Reality Life Magazine - June 2019 Edition by Francis Toke

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Issue 3 Vol. 3

Nigerians will soon be consuming chocolate from Ondo State Elizade University in focus Nigeria: Agriculture is the future Nigerians will soon be consuming chocolate from Ondo

Meet the nutrition wellness Coach - Daniella Akpakwu

Yoruba men give their wives space to grow -www.realitylifeng.com Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu

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CONT ENTS

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NIGERIA: The Future Is Agriculture

58 10

Anambra State: Setting the template in agricultural revolution

Stepping Out in the Senator’s Style

Founder’s Message To The Graduating Students On The Occasion Of The Maiden Convocation Ceremony

Sagging: The Fashion That Makes You Look Irresponsible

Acting Vice-Chancellor’s Message To The Graduating Students On The Occasion Of The Maiden Convocation Ceremony

People Are Already Commending Akeredolu On His Giant Strides In Infrastructure -S.S.A, Infrastructure

Our teaching method at Elizade University is technology-driven

AGN Beauty Pageant Celebrates The Beauty, Brain of The YouthOkoro

Elizade University School Fees Are Cheap Yet, We Provide Quality Education

Ondo will be the face of cocoa in Nigeria www.realitylifeng.com

Editor’s Notes An Irresistible Collection

lessed with a wide varieties of agricultural potentials, ranging from crops, animals, plants and natural agricultural-supportive factors, Nigeria has all it takes to become a big economy again driven by agriculture especially with the Oil crisis. Our other cover looks at the efforts by both the Federal and State governments such as Anambra, Ondo and Lagos States, at revolutionizing the Agric sector in Nigeria as this seems to be where the future lies. Still on Agriculture, Eric Reid, President/Founder, SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier speaks about the business of cocoa farming in Nigeria and some of the benefits that will accrue both Nigeria and Ondo State from investment in cocoa and chocolate. We were at Elizade University Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, one of the new generational institution of high learning We witnessed their convocation ceremony and had exclusive chats with the Acting Vice Chancellor and the Registrar, and they let us into what distinguishes the University from its contemporaries. In fashion, we look at the dress style trending today among our men -both young and old. This is even in the face of a rather disturbing but growing fashion style known as ‘Sagging’ that has caused tongues to wag endlessly. It is a story aptly titled With a rare combination of beauty, brain and candour, Mrs. Betty-Anyanwu Akeredolu is a delight person to engage. Humanitarian, charitable yet, humble, the wife of the Ondo State Governor had within 100 days in office as the First Lady of the Sunshine State touched lives especially that of the girl child and society’s less privileged. She passionately talked about her plans for the less privileged, the girl child, and most especially Ondo State women, in addition to her NGO, the Breast Cancer Awareness of Nigeria, (BRECAN) her fledgling pet project-BE MORE, and other sundry issues. The interview which, is our cover in this edition is as interesting, exciting as it is revealing. We also spoke to some Government officials in Ondo State, who assessed the impact of the current administration and provided us some insights about the direction of the Akeredolu led government in Ondo State. Once more, you are welcome to our world of reality life, where we live for tomorrow. The copy you in your hand is a complete package of what a modern news magazine should be. Enjoy your reading.

Oghenemairo Adegeye

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Publisher Evafem Communication 200 Road, House 7, Festac, Lagos

Editor- in- Chief Oghenemairo Adegeye Managing Editor Adegeye Oluwafemi Associate Editors Walter Enoch Toddy Celestine Raymond Emeka Mbah Proof Readers Chukwudi Uruakpa Joan Odafe Kemi Adeniyi Adegeye Writers/ Contributors/ Columnists Siyabonga B. Samuel Okodidili Sholape Adesoye Designs and Layout Kelechi Okoro- Emmanuels

Letters, comments and observations should be addressed to the Editor at Plot 49 Animasaun Estate Extension, Surulere, Lagos. Tel: 0805 655 5838, 0909 393 7727, 07066122290 E-mail: realitymag@gmail.com, adamairo76@yahoo.com

REALITY MISSION Our mission is to constatntly promote and project Agriculture/ tourism, entertainment, culture, style, events, festivals, sporting to be the global community advertising and marketing of product and services, through highly motivated staff, rendering excellent services to the world. REALITY VISION To be a leading agriculture/tourism, entertainment and life style magazine with the best hands providing quality services to readers and clients around the world with great impact.

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Cover

Blessed with a wide varieties of agricultural produce, ranging from crops to animals and plants including natural agricultural-supportive factors, Nigeria has all it takes to become a big economy again driven by agriculture especially with the Oil crisis. Our Editor, Oghenemairo Adegeye) in the following reports, looks at the eďŹ&#x20AC;orts by both the Federal and State governments at revolutionizing the Agriculture sector in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;Ś.

NIGERIA: The Future Is

Agriculture 6

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IGERIA is a country abundantly blessed with huge agricultural potential. In the 1960s for instance, Nigeria was acclaimed to be one of the most promising agricultural producers in the world prior to her switch to Oil. Between 1962 and 1968, export crops were Nigeria’s main foreign exchange earner besides priding herself as the world’s number one in palm oil exports ahead of countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. It was equally a period that Nigeria exported 47 percent of all groundnuts, ahead of the United States of America and Argentina. Currently, Nigeria boasts of 91 million hectares of land out of which 84 million hectares are arable. Out of this 84 million arable land, only 40 percent has been cultivated yet, the country is blessed with 230 billion cubic meters of water, and blessed also with the presence of two of Africa’s largest riversRivers Niger and Benue, and with abundant rainfall in over two-thirds of her territory. With all these in perspective, Nigeria was and is still no doubt, a global Agricultural power especially against the backdrop of her being the largest exporter of cocoa in the 1960s. Little wonder it has been declared in some quarters that Agriculture is the future of Nigeria.

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Nigeria’s land has produced major crops, including beans, cassava, banana, cashew nuts, cocoa beans, groundnuts, kolanuts, maize, melon, rice, millet, palm kernels, palm oil, plantains and rubber, among others. But even in the face of this, following the discovery of Oil, the Agriculture sector in Nigeria has for many decades been under-funded and never received the attention it deserves. This neglect resulted to small holder farming forming a large percentage of the sector. In addition to this was poor farming methodologies, lack of access to finance, post-harvest losses due to lack of storage facilities, unreliable power supply, poor transport infrastructure and unattractiveness of farming in terms of returns for many young people. The National Bureau of Statistics late February 2017 released its Q4 2016 report. According to the report, Nigeria’s GDP contracted by -1.30% in the final quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015; for the whole of 2016, the country’s productivity declined by -1.51%. The NBS says this “reflects a difficult year for Nigeria,” a period in which the country has grappled with turbulence in its oil sector and a weakening naira, among other challenges. However, the fall in its GDP for the fourth quarter (Q4) was less than the -2.24% recorded in the previous quarter. Some analysts point to this, as well as a few other ‘signs’ in the report, as evidence that Nigeria could soon be on its way out of its current state of recession. The oil sector, as in the previous quarters, contributed heavily to the overall decline in national productivity. It contracted by -12.38% compared to the same period in

Currently, Nigeria boasts of 91 million hectares of land out of which 84 million hectares are arable. Out of this 84 million arable land, only 40 percent has been cultivated yet, the country is blessed with 230 billion cubic meters of water, and blessed also with the presence of two of Africa’s largest riversRivers Niger and Benue, and with abundant rainfall in over two-thirds of her territory.

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2015. The fall was nevertheless not as severe as the previous quarterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s output dropped by -22.01%. The non-oil sector on the other hand also witnessed negative growth, albeit at a slower rate of -0.33%. Due to the much stronger rate of decline in the oil sector, the non-oil sector increased its share of the GDP from 91.94% to 92.85%. Agricultural GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 was 4.03% (year-on-year), which was an increase of 0.56% points compared to growth in the same quarter of 2015 of 3.48%. However, it was slightly less than the real growth rate of 4.54% recorded in the previous quarter. In contrast to the economy as a whole, for full year 2016, real GDP in agriculture grew by 4.11%, and this growth rate was higher than that recorded in 2015 of 3.72%. The contribution of Agriculture (Crop Production, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing) to overall GDP in real terms was 25.49% in the quarter under review, higher than its share of 24.18% in the corresponding quarter of 2015, but less than its share in the previous quarter of 28.65%. Agriculture is highly seasonal,

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and its share in the third quarter is usually the highest. For 2016 as whole, Agriculture increased its share relative to 2015, to 24.43%, due to its relatively strong growth rate. The sector made the overall GDP figure look less bleak than it could have been. Its growth was largely driven by crop production, which remained strong throughout the year. There is no gainsaying the fact that the Agricultural sector plays a strategic role in the process of economic development of a country. It is a general belief that where per capita real income is low, emphasis is being laid on agriculture and other primary industries. In other words, increased agricultural output and productivity tend to contribute substantially to an overall economic development of a country. This explains why it is rational and appropriate to place greater emphasis on further development of the agricultural sector. The critical role of Agriculture in the entire life of a given economy cannot be underestimated. It is the backbone of the economic system of any given country. In addition to providing food and raw material, agriculture also provides employment opportunities to

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very large percentage of the population. Since the sector employs many people, it contributes to economic development. As a result, the national income level as well as people’s standard of living are improved. A stable agricultural sector assures a nation of food security which, is the main requirement of any country. About four years ago, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina while regretting how the country abandoned agriculture for Oil noted: “Nigeria is known for nothing else than oil, and it is so sad, because we never used to have oil – all we used to have was agriculture. And that is why we had a rising poverty situation. We were having growth but without robust growth able to impact millions of people because it is not connecting to agriculture.” Unfortunately, the country’s oil has come at the detriment of the agriculture sector, transiting from being a self-sufficient country in food to being a net importer, spending a whopping $11bn at a point on the importation of rice, fish and sugar. “We were not looking at agriculture through the

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right lens. We were looking at agriculture as a developmental activity, like a social sector in which you manage poor people in rural areas. But agriculture is not a social sector. Agriculture is a business. Seed is a business, fertilizer is a business, storage, value added, logistics and transport - it is all about business,” Adesina told This is Africa.’ He then vowed to change the image of the agriculture sector in Nigeria, putting it at the forefront of national development. “Agriculture is the future of Nigeria. And agriculture that is modernized, that is productive, that is competitive. We must be a global player. We can focus on using cassava for starch, dry cassava chips for export to China, cassava flour to replace some of the wheat flour that we are importing. So we are restructuring the space for the private sector to add value to every single thing.” It is heartwarming to note that the private sector have taken up the challenge to provide the agriculture sector the tonic it needs to grow. For instance, currently, maize and sorghum constitute 80 per cent of the Guinness Nigeria’s agricultural raw material input. Between 2010 and 2011, the Nigerian Government, after years of benign neglect, began to reform the agriculture sector. To this end, the Government implemented a new strategy, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). In 2011-2016, the focus was on rebuilding a sector whose relevance had shrunk dramatically. That was reflected in the lack of lending to farmers by the financial system and the dramatic levels of food imports from across the world. That intervention, the ATA, served its core purpose of helping refocus Nigeria’s attention on agriculture. Analysts however, believe that in spite of the successes recorded by ATA, it is apparent that additional work is still required in order to meet the country’s agric objectives. Nigeria

cant amount of food. Nigeria is also not earning significant foreign exchange from agriculture, meaning the country is losing on both ends. Consequently, it became paramount to tackle these two issues head on culminating ins the establishment of The Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP). The purpose is to provide a disciplined approach to building an agribusiness ecosystem that will solve these two gaps. The private sector will remain in the lead while government facilitates, as well as provides supporting infrastructure, systems, control processes, and oversight. The sustainability of the reforms in the Agriculture sector seems to be going well following successes recorded in some states of the Federation. For instance, Lagos and Kebbi States partnered to produce the LAKE rice which now significantly serves as an alternative to the very expensive foreign brands. Special Adviser to Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Food Security, Mr. Sanni Okanlawon, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), last year that the rice paddy would be milled at Imota, Lagos. He said the state government was collaborating with its Kebbi counterpart in ensuring that quality rice emanated from the 2.5 metric tonne-capacity mills to boost food production in Lagos. “To boost food production in the state, we collaborated with the Kebbi government in commodity value chain production like rice, wheat, groundnut, sorghum and livestock. We have started with rice; Kebbi is the largest producer of rice paddy and we have the capacity to mill them at our 2.5 metric tonnes-capacity milling plant in Imota,” Okanlawon said.

still imports a signifi-

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COVER

Anambra State: Setting the template in agricultural revolution

n Anambra State, the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano seems to be doing a lot in the Agriculture sector. In fact, the Obiano administration’s Economic Blueprint, the Four Pillars of Development seeks to develop Anambra through Agriculture, Trade & Commerce, Industrialization and Oil & Gas. Anambra State is said to have 100 percent arable land. Shortly after his inauguration as Governor, Chief Willie Obiano inaugurated a 14-Man Committee on Agriculture headed by Professor Chukwuemeka Omaliko, a well-known agronomist. The Committee was mandated to carry out extensive tests on soil types and advise the government on what crop should grow where. “We figured that it was important to know where rice would grow best, where cassava would grow best and where maize would grow best based on soil type,” the governor said at a forum. In a bid to ensure the success of the initiative, the governor further set up a Land Acquisition Committee, headed by Dr. Tim Menakaya; a former Minister of Health. The Land Acquisition Committee was vested with the mandate of negotiating with the different communities across the state to acquire land for large scale farming and other purposes. One of the things said to have given the state a huge advantage in its quest to position Anambra State as a leader in Agriculture in Ni-

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farms, the location of their farms and the crops they produce and we can effectively monitor progress on these farms from the Situation Room in Awka. By this also, our investors are more informed about the level of bankable investment that they require,We also put a call and SMS through to these farmers when necessary. At the moment from our database, we have 93,000 validated farmers and 1850 validated cooperatives spread across 21 local government areas in our data bank. “A breakdown of this figure shows that 11,425 farmers are involved in rice production, 36,245

“We ﬁgured that it was important to know where rice would grow best, where cassava would grow best and where maize would grow best based on soil type,” geria is the adoption of Precision Agriculture. With this technology, the Situation Monitoring Room set up by the Government was used to carry out a smooth monitoring and evaluation of activities in all farms in Anambra State. “We have a data bank of our farmers, their

farmers produce cassava while 4000 farmers are into maize production. We also have 649 cooperatives involved in cassava production, 621 cooperatives in rice production and 155 in maize production. While more farmers

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COVER being captured to update the data bank,” the governor said. When on May 15, 2014, the Governor lit the fire of the Agro-Revolution in Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area, 100 tractors were rolled out and tonnes of improved varieties of seedlings were handed out to farmers who were organized into cooperatives for ease of management and effective distribution of agricultural support. According to the Governor, “In order to keep a sharp focus on our drive for excellence, we had to come up with a concise objective in Agriculture. We declared that our Objective is to ensure that Anambra State joins the Top-3 states in agricultural production in Nigeria. We needed an objective that would galvanize all our efforts in one direction. With our objective intact, we began the quest for credible partnerships. “It is important to note at this juncture that there can be no serious transformational effort in agriculture without a strategic partnership with the private sector. In our case in Anambra State, we have the advantage of having many entrepreneurs who have the resources and the knowledge to play a role in our programme. What was needed from us was to demonstrate a bold resolve to push through our initiatives and show commitment to our own plans. In other words, the investors were simply waiting for our body language.” Already, not less than nine Agro-investors have shown practical interest in partaking in the Anambra Agricultural Revolution. They have collectively changed the agricultural landscape of Anambra State. The investors include: Coscharis Farms which have invested $110m dollars in rice production; Joseph Agro Limited with $150 million dollars in rice production; Delfarms Ltd with $200 million dollars in integrated farm project;

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and Novtech Farms with $50m dollars in rice production. Others are Eckcel Farms with $100 million dollars in tomato production; Lynden Farms with $61 million dollars in integrated farm project; MIP Farms with $10 million dollars in tomatoes and Greenhouse production; Tricity Integrated Farms with $11.4 million dollars and Silos & Grains with $23.5 million dollars in a malting plant. “While most of our partnerships with Agro-investors in Anambra State have taken off, companies like Coscharis Farms, Joseph Agro Ltd, Delfarms, Lynden Farms, MIP Farms and others appear clearly in the lead at the moment. In fact, Coscharis Farms has demonstrated extraordinary passion and commitment to change our agricultural narrative. “The company played a key role in pushing our local rice production from 80 metric tonnes to 210,000 metric tonnes. Anambra consumes 320,000 metric tonnes of rice per year. At this rate, Coscharis Farms alone can easily help us to meet and surpass our rice consumption in Anambra State in two or less harvest seasons,” Obiano said. Yet, there is the Stine Industries said to have played a prominent role in the emergence of the famous Anambra Rice. The company is the leading rice mill in Anambra State with a capacity to produce 440 metric tonnes of rice, approximately 10 trailer loads of rice in a day. Stine was a beneficiary of the first round of disbursements of N2 billion made to start-ups in Anambra State under the auspices of the Anambra Small Business Agency (ASBA) by the Obiano administration. Early 2016, Anambra Rice was adjudged the Best Rice Brand in Africa at the African Produce Exhibition in Lagos in February 2016. It defeated contending brands from South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Cameroun,

Zambia and Ghana to emerge Africa’s Best. And in line with the State Government’s Agricultural Export Programme vegetable produce from Anambra State, specifically Ugu and Bitter-leaf were successfully exported to the United Kingdom on January 21, 2016. The value of the produce was estimated at $5m. “One of the things we are doing to lend roots to the Agricultural Revolution in Anambra State is providing the critical links between the famers and the industries which need their produce as raw materials. It is heart-warming to announce that Sorghum which is used is brewing beer is produced in a commercial quantity in Delfarm/Songhai Farms Ltd in Igbariam. At the moment, over 15,000 people are currently employed in the agricultural sector in the state. “What we have done is to link the management of Delfarm/Songhai Farms Ltd up with the management of SABMiller Breweries in Onitsha who are the brewers of Hero Beer which is a very dominant drink in the Eastern markets. Under this arrangement, the sorghum that is produced in Igbariam makes a short trip to Onitsha and comes out as beer to meet waiting lips. That is an impressive achievement. We are exploring a similar arrangement between our farmers and the management of Tiger Foods Ltd who are the largest makers of spices in West Africa. Arrangements have reached advanced levels to ensure that these spices are produced by our local farmers,” the Governor said. The good news is that at the end of the day, the Agricultural sector in Anambra State is expected to create over 300,000 direct and indirect jobs from both Enterprise and Small-holder farmers and others employed in the agricultural value chain across the state. Anambra State has already become a model in Agriculture in Nigeria.

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COVER

Ondo state: state of emergency in cocoa production aimed at regaining lost glory

ocoa was at a period in the history of this country, Nigeria’s biggest contributor to the economy. It was then acclaimed to be Nigeria’s leading agricultural export. Little wonder the country is currently the world’s fourth largest producer of the crop, behind Cote d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Ghana. In Africa, Nigeria is the third largest exporter of Cocoa while the crop was Nigeria’s major foreign exchange earner in the 1950s-60s. Cocoa production was on such positive lane in Nigeria that in 1970, the country was the second largest producer in the world. However, following the diversification to oil, the country’s share in the global Cocoa output declined. This steady decline was manifested in 2010 when the crop accounted to only 0.3 percent of the country’s agricul-

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tural GDP. But there seems to be light in the tunnel as Ondo State, known to be in the forefront of Cocoa farming in the country has since commenced measures aimed at revolutionizing the production of the commodity in the state. Already, the new administration in the state led by Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has declared a state of emergency in cocoa production to ensure that the state maintains its position as the leading cocoa producing state in Nigeria. “It is true that most of our cocoa trees are ageing; we will bring different species of cocoa for re-planting to replace the ageing ones. This will revive the dwindling fortunes of cocoa in Ondo State and Nigeria in general. The state government is committed to revolutionizing cocoa production,’’ he told the Yoruba Patriot Movement on a visit to

his office in April 2017. On the course of his administration, the Olusegun Mimiko administration resuscitated the 1,744 hectares of Oda Cocoa Farm Estate at Oda village, in Akure South area of Ondo State after its neglect by successive administrations in the state since the state was created in 1976. It is now evident that the state is on the verge of becoming one of the leading producers of cocoa in Africa. The plantation was established by the Premier of the defunct Western Region, the late Obafemi Awolowo, in 1954, and had since been abandoned before it was taken over by the Mimiko administration through its Cocoa Revolution Project, CRP. The objective of the Cocoa Revolution Project was to revamp the cocoa industry, make it a catalyst for employment generation and source of revenue for Ondo State.

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COVER It’s on record that out of the 240,000 metric tonnes of cocoa which Nigeria produces per annum, Ondo State accounts for over 40 percent. A former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Dr. Samuel Oyebade told newsmen in 2015 that the governor approved the establishment of the CRP in June 2013 to mitigate the challenges of cocoa production and bring about increased production, good agricultural practices and sustainable standard beans processing amidst improving the economy of the state and making life worth living for peasant farmers. “The initial plan of the CRP was to establish and rehabilitate 100 hectares each of old and new cocoa farms for farmers at one hectare per farmer, as a model for adoption. However, with the governors intervention, the CRP has since taken over the management and rehabilitation of the 1744 hectares Oda Farm Estate which has become the centre of CRP activities hitherto. The Oda Cocoa Plantation is the source of Ondo State’s Premium Cocoa Beans used in the production of the award-winning Oda 70 percent SPAGnVOLA Chocolate,” Oyebade said. Oyebade noted that the CRP produced 4.7 metric tonnes of premium cocoa beans in 2014, partnered the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, IITA, IFAD, USAID, French Association for the International Development of Exchange of Food and Agricultural Produce and Techniques, ADEPTA, and Isreali Fertilizer Production Groups, among others. According to him, “We have demonstrated that in Oda Farm, our cocoa revolution project is a high capacity tractor-water-pump-driven which collects water from the river and small streams that will be close to the farmers’ farms. Irrigation will change the face of agriculture. In a matter of few years, Ondo State shall be in the forefront of economic hub in Nigeria. “The cocoa revolution will enhance the revenue profile of the state and the monthly allocation from the Federation Account will be mere peanut. While planting our 100 hectares of cocoa, we planted about 200,000 stands of plantain as a shield; that also will generate funds later.” Owing to the abandonment of cocoa as a mainstay of the economy, Oyebade said then that cocoa farmers in the state were producing poor quality cocoa beans, which suffer 100 percent reduction in the open market. Therefore, to stem the ugly tide in cocoa and make Nigeria regain its position in the global market, he pointed out that CRP was embarking on acceptable, practical and sustainable approach to the processing of cocoa beans to the highest international quality level, which he called ‘X Premium.’ According to him, “This is a special premium that

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you can use to produce any chocolate with that quality beans. This was the main reason our first chocolate product participated in the last chocolate outing in UK, wherein, 502 chocolate products all over the world gathered for laboratory test, bud test, quality control test and we came second out of 502 chocolate samples.” In October 2016, the Ondo state Executive Council approved the conversion of the Cocoa Catalytic factory in Idanre into a Chocolate factory as a part of the efforts of the last administration in the state at making agriculture a veritable means of empowering the populace and achieving economic growth in the state. Following the approval, the Cocoa Catalytic factory in Alade, Idanre, Idanre local government area of the state will be converted for the production of Oda Single Estate Premium Chocolate. SPAGnVOLA worked on quality assurance at the farm and helped perfect both the harvest and post-harvest processing which included their CiBEXO methodology to ensure optimum quality beans. The Oda Cocoa Estate beans were then shipped to the SPAGnVOLA factory, where they were handcrafted into the first premium chocolate bar from Nigeria. The Chocolate Factory would commence full operation soon, where chocolate bars would be produced for local consumption and exportation. “Now the new administration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu wants to sustain the Cocoa Revolution Project and this would solve the problem of changing policies and new ideas would be introduced, encourage young farmers, provide organic fertilizer, provide irrigation during dry season. Government should try to sustain this and improve on these items. “Now Cocoa Revolution Project is out to start the production of this chocolate bars right here in the state.

The objective of the Cocoa Revolution Project was to revamp the cocoa industry, make it a catalyst for employment generation and source of revenue for Ondo State

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With a rare combination of beauty, brain and candour, Mrs Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu is a person of delight. A Humanitarian, charitable yet, humble, the wife of the Ondo State Governor Within 100days as the First Lady of Ondo State, has touched so many lives in diďŹ&#x20AC;erent ways. Mrs. Akeredolu has particularly not only touched the lives of the girl-child, she has also contributed to the betterment of the less-privileged. In the following interview with RealityLife Magazine, the First woman of the Sunshine state spoke passionately about the welfare of the girl-child and the less-privileged. She also expressed her passion for Ondo women. In addition, Mrs. Akeredolu discussed the role of her NGO, the Breast Cancer Awareness of Nigeria, BRECAN, her fledgling pet project known as BE MORE, and other issues.

RLM : In less than 100 days in office, you have taken humanitarian services to the less privileged, could you tell us why you chose to begin with humanitarian services? If you had known me all along, you would have been aware that I belong to the Non-Governmental Organization community. And if you belong to this community, this is one of the things that come to someone who loves humanitarian service naturally. Because you will always be on the lookout for what you can do to better the lot of people in the society. You will always be concerned about how to bridge the gap caused by years of maladministration. You will care about those who have been regarded as cast off; the majority of the population that nobody cares about. This is the area NGOs are concerned with. So, it should not be a surprise to anyone that I decided to consider this immediately my husband was sworn into office as Governor of Ondo State.

RLM : You are also recording giant strides in the area of educating the girl-child, kindly share some thoughts about this subject? It also came from the platform of the NGO. There are many areas of need. There are areas regarding the position of women and the place of the girl child in the society. These including education, if the girl-child is to play her role in the society when she grows up. This is why a lot of efforts is being directed to the welfare of the girl-child. If the girl-child has the right education, she will become who she wants to be. She will be a confident woman, with good sense of self-esteem. She would become a responsible citizen, contributing her quota to the development of the society. In educating the girl-child, an opportunity will be provided to show what she is capable of doing. You can also compare when the girl-child is educated and when she is not. This is why I have interest in the girl-child. And being once a girlchild, my parents ensured that I was educated, not minding my gender. This contributed to who I am today. I have always had a big dream and I want every little girl to do the same and be whatever she wants to be. I want her to be bold.

Yoruba men give their wives space to grow - Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu www.realitylifeng.com

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what are the criteria for selection? RLM: Are you expecting support from any quarter?

It should be for every girl child but I am interested in the grassroots girl child that probably has neither seen computer nor has ever touched one. What this means is that you are creating opportunity for people who will never have such opportunity.

One thing this office affords is the attention. The office of the First Lady draws attention from people who in the past would normally not want to consider what you are doing. I want to run with every leverage this office has given me. I hear people say use your good office and I am ready to run with it. Because here I am, people come and they want to do some projects. We want to be able to support them. Like I have always said, when you use your good office, you do not need to use your money. You only need to use your position. Once there is sincerity of purpose, you will attract lots of support. You will make the society better and everybody will benefit from it.

RLM: With your passion for the girl-child, will it be wrong for anyone to consider you a feminist? I am, unapologetically, I am. But I will quickly add, I am not the feminists that tear her bra. I wear my bra and I also believe in the institution of marriage. Mine is to make sure that the women folks are not shortchanged and ensure that they are given their right place in the society. We also have to demonstrate that we are capable of playing our own role. This can only come by making sure that every girl-child is educated. Education gives you the confidence you deserve. It can make you stand before any audience and in any global platform to speak your mind. That is the kind of self-esteem we want for every girl child.

RLM: In other words, every girl-child should be ready to go to school? Absolutely!

RLM: You still have ICT training program coming up as part of educating the girl-child. Who are the beneficiaries of this program and

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It should be for every girl-child. I am however interested in the girl-child at the grassroots. I am interested in girls who have neither seen the computer, nor touched it. What this means is that you are creating opportunity for people who otherwise will never have such an opportunity. And that is where you really appreciate what you are doing - a total make over, a transformation of an individual. That will mean that every child must be given opportunity and it is the role of the society to do that. Every human being has a purpose on earth, but the society should give children the opportunity to become who they want to be. So it behooves on us, having realized that no child is useless or worthless, we must give them a level playing field to make sure that every child has a shot at becoming somebody. I know that it might not be 100%, but at least, you would have given that child the opportunity.

RLM: How do you intend reaching out to them at grassroots level? If I have this kind of initiative, I will definitely plan on how I will get the targeted population. For example, for the girl-child in ICT, what we are taking on now is a model because it has not been done here. So I will start with a small population and see how it will go. The first thing is to carry out inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion is, your school must be a public school. If you are able to attend a private school, your parents must be financially stable, so that eliminates that child; that is the exclusion. Then the inclusion: we will work with the Local Government Council Areas, with school principal and councilors and we will do it by merit, particularly by looking at the economic status of parents. The school authority will have this detail. If your parents are earning salary, we will know that you are familiar with computer. But there are those in certain classes, the children of the woman selling

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tomatoes and pepper, that farmer’s child whose performance is very good and excellent, getting them is very easy. We will use them to showcase what it means to create opportunity for those you refer to as under-privileged or underserved population and let the world witness transformation.

RLM: You are back to school, why have you decided to go back to school and why public health? The first reason, you know I run an NGO on breast cancer which has been in existence for more than 20 years. We have been involved in a number of programmes, creating awareness, patient support, advocacy, name it. And we have also realized that there are a lot of questions surrounding this ailment that are very basic and yet nobody is answering them. Here I am, I want to know how many women have cancer. Nobody could supply the answer. When I attend international conferences, our doctors will be quoting data from America and United Kingdom and I kept asking, what will it take to do this survey? And after several questions without answer, I said to myself I need to get this skill. Yes, I am a scientist, but I am a scientist with Aquaculture fish farming; they are poles apart. There is no way I can embark on research on Breast cancer without a qualification. I need to have that basic knowledge and I have also had the opportunity to be part of research in breast cancer. But the qualification of Primary investigator is either (MSC) public health or (MSP) Master in Public Health or you are a medical doctor; so there is no way I could undertake such study. Here I am, I am not too old. I can go and get the basic skill I need. And I got there and found out that this thing is not difficult. Currently as a student, I am working on a research proposal on breast cancer and my question is about the influence or the role of pastors on breast cancer. What we find more often than notice that patients, when they are diagnosed of breast cancer, usually the sign and symptom are painless, they will run to their pastors and their pastors will discourage them from accessing care from the hospital. They tell them it is a spiritual attack. They will tell them to rob Jerusalem oil, be fasting, go to prayer mountain and as they are doing all these things, the cancer cells are multiplying in thousands and millions. What they fail to realize is that breast cancer is a disease that progresses in stages and with time it will develop to a stage where even the pastor will run away and that is exactly what happens. The breast must have decayed to a stage where you can’t stand the stink and the pastor will run away. If you say this by word of mouth, I always have people attacking me. But when I say let us have debate now, they cannot face me because they do not have sufficient evidence to buttress why they say there is nothing God cannot do. And I tell them this breast cancer, I know it down too well, it is medical issue, I have passed through the root and I know what it takes. When I talk, I talk from experience, not just experience as a survivor, experience of having been in the field for over 20 years. I have never seen anybody that went to these places they waste their time and do not come back with fugitive breast. In other words, when you demonstrate specifically, you see the role these pastors play in sending most our women to early grave. What I am saying is this, I do not know if you belong to one of these new generation churches,

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but quote me as I am saying now to you because when you have this evidence, you now design intervention where we prove to them that this is why you should not discourage a woman from going to the hospital. Maintain your faith, I have always emphasized that faith and medicine can go hand in glove. There are some churches that are smarter and have realized it. They currently work with us.

RLM: You just launched a foundation here in Ondo State, how do you intend using your office as the wife of the Governor to run the foundation? I have not launched a foundation yet. It is an existing Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN). The foundation has been in existence for 20 years. We just launched a chapter here in Ondo State so that we can raise foot soldiers that will help in raising awareness of breast cancer in all the nooks and crannies of Ondo State. It is not a pet project please, it is independent of the office of the wife of the Ondo State Governor. If you won’t eat yam because of oil, you will eat oil because of yam; somehow they are connected. But I just want it to be clear that BRECAN is an entity of its own, please separate it from the Office of the First Lady. In that way, it can be sustainable. I don’t want a situation where you now wrap it round the office then when I leave office, they will now see BRECAN as Governor’s wife project - if I go, it goes with me, That is why I keep emphasizing, it is not a pet project, we only launched a chapter

here. And if you also look at the membership, it is devoid of partisanship, you are not joining because it is APC, but because they are concerned about breast cancer. So people from all works of life are members, regardless of party or religious affiliation. And I like it that way.

RLM: So, do you have a pet project that will come up? Well, there is one in the drawing board known as BE MORE! It is also in line with my strong attachment to making sure that the women play their role; that women will be seen as equal partners in progress. This initiative is on board. We are telling our women, especially women in Ondo State to BE MORE. Whatever you are now, extend yourself, BE MORE. Better yourself, that is what this is all about and it is for every woman, every girl child, and every baby girl. So we are in for a good time for the female folks in this State. Like as I have always said, we should not allow what people term as cultural tendencies to shortchange the women folk. Sometimes, people tend to think that when a woman is something, when a woman is educated, or made more money, she is no longer submissive to her husband. And I am saying, a woman should be in a position to better her life. Because you want somebody to be kneeling down or prostrating for you, you will deny her the opportunity to utilize the potentials in her life. I think our own boys and men also need some training workshop, training of the mind. We should allow our culture to keep up with the pace of modernity.

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RLM: Do you think Government at all levels are doing enough to combat the cancer surge in the society? No, they are not. That is why we are pleading with Ondo state to take the lead. Right now, cancer is not a health priority and it is taking a toll on the Nigerian people. When it comes to breast cancer, it is terrible, one gets emotional. Having been a survivor myself for 20 years, I know that this is an ailment. It has increasingly become curable due to a lot of research. But here, when people are diagnosed of it, instead of going to hospital, they go to Prayer Mountain. The level of ignorance is frustrating. There is need for us to even begin to raise awareness for women to begin to understand what this disease is all about. Like I said, that should be the entry point, because if

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you do not know what this is and know that if you do nothing for that painless lump, that it is a time bomb because once you start having pain, the stage has already progressed. Our women need a lot of education. We should look at it holistically. There are many issues that the Nigerian woman is faced with â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cervical cancer, sanitation, open defecation, filthy gutters around the homes, mosquitoes everywhere. Imagine their children, they come with malaria. We lose a lot of Children due to malaria. Look at the environment of these women. You take a closer look. They do not have water. When you come to this workshop, you begin to see what you call determiners of health. Where Government has left its own responsibility undone. Again, women should be educated so they can advance their causes to BE MORE.

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Of course, I have. If you ask me, I won’t add any value in Owo. Owo is like a London, compared to my place. What else will I do? They have a polytechnic. They have a Federal Medical Centre and more than two Universities in the state. What am I going to tell them? Unless I will now say okay women, BE MORE. Because we do not have representatives in government, ever since I was born, my community has never been fortunate with government goodies, nobody remembers them, and I decided to contest. Unfortunately, that year was President Obasanjo’s year, there was ‘no election’. I started with the Senate, but you know all their arrangements in politics and all those zoning permutations, I had to step down to go for House of Representatives. The dream is still there.

RLM: As an Igbo woman married to Yoruba man, how would you describe the Yoruba people?

RLM: Were you at any point in life anticipating becoming the wife of a Governor? No, my husband was never a politician. I am the one that was more of a politician. If you ask about occupying political position, I was the one who had the ambition to represent my people, not from this State but where I come from in Imo State. I am from Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government, one of the marginalized and forgotten communities in Imo State. Nigerian women are lucky the constitution is so nice to them. You can contest from your husband’s side. You can also contest from your father’s side. And for me, that is where everybody knows me. They know my father and mother from the root.

RLM: Have you contested any position before now?

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Marriage is what you make of it. I think that Yoruba men give space to their wives to grow, that I will give to them any day. Seriously, I am grateful to my husband and I am not mincing words about my experience. I give it to my husband. It might not be the same for other women. If your husband is a wise man, he will study his wife properly. Somebody like me, if you cage me, the marriage will not work, if you give space, things will work. And that was exactly what my husband did and I soared. He knows what makes me happy. He gives me that freedom to do it. And it augurs well for peace in the home, especially if you marry an educated woman that is highly opinionated. Sometimes you look at some couple and you ask: how did they do it? Did they study themselves? I studied my husband, the family. My husband had reservations that he married an Igbo girl that is understandable. But now, we are all with smiles. He played a very vital role protecting me. There are some cultural things you expect a wife to do which I could not do. He will cover up for me. I think marriage is like a Rose, beautiful and there are also thorns, you have to know how to navigate around it such that the thorns will not hurt you. We got married when we were young and restless with nothing. I am the type that would prefer building my home with my husband than ready-made. The Yorubas are generous and of course, they like parties. And that is the part we Igbos do not understand; but amongst the Yoruba’s, when things are happening around you, everybody rallies around you. I remember when I was in the civil service, whenever my secretary come to visit me, she will buy even if it was just a tin of Milo. She knows I can afford it, yet she will bring it with oranges. She never visited me without bringing something. That is one good thing that I got from the Yoruba people. But the other one that my people are also appalled at is that most Yoruba men must have somebody somewhere and that was why my parents resisted then. But thank God that has not been the case. They will stereotype you, as if from my place we are not respectful. Culture is what made us who we are. We should not be judgmental of other people’s culture through your own prism.

to play, especially in this part of the country where people just make babies and believe that God will take care of them. But once those children come and people are not able to take care of them, Government should make sure such children have access to education, health and other social amenities. Because you never can tell whether it is from the children of that underprivileged will emerge our own Bill Gate. We should not neglect anyone. And for the women, I will challenge them to BE MORE. If you are more, you will improve the life of your family to BE MORE. It is also my message to children that they should BE MORE, not only the girl-child, but all children.

RLM: As a grandmother, what has been so real with you? Well, I like to maintain my weight and keep fit. I don’t want to grow fat. You look cute when you watch your weight. It means you have to exercise. I play tennis, I did yoga recently. I am now cycling, I eat moderately. Carbohydrates make you fat, but when you go on fruits, you feel light and you age gracefully. My daughters are very much aware of this and when you see them, you know they are my children.

The Yorubas are generous and of course, they like parties. And that is the part we Igbos do not understand but when things are happening around you, everybody rallies around you.

RLM: A word for women and children? My word has always been that everybody has a purpose in life and for that to be realized, everybody should be given the opportunity to have a shot at becoming somebody. The society has a role to play in it. The Government has a big role

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BRECAN ONDO STATE LAUNCH

(L) OSOPADEC Chairman, Hon.Olugbenga Edema,exchanging pleasantries with (SSG) Hon. Sunday Abegunde and Chief of Staff to Gov. Chief Olugbenga Ale (R)

(L) Wife of Ondo State Governor, Betty Akeredolu with Mrs Juliet Ogbuogu BRECAN President

Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu Cutting Cake with Special Guests

Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu with new Executives of Ondo State BRECAN Chapter

Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu in dancing mood

Arabinrin Betty Cutting Lunching Cake with Special Guests

BRECAN Members Cutting lunching Cake

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Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu and the representative of Olubgo of Ugbo kingdom

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Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu (R) Exchanging pleasantaries with Hon. Olugbenga Edema, Gov, Akeredolu (M) and Deji of Akure.J

Arabinrin,Betty Akeredolu with representative of Igbo Community in Ondo State

Arakunrin, Olawarotimi Akeredolu and Arabinrin Cross Section of Guests Betty Akeredolu

Arakunrin Gov. Akeredolu (SAN) Wife, Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu and Mr. Tunji Ariyo

Cross Section of Special Guest

Cross Section of Special Guests

Mrs. Juliet Ogbuogu BRECAN President

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Gov. of Ondo State,Arakunrin Akeredolu (M),Mrs Betty Akeredolu and Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi

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Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Party

Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu(M) Deputy Gov. Wife (R) Mrs. Agboola Mrs. Titi Adeyemi SSA on woman affair (R)

Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu with Medical person- Arabinrin Betty Akeredolu with the twins and nel treating Children during the Children triplets parents

Children Enjoying during children day.

Arabinrin, Betty Akeredolu,(M) Deputy Gov. Wife Mrs. Agboola with the triplet mother

Arabinrin, Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu and Deputy Gov. Wife Mrs. Agboola

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Arabinrin, Betty Akeredolu Cuttig Children day cake with Children

Gov. Akeredolu with the Children

Children Cutting Children day Cake

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Deputy Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife Mrs. Agboola Cutting Cake with the Children

Children with their Children day Gift pack Bags Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu with the Children during Children day

Mrs, Betty Akeredolu with the Children dancing

Gov. Akeredolu and Deputy Gov.Hon.Agboola Ajayi exchanging greetings with the Children during children day

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Children Enjoying themselves

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FASHION

Stepping Out in the

Senatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Style

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Amongst the male folk, it appears it is goodbye to foreign attires! The craze now is Made-In-Nigeria native attires. And what seems to be predom-

inantly trending now is the ‘Senator’ style of

designs depending on the wearer’s taste and choice. The top usually has various designs and ornaments usually located around the collar, chest and/or belly that gives it a royal touch. The trousers come in plain and simple design, and often times, go with a hat and a walking stick to have a complete outfit. At a time the Nigerian government seems to be promoting Made-In-Nigeria, locally made products, the Senator is undoubtedly enjoying its biggest patronage amongst traditionally inclined and proud Nigerian men. Unlike other native designs, the Senator is worn to offices in place of the traditional suits. It is believed that the tailors who are specialists in making this design are commonly found in Aba, Abia State, the home of creativity, and some other major parts of the South East and South-South. Simple, fashionable, classic, clean and very affordable, the Senator gives out this mature look that attracts countless admirers to you especially if you are putting on a well-designed material.

design. Originally said to be worn by former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, the Senator is commonly worn in the South East and SouthSenator as it is fondly South geo-political zones of nicknamed, is fast becoming the country. Senator as it is fondthe most loved fashion outﬁt ly nicknamed, is fast among Nigerians and nonbecoming the most loved fashion Nigerians alike. outfit among Simple and often sewn in slim Nigerians and non-Nigeriﬁt size, the Senator is made ans alike. Simple from a simple suit material, and and often comes in varieties of colours. sewn in slim fit It comes in various designs size, the depending on the wearer’s taste Senator is made from and choice. a simple suit material, and comes in varieties of colours. It comes in various

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G N I G G SA The Fashion That Makes You Look

IRRESP ONSIB LE 26

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AGGING! This 7-letter word is driving young men and women crazy. Sagging by the way, is a manner of wearing trousers or jeans which sag so that the top of the trousers or jeans are significantly below the waist, sometimes revealing much of the underwear. Sagging as fashion is said to have become popular since the popularity of wearing brightly coloured and patterned boxer shots. As a fashion, it first got to its peak in the 1990s but recently made a comeback in the 2010s, with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Ross Lynch and others spearheading its comeback. Most sources claim that Sagging began in the prisons. Belts are not allowed to be worn, due to the fact that they can be used as weapons or as a means to suicide. This resulted in the ill-fitting generic pants, too large to stay up on their own, to ride low on prisoner’s hips. Hip-hop artists adopted this look in the 90s, and it quickly became popular among the youth. Another source said that Sagging actually started in the U.S. prison with the gay prisoner doing that to show that they are ready for a sexual relationship with whoever is interested. Yet, another discredited theory says ghetto hoodlums adopted the fashion of wearing their pants in the sagging style to better conceal weapons from rival gang members and police. While it is true a gun or knife can be effectively stashed out of sight in droopy pants, it can also be hidden in more form-fitting bottoms, especially when the pants-wearer tops his cache with an untucked sports jersey, pullover, or sweatshirt. This fashion style was said to have been

popularized by skaters and hip-hop artistes in the 1990s, and later became a symbol of freedom and cultural awareness among some youths or a symbol of their rejection of the values of mainstream society. In Nigeria, sagging has become a trending fashion especially among young men and women. A visit across some cities in Nigeria shows that this fashion style is gaining rapid popularity among university and indeed secondary school students. In some areas in Lagos for instance, sagging is commonly found among the ubiquitous yahoo yahoo boys, with their dreadlocks, plaited hairs and earrings that have all combined to make them look like social miscreants. Sagging has been and continues to be a controversial style of dress. Various communities and societies have attempted to ban this form of fashion statement. Looking ridiculous is not the only risk of sagging pants, it is linked to erectile dysfunction, hip problems, and lower back issues. These issues stem from consistently wearing pants well below the buttocks, so low that one

must change the way he walks. Nigerian rapper Naeto C once described sagging as a sign of immaturity and irresponsibility, claiming that he stopped sagging after he realized it made him appear stupid and he didn’t want to pass across the wrong message to his clientele. Naeto C told Punch in an interview: “I think I grew up and realised it looked stupid. When I was a younger artiste, I did not care much about my image. But now that I am grown, I pay attention to my image because the people I perform for are my clients. My client is a mature person who obviously can afford my services. “You don’t want your client to see you as irresponsible because tomorrow, when you go to the same client for a business proposition, he would not take you seriously if you are sagging. The client would see you as immature and irresponsible. I think being mature and responsible made me stop sagging.” But the bottom-line is that if you want to be seen as immature and irresponsible, embrace Sagging.

Sagging has been and continues to be a controversial style of dress. Various communities and societies have attempted to ban this form of fashion statement

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Convocation Address Delivered By The Founder, Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Chief Michael Ade.Ojo, On The Occasion Of The Maiden Convocation Ceremony Of The University, Held On Friday, 28Th April, 2017

PROTOCOLS: First, I will like, on behalf of all of us here present, to thank God for granting us all the grace to be alive and to witness the event of today which I christened, “the harvesting of our first fruits” On the 6th of January 2013, this young institution opened its gates to admit its first set of students into its small but dainty campus. The first matriculation took place on 28th March, 2013 when 64 pioneering students matriculated. Three other matriculations had been conducted. Presently, the University has a total population of 1,114 (One Thousand, One Hundred and Fourteen Students). This year, a total of 420 students matriculated. So far, 17 programmes have been presented for NUC’s accreditation, all have received full accreditation status. Today, 28th April, 2017, the first convocation of this budding University of promise is taking place here in Ilara-Mokin at the presence of the low and the mighty. In reaching this stage, even though I have single-handedly bore the financial burden, I have nevertheless been alone in the achievements so far made. It is in this wise, therefore, that I am specially recognizing the following bodies and individuals who have lent helping hands in one way or the other:

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i. The Board of Trustees of the University ii. The members of the Planning and Implementation Committee of the University. iii. The first and the present Governing Councils of the University iv. The past and present Management

Committees v. The past and present Senates of the University vi. Staff and students of the University vii. Specific Committees appointed to achieve specific goals etc. viii. Our benefactors who have donated

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books to us. Permit me to be personal here, my revered brother and senior citizen of this country, a distinguished legal giant, a first class Philanthropist, a University Founder and who is one of my biggest customers- Chief Aare Afe Babalola who is present here, life. Also let me name my distinguished aburo in the name of Wole Olanipekun, another legal luminary, Prof. Andrew Borokini who also donated Law books and Journals. Prof. Henry Akintunde also donated various books and e-library gadgets. Kunle Ade-Ojo Foundation donated Computers. All the above have played several and different roles as requested of them and have, therefore, been instrumental to the achievements we are claiming to have made today in this citadel of learning. I should not fail to pay homage to Planners, Architects, Project Managers, Engineers etc. etc. who have participated in the different phases of construction that have taken place on the campus. Their contributions are greatly appreciated. To our few partners through whom we have earned some IGR, I say thank you very much. To all and sundry, I say again, Thank you. And now to my boys and girls, the graduands of today, I wish to congratulate you on

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your various academic achievements. Yes, it is true you have finished your course here but let me quickly remind you that you are also starting another school, the school of experience, from which nobody ever graduates, but which however breeds successes and failures alike. Do not waste time, start doing something immediately. Do not stay at home, go out and find something to do. If you can fly, fly, if you cannot fly, run, and if you cannot run, walk,

and if you cannot walk, crawl, but don’t stay at a point. Learn to make opportunities out of difficulties, not difficulties out of opportunities. That is, to be optimists not pessimists. Create, Make, Innovate, as CNN enjoins. Remember these 4 ‘Ds’ – Discipline, Determination, Dedication, Diligence (Explain). May God go with you, but please note, one of our students is already in business at Abuja (Identify her), that is my girl indeed.

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ACTING VICE-CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE TO THE GRADUATING STUDENTS ON THE OCCASION OF THE MAIDEN CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF ELIZADE UNIVERSITY, HELD ON FRIDAY, 28TH APRIL, 2017

PROTOCOLS: I seize this opportunity to congratulate you (our graduating students) for fulfilling all requirements of graduation from Elizade University. At this graduation, you are carrying with you two important possessions, which are the tools of practice as you go into the world of work. These are your credentials and potentials. Your credentials have benefited from time-tested curriculum powered by teaching and research; as well as the devotion of your teachers. In this regard, this University, within the last four years, has imparted you with relevant knowledge and skills, and has exposed you to some of the challenges and triumphs of your chosen field of study. But your education has not ended as we have not exposed you enough to technology which is going to redefine some, if not all professions in this “Knowledge” age. I assure you that professions such as, Law, Medicine, Accounting, Paramedicals and a lot more are already being threatened from technology such as automation, robotics etc. Therefore, you cannot rest on your

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oars, but must be prepared to continue to master the application of emerging technologies to solve existing problems and meet new challenges that may overwhelm your new credentials. Those of us who fail to make the necessary adjustment will become extinct like the DINOSAURS who failed to adapt to their changing environment. As regards your potentials, we have, within the last four years exposed you to the appreciation and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, which are meant to stimulate what you brought to Elizade University. According to Aare Atayese of Ilara-Mokin, in his impartation to the Mokin Congress on April 15, 2017, the potential that we are talking about is the same thing as the individual’s talent. I now quote him, “Everyone has to be conscious of his/ her talent.” To make it an object of entrepreneurship, one requires certain qualities. They are DISCIPLINE, DETERMINATION to be successful, DILIGENCE, i.e. believing in what you are doing and always striving to do it well, DEDICATION, i.e. a devotion or passion which makes one to do the impossible and LEARNING from your challenges. Finally, carrying GOD along. If this advice is carried along with your talent – building of the past four years, definitely you are not limited!!! According to Maurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian Nobel Laureate, “At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past, i.e. the status quo” My fellow graduands, you are the progressive spirits but you should be prepared for challenges in your environment and should not give up. According to Guardian Editorial of Monday, April 10, 2017, corruption has become virtually endemic in the Nigerian polity as persons of all shades of character and religion often abandon

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the tenets of good morals and good governance while in office. In the Transparency International ratings for 2016, Nigeria was 136 on the laden of 176 rungs in terms of corruption. The private sector has not been spared of this scourge as persons live much beyond their legitimate income in a situation of fostering poverty. As you have observed, and as being discussed daily in the social media, corruption not only depletes the national treasury, it erodes faith in the leadership class. While it enriches a few, it impoverishes the nation. It accounts for the huge infrastructure deficits which the nation suffers from, and misallocation of the nation’s resources. In the midst of a biting economic recession, the people’s sensibilities are daily offended. My fellow graduands, you should be prepared to be “progressives in rebellion”. Your role as veritable ambassadors of Elizade University is not to forget the Elizade University Mission which,

among others, is to build ethics-conscious graduates, a product that Nigeria, our country is in dire need of today. You should always be in a position where you provide constructive criticism and solutions to any challenge being faced rather than end up as frustrated complainants. You should build a formidable network by creating and nurturing a strong ALUMNI presence in the University (your Alma Mater) and avenues of bonding among yourselves anywhere you may locate before and after your YOUTH CORPS years. Finally, my message is to the Nigerian Community – our parents and guardians, our community and National leaders. The message is that there is no palpable theory of sustainable development outside of the development of youth, the STRENGTH AND VITALITY for the FUTURE. I thank you for listening!!!

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The Maiden Convocation Ceremony Of Elizade University

(L)The Minister for Solid Mineral Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Aare Afe Babalola SAN,

(L)The Chancellor, Mr.Gbenga Oyebode, Acting VC. Prof. Fadayomi, and the Registrar Mr. Omololu Adegbenro

Cross Section of the Management Staff

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Cross Section Of the Graduands

Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu delivery Speech

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During the National Anthem

Cross Section of Security Pesonnel

(L)The Founder, Elizade University,Chief Ade.Ojo, Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN and The Chancellor, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode

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First Class Elizadean Miss Chinyere Gift Silas delivery Speeches on behalf of the Graduands

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Our teaching method at Elizade University is technology-driven â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prof. Fadayomi 34

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Elizeade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State is one of the new generation universities in Nigeria. The university began formal academic activities in 2013, having being approved by the National University Commission (NUC). In the following interview granted to Realitylife Magazine, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Theophilus Fadayomi shared his thoughts about the giant strides so far recorded by the University, particularly in the area of technology and innovation. He also projected the areas where the university will do well in the coming years. RLM: It is almost 5years since this university began formal academic exercise, would you say that the institution has achieved its target of a pragmatic innovation for national development? I have been here since 2013, towards the tail end of the first year of the University. So, I should say that I have been with the university for over four years. I can also say that I have observed a lot of things going on in this university. My view is that, over the last four years, a solid foundation has been laid that will make this university not only a great citadel of learning, but also a centre of pragmatic innovation. In our laboratories, Faculties of Engineering and Science are state of the art equipment. We also have a good and functional library. What I am saying essentially is that the first four years of this university were devoted to consolidation. The next four years will be committed to experimentation and the advancement of the University. RLM : Has this institution really recorded any real innovation? Yes, at the moment we have recorded a few innovations. But we are not ready to run to the market or to the news-stand that we have some innovations, until the innovations have been tested. We do have some students who have created innovations, particularly in the fields of Engineering and Basic and Applied Sciences. But we are awaiting full manifestation of those innovations before we can boast of them. Because some of these innovations you hear about in this country today are still unfinished business and this university has learnt from that. RLM: Do you think Elizade University has the needed enabling business environment to attract investors? Yes, a University such as this, situated on a hill, would certainly make a huge attraction for those attracted by an institution with many elegant buildings. Apart from this, this is a university that knows how to channel her investments. The Faculty of Engineering can figuratively be described as the baby of our university. The Univer-

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sity’s founder has invested billions of money in equipping the Engineering workshop. He as well invested hugely on the Science laboratory. So, the university environment is conducive for investors. The National Universities Commission’s accreditation team attested this when it observed that, with the modern pieces of equipment that we have, our university has the potentials to generate a huge Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). RLM: Has any student of this university carried out any personal innovative work? Yes, in our entrepreneur programmes, a few of our students have demonstrated good ability to take risks. There is the example of our student who graduated and she is into public relations in Lagos, the University is considering her to do a lot of public relations work for the Institution. Do not be deceived, older people tend to underrate young people. The orientation of young people is quite different from those of old people, old people do not take risk as young do and they are smarter. Regardless of their knowledge on internet language, they can think. I believe this is as a result of the fact that there are fewer job available to them. Because of the few jobs out there, young people developed their creative skills. In addition, there is also a student of ours who runs a boutique in Abuja, while still on the compulsory one year national service. She was one of our first-class graduates. This university does not and will not underestimate the potentials of students. RLM: Has there been any major challenge since you assumed office as the Acting Vice Chancellor of this university? Well, the major challenge that we are experiencing in this University is that a lot of school fees are unpaid. Students do not pay up their tuitions fees as they ought to. At the moment, N300,000,000 Million naira payment is outstanding. This is obviously a deficit to us. It is not that students do not want to pay up, due to the current economic situation in the country. Many

parents are yet to be paid their monthly salaries. This is the current reality in the country. And, you do expect the university should run its affairs on the basis of free charges. RLM: What are the measures being put in place to arrest this ugly trend? We plan to convene a meeting of Parents’ Association to address them, to see if they can pay the fees of their wards by installments. If they do comply, this will be good for the university. The outstanding arrear being owed the university is really affecting its activities and administration. RLM: How many accredited courses does the University currently have? We started with 13 courses in 2013. But at the moment, we have about 40 courses that have been accredited. I can confirm that all our current programmes have been accredited. The next department that the NUC will accredit is that of History and Diplomatic Studies. History is very important to national development. It is a shame for you not to have a sense of history. Nigeria must bring back the study of history to schools RLM: Would you say you are satisfied with the level of achievements in the University? The moment you are satisfied means you are dead. I aspire to greater things for this university. I believe strongly that this university has the potentials to move higher. The motto of this university is: LET’S GO HIGHER. Considering this, I am not satisfied. I believe we can achieve more. For instance, if we do not currently have a course in the field of Agriculture, we can encourage agricultural production. We can have and manage what you may want to call a farm management system, which our students can link up with. It is our belief that this is important, given the available agricultural opportunities in the country. In this regard, we can have an Agricultural Management team, which our students currently studying Entrepreneur can take as a course of study. Some students, in the process,

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may come up with agricultural produce and, by so doing, generate business in agriculture. RLM: You seem to believe in Agriculture, can you tell us why? I believe that Agriculture is one of the opportunities in Nigeria. We do need industries, but we still have not reached that stage. The only thing you and I can say we have at the moment is agriculture. We are witness to this. This is why I think we should stop chasing the proverbial shadow. We should rather begin from boosting agricultural productivity with technology. Our Engineers and Engineering department can be of immense support to farms in terms of the provision of modern farm implements.

university is moving gradually from focusing only on the area of teaching. We are beginning to turn our attention to research. And these foreign universities are interested in working with us. Their interest in working with us is due to the facilities they saw when they visited the university. RLM: What is the goal of the Founder of Elizade University? He wants a world-class University that will deter parents from sending their children

abroad and paying heavily, especially at the Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level. He believes in this country, and his home place, Ilara-mokin here in Ondo State. This has been the major focus since the school took off. In the recruitment process, the interest is on people who are creative. When you talk about facilities, the best are our laboratories. We also have the state of the arts sports facilities. The university is working in line with the vision of its founder RLM: What makes Elizade University different

RLM: Are you then looking forward to establishing a Department of Agricultural? Well, it is an ambition that we have. We have available land. In fact, the founder of our University, Chief Ade.Ojo has admonished us to make use of the land within the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premises and he is eventually saying, we should do something with the land. RLM: There are many new buildings in the school, any specific purpose for this? Yes, there is a hall of residence, comprising 520 rooms. This hall has just been completed for male students. Negotiation is currently ongoing for an extra hostel for female students. We also believe that there is the need for an auditorium, due mainly to the fact that this university is attracting many people from within and outside. The university needs this in order to check the overbooking that is often experienced whenever the university is organizing and event. So, we are thinking of building a multipurpose hall that can be used for lectures and other events within the school.

Professor. Yemi Osinbajo Law Faculty Building

RLM: Are there plans towards seeking foreign aid for the purpose of infrastructure development? Or, are you self-sufficient? We are not self-sufficient. We largely depend on the resources provided by our founder. But we do understand that he has other business interests and investments that he channels his resources to. So, we will welcome any foreign investor in realizing our dream of building a world-class university. We are currently negotiating a contract with someone who wants to build structures within our university. The individual hopes to provide a loan that will attract minimum interest. But the founder has really invested a lot on this institution. The investment he has so far made on this school is still a surprise to people. RLM: Is the University currently affiliated to any national or international university? We started by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with other universities in Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom. Most of the MOUs are in the areas of research and innovation. Like I told you earlier, our

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from others? This is a University that believes that you cannot train young people using old methods. It is for this reason that it heavily relies on technology, especially a medium known as the I LEARN MODE. With this medium, students can have access to me from the comfort of their hostel. They can see me lecturing and can even have the lecture note, so that some of them who are slow to learn can catch up with others. It works in such a way that if I deliver a lecture today, you can go back to it anytime, if you turn on your computer. You can see me live, includ-

Engineering Faculty workshop Complex

Over view of the Male and Female Hostles

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ing the jokes I give in class. We have seen this as necessary because it is very difficult to sustain the attention of young people nowadays for two hours. At best, you can sustain their attention for thirty minutes. So, you need to develop a medium they love to reach. RLM: Do you think that Nigeria educational system has improved from what it used to be? I think the standards today are different from what obtained in the past. In the past, you had a lecturer who sat in front of the class and only talks. Sometimes, the lecturer chose to talk to himself, especially if you have a terrible math-

ematics teacher. Today, children find it difficult to learn under such condition and with such a method. They must interact. One of the ways to facilitate this learning is to use a method that will guarantee interaction. The I LEARN MODE, which enables students to interact with me through the internet, is necessary. With this method, students can raise questions regarding any lecture a lecturer gives. This is one of the major selling points of this university. RLM: What would you say is the future of private Universities in Nigeria? I think at this point in time, the future of Elizade University and the future of other universities like it is very bright. Government cannot provide the facilities needed to educate the populace. It is limited and simply cannot do it alone. The private sector can come in and complement the efforts of government. The government needs to understand this fact and try to provide aid to private universities. The responsibility should not be left to founders of private universities. On its part, private institutions can engage in the sales of shares to members of the public. This is to create some level of collaboration with others and avoid the perception that private institution is purely run by one individual. In addition, the TETFUND (Tertiary Education Trust Fund) should also be provided to private institutions, since they also provide the students that populate the Nigerian economy. RLM: You just produced the first set of graduates of Elizade University. Knowing that there are no available jobs out there, does the university have any plan to absorb the best students in the lot into its system? Yes, we have a programme to encourage them, whereby the first class graduate will come back to the school to get teaching job. But you know the way they look at teaching. We are going to encourage those that want to be in the academic line. RLM: When talking earlier, you mentioned some first-class graduates of the school who are already doing well in their chosen careers. But there are insinuations in the public domain that if anyone desires a first-class degree, a private university will be the right place to go. What do you have to say about this? It is not true. Each university has a standard that is moderated by the NUC. The reservation that people still have is the fear of the past. In the past, you may find an old university graduating only three first-class, out of 1000 graduands. This does not imply that those who are not within the range of first-class are not good. It may be because of the harsh academic conditions in that university. When you look at first-class graduates from this university, you will see that they worth it. They are good and can stand on their own anywhere and anytime. You know someone who is dull cannot have a first class. It is inconceivable. A first-class degree holder has to be good, because the class of degree

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Elizade Unuversity Gate new look

has a standard.

Staff Quarters

RLM: Cultism, drug abuse and insecurity are major problems in our society today. What is the management of Elizade University doing to curb these vices in the school? We have zero tolerance for cultists and drug addicts. If anyone is caught engaging in any activity relating to these, such a person is out of the university. We have a clear-cut rule for this. We have found instances of students engaged in these anti-social practices. They were not spared, but were driven away from the school. We usually tell them during their orientation, that we are not here to teach students how to get out of drug abuse. We educated them of the dangers and consequences of engaging in cultism and drug abuse.

RLM: Any words of advice for students ? My advice here is, first of all, when students go for the orientation, they should be attentive. The University does not tolerate drug abuse and they should take advantage of the facilities that are available in this University to excel.

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Vice Chacenllor Lodge

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Elizade University School Fees Are Cheap Yet, We Provide Quality Education -Registrar OMOLOLU ADEGBENRO is the current Registrar of Elizade University, IlaraMokin, Ondo State. In this interview, he reveals the major developments in the institution. Adegbenro also threw light on the processes leading up to admission in the university. He as well highlighted the challenges currently faced by the institution and the areas where the university seem to be unique. RLM: What’s the admission process like in Elizade University? The admission process here is like the ones you have in every other Nigerian university except that we don’t admit candidates who have not sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), usually conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board(JAMB). Secondly, we also insist that whoever seeks admission here must have O’ level credit passes in relevant subjects and they must include English language and Mathematics no matter the course you intend to study. We also have to screen students by examining school certificate result and compare with your UTME score before we admit hopefuls. Also, seeing as this is a private school, and we have certain standards, we also pay attention to the appearance of every hopeful to ascer-

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tain who’s fit or not to be a student in the school, we don’t compromise our standards. RLM: What would you say was the population of students in Elizade university at the time you were appointed and the population of students now? When we started in January 2013, the population was 64, but by the grace of GOD, this last admission exercise, we had in 2016/2017 academic session, we recorded 420 and we have a student population of 1,140. RLM: Ever since the establishment of the institution, has any student ever been denied admission based on state of origin?

Not at all, we don’t discriminate here, the geographical spread of our students is quite encouraging. We have students from the North, South-south, South-east, South-west Nigeria. We have students from China, Scotland, etc. It’s a universal institution we have here so we don’t discriminate, all you need to be admitted here is to have the requirements aforementioned. RLM: There’s this notion that private schools are rather expensive, what’s your take on this? It depends on how one looks at it, some Secondary school fees are more than that of tertiary institutions’ and you may not be allowed to pay by in-

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stallments. Here at Elizade, school fees are not up to a million naira and we let students pay by installments. Also, when you consider the quality of education we provide, the facilities you find here, you’ll agree that what we charge is quite inexpensive. RLM: Where do you think Elizade University is headed for at the moment? We have a vision to be one of the best universities in Nigeria and ultimately be rated as a world class University. RLM: What makes this school stand out from other schools? For one, there is the internship programme that we organize for our students and we are the first university to do that. Secondly, we have really fast Internet here which allows for smooth learning. We have 18 hours uninterrupted power supply yet, we spend an average of N9million on diesel every six weeks. RLM: Are there founders advocate entrepreneurial scheme for graduates? This is one thing that we are working on. Two of our students who just graduated are doing exploits. One, a student of microbiology is a Public Relations personnel in Lagos and secondly, a student of business administration who graduated with the best result in the school is into fashion. Entrepreneurial skills are imbibed even before leaving the school. The founder himself is an entrepreneur and has assured the students that any of them willing to tow that line has his full support. RLM: Four years down the line, what are the basic challenges the university has had in terms of accreditation and how many courses are accredited? To correct you, we’ve actually been around for five years and the only challenge we have with accreditation is cost. If you look at Engineering as a course for instance, if you want it to be accredited, you have to be ready to pay for the equipment; this equipment cost millions. Just recently, we acquired Engineering equipment worth over N50million. Two weeks ago, we acquired another set worth N28million. These are things the NUC will come to look at when they are talking about accreditation. By the grace of God, we have been able to present about 17 programmes for accreditation in this university and all seventeen got accredited. Very soon we’ll get accreditation for Engineering as well. We have been quite lucky in the aspect of accreditation because

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For one, there is the internship programme that we organize for our students and we are the ﬁrst university to do that. Secondly, we have really fast Internet here which allows for smooth learning. We have 18 hours uninterrupted power supply yet, we spend an average of N9million on diesel every six weeks.

without accreditation, you don’t have a university. RLM: How do you handle the issue of drug abuse and cultism in the institution? These are two things we don’t joke with here, once a student is caught with Indian hemp or any substance like that, it’s outright expulsion. If it’s a question of a student being suspected of drug use or abuse, we give an indefinite suspension; we don’t joke with such things. We have zero tolerance for examination malpractice, drug abuse and cultism; once the rules are there, they must be obeyed. RLM: People are of the view that if a student wants a first class degree, a private university is the best place to get one, what’s your take on this? Well, to the best of my knowledge, we don’t sell first class degrees here. We’ve graduated 35 students over time, five of them have first class. The one with the best result-Gift Chinyere, when she was delivering the valedictory speech on behalf of the graduating students, the then V.C of FUTA who came to represent the Minister of Education said of her “this is indeed, a first class material.” You may be correct to say that there are other universities who are guilty of selling first class degrees, but here in Elizade, that is not the case

RLM: Are there any employment opportunities by the institution for students who graduate from Elizade? Yes! In fact, on the 28th of April when we had the convocation,13 students who graduated in accounting and computer science were offered automatic employment by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company. The university is bringing in those who graduate with first class; we will send them to go and do masters and Phd and they will become assistant lecturers. Whoever chooses to stay, the university will employ them. The founder of the school has decided to use his good will to speak with people out there in the industry so that they can be of assistance by way of employing some of the students who graduate from the school. RLM: What are the challenges that the institution faces? One of the challenges is student recruitment. Parents believe that the fees are so expensive. These are the same parents that can spend millions on parties and on Asoebi. When you train a child, you are building your own future. Another challenge is the issue of funding, the federal government should render financial assistance to some private schools that are doing well. They don’t have to pay our salaries but they can support research, and staff de-

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velopment. We are training these young ones for the country. Financial responsibilities of a private learning institution are shouldered by the founders. Government should make a law that will allow private universities benefit from Tertiary Education Trust fund. RLM: What’s your advice to your students? My advice is that they should continue to be well-behaved, face their studies, be good ambassadors of the university, to remember where they are coming from and be good ambassadors of their homes and make their parents proud. They shouldn’t let the money the parents spend on their education be a waste. RLM: What’s the basic objective of the University?

The basic objective is to reduce the craze for overseas mass education. In 2011, Nigeria spent N160billion training young Nigerians in universities in Ghana alone; some of these universities out there do not have standard buildings or facilities. They will tell you they are schools abroad meanwhile, they are just in neighbouring country here. So Chief Ade.Ojo saw these as menace that Nigeria must stop and therefore, put up this University that matches these Universities they craze in Canada and the Western world. A lot of international scholars who have visited this University told us that this University is like a typical University in the United Kingdom; this means that Chief Ade. Ojo is getting it right. Secondly, the dearth of professionals has also become very worrisome. Today, if you

are looking for good tillers, you won’t get Nigerians. That is what we are now teaching students in the GTS classes such that no matter the course you are studying, you are adding entrepreneurship skill to yourself. The admission forms we use on this campus are made from this campus . We have the machines here and we engage our students. Today, at the engineering department, the student handle wheel balancing and related issues. If you visit our Faculty of Law, 80 percent of the furniture there was made by our students. Also, some of our engineering students are making Knots and Bolts; these are innovations going on. But we know it is not yet time to call the press; when the time comes, we will make the call.

Lawn Tennis Court for Stundet Senate Building

Student at Handball Court

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Students at Smokin Hills Golf Course ILara Mokin

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41 41

Nigerians will soon be consuming chocolate from Ondo State â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Eric Reid

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RLM: Why is cocoa production in Nigeria on a steady decline? I personally cannot comment on this because I’m not involved in production of cocoa in Nigeria. My primary focus is to add value to the cocoa that is already being produced and increases its aroma, flavor and, subsequently turn it into one of the world’s best chocolate. RLM: How do you think Nigerian entrepreneurs can tap into the huge opportunities in cocoa farming? First and foremost, cocoa farming is not an easy undertaking. The greater wealth was achieved in the past. In order to achieve success, cocoa has to be respected as a high value commodity, not from a perspective of just cultivation and harvesting, you must control the commodities’ lifecycle. This is where the greater wealth exists. And, understanding this vertical integration is what permits any investor to see generational wealth. RLM: What should be done for Nigeria to reclaim her leading position in the production of cocoa? At this point I believe that we have to refocus our being. Being known as the 4th largest producer of cocoa in the world is good! However, being known as one of the world’s BEST chocolate producers is GREAT! This can only be accomplished by shifting the mind into high value and begin to tell Nigerians that the world’s BEST chocolate

Following the approval by the Ondo State Executive council in 2016, the Cocoa Catalytic factory in Alade, Idanre, Idanre Local Government Area of the state will be converted to the production of Oda Single Estate Premium Chocolate. The Chocolate Factory is expected to commence full operation soon, where chocolate bars would be produced for local consumption and exportation by the Administration of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) In this interview, ERIC REID, President/Founder, SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier speaks about the business of cocoa farming in Nigeria and some of the benefits that will accrue both to Ondo State in particular and Nigeria in general, for investing in cocoa and chocolate.

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Most deﬁnitely! Nigeria has great engineers and architects who can devise a plan on building the proper foundation to build upon a chocolate industry.

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and chocolate products can be produced in Nigeria.

RLM: What do you think Ondo state will gain by investing in chocolate business?

RLM: Do you think Nigeria has the potential to sustain a chocolate factory?

For the most part, Ondo State has already invested in Cocoa. They have taken the first step! In 2015, they were awarded a Silver Award on the international level for their 70% dark chocolate. Prior to 2015, no one heard of Nigerian chocolate. I personally doff my hat for Ondo State for believing in themselves and taking the leap forward. Now, the question remains, how far can we go? God willing, by August 2017, with the effort of the present Administration of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, we will be producing premium chocolate in Ondo State. To answer your question specifically, here are Ondo State’s gains: Establishing a foundation to begin adding value to

Most definitely! Nigeria has great engineers and architects who can devise a plan on how a chocolate industry can be built. Nigeria produces petroleum which can be converted into energy and can also be subsidized to the chocolate industry. Before we can discuss the how, we need to mobilize and prepare Nigerians in realizing that ‘culture’ must change. I’m coming from a perspective that Nigerians must be willing to transform from being known for cocoa and begin to be known a Great Chocolate Makers. This all begins from within, not from external sources. The seed of progress must be cultivated and then fertilized through reinforcement at an early age in education. This begins to spark interest and knowledge then, begins to empower. This is what it takes to begin changing culture, the mindset grows from understanding the valuation of cocoa and its derived commodities. If you don’t understand from a granular level, you will never appreciate the overall valuation of a commodity. And, you will never navigate past your comfort zone. If you don’t learn to crawl, you never get to walk and run. Technology and resources are available to turn Nigeria into a Belgium of chocolate producers.

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their cocoa commodity; Increasing the value of cocoa through proper sanitization, aroma and flavor development, which adds 100% more value as a raw commodity; and Begin to change culture from cocoa to chocolate producers through establishment of the very first Chocolate Academy in West Africa. Others are transforming Ondo State industries from cocoa producers to chocolate producers through the establishment of Ondo State Sunshine Chocolate Factory. Government is investing the people’s money to strengthen their industries and adding wealth for future generations. Through this initial investment, Ondo State is saying to its residence and Nigerians that it is willing to invest in the people and its future, while building confidence that Nigeria can become a Belgium when it comes to

Others are transforming Ondo State industries from cocoa producers to chocolate producers through the establishment of Ondo State Sunshine Chocolate Factory; Government is investing the people’s money to strengthen their industries and adding wealth for future generations

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I look forward to making history this August when the very ﬁrst premium chocolate factory is established in Nigeria – Ondo State Sunshine Chocolate Factory!

the chocolate industry. Once the initial investment is recouped with interest, Ondo State Government can reinvest in similar projects. These types of investments are registered at the Micro/Small investment level; but are necessary to begin mobilizing the industry where huge amounts of funding aren’t necessary. Overall, the investment brings education, jobs and other industries forward. This is just the beginning and much more needs to be invested. RLM: Going by statistics, do you think Nigeria has the market for chocolate? Great question! In April 2011, DATAMONITOR reported that Nigeria’s chocolate confectionary import market valuation was $49 Million and, by 2014, it would be worth $60 Million! This is what foreign chocolate makers are importing to Nigeria for internal consumption. We are now in 2017! So at the very least, we need to be consuming “made in Nigeria” chocolate! RLM: Where do you see the place of cocoa farming in Nigeria, going by efforts to diversi-

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fy the Nigerian economy? When younger generations begin to understand the valuation of cocoa and chocolate products in the world, many will begin to take up stake in this industry. At this time it is considered poverty! Nigeria has no choice, other than to embrace and invest in Agriculture. It’s not only cocoa; it’s also about adding value to every agriculture commodity grown in Nigeria. The solution isn’t just Government investment. The private sector also needs to mobilize investment from education through hard currency investment. If Nigerians don’t believe in themselves, who will believe in Nigerians? RLM: Do you think Nigeria can enjoy the same benefit as your country from cocoa? Nigeria has the potential and intellect to enjoy the benefits of any industry she is willing to invest in. The first step is to invest in the

education of the commodity. This will bring greater knowledge and will inspire younger generations to acknowledge the industry and have a greater respect for it. Through knowledge, everything is possible. Belgium doesn’t grow cocoa, but the country is known as the best chocolate producer. RLM: What is your advice for cocoa farmers in Nigeria? Pay close attention to Ondo State. Ondo state will lead in West Africa in transforming cocoa farmers into chocolate makers. An analogy to this is growing your grapes and making single-estate wine! This is how Napa Valley in California got started. There’s no reward without risk! I look forward to making history this August when the very first premium chocolate factory is established in Nigeria – the Ondo State Sunshine Chocolate Factory!

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PROFILE

People Are Already Commending Akeredolu On His Giant Strides In Infrastructure -S.S.A, Infrastructure

ngr. Aminu Raimi Olayiwola attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In 2014, he obtained his Masters in Public Administration from the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, in Project Management. Prior to his appointment, he was in the Ondo State Civil Service. He joined the Civil service in 2002 as Civil Engineer 2, and in 2004, he was elevated to Civil Engineer 1. He was posted to Ikare Akoko direct labour structure as Assistant civil engineer. In 2006, He was posted to Ondo division as a Divisional Engineer where he constructed so many roads under the supervision of Engineer Jayeola and Enginier Ogidan. At Ikare, he opened Agorike road, it was a virgin road he personally handled all the construction in the project. At Ondo, he constructed so many roads like Olamojiba Akinseye, opposite Adeyemi collage, up till date, there is no single pothole on that road; New Wire road in Ile-Luji, Valetino road, Ondo. In 2009, he was transfered to project office and was the principal resident engineer for so many road projects. That time, the dualization of projects began. Engr. Olayiwola was the Public Relations officer that started the road to 80% completion before he was deployed to office as deputy Chief resident engineer superintending over all the resident engineers in the state. By 2013, he was moved to planning department as chief civil engineer till he was appointed March 13th into this office.

ENGR. AMINU RAIMI OLAYIWOLA is the Senior Special Assistant to Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, the Executive Governor of Ondo State on Infrastructure. He speaks about the efforts being made by the current administration in Ondo State to provide the much needed basic social infrastructure promised the citizenry during electioneering campaigns.

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RLM: Looking at your profile Sir, one will say you are the peg in a round hole. Did you retire from office before your appointment? Yes, I got leave of absence to serve my state. RLM: What is this administration’s blueprint for infrastructure in Ondo state? The blueprint of this administration is very broad, we do not want to unfold them. Arakunrin Akeredolu system is different from other people’s. In the past, before they commence any job, it would have been made known to the public so it doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. In this administration, we do not believe in blowing trumpet, we want action. As I speak with you, there are lots of projects that are ongoing; it is the people in the town that are talking about them. Currently, we are working on over 10 different roads across the state. Some have been completed while some will be completed in few days. RLM: What would you count as the achievement of this administration in its first 100 days in office? They are enormous, but let’s talk about infrastructure which is my core area. There is a particular road, Abusoro road off Ijoka in Akure that has been under construction since I have been in the service in 2002. Year after year, I always saw how it was left uncompleted by previous governments. But as we speak, the road has been completed. Though the past administrations tried, but could not do it. Mr. Governor listened to the people, just as he does normally that is, if you have a very genuine case, he will listen to you. The Governor made us to realize that we must have different approach to issues. We do not construct to please commissioner or top-ranking people. We are working according to the yearning of the people, especially those who do not have anybody to speak for them at the top. The one at Bajare, St Joseph road at Idanre is almost 100% completed now. Likewise, the road at Ogbomo street, Howlet road at Ifon, and many others. RLM: Infrastructure cuts across so many sectors, which of the sector is this Administration focusing on? It will be evenly distributed, depending on the needs. Right now, we are attending to the issue of water; very soon, water problem will be a thing of the past in this state. There is the health sector, the education sector, right now they are planning MDGs; they are going to embark on the repairs of class rooms and the existing ones. RLM: At inauguration, the Governor promised massive infrastructure building and maintenance of existing ones. Have you started doing anything in these areas? Most past administrations abandoned existing projects, they do not believe in inheriting any project from their predecessors. But this Government differs, all the projects handled by the last administration, the viable ones are being taken over by this Administration. Even some payments have been made with re-

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spect to that. For instance, there is one project if you are entering Ikare 500 meters Oke Alabojuto road., if you are familiar with that route, almost every day, you record an accident in that road. At the verge of the exit of the last Administration, they awarded that road. The last Administration paid a fraction of the mobilization but when we came on board, and discovered that it is a viable project, we paid the balance of the mobilization. The contractor has raised a certificate. The Mobil/ Fiwasaye Airport road have some outstanding payments, as I speak with you, Mr. Governor has approved their payment. There is another here in Akure known as Agboriki road, the outstanding payment on that road has been paid as well. There is also Ikare Ajowa road, Ondo State boundary 27km length has also received the outstanding payment by this Government. Ondo township road, we have phase 1 and 2. On phase two, the outstanding payment has also been made by this Government likewise on road three. As I speak with you, Government is

working seriously to access some loans to handle rural projects and rural roads will be opened in due course. I assure you that at the end of the first year, the people of this State will commend this administration that it has done substantially well to fulfill part of its promise. In addition, there is one mighty building in this infrastructure premises, they call it Engineering building, it is a story building. This administration reviewed what is to be completed there and mobilized for it to be completed. At the Trauma Center/ Mother Child in Ondo, Arakunrin Governor Akeredolu with his experience, received over 40 Ultra sound machines from the Chinese Government. RLM: Is there any plan by this Administration to embrace private partnership in achieving its goals? Yes, there is big plan for that, because it makes life easy and there is paucity of funds. Without adopting that, we cannot meet the yearnings of

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(2ndR )Gov, Akeredolu, Head of Service, Barr.Toyin Akinkuotu,Chief Of Staff,Chief Gbenga Ale,and Engr. AkinOlotu during pojects inspection

the people. RLM: How can you describe the person of Governor Arakunrin Akeredolu, having worked with him this short period? Fantastic! It is one thing for someone to appoint you, it is another thing for the person to allow you to do your work and for the person to listen to you. If Arakunrin criticized you, you will know it is a constructive criticism, you will learn from him. God has blessed him with vast and wide knowledge. We do discuss infrastructure, and his contribution is perfect. For me, I thank God for working with him, it is still early to draw conclusions. But the little I have seen, I know it is going to be wonderful experience at the end of the Administration. RLM: What actually necessitated your appointment? Honestly, I do not know. It came to me as a surprise but I think Mr. Governor made due consultations and was based on recommendations unknown to me. But all I know is that since I have been working with the State Government, I have been dedicated to my job. If it is something that can benefit the state, I will tell you and if it is not I will also tell you.

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Gov. Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu on Inspection of some projects

RLM: What are your plans at making this agency to become more viable than it used to be? By Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grace, it will be by bringing some people around us- those who will contribute meaningfully to the infrastructural development. We are not limited to our knowledge alone, we hold some meaningful and constructive discussions with the professionals. RLM: While speaking earlier on, you mentioned a road that was handled in your earlier years

in the civil service. Why do we have potholes in roads that were built within a year? Many factors lead to this one, the material used are not made here. We do not produce bitumen, we buy them. But there are some tests that are supposed to be carried out before we use them even on the cement, concrete or the aggregate granite on re-enforcement. And if you assume most of this things were not hitherto taken into consideration, I assure you that this Administration will not take anything for granted.

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AGN Beauty Pageant Celebrates The Beauty, Brain of The Youth- Okoro VIVIAN OKORO, actress, model, beauty pageant manager and beauty therapist in the following chat, talks about the upcoming Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN beauty pageant, her personal life and other issues related to beauty pageant in Nigeria…… RLM: You are woman of many paths, which area does your strength? My strength at the moment lies in acting and beauty pageant management so, at the moment, I am managing a beauty pageant for AGN (Actors Guild of Nigeria). RLM: What is AGN trying to achieve with a beauty pageant? The ideology behind the beauty pageant is to educate young people out there to appreciate themselves. The theme of the pageant is ‘Beauty with Brain,’ we want to celebrate the brain, the beauty and not just about the beautiful face but there is a brain behind the face. We want to give them that opportunity especially those of them who want to be Actresses and do not know how to go about it in the industry.

RLM: What are the procedures for partaking in the event? Whoever want to contest, should go to any Diamond Bank close to them and pay the sum of N5,000:00, after which you send an email to the address attached. The event is coming up sometime in October 2017. RLM: You have been a beauty queen, was it on this AGN platform? I am a former Miss Independence Nigeria beauty queen in 2009, and I was crowned a beauty queen at the institute where I got my certificate as a beauty therapist. RLM: As a beauty queen, what was your challenge? The challenges as a beauty queen back then was that you had a lot of people who wanted to compete with you, so this put you on your

feet, to get ready for the best, the competition itself is a challenge because when I contested for miss Independence, I did a lot of reading on current affairs about Nigeria. RLM: What can you say about the general phenomenon that before you are crowned as queen, you must have undergone harassment on the hands of the organisers? Well, I have heard of such things happening but, I have not experienced any form of harassment. My being crowned as a queen was based on merit. RLM: How has it been since inception of the AGN beauty queen pageant and what’s your expectation of the upcoming event? Actually, I have not been part of the organisers since inception. This edition will be the 4th edition, we are not competing. It is going to be outstanding, successful and glamorous. RLM: What is your motivation for life, why do you do the things you do? The reason for my motivation is that I enjoy anything I set out to do because it is my dream that I need to actualize. The dream keeps me going to do what I want to do, where I’m going, what level I want to attain in life. RLM: Your advice to the youths who want to make fast money without asking questions? The youths should be patient about life, take life easy , because everything about life is one step at a time. A child crawls before walking; life is step by step. I always tell people, life is not always about money. When you have made everything about life money, money, money, you get into problems easily. Youths should learn how to be patient, tolerant and take life easy. Life is a school, we keep learning everyday in this school.

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Ondo will be the face of cocoa in Nigeria - Olotu Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Agriculture to Ondo State Governor, AKIN OLOTU is an Agronomist by profession. In the following interview, he talks about the Agricultural programmes of the current administration in Ondo Stateâ&#x20AC;Ś. RLM: Tell us the efforts of this Government in the Agricultural sector as promised during the Inauguration? Well, we have done a lot and I will like to make it clear that Agriculture is the number one in the priority list of Mr. Governor. We are looking at Agriculture for job creation, food security, as a platform for the takeoff of sustainable industrial development, as a means of IGR, as a source of foreign exchange for the state and Nigeria as whole. To achieve this, the administration is putting a structure in place by going to the basis.

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Firstly, we need to get all the farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; data, the location of their farms and every details of what they are doing. We have a dual approach to this, we are looking at the existing ones and the upcoming ones, what the World Bank described as the green field and brown field. For the peasant farmer, the government has put in place system for them to access input, like fertilizer and agrochemical products at affordable price as well as getting the right quality within the right time frame. RLM: In Nigeria, land is a major challenge,

what are the government plans for making land available for the farmers? As part of our assessment, we discovered that land is a major challenge and farmers in the state have no access to land. We are in a tropical region with a rich land, but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put it to use? The cost for clearing bush from the land is enormous. Where do you expect a graduate to get such huge amount for clearing farm land? Even banks will not give loans to them. So this government is putting a pragmatic system for easy access to land for farmers in a friendly way, irrespective

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Gov, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu during Flag Off

of the scale of your production, either large, medium, or small scale. RLM: Are there any plans for Credit facility to the farmers by the government? The government is working on how the farmers in the State can easily have access to credit facility. Barely a week after the Governor, Akeredolu assumed office, a letter was written to the Central Bank of Nigeria so that the farmers in the state will be able to access Agric Credit windows from CBN. Example of this is The Accor Borrower Scheme. Today our farmers are lining up for cassava across the state on this platform, some are working on the boilers and production scheme. Also, we are looking at clustering our farmers together. When you cluster farmers together in the same environment, it has a lot of advantage because you are putting common production process in the same location and it enhances their output. All this process is already in place and His Excellency has started unveiling some of these plans. RLM: What are the methods to be used for farmers to access Credit Facilities? We are coming up with Ondo State farmer’s Bank owned by the farmers in the state. This method is called Crowed Entrepreneurship and it will take off after we’ve done with the farmer’s registration. The method is that if we register 100 famers and everyone is ready to buy share of about N10,000, it means we can start Ondo State Micro finance Bank. We are not going to stop at that, we are

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also going to use it to revive the cooperative consciousness within the system. If the cooperative system is functional, you find idle money being pulled together for the common success of every one. The summary of all I have said is that, we are addressing land, credit and market problem. This is not just talking agriculture but Agro business, putting up every link of the chain. We are talking about input, production, processing, transportation, and marketing. We are looking at creating job at each of the links, every commodity will be fully developed. The strategy to enhance our market revolves around market-driven production, we want to produce towards a focus market. At the moment, we don’t have any product in Shoprite. Most of the fresh fruits there are either from South Africa or the Middle Belt and that is not acceptable to us. We are going to empower our young men and women on green house farming to produce standard fresh tomatoes, pepper, and vegetable. We are also going to assist them with pig farming and palm oil production in Ondo State. RLM: You made mention of farm and farmers registration, what is the procedure? This will start soon and it takes one week. It will cover the length and breadth of Ondo State. We are targeting the farming communities, and the forms are free. RLM: You also mentioned cluster farmers, how will this work? The cluster farming we envisage, is going

to be cashless, the life stock is also cashless. It will involve all the financial stakeholders in the State. The Agro input dealer will sell to farmer and the famer will produce and the processor will take from him and they will bank with the same bank, so money will move within the banks and the profit will go to the farmers. RLM: Ondo State is known for Cocoa, what plans does this government have to exploit this huge revenue yielding product? We are going to triple Cocoa production in Ondo State, in quality and quantity. You know this mentality of crude oil, Cocoa is exported crude but in Ondo State we are establishing a chocolate factory. On cocoa, the Governor of Ondo State is going to be the face in Nigeria, when you talk of cocoa, you talk of Ondo State. We will apply multi-dimensional approach, we are looking at the small farmer scheme, the existing Cocoa plantation, empower and train them to rehabilitate and bring the farm back to life. We want to also encourage people to embark on Cocoa planting on small scale or on a medium scale and large scale. The present production pattern is not acceptable. Cote d’Ivoire exported 1.3 million metric tons and Nigeria exported 280, 000 metric tons which, is not up to 300, 000 on top the 1,000,000. Look at the size of Cameroon, they are ahead of Nigeria; Ghana is also ahead. The South western Nigeria is enough to drive this thing. We also need to improve our output.

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Gov. Akeredolu Plans to Make Rural Areas In Ondo State Habitable -OSARMCO Boss Chairman, Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance and Construction, OSARMCO, ENGR. KEHINDE OSINKOYA tells us in the following interview that one of the cardinal programmes of the Governor Rotimi Akeredoluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration is to ensure that all roads in Ondo State are not only pothole-free but motorable. He speaks about other plans of the administration in the area of rural development and infrastructureâ&#x20AC;Ś.

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RLM: Can you tell us why you were returned as the chairman of Ondo State Agency for Road Maintenance and Construction (OSARMCO)? The best person to answer this question would have been His Excellency, Arakurin Akeredolu. He would be in the best position to explain why he returned me. But I think, judging from what has been said all over, it is because OSARMCO under the last administration was able to achieve a lot in terms of quality, quantity, service, as well as adding value to road and social economic development in Ondo state.

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RLM: Would you say it is divine or a miracle, or did you know him before the appointment? Well I would rather not use those terms as nice as they may seem. I would rather say it was a pleasant surprise because given the level of political maturity in Nigeria, it is not often that another Government, more so an opposition party, if I may use that word, would do a thing like that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s indeed a very pleasant surprise and it also shows that Governor Akeredolu is practical and a realist, who is after excellent performers. RLM: What is the blueprint for road construction for this administration? First and foremost, His Excellency has said rural road development will be his cardinal programme. And I think he is matching this with

action. I made a presentation to him and he said take this back, until I see rural roads as part of your presentation, I am not going to look at it. He really wants to do a lot in rural development and infrastructure to the citizenry. Beyond that, one of the things we have seen in this administration is that he is going to work on a lot of road maintenance. You know that road maintenance has always been a back burner in Nigeria. Most times we talk about new roads, but I think he is going to focus on what we have and build new roads but majorly rural roads. I think this is going to complement his Agric programme which is also cardinal. You know that he wants to provide a lot of employments for young entrepreneurs and the unemployed through the

(M) Arakunrin Akeredolu GOV. The Chief of Staff,Chief Gbenga Ale (L)and Engr. Kehinde Osikoya (R) on inspection

area of Agriculture. And obviously, one of the factors that will boost Agriculture is if you have rural roads so that people can bring in their produce from the hinterland into the main cities. RLM: Does this mean that there is going to be less focus on the major cities? Well, it is difficult to say for now which is going to take dominance. You know the population is always concentrated at the city centre so obviously, development according to the United Nations advice or recommendations must be population-driven. So it is obvious that he will not put the roads in the city centre at the back bench because the population is always concentrated there. But what His Excellency wants to do is reduce the traffic from rural areas to the cities

Araromi Road Akure during conruction

Arakunrin Akeredolu on inspection to hospital Road BEFORE

General Hospital Road After

Araromi Road Before

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OSARMCO workers at work at Araromi road Akure

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by making the rural areas very habitable and to allow the movement of produce from the hinterlands. So I think both rural and Urban areas will get fair attention. RLM: Has there been any challenge? No there hasn’t been any challenge, I think His Excellency has matched words with action. When I was reappointed, I was given the mandate to work in the three senatorial districts of the State simultaneously and since then, it has been from one programme to the other. The major challenge of project management ordinarily would have been finance and that has not been the problem. Fortunately, OSARMCO is on good footing so we have reasonable level of equipment, and adequate man power. These are the three Ms in delivery of projects- Man, Money and Machine. RLM: What area do you want improvement? We could do with more machines, more man power but you can see we are in obscure time and there are limitations as to how far the State government can go in terms of providing new equipment. Fortunately, there are array of equipment that we can hire and any time there is deficiency, we go for what we can have locally. Yes, we could do more, at the moment, our capacity utilization is about 50 to 60 percent. But we understand that there are limitations for instance, the country is in a recession and that obviously, affects development to a large extent but, hopefully things will improve in the nearest future. We heard that the country is exiting recession and we hope that towards the end of the year, to next year, particularly the next dry season, we are hoping to increase our capacity to 80 or 90 percent. As you know, it is the onset of the season already which affects our activities. RLM: What would you say is the projection for the next three years of this administration? Well, I think that, like they say, morning shows the day but for what we have seen of Arakunrin since he assumed office, I think that Ondo people are about to witness another level of socio-economic development particularly in the area of infrastructure. Rural infrastructure is going to witness a different focus. You know that there is always the tendency to leave the rural areas behind. This is as a result of inadequate representation and project delivery is almost directly proportional to representation from the people. If you have an area and there are not enough people representing them, clamouring for infrastructure, you tend to leave them behind. But what this present Government is trying to do is that irrespective of the fact that the people are there or not, we are going to do a lot of infrastructural provision in the hinterland as an incentive for the young unemployed youth. RLM: It’s gone past 100 days of this administration, what would you say is the achievement so far?

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Let me start with OSARMCO and I will like to concentrate on that. In OSARMCO, we’ve done a lot in the three senatorial districts. In Ondo South Senatorial district, you need to see the Ondo State University of Science and Technology at Okitipupa, where there was a complete absence of good road infrastructure. If you get there now, you will see that the major road where you have most of the school activities, is taken care of and the University today is wearing a new look. In Ondo Central, there would have been the temptation to concentrate in Akure but we took on the road from Ilara-Mokin which passes

through the world class golf club there to Ikota, thereby linking two rural areas together, which is in line with the cardinal programme of this administration. It is about 70 percent completed. In Ondo North, we’ve also done quite a lot in Owo; we have identified about 2.5 kilometers road of which we have done about 60 percent to completion. Then going to what is our major responsibility, OSARMCO really is supposed to be an agency focused on road maintenance. Our primary objective is to make sure that roads spread on the breadth and length of Ondo State are motorable

Odo - ijoka road Akure AFTER

Esso street Road Akure Betore

OSARMCO workers at work at esso street Akure

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at all times. Potholes are immediately tackled in more proactive than reactive manner. What I mean is that you do not wait for pothole to get bigger, cause accident probably to a child of a notable person before government reacts no, road maintenance is a proactive act. That is why people come from civilized part of the world and say they do not have potholes. That is not correct; the roads in Great Britain, Germany and the United States of America are also subject to wear and tear because they were made of materials. The only difference is that road maintenance there is proactive, the moment the pothole is not more than the size of an orange, they fix it. They do not only fix it, they find out why this little

pothole emerged? It could be a drainage problem, a base problem, they identify the cause and fix it and the little pothole never come back again. This is the culture that OSARMCO has put in place; a proactive maintenance culture. That is what OSARMCO is set out to do in this administration. Keeping roads in Ondo State in a state of pride, glory and motorable all year round is the primary objective of OSARMCO. Whether it is Federal, State or Local government road, our concern is good roads in the state for the people to enjoy the dividend of democracy. In this regard, we have done a lot under this administration, with the rainy season, you are going to see us working around the state. We are going to

have seven gang structures which will take care of road maintenance in the State and that is major responsibility of OSARMCO. RLM: How would you describe the person of His Excellency, Governor Akeredolu having worked with him for more than 100 days? Well, I think it is common knowledge that Governor Akeredolu is not your typical politician who would play to the gallery, he says it as he sees it, he is very frank and exact. You are not guessing with him, what you see is what you get. And I think that is a new approach to politics world wide not only in Nigeria, you see what is happening in America. The people get angry with every

Odo - ijoka road Akure BEFORE.J

OSARMCO Chairman, Engr. Kehinde Osikoya with the workers at Osutec

Esso street Road Akure under construction

ilara - mokin to Ikota in progress

Osutech Okitipupa road AFTER

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Left, Ondo State Gov. Arakunrin with Engr. Kehinde Osikoya (R) with others on inspection.

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day politician and voted for a different kind of politics, either right or wrong, only time will tell. But you see that people are getting fed up with politicians who just come and say what they will not do. That we have a breath of fresh air in Ondo State, I think is something everyone is excited about because what he says is what he will do. And judging from what he has promised to do, I think that Ondo State will witness a lot of economic development in the next few years and hopefully, Ondo will be the pride amongst other states.

Buba Marwa. Thereafter, I was privileged to serve in Ogun State, I was the special Adviser to Governor Gbenga Daniel on Works and Infrastructure. I also superintended over the Ogroma Ogun Road Maintenance Agency. It was because of the experience that the immediate past Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko invited me to head and re-engineer OSARMCO which had existed under another name called OSAC which, went moribund before I came, and I have been here for three glorious years.

RLM: How long have you been working for the State? I have been in Ondo state for the past three years, but is just a part of my career. Let me use this opportunity to talk about my background. I am a road maintenance person. My career is about 40 years, I graduated in 1978 from the University of Lagos, by next year I will be 40 years at work as a civil Engineer and all the 39 years I have spent in road maintenance. That is what my destiny has worked for me. I did work in Lagos State as head of road maintenance when we had the direct labour agency under the then Military Governor of Lagos State, Col.

RLM: Any advice for the people of Ondo State? My advice for the people of Ondo State is to embrace this government which promises to be the government of the people. It is a government that promises to bring the dividend of democracy to the people; a government that promises employment. There are early signs that this is going to happen. You can see the opening of the agricultural space. I, like many other people in the state look forward to a lot of development in the next two years.

Osutech Okitipupa road AFTER

Osutech Okitipupa road BEFORE

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RLM: You kept talking about agriculture, is there something you will like to tell us about agriculture? Well I am not an agricultural expert, but without even being an expert, we know that there is a lot of unemployment, so government has to think out of the box, how are we going to engage the teaming youths who do not have work? One thing I know is that, we must continue to eat, even if every other thing has stopped, but feeding is number one requirement of man. Agriculture is the mainstay of Nigeria before the Oil boom. A lot of experts have said Agric is an area that can provide employment, provide foreign exchange through exportation of farm produce and first and foremost be able to feed ourselves. Obviously, we need to make it attractive because there is a new mentality of white collar jobs so people do not want to get dirty. But with the kind of rural infrastructure that this Government is putting up, there is going to be a lot of incentives for Agriculture. I think Agriculture provides a lot of opportunity to solve the deficit of unemployment.

Osutech Okitipupa road AFTER

Osutech entrance Finishing stage

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UOTE Q “If you want a better world you have to create one, because if you just sit around waiting for a better world, it will never come. “Be the Change you wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” -Barrack Obama

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Motivational Quotes About Change “You never change things by ﬁghting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” -Buckminster Fuller

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” -Albert Einstei

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” -Mother Teresa

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HEALTH

Lawyer, celebrity nutritionist, health and nutrition wellness coach, brand and business developer, entrepreneur, BARRISTER (MRS.) DANIELLA AKPAKWU is a woman if many partswW. She is the Creative Director/Principal Consultant, Wellness Patron, a nutrition platform born out of a desire to give back. In this interview, she talks extensively about health and eating well, her Foundation, and sundry issues relating to good healthâ&#x20AC;Ś.

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HEALTH

Nigerians Should Learn To Replace Unhealthy Food With Healthy Food -Health Nutritionist RLM: You are a woman of many parts, but as a lawyer, did you ever practice? Yes, I was call to the Bar in 2008 and started practicing immediately in Makurdi with S. O. Agbo who was a mentor and a father to me, who taught me the ropes in law. After that, I went to Abuja and continued my practice with Ofibo and Co, and I did active practice till 2012 when I came to Lagos, and business overtook a lot of things. RLM: What are the challenges you faced while practicing law? The major challenge in practicing law is finding your feet on time, if you are not experienced; and experience for a lawyer starts after 5years. The challenge for a lawyer who is trying to cut her teeth in the industry takes the grace of God. But the good thing is that learning is a part of growing and when you have learnt it, you have learnt it. RLM: Were you told of the teething period while in school? In school, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what is happening outside till you get out there. You get the real life when you are out of school. We were very excited graduates from law school, called to the Bar at that point. We felt the world was at our feet but getting out there, we found out that your degree is not enough, you need to work harder. RLM: You call yourself a food entrepreneur, what exactly do you mean? Yes, my food journey started in 2011 when my husband and I moved to Lagos and right after that, he became so busy that it took a toll on his health. I almost lost my husband in August 2011 to diabetes, his sugar level was almost 495; he almost went into shock. I understood that diabetes is a lifestyle disease, it is an illness that you need to manage your food and lifestyle.

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What could have been the cause? Food is the cause and food can reverse it. So I started carrying out research and I found out that there is one or two things you can do to be healthy, to keep diabetes and every illness away, and that is healthy eating. So I went into it full time, I started coaching people. I put up a website called wellnesspatron.com, where we teach people the culture of eating and healthy life style . I took a step further to start creating products for people to follow up what I am teaching. So I started the Sole Rooted which are natural farm produce. Our products are evolving, we just started but we believe the sky is just the beginning for us. These products we are creating, are basically to enhance healthy living so you can fulfill your purpose. We are asking people why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you stay away from refined flour and go for whole wheat? Stay away from sugar content drink to fresh vegetable juice; start eating with caution. Limit the eating in the night, try and incorporate exercises especially the ones you know you can do. That has been the beginning of our journey. My husband, Mr. Emmanuel Akpakwu was the one who started the journey for me. And we pray to God for more grace to continue this and to create the impact that we want to create. RLM: Are there laid-down procedures on how to eat healthy with regard to the result of your research? Yes, we are coming up with 1 to 2 minutes on Youtube where we will be telling people how to juice, how to make smoothes, how to make natural products to take on a daily basis for preventions; on how to cook some healthy food and how to dish out your meal, and how to incorporate fitness into your lifestyle.

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HEALTH

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You know, Nigerians are not really into reading; reading is a habit we were not taught on time, we are more into videos. Nigerians are also very intelligent, and so with one minute video, somebody who is so busy in the office, who does not have time to read 800 words on blog post, can watch 1 to 2 minutes video and get the message on the go.

You do not only train your child in a moral way, you also train your child’s tongue to eat well because eating well is a life style in children; it starts with their taste bud to eat that which is healthy. You remove some food from your family on time, replace artificial food with natural food for your children, they are children, they will adjust.

RLM: It is good to know you got into this business due to your husband’s health, has his health improved? Wow! My husband is our number one testimony, he is in a top shape and by the grace of God he is very healthy. Not just because of what we have surrounded him with, but he is a very cooperative person. A lot of Nigerians do not know that you don’t need to fall ill before you start healthy living. Right now, my children can eat cucumber but with all the health value of cucumber some adults do not know how to eat that fruit.

RLM: Do you have classes where you train people now? Yes, the training we do for now is one on one where you book your training with us and you come to our office. Right now, we are trying to create a package for diabetes patients because that is where our story started. RLM: What are the healthy food that Nigerians should be eating? In Nigeria, we are blessed with good soil that is organic, we grow our food naturally, just that some people from the outside world are trying to spoil our soil. You can grow anything in Nigerian soil. We have so many fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of farm produce. First and foremost, you must learn to cook your food yourself. I know there are so many busy people but if you are busy, then order your food from healthy food outfit. Secondly, try to replace unhealthy food with healthy food like fruit. But if you are into fruit, eat fruits that are in season like oranges, pineapples, and the like. Always eat your fruit before meal, eat only when you are hungry. Do not over load your plate with so much food as an adult, you only eat a fist size of carbohydrate. Reduce oil intake, you can only eat thumb size of oil a day. Eat only for your health sake, and learn to drink a lot of water. Some time, people mistake taste for hunger; how many glasses of water do you take in a day? My rules for healthy living are: First, put healthy food in your house, if you have healthy food you will eat healthy. Secondly, eat only when you are hungry and drink a lot of water. Engage in positive things because if you are

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HEALTH clean inside your spirit and your mind, you will be healthy outside. Also, add enough sleep and you will see your body in good shape. RLM: How did you start as an entrepreneur? We started doing business actively in 2011 and of course, my mentor is my husband, he introduces me into business. RLM: Is it healthy to actually do business with your husband? Wow! it is very healthy, your husband should be your business partner. Right now, he is my business partner because I am learning from him. The most important thing in life is understanding. If you have understanding, you can live with anybody and you can do business with anyone. I do see him as my husband though but when doing business, I see him as my business partner first. This helps me to do the business well and also put me in a position of advantage. Whatever I see him do, I do and I have learnt from the best and he has introduced me to the right people. I have learnt from his experience, and that is why I am where I am today. RLM: How do you cope with home front since there is so much to do? First and foremost, it takes the grace of God to merge so many businesses together with my family. It also takes the understanding of every family member, I have a great family support system from both sides. I also delegate duties though there are duties you can’t delegate as a wife and a mother–. I also set my priorities right and I don’t joke with timing. I wake up early to do all my duties.

a couple of programmes coming up. RLM: What would you say is your motivating factor? By the grace of God, it is ensuring that the society is a better place. When you have a society where a woman is empowered and the girl child is educated, she will be a catalyst for change; you can imagine how great that society will be. RLM: Are you expecting external aid for the NGO? For now no, maybe in the future yes. Now, we are gradually growing and focusing on our goal. But I am the representative of Alive Foundation which is an NGO for Alliance In Motion Global; they also give back to the society wherever there are crisis, earthquakes, etc. Alive Foundation has saved a lot of lives across the globe. They give a lot of free medical service to schools, blood donation aid; her focus in Africa is the less privileged children. RLM: Alliance In Motion Global means what? Alliance In Motion Global is a Networking marketing company that has come to Nigeria to empower Nigerians not only financially but health wise. And they have been doing that since 2011. Aim Global started in Lagos but today, they are in over 6 states. The system has been put in place and what is needed is for it to keep on growing. RLM: Are there issues you are facing today in Nigeria as an Entrepreneur? The only challenge that we are facing right now is the regulatory laws like NAFDAC; they are trying their best but I

RLM: You are also into non-profitable organization, what drove you into that? Ojilima Women Foundation was born out of the desire to help fellow women. My goal was to help the less privileged woman. First of all, you cannot give if you are not a giver. I believe that your blessings come when you give more. With my Always eat your fruit business, I wanted a channel before meal, eat only when where I could give back to the society. That started you are hungry. Do not over in 2015 though we are load your plate with so still evolving, but we have done a lot like paying much food as an adult, you school fees for the less only eat a ﬁst size of carboprivileged children, free training programmes, free hydrate. Reduce oil intake, Medicare, etc. And we have

you can only eat thumb size of oil a day.

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think they need to release their stringent laws a bit and encourage entrepreneurs like us. I just got a NAFDAC number for just 500gms and I have been on it for close to 8 months; my products are on ground. RLM: Don’t you think there is need to properly check these things to avoid fake registrations? Yes, you don’t just do NAFDAC, you need Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON; you need Trade Mark, Manufacturers Association. I believe is in the interest of Nigerians but at the same time, as a manufacturer and a business man, time is not always friendly. Although, it is good but I don’t know if there is a way they can create a balance so that others do not rob Peter to pay Paul, because we are also bringing value to our nation. RLM: On the side of NAFDAC, knowing that some Nigerians will always want to cut corners, what would your recommendation be from your experience? I think NAFFDAC is understaffed from my experience. The process of inspection should be reviewed. I was booked for 3 to 4 weeks before they came; why that long time? Why can’t they take a day or two to come and check and after the specimen is taken to the lab, it takes another 6 to 7 weeks, and that is for paper alone. And after the paper, it will still take another 5 to 6 months before the number comes out. After the number comes out, there is another procedure of signing before you can get that number, the process is cumbersome. Now, people doing business on social media, where people make orders and they are delivered, how would they be able to track those ones? But I am a law abiding citizen so I go the right way but I think many people are avoiding the NAFDAC registration as a result of cumbersome procedure. RLM: What would be your recommendations for young women on how to manage the home front and as an entrepreneur? As mother in business, the first thing I need to tell them is just go out and start, they should not be afraid, they should take advantage of the support system. Do not do super woman, delegate work and prioritize your goal. Do the work you want to do for yourself and then look on to God, He is the beginning and end of everything.

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Happy Married Life! Ondo City was agog with the celebration of Traditional Wedding between Oluwatobiloba Olashile and Oladotun Micheal, held on Saturday, 22nd April, 2017 at the Main Hall, Oba Adesonoye Civic Centre. The solemnization of the Holy Matrimony was held at The Convenant Harvest Christian International

Ministry, Lekki on Saturday, 29th April, 2017. The reception of the Guests was at The Art Centre, Okunde Bluewater, Lekki, Lagos State. RealityLife Magazine wishes the newly-wed a happy and blissful married life.

Couple Cutting Cake

Couple displaying their Wedding Rings Bride Father’s Friend

REALITY LIFE Bride’s Parents Sigining Marriage Certiﬁcate

www.realitylifeng.com ISSUE 3 Vol. 3 (M) Dr. Olusegun Mimiko with Special Guests

Bride’s grandmothers

Bride’s Parents

Couple with Grooms Men. (R) The Couple, Couple parents, Frm, Gov. of Ondo State Dr, Olusegun Mimiko, Olukemi Mimko, and Frm,Gov. Gbenga Daniel with Wife

www.realitylifeng.com The Couple with their Parents

Bride’s Father’s Friends

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Tra Traditional aditio onal

Wedding

Couple Cutting Cake

The Groom’s & his friends honouring & receiving prayers from the Bride’s family

Bride’s Father, brothers with Friends

Bride’s Mother with Friends REALITY LIFE

The Bride

(M)The Couple,(RL) Bride Parents with The Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom Oba Dr. Victor Kiladejo & Olori Olayinka

The Couple

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(R)The Couple Olori Olayinka, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko Alhaji Oluboyo with Wife. (L)

The Bride with her parents

The Groom with his Parents

ISSUE 3 Vol. 3

Special Guests

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The Bride Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with friends

(M) Bride parents, Prince Kiladejo (R) and Friend

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Remembrance

25 Years After:

David Akinbohun, The Good Man still lives

e was a dedicated man, honest,astute politician, indefatigable leader, generous and humble. He was ambitious, knowledgeable, intelligent and single-minded. DAVID OLASEHINDE AKINBOHUN (D.O) was born in Ondo Town on 28th July, 1931 into two prominent families -Akinbohun and Fatirin families. His father was late Pa Johnson Akinbohun, the first English tailor in Ondo Town. Pa Johnson Akinbohun was the son of Chief Lekiran of Ogbotitun, Ondo, son of Chief Lisa of Ikoya- nibogho so si de ogho ka Omo yo bomo mefa doje eghae . His mother, a very successful and highly energetic trader was the late Madam Esther Oladuti Akinbohun. The late Madam Oladuti Akinbohun came from the Lisa Jalogun and Ogunkumi families of Ondo. Late David Olasehinde Akinbohun started his elementary school at C.M.S. Primary School, Uzairue, Jattu, near Auchi (19451949). After the completion of his Primary Education, he entered the famous Victory College, Ikare (1950-1953) for his Secondary Education. He built his house at age 23. In 1954, he left Victory College, Ikare, for the Rural Training Centre, Asaba, where he obtained a Certificate in General Agriculture. In 1963, he proceeded to the Essex Institute of Agriculture, Chelsford U.K. to study Agriculture. He obtained the Diploma in Agriculture with Distinctions in Animal Husbandry and Agricultural Extension. By this achieve-

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ment, he was awarded the College Scholarship to study Agriculture Extension at the University of Reading U.K. in 1966. D.O. as he was fondly called by his numerous admirers, distinguished himself and left an indelible mark for posterity. He devoted his life to the service of the community, the country and humanity at large. His record of meritorious service could hardly be equalled. Tolery Akinbohun and Mrs Oyebade (Nee Akinbohun) during thanksgivIn politics, which ing Church Service climaxed with the Chairmanship of Ondo Local Government Area, D.O. initiated many laudable programmes meant to set the council on an industrial path. The construction of an ultra modern market. the first of its kind in the state and one of the best in Nigeria was to begin when the falcon flew away. He died at 62, yet achieved so much in his life time.

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Cross Section of the Children and Friends

Cross Section of the Children

Mr.Tolery Akinbohun with Friends

Mr,Wole Adeniyi and Mrs Oyebade

Mrs Akinbohun

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Remembrance

Ambassador

Segun Olusola

REMEMBERED

he Africa Refugee Foundation (AREF) held its 5th memorial remembrance for its founding president, the late Ambassador Segun Olusola in Lagos, late June. This was part of the activities marking the 2017 World Refugee Day. Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer of National Commission for Refugees, Magaret Ukaegbu, harped on the need to embrace peace, and dialogue, to sort out problems, and commended AREF founder, Segun Olusola for the work done towards the enhancement of the lives of refugees. Ukaegbu urged the general public and other stakeholders including the private sector to join hands with the government to restore the dignity of displaced persons and help in their reintegration into the society. Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Christopher Kolade reflected on the lessons to be learnt from the late Ambassador Olusola, describing him as a consummate art connoisseur and peace Ambassador.

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The National coordinator of OPC, Otunba Gani Adams thanked the foundation for committing energy to the plight of refugees, and noted that the late Olusola was a mentor and a great man who impacted knowledge, promoted cultur-

“We give kudos to our late Chief Segun Olusola’s resourceful thinking and his ever willing ability to generate ideas, making friends with the lonely and charting ways forward for refugees, internally displaced persons and the promotion of our culture.”

al interests and a pillar to his organization. While eulogizing the late Segun Olusola, President of the African Refugees Foundation (AREF), Chief (Mrs) Opral Benson said, “We give kudos to our late Chief Segun Olusola’s resourceful thinking and his ever willing ability to generate ideas, making friends with the lonely and charting ways forward for refugees, internally displaced persons and the promotion of our culture.” Some of the dignitaries that attended the programme included the National coordinator of Odua People’s Congress, Otunba Gani Adams, former foreign affairs minister, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Christopher Kolade, Tunde Ajijedidun, Bolanle Akinyemi, Adesegun Akin Olugbade and Femi Agboola. It could be recalled that Ambassador Segun Olusola, credited as having created the popular television drama series, Village Headmaster, died in June 2012 at the age of 77, after a brief illness. A native of Iperu Remo, Ogun State, he was former Nigeria Ambassador to Ethiopia, and was the Founder/chairman of African Refugee Foundation, AREF.

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IN MEMORY OF A GREAT HUMANITARIAN LEGEND

The Africa Refugee Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (AREF) 5th Memorial Remembrance/ World Refugee Day

Cross section of delegates

Cross section of special guest

Chief(Mrs) Opral Benson Olujimi Olusola iii, son

Dr. Christopher Kolade

Magaret Ukaegbu

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Chief Gani Adams

Rtd Gen. Ike Nwaschukwu

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Focus

Earnthrill Takes Nigerian Youths To The Farm ….Unveils Farm Queen Pageant Contest

gainst the obvious neglect of the Agricultural sector by Nigerian youths, and the need to arrest this ugly trend, Earnthrill Nigeria Limited became a necessity. The company, having discovered that capital has always remained one major excuse for non-involvement of youths in modern farming, came up with Crowd Funding strategy to help interested individuals. Crowd funding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people. The country’s over dependence on Oil, in addition to the advent of technology which, has made a lot of the youths to focus on the technological way of doing things, has brought ought about a lot of people paying less attention to the Agricultural sector ass well as running away from going the old route. “We identified this and considered onsidered getting more people interested in agriculture by coming up with a program that will catch anyone’s attention and create awareness ness in the agricultural sector. With our program, more people can read and have access to information on some areas of agribusiness ess that they can benefit from. Our partnership with local and International partners on the modern ways of gettingg things done gives us an edge to bringing better life to the nation, ation,” the company said in its website. In fact, a team of professionals ionals led by the CEO, Mr. Dimeji Fasola, were inspired d to start this ventures in order to align with the vision of the he Federal Government led by President Buhari on Agriculture riculture which is “to work with key stakeholders to build an agribusiness economy capable of delivering elivering sustained prosperity by meeting domestic food security goals, pporting sustainable generating exports, and supporting income and job growth.” Earnthrill has a vision off integrating 20 million Nigerians to the agribusiness ss economy with cating and empoweringg them, using minimal commitment, educating wd-funding program while providing providing the specially designed crowd-funding forming food for the nation. This willll align with its mission of fo o will venture into modernized mo odeernized a community of people who ugh crowd funding from frrom o the Agricultural ventures through community. ompany, Earnthrilll aligns As a highly compliant company, nt’s policy of fostering its activities with government’s economic growth through Agriculture. In the light of this, the company’s main project is in Agriculture, ranging from animal husation off bandry to crops and exportation stem Agricultural produce. Its system allows members to partner with its projects and earn passive income monthly.

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“Members can introduce people to enjoy earnings while they download our trainings at a token of five hundred naira. The marketing plan is robust and easy to attain. The joy of earning while you learn is made possible with our state of the art platform. We offer innovative and interactive trainings, the dynamism is self help. All the trainings come in downloadable video formats and e books, well package and simple to implement,” the company further noted on its website. Only recently, Earnthrill Nigeria Limited unveiled the Earnthrill Farm Queen Pageant Season 1 competition- a recreational beauty pageantry that is targeted at synchronizing the beauty of an African woman with labour and resourcefulness as a symbol and means of survival of the black ra race. RealityLife Magazine gathered that the event is expected to be the first of its kind to be held in this part of the world, and it’s also expected to co cover the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria including the FCT. The contest according to the organizers, is open to every Nigerian female youth between the ages 18 to 28 years. Though, the market is open to all Nigerian Nige youths in this category irrespective of religio religion or eth- nic cleavages, there will be auditioning audition to screen out contestants that are not eligible and qualified. The objective of the Pageant is to raise an sura complete, beautiful, educated and o viving Queen that will educate other young people in the society that there opportun are so many untapped opportunities in agriculture for sustainable livel livelihood. The vision of the event organizers is to promote agriculture and explore geo geographrenaissanc by ical environmental resource renaissance sensitizing the youths on the core values of the country’s natural resources to diversify the economy. “It is therefore, our mission to search fo for those hidden potentials in a crowd of over 30 m million jobless graduates with paper certificates in Nigeria and to raise a farmer that will become a catalyst to amelior ameliorate the economic status of Nigeri Nigeria and natio at the third world nations large,” the co company said in a statement.

Face of Earnthrill Farm Queen Pageant

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www.nigerianfarmqueenpageant.com +2347016760635, Facebook: queenbestngo