leadershipo news.

No. 462

N300

21.12.14

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

NIGErIA'S mOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSpApEr

Lagos Gives 15% Salary Bonus To Workers

Uproar Over Truck Loaded With INEC Ballot Boxes In Bauchi

News, > 9

News, > 65

Leadership Newspapers

Chibok Diary DAY 251

@leadershipNGA

Christmas: Festivity Amid Insecurity And Austerity cover story > 13

parents, Siblings Bemoan Xmas Without Abducted Girls > Page 2

What I Know About B’TroopsHaram – Modu Sheriff kill scores of insurgents in Maiduguri 5

why they Are After Me –Tompolo

BY Kola EKE-ogiugo, Asaba

l-R: President goodluck Jonathan, vice president Namadi Sambo and PDP national chairman, adamu Mu’azu, arriving at the party’s fund raising dinner held at the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY REMI AKUNLEYAN

Ex-militant and former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has said that the controversy over the purchase of six gunboats, allegedly by his company, was because politicians were out to tarnish his hard-earned image ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday, the ex-militant said he is not a politician but a concerned Nigerian and a businessman that some, masterminded by some Niger Delta ethnic chauvinists, are trying to weigh down and paint as someone with the desire to wage war against the Nigerian state through arms buildup in the Niger Delta as 2015 approaches. ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

chibok diary 251 DAY

chibok tweets @Umar2k Day250...the longer it takes, the more we demand. So it’s your call FG #bringbackourgirls now. @AishaYesufu All I am thinking of are #ChibokGirls who have not had a good laugh in 250 days and waiting #BringBackOurGirls. @RevJJackson The abducted girls cannot be forgotten even though the cameras are gone. @vicmoss11 Even as we go into a #NewYear, this will continue to be our EMBLEM #BringBackOurGirls now & alive!!! @AIShAYESUFU Do #ChibokGirls in abduction for 250 days even know that it is 5 days to Christmas? #BringBackOurGirls NOW & ALIVE. @Basilokpara We will not rest until all of our girls are home. #BringBackOurGirls #JoinRepWilson. @NikeAdeyemi We're praying for Nigeria and specifically the Chibok girls, we must not forget these daughters in unlawful captivity! #BringBackOurGirls.

COMPILED BY MIChaEL OChE

members of #BringBackOurGirls during one of their village square meetings at the unity Fountain, abuja.

PHOTO BY OYEDELE OMOKAGBO

Parents, Siblings Bemoan Xmas Without Abducted Girls

By Kareem Haruna, Maiduguri

Days to the celebration of Christmas, parents and relatives of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls have begun to marvel at how they would be celebrating the Yuletide for the first time without their missing daughters.

Bulama Jonah, whose 17 years old daughter, Amina, was among the missing schoolgirls taken away by the outlawed Boko Haram sect since April 14 is not looking forward to a

colourful Christmas, because his eldest daughter would not be there to play the roles she was known for.

"Amina is such a company to her mother and other younger siblings during Christmas,” said Mr Jonah. “Apart from helping to cook and doing other ceremonial chores of the season, she also helped in decorating the house in order to make everywhere welcoming for visitors.

"If she were to be around by now, I know Amina would

have been busy attending Christmas carol practices, just like she did last year, but that seems not to be now.

"But sadly, it is very obvious that we would be marking this year's Christmas without our daughter, Amina. We had waited and hoped that it will not get to this level…eight months without anyone telling us that they have once seen the girls somewhere, not even the government or the soldiers.

Nobody is saying anything to us,” said Jonah in tears.

Jonah said his family would be marking the Christmas, praying and keeping the candle of hope alight lest his daughter returns some day.

Since the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in April and the following attacks on Chibok town by Boko Haram, Jonah and his family had relocated out of the town to avoid being caught in the crossfire, while waiting and praying that one day their beloved daughter would somehow show up.

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our stand December 21, 2014

Where Is The Forensic Audit Report?

A

s 2014 draws to a close, we take a look back at the big events that happened in the year.

One of such events is the $20bn scandal that sank former CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the emir of Kano. As CBN governor, Sanusi had written a memo to President Goodluck Jonathan, alerting him on missing money to the tune of $20bn, among other issues. The amount, according to the governor, was supposed to have been remitted to the federation account but was not.

After much back and forth over the matter, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came out to say that the amount missing was “only” $10.8bn.

On the 14th of May 2014 at the World Economic Forum that was held in Abuja, Dr OkonjoIweala stated categorically that to clear up the matter, a forensic audit would be carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a reputable accounting firm, and that the exercise would be supervised by the accountant general of the federation. The entire process was to be concluded within 16 weeks and its report submitted by early

November 2014. November has come and gone and December is on its way out too.

That accountability on the part of our leaders before the people is a non-issue could not have been demonstrated better than by the missing $20bn fiasco and nothing could have equally exposed the Senate’s underbelly more than the way it handled the issue. The Senator Makarfiled committee further affronted Nigerians by claiming that $67bn was withheld and not $20bn, and that this was because the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was funding both fuel and kerosene subsidies. The distinguished Senate committee

Ag. Editor Auwal Sa’id Mu’azu Deputy Editor Kazeem Akintunde Editorial Board Safiya M. Adamu, Chairman Christian Ochiama, Deputy Chairman Standards ’Lara Olugbemi, Assistant Director

therefore recommended that the federal government send in a supplementary budget to right the obvious breach in the appropriation process. That was bad enough, but where is the forensic audit report?

Forensic audits are usually requested only in situations where there is strong suspicion of misappropriation or misdeeds such as funds disappearing. In our view, the fact that the minister recommended a forensic audit of NNPC’s accounts spoke volumes.

To have come out publicly to tell the world that there would be such a process with regard to the missing funds was an admittance that things were not adding up. It would be a tragedy if the matter is not cleared up; it will be recorded in our history books that a whopping $20bn/$10.8bn or $67bn went up in smoke under the stewardship of Dr Okonjo-Iweala and Senate presidency of Senator David Mark.

Senators Mark and Makarfi may continue to hope for our collective amnesia, but Dr Okonjo-Iweala is an international figure who has a reputation to protect. We demand that the forensic audit report be made public, that’s assuming that the process actually happened in the first place.

Founder Sam Nda-Isaiah

Group Managing Director Azubuike Ishiekwene Group Executive Directors Michael Okpere Dr Kazeem Durodoye Divisional Directors Iyobosa Uwugiaren Salisu Alhassan Bichi General Managers Aminu Abubakar Sule Abdulmumin Balogun Zipporah D. Tanko

Leadership Holdings

Managing Director Abraham Nda-Isaiah Executive Director Nnamdi Samuel New York Office Mohammed Bello Shehu London Office Dr Bello Salihu Johannesburg Office Abiodun Oguntuase

LEADERSHIP is a national paper symbolically embedded in the nation’s capital.

We shall stand up for good governance. We shall defend the interest of Nigerian people even against their rulers, and we shall raise our pen at all times in defence of what is right. These are the values by which we intend to be assessed.

We shall never, ever for any reason forget the noble reason of our coming into being: For God and country!

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

NEWS 5

Sunday, December 21, 2014

LIVING TO BE 100 What I Know About One health tip daily Boko Haram – Modu Sheriff

By BODE GBADEBO, BAYO OLADEJI Abuja,

Breastfeed Give your child this lifelong gift and breastfeed for as long as possible – at least one year, according to the WHO. In addition to providing the perfect food and the full complement of essential fatty acids for your child, it also protects against allergies and helps improve vision and IQ. Resist the suggestions of experts to add supplemental feeds unless something is clearly wrong. The baby is usually getting enough if allowed to feed on demand.

Why They Are After Me –Tompolo FROM cover

The Niger Delta warlord, while further reacting to media reports that he had acquired gunboats from Norwegian government with the assistance of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) ostensibly for the policing of the nation’s waterways, said that the boats are not even gunboats and have been with NIMASA for over two years.

“It is pertinent for the ignorance of those behind this blackmail to be exposed. The truth is that these boats in question had been in the care of NIMASA for two years now, and for the avoidance of doubt, the boats are not warships or gunboats as being erroneously spread by mischief makers. The boats, as acquired, are neither equipped with war arsenals nor ammunition carrier. They are simply boats equipped with modern surveillance devices to track oil thieves and in the process increase the nation’s revenue base through NIMASA,” he said.

Speaking further, Tompolo said Niger Delta ethnic chauvinists are also trying to smear his character, adding that, “I am not surprised that this blackmail is coming at this critical time that Nigeria is facing serious security challenges, even as the most decisive moment

Tompolo

for the nation which is the 2015 election gets closer.

“For one, the initial reaction was to just ignore this cheap blackmail and forge ahead with my personal commitment, but the propensity with which these lies are daily being peddled requires a bit of clarification to the Nigerian public.”

On the issue of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Ogidigben, which involved the $16 billion Delta Gas City project that has pitted the Itsekiris against their Ijaw brothers in Delta State, the former warlord said dragging his name into it is a political ploy to make him an enemy of well-meaning Nigerians and further resurrect old wounds.

He added that he does not subscribe to cheap blackmail, “because my contributions to the administration led by President Goodluck Jonathan will continue to be meaningful, and I am not deterred by cheap blackmail.”

Former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has opened up on what he knows about the Boko Haram insurgents currently ravaging states in the northeast and some other parts of the country, while disclosing that only the neighbouring Republic of Chad could help solve the menace.

Sheriff, while speaking in a BBC Hausa Service magazine programme (Gane Mini Hanya) yesterday, and monitored by LEADERSHIP Sunday in Abuja, denied reports saying that Boko Haram started during his tenure as governor of Borno State between 2003 and 2011.

He revealed that the radical religious sect actually started in Yobe State in 1992, and that he has been trying to find a lasting solution to it, including talking to the Chadian government.

But it would be recalled that when the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners visited the Chadian embassy in Abuja recently to find out the connection between Chad and the Boko Haram insurgents, the ambassador had said that his government had no connection to the sect.

The ambassador also alleged that if there was any person that should be held responsible for this problem, it should be the Nigerian government which had repeatedly claimed to know where the Chibok girls are being kept.

When the ambassador was queried on the alleged report of the botched ceasefire deal, which was celebrated across the country and handled by the Chadian President, Idriss Déby, and the report that Mr Mahamat Bichara Gnoti, a close associate of the Chadian president, was reported to have been apprehended on the Chadian-Sudan border with 19 SAM2 missiles he allegedly purchased from the Sudanese army for Boko Haram terrorists, the ambassador noted that he only read about the news on the pages of newspapers just like other persons.

But the former governor, who is also at the centre of a controversy surrounding the sponsorship of the Boko Haram insurgency, following claims by an Australian negotiator, Steven Davis, that he and a former chief of army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, were allegedly backing the insurgents, said Chad could help in solving the issue.

Although, the former

governor along with Iherijika were exonerated of any complicity during the week by the Department of State Security (DSS), but reacting to his exoneration by the DSS, which paraded people it called fake Boko Haram ceasefire negotiators that confessed to implicating him and Ihejirika after inducement, Sheriff said it is the truth that has come to prevail over falsehood and that he has been vindicated by the latest revelations from the arrested impostors, who allegedly connived with the negotiator, Davis.

He alleged that the Borno State government was responsible for the orchestrated plot to frame him up with the Boko Haram sponsorship allegation in order to defame his character.

Keeping mute on how Chad could possibly help in solving the problem, Sheriff added that since he is one of the few politicians that has benefitted greatly from the kindness of Borno State, as such he is doing whatever it is to help solve the insurgency.

“Nothing preoccupies my mind in Nigeria presently like the return of peace in Borno. When Borno State was peaceful, there was no place I cherished to stay in the world like Maiduguri. I, my friends, my confidants, my parents and all the schools I attended are in Maiduguri.

“Therefore, I am more concerned than anybody in this country, because what Borno State did for me has not been done to any other indigene.

You know, in Borno State, a governor has never been reelected apart from me; in Borno State, no senator has ever been elected thrice apart from me.

So, Borno people have done everything for me, and there is no one in this world that I know other than Chad, which I think could help Borno,” he said.

On his belief that he was being framed, Sheriff said: “They defamed my character, and when they started it, I once told journalists that it was plotted in Maiduguri. We know the plotters, their motives, and that by the grace of God, the truth will prevail; and now, the arrested impostors have said it all to the world.”

The former governor alleged that the current Borno State government’s connection with plot to defame him became glaring when the government quickly came out to disown one of the impostors, Junaid Idrissa Khadi, who was until four months ago a special adviser to Governor Kashim

Modu Sheriff

Shettima, but rather said Khadi remained his (Sherrif) known associate because he had earlier served his government before Shettima engaged him allegedly under pressure from him.

“This is nonsense. If I had forced him (Khadi) on them, then why will he connive with a Whiteman to implicate me, that I am a Boko Haram member? If at all I helped him to be engaged, then he won’t implicate me...and I have instructed my lawyers to file charges,” he said.

It could also be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan had on two occasions visited the Chadian President Idriss Derby, in September and November this year, towards finding a lasting solution to the insurgency problem.

Jonathan however came under attacks from individuals and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) after it was discovered that Sheriff was part of the highlevel meeting between him and his Chadian counterpart in September. Their anger was predicated on the fact that the former governor was at that time accused by Davis of allegedly sponsoring Boko Haram.

Sheriff, who lauded the federal government’s counterinsurgency effort in the interview, however, denied the insinuations that the Boko Haram started during his tenure as governor.

“This is not true. The Boko Haram issue did not start during my tenure. If you don’t know, let me educate you today. Boko Haram started in 1992 at Kalama in Yobe State, and at that time, I was not a governor. So, if anybody tells you it started during my tenure, he may be part of my traducers.

But the truth is that it didn’t start during my tenure,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Borno State government, through Governor Shettima’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, has denied any ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6 PHOTO NEWS

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Dr Adesida Temilade (r) deworming children at the internally displaced persons camp in Abuja during a free medical outreach and distribution of relief materials in the camp, organised by Save Lives Foundation, yesterday. photo by nan

A senior lecturer, Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Umar Pam presenting a recognition award to the representative of Emir of Azare, Alhaji Abubakar Umar, during the Federal Government College (FGC), Azare Old Students Association 2014 Gala Nite in Bauchi. photo by nan

L-R: Chief executive officer, Like-Best Global Resource Limited, Mr Innocent Kaku handing over contract documents to the principal of Federal Government Girls College, Imiringi, Mrs Agu Celestina, during the inspection of landscape for the project site at the college in Bayelsa State, yesterday. photo by nan

Men of the Nigerian Navy during a route walk in Abuja yesterday. photo by nan

L-R: Former minister of tourism, culture and national orientation, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode; incumbent tourism minister, High Chief Edem Duke; founder of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, and chief executive of National Council for Arts and Council (NCAC), Mrs Dayo Keshi, during the 11th Edition of NCAC Honours Lecture/Award Series in Abuja, yesterday.

House of Representatives speaker, Aminu Tambuwal; Gov Wamakko, and chairman, APC Sokoto, Alhaji Suleiman Isa, during the presentation of KIA vehicles to chairmen, secretaries and officials of the party in Sokoto. photo by nan

What I Know About Boko Haram – Modu Sheriff FROM PAGE 5

government-sponsored plot to tarnish the image of the former governor, saying the government in Maiduguri was only concerned with the weighty allegations against Sheriff as an indigene of the state.

He also added that the incumbent state governor has nothing to gain from Sheriff’s predicament.

Gusau, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service yesterday, said: “Governor Kashim Shettima has nothing to gain from the allegation against Ali Sheriff. In fact, to

him, it is even shameful that a Borno State indigene, whom the governor has interacted or is connected with, is linked to what is happening.

So, Governor Shettima’s connection with this saga is unnecessary.”

Troops kill scores of insurgents in Maiduguri Scores of terrorists have met their final waterloo after falling into an ambush laid for them

by Nigerians troops between Maiduguri and Damboa, Borno State on Friday.

Security sources close to the ongoing mopping operation will determine the number of

the terrorists who died in the encounter.

The clash followed the troops’ move to stop the terrorists who were in the process of attacking the electricity engineers who were working to restore power to parts of Borno State.

A large number of the terrorists died in the process while their improvised explosive devise (IED) laden Hilux truck vehicle was destroyed.

When contacted, Defence Spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, confirmed the incidents but insisted that the exact casualty figures were still being ascertained.

During the encounter, the troops also captured a Hilux vehicle earlier stolen by the terrorists from the Borno State Ministry of Education, which they have repainted and mounted with an ant-aircraft gun.

Other weapons recovered by troops include rocket propelled grenades and rifles.

Unfortunately however, two soldiers died in the encounter.

In a similar development, Military Engineer troops who have been clearing terrorists IEDs and effecting repairs on bridges repelled an attack while working on a bridge around Husara.

Several terrorists also died in the encounter. A total four General Purpose Machine Guns, three rifles and two Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers were captured from the terrorists during the encounter. One soldier however died while three others were wounded in the encounter.

Meanwhile in Adamawa State, troops continue with the conduct of land patrol of towns of Mubi, Uba, Garkida, Muva and others towns and villages as their advance through coordinated air and land operations in furtherance of counterterrorism campaign.

news across the states 7

Sunday, December 21, 2014

APC Condemns Dankwabo’s Clampdown On Party The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the clampdown by Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, on the party in the state.

The party, in a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accused the governor of working assiduously to obliterate APC’s presence and also victimise the party’s members in the state.

APC said the governor’s actions, when he visited Kashere, the hometown of his predecessor, Senator Danjuma Goje, on Thursday, were despicable and barbaric, and should be condemned by all right thinking people.

According to the party, “During his visit, Governor Dankwambo personally ordered the removal of all APC billboards and posters in the town, ordered the police and the army to break into Senator Goje’s family house, where they broke down doors, teargased and arrested his relations, including children. ‘’The governor also ordered the same security forces to break into the family house of Senator Goje’s wife, where they similarly destroyed doors and teargased the occupants, including the 90-year-old father of Senator Goje’s wife and the relations”.

Okada Rider Beats Pregnant Woman To Coma

By MATTHEW DIKE, Lagos

A commercial motorcycle operator, yesterday, has beaten a seven- month pregnant woman to coma along Lagos-Badagry expressway, near Oluti bus stop in Lagos State.

The woman was said to have paid the unknown rider a stipulated amount of money to convey her from Iyana Iba to First Gate bus stop, Maza Maza.

According to an eyewitness, who identified herself simply

as Mama Bola, the pregnant woman, Feyisara, when she regained consciousness in a private hospital, along Old Ojo Road, Agboju area, said the agreement was for the rider to move her to First Gate only for him to stop near Oluti, screaming at her to get off from the motorcycle.

The source said Feyisara disclosed that an argument ensued and the rider wanted to move the bike but she held his clothes tight, preventing him

from escaping.

According to the woman, “The pregnant woman, Feyisara said she had paid the okada rider the agreed amount only for him to lie that Alakija was the destination she told him. So, when they reached Alakija, he ordered the woman to get off but she refused insisting that she would get off at her destination. So, when the desperate rider wanted to escape and the woman stopped him, he attempted to remove her hands

from his clothes but to no avail.

The man parked the machine and forcefully removed her hands. The woman said she had no choice than to go after his private part. An action which probably angered the man as he punched her in the neck and the woman fell on a stone and was rolling on the ground when sympathisers saw her and took her to a private hospital. She was bleeding”. She said meanwhile, the rider had zoomed off to an unknown destination.

By George Okojie, Lagos

Xmas: Church Donates Foodstuffs To Widows Of Fallen Soldiers The Elohim Faith Assembly as part of its Christmas celebration donated various food items to about 11 widows, mostly wives of military officers who lost their husbands as a result of insurgency in Nigeria.

The items include bags of rice, wrappers, gallons of vegetable oil and cash of twenty thousand naira each to enable them celebrate Christmas with their families.

Bishop Daniels while handing over the gift items to the widows noted that Christmas season is not just about merry-making, but urged Nigerians to show more love to the needy.

The bishop of Elohim Faith Assembly, Matthew Daniels advised Christians and Nigerians generally to develop the habit of praise and thanksgiving to God in order to attract His blessings. He said this during the church’s 2014 harvest thanksgiving service with the theme: “Grace and Glory” which was held in Abuja recently.

During his sermon on the occasion, Bishop Daniels insisted that Nigeria will not break as speculated by some people.

He said, “Nigeria rather than disintegrate will be stronger after the elections next year”. He urged Nigerians to always pray and believe only in God for help and also live good lives that can help the country to experience the positive change that is needed at this critical period of our national history.

By Abah Adah, Abuja

Eastern-bound Christmas travellers boarding vehicles that will convey them to their destination at Jibowu in Lagos yesterday. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA

Africa Has 13 Million Displaced Persons – AU

by Muazu Elazeh, Katsina

There are no fewer than 13 million displaced persons in Africa with over four million refugees. The African Union (AU) commissioner for Political Affairs, Dr Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, has said.

Dr Abdullahi told newsmen in Katsina during a state tour that the displacement was occasioned by conflicts and natural disasters.

She revealed that the AU was working with partners that included United Nations and other bilateral organisations so that the plight of the refugees can be addressed.

“We are pleading with governments to support each other whether as nation or states to ensure that displaced persons are catered for”, she enthused.

Dr Abdullahi appealed for collective efforts to ensure that the 2015 polls are peaceful, credi-

ble, free and fair.

While stressing that the forth coming election is a make or mar election, Dr Abdullahi said the AU had started deploying long term observers who would arrive the country and stay a minimum of six months before, during and after elections.

“This allows the AU to engage with member states closely as they send weekly reports to us and where there are issues that needs to be addressed immedi-

ately, we alert relevant stakeholders” She listed other measures being adopted by the AU in mitigating election violence to include the deployment of expert team to assist the electoral body to do things properly.

She said her department was in charge of good governance in the continent and listed part of its mandates to include monitoring of elections in the African continent.

Katsina Guber: Masari Won’t Be Deterred By Blackmail – APC Chieftain

By Michael Oche, Abuja

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabiru Masari, has said no amount of blackmail will stop the gubernatorial candidate of the party and former speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Bello Masari, from winning the 2015 governorship election in the state.

He was speaking against the backdrop of a recent allegation of

certificate forgery leveled against Masari.

But Masari said after failing to win the primaries in a fair contest, some of the aspirants have resorted to blackmail. He said the victory of the former speaker at the primaries is an affirmation of his popularity and the trust he has earned over the years.

He said the issue of certificate forgery has been recycled, but stressed that Masari has come out of the controversy with his name

intact.

He described those behind the allegations as “desperate politicians” who will do anything to pull the party down having failed to win the primaries.

“We are not going to join issues against the propagators of the allegations. Katsina people know who they are. Katsina people are behind General Buhari, they are behind APC and if anybody has an issue with Alhaji Bello, he should go to court. Some of them are agents

of the PDP and their mission is to destabilise the APC in the state but Katsina people are solidly behind the APC”.

He said, “Alhaji Masari’s mission is to salvage the state from its economic woes. Over the years, he has proven himself competent and humble. He is the best candidate for Katisna and his victory at the primaries is an affirmation of that”.

He urged politicians in the state to stop the politics of bad blood.

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news across the states 9

Sunday, December 21, 2014

PVC Distribution In Niger Runs Into Hitches, APC Kicks

By Abu Nmodui, Minna

The Permanent Voters Cards PVCs distribution in Niger State has ran into hitches as the All Progressives Congress (APC) rejected the process. This is even as there are indications that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Dr Emmanuel Onucheyo, may be leaving the state soon.

The PVC distribution started in Niger State on Friday after it has been postponed severally by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) owing to the unavailability of the PVC for the state.

Eventually, the exercise commenced in the state but with only 14 out of the 25 local government areas PVCs ready with

registered voters waiting in vain for the cards without officials of the commission to attend to them.

LEADERSHIP Sunday findings revealed that only local government areas starting from Letter M to Z were ready and it was further observed that even in the 11 local government areas that the cards were said to be ready, twenty percent of the registered voters cards were ready for collection as many were turned back after waiting for several hours at the polling units.

In the same vein, Niger State All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the entire process of Permanent Voters Card PVC distribution accusing INEC of using scientific method to rig

for the ruling PDP by denying 800,000 voters of their franchise in the state.

State chairman of APC, Engineer Mohammed Imam, made the accusation while addressing journalists in Minna, yesterday.

He said that INEC was allegedly making every effort to perfect its rigging machine for the ruling PDP which he noted will be resisted vehemently.

Imam disclosed that 1.4 million people of Niger State origin were expected to be issued with PVC from 3,187 polling units but only 30% from 11 local government has arrived leaving 70% comprising 14 local governments with INEC claiming ‘non-arrival of PVCs from China’, a designed he said was to favour the PDP.

The chairman said some local governments like Mokwa whose PVC had arrived out of the 159 polling units, 143 has zero registration saying that PDP seems comfortable and did not complain.

In his response to the allegations from the APC, the publicity secretary of PDP, Alhaji Mohammad Hassan Saba, stated that he was disappointed and unfortunate for APC to accuse them of the fault of others as the allegation was not true, noting that PDP was not happy neither comfortable with the situation because 99.9% of victims were PDP supporters.

Saba said the party will make a formal complain to the party headquarter for an onward complain to INEC.

FG Urged To Encourage Disabled Persons In Election Federal and state governments have been urged to provide the necessary logistics and environment for the physically challenged persons in the society to enable them exercise their franchise in the 2015 elections.

Mr Paul Ihekwoaba, president of the Global Hope and Justice for the Less-privileged Incorporated, made the appeal during a one-day stakeholders conference on the political inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in the South-east and South-south in Owerri, the Imo State capital at the weekend.

He observed that in a country like Nigeria where elections are seen as a do-or-die affair, the security and safety of persons with disability at such a time, therefore, should be guaranteed.

Ihekwoaba noted that about 25.5 million persons with disability in Nigeria have consistently been disfranchised by relevant agencies of the government and society from participating in electoral process.

This situation, he lamented, should be curbed especially as the nation nears another electioneering period, adding that a good approach like providing security for the disabled during elections be adopted.

Quoting the United Nations Convention on the right of persons with disabilities, he said, “People with disability have the right to vote, which means that they have the right to register to vote, to receive voting information, and to cast their ballot on election day.”

He further added that states are required to provide procedures and facilities for voter registration and polling that are accessible to people with disabilities.”

By Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri

1999 Odi Invasion: Youths Machete Traditional Head Over Sharing Of FG’s N15bn Compensation Angry youths from Odi community of Kolokuma/Opokuma community of Bayelsa State, yesterday attacked the Deputy Traditional Head of the Community, Chief Ebitimi Karuiru and other indigenes of the community over their alleged involvement in the discrepancies over the sharing of the N15 billion compensation paid by the Federal Government for the 1999 military invasion in the state.

The N15 billion compensation was paid last month by the Federal Government in compliance with the order of the Court that a compensation of N35 billion be paid as compensation for the invasion and destruction by the Military under the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that out of the initial N15 billion paid, a total of 40 per cent was reportedly deducted at source by the consortium of lawyers engaged by the Community.

The angry youths, according to reports, descended on homes of some prominent Elders of the Community over their roles in the alleged disappearance of over N600 million, which they claimed was deducted by the Odi Invasion Case Committee headed by some prominent indigenes as payment for their efforts to secure the compensation for the community.

Osa Okhomina, Yenagoa

Lagos Gives 15% Salary Bonus To Workers National Coordinator, Joint Governance Vanguard, Mr Emem Coffie (L) presenting a plaque to Sapeyi of Garki, Dr Usman Nsa-Kupi, during a courtesy visit to the emir in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY NAN

Chinese Coy Donates Over 2,700 Ebola Testing Machines To Schools

By ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM, Abuja

Following the continued efforts to ensure that Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, is exorcised permanently in Nigeria and other parts of the world, a Chinese company, CWAY has donated over 2700 units of non-contact temperature testing equipment to the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board.

Making the donation in Abuja, CWAY’s group brand communications director, Auscar Ikoro, said the effort was the company’s modest way of partnering with the federal government to maintain a healthy nation, also stressing that the equipment would go along way in the prevention of any further threats within the school environments.

Explaining that the gesture was part of the company’s social responsibility service, Ikoro emphasised saying, “We cannot say because Nigeria has been declared Ebola free, we will keep quiet. We have decided to join forces with the federal government to ensure that Nigeria is protected from the virus”.

He further added that the presentation was part of the nationwide campaign the company was carrying out, adding that about 1,500 schools benefited in Lagos where the first batch was distributed.

In his reaction, the general manager, CWAY, Abuja, Justin Zhao said the company though, foreign, is operating in Nigeria and must demonstrate commitment to maintaining a healthy nation.

He added that apart from the donation, the company was also involved in organising soccer competitions for secondary schools.

“We are happy to be part if these remarkable ceremony, we are also thankful to Nigerians for patronising our products. We are just giving back to the society the best way we can and we promise that we shall do more of these”, he explained.

After a little demonstration of how the equipment works by Mr Ikoro , the chairman, FCT Secondary Education Board, represented by permanent member 1 of the board, Mr Icha Adole, was presented the equipments while also applauding the initiative of the company. He explained that it had further demonstrated the cordial relationship that exists between Nigeria and China.

Lagos State government will pay its workers 15 per cent bonus in the December salary as an end of the year gift. The state head of service, Mrs Oluseyi Williams, has said.

Williams spoke at the end of year get-together and appreciation party for principals and directors in the Ministry of Education.

She said that the bonuses would be paid along with the December salary any moment from now.

According to her, the bonus is to show that the government is committed to the welfare of workers.

“Some states are owing their workers up to four months’ salaries but that is not the case in Lagos.

“I was discussing with some HOS in other states and they told me they were looking for money to pay their workers salaries.

“Our workers will receive their December salary any moment from now and I am happy to say it that it will come with 15 per cent bonus.

By NAN

10 news across the states

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Fashola Meets APC Governorship Primaries Contestants

By George Okojie, Lagos

Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has hosted a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts who contested the governorship primaries of the party in the state, commending their conducts during the primaries and urged them to rally round the party’s flag bearer, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, for the campaigns ahead.

The governor, who spoke at the Lagos House, Ikeja added that there is a

need to build the team for the governorship candidate suggesting that even if it means offering the people, who helped in the various campaigns, they should all rally round the party’s flag bearer.

“The candidate has to get on the road from yesterday. And nothing would be more enabling and more intimidating for the opposition than to see all the aspirants together with the winner”, he said. Fashola noted that it was a matter of

managing time stressing that once or twice; the aspirants should find the time so that they can give the flag bearer the needed push to go forward with the campaigns.

He congratulated the candidates for making Lagos proud with the way they conducted themselves during the Lagos APC primaries adding that it served as a push for the bigger convention of the APC at the national level which turned out to be a success. He stressed

that many of the presidential candidates borrowed a leaf from the way the Lagos aspirants conducted themselves, adding that he is yet to learn from any state where there were as many as 13 contestants in a delegates election in the current dispensation where there were no bickering.

Governor Fashola said all of them embodied the spirit of excellence, adding that this informs his delight at their conduct during the primaries.

Also speaking, Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Henry Ajomale thanked the aspirants for the spirit of sportsmanship that they have displayed during and after the primaries.

He said since the process had been concluded, what was left is for everyone to rally round the flag bearer, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, to ensure the success of the party at the 2015 governorship polls.

Terrorists Die Enmass In Military Ambush

By BAYO OLADEJI, Abuja

Scores of terrorists have met their final waterloo after falling into an ambush laid for them by Nigerians troops between Maiduguri and Damboa, Borno State on Friday.

Security sources close to the ongoing mopping operation will determine the number of the terrorists who died in the encounter.

The clash followed the troops’ move to stop the terrorists who were in the process of attacking the electricity engineers who were working to restore power to parts of Borno State.

A large number of the terrorists died in the process while their improvised explosive devise (IED) laden Hilux truck vehicle was destroyed.

When contacted, Defence Spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, confirmed the incidents but insisted that the exact casualty figures were still being ascertained.

Sokoto APC Donates Over 100 Vehicles To LG Party Officials

By ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto

Apparently aware of the fact that the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in sokoto state, Ambassador Abdallah Wali, had earlier donated 23 brand new 406 cars to local government party chairman across the state, the opposition, All Progressive Congress (APC) has equally followed suit over the weekend.

The APC, which donated no fewer than 124 vehicles to her local government party chairmen, secretaries, women as well as youth leaders, however, noted that it was a donation from party members for the ease of party job and not any individual.

Speaking before the donation, Governor, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko divulged that, APC’s victory at all the primary elections conducted across the federation was a victory for all and not any single individual j ust as he called on party faithful to join hands with those that emerged to ensure victory come 2015.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

11

12 news across the states Police Kill Sea Pirate In Rivers, Destroy Three Boats Men of Rivers State police command on Friday killed one suspected sea pirate during a shootout with a gang of sea pirates along the Opobo-Queen’s Town waterway in Opobo/Nkoro local government area of the state.

Police public relations officer (PPRO) in the state, Ahmad Muhammad, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday said other members of the gang, who operated on three speed boats, abandoned the boats and jumped into the river following the superior fire power of the police.

Muhammad stated that the police recovered one general purpose machine gun, one G3 rifle, 85 rounds of live ammunition, five assorted phones, three speed boats, and huge sums of money from the hoodlums.

He said, “Our men across the state are living up to the needful. Just yesterday, December 19, 2014 at about 13.00 hours, our men around Opobo got information that sea robbers were operating along Opobo-Queen’s Town route, and they swung into action by engaging the sea robbers and at the end of the day, they were able to, fatally, injure one of the sea robbers.”

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Int’l Community Urged To Suppress Boko Haram’s Monetary Lifeline

BY ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, New York

The United Nations Security Council, at the weekend, called for the urgent suppression of the monetary lifeline of Boko Haram and other terrorist organisation, saying that the inability of international community to do this was greatly keeping threats from insurgents active in Nigeria and other affected countries.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member council said it was gravely concerned by

the finances obtained by the group through illicit activities such as the trafficking of drugs, people, arms and artifacts.

Speaking in his remarks to the council, Jeffrey Feltman, UN under-secretary-general for Political Affairs, said that the world was well informed on the need not to be tired in countering terrorism.

He also emphasised that the need for urgent action to address terrorism and its transnational linkages was regrettably well illus-

trated, for example, by the intensification of Boko Haram activities across the Lake Chad Basin region of Central Africa.

He pressed further that UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, was constantly reminded that terrorism and cross-border crime could not be addressed separately during his recent visit to Africa.

He also noted that efforts to combat terrorism would not bear fruit unless the law enforcement actions were combined with measures to

L-R: Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education Hon, Aminu Suleiman; permanent secretary, federal ministry of education Dr. Macjohn Nwabiola; chairman board of trustees, Tetfund, Dr. Musa Babayo, and his executive secretary Professor Suleiman Bogoro, exchanging pleasantries at the Tetfund long service award and end of the year dinner held in Abuja, yesterday.

By Anayo Onukwugha, Port Harcourt

Katsina Awards N4billon Road Contract Katsina State government has awarded contract worth four billion naira (N4billion) for the construction of sixty eight kilometre roads across the state.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the state executive council meeting yesterday, the commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Arch Abdullazeez Isa Kaita, said the projects has between six and sixteen months completion period.

He listed the contracts as that of twenty four kilometre Mararabar Sayaya-Sayaya- MazojiTashar Ice road.

He also named the contract as covering Eka-KadandaniKuraye-Yargamji road stretching twenty one kilometre at the cost of N1.4 billion.

According to the commissioner, the contract has also been awarded for the construction of 23 kilometre Dankaba- Adinawa-Lafiyaru- Nasarawa-Jifatu road at the cost of one hundred and seventy million naira with six months completion period.

“This is in furtherance with the determination of the current administration under the able leadership of Governor Shema to provide dividends of democracy to the state and its people”, Kaita said.

By Muazu Elazeh, Katsina

strengthen good governance, rule of law and human rights, stressing that “We will not uproot the ideologies that lead to violence if we do not win over hearts and minds”.

Also addressing the council, Ambassador Tete Antonio, the representative of the African Union to the UN, acknowledged that crossborder criminal activities in Africa contributed to the onset of conflicts and further complicated management and resolution efforts.

ICPC Establishes Anti-corruption Academy In Nasarawa

By Donatus Nadi, Lafia

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has established an anti-corruption academy in Nasarawa State aimed at complementing the state government’s effort in institutionalizing the values of financial probity and discipline in governance.

Alhaji Abdul-Aziz Salami, a member of the executive board of ICPC, made this known yesterday in Lafia when he led a dele-

gation from the academy to solicit more supports from the state government.

He stated that ICPC is committed to ensuring that the academy attains requisite ranking that will make it an international institution of repute.

In order to achieve this aim, the academy solicited Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura’s magnanimity for the extension of its facility in Keffi with four additional hectares, in addition to the six hectares which the state government

had previously granted the commission.

Abdul-Aziz also commended Governor Al-Makura for his robust, deliberate and decisive attempts at confronting insurgency in the state and noted that peace is indispensable to any civilised society.

Governor Al-Makura, on his part, applauded the decision of ICPC to locate its academy in the historical city of Keffi, saying the academy will further complement his government’s effort in insti-

tutionalising the values of financial probity and discipline in governance.

The governor noted that from inception, his administration was founded on the platform of transparency and accountability, which is the reason why the state was one of the earliest states to send a bill to its state assembly to enact the Fiscal Responsibility Bill.

Al-Makura asserted that as an apostle of discipline and probity he will give his full support to ICPC.

ITF Trains 74,000 Youths In Skills Acquisition

By Abubakar Salihi, Kano

The director general of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Dr Juliet Chukkas yesterday disclosed in Kano that over 74,000 youths have so far been trained in different technical and vocational trades to enhance national development.

Chukkas, who made this known during the graduation ceremony of the 4th batch of trainees of the ITF,-NECA technical skills development project in Kano, said that the youths were trained in welding, fabrication, plumbing, electri-

cal installation, furniture and cabinet making, autotronics and plaster of Paris POP production.

According to her, out of the 74,000 youths trained in the various skills, 37,000 of them were currently being trained and were drawn from the 36 states and the FCT in the trades that are dominant and employable.

She said that Nigeria, being a developing economy, needs crops of technicians and artisans to support the industrialisation of the country.

The managing director noted that Nigeria being densely popu-

lated and with its vast national resources should have hundreds of technicals and vocational skills acquisition centres that will enhance its capacity to deliver better technical training system in the centres across the nation.

She said that ITF has entered into partnership with a number of countries in TVET to establish technical and vocational skills training centres in the 36 states and Abuja on capacity building.

According to her, establishing technical centres is capital intensive. In order to achieve this the

ITF urged all employers to pay their statutory obligation of one percent gross pay to the fund as contained in the act.

However, the training manager, ITF, Mr Chris Adikwe said that since the technical skills development project commenced five years ago, over 145 trainees have successfully graduated, adding that another 50 trainees have satisfied the criteria for the of ITFNECA certificate of competence after the 3 month compulsory industrial attachment in relevant organisations.

cover story

13

Sunday, December 21, 2014

A man doing Christmas shopping for shoes at Gosa Market along Airport Road in Abuja. PHOTO BY JANE OKEKE

Christmas: A Festivity Amid Insecurity And Biting Economy

Times are hard, but we are trying to survive it. It is a period children always look out for. If for nothing, for the assurance that daddy will buy them new dresses, shoes, among other things

With just three days to Christmas, the usual December thrill has finally caught up with Christians the world over, who will celebrate the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose birth was to bring mankind closer to the Creator, after the sin of Adam and Eve. But the current economic crunch and security challenges are what Nigerians are having to live with. ACHOR ABIMAJE, Jos, ISAIAH BENJAMIN, Kaduna, Bukola Idowu, Lagos and SUNNY IDACHABA, Abuja, write With just few days to Christmas, Christians worldwide have started making frantic preparations to celebrate the season with thrills and fun-fare. And in Nigeria, the urge for an exciting celebration of the season could be felt in the air, as streets nationwide have been adorned with all the decors that make Christmas a worthwhile season, just as superstores and other marketing outfits have reeled out season’s discounts on all their wares and services.

In Jos, despite the twin bomb blasts that went off around the ever busy Terminus Area of the city, killing over 30 people with scores injured, the preparation for Christmas celebration is on

top gear.

At the crowded terminus market, the spot where the bombs exploded, traders were seen displaying their goods for people to buy, as they have put the tragic event behind them and continued with their life.

From Terminus market area to the popular Ahmadu Bello Way and other satellite markets around Jos and Bukuru metropolis, they were filled to capacity as buyers and traders struggled for space.

Indeed, despite the fact that civil servants in the state were not regularly paid their salaries and the hardship being faced as a result of scarcity of petroleum products, people were seen

thronging out to make purchases preparatory to the Christmas celebrations.

Besides, in spite of the growing insecurity, some relaxation centres like amusement parks, beer joints, motor parks and markets are always packed with people having fun especially in the evening after close of work.

Also, shops, banking halls, church auditoriums and homes have already started wearing decorations of Christmas trees and lights.

When LEADERSHIP Sunday went round the markets in Jos, the Plateau State capital, it was observed that prices of goods and services have increased by 50 per cent. A bag of rice which sold for N10,000 now goes for N11,000, while a small basket of onion that sold for N350 now sells for N500.

Furthermore, a kilogramme of cow meat which went for N900 goes for N1,000, and 8-week old broiler which sold for N1,300 now goes for N1,500, while layers of N800 goes for N900 to N1,000. Prices of cabbage and carrot have also increased, as many buyers were seriously complaining of the slight increase of goods and services.

A buyer at the Terminus market, Mrs Ruth Adams, said that despite the increase in prices of goods she had no option other than to pick the little items she could afford, while however cautioning other buyers to be careful not to overspend, as January can be a month full of responsibilities like paying the children’s school fees.

For Baba Idowu, who owns a boutique, and Rabi Musa, who sells fresh vegetables, along Ahmadu Bello Way, the duo told LEADERSHIP Sunday that because of the increase in transportation fare, they have also resolved to increase the prices of their goods to enable them recoup their investments, adding that no trader wants to sale at a loss.

In Kaduna, Christians are preparing for Christmas in the face of biting economic crisis and serious insecurity.

Truly, the economic situation in the country seems to be biting harder by the day, but as the situation warrants, most families have learnt to adjust to the situation. But a good assessment of the situation in Kaduna will reveal that families have started tightening their belts to be able to weather the storm. For instance, some families can hardly made do with purchasing fine dresses for their children and wards, who do not understand that the situation now needs cautious adjustment.

The adults are not unaware of the demands from the children during Christmas. Just as pastors tell their congregations that observing Christmas does not mean converging at drinking and fun joints, but to reflect on the message of Christmas season, which is the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, preparation for Christmas does not begin with material things, ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

14 COVER STORY

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas: A Festivity Amid Insecurity And Biting Economy

The government needs to come to the aid of the poor masses, particularly at ensuring that prices of foodstuffs and other items are not hiked at festive periods

➔ FROM PAGE 13 but also with spiritual tidings for all Christian families. Some Christians who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday in Kaduna shared their challenges, aspirations and views for the period.

Engineer Herbert Egbeja said, “Times are hard, but we are trying to survive it. It is a period children always look out for. If for nothing, for the assurance that daddy will buy them new dresses, shoes, among other things. These are their concerns. But I must tell you that things are generally not as it used to be when businesses were booming, when we are not faced with this kind of security challenges in the system. But above all, God will always make a way where there is no way.”

Mrs Dorothy Ejimatswa on her part lamented the high prices of foodstuffs, wondering why people must increase prices of items during the festive period.

“My children to some extent are grown up, so they are not really very worried about what to wear.

But we must all eat and drink. The government needs to come to the aid of the poor masses, particularly at ensuring that prices of foodstuffs and other items are not hiked at festive periods,” she advised.

Some who would not want their names printed said their worries are not on what to drink or wear, but on the security challenges associated with festive periods, and called on relevant agencies to take proactive measures that will guarantee the safety of lives and property during Christmas and on New Year day.

In Lagos, the celebration may likely witness low-key activities.

This can be linked to the poor economic situation in the country, coupled with the anxiety of the coming general elections nationwide.

However, Lagosians are not visibly deterred by the security challenges in the country, as many of them have begun shopping for the festivities.

Some Lagosians who spoke with Leadership Sunday seemed unperturbed by the security challenges, but were more wary of the tensed economic situation in the country.

Christmas sales, most of which started this week, are yet to pick up, as the prices of food items still remained relatively stable.

A petty trader at the Balogun market in Lagos who simply identified herself as Mrs Bose explained that sales were yet to pick up, but hoped that it would improve by Saturday when most people would have enough time to shop. She sells Christmas hats and fancy eyeglasses for children by the roadside. She however confessed that she has not started

her own shopping for the Christmas celebration.

“There is no money, so I cannot do any shopping now. Even the children know that, but I hope that I will have money by weekend to buy some things,” she said.

On how she intends to spend the Christmas, she said, “I will go to church for Christmas service, and return home to celebrate with my family.”

On his part, a banker, Segun, hopes to spend his Christmas with the less privileged and sick.

“My church visits hospitals and motherless babies homes after the Christmas service, and I love to go celebrate with those people; it brings joy to me,” he said.

On the security challenges, he said, “Majority of the crises does not get to us in Lagos; so, there is no need to worry about a bomb going off somewhere. But we are still worried, like every other day in Lagos, about petty thieves and armed robbers.” And on the economic situation, he added that, “everyone knows what is going on, so I can’t afford to spend as much as I did last year, but I will still try to spoil myself a little.”

Clergymen Call For Holiness And Forgiveness Among Nigerians As Nigerians are preparing for the annual Christmas celebration, clergymen have spoken on the need for holiness and forgiveness among everyone in line with the spirit of the season.

Adejo

In a chat with LEADERSHIP Sunday, Pastor Dan Adejo of Kingdom Light Assembly, Dawaki in Gwarimpa, Abuja reminded Christians and non-Christians that the agenda of God towards humanity is in the spirit of reconciliation through Jesus Christ, whose birthday is being celebrated worldwide.

“Christmas is God’s mind towards creation by taking a redemptive measure to recover man’s destiny from the consequences of sin in the beginning.

God’s ultimate desire was to re-

cover man back to Himself after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden,” he said.

Even when that happened, he said God took a redemptive measure of identifying with man by killing an animal with which man was clothed, which signified that there was still a part of Him longing for humanity. “God was still not satisfied with His plan of redeeming man. That is why the Word became flesh and God by His posture had to work through the Virgin Mary through whom we had the birth of Jesus Christ.

Christmas in essence is all about the heart and passion of God after humanity and creation. He wanted His creation in peace and not pieces, whereby we can have freedom but not as the world gives,” he said. While speaking on how Christmas should be celebrated, he further said, “It indeed calls for celebration, because it is victory for man and creation. I will advise that we should first celebrate Christmas in our hearts before outward celebration. By this, I mean when we consider what God has done for humanity, by forgiving the sins of the world through Jesus, it will not be difficult for us to also tow the same line of forgiveness as a healing for our land today. To me, that is what is sacrosanct about Christmas.”

Rev-Father Jude Igwe, the coordinator of Our Lady Catholic Church in Area 3, Abuja said Christmas is the period when the birth of Jesus must be celebrated. “According to our theology or what we call faith, Jesus is the son of God and the second person of the trinity. He is equal to the father and the Holy Spirit. If we look at the history of our Christian faith, at the beginning when God made the heaven and the earth, everything was well; but due to the sin of disobedience of Adam and Eve, mankind lost the friendship and fellowship with God, and because of that, things were no longer the way they were supposed to be. But because God loves us, according to John 3:16, He sent His son who was in divinity to come and take the nature of humanity. He did not come in the ordinary way in which human beings are born into the world, through the union of man and woman, but conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“A lot of people doubted this, but this should not create any doubt, because that was the way God wanted it. This shows the uniqueness of Jesus coming into the world. Given all this background, the season in which Jesus is born is now what we call Christmas. The word itself is a compound word – ‘Christ’ and ‘mass’ which etymologically means the mass celebrated in honour of Christ. It is not just a question of

mass, but it is a season which is even preceded by what is known as ‘advent’ in the Christendom.

“It is a period just before the Christmas season. Within that period, the whole world rejoices because a messiah has come to save humanity from sin and restore the friendship that was hither-

Jatau

to lost from the beginning when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden.

It is therefore very essential for one to prepare in holiness as we prepare to celebrate His birth. It is a time of sharing joy with others and also a moment of reconciliation, especially in our nation today.”

In his contribution, Bishop Emmanuel Jatau of Faith Hill Prophetic Assembly said Christmas is a time when man remembers that he was redeemed from where the consequences of sin had kept him right from the beginning.

“It is good to celebrate the season, but it is also crucially important to reflect on the essence of the season in order to avoid abusing it,” he advised, stating further that a lot of people have turned it into a buying and selling jamboree, while forgetting its true essence.

“If the whole world will truly reflect on the true essence of Christmas, some of the pitfalls we have today will be largely avoided. But we live in a world whereby we forget where we are coming from easily, and therefore, unable to reach our destinations out of ignorance,” he concluded.

With just three days to Christmas, most churches have lined up activities to mark the season, while taking proactive measures to avoid security lapses. For example, most denominations last week held carol night signifying that the Christmas season is around the corner.

In many churches however, there may be few worshippers, as most people now prefer to spend the yuletide period with their loved ones at home due to the security challenges facing the country.

15

sunday interview Sunday, December 21, 2014

Party Defectors Are Enemies Of Democracy – Suswam What will you say about those aspirants that have defected to other parties because they lost the tickets to either be governors or lawmakers?

Yes, that is not too good but I think that has become the normal tradition.

Those that do it are not good politician, they are enemies of our democracy because as a good politician, you must be able to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship at all times. Let me say this, I would not leave my party if I had lost the senatorial ticket because losing a ticket doesn’t mean that you will no longer be relevant in your party or in your domain. People just want position and once they do not get it, they start thinking of defection. This act is very unfortunate and that is why our political process encounters problems these days. It is morally wrong when a particular political party will just be waiting for the other parties to conduct their primaries so that when some of the aspirants have problem, they will just take them in. We will not be able to grow if we continue to practice our own politics in that way.

Sure, it will not get us anywhere because it lacks philosophical reasoning. Some people can change two to three parties within a year, and that is very wrong.

In this exclusive interview with ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, LEADERSHIP’s correspondent in New York, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, who is also the Benue North East senatorial candidate for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, speaks about party defectors and his targets at the National Assembly, if he becomes a senator. He also speaks on his eightyear reign as governor in the North Central state among other issues

Will you say that is the same case with the former Minister of State for Trade, Chief Samuel Ortom, and Senator Barnabas Gemade who left the PDP for APC shortly after your party’s primaries?

Let me say this, I would not leave my party if I had lost the senatorial ticket because losing a ticket doesn’t mean that you will no longer be relevant in your party or in your domain.

It is still the same case. As for Gemade, I want to categorically state that all the reasons he gave for his defection were baseless. Every allegation he made against me and the party leadership is untrue. How could I have successfully hijacked the party’s congress when it is obvious that there are other leaders in the state? He knew from the beginning that he was no match for me in terms of popularity and achievements. My track record as a member of the House of Representatives is still there intact but let Gemade come out and mention the things he has been able to do for our senatorial district. In the case of Ortom, I think he is just too ambitious and that was why he left the PDP unceremoniously despite the fact that he participated in a governorship primary which I have seen as the most transparent in the history of our state. Ortom benefited greatly in the PDP and that is why it surprises me seriously each time I have to think that he left the party because of a governorship primary which nobody is complaining about.

The APC which is the major opposition party in Nigeria says it will dislodge your party in 2015. The party also threatens that it will form a parallel gov-

cy between 1999 and 2007 after which I was elected governor of my state. Records are there till today on all my activities to give my Federal Constituency a well deserved representation at the lower chamber of the National Assembly. I sponsored many Bills. I co-sponsored several Bills which have today been of benefits to my constituency and the country as a whole. I was one of the very few legislators that spent the money meant for constituency projects judiciously because I strongly believed that those funds were meant for the betterment of the people in our constituencies. I want to say that my service in the House of Representatives was vibrant and productive because I was appointed Chairman, House Services Committee from 1999- 2001 and later Chairman, House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2001 to 2003.

Also in 2003, I was appointed Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on members’ welfare; Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations and later became Chairman, House Committee on Power. Apart from that, I know of many projects that I did with my personal funds, and this was the main reason that made my people decided to give me a bigger responsibility immediately after I spent two terms at the National Assembly. It was not really my making that I became the governor of the state but the wish of the people of Benue state, and I am sure that I have not disappointed them since 2007 that they gave me the responsibility.

What informed your senatorial ambition sir?

Suswam ernment if the outcome of the elections is unfavourable to its candidate. Do you feel cold about this?

They have been threatening since 2011 but yet, the will of the Nigerian people still prevails. The law enforcement agencies are fully aware of this fresh threat from the APC people and they know who to go after. The political crisis that followed the 2011 elections in the North started immediately Buhari made some inflammatory statements and it seems they have not learnt from that mistakes. Politics should not be a do or die affair. If you lose an election, it simply means that the electorates do not have confidence in you so I see no reason why a party that is not popular should be threatening the peace of a whole nation.

APC is a sinking ship and a party that is riddled with crisis. Our people cannot be

deceived again because they know that this party has nothing better to offer Nigerians. Look at what happened during their governorship primaries in my state.

That alone will tell you that the party is not democratic as they claimed. Let us see how they will change the will of the people in 2015 despite the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. Let us see how they will change the destiny of Benue state and Nigeria during the elections.

You are a former member of the House of Representatives before becoming the governor of Benue state in 2007. Can you explain why you want to return to the same National Assembly?

Yes, I was a member of the House of Representatives representing KatsinaAla/Ukum/Logo Federal Constituen-

About my senatorial ambition, I will say it was informed by the zeal to make my people enjoy a better representation. Unlike what we have had under the present senator representing us now, I want to make sure that I use the experience that I have got while serving as a member of the lower chamber to make things better for my senatorial district.

My outstanding performance as governor of Benue state in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, education, value change, health, employment, security and so on has contributed to the firm decision of our people to have me represent them at the upper chamber. Experience, they say is a key to success. I am very qualified to be a senator and represent my people well because the experience is there already. As a senator, you must be active. You must not be a bench warmer, and your district should benefit immensely through your good representation. I already have the experience as a federal legislator and thoroughly understand the dynamics and how best to leverage things for my constituency.

16

sunday politics

Ag. Politics Editor Sunday: EDEGBE ODEMWINGIE

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Jonathan And The Tough Road To 2015 Going by recent political trends concerning the 2015 Presidential contest, President Goodluck Jonathan is set to face the toughest battle of his political life This is against the backdrop of growing appeal of the president’s main challenger Gen Muhammadu Buhari.

EDEGBE ODEMWINGIE writes

Jonathan

F

ormer military leader, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari faces President Goodluck Jonathan, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer in a February 14 election that monitors think may be too close to call.

“I am not a rich person, I can’t give you a pocketful of dollars or naira to purchase your support... I want a Nigeria ... where corruption no longer trespasses into our institutions and national behaviour.”

Buhari told opposition delegates hours before he emerged

Buhari

as presidential candidate of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Reuters in a December 17 report say Buhari’s words struck a chord with Nigerians fed up with leaders filling their pockets. They also highlight his main selling point: during his previous stint in power from 1983-85. He is widely believed to have kept his fingers out of the till, the international news agency reported.

Buhari (aged 72) has been described as the “masses’ friend, elites nemesis”. He is feared by

2015: Threats To Mark’s Senate Presidency > 20

the elite over his likely crackdown on corruption and waste in government. Buhari arguably has the largest street support in northern Nigeria.

Buhari is also increasingly perceived as a military strongman capable of quelling the Islamist insurgency that has ravaged large swathes of the country’s north.

In 1980, Buhari defeated an extremist insurgency, the Maitatsine a religious uprising in Kano when President Shehu Shagari was in power.

There are the downsides. As ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

politics 17

Sunday, December 21, 2014

PDP, AtikuAnd Jonathan AndThe Facts Tough Of History Road To 2015 16

Sambo

The choice of a Christian/ Muslim and a North/South ticket by the APC and PDP fits a common pattern in the country’s elections, of trying to balance ethnic and religious sentiments to maximize appeal to voters

former military leader, his crackdown on press freedom and detaining political opponents without charge was well reported. The 2011 post-election violence that followed the announcement of presidential election results which Buhari lost is another sore point. Murderous thugs reportedly loyal to Buhari invaded many northern cities, maiming and killing hundreds over perceived rigged votes. Many blame Buhari for his seeming inaction.

Again, he is perceived as a religious fundamentalist and northern irredentist, perceptions that have not been proven.

For now, Buhari is already proving a divisive figure in the upcoming election which will be defined largely by ethnic and religious sentiments. It’s a case of either liking him or otherwise.

VPs Jonathan, a Christian from the South retained his vice, Namadi Sambo, a northern Muslim as running mate. Buhari, a northern Muslim on his part picked a southern Christian lawyer, Prof. Yemi Osibajo to be his running mate.

Coincidentally, Osinbajo SAN is a high-ranking pastor in Nigeria’s largest church (14,000 branches/5 million members), the Redeemed Christain Church of God (RCCG), the same church Jonathan recently knelt down for prayers over his political future.

Well, RCCG’s General Overseer,

Osinbajo

the respected Pastor Enoch Adeboye has denied that the church endorsed Osinbajo’s VP candidacy.

Adeboye, while reacting to the subtle endorsement by a Twitter handle: @rccgworldwide, presumed to be the official Twitter handle of the RCCG, denounced the page.

If it helps, Jonathan regularly hobnobs with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayo Oritsejafor. CAN is the umbrella body for all churches in Nigeria.

On the other hand, Sambo, an architect by training, has been tagged a political liability to Jonathan after failing to get votes in 2011 in his home state, Kaduna. He has also been unable to attract political patronage from northern leaders for the Jonathan administration.

The choice of a Christian/Muslim and a North/South ticket by the APC and PDP fits a common pattern in the country’s elections, of trying to balance ethnic and religious sentiments to maximize appeal to voters.

The emergence of the APC has presented Nigeria with its first true and potent opposition party since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999. Monitors submit that the presidential election in February, 2015 is no doubt the best opportunity for the APC to clinch the coveted post of the presidency in Nigeria.

Lost charm “I am Goodluck Jonathan. I never thought I would be where I am today. I had no shoes, no school bag; I carried my books in my hands to school. I have no enemies to fight.

I was not born rich. I am Goodluck Jonathan. If I can make it, you can make it.”

President Jonathan the flagbearer of the ruling PDP declared in what was perhaps, his most riveting campaign message in the lead-up to the 2011 presidential election in which he defeated his closest challenger, Buhari to occupy Aso Rock.

Fast forward 2014, clearly, that popular, frenzied and somewhat widespread acceptance has escaped Jonathan. The perception in some quarters is that the present administration and the PDP that has been in power since 1999 has run the country into the ground. The reasons are glaring. Brazen corruption; widespread insecurity and a worsening insurgency in the country’s north are problems Nigerians have been left to grapple with.

The situation has resulted in a widespread yearning for an alternative, in this case APC. On the other hand, Jonathan has continued to suffer heavy political setbacks in the leadup to the elections. Many of his henchmen - lawmakers, ministers and political aides - failed in their bids to get crucial PDP tickets to contest several elective positions.

In results from PDP governorship primaries, Jonathan’s ministers, Emeka Wogu (Abia), Labaran Maku (Nasarawa), Onyebuchi Chukwu (Ebonyi), Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe (Delta) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) all lost out.

Ten former ministers had, at various times, left the Jonathan cabinet to contest governorship positions in their state. Apart from the prior mentioned, they are Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate (Bauchi), Yerima Lawal Ngama (Yobe), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Darius Ishaku (Taraba).

The case is the same in the National Assembly. A combination of political machinations by state governors, rotational arrangements and sundry reasons accounted for the failed return bids of the lawmakers, many of them Jonathan’s loyalists.

The development has resulted in bad blood and apathy in the PDP. In the aftermath of the PDP primaries, members that lost out have left for the APC in droves.

Voting patterns On paper, there is a real possibility of President Jonathan being a one-term president. By political calculations, it will be difficult for any presidential candidate to win any election without bagging 25 per cent of the votes in any two of Kano, Lagos and Rivers, the three states now safely in the pouch of ➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

18 politics

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Jonathan And The Tough Road To 2015 17

Jonathan is expected to sweep much of the overwhelmingly Christian South South and South East -- home to the oil producing Niger Delta region. The religiouslymixed North Central is also expected to vote Jonathan

the APC. According to 2011 records of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the three states account for 13.7 million votes, about 25 per cent of total number of registered voters in the country.

At the state level, even though the PDP is still in control of 18 out of the 36 states of the federation, the APC now controls a close 16 states.

These calculations will prove a major decider when Nigerians go to the ballots in February 2015. With Nigerian governors in firm grip of their respective states, they determine the political direction of not just their respective states but the country. They possess overwhelming powers to swing votes to candidates of their choice, evident in past presidential elections.

For the insurgency-wracked North East, INEC has severally expressed doubt about holding elections there if the insecurity persist.

That situation will be a big blow to the APC. Buhari, a Muslim northerner, will get majority votes in the North West and North East geo-political zones, where he’s hugely popular.

Jonathan is expected to sweep much of the overwhelmingly Christian South South and South East -home to the oil producing Niger Delta region. The religiously-mixed North Central is also expected to vote Jonathan.

Votes from the 50-50 split Christian-Muslim Yoruba South West will be a shared (predictably evenly) between both candidates. Even though the region overwhelmingly voted Jonathan in the last elections, things have changed with the APC’s adoption of Buhari and the perceived failings of the Jonathan administration.

Matter of luck For Jonathan, many have described his ascent to power as accidental -- or simply a matter of luck.

Agence France-Presse in a November 11 report, “Goodluck Jonathan: Nigeria’s ‘fortunate’ leader” submitted that Jonathan has repeatedly defied expectations in his rise through the country’s ruthless political world.

The mild-mannered Jonathan, a southern Christian (aged 56) is the first head of state from the oil-producing Niger Delta. He was thrust into the presidency in 2010 following the death of his predecessor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a Muslim from the north.

In August 2012, Jonathan claimed he was the world’s most criticised president. He vowed to become the most praised before he leaves office.

Within four years, Jonathan has built 125 Almajiri Schools in 13 states in the North. Jonathan went on to establish ten new federal universities. Again, the Jonathan administration has more than

doubled the budgetary allocation to education in the country.

With the drastic reduction of the petroleum subsidy in 2012, the government created the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). This is designed to invest the savings accruing from the subsidy reduction in critical infrastructure and human-resource empowerment projects across the length and breadth of the country.

geria under Jonathan overtook South Africa as the biggest economy in Africa.

Well, Jonathan is incumbent and many bookmakers will be placing their bets on him to succeed in his re-election bid, come 2015. No civilian president has lost a re-election bid in Nigeria’s history. Buhari on his part has failed in three previous attempts to emerge civilian president (2003, 2007 and 2011).

SURE-P has engaged in a number of critical infrastructure and human-resource empowerment projects across the length and breadth of the country. The railway system in Nigeria had been comatose for over 30 years. However, the Jonathan administration has managed to revive this within two years.

Jonathan’s revolution of the agriculture and power sector has been reported extensively. This year, Ni-

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

2015

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Presidential Election scheduled for

Buhari seen as tough on

FEBRUARY 14 2015 corruption

insecurity

Religious, regional, ethnic factors will define contest APC and PDP are fielding Christian/Muslim tickets

13.7 million VOTES

Kano, Lagos and Rivers are APC states.

25%

Percentage accounted for by the 3 states- INEC 2011

politics 19

Sunday, December 21, 2014

APC Government Will End Insurgency By 2015 – Sen. Ibrahim As a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, how would you rate the just concluded convention?

It went very well, it was transparent and well organized. It is the kind of election everybody would love to participate in.at the end of the day, everybody was happy with the way it was organized.it was the most perfectly organize primary elections done so far in Nigeria.

Some are of the fears that, some of those who lost out might defect from the party to achieve their ambition

No, none of the five aspirant will defect, they signed an agreement that irrespective of who wins, they will rally around him for the purpose of winning the general elections. Our candidates are progressives and you know they have never won any elections in Nigeria. Anything close to that was during Abiola. But forces clipped us from being a government Coming back to you, how was your own primaries election considering the insecurity in Yobe State?

My primaries went fine, nobody contested against me. My wife initially had one contestant but the man withdraw for her and so she got an automatic ticket. Most other candidates in House of Representatives, Senate and the state won. Except for one that voluntarily left after two terms for the other local government to get their opportunity and the other one, there was opposition to his candidature and from all indication, that man has lost, it is another man that is coming. The candidate from my local government also left us to join PDP. Yobe is one of the states effected by insurgency, how is the situation on the ground now?

Even if Jonathan refused to do anything about it, we are coming to sort it out by be first quarter of 2015. By the end of 2015, there will be no Boko Haram

Except for two local government which are under Boko Haram control, and I believe that they will soon be liberated now that the military has taken the initiative to liberate Adamawa. I believe they will soon liberate those two local government from the senseless killing by Boko Haram. I believe if you asked them why they are killing, they won’t be able to tell you. They just go about killing people, local people coming out of the mosque, people coming out of the church just like that, it is a senseless thing and I am sure it is going to be a thing of the past. Even if Jonathan refused to do anything about it, we are coming to sort it out by be first quarter of 2015. By the end of 2015, there will be no Boko Haram.

When you say Jonathan has refused to do anything about it, are you saying the government has not done enough?

What have they done since the beginning of Boko Haram? What is Boko Haram to a government that has a hugh military at its disposal, over one hundred thousand trained soldiers and yet cannot battle an insurgency of not more than ten thousand people? How can you say they have done enough? It is a total

Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim represents Yobe East senatorial district in the National Assembly. The former governor, who spoke exclusively to RUTH CHOJI, says the APC will end the insurgency by the first quarter of 2015, if the party wins the presidential election failure and Nigeria cannot afford to go on like that for too long.

But don’t you think the state government should share in the blame?

What can the state government do?

They don’t have the police or army, the only thing they have is the people and vigilante and those are the ones assisting the military to regain some of the recaptured local government in places like Adamawa and Yobe.so what has the federal government done? States government are continuously losing their classrooms, schools are closing down, children are being shot dead in their schools, the Chibok girls are still missing for almost a year and Jonathan has no clue what to do.

What has happened to internally displaced persons in your state?

I have over two hundred and twenty people in my house in Damaturu, fifty five of them are primary school children, fifteen are secondary school children, fortunately it is a big compound and my wives have been assisting, that is how we are managing for now But has the state and federal government done anything in terms of taking care of their welfare?

There are just some slight periodic assistant so far, nothing permanent. Of course we are not praying that the crises should be a permanent thing, but that it will soon be over so that they can all go back to their lives. The federal government has not been doing much. The state government has been spending a Hugh colossal amount of money for the internally displaced persons and state of emergency.

With the current state of insecurity in Yobe state, do you think elections can hold there?

Of course elections will hold after all we are only having problems in two local government and anytime from now, the military can take over. But even if the two local government don’t come back to Nigeria, we can still hold elections in the remaining fifteen local government of Nigeria, which will not stop us from having elections.

Coming back to your committee, national housing, there have been reports that the federal government is planning to privatize the Nigerian housing authority, what is your take on this

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the privatization of any government parastal. If it is handled properly or if the handlers manage it well, it can to development But has the FHA been working?

I understand that since it was established about ten years ago, it has only built about thirty three thousand hous-

Ibrahim

es across the nation, which is a dismal performance. But again it is just like the other federal parastals, it is a failure of successive regime including Jonathan, but recently they introduce mortgage recapitalization, that will accelerate the construction of houses and recently Dangote has reduced the prices of cement, if a similar things is done in other building materials, then cost of building will go down and Many more will built houses and then more mortgage be made available for people at reasonable rate, Nigerians will want built their houses.

How does the national housing policy benefit the common man on the street because most Nigerian don’t know anything about it?

The national housing policy is all about maximizing the construction of houses for the benefit of the masses, particularly the unemployment and even the middle class.it is to increase the construction of houses so that the about seventeen million people or ore that are homeless will have shelter.

What will it take to provide housing for every Nigeria?

I would say it is the political will.

Do we have the resources?

Of course we do. Look at banks with billions and trillion of naira looking for customers. If they can maximize these monies and put them into the construction of houses for the masses. After all America and other developed countries have succeeded in developing their housing sectors, when there was crises in the housing sector of America, America was almost brought down to its

knees before they were able to recover.

We have the resources, it is just harnessing it that is our problem. Our problem is just leadership that will change things for the betters.

What has happened to public, private partnership (PPP)?

They are there, they have been doing a few things here and there, but it has not been very effective either. They are building some houses in Abuja and may be Lagos, but it is enough, we need this things on a ground scale because we have a Hugh population. To solve any problem in Nigeria, you need to do it at a Hugh scale because we have a heterogeneous society, different tribes, and different religion and believes.

As a senator, how will assess the Goodluck Jonathan administration so far

Well I wouldn’t say it has been a total failure, they have their good side and bad side but by and large, if you take the whole situation, I will give them a pass mark. What we need is something as big as a revolutionary because what they are doing now will not solve our problem.

I just hope and pray that we will get a revolutionary, down to earth leadership with the political will to change things for the better.

What will APC do that will be different from what the PDP is doing now

APC will do better than the current administration, after we have declare free and compulsory education at least at the primary level, we will move to the secondary level before we get to the tertiary. Education is the key solution to our problems.

20 POLITICS feature

Sunday, December 21, 2014

2015: Threats To Mark’s Senate Presidency Senate President David Mark is undoubtedly the most experienced man in the Nigerian Senate alongside the Chief Whip of the Senate Hayatu Gwarzo (Kano north) who has spent 15 years in the Senate. In the primaries both men returned unopposed to the senate and who can bet against them returning to the Senate in 2015.

Senator Mark already rewrote history as the only person who has been Senate President for two terms and he has set his eyes on stretching the record and his currently eyeing a third term as Senate President. Mark known as the stabilizer is on record as having stabilized the Senate since he became senate president in 2007. His calculations for winning the senate presidency for the third time is hinged on his belief that the PDP will clinch the presidency and win majority of the seats in the Upper House. However going by the recent trend in which most of the ranking senators lost their re-election bids in the PDP primaries, the days of PDP controlling the majority of the seats in the Upper House seem numbered. The aggrieved PDP senators are blaming the Senate President for not giving them enough support in their primaries and threats of impeachment against President Goodluck Jonathan and Senator Mark were mooted.

Some analysts say the opposition-led APC may pull a surprise and win the majority of the seats in the Upper House. Presently the APC has 33 senators, however ranking senators of the PDP like Victor Ndoma -Egba,Ita Enang, Bassey Otu, Uche Chukwumereje, Nkechi Nwaogu, Helen Esuene, Nenadi Usman, Solomon Ewuga, Ayogu Eze,Ifeanyi Okowa, Ben Ayade and Victor Lar are not returning to the Senate next year due to a combination of losses in the Senatorial and gubernatorial primaries. The Stage is now set for the APC to cause a major upset in some states.

If the APC wins majority of the seats in the Upper House, some Senators stand out as possible candidates from the opposition for the Senate Presidency.

Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara) Saraki is a former two-term governor of Kwara state and one time Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. It is open secret that Saraki has his eye on the Senate presidency. He is also chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology. One of the arrowheads of the new PDP saga who later defected to the APC, he is one of the leading opposition figure and one of the main contenders for the seat of the Senate Pres-

It is no secret that Senate President David Mark is nursing the ambition to return as Senate President in 2015. JONATHAN NDA-ISAIAH writes on the possible candidates that will challenge Mark for the top seat in the Upper House

Mark

idency if APC gains control of the Senate However reacting to the allegation that he is one if the arrowhead of the impeachment plot against the Senate President, Saraki, has stated that he is not after the seat of Senate President David Mark.

Saraki stated this at a media chat

with correspondents during a trip to Ilorin, while reacting to the current political situation in the country.

Saraki made it clear that his actions and comments in the Senate now or in the future of the 7th assembly were borne out of his passion and commitment to good

governance, rule of law, equity, fairness, adherence to the constitution, sustenance and protection of our democracy.

He said, “It would be unfortunate of anyone, in any quarters, to equate to the fact that I want Senator Mark’s seat. I do not want his seat, but I will not be blackmailed

Some analysts say the opposition-led APC may pull a surprise and win the majority of the seats in the Upper House

21

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

2015: Threats To Mark’s Senate Presidency 20

For me to dissipate my time and energy seeking Senator David Mark’s seat, with a year to election and likely possible only six months of active legislative activities, it will be illogical

in not doing or saying what I feel is right, because I have been down this road a number of times while standing strong on not only what is right but in the best interest of our great country. Therefore, I will not succumb to cheap blackmail that my intent was all about naked ambition or personal interest.

“September 2011, I stood up then to demand transparency and accountability in the management of the fuel subsidy scheme, where I voiced out the ongoing massive fraud in the scheme which posed great threat to our economy. Then I was called names and told that I did not like Mr President and that it was all about 2015 election and that my figures were grossly inaccurate and no such mismanagement took place.

Now the facts have shown otherwise.”

Saraki added, “For me to dissipate my time and energy seeking Senator David Mark’s seat, with a year to election and likely possible only six months of active legislative activities, it will be illogical. But as leaders, there will be issues that I will continue to speak and stand for: what I believe is in the interest of the Senate and, in my view, the interest of our nation.”

Senator George Akume (Benue) Two term governor of Benue state and minority leader is also one of the favourite to succeed Mark in the Upper House if his party gains a stronghold of the Senate. A fine lawmaker, Senator Akume the voice of the opposition has played his role very well notably in the defection saga and alleged $20 missing money.

Senator Akume has never shied away from giving his opinion on national issues.

“We must appreciate that the beauty of any democracy is opposition. The road to tyranny must be very stiffly resisted. Our leaders of today must avoid treading the ways of the likes of Charles Taylor and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia to the International Criminal Court of Justice after they had left office.” Akume stated recently.

Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe) Also a former two term governor, he is suitably placed to be the Senate President if APC holds sway in the Upper House, On several occasions he has challenged the Senate President on certain issues. During the defection saga which many of the Senators later withdrew their letters, Senator Goje stood his ground that he is in

the APC no matter what Mark thinks LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that Senator Danjuma Goje is one of the 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators that have signaled their intention to defect to the APC but the leadership of the Senate has refused to read their defection letters citing legal reasons.

Senator Goje also declared that he is already a card carrying member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) regardless of the refusal of the Senate President David Mark to read their defection letters.

Goje, who made this disclosure in a media parley with Senate Correspondents in Abuja, also revealed that he participated actively in the APC registration exercise and had been attending APC caucus meeting in the Senate.

Goje said: “I don’t want to comment much on the issue of our defection face-off with the Senate leadership, but whether we are officially allowed to do so on the floor of the Senate or not as we have legally and constitutionally attempted several times in the past weeks, we are no longer PDP Senators, we are APC Senators on the same page with other APC Senators in the Senate regardless of whatever side we sit in the Senate.

He further lamented that the defections, which have been going on without hassles since 1999, have become a knotty issue at the moment.

“But with Senators from APC and APGA also publicly defecting to PDP, we shall see how the senate leadership will handle that when eventually they make move for such official defection on the floor of the Senate,” he said.

Goje

Saraki

Akume

22

Sunday, December 21, 2014

THE

ELECTABLES On December 30th, 2014

Who

Makes The List?

The best among Nigeria’s politicians; the best among those who aspire for political and elective office; the most popular candidates; the traiblazers; Nigeria ‘s most presentable candidates and those who have the vision and sense of mission to lead.

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

REPORT OF THE

TRANSFORMATION

AGENDA

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

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LEADERSHIP in a bid to provide a true and objective picture of the successes and challenges of the Transformation Agenda is publishing THE REPORT OF THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA as told by the key actors themselves in their own words unedited.

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The Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan has been hailed as successful in several areas like agriculture, power, roads, macro-economic stability, foreign-direct investment inflow, and the health sector, among others. Critics cite poverty, youth unemployment, insecurity and the contracting middle class as evidence that the Transformation Agenda is not working. So who and what do you believe? Welcome to the Situation Report.

Ministries, Paratatals and Agencies who have made impactful contributions to the Transformation Agenda are invited to tell their success stories in the REPORT OF THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA. Private sector companies and contractors who have successfully executed Transformation Agenda projects are also invited to show and tell their success stories in the historic REPORT OF THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA.

To participwaithteph:otographs, charts and graphs and call

achievements along y Ubimago: 08068640944, n’s tio sa ni ga or e th le pi m co Simply 3143902, Henr Iyobosa Uwugiaren: 08:03 Tosin Allen: 08052116707spaper 6, 76 52 45 06 07 in am nj ew Adebayo Be t Abuja resident n n a in m o d e th in Show and tell it

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

IP H S R E D you r LE A e u r e o y h t w e G ver y e r e p es a n p o s h w p e e l N obi er m p a r p u s o y w e Ne l go on i b o M N with MT Service is currently available only to MTN subscribers

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ceoConfidential #143, December 21, 2014

in brief

timeless truths >26

>27 POPULAR WITH CEOS

strike Action: seeking A better AlternAtive >29 INITIATIVES

hoW i did it >47 UPDATES

4-time traps all entrepreneurs face and how to avoid them

• Victoria Akpan CEO, Cygnus Hospitality Ltd

AkpAn And the chAnging fAce of hospitAlity

26 CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

in brief ESSENTIALS

10 Questions for...

FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Wamdzu Awom Director, Deton8 Media Ltd

Provide free advice for customers “If it’s free, it’s advice; if you pay for it, it’s counselling; if you can use either one, it’s a miracle” Jack Adams, 1895-1968 Canadian professional hockey player who spent 36 years as coach or general manager of the Detroit Red Wings and became president of the Central Hockey League.

Create a seminar that’s informative for your client base. Use this forum to communicate the availability of new products and services.

Ask one of your clients to be a keynote speaker on a critical element of the industry. They will feel honoured that you’ve chosen them over other clients.

Keep costs down by offering web-based seminars. One company I know provides fortnightly introductions to its products online. It e-mails a form to prospects and asks them what they would like for breakfast - the food arrives at their desks at 8.30, just in time for the online seminar to start. This has proved a very successful method for getting people involved in the business.

Make yourself part of the team “The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison” James Cash Penney, 1875-1971 American businessman and entrepreneur, founder of J.C. Penney stores.

Demonstrate that you are there to help your customers increase their profits and solve their business problems. Become indispensable to your customers and they will start to call you for advice rather than you calling them to sell.

Your ideas may save the day in a difficult business situation. Link your concepts and problem-solving skills with your products and services and you have the ability to consult for your clients.

The more integrated you are with your customers’ businesses, the harder it will be for a competitor to move in on your territory.

IF YOU’LL BE...

Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Founder, Celtel International Be charming and influential Mo Ibrahim founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation with the sole aim of re-branding of Africa and the generating of pressure for better, less corrupt governments on the continent. His foundation instituted the Mo Ibrahim award and despite being larger than Nobel prize is still relatively unknown and so also the brain behind the award.

Put your expertise into motion As a Sudanese-born Briton engineer, Mo Ibrahim is a global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career. He founded a technology consultancy and software business which he sold for a massive $900m and founded Celtel in 1998 to build and operate mobile networks in Africa. Celtel became one of Africa’s most successful companies with operations in 16 countries. The company was sold to MTC Kuwait in 2005 for $3.4bn.

TIMELESS TRUTHS

Concentrate on the stars “When it comes to training and performance reviews, I think we have our priorities reversed.

Shouldn’t we spend more time trying to improve the performance of our stars? After all, these people account for a disproportionately large share of the work in any organisation. Put another way, concentrating on the stars is a highly leveraged activity; if they get better, the impact on group output is very large indeed” Andy Grove, chairman, Intel

Interview by Daniel Udechukwu

group

ceoConfidential ASST. EDITOR Daniel Udechukwu REPORTER Olusola Olujide GRAPHICS Matthew Akhabue

– By Olujide Olusola

1. What business do you not want to start but wish someone else would?

Production of machines that can wash, dryclean and iron clothes in two minutes.

2. Which TV or movie character would you like to go into business with?

Wesley Snipes. I love the way he plays his roles in all the movies he has featured in.

3. If you were to start your own political party, what would be the platform?

Justice and equity. I will teach people to be believe they can achieve anything they want, if only they can believe in themselves and God. 4. Whom would you trade places with?

Former military president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlins. He is instrumental to the major developments Ghana is witnessing today.

5.It’s 8 p.m. and you are travelling alone on business. What do you do all night?

I will make sure I rest properly; that is after I’m done preparing very well for the task ahead.

6. If you could time-travel, where would you be.

To the future; so I can see what life would like at that time.

7. What have you learnt about yourself as you serve in that organisation?

I have learnt to be good to everyone around me and never lose focus on my vision.

8. What have you sacrificed for success?

Sleep and good time with friends.

9. What do you consider your favourite achievement?

Being a blessing to people, putting smiles on their faces and hear them say to me, ‘Wamdzu thank you.’

10. What is your motto?

Christ in me, the hope of glory.

ACTING EDITOR Auwal Sa'id Mu'azu

FOUNDER Sam Nda-Isaiah GRP MANAGING DIRECTOR Azubuike Ishiekwene GRP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Michael Okpere, Dr. Kazeem Durodoye

A number of the articles here are sourced from diverse sources.

Feedback & enquiries ceoconfidential@leadership.ng

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

27

popular with CEOs Compiled by Dan Udechukwu

The Recommender What are the business quotes for this week that make sense or are just humourous?

A Brief Guide Don’t know what you want to see, hear, smell taste and feel? Don’t worry we did it for you.

SEE Moneyball

A section of the Kaduna refinery

Vehicular queue at a filling station

Strike action: Seeking a better alternative Oil workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria last Monday embarked on a three-day warning strike to protest the inability of the federal government to carry out turnaround maintenance of the nation’s four refineries and reduce pump prices of petrol in line with the slump in global prices of crude oil.

Other demands the union members are pressing for include evolvement of new strategies by the federal

Johnson

government to combat pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft; delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, among others.

No doubt that the demands of the workers are in line with the yearnings of many Nigerians, the approach however is anti-people. Aside the physical torture Nigerians are subjected to, the bites it has on the economy of the country is huge. On Tuesday, December 16, 2014, it was reported that a litre of petrol was sold for as high as N250. The ripple effect of the sudden

Francis Johnson, President, PENGASSAN “After the expiration of the ultimatum, we also engaged government agencies and the international oil companies involved, but it was not fruitful.

We don’t like Nigerians to go through what is going on now.”

hike in other part of the economy cannot be over emphasised.

Unfortunately, despite all these facts, strike actions have continually become the only ‘viable’ tool for pressing home demands by workers in the country.

As the popular saying, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’. It will be to the best interest of every Nigerian that the leadership of its various institutions come up with a better alternative for making its government keep to their promises without hurting the people whose interest they are supposed to be fighting for.

Ohi Alegbe,

GMD, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC “The strike will not disrupt the fuel supply and distribution system. It is aimed at addressing the anti-labour issues by some of the international oil companies.”

A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience.

Elbert hubbard,

Philosopher

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. benjamin franklin,

Polymath

One of the major biases in risky decision is optimism. daniel kahneman,

Psychologist

Conflict of Interests

The CVL Role Model Forum is a monthly interactive session where outstanding CEOs come to share their inspiring career experiences with the participants.

January, 2015 edition will feature Mr Segun Ogunsanya, managing director, Airtel Nigeria, among other notable speakers at the event.

The venue of the event is CVL Building, 6, Balarabe Musa Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.

taste Romanee-Conti

Critics have rated this as the best available among French wines : the 2012 vintage was given a score of 99 out of 100 by The Wine Advocate.

This is the second highest priced wine produced from Pinot Noir in Burgundy.

FEEL Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor

Its case is made entirely of silicon (according to the brand, the first such watch of its kind), a material with half the weight of titanium and four times the hardness.

The most expensive watch produced to date by Roger Dubuis.

BIZ Lingo especially where there is potential for one demand to distort the proper honest diligent execution of responsibility in achieving the second demand, i.e.., the incompatibility is competing and mutually unhelpful.

hear PROF PAT UTOMI

Alegbe

A much overlooked, underestimated, yet highly prevalent factor in the execution of any responsibility or activity, where an organiswation/ group/individual is subject to incompatible demands, opportunities, incentives, or responsibilities, etc., and

This movie is about Oakland A and its general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). The team is an underdog and also lacks a lot financially. The team has nothing but lowest salary available for players in Baseball. Apart from that, all of his star players are picked up by bigger teams.

Now he needs to look at how to create a winning team without class that money can buy.

The secret to being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong!

The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realising that wrong isn’t fatal. seth godin,

Entrepreneur

SMELL DKNY

The million dollar bottle is crafted in 14-karat yellow and white gold and contains 183 yellow sapphires, 2700 white diamonds, a 1.6-carat turquoise Paraiba tourmaline from Brazil, 15 vivid pink diamonds from Australia, a 7.18-carat oval Cabochon sapphire from Sri Lanka, 4-rose cut diamonds.

28

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

The ceoConfidential interview Akpan and the changing face of hospitality The hospitality expert and tourism promoter shares her foray into the hospitality business and how the journey has been so far in the midst of adversities.

Interview by oLUJIDE oLUSoLA There are days I don’t get home until midnight...

I don’t wake up early. I wake up as late as 9:30am.

Afterwards, I say my prayers and I get set to work.

When I get to the office, I attend business meetings.

If there are no meetings to attend, I stay back in my office to read books, journals to enlighten myself, especially on how to take my hospitality business to greater heights.

I shuttle between Lagos, Abuja and Akwa-Ibom for series of meetings.

AKPAN IN SHORT Miss Victoria Akpan is the CEO, Cygnus Hospitality Ltd. She is currently the FCT director of Miss Tourism Abuja Beauty Pageant.

Akpan has a diploma in hospitality management from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

She was the CEO of the Excellinton Ltd. She is a recipient of several hospitality awards such as Akwa-Ibom State/Akwa Tourism Development Company Awards.

She is the Patron for the Hope for the Challenged Foundation.

Akpan speaks English and French languages fluently, aside her native language.

It’s not usually about the price but the kind of services we offer…

Cygnus hospitality Ltd is a hospitality and tourism development company.

It’s a relatively new company. It has been in existence for some time now but was recently registered it. We have offices in Lagos, Abuja and Akwa-Ibom states. We are into hotel management, supplies, building and leasing of hotels.

Our company is a professional arena

where we are passionate about the well-being of our clients and guests. We look out to make our guests very comfortable when they arrive and leave with good memories. People generally have special feelings for certain hotels because of the warm treatment they receive, so we endeavour to take so much care of our guests and make them have heavenly feelings that will always make them want to come back.

I am passionate about tourism…

Cygnus Hospitality Ltd is the promoter of Miss Tourism Abuja Beauty Pageant, a creative and purposeful beauty and talent competition to discover future national personalities, brand ambassadors, business women, movie stars and super model. It is set to empower intelligent ladies into stardom.

The beauty pageant is one of the most unique and highly anticipated beauty pageants in Nigeria, specifically set up to empower and mentor young, beautiful

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

45

AKPAN oN SUCCESS

There is no magic to success. Nobody gets successful without the presence of God; therefore, you must be prayerful

and intelligent ladies into stardom, while also showcasing and advancing Nigerian’s tourism potentials.

The pageant which is set to hold on February 1, 2015 is endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation; and the Federal Capital Territory. Winners at the event will go home with loads of goodies ranging from a brand new car, cash rewards to trainings in make-over and beauty therapy.

I cut my teeth in hospitality business…

When I was managing a hotel in Lagos, I went into partnership with someone but came out very broke. I would say the business failed because we did not play our roles well. Our partnership was headed for the rocks because we had different goals which invariably affected the business negatively.

Though I was heartbroken but not discouraged, considering the huge amount invested into it and the energy dissipated also. Instead of brooding over it, I picked myself up, worked on myself by going for trainings in South Africa. I am still undergoing an online course in the United Kingdom, on hospitality management.

With these trainings, I came out better informed on how to really run a hospitality business.

The trainings were and are still worthwhile.

It’s always good to be updated.

My love for the industry keeps me

going…

What keeps me going is the fact that God loves me. There is nothing but God. Anytime I remember that, I always feel good. There is always this feeling, heavenly feelings that I am poised for greater heights notwithstanding the challenges I face daily.

My family also keeps me going and then the very few friends I have. So when I remember this people, I feel good. It’s never been all smooth and easy as I meet with some very difficult people but the love I have for the business keeps me motivated. I love to read a lot and travelling. That’s how I guess my love for hospitality came up.

When I am not working, I am reading…

I would say I balance my life through the grace of God. I don’t know how I have been able to manage, but I thank my family which has been very supportive.

I relax by travelling to a peaceful and quiet place to get revitalised. And when I am not reading, I am travelling and working. So basically my world goes round reading, travelling, either business trips or relaxation trips, or I am working in the office.

Be passionate and patient…

Things don’t get rosy all the time. There is no magic to success. You must put in a lot of hard work to succeed. Nobody gets successful without the presence of God and as such, you must be prayerful.

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

initiatives

29

Lere Baale, lerebaale@gmail.com

Leadership Inspiration for Excellence – (LIFE) series

The keys to extraordinary leadership in Africa (IV) 9. Be yourself Use your relationships with mentors and your research on great leaders as models or reference points to work from, but never copy or imitate them like a parrot. Everyone has vastly different leadership styles. History books are filled with leaders who are soft-spoken, introverted, and quiet, all the way to the other extreme of being out- spoken, extroverted, and loud, and everything in between. A quiet and simple Gandhi or a softspoken peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter, who became president of the United States and won a Nobel Peace Prize, have been just as effective world leaders as a loud and flamboyant Churchill, or the tough leadership style employed by “The Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher.

I grew up with a lot of admiration for a great and unique African who

HOW I DID IT

Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

is highly gifted and also a very special gift to the world; Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi.

But if I copy him, I would be a second or third rate Prince JAAA, at best, instead of a first rate Lere.

Be yourself, your best self, always competing against yourself and bettering yourself, and you will become a first rate YOU instead of a second rate somebody else.

10. Give Finally, be a giver. Leaders are givers. By giving, you activate a universal law as sound as gravity: “Life gives to the giver, and takes from the taker.” The more you give, the more you get. If you want more love, respect, support, and compassion, give love, give respect, give support, and give compassion. Be a mentor to others. Give back to your community.

As a leader, the only way

‘Leaders are givers. By giving, you activate a universal law as sound as gravity: “Life gives to the giver, and takes from the taker”’ to get what you want, is by helping enough people get what they want first. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

Extraordinary leadership and the society When people talk about leadership, they mostly want to learn how to be extraordinary leaders at work. Leadership in the corporate context is one of the hottest topics in the world, and everyone wants to learn how to become a billionaire and be the best possible boss.

However, leadership is not just limited to the work frontier, it extends to all of society. In fact, leadership began as a

societal phenomenon much before it evolved into a professional one. In fact, many of the present-day leadership qualities that corporate and professional leaders aspire to are based on the social and political leaders of the yesteryears.

Human beings are social creations and living together in large groups naturally meant that people needed to adopt different roles and accomplish different groups. In order to give structure to society and help society grow and develop, people were naturally divided into leaders and followers. The leaders paved the way and moved from one frontier to another, directing the others, while the followers completed the tasks

assigned to them and helped bring the changes about.

Understanding the role and impact of extraordinary leadership in society makes for an interesting study. While it’s easy to break down the effects of leadership in the work environment into small, easily identifiable structures, analyzing how positive leadership affects society is somewhat complex. Society is a multiphenomena structure, with a myriad of social forces, elements and factors at play all the time. Society is not limited to a few defined goals, and hence, leadership in society is a vast, and often intangible, phenomenon.

CONtiNues NeXt week

Zappos’s CEO on going to extremes for customers In the 11 years since Zappos was founded, we’ve had to make some big decisions. One of the most significant came in early 2004, over lunch at Chevys, a chain Mexican restaurant in San Francisco. We hadn’t expected to make a life-changing choice over a plate of fajitas, but when you’re part of a fast-growing company, a lot of decisions arise at unlikely moments.

Zappos was then nearly five years old.

I’d gotten involved with the company as an investor after LinkExchange, which I’d cofounded, was sold to Microsoft in 1998. At first I thought that selling shoes online sounded like a poster child for bad internet ideas. But the founder of Zappos, Nick Swinmurn, explained that shoes were a $40 billion market in the U.S. and that 5%of them were

already sold by mail order. What had started as just one of several dozen angel investments ended up as a job: By 2000 I had joined Zappos full-time.

The company had survived the dot-com crash, and our gross merchandise sales were growing-up from zero in 1999 to $70 million in 2003. But for most of those years we had been short of cash and struggling to cope with growth.

In early 2004 our biggest problem was customer service-specifically, finding the right employees to staff our call centre.

A lot of people may think it’s strange that an internet company would be so focused on the telephone, when only about 5% of our sales happen by phone.

But we’ve found that on average, our customers telephone us at least once at some point, and if we handle the call

well, we have an opportunity to create an emotional impact and a lasting memory.

We receive thousands of phone calls and e-mails every day, and we view each one as an opportunity to build the Zappos brand into being about the very best customer service. Our philosophy has been that most of the money we might ordinarily have spent on advertising should be invested in customer service, so that our customers will do the marketing for us through word of mouth.

But that requires the right staff members-and our inability to find enough dedicated, high-calibre customer service reps near our San Francisco headquarters was turning into a huge problem.

CONtiNues NeXt week

30 CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

situation reports Compiled by Olujide Olusola

Brand Beginnings Prada: It is deeply human

P

rada began life as a Milanese shop called Fratelli Prada, initially selling Italian leather goods and imported English steamer trunks and handbags.

The shop was launched in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino. When the signature Prada bags and suitcases made from cumbersome walrus skin proved ill-suited for new modes of transport, they instead concentrated on designing exquisite leather accessories and waterproof handbags. As high-class transport became centered on air travel, heavy and bulky luggage lost its appeal and Prada began making lightweight suitcases out of wood, crystals and even tortoise shells to compete in this new market.

Mario Prada did not believe that women should have a role in business, and so he prevented female family members from entering into his company. Ironically, Mario’s son harbored no interest in the business, so it was his daughter Luisa Prada who took the helm of Prada as his successor, and ran it for almost twenty years. Her own daughter, Miuccia Prada, joined the company in 1970, eventually taking over for her mother in 1978.

Development Miuccia inherited the company in 1978 by which time sales were up to U.S. $450,000.

With Bertelli alongside her as business manager, Miuccia was allowed time to implement her creativity onto design. She would go on to incorporate her ideas into the house of Prada that would change it.

She released her first set of backpacks and totes in 1979. They were made out of a tough military spec black nylon that her grandfather

Management IDEAS

had used as coverings for steamer trunks.

Initial success was not instant, as they were hard to sell due to the lack of advertising and high-prices, but the lines would go on to become her first commercial hit.

That same year, the house of Prada began expansion across continental Europe by opening locations in prominent shopping districts within Florence, Paris, Madrid, and New York City. A shoe line was also released in 1984. In 1985, Miuccia released the “classic Prada handbag” that became an overnight sensation. Although practical and sturdy, its sleek lines and craftsmanship exuded an offhand aura of luxury that has become the Prada signature.

Runway shows Previous Prada exclusives and openers who have gone on to success in the fashion world include models and actors Daria Werbowy, Gemma Ward, Vanessa Axente, Suvi Koponen, Ali Stephens and Sasha Pivovarova, who went on to appear in Prada’s ad campaigns for six consecutive seasons after opening the Prada fall 2005 runway show.

Prada boutiques The Prada boutique at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy.

Prada has commissioned architects, most notably Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron, to design flagship stores in various locations. A duplex megastore was opened in Kuala Lumpur at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in late 2008. Prada commissioned an unusual multi-purpose building called the Prada Transformer in Seoul. And 2009 saw the opening of a new store on Corso Venezia, Milan, designed by architect Robert Baciocchi, focussing on the Prada Made to Order collection. In June 2012, Prada returned to the Middle East with the opening of its largest boutique ever in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates.

Watches Production of watches started in 2007 and was suspended in 2012. One of first models, named Special Edition Prada Watch, was produced in 1000 pieces with number on the back. There are several models with Bluetooth technology: famous model is named Prada The Link because it is linked or connected with cell phone that was made by Prada too.

Wristwatches were manufactured by Naloni: Italian luxury watches company.

Management by objectives

Management by objectives is such a classic principle that many who couldn’t care less about business will still recognise the phrase. It was introduced to the language by that most enduring of classic business thinkers, Peter Drucker, in his milestone 1954 work, The Practice of Management.

Management by objectives (MBO) is about making sure that you can see the wood for the trees. MBO calls for a focus, not on activities, but on results. Which is why it’s sometimes called management by results.

Drucker tells us that setting objectives is the first

of the five essential for managers. (the others are to organise, to motivate and communicate, to measure and finally, to develop people – including themselves.) One of the keys to MBO is that all managers, high and low, should understand the objectives and agree on them.

When everyone has their own specific goals, all aligned with each other, and progress towards them is monitored, measured and if necessary, adapted, the business should be able to achieve the best possible results from necessarily finite resources.

success nuggets

22 Lessons from Stephen King on how to be a great writer (2) 6. When writing, disconnect from the rest of the world Writing should be a fully intimate activity. Put your desk in the corner of the room, and eliminate all possible distractions, from phones to open windows.

King advises, “Write with the door closed; rewrite with the door open.” You should maintain total privacy Stephen King between you and your flow with the turns and work. Writing a first draft is rhythms of your story. “completely raw, the sort of “Paragraphs are almost thing I feel free to do with the door shut — it’s the story always as important for how they look as for what they undressed, standing up in say,” says King. nothing but its socks and 9. Don’t get overly caught undershorts.” up in grammar.

7. Don’t be pretentious.

According to King, writing is “One of the really bad primarily about seduction, things you can do to your not precision. “Language does writing is to dress up the not always have to wear a tie vocabulary, looking for long words because you’re maybe and lace-up shoes,” writes King. “The object of fiction a little bit ashamed of your isn’t grammatical correctness short ones,” says King. He but to make the reader compares this mistake to welcome and then tell a story.” dressing up a household pet You should strive to make the in evening clothes — both reader forget that he or she is the pet and the owner are reading a story at all. embarrassed, because it’s 10. Master the art of completely excessive. description.

As iconic businessman “Description begins in the David Ogilvy writes in a writer’s imagination, but memo to his employees, should finish in the reader’s,” “Never use jargon words writes King. The important like reconceptualize, part isn’t writing enough, but demassification, limiting how much you say. attitudinally, judgmentally.

Visualize what you want your They are hallmarks reader to experience, and then of a pretentious ass.” translate what you see in your Furthermore, don’t use mind into words on the page. symbols unless necessary.

You need to describe things “Symbolism exists to “in a way that will cause adorn and enrich, not to your reader to prickle with create an artificial sense of recognition,” he says. profundity,” writes King.

8. Avoid adverbs and long The key to good description is clarity, both in observation paragraphs. and in writing. Use As King emphasizes several fresh images and simple times in his memoir, “the vocabulary to avoid adverb is not your friend.”

In fact, he believes that “the exhausting your reader. “In many cases when a reader road to hell is paved with adverbs” and compares them puts a story aside because to dandelions that ruin your it ‘got boring,’ the boredom arose because the writer lawn. Adverbs are worst after “he said” and “she said” grew enchanted with his powers of description and — those phrases are best lost sight of his priority, left unadorned. which is to keep the ball You should also pay rolling,” notes King. attention to your paragraphs, so that they CONTINUES FROM LAST WEEK

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

getting ahead

31

Secrets They Won’t Teach You At Business School Richard Branson, one of world’s most-respected entrepreneurs

The opportunity of risk DiFFeRenTiATe oR Die

...and the importance of an escape hatch To many people, the number and variety of businesses that the Virgin Group operates is unusual: we’re involved in everything from music to railways to alternative fuel and even space and sub-oceanic travel. People often ask me to explain the rationale for our group’s approach, especially how we decide which sectors and countries to invest in. The answer comes down to our distinct approach to risk.

In life, I have always believed it’s better to stick to a few simple values and aims; the same holds true for business.

One guideline that we rely on is that if a new business has the potential to damage your brand in any way, you should not invest in it.

At Virgin, when we assess a new business opportunity, our first step is to submit it to our ‘brand test’.

We are constantly bombarded with new and exciting ideas that ‘might’ make a lot of money, but if they fail the brand test we will politely decline and move on. For example, we wouldn’t start a cigarette company or a ‘defence’ contracting business. After all, life is short and we all want to enjoy the ride.

Two related guidelines are deeply linked. We feel strongly that there is little point in entering a new market unless it gives us the chance to really shake up an industry. Almost all Virgin’s new ventures come from our thinking up a product or service that we believe people really want. Then, if our entry has the potential to make waves, we’re going to look at it very closely.

You’ll notice that making a profit hasn’t entered the picture yet. It’s

Business icons

rare for me or the team to consider only the money that can be made.

I feel it’s pointless to approach investing with the question ‘How can I make lots of money?’ No one will ever agree on exactly how to make money. The consultants will perhaps say your idea will work, while the numbers guys (aka accountants) can always find a bunch of reasons why it will not.

When it’s time to decide whether or not to go ahead, I have always found that the best decisions come from your instinct or experience.

If you pursue your passions, your visions will be more likely to become successful realities.

I learned to follow my passions at the beginning of my career, when I created Student magazine to give a voice to young people who were campaigning to stop the Vietnam War. As for the actual business aspects, such as paying the bills ... well, we had to sort that out later. We just hoped that we would sell enough copies to stay afloat and learn the business side as we went along.

With almost every venture we’ve entered since then, we made the move because we spied a gap in the market.

Our airline business 15 a classic case in point: before we entered that industry, I had been travelling a lot because of Virgin Music and often found the whole experience to be lacking, if not downright distressing.

I felt we could improve it by focusing on service, on the quality of the flight experience and by adding some fun touches. It worked.

Over the years, my colleagues and I have developed quite a reputation for risk-taking. It’s true that we have

been fearless about taking on new businesses, sectors and challenges even when the self-proclaimed experts told us that we didn’t know what we were about and would be lambs to the slaughter.

But while, to all appearances, we do have an unusually high tolerance for risk, our actions always spring from another principle: always protect the downside. Something I think should be a guideline for every entrepreneur - or for anyone involved in business ventures.

For example, when we made our move on the airline business, I set myself on one condition: in our negotiations with Boeing, I stipulated that we could hand the plane back at the end of the first twelve months if the business wasn’t working.

I was prepared to take the risk but, if it didn’t work out, I wasn’t going to let it bring everything else crashing down. My colleagues at Virgin Records would still have their jobs and a company to run!

We’ve made other bold moves into (for us) uncharted territory ~ mobile telecommunications, financial services and health clubs, in countries all over the world. We just make sure we always have a way out if things go wrong. You have to protect your people. It’s your people who make a company exceptional or average.

So, if things don’t work out, don’t hesitate: take that escape hatch.

That way, when all’s said and done, you will be able to gather your team, discuss what did or did not happen and then embark on your next venture together. Not much older but a lot wiser.

An ethical Preference In some businesses, it’s awkward to aggressively promote yourself. Physicians and group medical practices, for instance, would rather not turn their doctors into salesmen.

But patients don’t have the sophistication to make complicated medical decisions.

(It’s hard enough to decide on a Lexus or a Mercedes.)

So how are you supposed to wade through the tyranny of choice and pick the right professional?

Once again, “what other people think” can carry the day. It even gets high praise from people who worry about things like doctors advertising.

An ethicist named Randy Cohen described “a better way to meet the admirable goal of helping patients choose a physician.” His prescription: “Doctors’ medical techniques could be rated by a neutral party, much as the Barron’s guides rate colleges. Or patient’s opinions of bedside could be correlated into a kind of physician Zagat’s. Neither puts the doctor in an ethically awkward position.”

Leadership lessons continues From last week

Manage Product and Information

Sam Walton Founder, Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart’s logistics strategy has long been one of the key case studies for business students.

Distribution centres were one of the primary reasons the company could expand as it did. Walton placed each store within a day’s drive of a distribution centre. Wal-Mart could replenish store inventories, Walton estimated in 1992, more than twice as fast and at about a 3,540 per cent lower cost than its competitors.

The strategy was born out of

necessity. The company started building its first distribution centre in 1968, according to Walton, because distributors weren’t trying as hard to service them as they were Walton’s larger competitors.

His only alternative, he concluded, was to build his own warehouses in order to buy in volume at better prices.

Investments in computer and communications systems have been another important critical element of the retailer’s strategy. It would

have been impossible for Walton to have built a retailing empire the size of what he built, the way he built it, without the computer.

For many years, however, Walton relied on rudimentary, labourintensive systems. From the start, Walton understood that automating the management of inventory was a great way to save money. In 1966, Walton enrolled in an IBM course on using punch cards to track information. continues next week

32 CEOConfidential

housekeeping

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Compiled by Olujide Olusola

Most creative people in business

Dame Margaret Barbour Chairman, j. Barbour and sons

Ariane Daguin Founder, CEO, D’Artagnan For growing while staying rooted The Company D’Artagnan is America’s most influential heritage-meat purveyor. This spring, it debuted Green Circle chickens, which are fed vegetable scraps.

Goal “To have in the center of the plate the best product possible.”

Personal History “I am from Gascony, in southwest France. I am the seventh generation in the restaurant business.”

Big Challenge “The perception of the value of food in America. A heritage chicken that lives twice as long as a commodity one costs at least twice as much.”

Big Advantage “More than 60% of our business is restaurants.”

Best Marketing Tool “An educated consumer will take time to read what’s on the label.”

One Secret To Innovating With Heritage “Be authentic. This cannot be a marketing strategy or gimmick. It is a way to do things right.”

Strategic Decision “Go step by step. You can’t go from a factory-farmed chicken to the poulet de Bresse, a super expensive chicken raised for 120 days. We would have sold five a year.”

Why Heritage Is Important To Us Today “[The food business] messed with nature and went faster and bigger, like the Long Island duck that is ready at five weeks. It used to be at least nine weeks. People used to

For growing while staying rooted The Company The 120-year-old British outerwear brand has recently seen record profits thanks to a canny expansion into fashion via collaborations with Adidas and Pantone, plus young designers including Christopher Raeburn.

Goal “To become the best British lifestyle brand.”

Personal History “I was 28, with a little girl of 2, when John [her husband and then head of Barbour] died, and I was left with a majority shareholding. I set about learning everything, including how to make a jacket.”

Big Challenge “Fashion. We can’t stray too far from our heritage.”

Big Advantage “Being a small company, we can move and change quickly.

We’ve also been careful and live a fairly modest life.”

Best Marketing Tool “Our photography. We recently photographed a girl in a ball gown, and she was wearing a Burghley, a long coat. It was shot in Cambridge—there’s a historical purpose to it.”

One Secret To Innovating With Heritage “Move very, very carefully, and never so far from the heritage that people don’t recognize the brand.”

Strategic Decision “We’ve started making different shapes. The Chinese and Japanese—their figures are not like ours!”

Why Heritage Is Important To Us Today “Especially when you’ve been through a recession, people tend to buy what they know is value for money and will last. Cheap things may appeal to a teenager, but they’re rubbish.”

Siddhartha Lal CEO, Eicher/Royal Enfield For growing while staying rooted The Company Royal Enfield is the world’s oldest continuously produced motorcycle brand.

Started in England in 1901, it died there in the 1960s but survived in India.

Siddhartha Lal wants to bring it back to the U.K.—and beyond.

Goal “To reinvigorate the midsize motorcycle segment globally.”

Personal History “My father [who’d retired in 1997 as CEO of Eicher but was still the majority shareholder] told me, ‘We’re thinking of selling Royal Enfield.’ I said, ‘Let me give it a shot.’ I thought, How difficult could it be to sell a few more motorcycles? I was naive.”

Big Challenge “Expanding beyond India. The roots of the brand are very much English, but today, we’re 95% Indian, 5% overseas.”

Big Advantage “A low cost base—our operating margins are upwards of 20%—and a brand that’s not new.”

Best Marketing Tool “The rides we conduct. Last year was our 10th year of what we call a Himalayan Odyssey. We took 100 people along, but it inspired thousands to do similar, shorter rides.”

One Secret To Innovating With Heritage “Take the essence of what the brand meant and convey that. For us, it’s not the motorcycle but the idea behind it. It’s fun.”

Strategic Decision “Add value to the things people touch on a daily basis—the seats, the instruments, the foot pegs. Make them really beautiful.”

Why Heritage Is Important To Us Today “There’s an instantly warm, fuzzy feeling, a sense of recognition, in a day where things are getting colder and more remote.”

37

A GIRL’S GUIDE

HoW to CopE WItH bEInG bRokE

et cetera ...AND OTHER THINGS December 21, 2014

Nudity is A WroNg FAshioN seNse

Wish List

Amina Mohammed loves Chanel Grand Extrait Collection

p34

tech, p36

Choosing the right Computer for Yourself

Photo: winknpout.files.wordpress.com

34

et cetera

How I feel about...

BEING PsycHoloGIst EvangElinE UdEnyi, 24 As a child, I grew up believing that I could do whatever I want, that I could be my dream. So I went off dreaming of being an astronaut, at some other time it was to be a professional player of video games and I ended my childhood career fantasies with being a Chemical Engineer.

This was born because I felt challenged when I was told that women could not be Chemical Engineers. So, I took the challenge and started learning things about being a chemical Engineer.

As I grew up, I realised my desires, likes and thoughts towards a career began to change and go a direction totally different from what I had dreamt about as a child. I was confronted with a challenge, the line of thought that asks if it was profitable. My uncles then will ask me, “What are the job opportunities for this line of career?” This was the slowly fading age where “professional jobs” such as being a doctor or an Engineer where still the preferred line for anyone. Since I had the backing of my parents I went ahead to do what I loved.

After it all, I became a Psychologist. I loved and still love two things: understanding people (Psychology) and writing.

My love for these two things has caused me the greatest Joy. When I speak to people, either giving a causal advice or counsel or my professional opinion about a case, it gives me the greatest joy. When Individuals working on a strategy call me to give my advice on a project or a line of action they are about to take, I do not see it as work, you can call it, a serious hobby. Also, my educational understanding about Human Beings has helped my writing greatly, I love to write to inspire and motivate people to become all they can be, and also to give people a different perspective about life and people because I truly believe that knowing some of these things will greatly change the way we relate to others and invariably make our family experience, work experience and friendships better than they are. The final step for me is to properly develop and build on what I do, it’s not enough that I love what I do. I strive to be excellent in it.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

AmInA mohAmmeD

WIsH lIst

mercedes cedes GLK 2014: I love Mercedes Benz

Cartier bracelet: I love the yellow gold with diamonds.

The civil servant reveals some of her wishes to Zanswat Bowsan

A diamond ring: The Tiffany Embrace engagement ring is all I want $10,000,000: Yes I want it all

Piaget emperador temple wrist watch

DILEMMA

Chanel grand extrait collection: I can only imagine how good I will feel

do i tEll him my rEal agE?

In a light-hearted weekly column, we take a wry look at the problems of modern life Goodday, I like the way you answer questions on your column because they are quite hilarious.

I am a 36 years old lady and i am quite financillay comfortable. I have been praying for marriage and i recently meet a really good man who wants to marry me. Because i have a small stature i lied at the begining of our relationship that i was 28. i honestly did not think that he was going to be serious. we have gone for introductions and guilt has been killing me because of the fact that he does not know my

et cetera group

real age. He told me he was 30 years old and i think it may be a problem if he does not find out now buti am also afraid to lose him. How do I tell him my real age?

Emelda from Abuja Dear Emelda, Babe, only insecure ladies lie about their age. you should know that age is just a number even though our society does not think so,, what ladies do these days is to ignore the question entirely until you trust the person enough to tell him your age. With people like you corruption will never end in this country. Anyways, the deed is done but you can still save face by

telling him the truth now. I mean as you finish reading this. Pick up the phone and call him, tell him you were not sure he was serious about you and you want to be clean.

If he really loves you then your age should not be an issue, that also depends on if you are a humble person as you know Nigerian man are likely to cheat on wives who are not submissive. take note and cheers

Do you have a dilemma that you want help with? Write to blessing.ukemena@ leadership.ng

CONTENT Daniel Udechukwu, Blessing Ukemena DESIGN Matthew Akhabue ACTING EDITOR Auwal Sa'id Mu'azu FOUNDER Sam Nda-Isaiah CHAIRMAN Hajiya Ireti kingibe GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Azubuike Ishiekwene GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Michael Okpere, Dr kazeem Durodoye FEEDBACk AND MAIlS Etcetera is published as an insert in LEADERSHIP Sunday.

Please do send your pictures, stories, mails and enquiries to osezua.gloria@leadership.ng

et cetera

Sunday, December 21, 2014

35

iNSIDE story

Nudity Is A Wrong Fashion Sense

By Blessing Ukemena, Abuja

E

ntertainment celebrities the world over seem to be in a nudity contest.

Every week there seem to be one celebrity or the other on the cover of magazine showing off parts of their bodies.

Famous celebrities like Rihanna and Lady Gaga have been recently over taken by Miley Cirus in Nudity. Others that enjoy the nude fame are Christina Aguilera, Kim Kardashian, Katty Perry and Linsay Lohan. Nuidity has become such an appealing trend that Jennifer Aniston once posed nude on a magazine cover. More worrisome is the reality that African who are known to be conservative, beginning to throw all cautions to the wind, to join in the nudity contest.

Nigerian gospel artiste, Mahheda has been making waves this year, because of her tendency to post nude and semi nude pictures on her instagram account. She is also known for her controversial make semi-nude music videos.

Although, Maheeda was said to be into prostitution before she found the Lord and went into music.

She has one daughter and does not believe that her nude pictures or videos will have any negative effect on her daughter.

Jennifer Aniston explored the world of free love and nudity with Paul Rudd in the film “Wanderlust.” She has been quoted as saying being nudity in movies is liberating. Other Nigerian stars like With the like Dencia, actress Afrocandy, model Ify Jones, Iyanya, Peter Okoye of Psquare and others leading the trend, celebs have found a way to take advantage of every opportunity to show off some skin, be it on the red carpets or on Instagram photos. This trend has gotten many the much-needed attention that they desire in their careers as musicians, actors or models. It starts with a little show of cleavage and then other major body parts begin to follow in the

What they said...

Nudity Is A Wrong Fashion Sense

raunchiest of photos Ken Kwanga, a Film Director had this to say on the nudity trend, “Maybe they feel that it will increase their popularity, mostly the female stars. Altogether it is very appalling what they post on the internet these days. It

the Federal Capital Territory, said “I cannot understand why some of our celebrities will allow the world to see their private parts.

Especially the women. In the African culture the man can do anything and get away with it but not the woman, each act of hers

of America, CFDA awards in a near naked dress. It is said that she has a perfume called Nude. Quite ironically she was given a style icon award at that ceremony. Magret Jatau, who is a photographer and a female activist made some comments about

seems that the best way to get to their fans but there are lot of entertainers that are making waves without being so scandalous about their bodies. As a man I would not subscribe to such behaviour. If you do that people get a bad image when they think of you and a good name is better than bad reputation” he said The question of ‘why’ Africans have resorted to nudity has been unanswered, however, Mr Femi Olugbade, a fashion designer in

is recorded in the mind of people for a long time. I think those that indulge in nudity have a risky mindset, a mindset that does not consider the consequences of their actions. As a fashion designer I would not encourage nudity for any gender.”

Looking beyond Africa, the world’s media are still talking about 26 year old Rihanna, who caused a world stir earlier this month, when she attended the Council of Fashion Designers

that, “She has always been a very daring woman but to turn up to an awards ceremony looking so brazenly intimidating in that dress! How could she possibly eschew society’s norms of how a woman should dress at such an event and look so defiantly sexy?

Why isn’t she wearing a bra?

And they gave her a style award?

And when she is accosted and raped she would start to say it sexual violence? The world must really be coming to an end. Even

“Maybe they feel that it will increase their popularity, mostly the female stars.

Altogether it is very appalling what they post on the internet these days. It seems that the best way to get to their fans but there are lot of entertainers that are making waves without being so scandalous about their bodies."

Ken Kwanga, Film Director

“I cannot understand why some of our celebrities will allow the world to see their private parts. Especially the women. In the African culture the man can do anything and get away with it but not the woman, each act of hers is recorded in the mind of people for a long time.”

Mr Femi Olugbade, fashion designer

“People that dress nude are so out there, there mind is not limited to what most of us think about.

The internet is now awash with people who want to get cheap popularity by posting nude pictures of themselves. Rihanna for example is living her life and don’t care what the world thinks of what she does. it seems that excess fabric so often gets in the way for her.''

though I am a feminist this is one of those things that women should not do, nudity is a wrong fashion sense” she said.

Kadija Hassan is a blogger and stated her opinion on nudity, “People that dress nude are so out there, there mind is not limited to what most of us think about. The internet is now awash with people who want to get cheap popularity by posting nude pictures of themselves.

Rihanna for example is living her life and don’t care what the world thinks of what she does.

She smokes cannabis publicly, dances like a serpent and doesn’t believe in the concept of layering clothing – it seems that excess fabric so often gets in the way for her. Miley Cyrus has turned out to be so different from the Disney princess I used to love.

She is hell bent on contradicting the good girl image we had of her. I know she will have a rethink by the time she is 30 years old” she said.

Most actresses and musicians believe that going nude will help their career and to an extent it actually does but is it worth it?

Micheal Ojibade is an upcoming artiste in the FCT and says that nudity is the famous way of life, “When you’re a celebrity, posing naked is completely acceptable - as long as it’s done in a way that can be considered ‘arty way.

Nigerian just don’t know how do it. Christina Aguilera did it in her Lotus album, Lady Gaga does it like all the time and gets commendations. We just have to know How to do it. But I also think that if you have the real stuff as a talent then the world will recognise you without seeing your body. So many actresses and musicians are doing it these days. Chioma Chukwuka is one actress I love because you can rarely see her act a nude or semi nude role in a movie. There are some other just like her Joke Silver, Genevie, Omotola so nudity is just cheap but it great too,” he said.

“When you’re a celebrity, posing naked is completely acceptable - as long as it’s done in a way that can be considered ‘arty way. Nigerian just don’t know how do it. Christina Aguilera did it in her Lotus album, Lady Gaga does it like all the time and gets commendations. We just have to know How to do it. But I also think that if you have the real stuff as a talent then the world will recognise you without seeing your body."

Kadija Hassan, blogger

We want to know what you think about our inside story above. You can have your say by emailing osezua.gloria@leadership.ng

Micheal Ojibade, Artiste

36 etcetera

Sunday, December 21, 2014

tech GUIDE

choosing the right computer for yourself The key thing to understand when buying is where are you buying? What do you want it to do and where will you have the computer? Is it an object of desire or an object of work?

There are essentially two different types of computer: the desktop and the laptop.

Desktops tend to have a bigger screen, or flat monitor, and keyboard.

Laptops have a plasma screen and keyboard that can fold into one.

Various things affect the performance of your computer, but two of the most standard factors are the amount of memory and the speed of the processor chip. Logically the

more memory you have available the more tasks your computer can do. If you have a faster processor chip, then your memory can process theses tasks more quickly.

You need to buy a computer that matches your use, and the best way to do this is to get the right software, that is, the memory and the information package that will suit you.

Then decide on the outer shell. The most popular types are: personal computers (known as PC’s) or Apple Macintosh (Macs).

Both the software that runs on your computer, and the data referred to as files

are stored in folders.

Hence the slightly antiquated phrase ‘desktop publishing’ as it as originally designed to be – like an all-in-one desktop with electronic paper, its folders and all the stuff you need, just tidier.

The difference between Pcs and Macs In terms of hardware PCs and Macs are very similar; where they differ is in terms of their software or operating system.

PCs use the Windows operating system, made by Macintosh OS operating system, made by Apple, the latest version being OS X (operating system number 10 – in roman numerals).

Both PCs and Macs have very similar types of software for word processing, browsing the internet, listening to music, watching DVDs. However, they run differently because the operating systems are different. You can also have Mac and PC versions of the samename software; for example a Mac version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, or a PC version of Apple’s iTunes Music software.

If fully charged, laptops can run without electrical leads, but desktops do need the power supply to function. Obviously the final decision depends on your usage.

If you want to take it

everywhere with you, not to self: think of the handbag and travel/ car situation. Can you manage this? Or are you happy to have it as an ornament on your desk?

Laptops are usually more expensive than desktops. Also there are significantly fewer Mac users than there are PC users, despite what the advertising tells you. Check who you are going to be contacting or working with and whether your computers will be on compatible systems before purchasing.

lesson101 The Mouse Trap A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see a farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered.

He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr Mouse, I

can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.” The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathised, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.” The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said. “Wow, Mr Mouse I’m sorry for

you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house – like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone said, “You treat a fever with fresh chicken soup”. The farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one is threatened, everyone is at risk. Everyone is involved in this journey called ‘life’. You must keep an eye out for another and make an extra effort to encourage others. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry. www.rogerdarlinton.me.uk

et cetera

Sunday, December 21, 2014

LIFE101

A GIRL’S GUIDE

How to cope with being broke Like dear St. Francis of Assisi, I am wedded to poverty, but in my case, the marriage is not a success.

There will be times when, through no fault of your own, you are poor.

Flat broke. It happens to the best of us. The best way to cope with this is are to tighten the belt and get your financial organization into play.

If you are aware that you are about to reach danger levels, perhaps take a step before you hit a crisis point. But if it sneaks up on you by surprise, here are the easiest way to deal with it.

List all your outgoing expenses (bills, meals out, in shopping travel and forth.)

Write down all your monthly incoming funds.

Do they add up? Are you in profit? Do you break even?

Good grief, Is it time to start baby-sitting again?

Are there any outstanding payments owed to you and can you cover all your out goings and account for them all?

Is there anyone who could lend you some money? I know Shakespeare said,” Neither a borrower or a lender be,” but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Are there favours you could call in or anyone who owes you? Family member? Friend? Could you have a yard sale? Are there any trinket or any past fashion triumphs that you could bear to part with or sell on eBay? Stay in and cut back on your spending.

Get friends to take pity

on you and take you outthis will also shed light on who your real friends are.

The poverty week would also be a good week to accept any work lunches, dinner parties (providing transport included), and blind dates (dinner only obviously: things are not that desperate).

Go to the library to browse and borrow, rather than buy. You don’t feel want to get cabin fever, so go window- shoppingthere is no fee to try stuff on- and put the perfect little black dress on hold.

If you have to make

Couch Potato

WHAT YOU CAN WATCH ON CABLE TV

tODAY

MONDAY

The Tourist 8:00PM on e.tv

The African Energy Report 8:30 PM on Bloomberg

37

purchase, make the shopping trips budget sensitive. Therapy is always helpful in times of depression, and retail is one of the most effective drugs. Set yourself challenge to get the perfect thing for under $20, and if you fail, spring clean and delve deeper into your wardrobe. After all, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston have made the Gap look like couture. If they can do it, why can you? Get creative and do some revamping. The same could apply to the kitchen;

TUESDAY

Puncture 8:00PM on M-Net Movies Stars

WEDNESDAY

Blue Bloods 8:00PM on M-Net Series Zone

baked potatoes a la that jar of something that was lurking in the cupboard could be exciting, a dash of mustard will bring spice to your baked beans, as well as numb the taste buds. The possibilities are endless.

Turn off your cell phone from a day while you think about dilemma.

Limit visits to danger zones, e.g. the malls.

In extreme poverty – stricken moments, remove your credit cards from your wallets.

Culled from The Girl’s Guide to Almost Everything

THURSDAY

Trisha 5:20PM on Sony

The loser who never gave up!

When he was a little boy his uncle called him “Sparky,” after a comic-strip horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky.

He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics in high school, getting a grade of zero. He also flunked Latin, algebra and English.

And his record in sports wasn’t any better. Though he did manage to make the school’s golf team, he promptly lost the only important match of the season. Oh, there was a consolation match; he lost that too.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn’t that the other students disliked him; it’s just that no one really cared all that much.

In fact, Sparky was astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. There’s no way to tell how he might have done at dating.

He never once asked a girl out in high school.

He was too afraid of being turned down… or perhaps laughed at. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates… everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would.

Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.

One thing was important to Sparky, however, drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one else appreciated it. But that didn’t seem to matter to him. In his senior year of high school, he submitted some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors rejected the concept. Despite this brushoff, Sparky was convinced of his ability. He even decided to become an artist.

So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples of his artwork. Despite careful preparation, it too was rejected. One more confirmation that he was a loser.

But Sparky still didn’t give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life’s story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the perpetual loser and chronic underachiever.

You know him well. Because Sparky’s cartoon character went on to become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. People readily identified with this “lovable loser.” He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and their shared humanity.

The character soon became famous worldwide: “Charlie Brown.” And Sparky, the boy whose many failures never kept him from trying, whose work was rejected again and again… is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip, “Peanuts,” continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us, as someone once commented, that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.

Sparky’s story reminds us of a very important principle in life. We all face difficulty and discouragement from time to time. We also have a choice in how we handle it. If we’re persistent, if we hold fast to our faith, if we continue to develop the unique talents God has given us, who knows what can happen? We may end up with an insight and an ability to inspire that comes only through hardship. In the end, there are no “losers” with God. Some winners just take longer to develop!

By CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, SOURCE - academictips.org

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

The Nanny Express 10:00PM on M-Net Movies Family

Legally Blondes 12:20PM on Studio Universal

38 etcetera

Sunday, December 21, 2014

PEOPLE TRACKER

FAIRLADY

Nene khama’s gorgeous look is breathtaking.

Chidera Didigu’s slim nature rocks in a suede wrapper.

FASHIONISTA

Omowunmi Masha indeed knows how to pull out a sophisticated look.

TOTALLY ELEGANT

Fatima Muhammad Ahmad is totally fabulous.

PLUM LOOK Bukola Enaboifo looking all glamourous.

SIMPLE Lilian in a simple designed black kaftan

TRIM AND SWEET

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas: How Relevant In The Face Of Today’s Global Challenges?

The Christmas season is a time of reflection on the essence of the moment. Obed Minchakpu, writes on this mood of the season and why it is necessary for everyone who believes that God’s mandate towards humanity is reflected through His son who is the reason for the celebration The question: ‘Christmas, how relevant in the face of today’s global challenges’? is timely and pertinent such that it requires an answer, and urgently too, if we, as a church, are to live up to our mandate of reaching a world in crisis with a message of hope.

To answer the question, we must, first, have a clear perspective of the current global situation and then think of the method(s) that we can use in presenting the message of Christmas to a world at the brink of facing a bleak future.

There is no doubt that our world is currently engulfed in crisis of unprecedented dimension as never before experienced in human history. From the diametric rise in terrorism to the global catastrophic environmental crises which have manifested in global warming resulting in murderous storms, floods, and typhoons.

Terrorism, for instance, has become a global phenomenon that is devouring human lives.

Africa and its people are, today, facing the challenges of insurgency as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, and Boko Haram islamists are holding African countries to ransom.

There are also new health challenges as new diseases with no known cures have bedeviled most countries of the world, especially the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These diseases range from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, and the likes. Our continent, the African continent, is ravaged by these disease and the situation seems helpless even with the intervention of developed nations.

Further more, we see that there is geometric rise in poverty across most developing countries as most of the populations of these nations live below the poverty line. Desertification is spreading like wild fire, forcing peoples in worst hit areas in Africa to migrate to other less devastating areas and thereby bringing along with it conflicts.

In all these, is the message of Christmas still relevant? Can

the message of Christmas minister healing to those in desperate health situations? Can the message give hope to those in hopeless situations, and can this message restore confidence in those gripped with fear?

These are pertinent questions that demand urgent answers.

What is God saying to us in such situations? Are there answers in the Bible, the word of God, for such a time as this?

Let’s turn to the Bible and see what God is saying.

The nation of Israel in her history, had encountered tough times, but God had always brought them out of their predicament because of His Covenant with them. We see an example of his covenant relationship with them when he liberated them from Egypt and brought them out of bondage to the promised land.

In one encounter recorded in the book of Exodus, we see that the people of Israel were griped with fear when they found themselves in an impossible situation. But even in what seemed to them to be the end, God intervened on their behalf and offered them deliverance.

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13 - 14:14 KJV).

Are we not gripped by fear of the unknown? Are we not scared because of activities of terrorists and Islamists, who bomb our churches, our cities, and attack our rural communities? But be assured that even in this, we shall overcome as our God is a covenant keeping God. We have been assured of a place in God’s salvation plan through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. So, fear not!

Christmas is not a festival and neither is it a time for frivolous activities. It is an event of great magnitude as it reminds us of God’s unfailing love for

Christmas tree in Lagos

His creatures. The birth of Jesus Christ ushered in a historical epoch in human history as humanity had the opportunity of being reconciled to God. Jesus, during his earthly ministry stated without ambiguity that his mission is to preach good news, grant healing to the sick, and liberate captives.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18 -19 KJV).

Jesus did not just make claims of having power and authority to heal the sick, but practically demonstrated this by healing all that were sick who encountered him. The Bible testifies to this: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people”.(Matthew 4:23 KJV).

We also see Jesus demonstrating his power as God by calming storms and commanding environmental elements to obey him.

“And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And

he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!.”

(Matthew 8:23 - 27 KJV).

Against this backdrop, we can comfortably and without contradictions answer questions raised initially in this piece by saying that the message of Christmas is still very relevant and will continue to be relevant to the world until the second manifestation of Jesus Christ, when all believers will be raptured into his heavenly kingdom. Just like during the earthly ministry of Jesus, the world today more than at any other time, needs his message of deliverance and salvation.

Therefore, it is incumbent on us to carry out the Great Commission, just as Christ commanded: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen!”

(Matthew 28:17 - 28:20 KJV).

So, as you celebrate your being a partaker in God’s offer of salvation to mankind, this Christmas season, remember that beyond this celebration, you’re to share this good news with others.

The message of Christmas is still very relevant and will continue to be relevant to the world until the second manifestation of Jesus Christ

40 feature

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos: A City Full Of Drama And Intrigues Mention the top ten happiest people in the world and you are bound to find a Lagosian topping the list. Despite the fact that it is expensive to stay in the city, many Lagosians prefer to live their lives to the fullest in the state. GEORGE OKOJIE writes

F

or nearly his entire life Adebisi Ogunwale, 67 had lived in Oregun, Ikeja area of Lagos state, the commercial nerve centre of the country, as a little child, bachelor and family man, developing relations with neighbours irrespective of their ethnicity and religion.

He is very pleased with himself. The reason being that he was able to apply the ‘can do’ spirit of the average Lagosian to reverse the popular notion in the state that money made in Lagos is also spent in the city without achieving anything tangible with it.

Ogunwale admits to LEADERSHIP Sunday that, “It is very expensive to live in Lagos. Accommodation is very expensive, transportation is expensive, you have to arrange to drill a borehole to get your own water, provide electricity for yourself, spend money on community development and still pay your tax to government. Before you know it, you will be left with nothing. “But I am very happy that today, I am a fulfilled man. I am a landlord here in Lagos; I was able to build my own house and send my children to higher institution. You can see I am not af-

fected by the saying that ‘money made in Lagos is also spent in Lagos’ for nothing. I achieved something good with my own.” His story is not different from many other teeming Lagosians living in the former capital of the country, populated by tough, tireless, talented and ambitious people in search of greener pastures. Today, Lagos is a lively hub and a confluence of people always on the go with a ‘can-do’ attitude that is fondly referred to as ‘Lasgidi’.

The expensive nature has been traced to the population density of the state put at 21 million living and working in the state. It is currently the second most populous city in Africa and the seventh largest growing metropolis in the world. Statistics show that hotels in Lagos are the second most expensive in the world, being second to none other than Moscow.

The survey was said to have been conducted in 50 cities worldwide and it was found out that a hotel room in Lagos cost an average of £217.05. That’s about N55, 000.

Geneva comes third with rooms priced at an average of £215.92.

For instance Ambassador Suite at Lagos Oriental Hotel located very

close to Lekki Phase 1 roundabout is N404,300 per night, the Classic Deluxe room is N98,200. The Classic Superior room here cost N75,000. For the Junior Suite, one must be ready to pay 161,700. The executive junior Suite and the business suite at Lagos oriental hotel goes for N231,000 and N288,880 respectively. The presidential suite at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja located some minutes drive from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport costs N353,150 Naira an equivalent of $ 2,350 US Dollars per night.

Rent-wise, prospective tenants find it very difficult to settle down in Lagos because of the ever-increasing rent. A mini flat in the suburbs goes for N200,000 per annum, while a 3-bedroom flat that is high in demand goes for between N350,000 and N400,000. In highbrow Victoria Island area, a 3-bedroom flat is rented for N12miliion while a 4-bedroom is about N19million. A 5-bedroom detached house on Adeola Odeku in Victoria Island range between N15million to N19million per annum.

On Akin Adesola, open plan offices available rents for between N80,000 to N90,000/sqm while in Ajose Adeogun, it goes for an average of N40,000/sqm. Commercial properties are not different in Ikoyi as office space rent for between N25,000 to N40,000/s qm.

A major price determinant would be the facilities that are provided in the building. It is possible to find detached houses that have been modified to suit commercial purposes along Awolowo Road. Rental rates for detached houses range from N10million to N15million.

As a result of the flooding of the state with food items, they are relatively cheaper in Lagos compared to prices of food item in some cities in the country like Federal Capital Territory and Port Harcourt. A

heap of yam in Mile 12 Ketu market can be bought for N20,000 and could be as much as N30,000 in Abuja and Port Harcourt. Directly from the vendors it is possible to buy five tubers of yam for N2,000 or N1, 500 while the medium size now goes for N600 and N800. Depending on the size, a big basket of tomatoes can be procured for N2,500, while the medium size sells for N1,800 in Mile 12 market in Ketu but could be cheaper during the harvest season. You can still get pepper, onions and tomatoes for as low as N50 per heap of about 10 pieces at Ikpodo market, in Ikeja.

Transportation is not left out.

While it costs only N150 to move from Eket to Oron in Akwa Ibom State for instance, which is one major part of the state to the other, the fare from Ojodu Berger to Obalende is N250,00 by bus and as high as N3,000 when chartering a taxi.

Interestingly, these developments aggravated by tax regime of the state government do not bother Lagosians, who find they are just at home with the system.

According to John Mbonu, a spare parts dealer at Ladipo market, “ I cannot just imagine living outside Lagos. It is a lively city.

Anytime I travel to my home town in Imo state, it feels like I am ill or something. “The environment is dull, social activities very low. By 7pm people are already asleep; I get bored because I am not used to such a quiet lifestyle any more. I just hurriedly conclude my schedule and come back to Lagos where there are opportunities to do one thing or the other and make money to take care of yourself and the family.” Steve Olulonyo , a sociologist said, “ Lagos state mega city status was forced on the state by the daily influx of people who see the state as a land of opportunities. You discover that it is home to all. They come in and do not go back. People in Lagos go to bed without a meal but could wake up a millionaire. Its huge population is an asset.

There are so many areas and potentials still waiting to be explored. “This is what attracts people to any place. They start with little and end up big. Although expensive to live in, Lagos is peaceful and so far,has not experienced security threats in the state compared to other parts of the country.

People mind their business, no matter the car you are riding, nobody cares.”

Lagosians believe they can do better than their neighbours with time. No matter how difficult the situation, a Lagos family will not cook a pot of soup without fish or meat. “Let me quickly tell you this, there is element of enjoyment in the gene of a Lagosian. By the time they are adapted to this spirit of the city and the bustling network, people find it difficult to settle in any other part of the world.”

Today, Lagos is a lively hub and a confluence of people always on the go with a ‘can-do’ attitude that is fondly referred to as ‘Lasgidi’

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

bottom lines 70% 1,000,000 Percentage cash savings being offered by Kaymu.com.ng on some selected products for 7 days in the spirit of Christmas.

Number of displaced Nigerians who may not participate in the coming General Elections in 2015 according to INEC.

Dangote Flour Mills posts N6.1bn loss in 2014 IN SHORT NNPC takes over 51 per cent shares of Stallion Property The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Monday formally took over the full ownership of Stallion Property Development Company.

Under the arrangement, Federal Government’s 51 per cent shares in the residual assets of Stallion Property Development Company were sold to NNPC Pension Fund Limited.

Benjamin Dikki, directorgeneral of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), handed over the certificate of Stallion Property’s 161.814 million shares to NNPC, seven years after the commencement of the privatisation of the company.

According to Dikki, the Bureau at a meeting held on October 31, 2013 sought the approval of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for the privatisation of the Federal Government’s 51 per cent shares in the residual assets of Stallion Property to NNPC Pension Fund Limited.

“The request was predicated on earlier approval granted in 2006 that the proceeds from the divestment of FG’s 51 per cent shareholding in Stallion Property NNPC takes over 51 per cent shares of Stallion Property be used to part bridge the funding gap (about N63 billion then) in the NNPC staff pension fund.

COMPANY

SECRETS

Don Argus, CEO, National Australia Bank Group

President/CEO,Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote

Dangote Flour Mills Plc (DFM) on Wednesday posted a loss of N6.109bn to N7.217bn the previous year, the flour miller said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Audited results for the period ended September 30, 2014 shows that profit before tax also was negative as the company moved from a loss of N8.342bn in 2013 to N9.285bn in the review period of 2014.

However, the flour miller reported revenue growth of 37.7 per cent to N41.269bn from

41

BoostiNG Sales

N29.960bn recorded the corresponding year.

Similarly, gross profit increased 272.9 per cent to N2.396bn from N642.6m reported last year.

DFM reported its basic and diluted earnings dropped 21.6 per cent to N124.40 from N158.66 in 2013.

The company reacting to the result said the business recovered from a poor first quarter and recorded a 15 per cent topline growth in the last quarter over the corresponding period of 2013.

It affirmed procurement efficiencies, improved flour extraction and other cost efficiency measures led to substantially improved margins as compared to 2013.

“Whilst these results reflect the difficult and competitive trading environment in which the business operates, many actions have been taken to address the challenges faced by the company,” DFM added.

“During the year, the company conducted a review of the carrying value of its assets and based on current market realities, has decided to impair certain of its manufacturing assets.

“The 2014 group results include an impairment of N1.592bn, being the carrying value of surplus assets the business is unlikely to use in the foreseeable future,” it added.

Controlling shareholder in DFM, South African Tiger Brands Ltd said on Wednesday it full-year profit ended September 30, dipped 22 per cent to 2.02bn rand ($183m) from N2.58bn reported last year due largely to impairments relating to the group’s investment in Dangote Flour Mills.

The South African consumer goods maker said it has written off $9.5 million (105 million rands) following a review of the utilisation level of certain assets of DFM, according to a statement from the company.

Patriotism serves up American consumers Memorial Day kicks off months of patriotic celebrations.

Patriotism is a grand example of an ideal that carries its own momentum. Tapping into red, white, and blue is a good way to add colour to your various sales programmes.

A locally owned group of restaurants found themselves hurting for business on holiday weekends that include outdoor celebrations, so they developed an approach to celebrating the holidays with customers, employees and suppliers,. They did not have a big advertising budget so they needed to spread the word in a creative way. Here is what they did: 1. 12 month planning: identified the dates for their campaigns around three summer holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labour Day. 2. Leveraged interaction: ask customers, employees and suppliers to help collect interesting facts for trivia questions and items for the prize packages. (they got gifts, too: free food and American flags.)

3. Cross-Promotions: displayed the rules and prize package (a picnic kit including items from other merchants) along with advertising for local holiday celebrations.

4. Cheap advertising: placed flyers on the tables inviting customers to play the game and eat here at least one day the week of the holiday and receive extra chances at prizes.

5. Free publicity: contact local media with the story.

Focusing leadership through corporate values The National Australia Bank Group has been one of the outstanding success stories of the Australian corporate sector over the past decade. In the nineties, the National has grown its profits from $250m to $1.7bn, a rate of 23 per cent per year (compound average). It has grown its assets at a compound rate of 17 per cent per year. Today, the National is Australia’s most profitable company, its largest bank and its second largest listed company, with total assets of over $142bn and a market capitalisation of over $17.2bn. In 1990,

Don Argus became group managing director and CEO of the National. Recognised as Australia’s leading banker, the challenge before him was to manage rapid corporate growth in the swiftly evolving banking and financial services sector, where globalisation, technology and deregulation are increasingly influencing industry change.

In 1994, the bank found itself in a situation where the persuasive changes taking place in the industry were escalating the need to make their own internal organisational

changes. These both accelerated the pace and added considerable complexity to the task of transition.

The complexity has placed a great deal of pressure on our traditional management and operational processes – in fact, it has defined the nature of a contemporary banking and financial services group. Some of the issues that have surfaced are what types of product to offer, distribution channels, market profile, and image. In response, the National has adopted a new approach to selling and marketing.

42 CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

hub $11,000,000,000 Compiled by Olujide Olusola

Worth of investment in an oil refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser plant in Nigeria by Aliko Dangote.

L-R: CEO, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Wilsher; president, Dangote Group, Alhaji Ailko Dangote; chairman, Econet Wireless International, Mr Strive Masiyiwa; minister of health, Dr Haliru Alhassan; chairperson, African Union, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, at the ‘#AfricaAgainstEbola’ in Lagos recently. PHOTO: GBENGA OLAJOBI

L-R: Executive director, small and medium enterprises, Bank of Industry, Mr Waheed Olagunju; minister of industry, trade and investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, and president, Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industry, Chief Chukwu Nwachukwu, at the National summit on MSMEs in Abuja recently. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA

Vaughan Williams @Vaughan_William “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”

Food for thought on the eve of something big.

Richard Branson @ richardbranson Successful people connect with people, make the most of meetings and build relationships.

Nilofer Merchant Tony O. Elumelu, @nilofer CON tweets 3 leadership types. @TonyOElumelu Those who INTERATE, I am completely improving results. confident in our Those who INTRODUCE continents ability to propel itself us to ideas. from developing to developed in Those who INTERRUPT oldthe near future. thinking.

fav

5.4%

Percentage decline of Nigeria’s total value of merchandise trade in third quarter (Q3) 2014 according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

L-R: Regional sales manager (South West), Olamsanyo Foods Ltd, Mr Rakesh Kumar; winner in the promo, Miss Ighovwemerehor Racheal; head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos office, Mr Tam Tamunokonbia, and chief executive officer, Olamsanyo Foods Ltd, Mr Siddharth Suri, during the company’s prize presentation to winner of Cherie Instant Noodles Naira Hunt free money, at Ikotun Market recently. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA

L-R: Managing director/CEO, Bank of Industry, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa; deputy governor of Anambra State, Dr Nkem Okeke; minister of industry, trade and investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga; chairman/managing director, Innoson Industries, Mr Innocent Chukwuma, and former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, at the unveiling ceremony of Innoson’s made-in-Nigeria Cars, at the company’s factory at Nnewi in Anambra State recently. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA

The Penang Club, Malaysia The membership has increased markedly in Penang Club, in the hub of Georgetown, Penang and located at the sea front, is not the past few years. To serve the increased membership, extensive modernization is only a well-preserved landmark but also being planned. The Club has an active social has been a second home to generations and recreational calendar which features of leaders in commerce, industry and special dinners, buffets, club nights, government. Club Members hail guest artistes and related activities from all walks of life. They are for Members, their families and among the current generation of guests. With the ever-increasing business leaders, professionals, academics, politicians, senior works cost of food and beverages in hotels and restaurants, the Club minimizes government officials, military it by providing similar services and officers, diplomats and other facilities to Members. In short, it is a community leaders. Early in the home away from home where Members Club’s history, the demand for its services caused it to outgrow a couple of clubhouses feel comfortable and enjoy the amenities and facilities to their satisfaction. before the present one was built in 1964.

net

CEOConfidential

Sunday, Decemeber 21, 2014

25%

Percentage growth in gross premium written by Equity Assurance plc for the year ended December 31, 2013.

43

$11,000,000,000 Worth of investment in an oil refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser plant in Nigeria by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

YOUR FYI FOR INFORMATION

L-R: Director, Livestock Feeds Plc. (LSF), a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc., Mr Godwin Samuel; managing director, LSF, Mrs Modupe Asanmo; directors of LSF, Mr Joe Dada and Mrs Omolara Elemide, and special projects manager, UAC, Mr Mukhtar Yakasai, at the launch of Aquamax Fish Feed by LSF in Lagos.

PHOTO: GBENGA OLAJOBI

The craic

The Irish have a similar desire to have fun with other people, summarised in the concept of the craic. In an age when there are Irish bars offering craic in Azerbaijan, Chile, Hong Kong and Thailand, to name but a few, the concept borders on the clichéd. But craic is still real enough in Ireland: a word that defines exulting in the moment, surrounded by others, having a wildly enjoyable time.

But this isn’t all, for the craic has a gossipy element to it, too, as in ‘what is the craic?’ or ‘Didja hear the craic about Mary?’ one anonymous bar philosopher once defined craic by describing it as acronym of the following five Gaelic words: ceol (music); rince (dance); amhrain (songs); inis scealta (storytelling), and cainte (gossip). Certainly it represents the pure essence of a certain type of Irishness, and like the black stuff, is never quite so good away from the Emerald Isle. So if you are over there, and hear that the craic at a party is going to be ‘mighty,’ go.

DoING Business Leadership and status with Thais

L-R: General manager, large scale enterprises, Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr Joseph Babatunde; managing director/CEO of the bank, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa; chairman/CEO, Swipha Swiss Pharma Nigeria Ltd, Mr Cummings, and executive director, Swipha, Mr Bame Pule, during the visit of BOI management to Swipha pharmaceutical office, Dopemu, Lagos recently. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA

HOW THEY

BLEW IT

Mark Goldberg

Paying the penalty continueS FROM LAST WEEK He then installed Italian Attilio Lombardo and the soon-to-retire Tomas Brolin as playermanagers, something football observers referred to with some understatement as ‘strange’. Not only was Lombardo one of the club’s key players, he didn’t even speak English. The arrangement did not last, but in an even more eccentric move, Goldberg appointed former owner Ron Noades alongside Coach Ray Lewington, as caretaker manager.

The club was relegated from the Premier League, finishing bottom of the table. But Goldberg had not even started. In his bid to make Crystal Palace one of the nation’s leading teams, he installed former England head coach, Terry

Venables as manager.

While Venables or El Tel as he is known to the British tabloids, was and to some extent remains a a favourite with the fans, he also courted controversy. In January 1998, the High Court in London banned him from being a company director for seven years. In their case against Venables, the Department of Trade and Industry outlined instances of bribery, lying, deception, manipulation of accounts and taking money that should have been given to creditors.

Although the case was set to take three weeks, the fact that he decided to admit or not contest 19 specific allegations made against him meant it was over in five minutes. continues next week

In 1257, the Kingdom of Sukhothai adopted the paternalistic system of government. The king, while enjoying absolute sovereign power, looked after his subjects like a father and personally paid close attention to their well-being. The Khmer system had been on the concept of divine Right (not unlike England’s). The bloodless coup of 1932 that led to Thailand changing from absolute to constitutional monarchy did little to alter this structure. Today the king’s power emanates from the people; he is the head of state and of the armed forces and is upholder of Buddhism and all other religions.

In Thailand authority and power are considered natural to the human condition. The holder of power has accumulated merit in a previous life.

The best leader is one who emphasises most with his subordinates.

There is a clear hierarchy of status: king, aristocracy, government officials, priests, doctors, professors, businesspeople, others. The military, while influential, is always in the background. Hierarchy is good for you, subordinates are happy with their station in life. There is a certain amount of social mobility, but one doesn’t challenge the system.

44 CEOConfidential

entrepreneur 2.8

Sunday, December 21, 2014

400

Number of points by which the NOI Polls Consumer Confidence Index for November 2014 declined to 68.8-points.

SMALL BUSINESS Six mobile marketing tips for small businesses Mobile phones are essential to shopping these days, and a majority of cell phone owners say they’re willing to share personal data with merchants in exchange for such things as coupons and discounts.

But navigating mobile marketing can be confusing for small business owners, who must avoid bombarding people with unwanted texts while they’re slogging through crowds of holiday shoppers. So how can local merchants use mobile marketing effectively? Here are six tips.

Focus on customers Consider how consumers already interact with their mobile devices and take advantage of that behavior.

Eliminate anything that makes buying more difficult, such as a website that doesn’t load correctly on a mobile device or hard-to-find contact information. Optimise your customers’ mobile Web experiences by adding “click to call” and “click for directions” features, suggests Jeff Fagel, chief marketing officer at G/O Digital. Make sure all your marketing messages look great on the small screens where people are increasingly opening them, says Jessica Stephens, chief marketing officer at marketing technology company SmartFocus. She says 30 percent of mobile shoppers abandon transactions that aren’t optimised for mobile and 57 per cent abandon sites that take more than three seconds to load. continues Next WEEK

His STORY

Number of Kenyan women Intel trained on ICT usage recently.

Alex Nyaga Mentoring young ideas Alex Nyaga is the CEO of Parapet Group, which encompasses two companies: Parapet Cleaning Services and Parapet Hospitality and Business Institute. His flare for entrepreneurship started as far back as 1993, when he painted Christmas trees on windows as a high school student. “There were paying me $55 for every window. That was a lot of money,” he recalled in a recent interview with How we made it in Africa.

As a visionary and passionate entrepreneur who wants to impact greatly on his society, Nyaga started the company in 1997, and has grown it to become a leading player in the industry employing 3,500 people and offering cleaning solutions for both domestic and commercial customers. Its clients include airports, hospitals, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and private residences.

He owes his success to the commitment, sacrifice and dedication of his board of directors. “Their support – whether financial or technical, and through mentorship – has been priceless,” he commended.

Projecting into the future, the astute entrepreneur who relaxes by swimming said, “I am currently mentoring six young entrepreneurs and am a trustee of the Kenya Youth Business Trust (KYBT), an organisation that provides training, funding and advisory support to young entrepreneurs in their first three years of business. Moving forward I want to do more mentorship and help other people grow their businesses. I also want to increase my involvement in philanthropic work.”

Speaking on how Africa can realise its full potential Nyaga said, “We need to remove these borders and work as one Africa. If countries worked together I believe the synergies that would come out of that integration would make Africa a formidable economy.”

As an insightful entrepreneur, he has the following advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs: “They should first find a purpose. Why do they exist?

Once you identify your purpose you then work to bring that purpose to fruition. I believe purpose brings out the passion, the resilience. And in turn that gives you the drive to accomplish your goals.”

By Daniel Udechukwu with How we made it in Africa

Olawale Lawal, CEO, Wisdom Gate Radio How did you get to where you are today?

WiGRadio started operation last year even though Wisdom Gate Communications the mother organisation has been in existence for much longer. Our business is Wisdom Gate Radio a.k.a WiGRadio live 247 via www.wigradio.com.

What have you learnt over the years?

I have learnt to start with whatever you have. We started WiGRadio with just two hundred naira and determination

to succeed, and that has brought us to a point where we have listeners across more than 100 countries on planet earth.

What were the challenges you faced?

The first challenge was that I knew little or nothing about internet radio when we started.

I’m getting along and things are getting better day by day.

How did you overcome them?

I had to learn a lot of things online. It was then that I also learnt that you need two Gs to succeed in life. The first G is God

while the second G is Google.

What are your future projections for your business?

We are starting WiGTV very soon and we would want to go into the normal Radio and Television frequency.

How do you intend to achieving these projections?

We already have some strategies to adopt Any advice for younger entreprneur?

Believe in yourself and take action.

Contact Lawal on +2348039701132

By Olujide Olusola

46 CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

tipoffs N1,200,000,000,000 2,600,000 Compiled by Olujide Olusola

SECRETS OF LONGETIVITY

Play it cool in summertime

During the hot season, keep a cool head: choose exercise activities that won’t overheat your boy. In summer your exercise routine should consist of swimming, ice-skating, working out in air-conditioned gyms, and practicing yoga and tai chi. Studies show that the risk of stroke is here times higher on warmer days than on colder days. In fact, the peak months for stroke are June, July and August.

So in summertime make sure to drink plenty of water in a cool environment.

Don’t let the heat get to your head.

BOOKMARK

The Balanced Scorecard

Kaplan, Robert S. | Norton, David P. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 1996

In The Balanced Scorecard, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton—recognized architects of the renowned Balanced Scorecard—show managers how to use this tool to mobilize employees to accomplish their company missions. The “Balanced Scorecard” is a management system that executives can use to develop employees and drive change.

The four perspectives of the scorecard help organizations align personal, organizational, and cross-departmental efforts and ultimately to meet customer and shareholder objectives.

Amount the Central Bank of Nigeria will withdraw from the economy in its bid to maintain single digit inflation and reduce demand for foreign exchange.

Approximate number of Nigerians who currently have a microfinance bank account.

4-time traps all entrepreneurs face and how to avoid them

Having vague structure to your days can be as harmful as structuring too strictly with meetings. Avoid these common traps for entrepreneurs.

Starting a business is a huge undertaking, and there are so many tasks that need attention. But while entrepreneurs are often passionate and willing to work long hours, as a founder it’s vital that you spend your time working “on the business” and not just “in the business.”

Here are four inefficient work practices you can alleviate or eliminate to get back to the important stuff: 1. Lack of prioritisation When you’re faced with 100 or more things to do each day, it can be difficult to separate the forest from the trees, but prioritization of company and individual goals is critical to success. Choose four to five company and individual goals each quarter and make sure they are SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic,

CAPITALISM

and time specific). As circumstances change, your goals and metrics will need to be revised accordingly. Get together as a team each quarter to review progress, update the goals for the ensuing 90 days, and reassess whether the longer-term targets are still appropriate.

2. No clear responsibilities Depending on the number of employees in your company, team members may each wear several hats. That’s normal in an earlystage company, when you are trying to make operating capital last as long as possible. But don’t let this prevent you from establishing clear lines of responsibility. Once roles have been established and responsibilities assigned, team members need to constantly report on their progress and be held accountable for achieving results.

Having multiple employees working as a team on a project is fairly standard today and a great way to engender collaboration and produce better results. However, make sure there is a clear team leader who is responsible for keeping everyone going in the same direction while minimizing duplication of efforts.

3. Constant meetings It’s easy for entrepreneurs to find themselves in back-to-back meetings for an entire day. Some meetings are unavoidable, but too many meetings leave little time to get the actual work done. Being stuck in useless meetings can be mentally draining, while getting in the way of achieving necessary priorities. Consider that each meeting is held for one of the following three objectives: to share information, to solve existing problems or to brainstorm new ideas.

Make sure that all participants

know the purpose of the meeting and have set timeframes. Start and stop on time and get the work done. Also, as spelled out in the Rockefeller Habits, have a rhythm of daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings. While that sounds like a lot of meetings, these are very focused and, in the case of the daily huddle, short. The daily huddle should last no longer than 10 to 15 minutes, each person should speak for no more than two minutes and employees can have sidebars afterward if they need more time to discuss something.

Above all else, make sure that you don’t have those awful “throw everything onto the table” meetings that can drag on for hours and leave all attendees whipped and discouraged.

4. Not blocking your time This is the hardest one for many of us, but time blocking on a regular basis is a great way to accomplish necessary tasks. Whether it’s making prospecting calls, reviewing financial projections, or checking emails, put a set amount of time on your calendar each day to focus on the particular activity.

Yes, we all need to be responsive to communications, but that should not entail constantly looking at emails throughout the day. Rather than constantly going back and forth in five-minute intervals between emails and other work, turn off your email notifications and, as you plan each day, set aside a few times throughout the day when you will focus on your emails.

Despite what we think about our ability to multitask, emails often get in the way of strategic thinking time, and it’s hard to bounce back and forth.

What is good for General Motors is not necessarily good for the United States

What they tell you At the heart of the capitalist system is the corporate sector. This is where things are produced, jobs created and new technologies invented. Without a vibrant corporate sector, there is no economic dynamism. What is good for business, therefore, is good for the national economy. Especially given the increasing international competition in a globalising world, countries that make opening and running businesses difficult or make firms do unwanted

things will lose investment and jobs, eventually falling behind. Government needs to give the maximum degree of freedom to business.

What they don’t tell you Despite the importance of the corporate sector, allowing firms the maximum degree of freedom may not even be good for the firms themselves, let alone the national economy. In fact, not all regulations are bad for business. Sometimes, it is in the long run interest of the business sector

to restrict the freedom of individual firms so that they do not destroy the common pool of resources that all of them need, such as natural resources or the labour force.

Regulations can also help businesses by making them do things that may be costly to them individually in the short run but raise their collective productivity in the long run - such as the provision of worker training. In the end, what matters is not the quantity but the quality of business regulation.

CEOConfidential

Sunday, December 21, 2014

updates Compiled by Dan Udechukwu

Worth of stake the National Bank of Canada (NBC) has bought in Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank Limited, making it its first foray into Africa.

ENErgy

UN launches new renewable energy coalition

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has floated a new coalition to boost the use of renewable energy around the world as a way of tackling climate change; this was announced at the recent UN climate conference in Peru.

Dubbed the 1 Gigaton Coalition, this alliance adds to the number of global renewable energy initiatives and energy efficiency projects around the world, an indication of the traction the renewable energy movement is gathering. Formed as a response to the need for more measurements and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the coalition would help encourage the uptake of energy efficiency policies and renewable energy technologies.

The UNEP estimates that measurements of greenhouse gas emissions reductions would amount to about one gigaton a year by 2020, this clearly demonstrates the savings countries could make from the extensive usage of renewable energy.

“Our global economy could be $18trn better off by 2035 if we adopted energy efficiency as a first choice, while various estimates put the potential from energy efficient improvements anywhere between 2.5 and 6.8 gigatons of carbon per year by 2030,” stated Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director, via an official statement.

Mind Over Matter

9.5%

Break the code to discover the missing letter. Hint: A-Z = 1-26

$1bn Worth of court case Apple has been found not guilty of engaging in anti-competitive behaviour by a jury in California.

$1trn

47

1%

Percentage by which the Consumer Prices Index inflation measure fell in November from 1.3% in October.

Abraaj buys into Algeria’s largest logistics firm The Abraaj Group, a leading investor operating in global growth markets, has announced the acquisition, through one of its Funds, of a stake in La Flèche Bleue Algérienne SPA (FBA), a leading Algerian company specialising in transportation and logistics services.

The move marks Abraaj’s first foray into the Algeria, the biggest African country by land area. “FBA is our inaugural investment in Algeria and we are excited about entering Africa’s largest country by area and unlocking the immense local potential that exists in the country,” said Ahmed Badreldin, Partner and Head of MENA at The Abraaj Group. “The key opportunity for the logistics sector in Algeria is intrinsically linked to the underlying growth of the industries that it services.”

finance

Cancel debt for Ebola-affected countries – Carlos Lopes

The executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr Carlos Lopes has called on the international Worth of illegal financial community to consider debt cancellation for Ebola-affected flights from developing countries as this would create the right conditions for recovery countries between 2003 in their post-crisis phase. and 2012, according Speaking at the launch of the new ECA Report on the Socioto Global Financial Economic Impacts of the Ebola Virus Disease on Africa, Mr. Integrity (GFI).

Lopes said, “We have life with Ebola; and in the aftermath of these countries in crisis, debt cancellation would allow the countries to start from a clean slate from a macroeconomic dimension.”

Technology giant Apple says it cannot sell products online in Russia because the rouble’s value is too volatile for it to set prices.

A pair of jeans containing material that blocks wireless signals is being developed in conjunction with anti-virus firm Norton.

Tourism

South Africa emerges world’s leading safari destination

South Africa has been named the World’s Leading Safari Destination at the 21st World Travel Awards held in Anguilla on December 7. The country won the award following votes from travel agents worldwide.

The country edged out last year winner, Kenya, whose tourism potentials has been undermined by increasing insurgency, as well as other nominees like Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

economy

Zimbabwe introduces special coins to tackle change problems

Zimbabwe Central Bank, which currency employs a multi-foreign currency system after its Zim dollar became unacceptable as legal tender, has introduced new special bonded coins – worth $10m – to ease the shortage of small change in the country.

Zimbabwe currently uses foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar and South African Rand, after its own currency the Zim Dollar was scrapped in 2009 due to hyperinflation that reached 231 million per cent.

HUB-WORDS How many words can you make from the letters in the wheel? Each word must contain the hub letter H. Can you find a 9-letter word and at least 15 other words of five letters or more avoiding proper nouns?

LaSt Week’S SOLUtiOnS

Mind Over Matter TThe letters A-Z are valued 1-26. In each set, the two numbers on the left multiplied together, minus the sum of the two numbers on the right, equals the value of the middle letter, so the mystery letter is V (22).

HUB-WORDS 9-letter word - CELEBRITY Some other words of five letters or more containing the hub letter E: beery, belie, beret, beryl, betel, birle, biter, creel, elect, elite, erect, eyrie, leery, liter (litre), lycee, rebel, relic, retie, terce (tierce), tiler, tribe, trice, celery, eerily, recite, relict, tercel (tiercel), treble, erectly, liberty, reticle, celerity.

48 CEOConfidential

updates Compiled by Dan Udechukwu

Sunday, December 21, 2014

20%

Percentage increase in revenue of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) scheme recorded in 2014.

Agriculture

FG targets 750,000 young farmers with $100m agric finance empowerment

President Goodluck Jonathan last Tuesday flagged off a $100m Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) targeted at empowering over 750,000 Nigerian youths.

This is as the president also launched the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) scheme in line with efforts to make agriculture commercially viable.

While flagging off the programme at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Jonathan paid glowing tributes to the roles played by youths in Nigeria, saying that they have brought glory to the country.

He announced that government was establishing about 1,200 agricultural equipment hiring centres in the next two years, even as 80 of such centers are already operational in several locations across the country.

“To drive the modernisation of the agriculture sector, I launched the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs), a private sector driven programme that will provide mechanised services for farmers across the country. By the end of December 2014, a total of 80 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres would have become fully established across the country. Over the next two years, a total of 1,200 of the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres would be established across the nation”, he said.

Manufacturing

Volkswagen returns to Nigeria, sets to establish assembly plant Like bees attracted to honey, more foreign automobile manufacturing companies have been racing down to Nigeria,

$500m Worth of money directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has unanimously approved to support Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.

$3.1bn

Value of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) as at November, 2014, according to minister of state for finance, Bashir Yuguda.

Nigeria’s largest alcohol beverage maker, Nigerian, Breweries has introduced a new alcoholic beverage, ACE Passion Apple Spark.

51%

Worth of Stallion Property Development Company shares that has been formally taken over by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Africa’s largest economy, since the establishment of the New Automotive Policy, designed to foster increased local production and cheaper vehicles for local commuters.

More than two decades after its forced departure global automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen Group, is back on the automobile scene in Nigeria, partnering with Dubai based conglomerate Stallion Group to establish a vehicle assembly plant in Nigeria.

telecommunication

Telecom operators groan under multiple taxation

Nigeria’s telecommunications operators face multiple taxes and fees at local, state and federal level, two of the country’s mobile operators told Reuters, with service disruptions related to tax claims costing the sector millions of dollars annually.

Mobile phone penetration nearly tripled between 2007 and 2012 and hit 96 per cent at 2013-end.

The sector accounted for 7.8 per cent of Nigeria’s economy in the nine months to September 2013, more than double its 2009 contribution of 3.7 per cent, and such income has made it a soft target for tax collectors, said MTN Nigeria – a unit of South Africa’s MTN.

health

SLNI holds kids day out

In the spirit of Christmas, Silver Lining for the Needy Initiative (SLNI) held her annual ‘Kids Day Out’ event for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) at the Wonderland Resort, Abuja, FCT, last Tuesay.

In a press release signed by its communications officer, Itodo Abbah, and made available to CEOConfindential, children between the ages of eight and 15 were selected from different communities in the Federal Capital Territory, where the NGO has carried out various community outreaches since 2012.

The event which was done in partnership with Wonderland Resort Centre, Abuja, and private donors, had over 60 children and 20 adults benefit from the fun-filled occasion.

Other event of the day was a visit to the Hope for Survival Orphanage, Gishiri Community, Abuja, where over 50 gift bags were distributed to the children.

technology Conoil plc has re-built and reopened its vintage station at Herbert Macaulay Road, Abuja, to optimally serve the petroleum product needs of the residents of the Federal Capital Territory.

Nigeria’s ICT strides given global commendation

At the official opening ceremony of Nigeria’s pavilion at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World in Qatar, the newly elected secretary general, Houlin Zhao, commended Nigeria on its broadband policy initiatives and the impressive successes recorded in the sector.

Mr Zhao emphasized the successful deployment of 4G for commercial services, saying that singular move had put Nigeria ahead of much of Europe and China, both of whom are seen as powerhouses in the sector.

The ITU Telecom World is an annual forum that brings together industry’s leading names to explore three major scenarios of disruption, cross-sector partnerships and the intelligent future.

EXECUTIVE CALENDAR Meeting

Conference

exhibition

Instant Employment Breakfast Meeting (IEBM) Lagos, Nigeria; January 12, 2015

4th Annual Dredging and Port Expansion Africa Durban, South Africa; January, 27 - 29, 2015

Unique Interiors Exhibition 2015 Lagos, Nigeria; March 26, 2015

The Instant Employment Breakfast Meeting (IEBM) is a monthly breakfast meeting organised by HygieneTech Services & Supplies Ltd for job seekers, especially independent business developers who are ready and willing to work with HygieneTech immediately.

The event is a two-hour meeting featuring free business training session, Q&A and breakfast for all attendees.

HygieneTech will then recruit interested independent business developers to join its workforce instantly.

The Africa’s leading event is focused on partnerships for new projects, port accessibility and congestion management tha will provide you with strategies on how to develop your ports and terminals and decrease the cost of doing business in Africa.

With participation from high-level executives, this is a must attend event for developing economic growth through increased investment in port infrastructure.

The platform is aimed at bringing together architects, interior designers, facility managers, building contractors, installers and building construction professionals.

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to come together and peer into the future of the Built Environ Industry.

49

Sunday, December 21, 2014

business

Can The 2014 Revised Pension Act Protect Pensioners’ Money?

The federal government, having observed some lapses in the 2004 Pension Act, reviewed the law with a view to strengthening the industry regulator, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and further provide security for pensioners’ money. Chika Izuora looks at the features of the new act

T Putting the challenges, gains, implementation drive and sustainability of the CPS into perspective, it is evident that breakthroughs have been recorded in the last ten years

he Pension Reform Act, 2004 ushered in a uniformed Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for workers in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria.

The law, whose implementation started June 2004, reformed the crisis-ridden, unfunded and under-funded defined benefit pension schemes in the country.

Before then, the huge and increasing pension liabilities in the public sector needed to be addressed while most workers in the private sector were not covered by any form of retirement benefit scheme.

The inefficient administration of pension schemes and demographic shifts made defined benefit scheme unsustainable.

A decade of contributory pension under the new CPS, both employers and employees were mandated to contribute certain percentage of an employee’s total emoluments into a Retire-

ment Savings Account (RSA) opened by the worker with a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).

The scheme, which is complemented by group life insurance to the tune of 300 per cent of the individual worker’s emolument, also allows withdrawals under strict conditions.

The accumulated pension assets in custody of Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) are being privately managed by PFAs, while the National Pension Commission (PenCom) regulates and supervises pension operators.

Putting the challenges, gains, implementation drive and sustainability of the CPS into perspective, it is evident that breakthroughs have been recorded in the last ten years.

The number of contributors has increased, more workers in the private and informal sectors are covered and the scheme has continued to impact positively on the Nigerian economy.

The CPS had generated a pool

of long term investable funds that is attractive to fund managers, investment advisers and capital market operators who want to access part of the fund for different purposes.

From the lessons learnt and the identified loopholes and areas for improvement, the stage was set for the amendment of the enabling law. The amendments were to take care of shortfalls in coverage, address supervisory and enforcement challenges, correct anomalies in the taxation of pension assets and to enable deployment of the pension fund to develop infrastructure.

There was need to criminalise fraudulent diversion and conversion of retirement savings of workers and retirees and bring the pension reform law in tune with current developments.

The above necessitated a change in the strategy with a view to exploring new investment windows for pension funds among other things.

Sensitisation Programme The new developments and points of divergence between the repealed Pension Reform Act, 2004 and Pension Reform Act, 2014 with regard to capital and investment windows for pension assets, was the focus of the sensitisation conference on

the Pension Reform Act, 2014 that held in Lagos recently.

Participants evaluated and explored potent capital and investment initiatives with a view to appreciating the nature of pension funds, appraising the challenges and dangers inherent in the proposed radical changes in investment of pension assets.

It was established that the over N4 trillion accumulated pension fund has never been domiciled in PenCom. The legal and institutional frameworks of the CPS designates PenCom only as a regulatory and supervisor of the pension industry in Nigeria. Pension assets are therefore under the management and custody of PFAs and PFCs respectively.

Some stakeholders attributed the gains recorded under CPS to federal government’s commitment to pension reform and the determination of PenCom to ensure that the scheme succeeds.

It was also affirmed that the real gains in the last ten years would be appreciated by contributors and retirees going forward.

Pension Reform Act, 2014 Reviewing the Pension Reform Act, 2014, Dr Gbolahan Elias (SAN), who commended PenCom for being a “well-run regulator,” noted that the exemp➔ CONTINUEd ON PAGE

50

50 BUSINESS

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Can The 2014 Revised Pension Act Protect Pensioners’ Money? ➔ Continued from PAGE 49

tion of pension transactions from stamp duty and income tax is good for the system. He said the confidentiality obligation on the part of the commission and its staff as well as the power to replace the management of ailing PFAs and the transfer of pension assets being managed by ailing PFAs to the strong ones were some of the commendable provisions in the new law.

He, however, queried the rationale for an aggrieved person to have recourse first to the commission before going for arbitration and to the court, saying the right to litigation ought to have been the first option.

Setting an agenda for CPS, former Commissioner in charge of Inspectorate at PenCom, Dr Musa Ibrahim was of the opinion that pension should not have been a constitutional issue since it is purely a contract between an employer and his employee, he stressed.

He also dwelt on the enforcement limitations, compliance issues and abuse of court processes in addition to supervisory and regulatory challenges. He advocated self-regulation and improvement in service delivery and recommended a shift in supervisory and regulatory activities to promote better internal governance and enhance consumer protection.

Nigeria should channel this large pool of funds into meeting its infrastructural demands like other emerging markets

Deployment of Pension Asset to Infrastructure While commenting on the responsibility of finance industry regulators and the impact of pension reform on the capital market in Nigeria, the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, said the focus should be on how to leverage on the lessons learnt to fix infrastructure in the country.

She advocated the use of pension funds for infrastructural development and asset financing, stressing the need to minimise risks in this regard to ensure workers do not lose their pensions. The capital market provides a safe and secure market for pension funds, she assured.

Stakeholders also welcomed the use of RSA balances as collateral for mortgages and underscored the need to channel pension funds to grow infrastructure and clear the housing deficit in the country.

Stakeholders’ Views According to Dr Timi Austen-Peters, the provision on the safety of pension assets, growth in pension funds, increase in coverage and applicability of the scheme were commendable. He said difficulties in getting private sector employers to comply

with relevant provisions in the pension law, very low accumulated pension savings for low income earners and other enforcement issues were some of the challenges facing the scheme.

Mrs Oluwatoyin Sanni noted that the 58 per cent annual growth of the CPS is a huge improvement, adding that there is room for improvement especially when one considers the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria and the rate of growth in other countries.

She commended the National Assembly for making pension savings and returns on investment of the fund tax free, protecting investors the more and introducing stiffer penalties for breach of provisions in the law. She also recommended the investment of pension fund on quoted equities to check interest-pushed inflation and advised PenCom to liberalise its policy on investment while ensuring compliance by operators.

Worried about Nigeria’s demography, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, said many young people cannot save in an economy where the number of middle aged people is very high.

The more sophisticated a country’s financial system is, the lower its savings rate; if government saves less, the people will save more, he said.

Rewane also noted that with the pension contributions at 8 per cent and 10 per cent of individual workers’ income by an employee and his employer respectively, Nigeria should channel this large pool of funds into meeting its infrastructural demands like other emerging markets. Nigeria could build new capital from its pool of pension fund and ensure that this fund is profitably deployed in the economy as is the case in Brazil, Columbia and Morocco, he advised.

Other stakeholders said the pension transition affected those retirees under the defined benefit schemes to the advantage of retirees under the CPS and harped on the need for accurate and timely dissemination of pension information and automation of the process for remitting pension contributions by employers.

They also noted that 6 million RSA holders out of over 70 million of working population and the six per cent return on pension funds were not good enough saying pension operators need to take more risks to maximise return on pension assets.

Conclusion The new CPS has turned the thoughts of retirement into a sweet dream for workers since they now look forward to good

Jonathan

Okonjo-Iweala

Anohu-Amazu

life after work.

Meanwhile, as PenCom considers the views of relevant stakeholders on how to make CPS more beneficial to the Nigerian economy, the increased awareness on the part of both employers and employees will guarantee sustainability for the scheme.

The erroneous impression

that PenCom was keeping the over N4 trillion pension fund had since been corrected and Nigerians are coming to terms that the commission only sets the rules for investment of pension assets, ensures safety and fair returns on pension fund and ensures that retirement benefits are paid as and when due.

business

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Sunday, December 21, 2014

news

Public, Private Companies Worry Over FRC Power To Investigate Their Accounts

By Friday Atufe, Lagos

Some public and private companies are deeply worried over the enabling law empowering the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) to investigate their audited financial statements.

Mr Jim Obazee, the executive secretary and chief executive officer of the FRC disclosed this in Lagos recently while addressing business editors and finance correspondents at a three-day retreat with the theme: ‘Financial Reporting Regulation: Issues and challenges’.

He said the concern of senior officials of companies operating in the public and private sectors of Nigerian has become imperative because of the subsisting appeal of the FRC against the May

12 decision of a Federal High Court that restrained it from investigating the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was not over yet.

He said the FRC was waiting for the appellate court to hear the case which it filed since August 2014 that it has statutory powers to investigate the financial statements of the CBN and other public and private companies in Nigeria under the enabling law which established FRC. The FRC is a federal government agency established by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act No 6 of 2011.

He said the ruling of the court on the issue was very imperative because other federal government’s parastatals and agencies

were waiting in the wings for its outcome.

It was not learnt that development has become very worrisome among public companies because most of them do not have prepared audited financial statements.

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court had upheld Sanusi’s suit challenging the powers of the FRC to investigate him over alleged financial recklessness.

The judgment came barely two months after another Federal High Court in Lagos had upheld Sanusi’s fundamental human rights enforcement suit.

The judge had disqualified the council from carrying out further investigation against Sanusi and the CBN.

. L-R: Marketing manager, Olamsanyo Foods ltd, Mrs Bola Adeniji, regional sales manager, South West, Mr. Rakesh Kumar, winner in the promo, Miss Ighovwemerehor Racheal, head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos office, Mr. Tam Tamunokonbia and chief executive officer, Olamsanyo Foods ltd, Mr. Siddharth Suri, during the company prize presentation to winner Cherie Instant Noodles Naira Hunt free money, held at Ikotun market recentiy. PHOTO: BENEDICT UWALAKA.

NCC, NESREA Harmonise Guidelines As Telecoms Towers Hits 29,000

By Chima Akwaja, Lagos

With telecommunications base transceiver stations (BTS) which transmits radio communications waves to mobile phones topping 29,000 in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), two regulatory agencies, have harmonised their positions on what should be the acceptable setback guidelines that should be complied with when telecoms firms are siting their base transciever stations (BTS).

Henceforth, in extreme cases, the setback will now be a minimum of seven meters. Setback is the distance (in metres) left between the foot of a base station and the nearest residential infrastructure.

There have, over the years, been fears among residents on the possible health hazards of those telecoms towers based on their proximity to where people live.

While the telecoms regulator,

NCC, has been implementing a five-metre setback for telecoms operators when building their telecoms towers, NESREA had insisted on 10 metres.

The disparity in the setback guidelines have thus created regulatory clashes among the two federal government agencies.

However, speaking at the second West African Conference on Electromagnetic Fields Exposure and Health organised by the NCC in Lagos recently, the commission’s executive vice chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah, said the two agencies were working to harmonise their guidelines to bring about a rancour-free regulatory activities between them.

Represented by NCC’s executive commissioner, Technical Services, Mr Ubale Maska, he said that following the rancour that ensued between the two agencies in the past, efforts have been made to harmonise positions towards further ensuring that base stations are sited in a way that will not cause any health risks.

Canoe Detergent Hits Nigerian Streets With Colour Buzz

By Olushola Bello and Chisom Ezeh, Lagos

To further elevate public conversations on caring for coloured fabrics and encourage trial of its colour care detergent, Nigeria’s first colour care detergent – Canoe Detergent, has commenced a regional road-show campaign. Running across major cities in the South-west, the Canoe yuletide consumer awareness campaign will enable consumers experience its unrivalled colour care offerings for all coloured fabrics as well as provide enlightenment on the need to embrace the detergent advantage to keep fabrics alive with colour. It will run between December 12 and 24, 2014.

The town storming exercise styled ‘#alivewithcolour’ will showcase innovative brand activation stunts by the key brand characters on major streets and shopping malls in Lagos and Ibadan.

Speaking on the yuletide consumer awareness and sales drive, marketing manager, Fabric Care, Mr Roy Ekekwe, said, “Coming after our re-

cently successful launch of the ‘Alive with Colour’ campaign, we are delighted to bring the unique story of Canoe detergent’s extraordinary performance to the door steps of our customers. All that have experienced Canoe detergent prefer it above other detergent brands; this is a grand opportunity for them to get intimate with the brand and its ambassadors whose regalia ooze bold, innovative, expressive, contemporary, fashionable and excellent elements of Canoe – Nigeria’s only colour care detergent”.

Brand manager, Canoe Detergent, Ms Gloria Jacobs, said, “We are bringing amazing colour care elements in the Canoe brand to life through models adorning colourful elements of our campaign characters to depict a detergent that brings the best colour care experience to consumers who desire to clean and care for their coloured fabrics. These characters will talk, chat, dance, sign autographs and engage with consumers during the town-storming and mall activation. There’s no better opportunity to appreciate and embrace the brand than this”, she said.

Seaports Compliance Level With ISPS Code Hits 38%

By Samson Echenim, Lagos

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said about 38 per cent of the 129 ports and jetties in the country have become compliant with the recommendations of the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) Code.

The ISPS code is a safety instru-

ment of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that stipulates safety and security requirements of seaports in the countries that have ratified the relevant conventions of the organisation.

NIMASA was made the designation authority (DA) for the enforcement of the tenets of the code in 2013. Since then, the agency has been working with the United States

Coast Guard, a similar agency of the United States of America in the implementation of the safety codes in Nigerian ports.

The director general of NIMASA, Dr Patrick Akpobolokemi, told journalists in Lagos recently that over 38 per cent (about 45 out of the 129 ports) of Nigerian ports and jetties are now ISPS compliant, up from nine when it took over as the DA for

the code in 2013, following a vigorous enforcement of the codes by the agency.

Many countries of the developed world place restrictions on vessels coming from ports that are not ISPS compliant from entering their ports. In April this year, the United States placed such embargo on vessels coming from some ports in Nigeria due to their non-compliance

with the code.

He said, “NIMASA has vigorously pursued compliance with the ISPS code. Having established a full fledged unit to drive and pilot the code’s implementation, the agency has adopted the ISPS code regulation, developed guidelines and quick reference cards to enhance assessment, inspection enforcement and monitoring of port facilities”.

52

Sunday, December 21, 2014

zonal watch

NIGER STATE KWARA STATE KOGI STATE BENUE STATE NASARAWA STATE PLATEAU STATE FCT ABUJA Nigerians Right To Vote Is Sacrosanct Kwara To Establish IPP, SMEs Agency

– Customary Court Judge

BY SAM eGWU, Lokoja

Justice Elias Egwu of the Customary Court of Appeal, Lokoja has said that the right of every eligible Nigerian to vote and elect leaders into positions of authority is sacrosanct.

Egwu made the declaration in a paper titled: “The Right to Vote and its Legal Implications” which he delivered at the opening of the 2014 Voter Education week organized by Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of Lokoja Catholic Diocese.

“The right to vote to elect our leaders is a right that must be preserved and protected by all those who have the

BY ABDUllAhI OleSIN, Ilorin

franchise and anybody denied of same has the right to challenge it in court”.

He said that Section 14(2) (a) of the Constitution provided that sovereignty belongs to the people from whom government derives its powers and authority adding that the right could only be exercised through the electoral processes.

“A right to vote in an election means a right to express one’s preferences or opinion for one person out of the many persons put forward for an election”.

He said the right to vote is sacrosanct adding that the constitution in section 1(2) regarded People as the owners of power.

Kwara State government is to establish an Independent Power Project (IPP) in the north senatorial district of the state next year.

The state executive council(SEC) has also approved the establishment of Kwara State Agency for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

The new agency will be saddled with the responsibility of managing the N2billion loan the state plans to access from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)as well as the existing N750m loan scheme for SMEs in the state.

The senior special assistant (Media) to the governor, Dr Muideen Akorede an-

nounced the development during the post SEC meeting in Ilorin.

Akorede added that the SEC called on the federal government to refund to the state the N4billion it spent on the reconstruction of Kosubosu road which is a federal project.

While noting that the Agency will promote entreprenurship among the youths and make them become employers of labour, Akorede further disclosed that the International Vocational Centre at AjaseIpo will commence operation in 2015.

He also said that the SEC approved the 2015 budget proposals as presented by the Finance commissioner and that it would be presented to the state House of Assembly by Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed.

IGP’S Investigation Committee Sues For Peace In Nasarawa

HeADS FROM THe ZONe

Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed The Kwara State government has announced plans to float an independent power plant in Kwara north senatorial district and also establish the state’s small and medium scale enterprises agency to boost wealth and job creation in the state.

Sen Simeon Ajibola, The Peoples Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State has assured the people of the state of a new lease of life if elected in 2015 as the state governor.

BY DONATUS NADI, Lafia

The Kwara state governor, Alh. AbdulFatah Ahmed exchanging pleasantries with the speaker of the state house of assembly, Barr. Rasak Atunwa during the governor’s presentation of the 2015 budget estimates to the house. PHOTO BY ABdullAHi Olesin

Gamji Club Organises Lecture On Leadership Footprints Of Ahmadu Bello

BY ABdullAhi Olesin, Ilorin

The Gamji Club of Kwara state is dedicating its 2015 Gamji day celebration to a special public lecture on the enduring leadership footprints of the late premier of northern nigeria and sardauna of sokoto, sir Ahmadu Bello.

The special lecture, titled: ‘Whither the late sardauna leadership legacies’? will be delivered by the former governor of lagos state, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, while the senate president, senator david Mark, will be the

special guest of honour and the chairman, northern Governors’ Forum and governor of niger state, dr Babangida Aliyu will preside over the event as chairman.

A statement signed by Kwara Gamji club director, Publicity & Mobilization, saadu salahu, said the club is organizing the lecture in continued demonstration of its commitment to the imperative and sustenance of all-inclusive exemplary and inspiring leadership qualities of the late sir Ahmadu Bello.

The statement stated that the

governor of Kwara state, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed, is the chief host while a one-time president of the Court of Appeal and life Patron of the Club, retired Justice Mamman nasir and the emir of ilorin, dr ibrahim suluGambari will be in attendance as royal fathers of the day.

“The event is scheduled to take place at Kwara hotel on 17th January, 2015. All former and current public office holders in northern nigeria and Kwara state in particular, are expected to attend the late sardauna memorial lecture.

Inspector general of police’s committee on the prevention and management of communal clashes has rounded up its three-day visit to Nasarawa State with a call on communities across the state to embrace peace.

The committee led by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, Christopher Dega, was in the state for on-the-spot assessment of the security situation in the state, with the intent of seeing how best to tame the recurring security menace.

AIG Dega expressed delight that all the stakeholders of various communities in the state had indicated interest in making relevant sacrifices for the return of lasting peace to the state.

He also stressed that the roots of every security lies in the resolve of persons in every community to live in peace and therefore called on the state government and security agencies to hold regular interactive sessions with various communities to address any misgivings that could lead to breakdown of law and order.

Also, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mbu Mbu, called on Fulani community in the state to do a lot of soul searching as to why they have been fingered in all the three states the committee had so far visited which included Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa.

Earlier in his submission, the representative of Lafia emirate council, Mohammed Ahmadu, wondered why the Eggon ethnic group, who are at the centre of the ongoing security crisis in the state have consistently shunned peace summits.

Ahmadu blamed the Police for not doing enough to guarantee the security of lives and property of persons who come under regular Ombatse attack saying: “We will resort to defending ourselves in the event that security agencies allow a particular group to terrorise us”.

Kwara PDP Guber Candidate Assures Of Better Life

BY ABDUllAhI OleSIN, Ilorin

The governorship candidate under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Senator Simeon Ajibola, has promised to work for a new glorious dawn for the people of the state.

He stated this just as he dedicat-

ed his victory at the party’s primary election to the Almighty God. The PDP candidate in a statement by his personal assistant, Hon Ganiyu Abolarin, said that the PDP government would usher in a new direction that will bring a new lease of life to the people of the state.

He commended the national

and state executive, the eleven governorship aspirants, PDP elders, party members and the delegates in making the primary election a success.

The governorship candidate said that though, the journey for the enthronement of a PDPled government in the state was tough, it had brought unity and

oneness the party towards achieving the much desired goal.

“Words are not enough to express our heartfelt appreciation to all people, who directly or indirectly contributed to the success recorded so far in our journey to our desired freedom. I am short of adequate words to express the depth f my gratitude”, he said.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

zonal watch (North-Central) 53

news behind the news

ARMTI Officials and participants at one of the CVCD centres

New Lease Of Life For Farmers As ARMTI Launches Development Scheme

By Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin

In its bid to make agriculture profitable to rural populace and as well boost food sufficiency in the country, the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin has initiated a scheme known as Commodity Value Chain Development (CVCD).

The scheme aims at the attainment of self sustaining growth in all the sub-sectors of agriculture and the structural transformation necessary for the overall socio-economic development of the country as well as the improvement in the quality of life of Nigerians.

Little wonder, the scheme, which was launched about two years ago, has been hailed by the minister for Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina as a right drive towards making agriculture a profitable venture among Nigerian farmers.

LEDERSHIP Sunday gathered that ARMTI had undertaken a nationwide baseline study on selected agricultural commodity value chains and organised a national seminar for relevant stakeholders to brainstorm on the subject.

It was further learnt that having concluded the study, the ARMTI consequently embarked on a nationwide presentation of the findings across the nation’s six geo-political zones.

The development is believed would allow each of the blocks to avail itself of the opportunities offered by the scheme through cashing into the commodity value chain domiciled within its boundaries.

The pilot scheme of the project last year at the Federal Capital Territory (FTC) Abuja had proved a huge success. It was a national seminar where brain storming activities were done, the kernel of which was the recommendation that the scheme be decentralized for more efficient results.

The Abuja seminar gathered relevant stakeholders nationwide to

brainstorm on the subject and make relevant contributions to direct the study. Adesina, had delivered a keynote address at the event.

The people of South-south, Southwest, North-central and North-west already had their own fair share of the programme. These zones were the areas identified by the federal government as Staple Crop Processing Zones. The participants were formed into syndicate groups based on their respective states to brainstorm on identifying how to leverage on findings and designing a work plan in going forward for their states.

But due to security and logistic reasons, the mobilization for the North-east zone was done via telephone, electronic and surface mails as well as through the office of the national Fadama co-ordinator.

Therefore, when the ARMTI under its executive director, Mrs Comfort Jolayemi took the CVCD baseline study to South-east in November 24 this year and North-east on November 27, the elated participants grabbed it with both hands.

At both events packaged as the grand finale of the sensitisation workshops, Jolayemi thanked the federal government through the agricultural minister for the opportunity to show-case one of the mandates of the institution- the only one of its kind in sub saharan Africa.

The South-east programme, held at Enugu, Enugu state, drew over 50 participants across the catchment zone. The story was similar in Abuja, as the participants described the success as the best thing that has happened to the agric transformational agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Those in attendance at the Enugu and Abuja events included commissioners, permanent secretaries, officials of states’ ministries of agriculture, project managers of states Agric Development Projects (ADP), Fadama project co-ordinators in each state and directors of technical de-

partments and training officers in the states’ ministries of Agriculture.

According to Jolayemi, “We all know that such an initiative as the agricultural commodity value chain programme is the way forward for our country in the pursuit of the agricultural transformation agenda that we have set for ourselves.

“We desire a new order of doing things. That is why we know that focus should be concentrated on tackling the challenges confronting the agricultural sector that has largely impeded its development to its full potential. Some of these challenges include, low productivity of agricultural produce as well as processed products, lack of competitiveness of agribusiness enterprises at both local and international markets, and the increasing high turn-out of young school leavers faced with no jobs in the society”.

The ARMTI boss added, “The value chain programme has the capacity to unlock this huge potential. Besides, through this study, ARMTI is poised to continue to brainstorm with each geo political zone towards exposing to us how each of us fits into this grand scheme.

“Each geo-political zone is set apart with its areas of comparative advantage that can be exploited and leveraged upon. When this is done in each zone as we engage in various agribusinesses, we would generate income and employment, make agricultural productivity profitable and thereby attractive, and therefore consequently achieve competitiveness”.

Also speaking on the scheme, director of Agricultural Development and Management Department of ARMTI, Anthony Njoku and his counterpart in the Directorate of Rural Development and Gender Issue of the institute, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, said the ARMTI’s training programmes were couched in such a way that the value chain idea and many other events would prosper..

Ahmed

News Behind The News

Ahmed Flags Off N1.5billion IleshaBaruba-Gwanara Road

By Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin

The story was similar in Abuja, as the participants described the success as the best thing that has happened to the agric transformational agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan

Kwara State governor, Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed, has flagged off the 32.8km IleshaBaruba-Gwanara Road project in Baruten local government area of the state.

The governor said that the road project will cost about N1.5billion, adding that the project would subsequently be extended to Kenu and Okuta to cover that flank of the local government.

Ahmed noted that the state government was taking advantage of the dry season to grade about 500km of roads throughout the state, including Ilesha-Baruba-Gbereberu and Bode More roads in Baruten local government.

He attributed the enhanced tempo in road construction, especially in this dry season to the conviction that provision of infrastructure, particularly motorable roads was a major catalyst for social-economic development.

The governor also announced the resolve of his administration to establish an Independent Power Project (IPP) next year in the north senatorial district of the state.

He said the power plant expected to generate 100 megawatts of electricity will power industrial clusters and essential services thus freeing up energy for homes and businesses in a manner that enhances the welfare of people and stimulates job creation.

The governor disclosed that 40 secondary schools in Kwara North are part of the 120 across the state that would be rebuilt and equipped in line with global standards and local needs next year.