribes despite ISIS’ numerous attempts to seize them.

If the terror group seizes the dam -- the second-largest in the country -- it could prove

catastrophic. It provides water to millions of people in western and southern Iraq.

Al-Issawi said the area was being used by militants to launch mortar and other attacks on Haditha and the dam and officials have been concerned that these attacks could hit the dam and cause flooding that would impact the entire province.

The United States also fears the militants could use the water to flood villages and seize control of the nation’s lucrative electricity supply.

“We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi security forces -- with support from Sunni tribes,” Kirby said.

Fighter and bomber aircraft carried out four airstrikes that destroyed ISIS positions and equipment, including Humvees, a checkpoint and a bunker, U.S. officials said.

With International Help Arabs Vow to confront Islamic State

A Six Land in Saudi Jail for Fighting Abroad

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audi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court jailed six people for up to six years for security offences

Deadline For Testing in Panama Canal Extended till 2015

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ests with ships will begin in mid-2015 on a new set of locks that are a key component of an expansion of the Panama Canal, the water-

way’s chief said on Sunday.

The 100-year-old canal, which is major global trade artery, is in the midst of a massive expansion that will allow the world’s largest tankers to

minister and reduce a disputed fuel price hike.

Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam accused the authorities of “using live bullets” against the demonstrators.

“We hold the authorities responsible for the repercussions of this aggression, and we stress the right of our people to self-defence using all means if the aggression continues,” he said in a statement.

But calm returned to the area later Sunday, despite protesters not clearing the blocked road.

pass through the isthmus.

The expansion, which involves building a third set of locks onto the 50-mile (80km) waterway, was originally scheduled to be completed this year, but has been delayed several times, in part due to a dispute earlier this year because of about $1.6 billion in cost overruns.

The deadline for completion is now January 2016.

On Sunday, Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano said the locks would likely be ready, holding water, by April or May of next year.

“We hope to start a series of tests with the locks next year in the month of July or August,” Quijano said after overseeing the arrival from Italy of a shipment of four new gates for the locks.

including traveling abroad to fight, adopting militant ideology and “breaking obedience to the ruler”, state media reported late on Sunday.

The kingdom imprisoned dozens of people last month in security trials amid fears that the conflicts in Iraq and Syria will radicalize a new generation of young Saudis.

The six sentenced on Sunday were also banned from traveling for fixed periods after their release.

In February, King Abdullah decreed prison terms of three to 20 years for traveling abroad to fight and of five to 30 years for giving moral or material support to banned groups that the government has designated as extremist.

These include al Qaeda, Islamic State, Nusra Front, the Muslim Brotherhood, He-

zbollah and Yemen’s Houthi movement.

Saudi Arabia has detained over 11,000 people since a wave of attacks from 2003-06 against government and foreign targets in the conservative Islamic kingdom staged by al Qaeda militants who had fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Officials say there are more than 2,500 Saudis now outside the country who are believed to be working with militant organizations.

A big proportion of them are thought to be in Syria, where Riyadh has sent arms and cash to some rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of its main regional foe Iran, but says it has been careful not to back militants.

rab League foreign ministers have agreed on to take all necessary measures to confront Islamic State and cooperate with international, regional and national efforts to combat militants who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The Arab League also endorsed in the closing statement of its meeting in Cairo a UN Security Council resolution passed last month calling on member states to “act to suppress the flow of foreign fighters, financing and other support to Islamist extremist groups in Iraq and Syria”.

Baghdad had earlier submitted a draft resolution endorsing its own efforts to confront militants who have seized large areas for a crossborder caliphate and to condemn Islamic State’s actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Diplomatic sources said before the meeting that Arab foreign ministers were set to endorse a U.S. aerial campaign against the group and Egypt’s official. Mena news agency said the ministers would agree to coordinate with the United States.

The final text did not directly endorse either the Iraqi or U.S. campaign against Islamic State, but diplomatic sources said the wording clearly offered Arab cooperation to U.S. and Iraqi efforts and could be read as a tacit agreement to back Washington’s campaign against the group.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

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africa news

Twelve Killed in Clashes in Libyan Capital

Eight South Africans killed in Accident

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welve people have been killed and ten wounded in fresh clashes between rival armed groups near the Libyan capital Tripoli, a doctor said on Sunday.

The North African country is in turmoil as former rebels who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising three years ago have turned their guns on each other in a bid to dominate politics and get a share of the country’s oil reserves.

An alliance of armed groups called Operation Dawn, mainly from the western city of Misrata, seized the capital Tripoli last month after expelling a rival group from Zintan.

Tripoli has been largely quiet since then but fighters from the Operation Dawn have been trying to capture the tribal Warshefana area southwest of the city, residents said.

The Warshefana are allied to the Zintani forces.

Residents reported heavy shelling in the city on Saturday, which was confirmed by British Ambassador Michael Aron. “City is quiet. Families out on seafront last night but shelling of Warshefana areas clearly heard,” Aron tweeted during a visit to Tripoli on Saturday.

A hospital doctor said around twelve people were killed and ten wounded in the shelling of Warshefana residential areas. He said gunfire could still be heard on Sunday, although it was not as heavy as the day before.

Western diplomats and the United Nations have pulled out of Libya to escape the violence. The weak central government and the country’s elected parliament have moved to Tobruk in the remote east.

Libya’s neighbours and Western powers worry that the oil producer will turn into a failed state as the government has no real army or police to tackle dozens of armed groups roaming around the country unchallenged.

Al-Shabaab Names New Leader

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he Somalia-based militant group AlShabaab has named a successor to its leader who was killed in an American airstrike this week, a spokesman said, Saturday.

The announcement came as

Somalia braced for possible retaliation after Monday’s killing of Ahmed Godane.

Al-Shabaab’s new leader is Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah, spokesman Sheikh Ali Dheere said in an audio message posted online.

He is the group’s third leader and was characterized as a low-ranking commander. No other information was available.

“The death of Godane will not stop the group from carrying out its terror operations,”

the spokesman said. “We lost our great leader Ahmed Godane and two other commanders in hands of the enemy on Monday night’s U.S. airstrike.”

His confirmation came after days of denying his death.

ight South Africans were killed when a pick-up truck ran into a crowd of people cutting a hippopotamus for meat, police and emergency services said on Sunday.

The hippo had been hit and killed by a truck on Saturday evening in the northern province of Limpopo, attracting large numbers of people from nearby villages’ intent on chopping up its corpse.

They were then hit by a pick-up truck whose driver failed to spot them in the dark, police said.

“The people thought they were getting free meat. It’s very unfortunate that this had to happen,” said Limpopo police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi. “It’s not something that happens all the time.”

Further 12 people were injured, including the driver of the pick-up, who faces possible culpable homicide charges when he leaves hospital, Mulaudzi added.

Libya Says Sudanese War Plane Enters its Airspace

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ibya said a Sudanese military transport plane bound for a Tripoli airport under control of an armed faction had entered its airspace to supply a “terrorist group” with ammunition, a government statement said on Saturday.

Sudan confirmed it had sent a military plane but said it had only carried equipment for a joint Libyan-Sudanese state

border force.

Libya is in turmoil three years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi as armed groups, partly linked to Islamists, have seized the capital Tripoli and set up an alternative parliament and government.

“This work from the Sudanese state violates (the sovereignty) of the State of Libya and interferes with its affairs,” the Libyan statement said, add-

ing that Libya had asked the Sudanese military attache to leave the country.

“Sudan is interfering by supporting a terrorist group,” it added.

Libya said the Sudanese plane had been bound for Tripoli-Matiga airport and made a refuelling stop in the Libyan desert oasis Kufra near the border to Sudan. Ammunition had been found loaded on that

plane during an inspection at Kufra airport, it added, without saying whether the plane was still in Kufra.

Matiga is a military airport now used mainly for commercial flights after Tripoli’s main international airport was damaged by fighting between rival armed groups. Matiga is under control of an alliance of factions challenging the government which has relocated to

Tobruk in the far east to escape the violence.

“We, the Libyan government, firmly denounce that a Sudanese military plane has penetrated the Libyan airspace without an official permit from the Libyan government. The plane was carrying ammunition which had not been officially approved by the Libyan government,” the statement said.

Cameroon’s CocoaProduction Slips by 8% in 2013/14 Season

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a m e r o o n ’s 2013/14 cocoa production slipped more than 8 percent to 209,905 tonnes compared with 228,948 tonnes the previous season, National Cocoa and Coffee Board, NCCB data obtained on Friday showed.

Cocoa bean exports from the world’s fifth largest producer fell nearly 20 percent to 158,000 tonnes from 196,788 tonnes in the 2012/13 season.

There were 5,828 tonnes of remaining stocks of beans at the end of the season on July 31.

“We had expected that there would be an increase in production for the 2013/14 season to about 240,000 tonnes, but unfortunately it instead declined,” Omer Gatien Maledy, head of the Cocoa and Coffee Inter-professional Board, CCIB, said.

Maledy said poor weather was mainly to blame for the drop in output.

“The rainy season last year was very different from what Cameroon is used to, going on until mid-December and resulting in the black pod disease,” he said.

According to the NCCB’s

managing director Michael Ndoping, 77 percent of the exports were shipped by the top five exporters - Telcar Cocoa Ltd, Olam Cam, Cameroon Marketing Commodities, Ets Ndongo Essomba and PRODUCAM. Nearly 66 percent of exports were destined for the Netherlands, followed by Belgium with 10.6 percent and Malaysia with 10.4 percent.

The season was characterised by serious blockages at the port of Douala, which Maledy said remained one of the main issues requiring a solution heading into the new

2014/15 season.

“The delays caused by congestion heavily penalised exporters who constantly had to renegotiate their agreements with foreign clients and got it in the neck,” he said.

The backlogs also caused the quality of beans, packed into containers for weeks, to deteriorate, he added.

A total of 32,804 tonnes of beans were processed domestically, the vast majority by Sic-Cacaos, a subsidiary of Swiss chocolate manufacturing firm Barry Callebaut, and CHOCOCAM, an affiliate of South Africa’s Tiger Brands.

Biya

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african destination

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

​P​layers in Kenya Want Government to Release Sh200 ​M​illion for R ​ ​ecovery

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resident Uhuru Kenyatta had announced a Sh200 million boost to resuscitate the industry which has been weighed down by travel advisories issued by key source markets over insecurity.

Speaking during the 12th edition of the annual Kenya Association of Hotel keepers and Caterers (Kahc) symposium at the Sarova White sands Beach Resort and Spa, Mombasa on Thursday, hoteliers said that it is time the government gave the industry the seriousness it deserves as key pillar of the economy.

KAHC National chairman, Mr Jaideep Vohra said they are awaiting for the funds to be channeled to Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) to roll out its marketing and reassurance campaigns.

“Tourism plays a significant role in fostering development, yet it is widely ignored.

Few governments in Africa have realised that tourism

accounts for 9 per cent of all exports in Africa, more than agricultural products,’’ Vohra said. Managing Director of Platinum Hotels and CEO of Maanzoni Lodge, Mr Titus Kangangi said that the funds for recovery initiative should be released quickly to save the fortunes of the industry.

“While we applaud the initiatives by President Uhuru Kenyatta to help the industry,

time is not on our side and delay in disbursing the money to relevant government agency is hurting the industry even more,’’ Kangangi said.

Cabinet Secretary in charge of East African Affairs, Tourism and Commerce, Ms Phyliss Kandie in a speech read on her behalf by Managing Director Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Mr Muriithi Ndegwa said the coast region

has borne the brunt of insecurity incidents that has led to cancellations with hotels recording dismal bookings and some have had to lay off workers in the aftermath of the dip in arrivals.

“We shall also engage the international media to reclaim our reputation and image in international news outlets,’’ Kandie said. She pledged to look for funds to help sus-

tain the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) pioneered Beach Management Programme which has been a success.

Kandie announced that the government was in the process of operationalising the Tourism Fund and Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) to help regulate the sector.

“I request that you accord the agencies the necessary support. We have also gazett-

ed Crisis committee to help in addressing security-related issues affecting the sector.

Further to this, we shall soon gazette the Tourism Recovery Task Force that will also help us in steering the sector back on track,’’ she said.

Kandie further stressed on the need to diversify which she added is a key element of the recovery process. “We need to amplify the meetings, incentive, conferences and exhibitions footprint in our tourism. We must develop a stronger rapport with business tourists and equip ourselves to meet their needs. The planned convention center in this region will go a long way towards establishing unquestionable credentials in this regard,” said Kandie.

Kandie said Kenya’s diversification is about adding new source markets to existing ones and are now eyeing Chinese, Middle East and Africa markets.

Ethopia Holiday Destination Omo River:The Museum of Peoples

By Iyanu-Oni Orisan

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n 1980, UNESCO declared the Lower Omo Valley a World Heritage Site in recognition of its uniqueness: Nowhere else on the planet do so many genetically and linguistically diverse people live as traditionally and in such a small space. It has been a crossroads for humans migrating in many directions over many millennia.

Possessing few items from the modern world besides plastic jerry cans for carrying water, the men, women, and children here ritually adorn themselves to express status and tribal identity, sculpting their hair with animal fat and clay, scarifying limbs and torsos, wearing jewellery of beads, bone, and metal, and painting their entire bodies with white minerals, black charcoal, and red and yellow ochre. The unlikely survival of these customs and of still-authentic rituals such as bull jumping and gladiatorial stick fighting attract a few hardy missionaries, anthropologists, and, increasingly, photographers and curious travellers.

The significance of the Omo tribes is more profound than their visual appeal. Amid layers of cracked mud and volcanic tuff along the Lower Omo’s banks, palaeontologists have discovered precious remnants of our shared heritage: the oldest known remains of anatomically modern humans, folks who might not look out of place in Times Square, who hunted and gathered here an

astonishing 195,000 years ago.

DNA analysis suggests that every person now living is related to a single woman from the Omo Valley, some of whose descendants left the Horn of Africa during a period of climate change and migrated across the Bab el Mandeb strait to Arabia and beyond somewhere between 60,000 and 120,000 years ago. Her relatives who remained behind branched into fourteen genetically distinct founder populations from which all African ethnic groups descend. If Ethiopia is humanity’s womb, the Omo River is its umbilical cord.

Abruptly, after so many millennia, the old river world may be entering its twilight. In a gorge, three hundred miles upstream from where photographs are shot. the young people of Le-

buk sweating in their beads and animal skins, construction is under way on the colossal Gibe III dam, the second-largest hydroelectric project in Africa designed by Italian engineers, partly funded by Chinese banks, and scheduled to begin generating 1,870 megawatts of electricity in July 2013.

With 83 million citizens, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country, and one of its poorest. Planners of the dam say that the output which is the equivalent of the two nuclear plants, will make Ethiopia electricity sufficient, with enough power left over to sell to neighbouring states. Crews are paving roads connecting major towns like Jinka and Omorate.

According to Survival International, foreign-

ers started visiting the Omo River Valley just prior to the 1936–1941 Italian occupation, after historian Carlo Conti Rossini described Ethiopia as a “Museum of Peoples,” a still-repeated reference to its eighty-three ethnic groups. But those early visitors were mostly military officers and anthropologists. Organized tourism didn’t really take off until the 1990s, after the country abandoned socialism (introduced by Ethiopian soldiers who overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974) and Addis-based tour operators began marketing expeditions on which foreigners could meet tribes who are in effect distant relatives with colourful customs living in the homeland of our earliest ancestors.

The “highlight” of the tourist visit is usually a six-hour round-trip from Jinka for a chaotic half-hour stop at a village deep within Mago National Park. Here, travellers photograph women of the Mursi tribe, famous for their pierced lower lips holding clay plates up to seven inches in diameter.

In exchange for permission to be photographed, the Mursi demand from each tourist five birr, about thirty cents in the Ethiopian currency. To attract the lens, the women riff on their culture, for example by wearing old puberty belts on their heads. The resulting scrum is full of antagonism, as foreigners compete with one another over camera angles, and the Mursi vie for attention from the ‘paparazzi’.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

7

politics

Mimiko Will Coast PDP To Victory In 2015 –Ozogoro The speculated return of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State from the Labour Party (LP) to the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to generate reactions across the country. Recently, our correspondent caught up with the Ondo State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prince Wale Ozogoro, where he hinted on the chances of the party at receiving Governor Olusegun Mimiko back into its fold.

By Tosin Ajuwon

already put in place so that we can all work together as one party and be able to embrace the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

T

here are reports that Governor Olusegun Mimiko has concluded plans to defect to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), how prepared is the party in welcoming him to its fold?

If Governor Olusegun Mimiko eventually defects to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we would be happy to receive him and I believe he would key into the elders caucus.

He has been at the higher position of the state, he may be accorded more respect than some other people in the party. I can assure that by the time he comes, we talk to ourselves on how to accommodate his influence, position, and status, mostly on how to move the party forward.

Does his second coming add to the quality and chances of the party?

It would be a plus to the party because we would be having another governor in the southwest that would be working with the governor elect of Ekiti state. This would also coast the party into victory in 2015. However, we believe very strongly that Mimiko’s coming would bring about upset within our party because he too would be coming with some few gladiators. Even, if the PDP has been stronger before than what he used to be, I strongly and sincerely believed that there would be a need to synergize and talk to fine-tune what would happen in the nearest future. But we will need to manage him to fit into the philosophy of PDP in Ondo state.

How do you think the party can accommodate him (Mimiko) with his status?

We would come to a round table to discuss about it whether to continue with the collective leadership of the party or hand over the leadership of the party to the governor. I think the leadership of the party would sit down and come up with a position and he must key into our philosophy because PDP has changed totally from what people think it used to be.

No matter the status or influence of anyone coming into the party, after seeing the beautiful arrangement of our party such a person would want to key into the laudable legacies.

How do you mean by your ‘Collective Leadership’?

As of today, there is nothing like dominance in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). What we now have is collective leadership, under a banner that we called ‘elders cau-

Ozogoro

cus’ which is managing the party and waxing it stronger every day.

The collective leadership is what keeps driving the PDP and gives us an impetus in gaining more members to our fold. This collective Leadership is also the reason the Labour

Party (LP) wants to collapse into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Labour Party members have been moving into our party and very soon, we would catch some big fish.

If Mimiko is coming, there would be need to look at lots of structures

But your party sees him (Mimiko) as a ‘Lone Ranger’ how would they cope again if he eventually comes back to the party?

To be truthful, I don’t see the Governor being a lone Ranger. If you remember when he contested against PDP in the last governorship election of the state under Dr. Olusegun Agagu of blessed memory, it was like a massive movement because lots of the people worked for him to claim the seat. Although, something might be inherent in his person that makes people move away from him after sometimes. But the basic thing is that he has always been a populist and moves people along with him in his executions, may be along the line, he might be questioned on CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

8

politics

2015 Elections And The Politics Of Boko Haram Sponsors Ugochukwu Onyeocha

A

few years ago, many Nigerians would have sworn with the very last drop of their blood that acts of terror were indeed un-Nigerian. The gory sight of senseless killings as being painted in other continents around the globe often did make us wonder how an individual or a group of persons will participate in such horrible acts.

While many Nigerians watched and cursed, they hoped secretly that these barbaric act would not become a part of the country with the “happiest people on earth” but alas, time again proved them wrong as terrorism not only encroached into our consciousness, it soon became a part of Nigeria.

The pains of terrorism have suddenly become a part of the daily lives of many Nigerians. The gruesome killings of many Nigerians in the northern part of the country estimated to be close to a million since 2010 has left many wondering how these Boko Haram insurgents have continued to carry out these acts of terror with impunity. The killings, destruction of properties and villages and abduction has continued to defy any human logic.

Even the declaration of a state of emergency in the North East states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa has done little or nothing in creating the respite needed in these areas as the terrorists have continued to carry out attacks after attacks to the point of taking control of villages and towns within the affected states.

But while terrorism is condemned globally, sponsors of terrorism have gotten little attention in comparison to the issues of terrorism with many forgetting that funds are necessary for terrorist acts to be successfully implemented.

Nigerians in recent times have hoped and prayed earnestly for a day when the “real” sponsors of the dreaded Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram would be revealed. So when Dr. Stephen Davis, an Australian

employed by the Presidency to negotiate with members of the Boko Haram sect over a possible ceasefire named some prominent individuals and politicians including a former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff, Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika among others as sponsors of the Boko Haram sect, many Nigerians hoped for an immediate prosecution of the accused but recent events have shown that such expectations might not see the light of day.

Ordinarily, allegations of terrorism are matters of national security.

However, recent political happenings reveal that these allegations have become political weapons in the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress in the battle for elective positions in the 2015 general elections.

One would recollect how the two leading parties engaged each other in a war of words when over 75 Nigerians were slaughtered on April 14, 2014 in the now famous Nyanya park bombings in Abuja.

While the alleged sponsors have verbally declared their innocence, the ruling PDP and the APC have continued to point accusing fingers

at each other with the real issue of terrorist sponsorship being swept under the carpet. One at this stage wonders why no arrests have been made or statements collected apart from press releases.

While the former army chief has debunked the allegations linking him to Boko Haram, he has turned to point accusing fingers at a chieftain of the opposition APC, Malam El-rufai as the sponsor of the sect.

However, one wonders why these allegations were not made when he was in power and arrests made if he indeed was telling the truth. Why wait for Mr Davis to fire the first shot.

For Senator Sheriff, extricating himself from the web of accusations might not be an easy task as it had been severally in times past that the former governor was a sponsor to the terrorist group. It would also be recalled that a serving lawmaker in the National Assembly, Senator Ndume of Borno State has also been accused of being a sponsor of the sect but apart from a number of adjourned court cases, nothing has been heard from the case.

Also implicated among others are the Central Bank of Nigeria and even the United States of America

who Davis accused of not sharing necessary information with the Nigerian military forces.

Davis, who was in Nigeria for four months to negotiate the release of the abducted school girls from Chibok, Borno State, with Boko Haram commanders, questioned the value of the United States’ involvement in the war against insurgency.

“Americans claim they are doing aerial reconnaissance. Why are they not passing the information to the Nigerian military? With this information, the Nigerian military could intercept the Boko Haram convoy before it reaches its target,” he said.

Davis, while recounting the days and weeks he spent talking with commanders of the sect over the release of the Chibok girls, revealed that the terrorists usually move in a convoy of 20 to 60 vehicles at night, before they expanded and started launching large-scale attacks in the daylight.

Painting a graphic picture of how the terrorists carry out their attacks, he revealed that the sect usually ambush Nigerian soldiers as a result of the hostile environment in the North-East, and described the inciCONTINUED ON PAGE 9

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

9

politics

2015 Elections And The Politics Of Boko Haram Sponsors

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

dent of last six months as worrisome. He said most roads in the rural north of Borno are very narrow.

“The militants normally strike at night, so they lay in wait where the military has to slow down to a crawl due to the poor road condition.

Sometimes they dig the potholes deeper to entrap a convoy. On getting wind of the ongoing attacks, the Nigerian military would dispatch soldiers in a convoy of vehicles. Unfortunately, and unknown to the soldiers, the insurgents may have enlarged a big hole on the road. So in a convoy of say 20 vehicles, the first vehicle draws to a halt as it encounters the ditch. By the time the soldiers realise what is happening and try to make a U-turn, they are ambushed by the insurgents as the convoy struggles to turn around on the narrow pot-holed road,” he said.

The negotiator, however, noted that military action alone is unlikely to end the insurgency currently bedeviling the country.

It would be recalled that after Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 female students from Government Girls Secondary School, in April 2014, the U.S.A. promised to help Nigerian government fight insurgency. It gave some of its military personnel to training Nigerian soldiers, as well as shared some aerial reconnaissance data and

Sheriff

Ihejirika

equipment, but did not send any ground troops.

Other international communities like the United Kingdom, Israel and China also offered to help, but, despite the promises from these international powers, the menace of the dreaded terrorist group is yet to be fully curtailed.

Most worrisome is this whole scenario is the fact that this ugly trend is centered on the 2015 general elections. More cases of terrorism have been recorded as the countdown to the general elections has begun in earnest.

Prominent Nigerians have called on the nation’s security forces to arrest and in-

terrogate the alleged sponsors to get to the root of the matter. Reacting to Davis’ allegations, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, urged security agencies to investigate all the people accused of sponsoring terrorists. He noted that before the revelation of Davis, the Jonathan administration had set up the Ambassador Usman Galtimari Panel to investigate the genesis of the insurgency in the North East region. He said it recommended that the Federal Government should direct the security agencies to beam their light on some politicians who sponsored, funded and used the militia groups that later metamor-

phosed into Boko Haram and bring them to justice.

He said, “The security forces should, without any further delay carry out the directives of the Federal Government by investigating and prosecuting all the indicted sponsors of the Boko Haram sect. If the directives are not carried out forthwith I shall apply to the Federal High Court for a Writ of MANDAMUS to compel the security agencies to discharge their duties in the public interest.”

On his own part, a security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, said that it was unfortunate that the issue of Boko Haram was being used to foster partisan politics and score

cheap political points when political parties irrespective of ideology, should be cooperating to put insurgency to an end.

Ekhomu, who is Nigeria’s first chartered security professional, berated the Australian hostage negotiator for making unsubstantiated claims. He said Davis should not be taken seriously as he was only grasping at straws having failed to negotiate the release of the schoolgirls.

He said, “In Nigerian politics, a lot of people make crazy statements but nothing happens and no one is punished for it. That is why you see that right now, the PDP and the APC are exchanging allegations of Boko Haram instead of them to come together to fight a common foe. How can they be making reckless statements about Boko Haram without substantiating? Probably after spending sometime in Nigeria, Davis also felt he could make reckless statements and get away with it since no one ever holds anybody accountable.”

Nigerians deserve to know the sponsors of Boko Haram and these sponsors should be brought to justice. The politicking of this issue is regrettable and must be stopped as the lives of Nigerians continue to remain in danger as long as the truth is buried

‘Mimiko Will Coast PDP To Victory In 2015’ him. There is no way you do politics alone mostly in this part of the counhow he does things, due to his little try. A lone ranger would always lose response they withdraw from him, in politics and would never achieve thereby seeing him as a lone ranger. anything because politics is about people and nothing but the people.

What if he dominates after his Already, he is close to Mr. President defection to the party or he refuses and has his tentacles in Abuja. We all in carrying anyone along at the know that Mimiko is PDP in Abuja State level? and LP in Ondo State. Naturally, If he comes to PDP and wanting you would know he also has a force, to do things a lone, it won’t work for which he drives with but he has to CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

reckon.

and National Assembly. They have pasted posters, and as well notified Elections would be held in 2015 the party of their intention to run for into the State House of Assembly the elective positions. Many of them and National Assembly, How pre- have gone far in creating awareness pared is your party in choosing in their various constituencies. We transparent candidates for the won’t dominate any candidate on the election without rancour? people. I can assure you that every People have been coming out un- one of them would be given a free der the Peoples Democratic Party level plain ground and primaries to contest for the lawmakers seats would be conducted in choosing the in the State House of Assembly candidates.

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

business

10

Cassava Processing:

Nigeria’s Untapped Goldmine

By Ugochukwu Onyeocha

I

t is no longer in doubt that Agriculture is big business with numerous benefits accrued to it. The federal government of Nigeria and other relevant stakeholders in the nation’s economy have consistently maintained that the Agricultural sector is the major alternative to Nigeria’s over-dependence on crude oil. Seminars and policies have been organised and formulated to see how the nation can benefit from the numerous opportunities accrued from the sector which also involves job and income generation.

One of Nigeria’s most stable crops is cassava. Findings have shown that cassava is a crop which Nigeria produces more than any other country in the world. However, it is regret-

table that Nigerians produce cassava primarily for food, especially in the form of garri, lafun and fufu with little or no use in the agribusiness sector as an industrial raw material?

One of the questions that farmers and stakeholders in the Agricultural sector have continued to ask overtime is how can our cassava be processed into several secondary products of industrial market value [tradable in the international market] such as chips, pellets, flour, adhesives, alcohol, and starch, which are vital raw materials in the livestock, feed, alcohol/ ethanol, textile, confectionery, wood, food and soft drinks industries? How and where is the equipment to do all these?

Knowing the benefits that the answers to these questions would bring out and the limitless opportunities it would cre-

ate for the average farmer and discerning entrepreneur, efforts were put in place to find out the answers. Speaking recently with a stakeholder in the cassava business and Chief Executive Officer, Brunus Enterprises Nigeria Ltd/owner Of Cassavamillers, Sir Bruno Orji, he shared light on how cassava could be utilised to generate more income and serve a plethora of purposes besides the usual task of food.

Speaking on the opportunities in the processing sector of Agriculture in Nigeria, Orji said “The opportunities are very extensive. Currently, we have about 4.5 million peasant farmers, farming about 8.85 hectares of land in Nigeria and in return producing about 46 million metric tons of cassava tubers. 70 percent of these are consumed locally as eba, fufu

and other food; only 30 percent is available for raw materials.

So, processing is very important. If we want to participate in the global cassava business, we must improve our output from 46 million to 91 million metric tons so that we can produce at a lesser cost per unit, say around N8,000 per metric ton, so as to compete with Thailand and Vietnam. China needs about a million metric tons of cassava chips from Nigeria.

“Nigeria is currently spending N635 billion per year on the importation of wheat, now we want to reduce that amount of money through the introduction and addition of cassava flour into our bread. That hasn’t happened, because we don’t have enough and the flour millers are still fighting that, they are just adding three percent, while government is

expecting 20 percent. So, if we can do that, we can still make money importing wheat and more money growing cassava.

Presently, government has pumped in N10 billion to the cassava sector so as to enable more growth of cassava; and to grow more cassava, we need more equipment fabricated locally, so as to process them.

The ones you get from China are not too good because they are not tropicalised and most of them are done with mild metal, but the ones we do here are made from stainless steel, which does not corrode when it comes in contact with hydrochloric acid”.

He further listed a couple of mechanized equipment necessary for cassava processing and storage. To process cassava he said, you need a casCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

11

business

Cassava Processing:

Nigeria’s Untapped Goldmine

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

sava grater, after grating, you pack the cassava mash in a sack; put it in a mechanised presser, where you press out the hydrocyanic acid. After pressing out the hydrocyanic acid, then you put it in the fermentation rack, where it stays for about two days so as to remove all the cyanide - the cyanide must be removed to less than 10 percent, because if it is more than 10 percent, it might cause goitre for consumers if

taken consistently. So, after the fermentation, you might take it back to the granulator or grater - this is to disintegrate the cake form before taking it to the frying pot. In the frying pot, it is fried to less than 10 percent moisture content so as to reduce the chances of getting reduced quality after two weeks.

“The new Mechanical Processing Equipment comprises of: the Hammer Mill, the Fermentation Rack, the Hydraulic

Dewatering Press, the Granulator and the garri Roasting or Frying Pot which is a new innovation in garri processing”.

“Well, cassava as you may know has extensive derivatives of value chain and the one that a country is interested in, depends on the ones they have need for and have competence in processing, he said.

Cassava as a crop has varieties of derivatives, like garri which is our staple food. It is estimat-

ed that over 130 million hungry mouths eat ‘eba’ every day but besides the usual foods like “eba” and others, products like flour from cassava can be used for our composite bread. Looking at the number of Nigerians and people across the world that eat bread daily, it is almost unimaginable to predict how much Nigeria would make from cassava when properly processed to meet these other needs.

There is also starch which is used for a lot of upstream and downstream activities. There is also ethanol and even sugar derivatives from flour starch. All these are extensive areas that can be explored.

Another challenge that must be addressed for Nigeria to fully explore its potentials in this area is in the aspect of Mechanized-Commercialized Cassava Farming.

Four million peasant farmers cultivate 3.85 million hectares of cassava land with hoes and cutlasses, and 70 percent of the cassava is consumed as eba, fufu, ama-

la, among others. If Nigerian farmers start planting massive hectares, like 10,000 hectares of cassava plantation whereby they can produce cassava tubers between N6, 000 to N8, 000 per metric ton, the unit cost will come down and we can compete with Vietnam and Thailand.

This ensures that as long as Nigerians still produce with hoes and cutlasses, the nation would never be able to compete with the likes of Vietnam and others.

Another benefit accrued from cassava processing is Ethanol.

Ethanol is a very tricky subject, as findings have shown that there are few companies producing it and it has the same problem as cassava chips paucity of cassava. If one is to produce ethanol on a sustainable level, it is expected that he should have cassava plantations dedicated to ethanol - I mean his/her own ethanol plantation. One metric ton of ethanol requires 20 metric tons of cassava tubers and one litre of ethanol, requires five litres of water to produce it - it is not a piece of cake.

What is ethanol? Ethanol is a fundamental raw material for beverages, medicament, among others.

But Nigeria is not producing ethanol because we don’t have the massive production of cassava - the PMS used in cars and other machines is E10, which is 10 percent ethanol, 90 percent crude oil. America uses corn to produce theirs, Brazil uses sugarcane, while China uses cassava and they depend on us for the cassava. The production is simple - get your tubers from the farm and peel them.

After that you mill them, like you mill for flour, after which you

turn them into a tank of water for boiling and to hydrolyze them into sugar. Then from here, it goes to the fermentation tank - during fermentation, alcohol is produced.

So, from here, it goes to the storage tank where you get the worth and to the distillery unit. The distillery unit is the part we import, but others are fabricated locally.

So, the crux of the matter is availability and sustainability of raw materials - there is need for us to be able to sustain the production. We need some plantations whereby 20,000 metric tons of cassava tubers will be ready every week or month. The land is available, and we are using now, as all our studies are based on 1,000, 5,000 hectares of cassava plantation and thereabout - mechanized farming with mechanized planter and harvester, as cassava is a gold-mine.

Nigeria must do everything to become a more active player in the global cassava business.

It used to be Thailand, but Vietnam of today has over-taken us. We are the highest producer of cassava, yet we don’t make up to $1 million a year.

The panacea to this is mechanized commercial cultivation of cassava.

The Federal, State and Local governments must wake up to this challenge if the country would take its rightful place and benefit from the massive opportunities that can be derived from cassava. First the government at all tiers must be willing to allocate land, like Ekiti has done, for people to access 10,000, 20,000 or 50,000 hectares of land to mechanically grow cassava, so that we can produce at a lesser unit price and be able to compete globally with countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

12

relationships

Flirt With Him, Seduce Him!

By Ngozi Ndubisi

M

arriage should by no means signal an end to flirting among married couples.

Set the mood and pace, flirt with him however and whenever, after all, the Good Book says your body is his, and his yours to enjoy whichever way you dreamed.

What better way is there to keep the chemistry and love alive and going? So ladies, have a little fun and flirt with your husband. Seduce him

and I can guarantee he will love it just as much if not more and it will definitely lead to where both of you want to go.

Here are some great ways to make your husband one happy and excited man:

Undress Him with your Eyes Make sure that you undress him with those dreamy eyes of yours. Softly bite your bottom lip for good measure.

Cheeky Little Flashes Simply flash shyly at first

to catch his attention, when you have, boldly give a quick flash and leave the room… will he follow? Fingers crossed.

Give a Glimpse Lay out a couple of bra and panty sets and request his help with the choice of the day? What better way to have him thinking about “his choice” all- day -long?

Touch, touch, and touch every where Set the pace, touch him accidentally, and as you pass

him let your fingers run down his arm or face. Remember Foreplays doesn’t have to just be for you; it can and should also involve you touching him too, just ask him to guide your hands.

Kiss, Kiss, Kiss Kissing is a great way to reconnect with your husband.

When next you are stuck at a red light or anywhere for that matter, have a cheeky kiss.

Talk Softly Speak softly and draw him closer to you so that he

Tips On Keeping The Spark In Your Relationship

By Omolara Adejoro

J

ust because you you’ve won her heart doesn’t mean that’s the end of the Romeo and Juliet show, you have to keep the fire burning; you must daily endeavour to ignite the love.

You must act as the man and keep her in love, make your name ring in her heart even when she smiles!

She might seem not inter-

ested at first but every woman wants to be appreciated even when she’s doing nothing to worth it.

These following steps will make her know someone cares for her.

Stare at her. When she asks you what you’re looking at, tell her how beautiful she looks but mean it.

There’s something about a guy’s smile that can really turn a girl on. Be genuine

about it. Don’t try too hard on this one, just think positive thoughts and let your face do the work.

You must be humorous. No woman wants to have a stiff man around, it always disgusting to find out that ones lover is ‘just there.’ You must excite her.

Touching each other is a way to communicate. It helps to tell your partner how much you love her. Be romantic

about it. You can do this while looking into her eyes Compliment her: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, tell her amazing things that made you fall in love with her and what she does that sweeps you off your feet.

Send a text message describing how you would look into her eyes when you see next and how you will hold her and then, she looks forward to seeing you again!

can hear the soft words that you’re speaking.

Stick Love Notes in Unexpected Places If you are near his place of work during the day, stick under his windshield whipper.

Get the waitress to put on his plate when you are eating out and love poems, on pillows and breast pockets.

Play Footsie Slip off your shoe and sensually explore his legs with your toes. You will definitely be skipping dessert.

Get Texting Send him odd naughty text during the day – perhaps something to make him smile or something that will have him rushing home to you.

Flirt in a crowd Catch your husband’s eye in a crowded room and wink at him. Pass him a note that says you’re available and you think he’s cute.

Send your emails to: ngozindubisi2013@yahoo.com.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

health GMOs: Harmless or Harmful?

By Lara Adejoro

Y

ou are the head of a warming, increasingly populous country. Malnutrition is a major problem wrecking havoc among the young and the old and the slow economy of the land can’t support its citizenry. Meanwhile, a biotechnology company has a technology by which living organisms are genetically modified as a cure for agricultural and food problems yet; this technology tampers with nature at the citizens’ peril. What will you do?

Despite the controversy surrounding them, genetically modified plants have taken roots in our world. As with any new technology, members of the society have the responsibility to become informed about geneti-

cally modified plants, in order to make decisions about their responsible use and regulation.

An International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) reports of 2008 titled ‘Agriculture at a Crossroads’ written by about 400 scientists and experts and endorsed by 58 countries clearly show that the place of modern biotechnology in future food delivery is indeed very slim.

Genetically Modified Foods (GM Foods) are produced from organisms called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering.

Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey said, these

13

crops do not necessarily yield as normal crops and neither do they yield more than those bred conventionally.

“Most genetically modified crops are either modified to resist certain herbicides produce by the seed companies or they are modified to kill target pests, the crops becoming pesticides themselves. The myths by which crops with these traits have been promoted are that they will require less herbicides and pesticides. But nature has responded to these traits in the form of super weeds that have become resistant to these herbicides, and what may be termed superbugs, which have become resistant to GM insecticide producing crops.”

The results of tests on animals exposed to GM crops give serious cause for concern over their

safety.

In 1998, Scottish scientists found damage to every single internal organ in rat fed with light resistant GM potatoes.

In a 2006 experiment, female rats fed on herbicide-resistant soybeans gave birth to severely stunted pups, of which half died within three weeks. The survivors were sterile.

In the same year, India news agencies reported that thousands of sheep allowed to graze on BT cotton crop residues had died suddenly. Further cases of livestock deaths followed in 2007. There have also been reports of allergy-like symptoms among India labourers in BT cotton fields.

A fact sheet by HOMEF shows that, the story that GM crops yield higher is nothing other than mere stories.

“Considering that the best seeds are selected

for modification, it is a huge minus that GM crops do not generally yield more than natural seeds,” it said.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Times, President, Consumer Campaign Foundation, Dr Olanrewaju Oginni said the road towards making a Nigerian Biosafety law has been one bedevilled by hide-andseek tactics.

Dr Oginni said, the government should protect our environment, agriculture and not accept a technology that portends more harm than good.

In identifying GM Foods, he said, “all their fruits are extraordinarily big and succulent. The rice and other foods with the organism are labelled with GMO, GM ingredient or Genetically improved ingredient.

“We have it already in Nigeria and it is ille-

gal because there is no right for it to be here.

They are not safe for consumption. Yet, they are ignoring this aspect.

Farmers and consumers have a right to say what they want.”

He argued that, the notice of the Public Hearing of 2009 on GMOs was short and farmers, civil societies and community groups were given about a minute to present their views while pro-biotech agencies had all the time to speak on the benefits of the GMOs. A citizen of Benue State on condition of anonymity said, “We have it in our state. Truly, the organisms help to make our yams big but once you eat it, that’s the beginning of hunger, you will become hungrier than you were initially.

It doesn’t digest, it just melts in you and that’s it. It doesn’t really help curb malnutrition.”

President, Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin said, “There is an urgent need to advise the Federal Government to ensure proper scrutiny of the GMOs. Only Nigerians can determine what comes on their plates as food.

We reject been fed by GMOs that have largely come from unverified technologies into Nigeria.”

Dr Okei-Odumakin further said, “We have our right to food sovereignty. We reject the instigation of biotechnology companies and their local allies who under the pretence of food sufficiency want to impose GM products on us.”

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

14

health

Banked Blood Degrades With Age, Study Finds

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new study has found that the longer blood is stored, the less it can carry oxygen into the tiny microcapillaries of the body.

Using advanced optical techniques, the researchers measured the stiffness of the membrane surrounding red blood cells over time.

They found that, even though the cells retain their shape and hemoglobin content, the membranes get stiffer, which steadily decreases the cells’ functionality.

Led by electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu, the team published its results in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Our results show some surprising facts: Even though the blood looks good on the surface, its functionality is degrading steadily with time,” said Popescu, who is also part of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. “In microcirculation such as that in the brain, cells need to squeeze through very narrow capillaries to carry oxygen,” said postdoctoral researcher Basanta Bhaduri, the lead author of the paper.

“If they are not deformable enough, the oxygen transport is impeded to that particular organ and major clinical problems may arise. This is the reason new red blood cells are produced continuously by the bone marrow, such that no cells older than 100 days or so exist in our circulation. “

Suicide: An Increasing Trend?

T

he Medical News Today reports that about 800,000 deaths arising from suicide every year out of which three quarters of them occurs in low and middle income countries.

The World Health Organisation has therefore call for a global action to reduce the number of suicide deaths.

The UN health agency says suicide is preventable, and governments can tackle it effectively by getting all their sectors working together under a national strategy.

Announcing the release of the report in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr.Margaret Chan, says: “This report is a call for action to address a large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long.” globally the highest rates are Suicide is a global probamong the elderly aged 70 lem says the report. It takes and over, it is the second leadplace at any age, and although ing cause of death in younger

people aged 15 to 29.

“High-level commitment is needed not just within the health sector, but also within

education, employment, social welfare and judicial departments,” says WHO. Across the world, more

men die by suicide than women. In wealthy nations, statistics show three times as many men commit suicide as women, with men age 50 and over being the most vulnerable group.

However, among women aged 70, death by suicide is twice as common as among those aged 15- 29.

The less wealthy nations have higher rates of suicide among young adults and elderly women than wealthy nations.

In Africa, the estimated suicide rate was close to the global average of 11.4 per 100,000 in 2012. Suicide by pesticide poisoning appears to be the most common method used. Between 2000 and 2012, suicide rates appeared to have risen by 38 per cent in Africa. They are particularly high among the elderly, but there is also a peak among the young.

Ebola Vaccines Works on Monkeys

A Childhood Obesity May Lead To Asthma

I

t is more probable that childhood obesity contributes to asthma rather than the other way round, says a study.

For years, doctors have known that there is a link between childhood obesity and asthma, but have found it difficult to determine which condition tends to come first, or whether one causes the other.

“The relationship between obesity and asthma in adults, which shows that being overweight and obese can precede the onset of asthma, is supported by a number of studies,” said lead author of the study Perdita Permaul from Massachusetts General Hospital in the US. “There is not as much evidence for children, but the

progression from obesity to asthma, rather than the other way around, seems probable,” Permaul added.

Citing a study that showed that rapid growth in body mass index (BMI) during the first two years of life increased the risk of asthma up to six years of age. The team shows that the onset and duration of obesity and the composition of the excess fat can affect lung function.

“Most kids who suffer from asthma also have allergies,” said Michael Foggs, president, American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

“These allergic responses in the lung can lead to symptoms of allergy,” Foggs added.

vaccine still under research temporarily shielded lab monkeys from Ebola, and a booster shot provided lasting protection, according to a study on Sunday that endorsed approval for tests on humans.

A single shot of the vaccine, based on a cold virus that affects chimps, gave macaques “complete short-term and partial long-term protection” from the deadly virus, researchers reported in the journal Nature Medicine.

Animals that received a booster shot developed “durable” immunity.

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced on August 28 that human testing would start in early September following the promising results in monkeys.

The results of these early trials are expected by year’s end.

Nigeria has had another 21 cases and seven deaths from the haemorrhagic fever against which no licensed vaccine or treatment exists.

The research team said they had opted for a chimp adenovirus rather than a

human one because many people have been exposed and developed immunity to the human versions, meaning their immune systems would be primed to neutralise them.

For the study, the team gave different doses of the ChAd3 vaccine to a small

group of monkeys, and then a dose of Ebola that would be lethal in non-immune individuals.

Four monkeys that received a single shot were immune when exposed to Ebola five weeks later, the researchers reported.

Many Hospitalised as Respiratory Virus Hits Missouri

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respiratory virus is sending hundreds of children to hospitals in Missouri and possibly throughout the Midwest and beyond. According to CDC officials, this could be a ‘tip of the iceberg’ The unusually high number of hospitalizations reported now could be “just the tip of the iceberg in terms of severe cases,” said Mark Pallansch, a virologist and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Viral Diseases.

Ten states have contacted the CDC for assistance in investigating clusters of enterovirus: Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa,

Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.

Enteroviruses, which bring on symptoms like very intense cold, aren’t unusual.

They’re actually common.

When you have a bad summer cold, often what you have is an enterovirus, he said. The season often hits its peak in September.

The virus has sent about 30 children to a Kansas City a day, Missouri, hospital, where about 15% of the youngsters were placed in intensive care, officials said.

In a sign of a possible regional outbreak, Colorado, Illinois and Ohio are reporting cases with similar symptoms and are awaiting testing results.

sports

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

15

Niger 1-3 Cape Verde

Cape Verde is topping Group F with three points after crushing Niger in away fixture at the General Seyni Kountche Stadium in Niamey on Saturday.

Zambia 0-0 Mozambique

In Group F opener, 2012 Africa Cup of Nations winners Zambia were held at home to a goalless draw by Mozambique on Saturday at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.

Ethiopia 1-2 Algeria

Africa’s number team on Fifa ranking Algeria scrambled a 2-1 away victory over Ethiopia at the Addis Ababa Stadium on Saturday in Group B first match.

Gabon 1-0 Angola

After a nerve-racking confrontation at the Angondje Stadium in Libreville between hosts Gabon and Angola in Group C’s second match of the day, the Panthers eventually conserved their lone-goal lead scored by MC Alger midfielder Samson Mbingui in the 45th minute.

Burkina Faso 2-0 Lesotho

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finalists Burkina Faso opened their qualifying campaign for the next edition with a 2-0 home victory over Lesotho at the August 4 Stadium in Ouagadougou on Saturday.

AFCON Qualifier:

Super Eagles Axed, S’Africa, Cameroon Win

Mu’sodiq Adekunle

T

he four-year undefeated record of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in qualifiers games was on Saturday in Calabar damaged by the Red Devil of Congo.

Not only was Nigeria beaten by three goals to two, they were outshined by the Congolese stars who came to compete for the qualifier of the 2015 African Nations Cup.

Indeed, it was the worst start by coach Steven Keshiled team in defence of the Nations Cup crown they won in South Africa in 2013.

The result in Calabar has thrown Group A wide open, following South Africa’s 3-0 victory over Sudan in Omdurman on Friday night.

Stephen Keshi’s side opened the scoring through Efe Ambrose after 14 minutes but Prince Oniangue drew the visitors’ level just three min-

DR Congo 0-2 Cameroon

Cameroon stunned neighbours and archrivals DR Congo 2-0 in away fixture at the TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi on Saturday in Group D’s opener of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group stage.

utes later.

The Congolese tutored by veteran coach Claude Leroy, made it two through Thievy Bifouma, who scored five minutes before half-time. He later converted a penalty early in the second half to make it 3-1, after Ogenyi Onazi committed a blunder.

Nigeria pulled one back through Warri Wolves striker, Gbolahan Salami in the 89th minute as he smashed home from close range from an un

Senegal 2-0 Egypt

cleared corner, but it was not enough to save the Eagles, who had boasted of roasting the visitors.

The Super Eagles will travel to Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday under pressure to get a result against the Bafana Bafana.

For Congo Brazzaville, the 3-2 victory in Calabar was a sweet one, after their DR Congo counterparts had suffered a 0-2 home defeat to the Lions of Cameroun in Lubumbashi.

The Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar was hosting its first match in more than a year when it was shut down due to a ban from CAF following match incidents in 2012.

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

16

sports

N

igerians have been looking for another Jay- Jay since you left the national team.

What does Nigeria need to do now to produce another world-class attacking midfielder?

I believe another Jay Jay is out there, and it’s for us to scout out another. But the most important thing is to ask a pertinent question: do we have the structure in place to be able to produce another Jay Jay Okocha, another Taribo West or another Sunday Oliseh? I think this is the real question that we should ask ourselves, and we should try and restructure Nigerian football to be able to find those talents, which are surely there and only waiting to be discovered.

Nigeria Football Needs Restructuring –Okocha Though, there are many stars out there, fans of the Super Eagles have been waiting for a topquality replacement for the playmaker since he hung up his green jersey in 2006, a ‘perfect alternative is yet to surface. Mu’Sodiq Adekunle via fifa.com writes that replacement for Jay Jay Okocha is close.

Okocha knows what it takes to compete at the top level, having played at three FIFA World Cups, won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, and been a vital part of Nigeria’s last CAF Africa Cup of Nations-winning team in 1994. He also showed off his renowned technical skills for clubs in Germany, Turkey, France, Qatar and England.

Your former Nigeria team-mate, Samson Siasia, is now in charge of the national team. What are your expectations for the Super Eagles under Siasia?

First of all, I am part of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation now, and we took a very good step by appointing Samson Siasia to lead the national team. We have started building from home by assembling the homebased players to see if we could get some of them to go on and compete against the foreign pros. But you know that Rome was not built in a day and so we need to be patient. We know that for us to bring back those glory days, we really have to accept that we are struggling now and need to give ourselves some time to build.

Personally, I think we have taken very positive steps to achieving that. Also, the team will need the support Okocha ment as it is very expensive of all Nigerians to succeed. and very time consuming.

Being part of the football What I will not do is stand family now has given me here and lie to you and say the opportunity to make an that I am going to do what impact, and my drive is to I know that I will not do. give back to football part of Being part of the football what the game has given to family now has given me me. I still have a lot to give the opportunity to make an back. impact, and my drive is to give back to football part of How are you now giving what the game has given to back to Nigerian football? me. I still have a lot to give To be honest, it is difback. The most important ficult for one man to do thing is for me to take part something in Nigeria. One in this change that we are needs to get other people all seeking and make sure involved especially when it we come up with a struccomes to football develop-

ture that people would see that at least people like us are now putting back into football.

How did it feel being an ambassador for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany?

It’s a great feeling to be considered for this position.

I hope to help create awareness for the World Cup in Nigeria and beyond. I will be promoting women’s football. As they say, the future of the game is feminine.

NFF Crisis: Aminu Maigari Returns To Office

By M’usodiq Adekunle

T

he embattled Nigerian Football Federation boss, Aminu Magari is back to office as the football federation boss.

He returned to office following the order of FIFA giving the country two substantive presidents as Chris Giwa continues to lead the other faction It will be recalled that Magari had been previously removed from office with Christopher Giwa emerging as

a factional Chairman.

It was gathered that Magari was restored due to the intervention by the Nigeria House of Representatives to stop FIFA from suspending Nigeria.

FIFA had in a statement published on its website threatened to suspend Nigeria if its election was not held as previously scheduled.

Maigari has said he would organise elections into the NFF in 2015.

Maigari

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

leisure

Movie Talk

Straw Curls It’s Short, It’s Chic

17

r u o Col ing: k c o Bl nd A s Do s! t ’ n Do

By Judith Frank-Edet

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olour blocking is the latest trend and we love it! Just imagine how exciting it will be to see just one person combining colours of the rainbow...makes for a good standout from the crowd.

But as much as it makes sense to blend colours, there are rules to follow. Let’s look at the unbiased Coin’s of dos and don’ts

By Aderonke Akinola

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s much as we agree that wearing long extensions makes one look elegant, fact is that sometimes, you just want your hair to breathe; you want to go short and feel free without having some hair hanging all over your shoulder and back, and some sticking on your face.

At that very time is when to give your hair that vivacious bounce, body, and shine with straw curls. You don’t have to worry about how to get it done because with simple plastic drinking straws, you can create these tight, shiny, charming ringlets.

The good thing about straw curls is that it works on both virgin and non-virgin hair, long and short hair as well as weaves.

It’s one of the new hair trends and this is how to get it done.

•Wash your hair first by applying shampoo and conditioner.

•Dry your hair with a clean towel.

• Apply an alcohol-free mousse, setting lotion or gel.

•Plastic drinking straws is the major instrument, cut the drinking straws to a size that is approximate to the length of your hair.

The straw should be one to two inches longer than the hair.

•Separate the hair into four (4) sections. Remember that the smaller the hair section, the tighter the curls.

•Wrap sections of hair around the straw, starting at the bottom and rolling upward towards the scalp and also folding the ends of the hair with the end paper.

•Ensure to secure the ends with a bobby pin, if bobby pins are not available, you can also use hair rubber bands.

•When you are done with the whole hair, wear a hair cap on it for the night or you use a hand drier to quickly dry the hair.

•After drying it, remove the straws gently. To comb the root of the hair use a big comb then spread the hair with your hand.

•Finally apply a light shine serum on your hair

Dos Combine colours directly next to each other (i.e. yellow and yellow-orange; yellow and yellow-green.

Combine colours that form right angles with each other (i.e. yellow and red-orange; blue and violet-red; green and orange, etc.)

Combine colours directly across from each other i.e. yellow and violet; blue and orange; red and green, etc.

Also colours that form a T such as blue, orange, and violet-red yellow, violet, and red-orange; yellow, blue-green, and red-orange, etc. are also allowed.

You can also combine colours that form an X like blue, orange, violet-red, and yellow, violet, blue-green, and red-orange, etc.

Choose colour shades that have same level of intensity. Opt for neutrals, dark shade accessories to keep the look simple Don’ts Do not accessorize with bags and shoes of same colour or shade as your outfit (that is big time anti-colour blocking) Don’t add any kind of big and elaborate design or pattern when colour blocking especially if you are sewing a dress

metro (lagos)

18

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

Lagos Communities Where There Has Never Been Electricity

By Funmi Salome Johnson

T

he cluster villages opposite Tin- can Island Port in Apapa have a population of about 100,000 people.

Located at a settlement that could be naturally regarded as a good ambience because of its natural flowing breeze and aquatic splendor, these communities have never been privileged to enjoy electricity which is supposed to be one of the dividends of democracy.

The greenery and landscape are as alluring as they are therapeutic. But then, nature is the only thing they have to boast of as every other basic good things of life are strange to them. Their case can be described as deprivation at

its peak undermining the fact that they are blessed with a kind of aquatic splendor that brings out nature in its pure innocence.

The cluster villages opposite Tin- can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos comprise of Sagbo Koji which is the oldest and the most civilized of them all.

On the list are other neighboring communities like Bishop Koji, Whala- Koji, Akoponawa and Gandiekoji. All these fall under a zone all under the Amuwo Odofin Local government area of Lagos state.

According to 43 year old Noel Atojinu who is a descendant of the late Sagbokoji whom the community was named after, he told Daily Times that the community has been in existence since the 1800s and that back then as he

was told by his father who is the third son of Sagbo, everywhere around was bushy and you can barely know that there is a community there. “My great grandfather Sagbo was the one who first migrated to this community and he was the one who started it. The place was just like a small settlement back then.

My forefather which is Sagbo was a security man and a boat driver in Apapa where he was working before coming to this community which was why the community was named Sagbokoji as this place is now called today.�

Undermining that these people live in Lagos, the center of excellence, their lives cannot be in any way described as being excellent as the good things of life seems

elusive to them.

One could ordinarily mistake the residents of these communities for the people of Koma in Adamawa state, who were still living in the prehistoric age when discovered some years ago, save for some aspects of their lives that are in synchronization with modernity.

Unlike the Komas, they wear clothes, eat good cooked food, listen to radio and do every other thing a civilized people do. Yet they are as civilized as they are deprived. “Although we are still lacking the basic amenities of life like electricity, good water, and some other things but it is however a very different situation now compared to how things used to be back those CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

19

metro (lagos)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

years,” eulogized Noel.

“Today, we can boast of a primary school even if we do not have a secondary school yet. Those years, my brother and I used to trek to LA primary school Tomaro Ilado, a community opposite the snake island. The school was built in between two communities; Tomaro and Ilado which was why it was called LA primary school, Tomaro Ilado. It was a long distance” he said.

Still in reminiscences, he stated that his fore father who was then the Bale was the one who went to people who are interested in community development who sand filled the whole of the community to what it is today. We cannot say that government has not helped us in any way. For instance the primary school we have here was built by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Again the health center was built by Free Africa Malaria Foundation, a nongovernmental organization. After they finished building, it was handed over to the government who had provided us with medical doctors and other health workers.

The renovation was also done by the local government under the tenure of Commorade Ayodele Adewale the present chairman of Amuwo Odofin local government. We are just begging the government to assist us and not relent in their efforts especially in the area of electricity and good water for our people. It is a very pathetic situation here for us because every little thing we need, we have to cross the water to get it in town. We are really counting on their support for these basic necessities of life.” Lamented Noel.

Apart from living in darkness, and not getting good water to drink, even the streets

Lagos Communities Where There Has Never Been Electricity

are unplanned which makes it difficult for a stranger to know how to move around except for a few landmarks.

Be that as it may, getting to the jetty where you will find the canoes and sped boats that will take you to the bank of these communities is a tug of war as you will have to pass through a rough narrow path with stones all over as a foot bridge. If you are a first timer and you are not careful enough, you may slip and fall off the stones.

Interestingly, at the banks of the jetty, you have all manner of boats and canoes plying the place. The fare is N40 per person if you are going with others on board and you can also have the luxury of going on chattered canoe for a sum of N300 if you can afford it.

As you alight from the boat to the bank of any of these communities, the first thing that would strike you is evidence of a hard-working people epitomized by an array of fishing boats that dot the river banks with their nets carefully twined. As you get closer, the perception changes, especially at the sight of people of different age and gender sit-

ting idly away with line of depression running across their foreheads.

When they manage a greeting perhaps because you are a stranger, it does not come across as the typical African warm welcome. But they are good people worried and troubled about their lot in life because after a day’s work, when they need to rest or relax, they are denied of it. Since these communities’ came into existence, they have never had a minute of electricity from the government except those who are privileged enough to afford one I better pass my neighbor as these small sized generators are called.

The traditional ruler of Bishop Koji community, Chief Sewanu Felix, explained the plights of the people in a moving tone. According to him, darkness has become part of the community for ages and there seems to be no light at the end of their tunnel as there is yet to be a lasting solution yet.

“Here there is nothing like electricity. We depend on generators and lanterns,” the worried chief said with total indignation, adding: “The

government brought in solar at one point to power the street lights and the Bale’s house but it packed up barely three weeks after and as I speak with you, they are yet to get another solutions to the problem” “Even the water bore hole they did, is not working anymore and we have been appealing to the government all these while to come to our aid so that we can also have good water to drink and electricity supply for our use. It is really devastating. We all practically live on lanterns and generators which is not too good for our health. If you come here in the evenings, everywhere is very noisy because of the sound from the generators. Everyone wants to have light and so they put on their generators and for those who cannot simply afford the luxury of a generator, their lives depend on lanterns,” stated Chief Sewanu pathetically.

In an environment like Sagbokoji, one would expect that houses will be cheap to rent but it is surprising to find that a standard room costs as much as N2, 500 per month and the reason according to Akano

Augustine, a fashion designer turned Estate agent who has been living in that community for about ten years; he said the houses are that expensive because of the rigors involved in building houses in that community.

“The only thing we get here is sand, every other thing, we have to buy and carry across the water and it is not something easy or cheap at all and this explains the reason we do not have a single house that is built in storey, they are all ground floor buildings,” he stated.

The inhabitants of the area eke out a living through fishing. The Atlantic Ocean is for them a major source of sustenance as the prevalent jobs for them are fishing, canoe construction, boat attendants and other water related jobs.

Languages spoken are majorly the Egun language and Yoruba language. There also a few Ibos and Ijaws residing in these communities.

No matter what situation one is in, life must go on and really, for the inhabitants of these communities, life is truly going on despite their numerous challenges and de-

privation. Daily Times took a tour round the community and discovered the only spot for relaxation.

Iyabo popularly called Towe, the only person found there told Daily Times that due to lack of sales, her boss has not been stocking the place. The whole place looks empty and deserted.

Towe affirms that there are also available chalets for lovers who may need a place to be in each other’s arms away from the eyes of other villagers. A room which contains only a bed and nothing more costs N300 for an hour.

On how they are able to ice their drinks and other things, Towe stated that they usually use generators or go across the water to town to buy blocks.”It is a very difficult situation. We have to go buy our drinks across the water using boats and canoes,” she stated.

Another spot is the restaurant popularly known as Peace restaurant run by Madam Peace herself. A plate of food like Garri and soup sells for about N200.

Madam Peace shares her challenges with Daily Times; “Because there is no electricity supply except by generator, I have to go to the market on a daily basis so that I can continue to have it fresh. But on days when the market is bad, it is usually difficult for me because the remnant usually grow spoilt because there is no power supply to sustain them. It is not an easy task at all selling in an environment like this,” lamented Madam Peace.

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

20

metro (abuja)

By Augustine Aminu

T

he name Abuja sounds like the famous United States of America to some persons. To many, it’s a land of honey and opportunity. To others, it’s a place where impossibilities can be turned into possibility.

On the contrary, water is a major challenge in the federal capital territory, Abuja. Most of the satellite towns like Galadima, Mpape, some parts of Kubwa, Bwari and the rest of them don’t have any erected tap not to even talk of maybe water could come one day.

Although Nigeria stands out among the largest African countries as the continent’s biggest oil exporter, however, it is characterized by low level of improved water source by its citizenry.

Recently, the Minister of FCT, Sen. Bala Muhammad, briefing reporters on the outcome of the weekly FEC meeting which was chaired by Vice-President Namadi Sambo said provision of water is part of government’s statutory responsibility to the people.

He said the projects is meant to provide complementary infrastructure in the area where more than N100 billion worth of investments would be put in place through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programme.

“Companies are coming to provide primary infrastructure in the areas and it is our own statutory responsibility or legal obligation to provide the complementary services like water and other infrastructure.

“Buildings are already coming up there. We are accessing private investment to the tune of N100 billion (there),” the minister said.

The question is: After the billions of naira spent on such project of providing water to FCT and its environs, you wander why most FCT residents still depend on water vendours. The pathetic one is that of Dutse Alhaji, Baupma and makaranta who are the host communities that house the lower Usman Dam that supply water to Maitama, Garki, Wuse and Asokoro, has no water.

It should be recalled that during the International World Water day celebrated on 22 March 2014 in commemoration of the annual event, the commemoration

Abuja: Water Vendors To The Rescue was as means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for sustainable management of freshwater resources, yet many Nigerians cannot boost of consistent supply of portable drinking water especially in the FCT A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), WaterAid Nigeria has said that millions of Nigerians do not have access to portable water adding that Nigerian Government have pledged to increase national water to 75% by 2015.

According to a report issued to Daily Times by the organisation’s Head of Governance, Tolani Busari, 63 million people in Nigeria (39% of the population) are without access to clean drinking water and improving access to water.

Furthermore, Busari explained that water, sanitation and hygiene are so central to every aspect of life that, all sustainable development is made impossible without clean water and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities.

“Every year, nearly 100,000 children under the age of five die because of a disease brought about due to

a lack of access to safe sanitation and clean water.

“As body, we are set to making access to water and sanitation a priority, ensuring improved access beyond the 2015 MDGs deadline is a key priority for WaterAid”, she said.

However, many Nigerians cut across the country have renewed their call for constant water supply and the erection of more pumps to ensure steady supply of pipeborne water to the general public.

This is why good number of people frowned at the poor supply and provision of portable water, therefore called for the phasing out of indiscriminate drilling of boreholes and unwholesome well water since water board has failed on their part.

Samson Adeloye, a resident of Gwarinpa, FCT, told Daily Times that over 70 per cent dwellers of both FCT and satellite town depended solely on private bore-holes and water vendors for their domestic water use which is not healthy for consumption.

He said: “Many residents are accessing water supply through vendors which we

cannot guarantee the water quality and treatment.

Though many drink it, but I don’t. It’s like the once in life camp, where they fetch the water at Kado Fish Market is a public toilet and a gutter by the side. It is too bad.

“Even if every other states of Nigeria and satellite town within FCT lack pipe-borne water, FCT above all other cities in the country, is not supposed to lack water. This is because FCT is supposed to be a model city, one of the greatest in Africa.

“Only major areas like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, Garki, etc have flowing water and these areas are where the working population in Abuja cannot afford to live,” he lamented.

A tour to Gwagwa district of FCT showed that most of the dwellers were sighted scooping water from their dirty streams for domestic use because potable water is not at their reach.

Naomi Oke, one of the residences who also sell along the road side of Gwagwa described the act of water board and its bodies as deception over the claim of water supply in Abuja, especially areas

like Gwagwa.

She argued that water projects advertised on Radio Stations, Televisions and Newspapers are just window dressing, which are of no benefit to the ordinary Nigerian.

She said, “I acknowledged the fact that we have pipeborn water but they are just window dressing. I have seen several advert of water board on air showing off one project or the other on water to help the masses, making us believe the day of water scarcity are gone.

“I don’t know the relevance of water board in the country when over 70 per cent of Nigerians face water scarcity, ranging from the federal down to the local government. We are supposed to be enjoying constant water supply, but the reverse is the case. Water scarcity problems have remained permanent in Nigeria. This is a cheat”, she complained.

Speaking with some water vendors at Gwagwa, kado Fish Market and Dutse areas, Daily Times gathered that 85 percent of the water are gotten from bore-hole while the other 15 per cent from pipeborne water.

Saminu Abdullahi a 36 year old mai ruwa, told Daily Times how he makes his living from the mai-ruwa( water vendour) business. He said they mostly fetch water from bore-hole, and the environs are not neat. He said they are not the owner of the containers and wheelbarrow used for the business, but are owned by private individuals who they make return to every weekend.

“I pay N150.00 for a truck of 12 containers to those we buy water from and sale it for N480.00 to those buying from us. By weekends, I return N600.00 to the owner of the truck.

“For maintenance, it is the owner that maintains the truck and the containers if they go bad. Our method here may vary in other places but for us in Dutse; this is how we do it”, he explained.

Dr. Emmanuel Okafor, Bayelsa State based medical practitioner who spoke on the health and hygienic implications of the water supply from vendor said there could be many health problems affecting citizenry as a result of that.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

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people

Things I Hate About Myself Became Most Celebrated –Uti Nwachukwu

He may strike you like someone with an air around him but Uti Nwachukwu is simply a jolly good fellow, fun to be with, more like your regular kind of guy. In such friendly mood, the model, actor, TV presenter and compeer spoke with OPEOLUWANI AKINTAYO about his experience as the anchor of the reality show, ‘Star The Winner Is’, the odd things about him and how winning Big Brother Africa has helped him grow in his career. Read on;

W

hat’s your experience being the a n c h o r of the new reality TV show, ‘Star The Winner Is’?

What about the audience?

80% are Nigerians and the rest 20% are South Africans And they were all flown from Nigeria to South Africa?

Yes

It’s been fantastic especially with the kind of attention I get from the whole crew. It makes everything seem like I’m in a fairytale. You know, like me being lodged into a good hotel in South Africa where the recording took place and before I finish bathing in the morning, my food is already set, my clothes ironed and the stylist and makeup artistes were on ground to see that I look good, I’m walking on the stage and I’m hearing engineers from the control room asking whether I was okay or not and before I knew it, the audience were already loaded…everything made me feel like a prince, and honestly, it’s the easiest production set I’ve ever been on. I can do it over and over again and I won’t complain.

How did you get the job?

I received a text message from the production company AMPN. The message was written casually and I didn’t take it seriously. I thought it was a run-of-the-mill message I used to receive when I would get there and discover they weren’t serious. So, they gave me same date as Tiwa Savage’s wedding day for the auditioning and she’s a neighbour and a very close friend who has been supportive of everything I do. So, I replied the message and stated that I was going for a wedding but I would see what I can do about it.

I got a call from Africa Magic that a company called them that they invited me for an audition but I told them I was going for a wedding. I said it’s true. So they told me that I should make sure I go

for the audition. That’s how I missed Tiwa’s wedding and went for the audition. When I got there, I saw some other

big faces in the industry and I was scared I wouldn’t get the job. Others took their turns and when it was my turn, I

went and was original with my presentation. I was playful with it and that’s how I got it. It was a nice offer with a

seven digit figure amount.

Are the jury Nigerians?

Yes they are all Nigerians.

That’s one of the problems we are facing in this country. Why take our money to develop South Africa?

Looking at it from the human angle if you have an opportunity to further your career and you have two options- to study in Nigeria or abroad, where will you prefer? Of course you will choose to study abroad!

Unlike Nigerian productions cannot be compared with South African production in terms of human resources, electricity, studio quality, equipment quality and picture quality; it is obviously different. Their lighting, studio arrangement is perfect. Most Nigerians need to learn to be hard working because most of them want to get paid without doing anything! Everybody wants to be the boss, nobody wants to serve. Why don’t you see me in a lot of movies?

That’s because I’m very comfortable working with people like Desmond Elliot and Teco Benson because they give you the best. When you work with many of our producers, they waste your time and energy.

You can sit for a long time and by the time they are ready to shoot, casts are already tired from sitting and waiting for too long hours, and when you react, they say you have bad attitude. No, that’s because they aren’t being professional.

I never had any issue with the South African set because everything worked perfectly. If Nigerians want people to invest in their production, they have to first invest in themselves, be better and more disCONTINUED ON PAGE 22

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

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people

‘Things I Hate About Myself Became Most Celebrated’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

ciplined.

Again, it was a partnership and the production they needed was in South Africa because they wanted the show to have same quality as the U.S version. So, we couldn’t jeopardize that for anything.

You were a model before going into acting and presenting. What was your experience like there?

My experience modelling wasn’t a very rosy one.

That’s because modelling agencies don’t treat models well. In fact, they treated us like houseboys and house girls. Companies pay modelling agencies good money for models but at the end of the day, we get peanuts. A telecommunication company could budget for as high as N1million or even N2million for each model but, at the end of the day, modelling agencies would pay us as little as N100, 000, sometimes 50,000. I’ve once done a show for TVC and we were paid N30, 000; it was that ridiculous!

How old are you now?

I clocked 32 on August 10 You mean that’s your official age?

No! That’s my real age You can’t be serious because we know most entertainers lie about their ages I wish I had lied about my age when I was in Big Brother, I would have told people that I was 20 so that by now, I will still be between 24 or 25. My real age is August 10, 1982.

Many people say if not for Big Brother you wouldn’t have been known?

Well, if you say so. But it’s a good platform for me and

I’m glad I made good use of it. But I’m not ashamed of accepting that Big Brother was the one that brought people’s attention on me, but at the end of the day, I still hustled my way to make it and still be relevant after I won the show.

It’s just like telling Davido that if not for his father’s money, he wouldn’t have been popular and rich.

Yes, his father is rich but he didn’t relax on it. He’s hustling and making his own money and he’s well packaged. What would he have done when he found out that his father is a rich man?

Would he have thrown away the money? No! That money was a platform he used to get to where he is today and he’s still not lazy!

So everybody needs a platform because it’s difficult to be a celebrity in Nigeria.

People come to me and ask how they can be popular.

They tell me that they can act well, they have good looks but I tell them that being able to act and having a fine face wouldn’t make them popular, everybody needs a platform.

So, if my father was as rich as Davido’s father then, I will use the money to get what I want as long as I have the talent.

If you say because Davido’s father is rich, what about Naeto C- after all his parents are rich too?

Naeto C had his time when his music became very popular too. God uses different things to project people- it might be wealth, fame, anything…as long as you realize it and capitalize on it alongside your talent. And I tell people that if they don’t have something to sell, no need to come into entertainment.

So if you’re not into entertainment, what else would you have done?

I really don’t know because from when I was in the JSS, I’ve always loved entertainment. I studied Computer Science and Education in UNN at Diploma, and same course in my degree, and I graduated with a 3.9 GPA so, maybe telecommunications but, I noticed that even when I was much more younger, I used to have this attention deficiency disorder because I day dream a lot even when a lecturer was in front of me teaching. I daydream about seeing myself acting different movie roles. I used to zoneout from when I was 11 years old and I’m not kidding here and that’s why God has been blessing me in this industry because this is who he made me to be.

What’s happening between you and Seone. Everybody thinks you’re dating?

Everybody is asking this and we’ve said all that needs to be said about it. At the end of the day, whatever you guys say is what it is so, no comment. Anything you see, take it!

After Big Brother, people started saying you did lips enlargement Did you know that when I was younger, I didn’t like my lips at all because they made me feel awkward. I used to tell my sisters that when I make money I will reduce my lips. People used to call me Chinese eyes when I was young, and I was skinny with full lips. So, my lips were so obvious and it made me feel like an alien, I hated my lips and my big ears. My sisters used to call me ‘creepeller’.

But when I turned 19, my big lips and eyes that I wanted to reduce became the toast of girls. So, the things I didn’t like about me became most celebrated.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

23

arts & culture Egungun Festivals: Memo to Sham ‘Spirits’

By Desola Akindele, Oni-Orisan Iyanu

N

igeria is blessed with pantheon of divinities rooted in the variety of colorful festivals from the diverse cultures it possess.

These festivals are numerous and have drawn the attraction of both locals and tourists at different times.

With the spectacle it creates and the enormous gains the nation derives, it must be closely guarded.

Amongst the Yoruba, the annual ceremonies in honour of the dead serve as a means of assuring their ancestors a place among the living. They believe the ancestors have the responsibility to compel the living to uphold the ethical standards of the past generations of their clan, town or family.

The Egungun is celebrated in festivals, known as Odun Egungun, and in family ritual through the masquerade custom. But recently norms and traditions of the egungun festival has changed, not because Yoruba’s no longer observe the festival but it seems the

masquerade themselves now have a mind of their own Have you ever been accosted by spirits asking for money? When I say spirit, I mean masquerades or Egungun as some of us call it or better still Ojuju; one of the many deities worshipped by the Yoruba people. (Watch out for an exclusive expose on Egungun in the subsequent write up).

Have you ever wondered what the oddly dressed humans who parade the streets and highways in funny costumes of leaves, torn canvass-

Joke

RACISM....hmmnnnn!

“1. Racism will never end as long as white cars are still using black tyres.

2. Racism Will never end as long we still wash first white clothes, then other colours later.

3. Racism will never end if people still use black to symbolise bad luck and WHITE for peace!

4. Racism will never end if people still wear white clothes to weddings and black clothes to the funerals.

5. Racism will never end as long as those who don’t pay their bills are blacklisted not White listed.

Even when playing the pool (snooker), you haven’t won until you sink the black ball & the white ball must remain on the field.

BUT SO LONG AS I’M STILL USING THE WHITE TOILET PAPER TO WIPE MY ASS,I ‘M STILL FINE!”

By Rosemary Azubuike

es and bright red rags, scaring kids and sometimes adults hoped to achieve with their ridiculous charade? Any way, if you have, you should find these scenarios not too far from the mark as well.

There have been several cases of sightings of these so-called Egungun drinking ‘Star’, Heineken or strong alcohol drinks in joints, openly.

If the gods be drunk, no wonder the myriads unanswered mishaps in the society.

Some have also been seen, prostrating for affluent men in order to receive money or law enforcement officers who had caught them due to a maltreatment on a passerby.

These so-called Egungun do almost everything that the normal deity is not supposed to do. It is an aberration and difficult to understand. It seems spirits have become

out of control, if what we believed about Egungun was that they were spirits or ‘orisa’.

The people that trample upon the tradition of the Egungun should be aware that the culture is older than their fathers and the consequence of erring is grave. The folklore should not be trodden upon by men who have disgruntled bellies.

These fake spirits take up whips or ‘egba’ and go around tormenting citizens that they are gods and people should surrender their belongings.

It is understood that a real Egungun’s whip carries potent powers, in that if it is used to beat a person, the individual may get sick or may lead to death.

This is the main reason people run from Egungun.

Not that Egunguns are fierce

looking creatures, colourful beings actually but the power they carry in their ‘egba’ make people shiver at the sight of them and look for an escape route. If you haven’t seen them yet, I assure you they are nearby; your public streets, markets and even highways are gradually beginning to get flooded with Egungun.

These Egungun claimants go out of their houses like they are going to work in the morning, boarding buses without paying. Take bread and plantain from stalls, like hungry hyenas. These sham spirits go around accompanied by jobless youths that tax bystanders. These people are eroding

the value that is placed on this sacred culture of the Yorubas.

There are countless misdeeds that have been perpetrated by these hoodlums.

With this stain on the white garment of our sacred culture, something needs to be done.

This sham needs to be rooted out before we are visited with wrath. Either the gods fight or our government comes after them unmasking their costumes and setting them in the right path.

No doubt, most people will prefer the latter. We do not want the deaths of these sham spirits, simply because some miscreants are jobless and think mild terrorism is the

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

technology

24

When Fashion Meets Technology

…Spotting technological developments in fashion trends bracelet which alerts you on feeds from your social networks which are displayed on a screen located on the inside of the bracelet, which supports privacy. MICA stands out from other similar items in that it has its own 3G cellular radio making it operate independently.

MICA also spots some very stylish features like snakeskin with pearl and stone embeds, all set to appeal to fashion loving audiences.

MOFF Smart Toy Moff is a smart wearable piece for children. It’s great for their playtime as it transforms normal objects into lively toys by creating sound effects.

Moff is controlled by gestures made by the wearer, and works with an app that presents various playtime sound experiences to choose from, including instruments, magic wands and more.

The Moff bracelet has a 3 axis accelerometer, gyroscope and Bluetooth to link with the app. It’s a fine piece for kids that helps to connect imagination and play.

Trackable Couture

MICA Smart Bracelet

Adidas Micropacer OG Adidas is reissuing the Micropacer OG running shoe adding a built-in pedometer, to celebrate the shoe’s 30th anniversary. The original made its debut in 1984.

Smart Watches

By Olatunji Makanjuola

T

echnology has since found its way right into fashion with items like the ‘Adidas MicropacerOG running shoe’ made as far back as 1984- being reintroduced this year on its 30th anniversary.

There are many concepts being introduced into the wearable tech arena like fit-

ness wear, clothing and accessories mostly being designed by big fashion names and brands.

MICA Smart Bracelet MICA is an acronym for “My Intelligent Communication Accessory,” which is a product of collaboration between Intel and Opening Ceremony fashion house.

MICA is a communication

The Micropacer OG will come in its original retrofuturistic silver colorway and will also be laceless like the original.

Wear Your Charger Have you thought about charging your smartphones with your clothes?

With the developments in flexible and micro solar panels, much inspiration has led to designs in clothes and other accessories that can charge or power electronics.

This technology makes lightweight wired clothing

that enables the wearer to charge a smartphone up to 50 percent if they are worn in the sun for a full hour.

Don’t Just Stand There In today’s world, people always want something more.

How about clothing items that respond to the environment around them… an innovation from Amy Winters of the Rainbow Winters clothing line?

For example, the dress is made with holographic leather and reacts to sound. As volume increases, it begins to illuminate and make what Winters describes as “visual music.” The bathing suit reacts to light, with the center panel turning into purple dots in the sun.

Sensoria

Trackable Couture To bring down the incidents of lost clothing either in large celebrity walk-in closets, tracking chips are finding their way into clothes. Imagine your favourite clothing being easily located just by using a tracking app like TrackR. Sounds In Motion The merge of technology and accessories is definitely a trend to expect. Take a look at this clutch that encases speakers.

Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff has made four clutches that encase speakers for Stellé Audio Couture.

Socks Saying Something A start-up called Heapsylon has a smart sock tagged‘Sensoria’ that is paired with an ankle tall to be able to detect the type and level of activity of the wearer based on pressure signals registered by their feet. An instance could be of tracking the regular form of a runner but alerting them when they are making injurious motions.

Sensors within the sock transmit data to the anklet, which then communicate the information to the user by app.

NuMetrix sports bra

Close and Comfy Smart socks are close but closer, you have smart sports bras. Track your performance along with your state of health.

This NuMetrix sports bra, made by Textronics, has a small transmitter that snaps to the garment to tracks a user’s heart rate.

Smart Watches Smart watches are surely a part of fashion now and to

come, sporting various styles and colours to appeal to most preferences. They offer varieties of functions some of which include touchscreen interfaces, emails, text messaging, search and voice command, wireless charging, file and media storage and so on.

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

early beginings Technological Developmment

By Tunji Makanjuola

I

n this chapter, an attempt is made to portray the background of technological development in the production of Daily Times newspapers. It is a known fact that machines and buildings alone do not constitute development, hence it is considered relevant that the names of a few of the men and women (living or dead) who over the years had made valuable contributions towards the development of our many news­papers which are seen every day in stalls and bookshops allover the country, should be mentioned.

In a narrative of this nature, it is almost impossible to recall the names of all the men and women who passed through the Daily Times printery since its establishment in 1925. To all such staff whose names have been omitted, we hereby tender our apologies for the inade­ quacy of this account.

The 1926-1948 Era The maiden issue of “The Nigerian Daily Times” which ran off the presses in the early hours of June 1, 1926, was printed on machinery and equipment acquired a year earlier when the company, the Nigerian Printing and Publishing Co. Limited, was inaugurated.

The print-run of this maiden issue was 2,000 copies and every aspect of production was carried out with such ingenuity that could stagger the imagination of modern newspaper printers.

In the first place, there was no mechanical composing machine for type assembly.

Secondly, printing was done on a hand-fed power-driven machine and it can be recalled that the news­ print sheets were printed one side at a time with the reverse side of the sheet taking as long a time to print as the other.

The dexterity of the compositors of this era remains a marvel as it was not uncommon for tradesmen to assemble eight to ten words

25

a minute. Among the best compositors of the period were: Mr. Moses Ajayi (now a part-time instructor at the Yaba College of Technology); Mr. Abiodun d’Aimelda (who died in 1960); Mr. J. E. Abiyak (who died in 1972); Mr. Emmanuel C. Williams, Mr. R. O. Sodipe, Mr. A. K. Lawai, and Mr. A. W. Somade all of whom are now in retirement.

Although the company had no Monotype machine, a steady supply of movable types was guaranteed through European connections. This regular supply of type characters as at when they were required, ensured that the readability of the newspaper was never impaired.

The attempt made in 1930 to introduce a mechanical composing machine, the Intertype, met with little success and type assembly re­ mained largely with the hand compositors.

For printing, the Wharfdale and, later, the Miehle two-revolution Printing presses, were commissioned.

At an average speed of about 500 copies an hour and printing 2,000 copies front and back, production entailed a running time of, at least, eight hours.

The foremost machine minders of the 1926-1948 era included Mr. Emmanuel Omotosho Williams, who joined the company in 1925 and served in various capacities until he retired as a foreman in 1951; Mr. Samuel Omidiji (also a foreman); Mr. Bankole Olaiya; Mr. O. Lipede and Mr. Omotayo Roberts.

The story was told by Mr. Claudius Obisanya, currently a foreman in the Composing Room, of how in 1941, a printing form of four pages which took about 12 hours to assemble, crashed in pieces (pied) as it was being lowered onto the slab of the printing press. The compositors stood and watched in absolute fright and consternation. However, all the types were distributed back into the type cases and re-assemCONTINUED ON PAGE 26

26

early beginings

SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

Technological Developmment

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

bled in the original form in a little more than six hours.

Need­less to say the foreman, Mr. J. M. Odumosu, and his assistant, Mr. B. Udoh, were frantic in their resolve to minimise the consequent delay which such a mishap was bound to cause.

In the words of Mr. Obisanya: “We all slept in the place, even though we were not to be paid overtime.

Our families panicked as we had no cause to be away from home the whole night.

“Next morning, the printery at 172 Broad Street was besieged by our families.

There was, however, no demonstration” Mr. Obisanya could only recall one trade dispute between 1940 and 1948.

This was occasioned by the management’s refusal to pay arrears of the Cost of Living Allowance awarded

by Govern­ ment around 1945/46.

Printed copies of the newspapers were trimmed on the guillotine and folded by hand. The victim of an accident on a guillotine machine, Mr. Hameed A. Balogun, described the situation in the Bindery Department of the Company at the time as follows: “Our head binder was Mr. H. J. Ayodele. We had to guillotine already printed sheets in halves before folding. At least that was the simple day-to-day work schedule for us. It was on one of such occasions in February, 1948, that the safety device on my guillotine machine snapped and the knife came down sharply and chopped off my left arm……

“Copies of the newspapers were in those days folded by hand and it usually took between five and six hours to do this. Folded copies were then delivered to Mr. W. Serrano who was both the Salesman and Cashier. He would sell news­papers from about 5 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. and would resume his second job as Cashier at 8.00 a.m.”

The 1948-1958 Era The period 1948-1958 witnessed significant advancement in printing technology.

With the takeover of the company by the Daily Mirror Newspapers Limited of

London, a new premise was acquired at Phoenix Lane, Lagos. Mechanical composing machines, foundry equipment and a one-unit Foster Rotary press were shipped from the Daily Mirror in London to Lagos. Even though these machines were second-hand, they contributed in no small mea­sure in transforming the four-page newspaper printery from a sheet-fed and hand folding ins­tallation to the mass production rotary printing that had become the vogue all over Europe, thereby catapulting the Daily Times years ahead of its competitors, the West African Pilot, the Daily Comet and the Daily Service.

Type assembly by hand was replaced by Linotype machines with specially trained Linotype operators; forms were duplicated with matrix and stereo plates, while sheet and hand-fed presses were replaced with rotary printing. In addition, a process engraving plant was estab­ lished, thus removing the reliance of the company on the services of the Public Relations Office and the overseas suppliers for halftone bloc The immediate effect of these technological innovations was two-fold: Firstly, type assembly was easier and quicker; secondly, printing on the rotary facilitated the production of up to eight pages of the newspaper with the mast printed in extra colour and at speeds of up to 20,000 copies of the newspapers an hour.

Obviously, the introduction of this technology demanded new skills. Existing staff were to be retrained and for this purpose expatriate tech­nicians (both Africans and Europeans) were recruited from Ghana and the United Kingdom to assist in the training of local staff.

Among the early arrivals from the Daily Graphic of Ghana were Mr. Clement Tsagli (who re­signed in 1975 as Linotype Engineer to join Linotype and Machinery Limited, Altringham, England, as their West African representative), Mr. S. Amoah (now working in Ghana) as a Linotype operator; Mr.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

DAILTY TIMES – SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014

early beginings

Technological Developmment CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

E. Bruce, also a Linotype operator, and Mr. Bob Mackin, a Stereotyper in the Foundry.

Their European counterparts included Mr. Tom Maloy (who retired in 1974) as Chief Engineer; Mr. Fred Friesch, Foundry Manager; Mr. Len Wortley, Process Engraving Manager, and Mr. R. Rossbridge, Rotary Press Manager.

Among the first batch of trainees to emerge under the training scheme were: Linotype Operators: Mr. (now Chief) Olu Fadairo, at present Sales Manager, Nigerpark; Mr. Nathaniel Adenuga, Mr. M. A. Adeleye (now Business and Production Manager, Lintas); Mr. Bayo Iyaniwura, now Managing Director of Commercial Amalgamated Printers Limited, printers of the Daily Express, Lagos; Mr. Olusegun James, now a foreman in the Composing Room; and Mr. Jonathan Onate­mowo, at present Composing Room Overseer.

Foundry Operator: Alhaji B. A. Kukoyi, at present Foundry Over­ seer; Mr. William Njoku, now Deputy Overseer; Mr. Adio Oyelowo, a foreman in the Foundry, and Mr. Jacob Aidominiyi, at present a Stereotyper still in the employ of the company.

Process Engraving: Mr. A. B. Joseph; Mr. O. E. Okon (who later became Process Manager); the late Mr. E. O. Inyang (Production Manager 1968-1970); Mr. E. Akinyemi Cole, at present Production Manager; Mr. Saibu Ogineagbon, now the Process Engra­ving Overseer; Mr. O. Tubi, the Deputy Process Overseer, and Mr. A. Sikuade, an Assistant Foreman in the Foundry Department.

Rotary Press: Mr. Ola Ajimobi (until recently Rotary Superin­ tendent at the Daily Sketch, Ibadan); Mr. Olatunji Jones, at present Rotary Overseer;

Mr. Patrick Anene, Managing Director of Pattony Publicity, Apapa; and the late Mr. Sunday Brown, who died in January, 1967. Mr. J. M. Odumosu, was at that time the Press Superi ntendent.

The 1959-1964 Era Another phase of the technological develop­ ments in the Daily Times began in 1959 with the opening of a new production building complex accommodating a two-unit double-width rotary press, a battery of new Linotype machines and foundry equipment. In addition, the Process Engraving Department which had remained at 172 Broad Street was transferred to Kakawa Street and every facet of newspaper production was thereby accommodated at the Kakawa Street premises.

The management structure was similarly streamlined: Mr. J. M. Odumosu was promoted Production Manager and Mr. Pius A. Ayan was named his Deputy. The Process Engraving Department was headed by the late Mr. E. O. Inyang; the Foundry

by Mr. William Njoku, and the Rotary Press by Mr. O. Jones. Thus, the first phase of Nigerianisation in the Production Depart­ ment of the New spa per Division was accomplished.

The circulation of the daily newspaper reached 106;000 copies about March 1962 while the Sunday Times was selling 140,000 copies per week.

This circulation feat, which at that time was unparalleled in black Africa, imposed great strains on all production facilities. The number of publica­tions had grown from one daily (the Daily Times) to four including three weeklies (Sunday Times, Sporting Record and Weekly News) plus another daily newspaper (the Daily Sketch) which was printed on contract for the then Western Nigeria Government.

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SEPTEMBER 8-14 2014 DAILTY TIMES

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opinion

Death For A Mess Of Porridge

By Mecha Udo Mecha

T

he tragedy of our nation’s democratic experiment is that the true meaning and tenets of this time tested, often preferred mode of governance have been extremely corrupted. If the truth must be told, our nation is at best practicing some form of pseudo- democracy.

In a democracy, the people elect their leaders. In a democracy leaders are not imposed, there is equality of voting rights, often trumpeted as “one man one vote”.

The people also have the inalienable right of removing non-performing, inactive and out rightly inept elected office holders through a process of impeachment. The chosen leaders serve the people based on the laws of the land and the contract of service usually couched in a manifesto entered into during the electioneering contest. The focus of leadership is the people and the society at large. Unfortunately, this is not the case today.

Once our leaders scheme their way to power, they pack into fortresses away from people they are supposed to serve and from the reality of their immediate environment. When they venture out to town, the people suffer as they are chased and bullied out of the roads and sometimes into fatal accidents. Their immediate family members instantly become first this and first that, even their dogs become first animals; the case of Animal farm, where some animals are more equal than others become even truer.

The people (the electorate) are cast aside and forgotten, even as promises and commitments made are kept in breach. The collective patrimony becomes the exclusive preserve of a few to be used, pillaged and dispensed in any way or manner that pleases the new powers without any iota of regard for the laws of the land, and without any consideration for the needs of the society. Public property and institutions are either fraudulently converted or renamed after them. They

Orji

become imperial Excellencies. The political, social and economic structures they met in place when they assumed office are so desecrated and abused that they become not only dysfunctional but also deformed, to the extent that they become completely ineffective and unable to deliver the needs they were created to meet.

When they are done with their carnage, they work to foist one of their own to continue from where they stopped and to protect their interests. They strive to create a dynasty even when we are not in a monarchical dispensation.

There is no other state in the country where this trend is more manifest than in the state of Abia.

Since 1999 when democratic practices were supposed to have returned to the country, the state has had an unfairly huge share of political chicanery, high level of insincerity, callous political maneuvers, and deviously devilish schemes.

No other state has been so raped and abused than Abia . Abia now lies prostrate, comatose and in the throes of death, desperately needing deliverance which can only come by divine intervention.

The latest nauseating and extremely revolting development is the current attempt at maintaining the status quo in the process of

Mecha

selecting new leaders in the state come 2015. Besides the attempt of the PDP (the ruling political party) to unwittingly impose a hitherto non-existent zoning pattern on the people, the media has also been awash with the press, psychological and emotional war, nearing open fisticuffs between the former Governor and the present one who incidentally was the protégé of the former Governor but who now is his sworn and worst antagonist. Nothing is being spared in this mutually politically destructive war.

We have been regaled with all sorts of stories, ranging from the comical to the obnoxious even to the extremely bizarre and absurd.

It is believed by men and women of faith that whatever happens in the physical is a manifestation of the spiritual. It does not matter who took who to a shrine in Okija, what we have come to know now is that the soul, destiny and spirit of Abia was deposited or at best has been mortgaged or consigned to an evil god in an evil forest at Okija, where dead and decomposing corpses litter. Today our state is dying and rapid decomposition has commenced.

While we sat relaxed, believing and hoping for the manifestation of the goodness of God upon our state, a few men who obviously do not know God sneaked away in the dead of night with the spirit, soul and destiny of our state and handed it over to the devil.

And because the Almighty Father’s “eyes are too pure they cannot behold iniquity” his spirit departed from our state that had proclaimed itself his abode.

Things are so bad in Abia that even the state chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) once decided to embark on a protest march in Aba. Trust the powers that be; they had already ensured that the roads were so impassable that even with rain boots the lawyers could not make any meaningful progress with their march.

I believe that the divine

battle between the former and present Governors has provided an insight to the riddle of the source of our problems in Abia.

Abia’s challenge is more spiritual than carnal, little wonder that despite the fact that the government has been unable to come up with any initiative of its own, it was even unable to copy from other states or at least seek assistance from others including the Federal government, who they are said to be so very close to.

I therefore write to the clergy: the Bishops, Reverends, Pastors, Prophets, Evangelists, Teachers, Apostles, and all children of God of Abia stock, wherever they may be, those residing in Abia or friends of Abia to rise, pick up the gauntlet and pray. The salvation of the state has to start from the spiritual realm, and then it will ultimately be translated to the physical. I urge the larger Abia populace to be vigilant, to rise and retake their land.

This we can be achieved by turning away from the hideous sin that has been committed against Abia by Abians and return to God. The message should be taken to all nooks, crannies and crevices of our land.

Our people must understand that Abia belongs to us all and no to just a few demagogues. Once more I urge our clergy to utilize the in-

strumentality of our spiritual houses to recover our state from those who are so short sighted that they fail to see the larger picture of a prosperous Abia, but rather wallow in the ignorance of self centeredness. That should be our charge in this season. It is commonly said that a people get the kind of government that they deserve. Let us be determined to get the responsible, people oriented God fearing government that our state deserves.

Those who are profiting from this charade are preparing to unleash another team of inept leaders who will continue with their ineptocracy, which is defined as “government of the inept by the inept to the detriment of all”. A commissioner in the state in an interview recently boasted that people were free to contest elections but that they possessed the “machinery” to win the elections.

Read in between the lines, and insist that elections must be won in Abia by our votes.

It is clear that there will be attempts to compromise voters at the party primaries and the general elections, but let us remind ourselves that it profits nothing to earn a few Naira notes and lose your state. Do not kill Abia for a mess of porridge.

When you take money, rice, car, oversea trip, Abuja trip or even a new woman or man you would also be guilty of the rot in the state, you would be guilty of the inaccessibility of our towns and villages, you will be guilty of the decay in our educational institutions, you would be guilty of high level of insecurity in the state and you would be responsible for the decrepit state of our infrastructure. The blood of those who have died in the cycle of violence in the state will also be on your head, and you will be required to also account for the collapse of the economy of the state. The money you will be given is only a very minuscule part of what you would ordinarily earn in a free and working Abia, so while I urge you to take it because it is ours, we expect you to vote according to your conscience and deliver Abia from satanic bondage.