Leadership news

31.10.14

No. 76

N200

NIGERIA'S FIRST FRIDAY NEWSPAPER

Chibok Diary

DAY

200

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

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#BringBackOurGirls Group: Court Declares > Page 2 Police Ban On Rallies Illegal

AfTermATh of TAmbuwAL’s DefeCTIoN

Presidency, PDP Move Against Emeka Ihedioha As IGP withdraws speaker's security aides APC, PDP, others react I didn't breach any law – Tambuwal

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Nigeria’s Rising Female Oil Tycoons compiled BY ABAh AdAh, Abuja

Nigeria, the 14th largest oil producing country in the world with 2.4 million barrels a day, has taken steps to open up its oil industry to locals, a policy known as “indigenisation”. Findings reveal that the oil and gas industry has largely been dominated by male entrepreneurs.

But that trend seems to be changing fast, as the number of women who have become powerful stakeholders by virtue of their investment in the sector appears to be on the increase. The oil business in Nigeria today can no longer be said to be an all-male affair. LEADERSHIP Friday throws the spotlight on leading female entrepreneurs Bola Shagaya

Folorunsho Alakija

Uju ifejika

➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

NjC OkAYS IRETI kINGIBE PICkS juSTICE PDP SENATORIAl FORm, m, mOhAmmED 10 RESIGNS AS lEADERShIP IP AS NEW CjN ChAIRmAN 2015: why PDP sToPPeD Gov NGILArI, As joNAThAN PICks NomINATIoN forms

FG VS COCA COlA, NBC: COuRT FIxES NOV 4 FOR 16 hEARING

5 8

#BringBackOurGirls 200 day

Friday, October 31, 2014

Editor’s Note It is not every day that we have to say goodbye, but then whenever it comes, it’s really hard.

I’m sorry to announce to our esteemed and dear readers that I will be going away for a while. As much as I would love to continue being at the helm of activities on LEADERSHIP FRIDAY, I have been offered a call to serve the nation and this call is one I cannot turn down.

I have enjoyed working with my team of wonderful, young and vibrant writers, who are full of ideas and always ready to explore.

I am glad and indeed proud that we have been able to work auspiciously as a great team, without my issuance of query or surcharge to any of my subordinates. It goes a long way to show that you could mold a great team with mentorship and understanding.

And now, to the business of the day. This week, Friday Extra brings you a touching story of a young man who has fallen victim of different circumstances. From being maimed by witchcraft, to being oppressed by Boko Haram, but fortunately, young Felix Okoh is determined to live.

This week, Essentials brings you Kehinde ‘Yankee’ Adegbite, a young Engineer who has chosen entertainment over his profession. He has been instrumental to the development of Abuja’s Entertainment scene.

I urge you to go through all other segments as well. It’s an all rolled in one package, so be sure to go through the pages as they all promise to be exciting.It has been a great week so Thank God It’s Friday.

It has been a great week so Thank God It’s Friday.

Food For Thought: “Strength does not come from the physical capacity, but from an indomitable will” For Feedback: fridayleadership@leadership.ng

CHIBOk In THe Week Saturday, October 25, 2014 a report from the Chadian capital, N’djamena, revealed a new ray of hope for the abducted Chibok school girls as an official of the Chadian Ministry of Foreign affairs said Nigeria’s negotiation with the Bok Haram extremists would continue despite renewed attacks, adding that the key to agreement was swapping of prisoners.

Sunday, October 26, 2014 Sequel to the statement credited to the Chadian authorities that the peace deal between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram terrorists, which is targeted at securing the release of the abducted Chibok school girls, would continue in spite of breakdown of the truce, the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group expressed the hope that the release of the girls was at hand.

Monday, October 27, 2014 a front-line leader of the BBOG group and former Minister of Education, dr Oby Ezekwesili, reiterated her groups determination to continue pushing for the release of the abducted Chibok school girls.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 The Chairman of the Chibok community in abuja, Tsambido Hosea abana, said failure of the Federal Government to rescue the abducted Chibok

school girls in captivity of the Boko Haram sect is more harmful than the abduction itself.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 In continuation of the campaign for the rescue of the abducted Chibok school girls, the BBOG group gave hints of hands-on-head protest to show the grief of its members, the Chibok community and all the concerned Nigerians since the abduction.

Thursday, October 30, 2014 The BBOG group suspended its planned hands-on-head protest for two weeks within which the Federal Government would fulfil its promise to secure the release of the abducted Chibok school girls.

Today Friday, October 31, 2004 an abuja High Court has declared illegal, the ban of peaceful rallies of the BBOG group by the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, now an assistant inspector general of police (aIG) in charge of zone 7.

Meanwhile, Maiduguri, the Bornu State Capital was yesterday enveloped in excitement following a hint that the abducted Chibok school girls might be released anytime yesterday COMPILEDbetween

BY UGOCHUKWU IROKA and today as an outcome of the talks with the insurgents in Chad.

...As compiled by ABAH ADAH

member of #BringBackOurGirls in a meeting in Abuja, yesterday. OYEDELE OMOKABGO

#BringBackOurgirls: Court Declares Police Ban On Rallies Illegal

BY KunLE OLASAnmI, Abuja An Abuja High Court has declared as illegal the ban of peaceful rallies of the #BringBackOurgirls group by the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) commissioner of police, Joseph Mbu, now an assistant inspector general of police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7.

Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo in a judgement he delivered yesterday said that the right to freedom of association and assembly is the bone of any democratic governance, adding also that the police have no right to ban Nigerians from peaceful protest.

The judge commended the then inspector general of police, Mohammed Abubakar for over-turning the ban and stating the position of the law.

The court however cautioned the #BringBackOurGirls group to be security conscious in staging peaceful gathering and dismissed the

application by the group seeking N200 million as damages as a result of the ban.

The #BringBackOurgirls group had on June 2, 2014 dragged Mbu to court for allegedly banning protests, rallies and demonstrations over the abducted Chibok secondary school girls.

The then inspector-general of police, Mohammed Abubakar however, overturned the ban the following day, saying, "The force has not issued any order banning peaceful assemblies/protests anywhere in Nigeria”.

Counsel to the #BringBackOurgirls group, Femi Falana (SAN), had argued that Mbu's ban on peaceful protests constituted an infringement of the rights of his client.

Defendant’s counsel, Simon Lough, countered the argument, saying the court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

Boko Haram May Release Chibok Girls Today – Officials

BY KAREEm HARunA, Maiduguri Maiduguri, the Borno State capital was yesterday charged with hushed excitement as the news flied around that abducted Chibok schoolgirls might be released anytime between yesterday and today following positive talks with the insurgents in Chad.

This is coming as the 219 Chibok schoolgirls are clocking 200 days in captivity today.

A government official and native of Chibok who spoke with LEADERSHIP Friday but wished not to be quoted said "We are all in high spirit, I just returned from Chibok and from the information reaching us so far, we may very soon - in fact between now and tomorrow (Friday), have our girls freed".

The same mood was noticed amongst some top security officials in the state who also confirmed that Boko Haram might release the schoolgirls within 48 hours .

A security source who spoke under strict condition of anonymity said "From what we have received so far, the negotiation going on in Chad have recorded tremendous progress and we are

looking forward to receiving the girls anytime soon".

The officer said though, it is too early to start celebrating "because we are dealing with very erratic set of people, we hope that this time around it is for real, because we have been expecting this to happen since Monday".

The principal of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Mr Asabe Kwambura, where the 219 abducted school girls currently in the captivity of the Boko Haram were taken from on the 14th of April 2014 told this reporter that though she was not aware of the possible release of the girls, the news is a welcomed development.

"I will be very happy to receive the girls; in fact I will go to anywhere they are to receive them; if they are released today, I will be in Abuja to receive them", she said.

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo had on two occasions this year said it would take longer time for only few of the Chibok schoolgirls to be found, even as he said many of them may never be seen again.

If you are a leader of peace, listen to the discourse of the petitioner. Be not abrupt with him; that would trouble him. ― Egyptian Proverbs

our stand

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October 31, 2014

Implications Of Delayed 2015 Budget

A

s happened last year when the presentation of the 2014 budget was postponed twice and President Goodluck Jonathan had to delegate the minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to eventually put it before the National Assembly (NASS), the prospect of having budget presentation early this year is fast becoming a pipedream.

With the House of Representatives declaring a holiday until December 3, it remains to be seen how the business of lawmaking, especially the passage of the Appropriation Bill, will not run into stormy waters. This is made more complex by the fact that electioneering campaigns have taken over the nation’s landscape and political office holders are on the hunt for votes.

These are practical limitations that should have advised early preparation and presentation of the budget. To all intents and purposes, it may take longer than the passage of the same Bill in April this year, if a thorough job is to be done by both the executive and the legislative arms. It is also practically impossible for a serious defence and enactment procedure to take place before the National Assembly vacates again for Christmas and New Year festivities.

We have seen natural fault lines in the federal government’s projection of N4.74trillion for the 2015 fiscal year. This figure was contained in the government’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) covering the 2014 to 2016 fiscal periods. Much as the projection fulfils a requirement of Section 11 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, which stipulates that the minister of finance shall prepare the MTEF and FSP and get them approved by the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly, it falls short of the constitutional desideratum for annual budget. The constitution is emphatic in Section 121 (1) and Section 15(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act on the sanctity

Ag. Editor Hassan Gimba Ahmed Deputy Editor Kazeem Akintunde Editorial Board Safiya M. Adamu, Chairman Christian Ochiama, Deputy Chairman Standards Aniebo Nwamu, Director ’Lara Olugbemi, Assistant Director

of the budget, prohibiting payments from the state treasury without an appropriation and makes no exceptions for expenditures for bond payments or “essential services”. Indeed, it is an impeachable offence to make temporary furloughs for state and political employees without recourse to the National Assembly.

We had expected that both arms of government would have learnt from the difference between the last two budgets – one came early, the other late to the NASS. More worrisome are the technicalities involved in the issues of statutory transfers, debt servicing, recurrent and capital expenditure patterns’ projection for oil price.

Added to these are challenges peculiar to the nation’s economy within the composite framework of the potential impact of the increasing exploitation of shale oil and gas by major oil importers, the rising oil output by hitherto oil importing countries, and the challenges of oil theft, pipeline vandalism and production shutins at our oil mining locations and reduced non-oil revenue. These are issues, in our opinion, that the government, the Budget Office and the Ministry of Finance ought to have worked out before now on the budget issue.

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 Joy Adekanye

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

A thief knows a thief as a wolf knows a wolf.

— Egyptian Proverb

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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October 31, 2014

Presidency, PDP Move Against Emeka Ihedioha

LIVING TO BE 100

One health tip daily Choose Safer Personal Care Products Avoid shampoos and other toiletries using TEA (triethanolamine), DEA (diethanolamine) and S15; products with excessive perfumes; nanotechnology cosmetics; and hair dye (which contains resorcinol and p-phenylenediamine linked to allergies, cancer and sudden death).

Nigeria’s Rising Female Oil Tycoons ➔ FROM COVER

who have risen to prominence, courtesy of their investments in the oil sector.

Folurunsho Alakija (CEO, Famfa Oil) Born in 1951to the family of Chief I. A Ogbara, Alakija is a Nigerian businesswoman, reputed to be the second richest woman in Africa after Mrs Dos Santos of Angola, with an estimated net worth of $2.5billion.

The business tycoon is involved in the fashion, oil and printing industries.

Alakija began her career in the banking sector by serving as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises back in 1974, before moving on to the First National Bank of Chicago, now FinBank. After working there for some years, she established a tailoring company called Supreme Stitches, which rose to prominence and fame and became a household name within few years as Rose of Sharon House of Fashion. As national president and lifelong trustee of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), she left an indelible mark, promoting Nigerian culture through fashion and style.

In May 1993, Alakija applied for the allocation of an oil-prospecting license (OPL). The license, to explore for oil on a 617, 000-acre block now referred to as OPL 216, was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited.

She is the group-managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group, which consists of The Rose of Sharon Prints and Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited. She is also the executive vice-chairman of FAMFA Oil. Hajiya Bola Shagaya (CEO, Bolmus Group) Bola Shagaya is one of the richest women in Nigeria who

has a stake in the oil sector. She is a businesswoman and the founder and CEO of Bolmus Group International, a diversified Nigerian conglomerate company with interests in oil, real estate and banking.

(She is a board member of Unity Bank PLC).

She is also into communications and photography and is on the board of the National Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD).

Uju Ifejika (CEO, Britannia-U Group) Catherine Uju Ifejika is a Nigerian woman of substance whose wealth is traceable to earnings from oil-related businesses. She is the chairman and chief executive of the Britannia-U Group, a group of oil and gas companies.

The company is indigenous and an integrated oil and gas company, incorporated on December 4 1995 under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The company has upstream (exploration and production), downstream, (supply and trading), shipping and sub-surface engineering affiliate companies. Recently, her business bought a stake in a major oil and gas field, Ajapa. The reserves, according to Britannia, are worth $4.3billion A lawyer by profession, Mrs Ifejika previously worked in the oil and gas industry for 20 years with Texaco, which later merged with Chevron, rising from junior counsel to regional company secretary before retiring early to focus on building an enterprise for herself.

She is a graduate of Queen’s College Enugu and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Mrs Nkechi Obi (Executive Vice Chairman, Techno Oil Limited) Mrs Nkechi Obi, MON (Member of the Order of the Niger), is the executive vice chairman of Tech➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

By Donald Ojogo, Bayo Oladeji, Adesuwa Tsan, Edegbe Odemwingie, Chibuzo Ukaibe, Bode Gbadebo and Christiana Nwaogu, Abuja

Strong indications have emerged that President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are unhappy with the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, over the latter’s private reception for Speaker Aminu Tambuwal a few hours after the speaker defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday.

The reception which was said to have taken place at the deputy speaker’s guest house on Pope John Paul Street, off Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja, few hours after the mini-national convention of the APC, was attended by most members of APC in the House.

Ihedioha has, however, dismissed the report as ‘not sensible’ while Tambuwal directed all enquiries on the matter to the deputy speaker’s men.

The reception, which was initially meant to be a private one for Tambuwal, was later ‘invaded’ by other members of the lower chamber, including some PDP members, a reliable source told our correspondent.

A presidential aide told our correspondent yesterday in Abuja that the deputy speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, had been asked to explain which master he had elected to serve “because we cannot understand why he chose to host Speaker Aminu Tambuwal to a warm reception a few hours after he defected from our party to APC. “Is the deputy speaker with us or he is planning to move to the APC with his boss? The PDP deserves an answer from him.’’

The presidential aide asserted that, at this ‘critical moment of political decision,’ President Jonathan wanted to be very clear on whose side the deputy speaker belonged.

The presidential aide continued: “You know this man (referring to Ihedioha) cannot be trusted; he has consistently worked against the party in the past. He now appears to be working for the PDP because of his 2015 political interest. But even at that, we do not know where he truly belongs.”

When contacted, the media adviser to Tambuwal, Malam

Adversity is a great schoolmaster. ― Egyptian Proverb

PDP Chairman, Mua’zu

Emeka Ihedioha

Imam Imam, said all clarifications on the issue should be referred to Ihedioha’s aides.

The chief press secretary to the deputy speaker, Oke Epia, however, described the report as inconsequential.

“This is a non-issue; are those behind this saying the deputy speaker would want to do that to show that he is in APC? I can tell you that this is not a sensible thing at all,”Epia said.

The development came as the presidency was said to have directed the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to withdraw their security personnel attached to the speaker for defecting from the PDP to the APC. The acting inspector-general of police, Suleiman Abba, confirmed the redeployment of the police personnel attached to Tambuwal on Wednesday.

The force public relations officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, hinged the withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security aides on Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Security details attached to the speaker were said to have been withdrawn yesterday morning.

After his defection on Wednesday, Tambuwal vowed to work with his new party to dislodge the ‘PDP cabal’ from power in the 2015 general election.

“We came to work this morning and what we found was that all the security men did not report for duty. We are puzzled but that is the situation,” a National Assembly aide said.

ident Goodluck Jonathan to show better understanding of democracy by immediately restoring the police security details that the inspector-general of police (acting IGP) withdrew from the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC described the withdrawal of the speaker’s security details as an usurpation of the role of the judiciary by the police boss, especially bearing in mind that the question of the interpretation of Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution he anchored his illegal act on was before the courts for resolution.

The party said that, for the avoidance of doubt, the position, including the manner a person becomes the speaker of the House of Representatives, is to be found in the constitution, and no constitutional provision or legislation says membership of the ruling or dominant party in the House is a pre-requisite.

Furthermore, as the number four citizen of the nation, the security detail and apparatuses attached to the person of the speaker were not based on his lineage, person and or political leaning, but on account of the position and the protection required for that position and in Nigeria’s best interest.

“This unfortunate use and deployment of Nigeria’s security forces in a partisan and political way portends danger and further weakens important institutions of governance and jeopardises national security. Under President Jonathan, we now have a Police Force that is monitoring and making conclusions

Tambuwal: Mr President, show better understanding of democracy - APC The APC has called on Pres-

➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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October 31, 2014

Ireti Kingibe Picks Pdp Senatorial Form, Resigns As Leadership Chairman

By Abah Adah, Abuja

Hajiya Ireti Heebah Kingibe, who, until last week, was chairman, LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group, yesterday picked the PDP form for the 2015 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial election.

She resigned from her position at LEADERSHIP in order to pursue her political ambition. Propelled by the plight of Abuja indigenes, Ireti said her desire for political office was to bring succour to less-privileged people in the FCT. She stated that if elected a senator, she would work hard to en-

sure that the lost glory of the FCT and the green areas were restored and the master plan revisited.

Ireti is the wife of the former chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe and is former head of state, the late General Murtala Mohammed’s in-law.

A 1980 graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota, United States, Ireti attended the prestigious Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos from 1966 and attended the Washington Irving High School for a higher school diploma between 1970 and 1973.

Nigeria’s Rising Female Oil Tycoons ➔ FROM PAGE 4

no Oil Ltd, Nigeria’s foremost oil and gas company. Mrs Obi is a visionary and astute businesswoman, who presides over the Techno Oil Group, a diversified conglomerate with subsidiaries and interests spanning oil and gas, aviation, power, real estate and banking.

The business activities of the company involve manufacturing, storing and marketing of refined petroleum products and providing high quality value-adding services to the retail, commercial and industrial sectors of the Nigerian economy, such as marine, construction, aviation, automotive, energy and other highly specialised sectors.

Techno Oil was founded more than a decade ago with a humble beginning, but now has annual revenue in excess of $250million.

Princess Stella Oduah (CEO, Sea Petroleum) Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, former minister of aviation, is one of those topping the list of Nigerian female oil mer-

Nkechi Obi

Stella Oduah

chants.

Born in Akili-Ozizor Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State on January 5 1962, Stella’s career in the oil sector officially began when she joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) upon her return to Nigeria from the United States, where she obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting and Business Administration respectively. She distinguished her-

self while at the NNPC before leaving to set up Sea Petroleum and Gas (SPG), an independent marketer of petroleum products in Nigeria. The company rose from its humble beginnings to become a leading company in the competitive oil industry.

Her foray into politics saw her play a leading role in President Jonathan’s 2011 campaign.

Amy Jadesimi (MD, LADOL)

The roll call of great women in Nigeria would not be complete without her. Dr Amy Jadesimi is the managing director of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base. She is another force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian oil sector by virtue of her position at LADOL, which has become one of the giant service providers in the upstream sector.

Responding to the reality of men dominating the economy, especially the oil sector in an interview she once granted, Dr Jadesimi, a former Goldman analyst, medical doctor and MBA holder said, “Women are taken for granted... of course a woman can reach the highest levels of society.”

LADOL, which plans to invest up to $1billion developing port facilities in Lagos, has turned a site reclaimed from a swamp and an industrial wasteland into a $500million port facility to support offshore drilling operations, including ship repair, maintenance, engineering and construction. It is the only deep offshore oil and gas logistics base in Lagos and the largest privately financed logistics base in Nigeria.

Presidency, PDP Move Against Emeka Ihedioha ➔ FROM PAGE 4

with respect to party membership, qualification, of an otherwise elected official.

This is unheard of in any decent democracy,” the party said.

The APC, therefore, enjoined President Jonathan to respect and comply with the law.

“We reject this meddling in the affairs of the legislature, especially given the resolution of President Jonathan and his close advisers yesterday at their meeting to ask the deputy speaker, Mr Emeka Ihedioha, to unlawfully reconvene the House before the adjourned date.

“May we remind President Goodluck Jonathan that under the House Rules, only a resolution by all principal officers of the House and not even the speaker of the House, can reconvene the House before the adjourned date not to talk of the deputy speaker?”

Tambuwal: We are not aware - PDP The PDP yesterday said it was not aware that the security detail of Speaker Tambuwal had been withdrawn.

Reacting to the situation, spokesman of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the party was not aware of the development.

When told that a statement to that effect was released by the police, he replied: “We have not seen it and we won’t com-

ment on it until we see it.”

son of Hon Tambuwal,”

I Didn’t Breach Any Law -Tambuwal Speaker Tambuwal has reached to the withdrawal of his security guards on the directives of the acting inspector-general of police, Suleiman Abba, saying he did not breach any law.

In a statement issued by his special adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, the speaker noted that not only is the IGP’s action a contempt of court, but a deliberate attempt to cause him bodily harm.

In the said statement, the force said that, by his defection from the PDP to the APC, the speaker was in breach of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution and was consequently no longer entitled to police security, a position the party faulted.

“The implication of the inspector general’s statement is that as sanction for this alleged constitutional breach, he has removed Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from office of the speaker House of Representatives,” he said.

“As the number four citizen in the hierarchy of protocol in the country, the speaker is entitled to security protection by the security agencies; therefore, we see the action of the acting inspector general of police as not only contempt of the courts but a ploy to bring harm to the per-

SDP Condemns withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security The Social Democratic Party (SDP) yesterday described the withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security men as undemocratic and a show of impunity that will not augur well for the country.

A statement by the SDP national secretary, Dr Sadiq Umar Abubakar, and its national publicity secretary, Dr Abdul Isiaq, also cautioned the inspector general of Police, Suleiman Abba, to desist from illegal acts but to be the professional policeman that he was known to be by restoring the security privileges of the speaker.

They noted that the constitution gave Tambuwal, as the number four citizen, the privilege to be protected like the president, the vice president, the Senate president and others.

The statement read in part: “We therefore condemn the act and ask for the restoration of his security and other privileges. This is beyond PDP, Jonathan and APC, and it is the highest disregard to constitution provisions and a show of impunity that will not augur well for democracy.”

The party reminded the IGP that his loyalty was to the state and not to a party, and that toeing the line of partiality was a dangerous trend ahead of the 2014 polls.

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds. ― Egyptian Proverb

The police should be fair and just to all,” the party concluded.

Withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security aides, double standard - DabiriErewa The chairperson, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has condemned the withdrawal of the security aides of Speaker Tambuwal by the IGP, Suleiman Abba, describing the action as a show of double standard on the part of the police.

In a message issued last night, the lawmaker noted that true democracy encourages freedom of expression and association.

“The act of withdrawing Hon Tambuwal’s security details endangers our democracy and smacks of double standards! He is still the number four citizen. The act is petty, unnecessary and smacks of desperation,” she stated.

HURIWA asks Presidency to restore Tambuwal’s security A civil society group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate restoration of Tambuwal’s security detailss and to sanction administratively the top se➔ CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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October 31, 2014

Presidency, PDP Move Against Emeka Ihedioha ➔ FROM PAGE 5

curity officials that gave the order.

In a statement jointly issued by the national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the national media affairs director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said it was the height illegality and impunity for the top hierarchy of the police to strip the nation’s munber four man of his statutory security details “on the nebulous and unqualified grounds that he switched over his political allegiance from one registered political party to another.”

Tambuwal: PPA berates Police The leadership of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) yesterday joined in the condemnation of the Nigeria Police Force for withdrawing security details

attached to Speaker Tambuwal following his defection from the ruling PDP to the APC. PPA national chairman, Comrade Peter Ameh, who condemned the action in strong terms, warned that rather than drag President Goodluck Jonathan’s name in the mud, the police should rise to its constitutional mandate bytaking pro-active and decisive measures to nip in the bud the brewing crises in the country, so that further threats to the peace and stability in nation will be averted.

He said the police, by their act, not only vindicated his party, but also displayed inconsistency, and wondered why the police failed to invoke the same section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution when governors and other political office holders defected from its party (PPA) to the PDP and other platforms.

Vehicles parked at the Speakers house after his security details were withdrawn

Boko Haram Annexes Hometown Of Defence Chief

by Mohammed Ismail, Yola; Kareem Haruna, Maiduguri

Boko Haram insurgents have captured Vimtim, the hometown of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Alex Badeh, as they continue their onslaught in the north eastern parts of the country.

The annexation of Vimtim is a consolidation of the militants’ earlier victory when they captured the commercial border town of Mubi as they overran the military barracks, police area command and other strategic places in the town.

Reports from the area indicate that before the capture of Victim, a reinforcement of soldiers sent to the area led to a sustained battle with the insurgents throughout the night before the insurgents finally overpowered the soldiers and captured the town.

Many people were reportedly killed in the cross-fire as thousands of residents tried to escape to Yola, Maiha and adjoining villages of Cameroon Republic where Cameroonian gendarmes were reported to have prevented those that tried to cross the border from entering their country.

It was similarly reported that the insurgents had a field day looting and burning the property of the displaced people who had deserted the town.

A trapped resident of Mubi, who said God had spared his life, reported that the local government secretariat, the Mubi International Cattle Market and other important public and private buildings had been burnt down by the insurgents.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa State government has dispatched over 100 buses to the beleaguered town and its environs to ferry trapped and stranded people to the safety of the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp in Yola, the state capital.

Governor Bala James Ngilari gave the order yesterday afternoon when concerned citizens of Mubi visited him to brief him on the current developments

in the area.

The leader of the group, Mr Joshua Atiku, urged the governor to consult with the federal government so as to persuade the Cameroonian authorities to allow fleeing people access into that country.

Atiku disclosed that hundreds of thousands of people escaping into Cameroon are stranded at the borders because Cameroonian gendarmes denied them entry.

Dozens of Soldiers, Policemen killed in Mubi Dozens of soldiers and policemen have reportedly died in the attack by Boko Haram insurgents who took control of the commercial border town of Mubi.

Badeh Trapped residents said the insurgents are effectively in control of the town as the hometown of the Chief of Defence they hoisted their flags on the military Staff,” he said.

Another resident of the area Mr Sani barracks, police area command and the palace of the Emir of Mubi as well as tak- Moses, reported that thick smoke had ing over the institutions of higher learn- enveloped the entire town as the insurgents burnt down strategic places in the ing.

Reports from the area also indicate town in addition to the ongoing battle that the insurgents have mounted seri- between the militants and soldiers who ous surveillance on the town just as they made an attempt to recapture the town.

“We can’t sleep; there are bomb exhave imposed a 24-hour curfew in order to consolidate their grip on the place. It plosions and gunshots all over the place was also reported that they have mount- as intense fighting between Nigerian ed checkpoints and are preventing resi- troops and insurgents continue. Fighting is still raging in Vimtim, the homedents from fleeing the town.

Residents also said the insurgents had town of Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marburnt down many places, including the shal Alex Badeh, and we hear heavy town’s main market, shopping malls and gunfire and explosions,” Moses said. other business hubs.

Narrating his ordeal, one of the Mubi: Boko Haram announce trapped residents, Dauda Mubi, said deaths to families through dead the displaced residents were in a pathet- victims’ phones Some of the displaced residents of ic situation as their life hangs in the balMubi whose relatives were killed by the ance.

“We are now trapped in our houses Boko Haram gunmen said they came to and cannot not dare to go out for the know about the death of their relatives fear of being shot by Boko Haram. We through the insurgents who would pick have started running out of food and calls to the phones of the deceased vicwater and our fate of survival hangs in tims and proudly announce that they been killed. the balance.

In a voice broken by hours of crying, a “Explosions and gun shots have inundated the town since yesterday as sol- young lady (names withheld) told our rediers engage the insurgents to protect porter via the phone of how a Boko HaA miserly father makes a prodigal son. ― African Proverb

ram gunman that killed her uncle, one Mr Charles Joseph, broke the news to them when they called the line of the deceased.

“We could not believe our ears when the line of Uncle Charles eventually came alive and a different voice told us that “I am one of those you call Boko Haram and we have killed the owner of this phone because he is an infidel.”

The young lady said her elder sister, who could not withhold the anguish, cursed the man that answered the phone.

“My sister told him on phone that he, too, will very soon die a miserable death, but the man did not care, as he told us: ‘I cannot die a miserable death because I am fighting on the path of Allah and He would surely bless my death with paradise.’”

The lady narrated that her uncle did not flee the town on time because he believed the soldiers would take care of the situation when they asked them to remain indoors.

Emir of Mubi’s son killed by Boko Haram One of the sons of the Emir of Mubi, Abubakar Isah Ahmadu, has been reported killed by Boko Haram insurgents who are in control of the town for close to 48 hours.

Reports indicate that the slain son of the monarch was among hundreds of civilians killed by the rampaging insurgents when they captured the town.

Many people of the area were said to have been killed while trying to escape the town. The killing of fleeing residents is said to be a measure deployed by the insurgents to discourage people from leaving the town as they blocked all routes out of the town.

Residents who escaped said they fled through the bushes and had to walk long distances to safety.

The Emir of Mubi is in Saudi Arabia as the Amirul Hajj of the state for the just concluded 2014 pilgrimage.

NEWS EXTRA 7

October 31, 2014

Businessman charged for raping 13-year-old OLUGBENGA SOYELE, Lagos

The police in Lagos yesterday arraigned a 35-year-old businessman, John Okwuchukwu before a Lagos Chief Magistrate’s Court, sitting at Ebute Metta, for allegedly raping and impregnating a thirteen- year-old girl.

Okwuchukwu, who lives at 5, Abiodun Olawunmi Street, Ayobo, Ipaja, Lagos, was arraigned before the court on a two count charges of unlawful sexual intercourse, and sexual activity with the minor without her consent.

The police prosecutor, Etim Nkankuk, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, told the court that the crime was committed between June 24 and August 28, at the residence of the accused.

Nkankuk also alleged that the accused and the parents of the victim were neighbours.

The prosecutor further claimed that the accused person used the opportunity that he lives in the same neighbourhood with the victim’s parents to have sexual intercourse with the victim severally.

He also said that the victim did not tell her parents of the unholy relationship, but the victim’s mother later discovered and took the victim to hospital for medical checkup, where her pregnancy was confirmed.

Nkankuk said the victim’s mother later reported the case at the police station and the accused was arrested.

According to the police the offence contravened Section 137 and 263 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State,2011.

Though accused pleaded not guilty to the charges, he, however, promised to take care of the victim.

Kano State Governor, Musa Kwankwaso with the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegu, when Gov Kwankwaso picks his presidential nomination form at the party secretariat in Abuja, yesterday. Photo By Oyedele Omokago

Popular Delta Musician, 3 Others Kidnapped, Abductors Demand N40m

By Kola Eke-Ogiugo, Asaba

A popular Anioma Musician and native of Ibusa Community, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, including three others were in the early hours of Wednesday kidnapped by gunmen.

Reports said the musician, Okonji Ogbeogu (Alias OGB) was kidnapped at his country home in Ogboli quarters of Ibusa by gun men numbering over sixteen.

It was reliably gathered that the three others kidnap victims indigenes of Kwale community were on their way to their farms when the rampaging gunmen swooped on them at gun point and dragged them into a waiting vehicle before they drove to an unknown destination.

Sources said the musician was at home

preparing for his son’s marriage when the kidnappers sized him at gunpoint, forced him into their car without registration number and drove off shooting sporadically to scare the wailing family members away.

Confirming the incident, the police public relations officer in the state, DSP Celestina Kalu, said the police were on the trail of the kidnappers, adding that the police would do everything possible to release the kidnap victims unhurt.

But family members of the kidnapped members, who spoke to our correspondent, said the kidnappers have established contact, demanding for N40million ransom. While saying they were already negotiating with them (kidnappers), they however appealed to the hoodlums to spare the life of the musician as he has no money or rich in any way.

L-R: Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo and Senior Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, during a 4-day Public Affairs Forum with the theme: the Jonathan Administration Four Impactful years held in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO BY JANE OKEKE

Court Remands Couple Over N34.5m Hajj Fund

By Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin

A couple, Alh. Lawal Hakeem Adebayo and Alhaja Lawal Sherifat of Al-Awwal Travels and Tours International Limited, Ilorin, who allegedly defrauded unsuspecting people of their money under a false pretext of securing them with travel documents to the 2013 Hajj operation, have been arraigned before an Ilorin High court.

The accused were charged before the court on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and advance fee fraud, contrary to sections 8(a) and 1(3) of Advance Fee Fraud and other related offences Act, 2006.

According to the charge sheet, the accused sometimes in the year 2013 defrauded the victim, Alhaji Isiaka Malu of the sum of N16, 000, 000; Baba Adelakun N905, 000; Alhaji Ishaq, Nurat Atinuke of N1, 700, 000; Fati-

moh Abike Jimoh and Ajarat Abike Jimoh of N2, 132, 000.

Others are Habibat Aduke Babaita, N535, 000; Aliyu Oladimeji; N895, 000; Alhaji Yusuf Abdullahi Jubril, N826, 000 and Alhaji Rufai Mohammed Iyanda, N1, 100, 000.

The rest are Alhaji Ibrahim Ambali N855, 000; Alhaji Isiaka Mogaji, N800, 000; Alhaja Salawu Sidikatu, N820, 000; Alhaji Olosun Kadir, N850, 000; Mr. Dotun Aruna, N7, 000, 000 and Kasmag Transport, N160, 000.

The prosecutor, Barrister J. A. Mumini objected to the bail of the accused and urged the court to remand them in prison custody until the next adjourned date.

Justice Yusuf, who presided over the court, granted the oral application of the prosecutor as he ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prison, Oke-Kura, Ilorin and adjourned the case till November 7, 2014.

L-R: Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mohammed Ladan Salihu; Dan Masanin Kano, Alhaji Maitama Sule and the former deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu Ibrahim Mantu, during the 2014 Annual October lecture of FRCN in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY OGOH JOSEPH.

Public Reforms DG Bags Award

By Onukogu Kanayo Jubal, Abuja

The director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Joe Abah, has bagged an award for being at the helm of one of the most outstanding Public Institutions in Nigeria.

The award, instituted by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG), recognised the bureau which has been saddled with reforming Nigeria’s public sector, as one of the public institu-

tions in the country which has performed extraordinarily in the year under review.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP FRIDAY exclusively at the International Conference Centre, venue of the awards, recently, Abah could not hide his gratitude.

He said, “I feel grateful for the recognition accorded my staff for the efforts which they have put in in one year. Of all the bodies recognised today, the bureau is the only one manned by core public servants.’

L-R: Managing Director, M5 Direct Ltd, Mr Tope Olaigbe; Managing Director, Card Mega Systems Ltd, Mr. Ope Adefolaju; Globacom’s State Manager, Ekiti, Mr.Tunji Omoworare and Managing Director, Divinelinks Ltd., Mr. Bukola Adewuyi at the Mobile Money Town Hall Meeting in AdoEkiti, recently.

8 NEWS

October 31, 2014

Group News Editor: Tony Amokeodo

Bonga Oil Spill: Artisan Fishermen, Shoreline Communities Give Ultimatum To Shell

By Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

L-R: National Organizing Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Mustapha, National Chairman of the party, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu and President Goodluck Jonathan, during his collection of presidential nomination forms at the party secretariat, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY REMI AKUNLEYAN.

2015: Why PDP Stopped Governor Ngilari As Jonathan gets nomination form

By Chibuzo Ukaibe, Abuja

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday declared that the zoning of the governorship position in Adamawa State to the Central Senatorial District ahead of the 2015 election remains valid.

By this declaration, the incumbent governor, James Ngilari, who hails from Adamawa North, has been ruled out from the contest. He is, however, said to have picked forms for the contest.

The PDP NWC’s decision came just as President Goodluck Jonathan obtained his presidential nomination form yesterday.

In the case of Adamawa State, the national leadership of PDP had reached an agreement with 14 guber aspirants of the party to ensure that the governorship position goes to the Central Zone in 2015 especially when it became apparent that the then acting governor, Umaru Fintiri was unstoppable in the race to the botched by-election.

Reiterating the decision of the party, yesterday, the NWC through the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh said, “For Adamawa State, the National Working Committee has decided that the decision and agreements of the candidates in Adamawa during our last exercise last month will be upheld; accordingly, the gubernatorial election in 2015 has been zoned to Adamawa Central.

“All aspirants who bought forms (eight of them) that signed the agreement and withdrew are advised to come and exchange them without any payment with the new 2015 forms.

“It means they are entitled to run since they are from the same senatorial zone of the party that will fully implement that

agreement.” ..Aspirants Hail Decision Meanwhile, all the 14 aspirants who participated in the process leading to the aborted election have hailed the party for taking the decision.

Speaking on behalf of the aspirants, former special adviser to the president on political matters, Barr. Ali Gulak expressed happiness with the decision of the NWC of the party, saying the arrangement was made for fairness to the Central zone which has never produced a governor since the time of the old Gongola State.

“Even though I am not from the Central Zone, I personally commend this decision which is also the wish of all of us. If anything, this has further prepared PDP to win Adamawa down and square,” Gulak stated.

Also, former minister, Dr Aliyu Idi Hong said the decision of the party has demonstrated the party leadership’s commitment to the promotion of unity among its members, as well as respecting accords that would preserve the integrity of the party.

“The NWC’s decision is a morale booster. It is a way of reassuring the teeming followership of the party that the PDP is a party of fairness and can always stand by its words. This would go a long way in thickening the ties between us and encourage team work towards the success of the party,” he said.

Also yesterday, the NWC announced the immediate sack of all acting chairmen of the party in Delta, Enugu, Anambra and Abia states.

Metuh stated that the deputy chairmen in Delta and Enugu states are directed to immediately take over the affairs of the party and organise an election for a substantive chairman to emerge from the zone of the chairman that resigned.

The election for a new chairman is expected to take place within two weeks.

Metuh added that the emergence of the acting chairmen in Delta and Enugu state did not follow due process.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan finally picked the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms of the PDP yesterday to contest the 2015 presidential election, declaring that he will work with all Nigerians.

This comes as the party extended the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms to Thursday next week.

The national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh disclosed this yesterday.

Jonathan arrived the premises of the national secretariat of the PDP at 2:10pm and was accompanied by his vice president, Namadi Sambo, the secretary to the federal government, Anyim Pius Anyim, National Assembly members and members of his cabinet.

Among governors present were those of Bayelsa, Cross River, Katsina, Ekiti, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Delta states.

The president picked the forms amid cheers by party members, who burst into a song led by the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, immediately after the national organising secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, handed the forms to the president.

After thanking the party’s national leadership for offering him the right of first refusal, Jonathan said, “I could have still picked the form if they did not give me. But giving me the right of first refusal has attracted more people than it ordinarily would have.”

Speaking earlier, the national chairman of the party, Dr Adamu Mu’azu, stated that the party has adopted the culture of offering the right of first refusal for its tickets to performing governors and presidents serving their first terms in office.

Victims of the December 20, 2011 Shell Bonga oil spill have given the oil major till the end of November to compensate them for damaging their livelihood or face the repercussions.

This followed the alleged refusal of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to implement environmental safety measures of the federal government and compensate victims of the spill which affected Ondo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states.

This ultimatum was issued at a press briefing organised by Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA) on behalf of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria in Abuja yesterday.

Head of legal department/democracy outreach of ERA, Barr. Chima Williams, said they were aware of the tactics of Shell to divide the affected communities in the compensation process, all in an effort to sideline some of them, including artisan fishermen.

He added that the communities have, therefore, resolved to all come together as a group to deal with Shell on compensation as one body.

While disclosing that the group had a scheduled meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Public Petitions on Tuesday which was cancelled due to the adjournment of the House, Williams said the people are now united in one cause, saying that the thematic concern of the gathering is: “Shell, you can run, but you can never hide from justice.”

Jonathan, Emir Sanusi In Closedoor Meeting In Aso Rock

By George Agba, Abuja

There were indications yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II may have flushed out all the bad blood between them.

The president and the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor met behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday.

The royal father who came in the company of his palace guards and other aides met with the president about two hours before he left for the Wadata House to pick the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential nomination form for the 2015 general elections.

After stepping out of the president’s office about an hour later, Emir Sanusi who refused to talk to journalists was led by his royal guards into his antique right-hand drive Rolls Royce saloon.

He waved his hand in acknowledgement of greetings from onlookers as he was driven out of Aso Rock.

Sanusi was suspended by President Jonathan months before he was due to formally retire as the apex bank governor, following a report by the financial reporting council indicting him of sundry financial impropriety.

Honorable is the person who is aware of his power, yet refrains from inflicting bad things onto others Egyptian Proverbs.

9

October 31, 2014

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

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October 31, 2014

2015: Youth Group Endorses Nda-Isaiah For President By bode gbadebo, Abuja

A pro-democracy group under the aegis of United Nigerian Youths For Better Nigeria has endorsed one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirants, Mr Sam NdaIsaiah as its 2015 presidential candidate.

In a statement issued by its national coordinator, Abubakar S. M. Garangi in Abuja yesterday, the group said it took the decision after a thorough appraisal of Mr Nda-Isaiah’s personality, experience and

track records, saying it is confident that he would give Nigeria visionary leadership.

It added that it has no doubt that Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah would transform the country and take Nigerians to the Promised Land, being a patriotic citizen who is committed to the Nigeria project.

It assured the presidential aspirant of its unwavering support in canvassing for delegates’ votes for him at the forthcoming APC presidential primary election, to ensure that he emerges victorious at the

end of the day.

“Nigerian youths need a credible person like you that will provide security, employment, eradicate poverty and provide quality education. We have no doubt that you will take us to the Promised Land. We have structures across the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, with coordinators overseeing the day-to-day running of the group. We will support you to ensure that you get the APC ticket,” the statement said.

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan and Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, during the emir’s visit to the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO

BY REMI AKUNLEYAN.

NJC Okays Justice Mohammed’s Nomination As Next CJN

By Kunle Olasanmi, Abuja

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has approved the nomination of Justice Mahmud Mohammed as the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

A source close to the council told LEADERSHIP that Justice Mohammed’s name has been forwaded to President Goodluck Jonathan for appointment as the successor to the outgoing CJN, Justice Aloma Mukhtar.

The source further said that the NJC also

approved the appointment of the chief registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr Sunday Olorundahunsi as Ondo State High Court Judge.

The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) had earlier met and recommended Justice Mahmud Mohammed to the NJC to replace Justice Mukhtar.

In order of seniority, Justice Mohammed is the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) and also the deputy chairman of the NJC.

Justice Mohammed, who hails from Jalingo in Taraba State, was born on November 10, 1946.

He studied for his Bachelor’s degree in Law (LL.B) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1970, after which he attended the Nigerian Law School in Lagos and was subsequently called to the Bar in 1971.

He began his career in the public service with the Ministry of Justice of the defunct North-eastern and Gongola states, and also served on the Bench in Gongola.

We Discovered 70,000 Ghost Pensioners During My Tenure – Oronsaye

By George Agba, Abuja

A former head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Stephen Oronsaye, yesterday opened up on the activities of pension thieves during his tenure, saying about 70, 000 ghost pensioners were discovered while he was still heading the service.

Denying ever being indicted by the auditor-general of the federation, Oronsaye wondered how he could have embezzled

N123billion pension funds when he was the one who discovered ghost pensioners in the system.

He made this explanation in a statement he issued personally, noting that because of the pension reforms he initiated in office, the government was saving N1billion monthly.

He clarified that going by the records, the major gap identified in the administration of civil service pensions when he came

on board in 2009 was the lack of proper records, even as he described reports in the media alleging his indictment as fictitious and unfounded.

His words: “My team and I made farreaching efforts to address this shortcoming through the physical verification and biometric capture of civilian pensioners across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who retired from the Service before July 1, 2007.”

Everything you can imagine is real.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and scuiptor

Jonathan Has Improved Nigerians’ Living Standard – FG

By George Agba, Abuja

The federal government insisted yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan has taken significant steps in the last four years to improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

Three ministers took time at the Public Affairs Forum organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, to speak of the impressive performance of the Jonathan administration under the Transformation Agenda.

The public affairs forum, according to Okupe, is a platform meant to keep Nigerians updated on the progress made so far by the administration.

Minister of power, Prof Chinedu Nebo noted at the forum that significant steps have been taken in the last four years to improve the power supply situation in the country.

According to him, a number of existing projects have been completed and new ones are under construction, adding that one of them is the NIPP projects in Kaduna which is almost completed.

Noting that other areas of power generation have been explored including coal in places like Enugu, Benue, Kogi and Gombe, which can generate more than 4,000 megawatts, Nebo said that the administration had robustly tackled the problematic issue of transmission, which he said was very poor when the administration came.

He explained that the strengthening of infrastructure to distribute the generated energy has led to the construction of several transmission lines across the nation.

He said such things did not come easy.

2015: Nigeria ‘ll Come Out Stronger, United – Mark

By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Abuja

President of the Senate, Senator David Mark has expressed optimism that in spite of the growing anxiety and challenges ahead of the 2015 general elections, Nigeria will come out stronger and more united as a nation.

Senator Mark told the visiting European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Arrion in Abuja yesterday, that government has improved and indeed strengthened political institutions to withstand any storm.

The Senate president in a press statement issued by his chief press secretary, Paul Mumeh, stressed: “Our political situation is steadily progressing. All Nigerians are now more conscious and indeed aware of elections and the processes. Both the government and the governed are now doing the right thing to guarantee a free, fair and credible election.

“Steadily, Nigerians have learnt how to play the game according to the rules. I have no doubt that the 2015 elections would be better than our previous elections. It would comply with international best practices. It is going to be exciting and the whole world would appreciate that Nigeria is on the right track democratically.”

NEWS NATIONAL 11

October 31, 2014

Niger Guber: Sudan Picks Nomination Form

By Abah Adah, Abuja

After months of persuasion and consultation, Engr. Hannafi Sudan yesterday finally bowed to “popular views” and “personal conviction” when he picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination form for the governorship race in Niger State.

Sudan, 46, a civil engineer, said he was persuaded by the need to provide peopleoriented leadership to the people of the Former Head of state as against what he perceives as the State, Gen Yakubu general desire of other aspirants.

Gowon (left), receiving former He told reporters, “What Niger State president of Ghana, needs principally is purposeful leaderMr John Kufuor, ship. Ironically, this is a state that has during his visit to produced quality and respectable leadhis house in Abuja, ers for Nigeria. But back home we are yesterday. PHOTO still experimenting.”

BY NAN. A graduate of Bayero University, Kano where he did a post-graduate degree in engineering, Sudan has attended various leadership and management courses both at the London Business School and Harvard Business School among others. times , today I have seen families that find An off-spring of royalty, Sudan was it difficult to feed, I have seen the very good born in Kontagora local government schools that produced our elites and profes- area of Niger State, to the royal family sionals in decay”. of Alhaji Muazu Ibrahim, Sarikin Sudan Abu Bello said it was unfortunate that cre- of Kontagora. ative and brilliant youths have gone dreamless because they have lost motivation for creativity and dreams and towns that had potable water gone dry and empty as well as public service turned unprofessional leading to shoddy and poor service delivery.

By Abu Nmodu, Minna “Because of these unfortunate scenareo , I want to provide a leadership that cares and to National Cereals Research Institute lay a solid foundation of hope and restoration (NCRI) Badeggi in Niger State in collabso that Niger state can become a the place to oration with the Alliance for Green Revolive, work and prosper” he pledged. lution in Africa (AGRA) has commenced the training of 600 farmers from Niger and Kebbi states on modern rice production techniques.

The acting executive director of the institute, Dr Lawrence Talabi-Ogunremi who disclosed this yesterday at the flag-off of the two-day farmers training workshop in Badeggi, Niger State said that the training is under AGRA and over the number of presidential aspirants in NCRI rice value chain project. the party, saying that their entry was to add He said the theme of the training , value to it.

“Enhancing the productivity and profitKwankwaso assured the party that many ability of rice production in Nigeria” was more politicians from other political parties with a view to boost rice production in would soon join APC. the country.

Said he: “I want to thank those who conAccording to him the 300 farmers who tributed in one way or another in purchasing were drawn from Kebbi State had already this form. Mr Chairman, while I am thanking undergone the training while 300 farmthe National Working Committee, I want to ers from Niger State are currently receivalso thank those who contributed money to purchase this form - members of the Nation- ing the training at the institute’s headal Assembly, Kano State Assembly, elders not quarters in Badeggi.

Talabi-Ogunremi explained that the only from Kano but across the country. project was aimed at supporting farmers at the grassroots toward boosting rice production in the country and would be extended to all rice producing day withdrew an application seeking ex- areas in Nigeria with a view to actualistension of time for the ongoing inspec- ing the transformation agenda of Presition of the election materials and had it dent Goodluck Jonathan. struck While calling on the farmers to make out on the basis that the issue would judicious use of the programme in order be sorted out administratively. to add values to their lives, and ensure He had asked the tribunal to defer the food security, he explained that the inpreliminary objection which is challeng- stitute is strategically positioned to faciling the competence of the petition till itate national and international cooperhearing stage, arguing that the applica- ations for the improvement for national tion of the respondents should be heard. and regional food security.

Why Niger Needs Restoration – Abu Bello

By Abu Nmodu, Minna,

The governorship aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State, Alhaji Abu Sani Bello has stated that the state is lagging behind in all spheres of development due to lack of selfless leadership and needed restoration.

Alhaji Abu Bello stated this in Kontagora while formally declaring for the governorship race of the state yesterday, adding that the present state of affairs in the state despite her human and natural resources called for action.

He stated that “ The challenges facing Niger State are real; they are numerous and wor-

risome, the time has come for us to make a choice; to stand for and choose hope over fear, unity and pride of our purpose over conflict and crisis and humanity over ills of injustice and misgovernance”.

Bello said that no matter how great ideas and realistic projects are it will not be actualised if there is no visionary and committed leadership to drive it an0d make the people to be part of it.

Conseuently he said that he intend to give the state a people oriented government through making the people’s interest to come first positing that “ we are going to be partners here, there will be no servant, no master”.

He declared “ We are in difficult and tough

2015: Gov Kwankwaso Collects Presidential Nomination Form Says some Nigerians picked up the bill

By Bayo Oladeji, Abuja

The Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, yesterday collected Expression of Interest and Presidential Nomination Forms at the cost of N27.5million which he claimed some Nigerians paid for on his behalf.

General Muhammadu Buhari claimed he got his own money through a bank loan while President Goodluck Jonathan listed some in-

dividuals and groups of people as his sponsors.

The first aspirant to pick the two forms was the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, followed by former head of state, Buhari, while the founder, LEADERSHIP Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah will collect his own on November 3.

In his address, Kwankwaso said the forms were paid for by some of his supporters comprising members of the National Assembly, Kano State Assembly and elders across the country.

He allayed fears of any impending crisis

Osun Tribunal Rules On Omisore’s Petition Monday

By JOSHUA DADA, , Osogbo

The newly constituted Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime has fixed Monday for ruling on the request by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and its governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore that the tribunal should not determine the competence of their petition at the pre-hearing stage.

Earlier, Ikpejime at the commencement of the pre-trial of the petition filed

by Omisore and his party against the reelection of Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) cautioned politicians on the need to allow the panel carry out its assignment without distraction that could jeopardize quick dispensation of justice.

The lead counsel of the petitioner, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) at the sitting yester-

A broken friendship may be soldered, but will never be sound.

NCRI Partners AGRA To Train Rice Farmers

12 NEWS NATIONAL

October 31, 2014

2015: 28 Borno Lawmakers Obtain APC Guber Form For Shettima By mIllIe IBe, Abuja

Twenty-eight members of both the National Assembly and the Borno State House of Assembly yesterday picked an Expression of Interest and Nomination Form which they intend to donate to the Borno State governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, their choice candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), to enable him seek re-election in 2015.

The lawmakers consist of one out

of the two APC senators, five out of the eight members of the House of Representatives under the APC and 22 out of the 27 members of the Borno State House of Assembly, all of whom refused to join the former governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff, who moved to the PDP. Speaking on why the lawmakers decided to obtain the forms for the governor, Hon Tahiru Monguno said that as representatives of Borno people, they were at the party secretariat to express

the confidence that Borno people and other residents have in the governor.

He said Borno people are very impressed with what he described as “the excellent performance of the governor in the last three and a half years, especially the manner in which he manages the security challenges in the state, his genuine efforts towards reclaiming peace, his reconstruction efforts and his courage in carrying out numerous projects despite the challenges.”

Lukman Joins Kaduna Guber Race, Picks Nomination Form

By IsaIah BenjamIn, Kaduna

The director general of the Progressive Governors Forum, Alhaji Salihu Mohammed Lukman, yesterday formally joined the Kaduna State governorship race on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governorship hopeful picked his nomination form at the APC State Secretariat before a mammoth crowd of party supporters who accompanied him, chanting solidarity songs.

Addressing the crowd at his formal declaration programme shortly after picking the nomination form, Alhaji Lukman said, “My strong position is that we have no alternative but to work hard

and take over the government of Kaduna State, and in doing that, we must learn from our past mistakes and build a strategy that would really deliver the state to APC in a qualitative way.”

He said he is not one of those who just want PDP defeated for the fun of it, adding that he wants to see the real alternative, which is why he has engaged virtually everyone on the need to work hard for the alternative.

On his agenda for the state, he said, “The first is that we must approach the issue of unity in a more fundamental way because I believe we will not make a headway on anything if the people of Kaduna State are not united”.

I’ll Revolutionise Agric, Education, Others In Katsina – Sen Kanti Bello By eBrIku john FrIday, Abuja

Katsina State frontline gubernatorial aspirant, Senator Kanti Bello, has assured the people of the state that his administration, if elected, will revolutionise education, security and job creation for youths through agricultural development.

Senator Bello stated this yesterday, at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when he returned his completed governorship Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for Katsina State under the platform of the APC. He said his gubernatorial aspiration was based on the wishes of the people of

the state, and he is working hard on actualising it, assuring citizens of the state that he is running for the governorship in their interest.

He said his administration will tackle four key areas to develop the state and empower its citizens. These are security, agriculture, education and job creation for youths.

On agriculture, he said his government will create service centres across the local governments in the state and create over two million jobs for the teeming youths.

While appeal for free and fair primaries in the party, he assured the party leadership, that he will abide by the outcome of the election, though he hoped to pick the ticket at the end of the primaries.

2015: Post-election Peace Is Our Concern – Eze By aBah adah, Abuja

The national coordinator, Goodluck Support Group (GSG), Prof Nick Eze, has said that aside from clinching victory for the presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), President Goodluck Jonathan, at the 2015 polls, another goal the group is working towards achieving is post-election peace in the country.

Prof Eze, represented by a senior colleague in the group, Mr Ikeh Michael Onuzuike, stated this yesterday when a political A Joke never gains an enemy but often loses a friend.

group, Yes We Will 2015 (YWW2015), paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the GSG in Abuja.

He urged the group members to also carry the message of peace along to the people as they embark on campaigns in their various states and local governments across the country.

“From all indications, there is no doubt that 75 per cent of Nigerians will vote for Jonathan come 2015.

What we are concerned about now is post-election peace. We are working for peace, not just victory,” he said.

October 31, 2014

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14 NEWS NATIONAL

October 31, 2014

Politics Should Supercede Ethnic, Religious Differences – Maitama Sule

By Millie Ibe, Abuja

As preparations for the 2015 general elections draws near, one of Nigeria’s elder statesman, Dr Maitama Sule has drawn attention to the need for Nigerians to embrace unity.

“In order to understand or appreciate the problems facing Nigeria, I believe we have to revisit the past. Indeed the purpose

of history is to know the past so as to adjust to the present and plan for the future.’’ He stated this during the October lecture of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) yesterday in Abuja.

Speaking further, Maitama Sule also emphasised on the importance of learning and understanding one another before we can come together. “Let us start from the known to the unknown, from the

familiar to the unfamiliar. Nigeria has an important role to play in the politics of African continent.’’

The supervising minister of information, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed, represented by Alhaji Garuba Bello said the lecture was an opportunity to examine gains of transformation agenda. ‘’There is no better day than today to choose to re-emphasize on the transformation agenda.

FG To Upgrade Military Equipment- Gen Gusau

Bayo Oladeji, Abuja

As a faction of the Boko Haram terrorist sect continues to violate the ceasefire by invading Mubi, Adamawa State among other towns and villages, the minister of defence, Lt General Aliyu Gusau Mohammed who has refused to comment on the unfortunate incident however disclosed that the federal government would soon upgrade military equipment.

Gusau, yesterday, broke

the good news of the provision of new equipment in his speech at the commissioning of Naval Headquarters New Extension, a ceremony attended by all the service chiefs and principal officers of the Navy.

Former Chief of Army Staff who acknowledged the contribution of the Navy “in spite of annual budgetary constraints” commended the quality of the edifice and praise the force for he war against oil theft.

Stomach Infrastructure: I Visit Beer Parlours To Stay With Common Men – Fayose

By Chibuzo Ukaibe, Abuja

Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, yesterday defended the concept of Stomach infrastructure, saying “I also go to beer parlours on Fridays to stay with the common men there, governance is not church”.

Fayose who stated this at the PDP national secretariat when he accompanied President Goodluck Jonathan to pick the presidential forms, also defended the retention of immunity clause for president and governors saying its removal will lead to distraction.

The Ekiti State governor who described himself as the father of Ekiti State, said stomach infrastructure, “If you look at Britain, as rich and as comfortable as they are, in the entire time, they find their way to address the issue of the poor and less privileged masses in their country by what they call social security. Food is a social security, you can’t be talking to a hungry man, he would be distracted by any means.

Secondly, when we say stomach infrastructure, it is a welfare programme, a programme that would keep the heart of a man stable.”

He continued “Christmas is coming, why do people go out of their ways to be shopping or doing other things if it is not just to make people merry? So, I am grooming chicken, buying rice, yams, plantain.

Honorable is the person who is aware of his power, yet refrains from inflicting bad things onto others.

Egyptian proverbs

business

October 31, 2014

Forex : CBN Bars Dealers From Selling To Authorised Buyers

BY NSE ANTHONY-UKO, Abuja

Further to the quest by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sanitise the operations of the foreign exchange market in Nigeria, the bank has barred authorised dealers (Commercial banks) from selling CBN intervention funds in the interbank market to authorised buyers (Bureaux de Change and hotels).

In a circular -TED/FEM/FPRB/ GEN/01/020, dated October 28, 2014, issued by the apex bank, it directed that funds purchased through the CBN interventions should be utilised within two working days of delivery, at a rate not more than 10 kobo above the purchase rate.

The CBN circular also directed that unutilised funds within two days of delivery should be returned to the bank at the original purchase rates.

15

6.2m

Number of contributors on the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS).

Investors Shun NIMASA’s PPP On National Carrier Shipping Line

By Samson Echenim, Lagos

Despite the urgency attached to the federal government’s plan to float a national carrier shipping line as announced by the directorgeneral of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, LEADERSHIP Friday investigations have revealed that the public-private partnership project has not attracted any investor.

Akpobolokemi had said at a world press conference in July this year that he was already working on a presidential directive which he received some months earlier, to begin a process for the floating of a national shipping line in partnership with private sector investors.

He said the project was meant

to be a typical PPP, with which the current government has adopted to achieve part of its transformation agenda.

More than six months after the presidential directive, no single investor has indicated interest in the national carrier plan.

It was learnt that the agency and the Nigeria Indigenous Shipowners Association (NISA) set up different committees to drive the project.

President of NISA, Dr Isaac Jolapamo, said his association’s committee on the national carrier project was still working on the investment plan, but declined to provide further details about the progress made so far.

“We have a committee on the national carrier line and I am also aware that NIMASA has its committee on that too,” he said.

However, an indigenous ship owner said no local shipping company could invest in such a huge project.

“Even all of the investments of indigenous operators put together cannot drive the project. As I speak all indigenous shipowners are groaning under the burden of indebtedness,” said the local operator who did not want his name in print.

NIMASA’s public relations department declined to speak on the matter. E-mails sent to the agency’s deputy director, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, following his preference for e-mails were not replied.

The shipowner however advised the agency to look beyond local investors if it meant to succeed with the national carrier project.

BUSINESS QUOTE A depression is for capitalism like a good, cold —douche.

PenCom Asset Hits Over N4.5trillion In 2014

By Taiwo OgunmolaOmilani, Lagos

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has appealed to both States and Local Governments who are yet to adopt the Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS) to do so to enable their employees benefit from the scheme, as its assets hit over N4.5trillion as at June 2014.

The director-general of PenCom, Chinelo AnohuAmazu, disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday in Lagos.

While sensitising stakeholders in the South West on the scheme, she called for need to amend the act to suit the present situation and address the issues inherent in the PRA which necessitated the

amendments of the PRA 2004.

“A large pool of investible fund of pension assets has hit over N4.5trillion as at June 2014 and the Commission has established functional offices in the six geo-political zones in Nigeria and is now strategically positioned to facilitate and offer the needed technical assistance to state and local governments to adopt and implement the CPS. “Despite the achievements achieved with the PRA 2004, there is need to amend the act to suit the present situation and address the issues inherent in the PRA which necessitated the amendments of the PRA 2004,” she added.

Anohu-Amazu stressed that the application of the CPS by States and local

governments has also received a boost under the PRA 2014 Act 2014, by setting a standard which state government were required to comply with for the benefit of their respective employees.

On performance of the CPS, she emphasised that the payment of pension under the CPS has been prompt and consistent since 2007, adding that from a story of about N2trillion in pension deficit under the defunct defined benefits scheme as at 2004 to accumulated large pool of investible fund of over N4.5trillion pension assets as at June 2014.

“The CPS has more than 6.2 million contributors that have been registered since the inception of the Act in 2004,” she pointed out.

L-R: David Grayson of Cranfield University, UK; GMD/CEO FirstBank, Bisi Onasanya; dean, Lagos Business School, Dr Enase Okonedo and Kayode Omoregie, Lagos Business School at the FirstBank International Sustainability Conference in Lagos.

Arik Air Airlifts 16m Passengers In 8yrs

By NKEM OSUAGWU, Lagos

Arik Air said it has carried 15, 513, 407 passengers during the eight years of its existence.

The airline which marked its eight year anniversary in Lagos yesterday listed some of its achievements to include expansion of its fleet, improved route network, and foray into the international

market, even as the airline plans to commence service to Libreville, Lome, and Abidjan.

Managing director of the airline, Mr Chris Ndulie, who spoke with correspondents said, “Arik Air started operations on October 30, 2006 with two brand new bombardier CRJ aircraft and four daily flights between Lagos and Abuja, we carried just 29, 363

passengers by year end December 31, 2006 and we had less than one per cent of the domestic market share.

“In eight years, Arik Air has carried a total of 15, 515, 407 passengers from October 30, 2006 to date. Now we have 27 short medium and long range aircraft including Q400NG in flight from Toronto.

Arik Air still has the youngest fleet

in Africa with average aircraft age if six years. We now operate into 19 domestic and 12 regional/ intercontinental destinations and remains west and Central Africa’s largest airline and fastest growing airline in Africa.

He further said Arik Air would take delivery of two brand new Bombardier CRJ 900 aircraft which would enable it expand its

operations in the West Coast of Africa.

According to him, Arik Air achieved yet another milestone in Nigerian aviation by operating the first Nigerian registered commercial aircraft to the United States in two decades. On March, 17, 2014, the airline operated its scheduled Lagos to New York flight using an A330200 aircraft with registration 5N-JID. Chidoka

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October 31, 2014

business news Assets Recovery: ‘POCA, MLA Bills ‘ll Harmonise Existing Legislations’

By Kingsley Alu, Abuja

The deputy director in charge of legal drafting in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Ike Udunni, has said that the Proceeds of Crime (POCA) and Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Bills presently being considered by the National Assembly would harmonise and consolidate the existing legislative provisions on the recovery of proceeds of crime and related matters in Nigeria.

Udunni, who argued that the absence of a comprehensive legal framework to deal with recovery and management of assets has hampered the anti-graft war in Nigeria, was speaking at a stakeholders’ round table on the Proceeds of Crime (POCA) and Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Bills organised by the Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption (MIIVOC), in collaboration with the Justice For All/DFID. “At the moment, the laws on the recovery and management of proceeds of crimes in Nigeria

are fragmented in some existing legislations including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, the Independent Corrupt Practices Offences and Other Related Matters Act, 2000, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, 2004 etc.

“Although there are some provisions in these statutes that allow the government to recover the proceeds of crime, they are in the main, disjointed, underused and ineffective,” he said.

Also speaking, the chairman, Presidential Committee on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Mr Stephen Oronsaye, justified the need for the bills as effective tools in the war against corruption in the country.

He further pledged the commitment of the FATF committee to continue to work with relevant partners to strengthen the legal framework against corruption in Nigeria, even as he urged all stakeholders to support the bills.

‘FG Has No Intention To Ban Commercial Motorcycle’

By Evelyn Okoruwa, Abuja

The ministry of transport has refuted claims in the media on the federal government’s plan to ban the use of commercial motorcycle nationwide.

In a statement made available to Leadership Friday yesterday, the ministry described the report as not only misleading, but inaccurate.

It was reported that the need to ban the use of motorcycles as commercial means of transport in Nigeria was one of the measures proposed by stakeholders at the National Council on Transport (NCT) that held in Enugu State and is geared towards adequate provision of safety and safe transportation in Nigeria.

However the statement from the ministry which was signed by the permanent secretary stated

that stakeholders at the National Council on Transport (NCT) did not resolve that the federal government should ban the use of commercial motorcycles nationwide.

The statement reads in parts: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Abuja has been drawn to misleading reports in the electronic and print media that the federal government planned banning commercial motorcycles as an outcome of the National Council on Transport meeting held in Enugu from October 20-24, 2014.

“Due to the misleading nature of the story, it has become necessary to state that the federal government has no plan whatsoever to ban and has not banned commercial motorcycles nationwide.

Follow these reports on leadership.ng/business

NSE Trades 747.912m Shares

BY OLUSHOLA BELLO, Lagos

Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday staked N5.89 billion on 747.912 million shares in 3,817 deals.

The volume of transactions represents 97.99 per cent increase over the 377.737 million shares worth N4.104 billion traded in 4,408 deals on Wednesday.

Mansard Insurance emerged the most traded stock, accounting for 191.04 million shares valued at N573.07 million, transacted by

investors in 25 deals .

ETI came second on the activity with 124.95 million shares worth N2.32 billion in 80 deals, while Wema Bank sold 94.13 million shares valued N86.63 million in 27 deals.

However, the NSE All-Share Index depreciated by 168.19 points or 0.44 per cent to close at 37,979.99 as against the 38,148.18 achieved on Wednesday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation dropped by N56

billion or 0.44 per cent to close lower at N12.579 trillion from the N12.635 trillion posted on Wednesday.

Seven Up led the losers’ chart

by N15.52 to close at N173 per share. Lafarge Wapco trailed with a loss of N5.69 to close at N108.21, while Unilever dropped N3.90 to close at N36.10 per share.

CAP depreciated by N2.09 to close at N41.90 and PZ Cussons dipped N1.39 to close at N26.41 per share.

L-R: Senior vice president, commercial, Arik Air, Siva Ramachandra; deputy managing director, Capt. Ado Sanusi; managing director, Chris Ndulue and chief pilot, Capt. Adetokunbo Adekunbi during Arik Air’s 8-year anniversary press conference yesterday in Lagos. PHOTO BY BENEDICT UWALAKA

FG vs Coca Cola, NBC: Court Fixes Nov 4 For Hearing

By Nse Anthony -Uko, Abuja.

The Federal High Court 8, Abuja, under Justice E.S. Chukwu, has fixed Tuesday, November 4 for the hearing of the suit filed by the federal government against Coca Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigeria Bottling Company Limited for alleged violation of the Consumer Protection Council Act. The global soft drink giant, Coca Cola Nigeria Limited, and its Nigeria’s franchise bottler, Nigeria Bottling Company Limited, are currently facing prosecution for allegedly violating the Orders of the Council, which were given to ensure compliance with laid down safety standards and regulations and enhanced consumers’ welfare.

This was after an administrative panel set up to investigate a consumer

complaint regarding two half-empty cans of Sprite manufactured by Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited under the licence and authority of Coca Cola Nigeria Limited found them culpable.

If found guilty, the chief executive officers of both companies risk a jail sentence ranging from three to five years, according to the Nigeria’s Consumer Protection Council Act. As part of the administrative panel’s recommendations, CPC, a parastatal under the supervision of the ministry of industry, trade and investment, had ordered CocaCola Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company to subject their manufacturing processes to its inspection for a period of 12 months to ensure compliance with laid down safety standards and regulations, while demanding

Not every movement is progress; movements are just a way of burning After dinner sitSome (sleep) a while, after supper walk a mile. fats!

― Israelmore Ayivor

necessary compensation for the consumer/complainant.

Also, Coca-Cola and NBC were also directed to formulate a shelf-life policy for their products; to review their consumer grievance resolution policy; supply chain management policy, product traceability policy, and to present written assurances that they will refrain from a continuation of any conduct, which is detrimental to the interest of consumers.

In a bold move aimed at ensuring the protection of Nigerian consumers, the federal government last week, dragged the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and their Chief Executives before a Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged criminal breach of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Act.

TOURISM 17

October 31, 2014

WTM Generates $6.5bn In Tourism, Travel Deals

L-R: Chief executive officer, National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Mrs Dayo Keshi; Mr Peter Osevwe of Peter Art Gallery Osogbo; board member of NCAC, Mrs Imeh Udo and coordinator, Ikwo South East Development Centre, Ebonyi state, Mr Sunday Ota at the opening ceremony of the culture market during the just concluded 28th edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) in Abakaliki, recently. PHOTO BY CHIKA OKEKE

NAFEST: Providing Catalyst For Cultural Exchange, Empowerment Stories By Chika Okeke, Abuja, with Agency Report

Cultural exchange programmes have over the years served as the major means of promoting unity and peaceful co-existence among the diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria.

This was one of the important factors that played out at the just concluded 28th edition of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) at Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital with the theme, ‘Celebrating Nigeria @ 100: The Role of Culture as Vehicle for National Unity.’

The NAFEST, which began in Lagos State in 1970, is an annual fiesta aimed at promoting cultural interaction, peace and national integration through renditions of various cultural events such as traditional dance drama, arts and crafts competition, children’s essay writing competition, children’s painting competition, traditional children’s story telling competition, traditional wrestling, traditional cuisine competition, traditional furnished apartment among others.

Organised by the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), a parastatal under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, the event not only provided a forum for unity but also created opportunities for job creation and empowerment for thousands of people that sold beautifully displayed arts and crafts, clothings, footwear, and household items, etc.

Out of the 36 states of the federation, contingents from 19 states – Benue, Taraba, Anambra, Bauchi, Niger, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Kogi, Nasarawa, Katsina, Yobe, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Oyo, Enugu, Edo, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja – as well as

other contingents from the 17 local government areas of the host state and non-governmental organisations participated at the festival.

Declaring the event closed, the governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Martin Nwancho Elechi, said that our diverse music, dance, dress patterns, arts and crafts not only demonstrated the creativity of Nigerians but also constituted platforms for wealth generation. He advised the NCAC to improve on future festivals by ensuring more states participation even as he challenged them to allot special tasks or performances to states based on their cultural background, noting that such special tasks may feature as demonstrative events in subsequent editions.

While congratulating the contingents and participants, he stated that the nation’s arts and culture represented a fertile treasure trove for job creation and creative expression.

According to him, “Like the International Olympic Movement that places premium on participation above laurels, the beauty of the NAFEST, apart from producing arts and culture champion, provides a unique platform for the celebration and renewal of the rich cultural heritage of our nation.”

In her speech, the chief executive officer of the NCAC, Mrs Dayo Keshi, said that the NAFEST has served as a bridge builder in promoting cultural and peaceful co-existence between different ethnic groups even as it highlighted opportunities for the promotion of domestic tourism.

Keshi said the event was delayed due to the breakout of the Ebola Virus Disease and not shortage of funding as speculated, noting that she was overwhelmed by the turnout of participants from different states, a situation she described as unity in

diversity.

Also, the Niger State commissioner for tourism and culture, Mrs Susan Gana, was grateful to the state governor, Bagangida Aliyu, for providing the necessary financial and moral support needed to harness the tourism potential inherent in the state and attributed the fact that her state is always at the forefront of national festivals to this. Similarly, the chairman of the NCAC Governing Board, Prof. Nelson Brambaifa, however, commended the federal government for its commitment to the development of the culture and tourism industry and continuous support to the NAFEST. On his part, the coordinator of Ikwo South East Development Centre, Ebonyi state, Mr Sunday Ota, was convinced that Nigeria would be a big market for investment if our rich cultural potential were fully harnessed, adding that Nigerians were renowned for hospitality globally.

Earlier, the Ebonyi State First Lady, Mrs Josephine Elechi, while addressing children participants at the NAFEST expressed optimism that children’s interest in arts and cultural activities would forge mutual relationship among children from diverse cultural background. While urging the children to adopt other works of arts and dances from other participating states, she revealed that the state government had established one cultural centre in each of the three senatorial districts in a bid to encourage natives showcase their cultural endowment abroad.

At the end, Ebonyi State emerged the overall winner followed by Niger and Akwa Ibom states that clinched the second and third position respectively while Anambra, Bauchi and Benue jointly clinched the fourth position.

The director of World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio, Mr Craig Moyes, has revealed that the biggest global travel and market event generates $6.5 billion annually, saying that it offered unrivalled opportunities for the exhibitors.

The WTM organised by Reed Travel Exhibition consists of four leading business-to-business travel trade events around the world namely, WTM; Arabian Travel Market; WTM Latin America; and WTM Africa.

“The WTM portfolio offers unrivalled business opportunities for its exhibitors making the events a place where the travel and tourism industry conducts its business. It is a fixture in the global industry’s calendar, attracting the world’s most influential buyers.

A statement obtained by LEADERSHIP Friday in WTM web revealed that the, “Arabian Travel Market, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa are the leading events in the regions running hugely successful hosted buyer programmes, guaranteeing exhibitors business meetings with only the most relevant buyers.

Moyes said the fact that the WTM portfolio generates $6.5 billion in business deals was a testimony that the WTM was strictly for business minded participants.

The event which takes place in London every November started 35 years ago with over 5,000 exhibitors and 50,000 participants attending the event annually.

Domestic Tourism Contributes N1.3trn To GDP – NTDC The director-general of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Dr Sally Mbanefo, has disclosed that domestic tourism accounted for N1.

3 trillion contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Presenting her paper titled ‘The Needs of the Tourism Industry in Nigeria’ at the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), she maintained that tourism development was capital intensive in rural areas.

“Tourism development in most rural areas is capital intensive due to lack of basic services. Since government resources are limited and the demands for them are very high, collaboration between private and public is critical.

According to her, “The domestic tourism market has a very high revenue and job creation potential.

Nigeria’s domestic tourism contribution to the GDP is valued at appropriately N1.3 trillion with a 2.6 per cent contribution to total employment at 1,636,500 jobs.”

She urged the industry not to relent in supporting the development of tourism in Nigeria, stating that out of 4.8 billion tourist arrivals globally per year that four billion or 83 per cent responded to domestic tourism. While encouraging stakeholders to advance higher than their counterparts abroad, she noted that there was a need to provide value added services and enhance their content and packaging in order to meet tourists’ needs.

Mbanefo was hopeful that the NTDC would turn Nigeria as Africa’s destination hub, saying that to develop an economy that would provide long term investment and employment opportunities required the support of government and private sector.

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

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October 31, 2014

October 31, 2014

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20 / AGRICULTURE

October 31, 2014

agriculture REPORTS

Inequality Spirals Out Of Control As Number Of Billionaires Doubles – Oxfam

BY Ruth Tene Natsa, Abuja

Tractors under the Agriltural Equipment Hiring Enterprise in Zamfara State

Zamfara Leads In AEHE Mechanisation Scheme The Nigerian agriculture sector received a boost when the federal government, through the ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, introduced the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE).

Ruth Tene Natsa was at the take-off of the AEHE in Zamfara State for LEADERSHIP Friday

The mechanisation services will boost food production in the state by an additional 32,000 metric tonnes of food and create over 1,000 jobs for the youths

Agriculture has always been practised at a subsistence level in Nigeria with the use of hand tools which do not allow for much cultivation or a high level of production.

The need to revolutionise the sector led to the creation of the present government’s agricultural transformation agenda (ATA) geared at transforming the sector, increasing food production, and ensuring food security and job creation.

To this effect, the federal government in August 2014 launched the agricultural mechanisation programme aimed at supporting farmers take advantage of existing technologies to develop and expand their farming.

This was effected with the launch of the agricultural equipment hiring enterprises (AEHEs) meant to provide agricultural mechanised services at a subsidise rates. Speaking at the launch of the AEHE in Zamfara State on Tuesday, the Bank of Agriculture representative, Waziri Haruna, said mechanisation is what will improve efficiency and development. Also speaking at the event, the former governor of the state, Alhaji Mahmoud Shinkafi said agriculture is the occupation of over 85 per cent of the

indigenes in the state, but noted that the benefits in agriculture had long eluded the state.

“Fertiliser is a very important input in agriculture and Zamfara State, through the federal government, can now access those inputs,” Shinkafi said.

While commending the minister for supporting the initiative of subsidising inputs to farmers, he assured that farmers in the state would definitely be the first to pay their subsidies. Speaking at the commissioning and launch of the commencement of the national growth enhancement scheme (GES) for the provision of mechanisation support grants to farmers in Nigeria through the e-wallet system, the minister of agriculture and rural development Dr Akinwumi Adesina said Zamfara State is the first state in Nigeria to benefit from the agricultural equipment hiring centers initiative.

“Four AEHEs are being established in Zamfara State, one to be located in each of the three senatorial districts, while the fourth will be located in Gusau, the state capital,” Adesina said.

The four centers, he said will be fully equipped with 20 units of tractors and power tillers each and various harvest and post harvest equipment. The total cost of the equipment for four AEHEs in Zamfara State is N144 million.

The equipment are being deployed to the state through the state chapter of the Tractor Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) to render emergency mechanisation intervention support services to farmers in the state.

He added that “the Federal Ministry of Agriculture will

support farmers all across the state to have access to subsidised mechanised services from these AEHEs at no cost.

“Given the recent communal clashes that led to the destruction of farm produce and death of traction animals, the federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, will pay for the entire mechanisation services for the farmers between now and the end of the dry season. The sum of N193 million has been approved to support free mechanisation services for farmers in the state through the GES.” The minister added that farmers in Zamfara State will enjoy huge benefits as the tractors will be used to cultivate an average of 8,000 hectares, covering plowing, harrowing and ridging tillage operations. The mechanisation services will boost food production in the state by an additional 32,000 metric tonnes of food and create over 1,000 jobs for the youths.”

Adesina revealed that “between 2014 and 2016, the Agricultural Mechanisation Fund will establish a minimum of 1,200 AEHEs across the nation while the centers will provide 6,000 units of tractors and their implements, 15,000 power tillers and over 20,000 planting, harvest and post harvest equipment. The fund will also be used to mechanise four million hectares of farm land in the country and expand food production by an additional 20 million metric tonnes. The centres are projected to create over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs for youths.”

The minister revealed that the full roll out of the programme is being implemented in stages.

Rising inequality could set the fight against poverty back by decades, Oxfam warned today as it published a new report showing that the number of billionaires worldwide has more than doubled since the financial crisis.

The report, Even it Up: Time to End Extreme Inequality, details how the richest people in the world have more money than they could ever spend while hundreds of millions live in abject poverty without essential health care or basic education.

In countries around the world, prosperity is not trickling down to ordinary people but only to those at the top whose exceptional wealth is growing ever more rapidly.

The richest 85 people – who Oxfam revealed in January as having the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population – saw their collective wealth increase by $668 million per day between 2013 and 2014. That’s almost half a million dollars every minute. The report revealed that “from the IMF to the Pope, from President Obama to the World Economic Forum, there is a growing consensus that inequality is a crucial challenge of our time and that failure to act is both economically and socially damaging. Despite the warm words, little action has materialised.”

The Oxfam report, endorsed by Graça Machel, Kofi Annan and Joseph Stiglitz, among others, is the opening salvo of a new Oxfam campaign, also called Even it Up, to push world leaders to turn rhetorics into reality and ensure the poorest people get a fairer deal. Action is needed to clamp down on tax dodging carried out by multinational corporations and the world’s richest individuals. Big global corporations and the wealthiest people must pay their fair share to governments’ coffers so that countries can tackle inequality and build fairer societies.

Oxfam International executive director, Winnie Byanyima, said, “Far from being a driver of economic growth, extreme inequality is a barrier to prosperity for most people on the planet. Today wealth is trickling upwards, and will continue to do so until governments act. We should not allow narrow-minded economic doctrine and the selfinterest of the rich and powerful blind us to these facts.

“Around the world, millions of people are dying due to a lack of health care and millions of children are missing out on school while a small elite have more money than they could spend in a lifetime.

“Inequality hinders growth, corrupts politics, stifles opportunity and fuels instability while deepening discrimination, especially against women.”

The potential benefit of redistributing the wealth of the very richest, by even a tiny amount, tells a compelling story. A levy of just 1.5 per cent on the wealth of the world’s billionaires today could raise enough each year to get every child into school and deliver health care in the poorest countries. The effect of curbing inequality would be as dramatic as would be the failure to act. In India, for example, halting the recent increase in inequality could enable 90 million more people escape extreme poverty by 2019. In Kenya, three million more people could be pushed below the poverty line by the same year if inequality there remains at current levels rather than declining slightly.

A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out.

21

October 31, 2014

The Nigerian Society of Engineers Announces and cordially invites the Public to its

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP as part of Programmes for the

WORLD ENGINEERING CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE (WECSI 2014)

The Workshop is scheduled to hold as follows:

DATE: Monday, November 3, 2014 TIME: 9:00 AM VENUE: Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall, Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

iv.DashBoard (&Reporting).

SUBJECT: ADVANCED BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TOOLS

v. Introduction to Analytic. c. Demonstration in Financial Analysis (and how to apply

Facilitator Dr. Amos Baranes, PhD University of Haifa, Israel

them to other fields: Finance, Accounting, Marketing etc.)

2. New and future Applications of BI

Topics of the workshop: 1. Business Intelligence (BI) a. What is Business Intelligence? From operation to decision making and product innovation. b. Short description of the structure of BI for research and for enterprise. i. Relational Database. ii. Extract Transform & Load (ETL) Process iii.Multi-Dimension Cubes -OLAP.

We will survey the current applications of BI `and the foreseeable path of this field of smart agent, analytics, mobile, big data framework, data science etc.

3. Case Study- Ideation We will demonstrate how to use BI tools of MS SQL with the R software to value ideas and value of valuators.

R software is one of the most used in data science and Big Data.

RAPPORTEURS

Engr. Fyne C. Ogolo, FNSE

Engr. Prof. Michael Faborode, FNSE

Engr. Dayo Olugboye, MNSE

Distinguished Panelists at the Plenary Discussion session of the World Engineering Conference on the theme “INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY AND GOVERNANCE” include:

His Execellency, Capt. Idris Ibrahim Wada,

Governor of Kogi State

Arc. Mike Onolememen, CON, FNIA, FNSE

Hon. Minister of Works Chief Host

His Excellency, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, CON Governor of Ondo State

Senator. Bala Muhammed, CON

Hon. Minister of FCT Host

His Excellency, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, FNSE, Governor of Osun State

Engr. Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi, FNSE

His Exellency, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Governor of Lagos State

President, Nigerian Society of Engineers

Convener:

His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio, CON, Governor of Akwa Ibom State

His Excellency, Rabiu Kwakwanso, FNSE, Governor of Kano State

The 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Society of Engineers will hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, from 10:00 am on Thursday November 6, 2014

SIGNED:

Engr. Ahmed K. Amshi, FNSE E x e c u t i v e S e c re t a r y

22 / BUSINESS FEATURE

October 31, 2014

➔ from last week

By LAWAL KANKIA IBRAHIM

All the stakeholders in the development of MSMEs, that is, government, private sector and banking system, must cooperate to ensure that the sub-sector is given the necessary fillip to play its role effectively. Government should step up efforts at providing an enabling environment such as macro-economic stability, adequate infrastructural facilities, security of lives and properties as well as adequate funding for DFIs. The banks should ease MSMEs’ access to their credit through imposition of less stringent measures with the ultimate aim of promoting mutually beneficial relationships. The entrepreneurs, on their part, must cultivate the right attitude that would engender partnerships and pooling of resources.

Contemporary approaches that involve a considerable degree of concessionality for financing MSMEs must be sustained and strengthened. At the present state of development of MSMEs in Nigeria, such concessionary funds must be accompanied with adequate business support and capacity building services that will help alleviate the intrinsic weakness of MSMEs that make them unviable and unattractive to market financing.

The recent establishment of the Small & Medium Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) as an agency devoted to promoting policies and programmes for the development of SMEs, and assure the increase in the contribution of SMEs to national economic growth.

• Let me restate the obvious, ‘’the roles of DFIs are critical for supporting accelerated balanced and sustainable economic development’’. However, we must note that ‘’national priorities, the competitive environment and client needs change over time and DFIs thus need to continuously adapt’’. DFIs occupy on intermediary space between public and private investment, facilitating international capital flows.

• Distinct from aid agencies through their focus on profitable investment and operations according to market rules, DFIs share a common focus on fostering economic growth and sustainable development. DFIs need to innovate if they want to stay in the forefront. Basically, most DFIs are publically owned. However, it is recognized that economic development and social well-being are actually linked and can reinforce each other. For this to be true, a wider, and more complex definition of economic development must be adopted. Rather than limiting it to economic growth, it is necessary to take into account the impact of economic activity on structural change, balance of payment equilibrium, and the labour structure.

• For most of the cases, to ensure these effects, both public and private sectors will be needed. Thus, DFIs should focus on their investment projects in private companies, which are often channelled through financial intermediaries. Consequently, a DFI, should choose its development objectives in supporting the private sector and define its strategy on the basis of the private sector’s development mechanism. Furthermore, different contexts and objectives may also mean different investment tools (i.e seed funds, the hedge funds or growth funds) • The question is: Are there enough devel-

Okonjo-Iweala

Development Finance Institutions’ Experience In Nigeria And Innovative Approach For Income Generation (2)

•

•

•

•

•

opment – friendly investments to support? Establish second and third – level priorities. Similarly, DFIs ought to refine their monitoring and evaluation systems while taking into account the role of financial intermediaries (that will be a key element of the short-term impact on development).

DFIs provide a broad range of financial services in developing countries, such as loans on guarantees to investors and entrepreneurs, equity participation in firms or investment funds and financing for public infrastructure projects.

DFIs would initiate or develop projects in industrial fields or in countries where commercial banks are reticent about investing without some form of official collateral.

DFIs are also active in financing small and medium size enterprises, supporting micro loans to companies, often viewed too risky by private sources for financing.

DFIs target can be to promote inclusive growth; in this case, the target of structural change should be complemented with a pro-poor focus, choosing to support domestic investments that actually promote competitiveness and productivity. Choose your tool according to your geographical coverage and your target.

A benefit of this approach is that DFIs of-

ten find themselves with first mover advantage in markets with strong growth potential. In this case, they invariably end up with enormous profits. Instructively, DFIs depend on profits from their investments to ensure resources for further engagements.

• Backed by government funds and guarantees ensuring their credit worthiness, DFI s can raise large amount of funds on international capital markets to provide loans or equity investment on competitive or even subsidized terms. This enhances their income generation.

• The financial support DFIs bring to relatively high-risk projects is intended to serve a catalyst, helping to attract and mobilize the involvement of other sources of private capital. In addition, development banks often act in-co-operation with governments and other organizations in providing funds for management

The roles of DFIs are critical for supporting accelerated balanced and sustainable economic development

A watched pot never boils. ― Ghana proverb

consultancy and technical assistance and serving as channels for policy implementation in areas such as governance, compliance with environmental regulations, good business practices and sustainability. This is another opportunity for generating revenue.

• But take note ‘’the double bottom line pursued by DFIs expresses the contradiction of pursuing both profit and development’’. On the one hand, DFIs must invest shrewdly and generate returns; on the other, they must facilitate the economic development of the countries they invest in. Balancing social and financial results can be a complex, time consuming and sometimes contradictory affair for DFIs, especially in light of difficulties in measuring project’s social impact.

• DFIs are active in promoting best practices in business and environmental issues.

Although it has been urged that strict social and environmental sustainability policies are a constraint on DFI’s flexibility and capacity to close deals, anecdotal evidence indicates no adverse impact on returns to date.

• DFIs can leverage on important market shifts such as growing domestic capital sources in the developing world. DFIs will have to adopt to the gradual mainstreaming of many hitherto off limited markets and the very strong commitments of certain emerging countries in developing world infrastructures (China’s involvement in Africa infrastructure, for example). Already, much microfinance activity is under taken by for – profit firms, and small-cap venture capital markets are often covered by high net-worth individuals based in the country (e.g Dangote in Nigeria).

• The best way forward for DFIs may be to continue in their catalytic role through tighter collaborations with private sector investors and stakeholders, to share financial risk while maintaining their strong commitment to promoting best practice in their invested funds and projects.

• Commendable is the current effort of the Bank of Industry in Nigeria in managing various intervention funds for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and one of its more successful programmes is the State counterpart SME financing scheme in conjunction with about 20 States. Indeed, the news that the bank (BOI) would be commence the disbursement of the African Development Bank’s $500million fund to industrialists in Nigeria as well as its co-operation with General Electric (GE) in creating affordable financing of another $500million for the small and medium enterprises is commendable.

• CBN Intervention fund of N22bn is an opportunity for DFIs to manage and earn income.

Finally, it is important for DFIs to ensure that they reduce overhead costs, upgrade appraisal and supervision skills while diversifying funding sources. Indeed, Nigeria like any other developing country needs vibrant and responsible DFIs for its economic growth and development.

— Kankia Ibrahim fnim (Dallatun kankia) Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Katsina State Investment & Property Development Company Limited, Katsina ➔ coNCLUDED

October 31, 2014

23

24

October 31, 2014

Hauwa Booth WOMAN ON THE LOOSE

Ff:@ofastupidwoman: Read @ www.diaryofastupidwoman.com

Quickteller And Dstv All In One Day

Zero Dark Nigeria Mubi has fallen. The story I heard from trapped citizens leaves one speechless and confused as to what really is going on. This once motley crew has grown in strength, capacity and daring. It has become obvious that BH has heart, a goal, determination and strategy. It has also become clear that they are well tuned to the stark difference in the ‘heart’ of our Security forces and they are exploiting that fundamental weakness and wreaking havoc and mayhem on innocent citizens; while we are all here jostling for 2015.

What is going to give?Those who have survived the attack are on foot heading for the Cameroon border.

We are far removed from the war front and can barely empathize or understand the unimaginable horror our fellow Nigerians are facing

Re: Etisalat

I must commend the swiftness with which Etisalat responded to the write up. I will also commend their desire to engage in talk and to understand the problem. A Mr Kumbi Balogun called me from their PR Department on the issue. A customer representative Denise, concluded the issue on a positive note.

Etisalat did the one thing that many corporate bodies especially banks do not do that would go a long way. First off, they responded immediately.

Second, they listened and tried to understand the problem. Third, they asked for how their services could be improved. Fourth, they refunded the

currently. Institutional bodies, police stations, the Army Barracks have either been burnt or captured while the group goes from door to door killing people execution style.

I really don’t want to call God in this matter because that’s basically all we do without actually following His principles though some may argue otherwise. The bottom line is God has done His own on this one, the ball is not in His court; It is in ours. We need to stop ‘praying’ and start being our brother’s keeper.

I am allowed one prayer though; that may all those involved in this wicked, blood-letting, heartless activity in Government, in the Army, in religious places, in the host communities, abroad and unseen places may Thunder.....can I hear an Amen?

data that had been taken.

As one of the 20,000,000 subscribers that you are celebrating, I have become one more satisfied customer who will pay it forward. It has become a win-win situation for both parties for what it is worth.

Truth be told Etisalat, the write up produced a huge wave of emotions and colorful words from subscribers. Bottom line, you would probably really need to further educate your subscribers especially the ones who have ported on your services and usage at the point of engagement.

Kudos for your Customer Service.

WEEKEND WHAT WOULD YOU ATTEMPT

BiTES

TO DO IF YOU KNEW YOU COULD NOT FAIL?

FEEDBACK: LET’S HEAR FROM YOU

I decided to use Quickteller to renew my DSTV subscription. After three attempts, the transaction failed. My friend decided to help me pay using the mobile app. Apparently, on the app it was actually N650 cheaper! I couldn’t believe it but hey, stranger things have happened. So we smile at the hidden gem buried by DSTV (yeah, right I don’t understand why we believed) Voila! The transaction went through. I confirmed from the house that the DSTV was up and running. Ten minutes later it went off. I called DSTV and was informed that I still owed N650! I argued and said but N11,0000 is what is on the platform and a N100 convenience fee has been taken. Apparently the QUICKTELLER app has not been updated to reflect the current cost!!!!!! Anyway, the agent is helpful and despite my afternoon rant of our usual sloppiness activates the DSTV but warns me to go and finish paying the N650 else they’ll switch it off! I’m livid. I have been a customer of DSTV for a minimum of 10 years and I am sure if they computed all the left over time they take from my account by prematurely suspending my account it would be in excess of N650! So how and where do I pay the balance of N650? I am directed to www.payarena.com Choosing MasterCard as my payment method, my card had to be registered and authenticated by GTB, my bank. Stage one goes off without a hitch. Stage two; I need an authentication code. So a pop-up message states “get one via your internet banking platform, if you don’t do internet> banking, call GTB”.

I do. The agent after questioning me tells me that in order to get an authentication code, I must go to my bank, get a token and enable internet banking! As it played out, the directive to call GTB if I don’t do internet banking is to be told that I must do internet banking?? The thing is; I don’t want to do internet banking!! So, again, my friend completes the transaction!

One more thing, please is DSTV aware that the self help number 30333 does not work?? I renewed my DSTV subscription so I can watch Big Brother especially the Eviction shows.

Before it expired, I had my access to BB only to switch it on on Sunday, with some popcorn, ginger drink and chicken wings to see who bites the dust this time and instead a message showing that the channel had been blocked. I read the message and itstated that if I had paid and it was part of the bouquet I chose I should send a RESET message to 30333. Needless to say I had to call DSTV on Monday. At least their operators are trained to consistently apologise during the duration of the interaction. I also wanted to know how I was going to be compensated for being unable to see firsthand during the live show who got evicted!

Uncle Amaechi And The Jonathans Passion can be a dangerous thing. Often times it wells up in us like a beast that needs taming, cajoling and caging.

It does well in driving us to gain lofty heights or even pursue the object of our affection. The heights to which it can take us or the paths it can lead us down is varied. I can understand the passion Uncle Amaechi has for his state and country, I too feel the same degree of passion from time to time. When Uncle Amaechi decided to give a post-mortem of his rally and crunched numbers for us to see how popular he is; I was impressed.

40,000 happy citizens coming out on a work day to celebrate their beloved Governor is no mean feat! Anyway, it is a known fact that there is no love lost between Uncle Amaechi and the Jonathans which is fine since not everyone will like you and vice versa. Of recent though it would seem that the Jonathans have

stepped on the feet of Uncle Amaechi as his reactions to them becomes more intense and personal.

Uncle Amaechi has forgotten that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. The simple reason being that he is still a toddler in his political career and should he one day decide to run for the Presidency at say 70years of age, he would been sitting on seat that he would contributed one way or the other in being either held up in dignity and respect. Among the 40,000 citizens that thonged to celebrate him will be youth who aspire to be like him. I’m not sure Uncle Amaechi would like for his office to be desecrated by something as temporary as power. The dignity of the Office of the President of our country should be upheld by each and everyone of us.

Who knows; you could sit on that exalted ‘throne’ one day.

Hello Readers, thank you for reading and spreading the word about this page. We are now ready for your feedback. Let’s hear your take. Constructive criticism and contributions will be published. Send thoughts to diaryofastupidwoman@gmail.com OR 08055241197 via TEXT ONLY. Don’t forget to include your name and location. Please bear with us if yours doesn’t make it onto the page.

FRIDAY EXTRA October 31, 2014

By Stanley Uzoaru

Maimed By Witchcraft, Oppressed By Boko Haram, Cripple Determined To Live On Felix Dike Okoh is a 25 year old cripple from Ogbeti, Ossissa in Ndukwa east Local Government Area of Delta State but presently searching for his daily bread in Owerri, Imo State.

Dike, as he is popularly called by his friends has suffered from a witchcraft allegedly casted on him by his father’s first wife, and as if that was not enough, he lost his elder brother and father almost simultaneously as well as his shelter to the Boko Haram sects in Jajeri, Maiduguri in 2013.

He is presently a student at the National Open University, Owerri, studying Information Communication Technology (ICT) in his first year. But it has not been easy for Dike to get three square meal everyday, let alone paying his fees in school. In other to make ends meet, he turned himself to a mechanic, with specialist in repairing damaged vehicle bombers.

LEADERSHIP Friday ran into him at Irete, Owerri West, where his mechanic workshop is located doing his job with diligence. The following conversation ensued between them : Can you tell us about yourself especially what led to your disability status?

I was not born a cripple, I became cripple at the age of seven. I was playing outside with my friends in my village, Ogbeti, Ossissa community in Delta state when I became hungry and told my friends I want to go and eat.

As I got to my father’s door, I notice a white fetish object in front of the door,

INSIDE

My greatest challenge now is to have a profession that would make me be ranked among the achievers in our country, I want to finish my study, but I doubt if it will ever be possible without help from good philanthropists, governor of my state, and others who can help me realize my dream

but as a little kid then I disregarded it and crossed it to my father’s room where I met him sleeping, it didn’t take long when I felt cold all over me, i started shivering and vomiting . My father who has woken up hearing my cry rushed me to a native doctor, at that point I could not walk or see, neither could I talk.

He did everything possible to make me walk again but never succeeded, after several attempts to make me well again failed, I was taken to an evil forest called Uchi in Delta where I was dumped for the fear by my father on getting my afflictions transferred to him, then my mother was not around to know what has happened. When she came back they lied to her that I was taken to native home where I am getting medical attention and should not be disturbed.

Few weeks after, my family relocated to Maiduguri but I was sill in the evil forest for three days before a relation of ours called Papa Olisa could not hide the secret from my grandmother, Titi Izuegbe popularly known as “Ogbajiri” again. As soon as the news got to her she went with a native doctor to the forest where I was brought out. me to Maiduguri to re unite with my moth-

Okoh

er and siblings. But as God would have it, I have already started, talking and regained my sight. It was a miracle how I started walking again, Bomboy, that is what we call him in Delta then, he is about my age and because I was a cripple, he used to bully me, so that very day, he came as usual to bully me with a stick in his hand , I was sitting on the ground, as soon as he came close to hit me with the stick, I rose up in self defense and chased him, that was how I started walking till date.

As I was saying earlier, when we got to Delta, my mum fainted on sighting me and was revived few minutes later, we told her all that happened and she was not happy with my father.

Why did you relocated back to Delta?

In 2013, I sold my Laptop for N25 000 and traveled back to Delta to pursue my career, that same week I traveled I was informed that Boko Haram have killed my elder brother I was living with in Maiduguri, a week after, I was also informed that my father who lives at Zajeri, Maiduguri was shot thrice by Boko Haram members in his shop where he repairs Air conditioner(AC) some soldiers were also killed at a check-

point same day and same time just opposite my father’s shop.

That was how my family of 3 boys and 2 girls joined me in Delta. Since then we have been struggling to make ends meet.

My younger brother have started learning my father’s trade and as you can see I repair damaged bombers so that I can feed my mother and younger ones at the same time pay my school fees.

How did you started repairing bomber?

A friend of mine then in Delta used to mend broken plastics, so I watched him do it and when I relocated to Imo state I made it my trade.

What is your greatest challenge now?

My greatest challenge now is to have a profession that would make me be ranked among the achievers in our country, I want to finish my study, but I doubt if it will ever be possible without help from good philanthropists, governor of my state, and others who can help me realize my dream.

How can they reach you?

If they reach LEADERSHIP Friday I believe they will get to me.

Best Places to GO Dog Sledding Big Questions & Answers nobel 10 ultimate top list Why... answers to scientific questions

26 FEATURE

October 31, 2014

Mansa Musa Goes To Hajj

T

oday, Mali is known as one of the poorest countries on earth. Life expectancy and literacy rates are dangerously low. A violent rebellion by the ethnic Tauregs in the North of the country that is threatening to split the country in half has been one of the few things that brought Mali to the news lately. But life in Mali has not always been this negative and depressing. Once, Mali was the shining example of a successful Muslim state. It was the envy of people around the world. It truly was a gold Geography The region known as Mali is located in the southern extremities of the Sahara Desert.

Here there is a transitional region between the arid and barren deserts to the North and the rain forests along the coast to the south. This is known as the Sahel.

What Mali lacks in fertile land, it more than made up for with valuable resources.

Gold and salt mines have been the epicentre of Mali’s economy for hundreds of years.

Trade routes extended north from Mali to the North African coast, where wealthy traders would pay high prices for the gold and salt to send to Europe and Southwest Asia. These trade routes made the Mandinka (the main ethnic group of West Africa) incredibly wealthy.

Islam and Early Mali Goods were not the only thing traded through these routes. Ideas flowed from north to south. Muslim traders carried Islam with them along with the gold and salt.

From the 700s onward, Islam slowly began to take root among the people of the West African Sahel. At first, the response of the non-Muslim states of West Africa was to suppress Islam or at least separate Muslims from the general population. However, as more and more people began to accept Islam, Muslim states started to emerge.

One Muslim state, Mali, was founded by an obscure figure called Sundiata Keita. The epic legend of his life has travelled down throughout the centuries as an oral story, and thus the truth of his story has been distorted over time (in one anecdote, he single-handedly uprooted a fully grown tree, and replanted it in his mother’s yard). What we do know is that he founded the Mali

As a devout Muslim, Mansa Musa insisted on completing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj to Makkah

Map of Africa showing the trade routes that brought Islam to the region

Empire and created a role for the emerging Muslim population of West Africa in the 1230s. He took the title of “Mansa”, the Mandinka word for king.

Mansa Musa and His Hajj The tenth mansa of Mali was Musa I, who ruled from 1312 to 1377. He came to power when his brother, Mansa Abu Bakr, led an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to discover the Americas, leaving Musa the throne. Much of what we know about Musa’s reign comes from the epic story of his Hajj, in 1324.

As a devout Muslim, Mansa Musa insisted on completing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj to Makkah. The geographic remoteness of Mali made the journey very difficult and impossible for most people, even in today’s world of modern transportation. Nevertheless, in 1324 Musa set out from Mali with an entourage of 60,000 people.

Since his empire was one of the richest in the world, the caravan of travellers must have made quite an impression to everyone they passed. 12,000 servants accompanied him, each wearing valuable silks and carrying a 4 pound bar of gold. 80 camels carried between 50 and 300 pounds of gold dust each, which was given to the poor along the route. Exotic animals and people from all walks of life helped make this journey an epic one that left an impression on all who saw it. Numerous accounts from different regions all attest to the grandeur of this procession.

Mansa Musa made a stop in Egypt on his way to Makkah. While there, he initially refused to meet the Mamluk sultan of Egypt because the tradition was to bow to the sultan. Musa insisted he only bows down to Allah. He made quite an impression on

A depiction of Mansa Musa from a European atlas

the Mamluk government, as officials noted that he knew the Quran and was very particular about praying on time. Musa was clearly a very devout Muslim.

While in Egypt, Musa’s incredible amount of wealth led to some unintended consequences. He gave out gold gifts to members of the government, the poor, scholars, and many others. Due to the laws of supply and demand, the price of gold in Egypt plummeted, effectively crippling the economy. Even a decade later, during Ibn Battuta’s visit to Cairo, he noted that the economy still hadn’t completely recovered

A bargain is a bargain. ― Cambodian proverb

from Mansa Musa’s visit. The effect that Mansa Musa’s visit had on Egypt clearly shows the wealth and importance of the Mali Empire, even when it encountered far-off lands.

Return to Mali On his way back to his homeland after the Hajj, Mansa Musa insisted on bringing the smartest and most talent Muslims to his kingdom. With his immense wealth, he paid scholars, artists, teachers, architects, ➔ continued on the next page

FEATURE 27

October 31, 2014

Mansa Musa Goes To Hajj

The Sankore Masjid and University in Timbuktu, showing the distinctive architectural style of Mali

and people from all professions to come to Mali and contribute to the growth of Islam there. Great people were brought to Mali from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, al-Andalus, and the Hejaz.

The effect this had on Mali was immense.

Architecturally, the buildings in Mali began to show a mix of Spanish, Arab, and Persian design. This unique blend of cultures created a distinctly West African style that is still seen in its architecture. The legendary city of Timbuktu was especially blessed

by Mansa Musa’s Hajj, with many mosques such as the Sankore Masjid being built by the best architects in the world. Mansa Musa even paid the Andalusian architect Ibn Ishaq 200 kilograms of gold to build the Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu. Being able to pay for the best architects, scholars, and teachers made Mali, and Timbuktu in general a center of Islamic knowledge.

A Center of Knowledge The most significant impact Musa’s Hajj had on Mali was its subsequent growth as a center of knowledge. With the best scholars from all over the Muslim world, Mali developed one of the richest educational traditions of the world at that time. Libraries were all over cities such as Gao and Timbuktu. Public and private collections had thousands of books on topics from Islamic fiqh, to astronomy, to language, to history. Great universities attracted talented students from all over Africa to come study in this center of knowledge.

This tradition of knowledge lasts until today in Mali. Families still hold on to private library collections that number in the hundreds of books, many of them hundreds of years old. The people of Mali are fiercely protective of their knowledge that has been passed down from the time of Mansa Musa, making it very difficult for outsid-

Manuscript from Timbuktu about astronomy and mathematics

ers to access these great libraries.

These manuscripts today are threatened by the desertification of the Sahel, where the environment threatens to turn these great books into dust. Political problems in West Africa also threaten to destroy the remaining manuscripts. Efforts are underway to preserve these great libraries by digitizing them. The Timbuktu Educational Foundation is leading efforts to scan individual pages before they are lost to history. You can find (and read) many of these manuscripts online.

As Mali became a center of knowledge in West Africa, Islam ingrained itself deeply in the lives of its people. It was common for “everyday people” to be very well educated in religious and secular matters. The effects of this knowledge on society is seen in Ibn Battuta’s trip to Mali in the 1350s, when he remarked that if a man wanted to have a seat in the masjid during the Friday prayer, he would have to send his son hours early to reserve a spot for him, as the masjids would be filled to the brim early in the morning.

A bad workman quarrels with his tools. ― Cambodian proverb

Conclusions The importance of Mali and its contributions to the world cannot be overstated.

In its history, it was one of the centers of Islamic knowledge and wealth. Its importance to the world decreased throughout the 16th-18th centuries until it was colonized by the French in the 1800s. This history is not lost forever, however. It lives on in the continuing experience of West Africa’s Muslims, and the legacy it left on the rest of the world.

28 FEATURE

October 31, 2014

By Williams Orji

Many Festivals That Define Ekwulumili Asala Asala is the ultimate septennial celebration in the calendar of festivals in Ekwulumili. Partly because of the magnitude and the importance of Asala festivals and a cosmological connection to the number seven in Igbo mythological life, it is held every seven years.

Asala is a time for complete stocktaking, communal conviviality and re-union of all Ekwulumili citizens irrespective of what part of the world they currently reside. The Asala season is used to review bonds of unity among various kindred families and repair any broken bonds. The reaffirmation of the unity covenant is sealed with communal feasting. Typically every agnate kindred slaughter at the very least a well fattened cow for their special celebration.

At the climax of the weeklong celebration, various dance groups and masquerade s assemble in the town plaza at Orie market for merriment and entertainment of town folks and visitors from other towns.

The most respected masquerades that hardly come out in public do make grand cameo appearances on Asala week. New dance troupes also debut their dances to the public delight that week, and also go on special runs to invited performances in the town.

As part of the festivities during Asala week, families invite and entertain guests from Ekwulumili and out of town friends who throng Ekwulumili for the festival.

Top in the list of invitees are often extended family members, in laws, grand and great grandchildren, cousins, nephews and nieces to the family, close friends and out of town guests, especially work colleagues, business colleagues and apartment or house mates in the cities.

Asala seems to be losing its significance since the past 20 years. The scattered location of Ekwulumili citizens in all continents of the word makes it difficult to actually have everyone return home for the event. Further, the influence of the Christian faiths diminish the importance of cultural festivals in favor of Christian oriented festivals as the former is often viewed as a relic of the past that should be consigned to antiquity. The Society for the Preservation of Ekwulumili Cultural Heritage has vowed to restore our cultural festivals to their enviable glory since they form the backbone of who we are as a people.

Iri Ji / Uhiejioku Yam is the main agricultural crop of the Igbo people and also the staple food of our people. The Iri ji festival is a celebration of the prominence of yam in the social cultural life of our people. Though Iri Ji festival is now secularized, but the sacred part of this celebration is the Uhiejioku, or Ifejioku

Egwu Uhie Ozo Uhie is the final segment in the initiation ceremony into the Nze na Ozo society

Masquerade outings symbolise deep cultural affinity in most Igbo communities

Oku Nwa-orji Oku Nwa-orji is a maiden celebration that could be likened to the modern day sleepovers or slumber parties. It is hosted by young unmarried women who invite their close friends for a couple of days and nights stay in their homes for rest and recreation, and friendly banter and camaraderie. It is usually a woman only space when the young women relax, cook and eat to their hearts content, drink, share stories, experiences, lean from each other and I am sure tease each other about men.

There is a great emphasis on the merriment as it is a vacation from all the chores and hassles of daily life that most young women are saddled with. Oku Nwa-orji is a time the women don’t have to cook, clean and care for others as in their typical life, but pamper themselves and generally have fun. It is often organized around the moonlight week, so as to enjoy the moonlight games with each other and with young men of the village.

Any young woman who saves up enough money or who gets help from her parents can host Oku Nwa-orji.

cal terms the Ancestors are considered the living dead. Since some of these Ancestors, were known by current family members, they are still considered part of the family but with special intercessory powers.

During the Okpensi season, which is usually around the new yam or Ifejioku or traditional harvest period, the families gather for feasting in honor of the Ancestors in their obi or in the Okpala’s (family patriarch) compound. All family members including females that had married out of the family are expected to attend. The married daughters attend with their children bringing a gift of fattened healthy Cock for the patriarch of the family. The gift is a symbol of their pledge of perpetual loyalty and membership of their maiden families. In return, the patriarch presents here with gift of a large tuber of yam, cola nuts, cooked meal and portions of the chicken meat to take back to her marital home.

The Okpensi shrine is a simple alter set up in a visible corner of the family compound. The alter is made of six to twelve stumps of the perennial Ogirisi stems arranged in rows of twos. During the propitiation, the family gathers around the alter for prayers to God while seeking the protection and guidance of God and their Ancestors.

Plucked feathers of the chicken are strewn around the Ogirisi while kaolin chalk marks are made on the grounds while in prayer. Libation is poured and lobes of kola nut and cooked food are symbolically left at the alter as a communion with the Ancestors.

Okpensi Okpensi is a shrine set up to propitiate the spirit of the Ancestors who had lived and passed on. It is an ancestral shrine set up in most traditional compounds to venerate the spirit of the Ancestors from that family lineage as a way of maintaining a continuum in life of the living and the dead.

The Ancestors are the bridge between the physical and the spiritual world. In practi-

Egwu Uhie Ozo Egwu Uhie Ozo Uhie is the final segment in the initiation ceremony into the Nze na Ozo society. It is the public presentation and declaration of the new initiate as a fullfledged Ozo title holder and a member of the Nze na Ozo Society which by implication the imbues the initiate with the Igbo wide recognition of his status a member of a noble fraternity respected and venerated

or Ahajioku, which is homage to the Yam Deity for a bumper or promise of a bumper harvest.

The event marks the end of an annual work cycle and the beginning of a new one.

This ceremony has been celebrated for centuries and remains an important day in the lives of Igbo people.

A bargain is a bargain. ― Cambodian proverb

across Igbo land.

Uhie takes its name from the percussive instrument that produces the sound fit for a noble swagger. The instrument is a drum carved out of a hollowed Uhie tree trunk.

They produce enduringly booming sound when beaten, so much so that the sound carries to the far reaches of the undulating surface of the town.

The Uhie ceremony is scheduled at the Orie market plaza. On the appointed day all the friends and families plus the rest of the town folk gather at the market to witness the new inductees into this noble society. Every one of the initiates must take four new names that they would be known by henceforth.

At the ceremony, the initiate with his Ofor and Alo, his staff of office, do a special dance to the rhythm of the Uhie drumming.

The drumming builds up to a crescendo and dramatically breaks off for the initiate to publicly announce one of his new names at the top of his voice to great applause and cheering of an appreciative audience. These dramatic interludes occur four times in the dance routine. On the fourth interlude the initiate crows the most favorite of his chosen titular names which becomes the name he is known by from then forward. All the chosen Ozo names are preceded with the title “Ume”. Real examples of such names born by Ekwulumili families today include; Ume-Ewelukwa, Ume-Anaekwe, Ume-Ozokwelu, Ume-Onyilogha, Ume-Ndu, UmeAnoliefo, Ume-Anadu, etc. If however the Ozo title was taken on a divine instruction or commanded by Deity, through the process called Ozo-amuma, such initiates titular name will be prefixed with “Eze” instead of “Ume”. Examples of names of those who took the Ozo-amuma title whose families still bear their titular names to this day are; Ezeagwu, Ezennakenyi, Ezeobi, Ezeifedikwa, Ezeiruaku, Ezeanochie, Ezeonwuneme, etc. ➔ to be continued next week

FRIDAY EXTRA 29

October 31, 2014

nobel

A Century Of Prize Winners

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

For his analysis of financial markets and their relations to expenditure decisions, employment, production and prices.

James Tobin (1918-2002) James Tobin, the son of a social worker and a journalist, James Tobin was born in Champaign, Illinois, in 1918. Although he had considered studying law, on his father’s insistence he studied economics at Harvard University and completed his bachelor’s degree in 1939. His studies were interrupted, however, by World War II, when he became an officer in the U.S. Navy and served on the destroyer USS Kearney. On his return to civilian life he obtained his doctorate degree in 1947 from Harvard, where he remained to lecture until 1950. He then transferred to Yale University, where he remained for the next 38 years.

James Tobin was director of the Cowles Foundation for Economic Research for two periods, first between 1955 and 1961 and then again between 1964 and 1965. While he was at Yale Tobin formulated the theories that would earn him the Nobel Prize in Economics; one of the most significant of these theories shows how the alterations in financial markets, such as the rise and fall in prices, influence consumer and company costs and investments. He proved that both families and companies make decisions so as not to run the risk of debt and that financial investments do not serve only to maximize profit but also to prevent risk.

Tobin was also one of the proponents of the so-called “new economics,” based

economic on the concepts of the British economist John Maynard Keynes. He defended the application of aggressive governmental policies to achieve social and economic objectives, including reducing unemployment. To further these objectives he interrupted his academic career twice to enter politics. Between 1961 and 1962 he was an economic adviser to President John F. Kennedy, a role he repeated in 1972 at the service of the Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, who lost to Richard Nixon. During the I980s he was highly critical of President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies.

Tobin was awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Economics for his contributions in the area of financial markets and their relationship to expenditure decisions, employment, production and prices. He demonstrated how national economic policies, above all through variations in tax rates, influence consumer decisions. Tobin’s name also became internationally known at the end of the zoth century for a proposal he had first made in 1972: called the “Tobin Tax,” he defended the application of a tax of a loth of one percent on all monetary transactions as a means of eradicating poverty in underdeveloped countries.

While he was at Harvard Tobin had met Elizabeth Fay Ringo, whom he married and with whom he had four children.

(1928 – ) Gabriel Garcia Marquez was 39 years old when he first came to the world’s attention. On a trip to Acapulco in 1965, in a moment of inspiration, he claimed he heard a voice describe how he would write the story he had been carrying around with him for I5 years. He locked himself in a room and, I8 months later, One Hundred Years of Solitude was sent to Buenos Aires and published in 1967. For the success of this book and later ones he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is called “Cabito” or “Cabo” by his friends, was born on March 6, 1928, or I927, according to his father, in Aracataca, Colombia.

As his parents were very poor he grew up in his maternal grandparents’ home, and they became very influential figures in his life.

He was 8 years old when his maternal grandfather, Colonel Nicolas Marquez Mejia, died suddenly. His grandmother was nearly blind at the time and, as a result, Garcia Marquez went to live with his parents again in Barranquilla. When he was 13 he was accepted as a student at the Colegio Sao Jose dos J esuitas and, a little later, won a scholarship that allowed him to enter a boarding school in Zipaquira. He later studied law and journalism at the University of Bogota and Cartagena University, but his attraction to a bohemian lifestyle proved

peace

stronger than his will to finish the courses. During this period, while on holiday in Sucre, he met Mercedes Barcha Pardo, aged 13, whom he would marry in 1958.

During his travels Garcia Marquez wrote for various newspapers, sold encyclopedias and was a movie critic and a crane operator, among other things.

He lived in various parts of his native Colombia but also went to Europe, the United States, Mexico and Cuba, where he made friends with Fidel Castro. In the 1940s he had several series of short stories published, but in 1952. The Leaf Storm, his first novella, was rejected, and Marquez was advised to give up writing altogether.

Despite such criticism he never gave up on his passion. Daily life and politics in Colombia started to exercise a greater influence on his writing, and soon he was known as the leading member of the Magic Realism movement - a group of Latin American writers who combine fantasy and mythology into an otherwise realistic work of fiction. After the success of One Hundred Years of Solitude, his previous books also became bestsellers, and even The Leaf Storm was published. No One Writes to the Colonel (1961), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) are just three of the better-known titles from his vast body of work.

For his novels and short stones, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent’s life and conflicts.

A blind man would be glad to see.

— Dominican Proverb

Culled from the book ‘Nobel’

30 FRIDAY EXTRA/Best places to go...

October 31, 2014

Although dogsledding may sound like an extreme sport, the reality is that it’s just a different sport. And the good news is that you don’t need any prior experience (unless you want to actually drive the sled yourself ). Even better news: When looking for the best places to go dogsledding, there are options for all levels of expertise, not to mention best ways to dogsled when there’s no snow on the ground!

Dog Sledding Song in the Woods offers rides in rural Maine tailored for beginners. Stephen Madera and his crew take guests through the icy winter wonderland around Gulf Hagas and the Roach Ponds area, just east of Moosehead Lake (about 75 miles north of Bangor).

You’ll cross frozen lakes while hearing nothing but the quiet of the woods and the sound of dogs’ paws on the snow. Set out midmorning or, even better, head out at dusk to mush under a moonlit sky. Dog Sled Rides of Winter Park is a full-service kennel and sledding operation within easy driving distance of Denver, Colorado, making it popular with day-trippers.

Jeff-Martin and his 80 dogs offer 45-minute, 5-mile guided winter and summer trips that pass by 13,000-foot peaks and the Continental Divide. In winter, you get to ride in a traditional dogsled. But if riding in the cold isn’t for you, summer rides involve dogpulled scooters or golf carts. There are

Learn from the Pros educational kennel tours where you get to learn how a kennel is run and what goes into the care and training of a sled dog. Best of all, if you fall in love (which you will), you can even join a volunteer programme to spend time grooming and exercising the dogs.

Husky Homestead in DenaLi National Park, Alaska, is home of four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King and his 75 award-winning huskies. No sledding excursions here, but the kennel offers an excellent tour to help visitors understand the art of racing and raising sled dogs. Guides describe the special relationship between musher and dog; show off their arctic survival gear, sleds, and racing equipment; and teach visitors how the state-ofthe-art dog-powered training carousels work. If you cruise to Alaska on Princess Cruises, this is one of the featured shore excursions.

A bird may be known by its song — Egyptian Proverb

October 31, 2014

...Dog Sledding FRIDAY EXTRA 31

Jamaican Dogsledding?

That’s right, at Chukka Caribbean Adventures, you can participate in the experience with a real musher named Newton Marshall. He is the first person from the Caribbean ever to compete in the Iditarod. There are 15 dogs on the sled-all of them SPCA rescue animals. There is, of course, no snow, so the dogs pull you through the mud on warm weather-adapted sleds! Trust me, this is a really wild experience that you can’t do anywhere else in the Caribbean.

Extreme

one down Resurrection Valley to Exit Glacier.

Head to Lake Elmore, Vermont (just outside of Stowe), for a unique dogsledding experience with Peacepups Dog Sledding. A team of Siberian huskies will race through the Vermont wilderness.

These are serious racing dogs that have been trained to work with beginners.

The trails are well maintained to avoid a bumpy ride, and the pace averages an easy 8 to 10 miles per hour. But here’s something really cutting edge for those with moderate cross-country ski experience: skijoring. Basically, you get on the skis, and the dogs pull you along the backcountry trails.

Although the Svalbard archipelago of Norway may be better known for its polar bear population, the frozen fjords make solid grounds for dogsledding.

Activities Abroad takes extreme adventurers to Spitsbergen, one of the islands in the Arctic Ocean.

Not only do you get to ride your own team of dogs, but the trip includes a one-night stay on a ship frozen in the ice. When I say there’s wildlife here, I’m not kidding-we’re talking Svalbard reindeer, Arctic fox, and polar bears — and that’s why your guides travel with rifles.

Aurora Borealis Adventures in Lapland, in northern Sweden, has both winter and summer dogsledding through the Nordic forest teeming with reindeer, moose, eagles, and other wildlife. But for an extreme adventure, the best of all is a 450mile, 12-day mushing trip along the Vindel River that takes you through

the winter wilderness and into some of Europe’s most pristine, untouched nature reserves. At night, you’ll get the added bonus of seeing the northern lights, which are a regular occurrence at this latitude.

How extreme can you go? How about Lake Baikal in Siberia? Considered the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake, this is where approximately 20 percent of the world’s unfrozen freshwater exists, along with thousands of species of animals, fish, insects, and plant life. Here, instructors from Baikal Dog Sledding, which is owned by world-renowned champion musher Oleg Tyuryumin, will introduce you to the huskies, teach you the basics of hitching and driving, and take you along the ice trails. Rides can last anywhere from three miles to multi-day dogsledding and winter camping excursions, based on just how adventurous you feel.

of training, riding, and dog care, and set out on an 8-day loop from the ranch.

Each day will get progressively more difficult, averaging about 20 miles a day, compounded by the challenges of winter camping.

Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge near Ely,

Minnesota, focuses almost entirely on the hands-on experience. Not only can you learn how to drive your own team of dogs, but you can harness, feed, and care for them, too. Tip: Ask about adding on an extra day for a special photography workshop run by a pro outdoor photographer. Ely

and the surrounding area offer some of the most pristine conditions for winter photography, not to mention that the dogs themselves make great subjects!

For more extreme types, Wintergreen also hosts trips to the Russian Arctic, Greenland, and the Scandinavian Arctic.

Family-friendly Mitch Seavey’s Ididaride in Seward, Alaska, is run by an Iditarod champion whose family has been racing dogs for three generations. In summer, you can hop on an easy two-mile trek over dirt and gravel through the Alaskan wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and along Box Canyon Creek. This option is especially family-friendly since the weather is mild and, after the sledding experience, you’ll tour the kennel and hang out with husky puppies. If that seems too tame, the winter ride emulates a more authentic Iditarod experience and includes a tour of a glacier that’s only accessible by dogsled. You can actually learn to drive a dog team and then mush

Advanced Talk about remote: The Yukon Territory in Canada is about as unspoiled as it gets.

Hans Gatt, the current record holder in the Yukon Quest, a 1,000-mile Alaskan dogsled race, has partnered with Sky High Wilderness Ranch to host a Chance of a Lifetime ride. You’ll learn all the basics

A black hen lays a white egg.

— Cambodian Proverb

32 friday EXTRA

October 31, 2014

why?

... answers to everyday scientific questions

Why can't we breathe underwater?

We can’t breathe underwater because our lungs cannot extract enough of the oxygen that is dissolved in water.

Fish can breathe underwater so why can’t we? Also, why can’t fish breathe when they are out of the water? Fish use gills, which are similar to lungs in both form and function. If gills and lungs are similar, why are we and fish stuck in our different worlds?

The answer is that gills and lungs are each specialised for their particular environments. Seawater contains 1.5-2.5 per cent dissolved air, and about a third of this is oxygen. This turns out to be plenty for fish, which are cold-blooded and have low oxygen needs compared to warm-blooded animals like mammals and birds, with their faster metabolisms. Fish evolved gills to help them extract dissolved oxygen from water: gills have lots of tiny blood vessels very close to the surface of the skin, skin that is so thin it is called a membrane. Oxygen from the water can easily pass across the gill membrane into the blood, and waste gases such as carbon dioxide can pass out.

Gills work fine when they are wet and, in fact, a fish could breathe on land if there were some way to keep its gills constantly refreshed with water. When animas left the

sea and moved onto land they couldn’t manage this trick, and so they needed a different system: the lungs. With lungs, the whole process relocates to inside the body, where the lung membranes can be kept wet, protected and warm. With lungs, land animals have been able to take advantage of the much higher level of oxygen in the atmosphere than in water- at sea level the air is about 21 per cent oxygen, offering up to 40 times more oxygen than water.

Since oxygen is needed to power the muscles, the brain and the rest of the body, air-breathing animals can be much more energetic than their water-breathing counterparts. This is why mammals that have gone back to the sea, like whales and dolphins, have kept their lungs and still need to come to the surface to breathe air.

The closest a human can get to the experience of breathing underwater is a breathe perfluorocarbon, a liquid which can dissolve high levels of oxygen. Breathing liquid would make it possible for divers to go much deeper because they wouldn’t have the problems with pressure that breathing compressed air brings.

James Cameron’s film The Abyss memorably features characters who breathe per fluorocarbon in order to descend to great depths underwater.

Below the surface

Lungs won’t work underwater because getting filled up with water damages the delicate set-up inside the lungs, but even if we had gills we wouldn’t be able to breathe underwater because there simply isn’t enough oxygen in the water to meet our needs.

Culled from Why?: Answers to everyday scientific questions

A blind leader of the blind.

— Cambodian Proverb

October 31, 2014

Your Entertainment and Lifestyle Guide

Kehinde 'Yankee' Adegbite

Promoting Abuja’s Entertainment Scene A clean hand wants no washing.

esseNTials PlaylisT

razak’s diary TaTTles ― Egyptian Proverb

34

October 31, 2014

beFOre YOU ReaD Lagos is no doubt Nigeria’s entertainment hub.

Cities like Abuja and Port Harcourt can only play catch up to the bubbling entertainment scene in ‘Lasgidi’. But now, Abuja’s entertainment scene is gradually waking up and this is due in part to the activities of a few people one of which is our cover for this week Kehinde “Yankee” Adegbite.

Popularly known as Mr Yankee, he is

responsible for putting together high class entertainment shows which attract the best musicians and comedians from all over Nigeria. Read all about his travails and what it takes to organise an A list shows.

Did you know Flash the TV series recently hit TV screens worldwide? In fact its pilot episode was so successful that it is now one of 2014’s most watched series? Browse through our One To

Watch Column to find out more.

Mega star 2face Idibia is set to storm Abuja for his triple threat tour. Have you gotten your tickets for the highly anticipated show? WizKid, Naeto C and Dammy Krane are some of the musicians that will be coming to celebrate with 2baba.

Our friends at sodasandpopcorn.com.com also reviewed one of Nigeria’s most interesting

romantic comedy movies When Love Happens starring Weruche Opia, OC Ukeje and Beverly Naya. Sit back, relax and read all about it!

Enjoy the weekend fridayleadership@leadership.ng follow us on Twitter @essentialsng

one TO WATCH

essentials Playlist top 10 songs of the Week 1.2Face – Nfana Ibaga Remix: Hypertek Digital/960 Music Group are pleased to bring to you new music! Yes, it’s new music! 2Face Idibia, in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of his debut album, “Face 2 Face“, has dropped a ‘Remix’ for one of the hit songs off the Face 2 Face album, “Nfana Ibaga“.

2.Tiwa Savage – Key to the City: Soon after the release of her latest single, ‘My Darling’, Mavin Records First Lady, Tiwa Savage is back. A fusion of Afro Pop and dancehall, Key to the City is produced by Spellz.

3.Dj Xclusive – Tonight ft. Banky W &Niyola: Superstar disc jockey Xclusive enlists Banky W and Niyola on his latest single titled “Tonight”, produced by Masterkraft. This track is a follow up to DJ Xclusive’s mega hit Jeje featuring WizKid. 4.Oritse Femi – Culture: One of the hottest artistes right now in the industry De Musical Taliban ” Oritse Femi” is back with another hit banger , this is titled Culture and was produced by the world famous Puffy Tee .

5.Shaydee – Potential: Recording artist and EME star Shaydee is on a roll as he keeps churning out songs to entertain his fans.

He gets together with Legendury Beatz for a new single – Potential Freestyle.

The 3 minute club banger “Potential” is a freestyle dancehall song produced by super producers Legendury Beatz who worked on ‘Azonto’ by WizKid. 6.Dynamit – I Remember: Dynamyt is the guy you have been waiting for to change Nigerian Music. He represents the new school era of Nigerian musicians who are not afraid to take an alternative route to creating music. His debut single, I Remember, produced by Rexxie, is a catchy Afro pop ballad fused with dreamy elements of classic rhythm and blues. The song tells a story of a guy reminiscing on a lost love and wanting to feel the love again. Watch out for the video and more songs to follow. Don’t sleep on Dynamyt. He is ready to blow.

7.Skuki – Peteru ft. Olamide: The music duo

Skuki – Peeshaun and Vavavoom recently release a new single titled Peteru produced by philikeyz. The song features rap icon Olamide aka Badoo who added his unique flavour to the song.

8.Tipi – Murda ft. Skales & Samklef: Iyobosa Time Patrick Idiaghe known as Tipi drops his official single Murda, an assisted hit featuring Skales &Samklef. “Murda” is an Afro Rubber dub” genre of Music Not not your everyday Afro beat, the 25 year old artiste who hails from Edo State took a break off music to finish his University Education after he dropped his first official single & video in 2008 “Desperado” which enjoyed massive Air play on both TV & radio stations.

9.Rayce – Gbunmadun: Rayce is not sleeping on his oars at all as he drops another banger just a few weeks after his monstrous hit Igbedu. This one is titled Gbunmadun and is self-produced. It’s a feel-good rhythm laced on the grooviest of beats.

10.Largess – No Time: Introducing Akintunde Tolulope Gabriel aka LARGESS, Maestronic Ent’s first artiste. LARGESS, an underground sensation with his diverse blend of afropop and Fuji is a chubby happy-go-lucky 26 year old graduate of geology from the Polytechnic, Ibadan.

LARGESS makes his grand entry into the Music industry with a well-produced tune titled No Time. A piece that will surely keep you captivated all through. Produced by E Kelly.

Courtesy tooxclusive.com

Flash

It seems major film studios are suddenly realising that making movies or TV series from characters of popular comic books is a sure winner. Flash the TV series is one of such winners. Based on the DC Comics character Flash (Barry Allen), a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds. The series premiered in North America on October 7, 2014, where the pilot became the most watched telecast for The CW TV

network. The review aggregator webiste Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10 based on 50 reviews. The website’s consensus reads, “The Flash benefits from its purposefully light atmosphere, making it a superhero show uniquely geared toward genre fans as well as novices.” The series stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Rick Cosnett, and Carlos Valdez.

movie revieW

When love Happens Cast:Cast: Weruche Opia, OC Ukeje, Beverly Naya, Oreka Godis, Gideon Okeke and Keppy Epeyoung Director: Seyi Babatope Year: 2014 When Love Happens is a romantic comedy which tells the story of Mo, a 28 year old (that’s not so old, what’s her problem sef) event planner who plans the biggest weddings in town but hasn’t gotten round to having her own wedding yet. This gets her worried and desperate (even though

she won’t admit) and goes searching for love in all the wrong places when love was always in her face. Sigh, story of our lives. The most beautiful thing about the movie was the acting. It had a talented cast which helped make the movie a fun experience for me. Kudos to Seyi Babatope for one of the best productions of the year. When Love Happens is a well-directed movie, with a lovely cast and crew.

— Reviewed by Awojide Olumuyiwa Sylvester of sodasandpopcorn.com

group rePOrTerS Abisola Alawode DeSiGN & LAYOUT Chukwudi J. Nwabueze, iniobong ekong

ACTiNG eDiTOr Hassan Gimba Ahmed

FOUNDer Sam Nda-isaiah GrP MANAGiNG DireCTOr Azubuike ishiekwene GrP eXeCUTive DireCTOrS Michael Okpere, Dr. Kazeem Durodoye

Your weekly eSSeNTiALS is filled with exclusive interviews, amazing articles from guest columnists and contributors.

35

October 31, 2014

Essentials Taste

Nigerian Suya Spice Recipe Nigerian Beef Suya is a popular street delicacy enjoyed by everyone.

To describe it in layman's terms, it is simply barbecued skewered meat prepared with a special spice known as Suya spice. Originally from the Northern part of Nigeria, "Suya" has now been adopted as a main staple across Nigeria. The secret to this popular meal has a lot to do with the specially prepared spice which is usually coated around the meat before roasting on the barbecue grill.

Suya spice is made from a mixture of different ingredients which includes pepper, groundnuts and a host of others. During my street foodie waka through the North, i also noticed to my amazement that it's sometimes prepared in open flame. Though i couldn't speak Hausa language, i was able to get the ingredients from the "mai Suya" by going through the HausaEnglish conversion Language book i was given at the camp It could be made with beef, chicken, ram or Inner parts such as kidney, liver and tripe (Shaki).

Ingredients: • ½ cup roasted groundnuts "peanuts" • ½ cup Small Dry cayenne pepper “Ose Nkiri”, powdered • 1 tablespoon of Salt • ½ tablespoon of dry ginger, ground

frying.

Step 3: After the groundnut cake has been fried, add the cayenne pepper, ground ginger, garlic powder and salt, blend some more to incorporate.

This can now be used to coat the meat you intend roasting Directions: Making the starter Step 1: Slice the beef into thin strips Step 2: Insert the skewers through about 3-4 strips of beef from the middle Step 3: Dip the beef skewers in the Suya spice making sure you coat every part generously.

•½ tablespoon of dry garlic, ground How to make Suya spice: Step 1: Peel the skin off the roasted peanuts by rubbing between your hands. Place the roasted peanuts on a flat tray and blow off the skin leaving the bare peanuts.

Step 2: The next step is to extract the

groundnut oil because what you'd need is the paste. To do it locally, Place the peeled peanuts in a dry mill and grind into a paste. Add a little hot water and pour the paste through a pap sieve.

Squeeze the paste and gradually the oil would begin to come out leaving the groundnut cake behind in the sieve.

This is then left to dry a little before

Step 4: Drizzle with vegetable oil and place on the barbecue grill. In the north, Suya is sometimes prepared in open flame.

Step 5: Once in a while, brush some more vegetable oil over the meat to prevent it from burning and drying up.

Serve with chopped chunks of raw onion, Tomatoes or Cucumber.

Hausa Masa Recipe (Rice puff puff) Hausa Masa is a very popular snack in the northern part of Nigeria. As early as 7am, the vendor always had hot balls of Masa ready for hungry customers. As I watched from the side, I couldn't help but marvel at her level of expertise. Masa reminds me of puff puff though the batter is made slightly watery unlike puff puff batter and not as sweet as puff puff. It's prepared in such a way that, as you are removing a batch from the pan you are also adding a new set into the pan due to the uncontrollable heat from the firewood burner. The rice usually used for this meal is the type used for tuwo known locally as sinasir (very white in colour with broken rice particles, sold mostly by Hausa vendors, soaks up water when cooked). From my perspective, it requires some level of skill to achieve.

Ingredients: •3 cups Rice (Tuwo rice) •1 tablespoon of Potash (Akaun/ Kanwa) •1 tablespoon of Sugar •1/2 tablespoon of Salt •1 tablespoon of Yeast

residue). Leave to sit for about 8-10 hours or overnight. This is done to ensure the potash which acts as a local tenderizer softens the rice while it ferments.

Step 2: Boil 1 cup or raw rice till soft.

Mash in the pot with a spatula and set aside.

Step 3: Wash the soaked rice and blend till smooth with clean water.

The batter should not be thick but runny.

Step 4: Mix the Mashed rice with the ground rice, add yeast, sugar, salt and leave to froth and rise for about 25mins or less. Mix Once more and set aside Step 5: Grease the Masa pan by pouring a little vegetable oil in each hole. Gently pour the Masa batter into the holes and drizzle the top with more vegetable oil. Cook for about 1 minute till golden brown then flip over to cook the other side.

Step 6: Remove from the pan and serve. Masa is usually served with Yaji (dry spicy pepper), honey, stew, suya, soup, or just plain sugar.

Directions: Step 1: Dissolve the potash in water.

In a medium sized bowl, pour the

potash-water liquid into 2 cups of raw rice making sure it covers and soaks it (Don't pour in the potash

A cat in gloves catches no mice. ― Egyptian Africa

Serve as a snack with a chilled drink.

— Courtesy Dobbysignature.com

36 TATTLES Victoria Beckham Named Britain’s Most Successful entrepreneur

Model, fashion designer and musician Victoria Beckham has been named Britain’s most successful entrepreneur. The 40-year-old wife of David Beckham topped a list of over 100 business people after seeing her fashion empire’s turnover rise from £1 million to a staggering £30 million in just five years, with her staff strength also growing from three employees to 100.

Andrew Saunders of Management Today magazine, who compiled the list based on the last five years, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: ‘She’s got a real business, some design talent and some business nous. She gets a lot of stick for being a celeb fashionista but I don’t think that’s fair. ‘She has built something real out of her own celebrity which is quite a contemporary story. She deserves to be celebrated.’

Bill Cosby Raped Me Several Times Bill Cosby is about to become public enemy number 1 that is, if the allegations making the rounds about him are true. When comedian Hannibal Buress delivered his recent merciless tongue-lashing at Bill Cosby, calling him a serial ‘rapist’, there was one woman who was paying particularly close attention.

When actress Barbara Bowman was a teenager she was emotionally and sexually abused by the TV star and in an exclusive interview with MailOnline she described how Cosby manipulated her into believing he was a father figure and took advantage of her youth, vulnerability and yes, even ambition, to have his way with her over and over again. ‘I was drugged and raped by that man,’ she told MailOnline. ‘He is a monster.

He came at me like a monster. My hope is that others who have experienced sexual abuse will not be intimidated into silence.

I’m Not Scared Of Olamide And Davido – Zeez

In a recent interview, Kingsley Elikpo aka Zeez said despite the stiff competition in the music industry, he’s not afraid of anyone.

Going further, the Imo state born musician who has a new single, ‘Atewo’ featuring rapper Olamide spoke on the new level of competition in the music industry. Zeez said, ‘If you are a player in a non-competitive industry, it is best to leave it fast. Yes, the industry is a lot better now compared to when I began. The social media hype, which a lot of artistes including me, now enjoy, was non-existent at the time. What matters most is constantly rebuilding and reevaluating oneself to keep moving with the times because change is the only constant thing. Competition only makes me a better. Artistes like Davido and Olamide, are no threat to me.’

2Face Set To Perform Live In Abuja Legendary musician 2face Idibia is set to perform in Abuja as part of his ongoing triple threat tour. The show which was organized by one of Abuja’s most prominent show organizers Yankee Entertainment and the Now Music affiliated NM Encore will hold on Saturday, Nov. 1 2014 at the prestigious Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Mr Kehinde Adegbite CEO of Yankee Entertainment has promised not only fans of 2face, but music lovers a day they will never forget. In his own words: “Everybody knows 2face’s pedigree. I mean, someone who is regarded as a Nigerian musical legend is coming to Abuja to perform so you can expect nothing but the best.”

2face whose 1st album was released back in 2004, will be thrilling fans with songs from his recently released his 10th studio album The Ascension and also some of his other classic songs.

D’banj Set To Release ‘Musical Movie’ Based On His Career In a recent interview with Beat FM, Kokomaster D’banj talked about his recent deal with popular headphones maker BeatsbyDre. He said: ‘Most people have the wrong impression that Dr Dre was the one that signed me, but the contract I have says ‘Apple’ and to take it further, my management, DKM Media in conjunction with Apple is working on a musical movie. I’m going to act in the movie and play the role of D’banj.’ At the moment, D’banj is currently taking acting lessons in preparation for the role and when asked why he needed to take acting lessons since he was simply playing the role of D’banj in the movie, he said: “Yes o, I’m currently taking acting lessons, initially, I didn’t know I would need acting lessons to play myself in the movie but they want to make it very professional and very well done.”

October 31, 2014

Popular actress Anne Hathaway reportedly refused to shake the hand of an Argentinian journalist due to fears he may have the Ebola virus.

However, Anne has denied the claims saying she had a cold that is why she did not shake anyone’s hands.

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Martin are said to have split up. The couple who have been dating for three months split up because Jen got tired of seeing Chris play ‘happy families’ with his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow

TiSPY

Which musician doesnt like tatoos on her body?

My Ordeal With NDLeA Tarnished My Image – Baba Suwe Popular actor, Bababtunde Omidina aka Baba Suwe in an interview maintained his innocence about the ‘drug pusher’ allegation leveled against him. He’s still demanding for an apology from the NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency), to help salvage his reputation.

In his own words: “It is a long story.

What they did tarnished my image.

It really hurt me. Theatre is the only way I make money and when my films hit Idumota, it makes the most sales in the industry. I make money from my rental business and as a master of ceremony within and outside Nigeria. The incident affected all that.

Going further, he said: “They maltreated me for the 19 days that I was there. I slept on metal chairs.

I was taken to another hospital again and yet, nothing was found. At this stage, my son had got a lawyer for me. The lawyer, in confidence, asked me if I was dealing in drug for real so as to know how to run their case and I told him that I was doing no such thing. I told him I had travelled to many developed countries with sophisticated and automated airports and I had never had any case with them.”

The Things

They Said “Men fake orgasms too”

–Comedian Julius Agwu “I’m not bothered that people think I am arrogant” – Musician WizKid

FLiRT “I can’t date Oritsefemi” ALERT –Upcoming musician Ache Rachael

GOT A CELEB GIST? GET IN TOUCH!

TATTLES 37

October 31, 2014

TATTLES with Abisola Alawode

OUR EAR-ON-GROUND

Sometimes, one wonders where these entertainers get their money from. Actress Ini Edo recently bought a house in a highbrow area of Lekki for N70 million! Congrats to her.

The Nigerian Music Industry And Its ‘Leaders’ Please do not be confused by the title of this article. The word leaders used here talks about the leaders in Nigeria’s various genres of music. TATTLES recently came across this article and I think the writer Otaigbe Itua Ewoigbokhan hit the nail on the head.

“Over the past twenty years, the Nigerian music industry has grown like a stem cell; metamorphosing from a blastocyst into a wild beast with its own life source. The industry has produced talents, mavericks and legends and we are blessed with the likes of 2Face Idibia, P-Square, and D’banj who are internationally acclaimed artistes.

These three, having dominated the scene in the last decade, can be known as the Kings of the industry. Their consistency, influence, and repertoire of hits qualify them for the title.

In analyzing the music scene, we must appreciate the vagaries of the music genre.

For simplicity, we would first stratify into four: Rap, Afro-pop, R&B and what I would call the Divas.

Closely behind the Kings are the Chairmen, who are heirs to the throne. Like princes, they cannot be crowned yet till the king is no more for only time bestows that honor. The bosses come next; they show promise, but require pruning and refining to reach full potential.

Finally, the retirees are those who despite dominating the airways at some point in time have not been as active in the industry.

Afterwards, within each genre, we would decide who is the King (Queen), Chairman (Chairlady), Boss (Boss Lady) or who is in Siberia.

RAP Leaders- Olamide and M.I In the rap category, Olamide needs no introduction. On his track, ‘Sitting on the Throne’, his arrogance is palpable. He doesn’t need any kingmaker to crown him. He is King. His affirmative claim to the crown

PUBLiC DiSPLAY

ought to be enough but it isn’t. Why? The answer is simple: M.I. Let’s face it; these two guys are the best in the industry. They should both be king, but like 9ice said on the song Street Credibility, we can’t have two kings on the throne. Overall, Olamide pips M.I on the basis of resonating more with the ‘grassroots’ and having more studio albums. The industry will likely remember Olamide more than M.I in the long run.

Illbliss is a self-acclaimed boss. He has been able to create a niche for himself with the ‘Dat Ibo Boy’ franchise. He has also harnessed the talents of Chidinma and Phyno. Ill Bliss is Boss not just for his musical abilities but his dexterity and tenacity in asserting himself in a genre that is still finding its feet in the hearts of Nigerians. What’s Mode 9’s place in this system? Well, he should be a king, but his career path has been somewhat sinusoidal in pattern. To be king, your appeal must cut across every section of the populace. I doubt my grand mom in the village has heard of Mode 9. But there’s a good chance she has heard Olamide’s DuroSoke. Let’s move on.

Ice Prince shot into limelight with his banger Oleku. He has thrilled his fans with two albums: Every Body Loves Ice Prince and Fire of Zamani. Ice Prince can take the battle to Olamide in a few years. Ice Prince is undoubtedly a Chairman along with Ill-bliss, Phyno and M.I. The Bosses include: Jesse Jags, Reminisce and Vector Tha Viper. Jesse Jags deserves to be higher up the ladder where his sibling rests but Jesse isn’t only a rapper; his versatility, which ordinarily should be an advantage, undermines him in the battle for supremacy.

The retirees in the Rap category are: Sauce Kid, Naeto C, Rugged Man and Gino.

AFRO HIP-HOP (POP/ HIGH LIFE/ REGGAE) Leaders- Iyanya, WizKid and Davido The Afro hip-hop genre comprises the largest group of artistes on the Nigerian

“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse” –Florence Nightingale

music scene. It has also produced the most internationally marketable piece of music with production quality rivaling that of hiphop anywhere in the world. Music videos are crisp, and shot with the best technology.

With competition stiff, radio stations have to sift through large volume of music and it is no surprise that songs with better commercial appeal get more airplay. Clubs and private parties will play what the radio stations air and this can have a telling effect on an artiste’s career. It is impossible to go to a club in Nigeria and not be thrilled when the DJ spins songs from WizKid, Davido, Sean Tizzle, Timaya, Bracket, Dammy Krane, Harry Songs, Iyanya, KCee, Jaywon and Skales.

P-Square undoubtedly is king of pop in Nigeria. The other artistes plead: ‘nolo contendere’ to the Okoye twins. Their videos, dance choreography and international collaborations have taken Nigerian music to new levels. Their song Personally, well, personally, received praise from the Jackson family. Having had Rick Ross on Onyinye and T.I on Ejeajo, they leave mouths gaping in sheer astonishment as to where next P-Square is taking the industry.

We move on to the battle between Davido and WizKid who are major contenders for P-Square’s throne. While I believe WizKid has outperformed anyone else, with hits like Pakurumo, Holla At Your Boy, Don’t Dull, and Azonto; Davido’s hit single: Aye will haunt WizKid for life. It has deep lyrical content and actually means something which cannot be said for most Wizkid songs. Aye, along with P-Square’s Beautiful Onyinye, and Timi Dakolo’s Iyawo Mi have become wedding songs. And while we forget Caro and Don’t Dull, Davido’s Aye will be right up there, not far off from 2face’ African Queen on Nigeria’s list of classics. WizKid and Davido are both Chairmen although WizKid is more likely to ascend the throne in the future.

Popular musician WizKid was allegedly arrested recently for smoking weed at a hotel in Kenya.

The incident happened when Wizzy was checking out of his hotel in Nairobi. WizKid was in Kenya for a show.

Indigenous rapper Reminisce is set to release his 3rd studio album and it is to be titled Baba Hafusa.

According to the rapper, ‘Baba Hafusa’ is in part a way of paying tribute to his first daughter, who is named Hafusa.

The album will be released in February 2015.

They say change is the only constant thing this was probably on Musician Ade Bantu’s mind when he cut his dreadlocks recently. The dreadlocks have been Ade’s signature look for over 25 years.

TiP FOR “Biblical injunctions killed my love for tattoos” THE TOP –Musician Ego Iheanacho

Call Bisola on 08126995258 Or e-mail at friday@leadership.ng

38

FEATURE

October 31, 2014

Promoting Abuja’s Entertainment Scene

1 2

As someone who studied engineering, what led you to entertainment?

Entertainment has always been in me. I was a director of socials in Yaba College of Technology and I’ve been organising shows since then. It all started out as a passion that turned into business for me.

Mr Yankee as Kehinde is popularly called has been instrumental to the development of Abuja’s entertainment scene. As a club owner, and someone who has organized shows with “A” list musicians, Yankee’s love for entertainment knows no bounds.

By abisola alawode

Among the number of shows you’ve organised, which one stands out for you and which was the first one you organised?

My first professional show I organised in Abuja was Night of a Thousand Laughs in 2006. Opa Williams who is the owner of Night of a Thousand Laughs gave me a chance to organise the show. Before then, Opa had someone organising the show for him and it wasn’t quite a success. I mean, they were making between N2.5 million to N3 million but when I organised the show, I made close to N5milllion so it all started from there. Before then, I had organised shows that were considered flops. I brought the Plantashun Boys to Abuja in 2001 at the International conference centre. Then, Abuja was not this filled up and people always asked for free tickets but now, you dare not ask me for free tickets. After my experience with the Plantashun boys, I then brought D’banj. People came but they were not much. I then brought Weird MC again, people came but not much. Then I brought Olu Maintain during the days of Yahooze.

I didn’t lose money and I didn’t make money. Then the Night of a thousand Laughs show happened and it all went uphill from there.

3 4

So you always work with Top class acts?

Yes I do. I mean, at this my level, I can’t be working with non-professional acts or just anybody. Look at the people I’ve worked with 2Face, Iyanya, D’banj, May D, Weird MC, Olu Maintain etc. they are all superstars in their own right.

I understand you are bringing 2face to Abuja for his Triple Threat Tour. Tell us more about this.

Yes oo! 2baba is coming to Abuja again. The show will be taking place at the Transcorp Hilton on Saturday November 1 2014. Musicians and comedians like WizKid, Naeto C, Niyola, Dammy Krane, Tony One week, LK Kuddy, Joe El, Gandoki, Shortcut, MC Amana and Chuks D general will be performing on that day.

5 6 7 8

Ok, so how much would you say you have spent in organising a show of this magnitude?

With all honesty, I’ve spent close to N10 million putting this show together.

N10 million?

Yes, N10 million. You see, it’s not the amount spent that is so important. You have to make sure that anybody that comes for the show gets enough value for their money and again for a show that features one of Nigeria’s biggest musicians in the person of 2face Idibia, one can only expect the best.

Abuja has been good to me. In fact, if you give me 1 billion Naira, I’ll not live in Lagos.

What are the things one must consider before organising a show like this?

One thing you must consider is the venue. Will the venue be available on the day you want it? How many people can the hall accommodate? These are very important questions you must ask yourself. Also, publicity matters a lot.

You work with a lot of musicians, how come you haven’t signed any or launched a record label?

My brother, I can assure you that signing an artiste is something I’ll never do. Because, most record labels come to me to help them publicise their artistes so why would I want to sign anybody?

Yankee

9

Not really. You know I’m also into events planning. Entertainment

A city that parleys is half gotten. ― Chinese proverb

As the chairman of The Bank night club, how did this all start for you? I mean, has owning a club always been a dream for you?

FEATURE

October 31, 2014

39

Promoting Abuja’s Entertainment Scene

Yankee, May D and the Area Fada Charly Boy

14 15 16 17 18 19

events to be precise. And as someone who has been involved with a lot of clubs, I had What are the challenges you have faced running an idea of what running a club would involve. But honestly, I did not set out to own The Bank? a club. Sometime last year, I took a management lease on a club that went down. The There have been a lot of challenges. You know, it is one thing to club was called Club Storm and I ran the club for like 4 months and in that time, I bring people to the club and it is another thing to keep them. You learnt everything there was to learn about running a club. It is important to note that know we have to keep our customers happy all the time. We are not a regular club.

I didn’t make one naira from the club.

We are more than just a party house where people come to dance that is why we have decided to open on just Friday’s and Saturday because we know what people want and Are you serious? Why didn’t you? we know how to give it to them.

You see, the club was in so much debt, that every available profit we made went into servicing our various debts. But I wasn’t Are there plans to open another branch of The disappointed. I knew what I was doing. People thought I was ‘crazy’ Bank? but I did not let their comments derail me. And when I left the club, the place shut Well, I’ll say it’s a progressive plan. I’ll say opening another branch is down. After my experience, it occurred to me that I could run my own club. But it part of my long term plan. took me some time before I could set up my own because I needed a partner to assist me. Operating a club is too stressful for one person to do.

10 11 12 13

So, having a partner makes it easy?

Yes it does. Being that a club is a ‘social’ business, each person’s character and circle of friends is quite essential in making the club a success. He might know some people I don’t and I might know some people he doesn’t know so we complement each other.

With your partner coming on board plans for your club started in earnest?

Yes after I met my partner Uyi Ogbebor we started looking for an available venue and luckily for us, the lease for A Lounge was up. We took up the lease, started re organising the club and in three months we were ready for business.

How did the Idea for ‘The Bank’ come about?

We searched for a name. And after brainstorming with my team (Uyi Ogbebor, Alex Lawal and others), we came up with the name The Bank. We wanted a name that would stand out. We also worked with various experts in making sure anybody that worked into the club will be blown away. For example, the person that came up with the concept of our bar is a youth corper who was looking for a place to sell his idea.

Making a club a success is down to so many factors. You have mentioned some of them in this interview but, what is the most important factor of them all?

Personally, I think it’s the P.R part of the business. You have to continually make sure that the name of your club is out there so when people think of partying, they think of your club. And also, you need a team of dedicated people working with you.

A civil denial is better than a rude grant.

Yankee, How Long have you been in Abuja?

I’ve been here for 14 years.

And in your 14 years, would you say Abuja has been good to you compared to Lagos?

Yes, Abuja has been good to me. In fact, if you give me 1 billion naira, I’ll not live in Lagos.

Really, Why?

Honestly, Lagos is too stressful. For example, In Abuja, you can meet up with 10 appointments you can’t try it in Lagos. For one thing, the traffic is terrible.

― Egyptian proverb

40

COLUMNS

Diary

Razak’s

co s y raz z y @ ya h o o. co m

I’m an impulsive guy with an insatiable thirst for adventure. This is all about my dalliances & escapades.

Wretched Fool…

Dear Diary, I am yet to recover from my ‘blue’ moments. After more than two weeks of cluelessness, I still write without really seeing the words or taking note of my thoughts. Bhaira has suggested warm cups of a beverage (what’s the name again? See, I told you), but I can’t even let her know that I’ve forgotten. She may just freak out as well.

As for Etim my guy, he thinks the ‘kobnomi’ messed with my psyche.

“Your black a#$ is lucky to have me around.

You know I went to the office and told them that you have been under the weather, that you’ve been vomiting blood and pooing blood. As usual, you got a lot of sympathy and I think, if I remember correctly, even Bose shed a few tears…”

“Shut up, fool,” I said daring him to say anymore. “I’m not ill, I just don’t remember stuff. Is that an illness?”

“For a young fellow like you to start forgetting stuff…it’s either you have Alzheimer’s or your mind’s just seriously f%$#@d up by that Bauchi ‘kobnomi’.”

He looked at me with some form of condescension which I found funny and annoying at the same time.

I just hissed.

At that moment, Bhaira and Fanta walked into the house.

I groaned. I was not sick and I would have no one come visit me, thinking I was.

Fanta rushed to me and started planting wet kisses all over my face. While she had all her bosomy self over me, Bhaira laughed, enjoying the whole thing at my expense.

She left me with a promise to return and went over to Bhaira. She herded her into some corner and their voices, once loud and clear, became hushed.

“Your execution is going on as planned…”

Etim said, smirking.

“How?” I looked at him as if he had suddenly become demented.

“They are planning to do away with you now; you are causing Bhaira so much trouble.

Fanta wants to give her to someone else who is not so much trouble to be with.”

“Fool,” I said, this time meaning a fraction of it.

“See, Razz, have you ever tasted Fanta?”

“Yes. But what does it have to do with anything?”

“It? I’m talking about this Fanta (here, he moved his hands indicating a woman’s shape), not the lifeless bottle.” He shook his head.

“How can you be so clever and so daft at the same time? Are you pretending to be daft or are you naturally so?”

“E.T, all I need now is as much rest as I can get. I don’t need your troubles and wahala,” I

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said, managing a smile.

“What are you two talking about?” Fanta said, coming out of the room with Bhaira in tow.

“As always, it must be women,” said Bhaira with an understanding smile.

“So, how was Bauchi?” Fanta asked.

“Fine, I guess. Mama na sends her regards…”

“Which Mama? The one you left without informing or the one you left without eating her food for a single day? Which Mama, Razz? The one you left wondering where you had disappeared to? See, Razz, I love you more than you will ever know – you can even ask Bhaira here – but I do not want you to endanger her life (at this point, she touched Bhaira’s arm gently) or give her an STD. No, there is nothing to be ashamed of here….”

At this point, Etime got up and begged to be excused.

With that shit-eating grin on his face, he bent close to me and whispered “she loves you more than you will ever know; go on, score a touch-down sometime”.

I swatted him like a fly and, laughing hysterically, he was gone.

“I’m sorry I have to intervene like this, but I can’t see you two live like this. What happened in Bauchi has affected you so much and the only way we got to know was because you kept shouting in your dreams about ‘kobnomi’. We don’t know what that it, but it didn’t sound good.

“A woman can’t love a man who keeps causing her so much hurt. No woman loves that…”

“I didn’t do anything. I was under a spell. Ask Etim and he’ll explain everything to you.

He said I ate something and that it takes sometime to go away…”

“No, I can remember much and I feel very disoriented…True, it looked like I was the one acting up all the while, but I just wanted to enjoy some normal food I’d gotten used to since I graduated from UNN. That’s all.

“All I did was search for a restaurant where such food was sold and I ate. How could I have known that mine was doctored? I just kept returning to that same place time and time again. I stopped eating at home and… all I could think about was that lady there and the sex and the food. Suddenly, I realized that I had overstayed my annual leave, so I sneaked out of her house and called Etim and he came and got me…

“That was happened in Bauchi. True, I didn’t see Mama na before leaving, but Etim called her on the cellphone and we did speak some and…”

I didn’t finish. Both women hugged me and, in the softness I found forgiveness.

“What next would I get into to undo this sweet forgiveness, you wretched fool?” I asked myself.

Write to us! Share your favourite recipes, TV shows, movies, and of course write to Matilda, Mimi and Rasaq. Send us your comments and suggestions on our features.

We want lots of feedback from you! fridayleadership@leadership.ng

A clean fast is better than a dirty breakfast.

October 31, 2014

guest column How To Be A Good

Nigerian Wife

Dear Nigerian wife, heartfelt congratulations to you on your recent nuptials. Love is indeed a beautiful thing and I am so pleased that you have met and married the man of your dreams. Surely after all the celebration, you just want to go home and live happily ever after with your other half. To help you navigate towards your future happiness, here are a few words of wisdom from me to you completely free of charge: The first thing you must know about being a good wife is that your in-laws have all the power in your marriage. Regardless of all you thought or imagined in the past, you start to live by their grace as soon as you say “I do”. Yes. They can visit your home anytime they like with suitcases in tow and stay for as long as they like too. Simply delete any idea you have to complain – after all, you should be grateful they let their son or brother marry you. Instead, as a good wife, you should concern yourself with more important things like getting pregnant immediately. Do not get it twisted. These people are not interested in your ‘good’ girl reputation. All they really want are grand-children.

How you even managed to marry their son without a bun in the oven is beyond them. Didn’t Mary mother of Jesus experience Immaculate Conception? So why didn’t you?

Secondly- for as long as you intend to stay married to Mr wonderful, your cooking has to be on point. In this case, variety is your friend.

You have to be able to impress him with your cooking if you want him to keep growing in love with you. Under no condition should you consider ordering food from outside your home; only lazy women get take-out for their families to eat. So please even if hubby requests for Banga soup and starch at midnight, you have to be willing to make it for him. Failure to deliver will push hubby into the hands of those girls out there.

Ha those girls out there! Haven’t you noticed them hanging around before? They are the hot, single ladies who go everywhere in Brazilian hair, short dresses and enough makeup to kill the fishes in the Atlantic Ocean. They are hard-core believers in the merits of married men and their main aim of living is your husband. They go everywhere hoping to bump into him so they can snatch him. But don’t be deceived oh.

Even though they look like they live in the salon, these babes can cook!

Think about any dish – pepper soup, banga soup, Ayematse, even Bolognese. It does not matter what country or continent the dish is from, they will deliver.

If the girls outside do not catch your husband first, trust the witches and wizards in both your villages to do it. Imagine both Yokozuna and the Undertaker catching your man in a tight corner, and then you know that he is finished. It does not matter that he has never been to his village before. All these forces need to know is that he got married and has to provide for his family to come after him with the vengeance of Amadioha (Igbo deity). To safe guard him and your happiness, you have to join the nearest praying church in your area preferably the ones that chase their enemies with fire. Thereafter, you have to pray every day and night or the witches will think that you are only joking.

Ignore the fact that your husband sleeps through your night vigils. It is not him you are after. It is the witches and you don’t want them to intensify their mission. Or do you?

Before long, things should start to quiet down on the spiritual front since more people from your village will have gotten hitched. The shift will leave enough time for you to diligently do your husband’s laundry.

Note -Dirty shirts and boxers are your new best friends.

Now, while you are pleasing the in-laws, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, working (because modern men detest idle women) you have to make it your objective to remain sexy. So that when the time for adult games come (the one that usually involves a bed) he has absolutely nothing to complain about. You must never plead tiredness, headaches or you will have to explain what you have been doing all day? Also, it is highly beneficial if you endeavour to stay fit because he may ask you to get into all sorts of kinky positions perhaps involving a pole. Whatever you do, do not give him a reason to return you to your father’s house like a broken Barbie. We all know that it does not end well for wives who are returned. Keep him happy.

Dear wife, you do not need to be Nigerian to benefit from the advice here. These words will help you even if you or your husband is from another part of Africa where a happy husband means a happy wife and home.

Finally, thank you, dear reader for reading this far. Allow me to point out that the words above do not reflect my opinion of marriage or how to be a good wife in any way. They are simply, extreme, stereotypical opinions (compiled with fun in mind) of marriage that have been passed on to many young ladies, including me as advise by well-meaning friends and family. To me, a good marriage is not at all about servitude, subjugation or any of their cousins.

— This article was written Kome Olori Agulonu — Egyptian proverb

FrIDaY EXTRA 41

October 31, 2014

big

qUeSTIONS & aNSWerS CROSSWORDS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Chicken intended for the oven (7) 5 Clumsy fool (3) 7 Take by surprise, alarm (7) 9 Violent wind storm (7) 13 Part of a serial (7) 14 Survive beyond (7) 15 Flourish of trumpets (7) 18 Components of the solar system (7) 21 Part of the body where the femur and tibia are found (3) 22 Coils (in a mattress) (7)

How do you climb a frozen waterfall?

DOWN 1 Protest heatedly (5,3,4) 2 energy field surrounding the body (4) 3 Sound of a horn (4) 4 Widespread (4) 6 Charity given to the poor (4) 8 rhythmic monologue delivered over music (3) 10 add water to (7) 11 1950s Hawaiian-influenced music genre (7) 12 all the world’s oceans (3,5,4) 16 rod for wheels (4) 17 Organ with which a fish steers (3) 18 Maths addition sign (4) 19 Jelly made from seaweed, used in glue making (4) 20 Balanced and level (4)

The bitter winter weather may halt cars on the daily commute, but for Christian Pondella from the US it has brought triumph. Pondella, and fellow climber Will Gadd from Canada, are the first people to climb Norway’s frozen VIlrinfossen waterfall.

From its base, this ice wall measures 200m, taller than London’s Gherkin building. In the summer months water flows over the Vorinfossen falls at around 12m’/s, but last winter stopped it dead.

In order for water to freeze, the water molecules must lose the energy that enables them to stay in their loose, liquid form. The water of the Vorinfossen waterfall has a lot more kinetic energy than still—water, so the air around it had to drop to -15°C for all that energy to be lost. The water molecules slow down as they lose energy, increasing the chances of one molecule binding to another. One water molecule stops and other molecules attach to it. It starts at the extremities of the flow, at the foot of the fall and where the water is touching the rock of the cliff face.

Has anything hotter than the sun?

In the desert of New Mexico on July 16, 1945, an international team of scientists succeeded in creating a device that reached temperatures of several hundred million degrees centigrade - far in excess of the 15, 000, 0000 degrees at the Sun’s core. That device was an atomic bomb of the kind dropped on Japan a few weeks later.

Similar temperatures are now routinely and safely generated in nuclear fusion machines, like the Joint European Torus in Oxfordshire. The highest temperature ever reached under controlled conditions is an astonishing 2,000,000,0000. It was created in the so-called Z-machine at the Sandia Laboratories, New Mexico, which uses incredibly high electric currents and magnetic fields to release radiation from atoms.

It’s not always necessary to use such dramatic means to reach high temperatures.

Why do people believe aliens built the Pyramids?

Since ancient civilisations didn’t have modern machines, some people thinks the Great Pyramids- and many others structures around the world – were too difficult for people to build before machines were invented.

Some think that aliens did the job. But most historians and engineers find it easier to believe that ancient people were stronger and smarter than we give them credit for.

A broken friendship may be soldered, but will never be sound. ― English Proverb

42 FRIDAY EXTRA

titans

October 31, 2014

of history

MARCUS AURELIUS

121-180

Every instant of time is a pinprick of eternity. All things are petty, easily changed, vanishing away.

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.36

M

arcus Aurelius was the philosopher-king of the Roman empire, who exemplified the qualities he praised in his philosophical writings in a reign marked by principled and reforming rule over a vast and turbulent domain.

He had an unselfish and pragmatic approach to governing his empire and did not shirk from sharing supreme power for the greater political good. His major written work, the Meditations, is an urbane and civilized commentary on life, expressing in a tender and personal voice a Stoic view of life, death and the vicissitudes of fortune.

Marcus Aurelius, born Marcus Annius Verus in AD 121, came from a family well acquainted with high office. His paternal grand-father was a consul and the prefect of Rome. An aunt was married to Titus Aurelius Antoninus, who would later become the emperor Antoninus Pius. And his maternal grandmother stood to inherit one of the largest fortunes in the Roman empire. He also came from liberal stock: the emperors of the 1st and 2nd centuries were more sober, munificent and inclined towards good deeds than the flamboyant urban emperors of the previous, Julio-Claudian dynasty founded by Augustus.

Marcus was handpicked for great things. In AD 138 the emperor Hadrian had arranged for Marcus to be adopted by his appointed heir, Antoninus, which marked out the seventeen-year-old as a future joint emperor, along with another young man, who would become the emperor Lucius Verus.

Marcus received his education in Greek and Latin from the best tutors, including Herodes Atticus and Pronto, one of the principal popular literary figures of the day. But practice in rhetoric and linguistic exercises did not fully satisfy such a bright young man, and he keenly embraced the Discourses of Epictetus. Epictetus was a former slave who had become an important moral philosopher of

the Stoic school, which taught that it was through fortitude and self-control that one could attain spiritual wellbeing and a clear and unbiased outlook on life. Philosophy in general, and Stoicism in particular, would be the intellectual touchstones of Marcus’ life.

When his adoptive father died in AD 161, Marcus was already prepared to take over the imperial duties. But in accordance with his sense of honour and political intelligence, he insisted that Lucius Verus be made joint emperor with him. Although Marcus could easily have eliminated his rival, he realized that with such a diverse empire to govern it made sense to have a partner with the political authority to rule when required but without the seniority to be a threat to stable government. It was Marcus who carried out the serious work of government.

As emperor, Marcus continued the benign policies of his predecessors.

He made various legal reforms and provided relief to the less favoured in society - slaves, widows and minors all felt the benefits of his rule. Although there was some concern over the gap between the legal rights and privileges enjoyed by honestiores and those enjoyed by humiliores (the betteroff and worse-off in society), Marcus was generally committed to building a fairer, more prosperous empire for his subjects.

One thing that Marcus could not control was the caprice of fate

in sending disease and war. While fighting the Parthians between 162 and 166, many soldiers contracted the plague, which spread throughout the empire. From 168 until around 172, Marcus (with Verus until his death in 169) was preoccupied with subduing the German tribes along the Danube, who were intent on marauding into the Roman Empire.

In spite of such engrossing problems, Marcus Aurelius remained a keen scholar of Stoicism, and in the last ten years of his life, in breaks between his campaigning and administrative duties, he wrote his Meditations.

Written in Greek and randomly arranged just as they came to him, these are an eclectic selection of diary entries, fragments and epigrams in which he addresses the challenges of life at war, the fear of death, and the cares and injustices of everyday life.

The general sentiment of the Meditations is that overreaction and lingering bitterness are the most damaging responses to life’s iniquities.

‘If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs you, but your own judgement of it,’ he writes. ‘And it is in your power to wipe out this judgement now.’ Another typical injunction reads: ‘A cucumber is bitter; throw it away. There are briars in the road; turn aside from them. This is enough. Do not add “And why were such things made in the world?’”

As the Meditations were written against the backdrop of war, mortality naturally features prominently in

A burden of one’s own choice is not felt. ― Egyptian Proverb

them. Marcus’ position is clear: ‘Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.’

It is advice that Marcus followed throughout his life but he did not succeed as a father. Before he died on campaign in 180, he appointed as his successor his son Commodus, whose diabolical and demented tyranny ended in assassination. But in spite of all, Marcus Aurelius managed to articulate with greater compassion than any of his contemporaries a timeless vision of fortitude in the face of human injustice and mortality.

Culled from the book ‘Titans of History’

FRIDAY EXTRA 43

October 31, 2014

ultimate top list 10 GRUESOME FAIRY TALE ORIGINS

THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS

1

CINDERELLA In the modern Cinderella fairy tale, we have the beautiful Cinderella swept off her feet by the prince, and her wicked stepsisters marrying two lords, with everyone living happily ever after. The fairy tale has its origins way back in the first century BC where Strabo’s heroine was actually called Rhodopis, not Cinderella.

The story was very similar to the modern one with the exception of the glass slippers and pumpkin coach. But, lurking behind the pretty tale is a more sinister variation by the Grimm brothers: in this version, the nasty stepsisters cut off parts of their own feet in order to fit them into the glass slipper, hoping to fool the prince. The prince is alerted to the trickery by two pigeons who peck out the stepsisters’ eyes. The stepsisters end up spending the rest of their lives as blind beggars while Cinderella gets to lounge about in luxury at the prince’s castle.

2

THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS Frankly, the revised version of this fairy tale is not a great deal better than the original, but there are sufficient differences to include it here.

In the new version, a poor man is offered wealth by the devil if he gives him whatever is standing behind his mill. The poor man thinks it is an apple tree and agrees, but it is actually his daughter. The devil tries to take the daughter but can’t because she is pure; he threatens to take the father unless the daughter allows her father to chop off her hands. She agrees and the father does the deed. Now that is not particularly nice, but it is slightly worse in some of the earlier variants in which the young girl chops off her own arms in order to make herself ugly to her brother who is trying to rape her. In another variant, the father chops off the daughter’s hands because she refuses to let him have sex with her.

3

BANSEL AND GRETEL In the widely known version of Hansel and Gretel, we hear of two little children who become lost in the forest, eventually finding their way to a gingerbread house that belongs to a wicked witch. The children end up enslaved for a time as the witch prepares them for eating. They figure their way out and throw the witch in a fire and escape. In an earlier French version of this tale (called “The Lost Children “), instead of a witch, we have a devil.

Now the wicked old devil is tricked by the children, in much the same way as Hansel and Gretel, but he works it out and puts together a sawhorse to put one of the children on to bleed. The children pretend not to know how to get on the sawhorse so the devil’s wife demonstrates. While she is lying down the kids slash her throat and escape.

CINDERELLA

4

GOLDlLOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS In this heartwarming tale, we hear of pretty little Goldilocks who finds the house of the three bears. She sneaks inside and eats their food, sits in their chairs, and finally falls asleep on the bed of the littlest bear. When the bears return home they find her asleep-she awakens and escapes out the window in terror. The original tale (which actually only dates to 1837) has two possible variations. In the first, the bears find Goldilocks and rip her apart and eat her.

In the second, Goldilocks is actually an old hag who (like the sanitized version) jumps out of a window when the bears wake her up. The story ends by telling us that she either broke her neck in the fall, or was arrested for vagrancy and sent to the” House of Correction.”

5

RUMPELSTILTSKIN This fairy tale is a little different from the others because rather than sanitizing the original, it was modified by the original author to make it more gruesome. In the original tale, Rumpelstiltskin spins straw into gold for a young girl who faces death unless she is able to perform the feat. In return, he asks for her first-born child. She agrees, but when the day comes to hand over the kid, she can’t do it. Rumpelstiltskin tells her that he will let her off the hook if she can guess his name. She overheard him singing his name by a fire and so she guesses it correctly. Rumpelstiltskin, furious, runs away, never to be seen again.

But in the updated version, things are a little messier.

Rumpelstiltskin is so angry that he drives his right foot deep into the ground. He then grabs his left leg and rips himself in half. Needless to say, this kills him.

6

SLEEPING BEAUTY In the original Sleeping Beauty, the lovely princess is put to sleep when she pricks her finger on a spindle. She sleeps for one hundred years when a prince finally arrives, kisses her, and awakens her. They fall in love, marry, and (surprise, surprise) live happily ever after. But alas, the original tale is not so sweet (in fact, you have to read this to believe it). In the original, the young woman is put to sleep because of a prophesy rather than a curse. And it isn’t the kiss of a prince that wakes her up: the king seeing her asleep, and rather fancying having a bit, rapes her. After nine months she gives birth to two children (while she is still asleep). One of the children sucks her finger, which removes the piece of flax that was keeping her asleep. She wakes up to find herself raped and the mother of two kids A burnt child dreads the fire.

— Chinese Proverb

7

SNOW WHITE In the tale of Snow White that we are all familiar with, the queen asks a huntsman to kill her and bring her heart back as proof.

Instead, the huntsman can’t bring himself to do it and returns with the heart of a boar. Now, fortunately, Disney hasn’t done too much damage to this tale, but they did leave out one important original element: in the original tale, the queen actually asks for Snow White’s liver and lungs, which are to be served for dinner that night! Also in the original, Snow White wakes up when she is jostled by the prince’s horse, as he carries her back to his castle, not from a magical kiss. What the prince wanted to do with a dead girl’s body I will leave to your imagination. Oh, in the Grimm version, the tale ends with the queen being forced to dance to death in red-hot iron shoes!

THE LITTLE MERMAID The 1989 version of the Little Mermaid might be better known as “The Big Whopper!” In the Disney version, the film ends with Ariel, the mermaid, being changed into a human so she can marry Eric. They marry in a wonderful wedding attended by humans and merpeople. But, in the very first version by Hans Christian Andersen, the mermaid sees the prince marry a princess and she despairs. She is offered a knife with which to stab the prince to death, but rather than do that, she jumps into the sea and dies by turning to froth. Hans Christian Andersen modified the ending slightly to make it more pleasant. In his new ending, instead of dying when turned to froth, she becomes a “daughter of the air” waiting to go to heaven so, frankly, she is still dead for all intents and purposes.

8

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD The version of this tale that most of us are familiar with ends with Riding Hood being saved by the woodsman who kills the wicked wolf. But, in fact, the original French version (by Charles Perrault) of the tale was not quite so nice.

In this version, the little girl is a well-bred young lady who is given false instructions by the wolf when she asks the way to her grandmothers. Foolishly, Riding Hood takes the advice of the wolf and ends up being eaten. And here the story ends.

There is no woodsman, no grandmother, just a fat wolf and a dead Red Riding Hood. The moral to this story is to not take advice from strangers.

9

THE PIED PIPER In the tale of the Pied Piper, we have a village overrun with rats. A man arrives dressed in clothes of pied (a patchwork of colors) and offers to rid the town of the vermin. The villagers agree to pay a vast sum of money if the piper can do it, and he does. He plays music on his pipe, which draws all the rats out of the town. When he returns for payment, the villagers won’t cough up so the Pied Piper decides to rid the town of children, too! In most modern variants, the piper draws the children to a cave out of the town and when the townsfolk finally agree to pay up, he sends them back. In the darker original, the piper leads the children to a river where they all drown (except a lame boy who couldn’t keep up). Some modern scholars say that there are connotations of pedophilia in this fairy tale.

10

Culled from the book ‘Ultimate top 10 list’

44 / royalty

October 31, 2014

Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade: Ooni Of Ife Became the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni of Ife in 1980, taking the regnal name Olubuse II. Ife is a traditional Yoruba state based in the town of Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. He was crowned on 6 December 1980 in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as by representatives of the Queen of England.

Background Sijuwade was born on 1 January 1930 in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. He worked for three years in his father’s business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune, before attending Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study business management. By the age of 30 he was a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate. In 1963 he became Sales Director of the state-owned National Motor in Lagos.

After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire. He also invested in real estate in his home town of Ile Ife. By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980 he had become a wealthy man.

Sijuwade is a Christian. In November 2009 he attended the annual general meeting of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria accompanied by 17 other traditional rulers. He declared that he was full member of the church, and said all the monarchs who accompanied him would now become members. At his birthday celebration two months later, the Primate of the Anglican

Communion described Sijuwade as “a humble monarch, who has the fear of God at heart”.

Supremacy disputes When Sijuwade became Ooni of Ife in December 1980 he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy between the obas of Yorubaland. In 1967 a crisis had been resolved when Chief Obafemi Awolowo was chosen as the leader of the Yoruba. In 1976 the Governor of Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, had decreed that the Ooni of Ife would be the permanent chairman of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs. Other Obas led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi said the position should rotate.

The dispute calmed down when Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991, but ill will persisted. In January 2009 Sijuwade was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire (the Oyo Empire, which collapsed in 1793). Adeyimi responded by citing “absurdities” in Sijuwade’s statements and saying the Ooni “is not in tune with his own history”. Adeyemi, Permanent Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, was conspicuously absent from a meeting of Yoruba leaders in April 2010.

Towards the end of 2009 a more local dispute between the Ooni, the Awujale of Ijebuland and the Alake of Egbaland was finally resolved.

Sijuwade traced the dispute back to a falling out between Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola during the Nigerian First Republic, which had led to a division between the traditional rulers.

He noted that the traditional rulers were an important unifying force in the country during the illness of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land

Oba Okunade Sijuwade

ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba. The new Oba, Francis Adedoyin, would be under the headship of Sijuwade.

Political activities In July 2009 Sijuwade said he was concerned that Yoruba socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere and the Yoruba Council of Elders were taking partisan positions in politics. In January 2010 he attended a meeting of the Atayese pan-Yoruba group, which issued a call for a truly federal constitution in which the different nationalities in Nigeria would have greater independence in managing their affairs. Celebrating his 80th birthday in January 2010, Sijuwade conferred Chieftainship titles on a number of politicians and their wives, including Imo State governor Ikedi Ohakim, Oyo State governor Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, Niger

When Sijuwade became Ooni of Ife in December 1980 he inherited an ongoing dispute over supremacy between the obas of Yorubaland. In 1967 a crisis had been resolved when Chief Obafemi Awolowo was chosen as the leader of the Yoruba A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

— World Proverb

State governor Babangida Aliyu, Abia State governor Theodore Orji, Senators Jubril Aminu and Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and others.

Guests at the ceremony included former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, president of the Republic of Benin Dr Thomas Boni Yayi and King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene of Kumasi, Ghana. When Peter Obi, controversial governor of Anambra State, was re-elected on 7 February 2010, Sijuwade congratulated him, saying his victory was the will of God. In August 2010 he mediated in the ownership dispute between Oyo and Osun states concerning Ladoke Akintola University, calling a meeting attended by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, governor of Osun State, OtunbaAdebayo AlaoAkala, governor of Oyo State and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education which resulted in an action plan.

Sijuwade and Governor Oyinlola were said to have the power to decide who becomes the next governor of Osun State. In February 2010 Sijuwade and 16 other traditional rulers endorsed Senator Iyiola Omisore as candidate for Osun State governor in the 2011 elections. Later there were allegations that Senator Omisore had fallen out with Sijuwade due to his failure to maintain support for Omisore’s bid to become governor. Omisore denied the allegations, saying that the relationship was cordial and that “Ooni is our king and we should preserve and respect him as well”. In June 2010 Sijuwade and other traditional rulers endorsed the candidature of Fatai Akinade Akinbade for governor.

CULTURE 47

October 31, 2014

E

gungun, generally referred to as ‘Ara Orun’ (ancestors from the underworld), symbolises ancestral worship. It is a festival common among all the tribes that make up Yoruba nation.

There are many types of Egungun though such classification might appear to be a complex problem involving the comprehension of indigenous beliefs.

There are personal Egungun created and named by their founders in consultation with chiefs supervising such exercise.

The other category are the family egungun that belong to a family or in some instances a whole clan.

According to Chief Ajadi Ojedele, the head of the council of chiefs for Egungun in Itoko, Abeokuta, there are rituals any individual who wants to establish egungun must follow.

“First, there are two categories of people that can create egungun. The first category concerns those that were born into the family of egungun worshippers but detached themselves from the family.

“Later after faced with life challenges, are told to go and give costume to Egungun. The prescription, most of the time

by Ifa, is that the person involved should use the ancestral or the family ‘eku’ (costume), or that they should design an entirely different costume, again prescribed after consultation.

“The second category are those whose family has no egungun history but life challenges force into worshipping egungun. In their own case, they have no choice than to design new costume according to the prescription of those vast in divinity.”

An Egungun costume is composed of multiple layers of cloth lappets made from expensive and prestigious textiles, expressing the wealth and status of a family as well as the power of the ancestor. And in some instances contain specific modifications or items. The composition of an Egungun ensemble has shrouded in secrecy as Ojedele refused to disclose the items involved underneath the costume.

The face and hands, must completely seal the masker’s body. Net usually covers the face effectively disguises facial and hand featuresthat might disclose his identity.

To make the costume beautiful, and thus powerful, it contains lappetsecorated with patchwork patterns, braids, sequins, tassels, and amulets. The amulets, according to egungun sources hold medicinal preparations which have spiritual power (ase), providing protection against enemies at a time when the transformed person is vulnerable.

The main protective amulets, however, are on the inside of the costume, not the outside.

An ensemble is repaired and refurbished for use year after year, with layers of new lappets and amulets added to express remembrance and honour.

Through divination, however, an ancestor might request a new costume altogether. In that case, the owner and the patron, the priest of divination, the tailor, the herbalist who prepares the packets of medicines, and the entire lineage collaborate in creating the ensemble.

Depending upon its wealth, a family may own several types of Egungun costumes, which may represent specific or collective ancestors of the lineage.

In many Yorubaland, the annual cere-

Egun at Ota recently, during Gov. Amosun’s assessment tour to the local govt. PHOTO BY GBENGA ADEBOYE

Egungun: In Communion With The Dead Through Festival Egungun festival is celebrated among the Yorubas worldwide. GBENGA ADEBOYE examines the significance of the ceremony. monies in honour of the dead serve as a means of assuring their ancestors a place among the living. It is believed that the ancestors have the responsibility to compel the living to uphold the ethical standards of the past generations of their clan, town or family.

The Egungun is celebrated in festivals, known as Odun’ Egungun’, and in family ritual through the masquerade custom.

The annual event usually lasts for seven days during which different egungun appear from the underworld, ‘igbale’, (groove) and a separated area of the house or sometimes in the bush forbidden to women, to entertain and bring messages of wealth and blessings to the living.

The egungun in different sizes appear and entertain spectators with dance and get rewarded with money collected by their ‘atokun’ (attendant).

The seventh day is usually reserved for the eldest and most senior egungun in the community.

Unlike the junior egungun that entertain with vigorous dance steps and acrobatics, the senior egungun, usually with the deepest guttural voice attesting to their spirit origin bless the community and return to the spirit land.

However, there are some egungun in Yorubaland that are neither seen nor entertained. Their nocturnal appearance usually precede the annual festival.

In Abeokuta, for instance, the egungun is called ‘jenju’, it is revered by all for possessing ‘ase’ that can turn any erring member of the xlan into any object jen-

ju decrees.It comes out, once yearly to bless the land and send warnings to specific members of the community about anything.

In egungun worship family “Alagbaa” (chief priest) presides over ancestral rites.

In matters that deal with whole communities, Egungun priests andinitiates who are trained in ancestral communication, ancestral elevation and funeral rites are assigned to invoke and bring out the ancestors. Through drumming of ‘bata’, and ‘gangan’ accompanied with dance, the Egungun are believed to become possessed of the spirits of the ancestors, as manifested as a single entity.

The Egungun spiritually clean the community by moving from their various grooves to a central prayer centre, ‘Odo Oko’, where they offer blessing and protection to the entire town.

They also remind people of the strengths and weaknesses of the community to encourage behaviour more befitting of their descendants and teach morals.

When this is completed, the Egungun give messages, warnings and blessings to the assembled spectators.

Prominent Egungun in Yorubaland include the Oloolu and Alapansanpa, both of Ibadanland. Elewe of the Ìgbómìnà Yoruba clan, which is common in the towns of Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún, Ìlá Òràngún, and Arandun, is also of particular prominence.

Egungun is also celebrated across the oceans. In Brazil for instance, the main cult of the Egungun is found on the island of Itaparica, in the State of Bahia. Houses

A beggar can never be bankrupt. ― Egyptian proverb

of worship dedicated to the Egungun also exist in other states.

Men do the masking. Women never wear the costume, although they participate in the chorus that sings the oriki (praise poems) and histories of the families.

However, a priestess, Iya Agan, is part of the preparation of rituals in the spirit world thus effectively acting as a man.

Elder women of lower titles also perform invocations, prayers, and offerings. At annual festivals, each of the numerous lineages is given a separate day to perform.

The main delicacy at egungun festivals is ‘akara’ bean cake fried exlusively with palm oil.

In recent past, there have been reports of violence associated with egungun festival. This is condemned by Chief Ojedele who maintain that such actions are usually dealt with at the initiates’ level.

Today, egungun appear at important functions like visit of important dignitaries to entertain. This also is a deviation according to Chief Ojedele. He nonetheless maintained that nothing is wrong if the dignitary has egungun connections.

“The egungun you see at odd times entertaining at functions are on their own.

No alagbaa will sanction that. But for economic reasons, you see egungun at functions. There is usually penalty for that prescribed by local chiefs.”

“That is what brings confusion when rival egungun, sadly because of cash, want to outdo each other.”

“But if the dignitary have egungun connection, that might be an exception.”

46 my town

October 31, 2014

By Igede Mike Enugu Enugu State is a mainland state in southeastern Nigeria. Its capital is Enugu, from which the state - created in 1991 from the old Anambra State - derives its name. The principal cities in the state are Enugu, Agbani, Awgu, Udi, Oji-River, and Nsukka.

Geography Enugu State is one of the states in the eastern part of Nigeria. The state shares borders with Abia State and Imo State to the south, Ebonyi State to the east, Benue State to the northeast, Kogi State to the northwest and Anambra State to the west.

Enugu, the capital city of Enugu State, is approximately 2 1/2 driving hours away from Port Harcourt, where coal shipments exited Nigeria.

Enugu is also located within an hour’s drive from Onitsha, one of the biggest commercial cities in Africa and 2 hours’ drive from Aba, another very large commercial city, both of which are trading centers in Nigeria. The average temperature in this city is cooler to mild (60 degrees Fahrenheit) in its cooler months and gets warmer to hot in itswarmer months (upper 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and very good for outdoor activities with family and friends or just for personal leisure.

Enugu has good soil-land and climatic conditions all year round,sitting at about 223 metres (732 ft) above sea level, and the soil is well drained during its rainy seasons. The mean temperature in Enugu State in the hottest month of February is about 87.16 °F (30.64 °C), while the lowest temperatures occur in the month of November, reaching 60.54 °F (15.86 °C). The lowest rainfall of about 0.16 cubic centimetres (0.0098 cu in) is normal in February, while the highest is about 35.7 cubic centimetres (2.18 cu in) in July.

History The name of State derives from its capital city, Enugu. The word “Enugu” (from Enu Ugwu) means “the top of the hill”.

The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer, Albert Kitson. In his quest for silver, he discovered coal in the Udi Ridge. Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain. As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system.

Enugu acquired township status in 1917 and became strategic to British interests.

Foreign businesses began to move into Enugu, the most notable of which were John Holt, Kingsway Stores, British Bank of West Africa and United Africa Company.

From Enugu the British administration was able to spread its influence over the Southern Province of Nigeria. The colonial past of Enugu is today evidenced by the Georgian building types and meandering narrow roads within the residential area originally reserved for the whites, an area which is today called the Government Reserved Area (GRA).

Old paliamentary building

Enugu: The Coal City From being the capital of the Southern Provinces, Enugu became the capital of the Eastern Region (now divided into nine States), the capital of now defunct Federal Republic of Biafra, thereafter, the capital of East Central State, Anambra State, (old) Enugu State, and now the capital of the present Enugu State through a process of state creation and diffusion of administrative authority.

Politics The State Government and the Local Government are the two levels of government in Enugu State and in all other states of Nigeria. Sullivan Chime is the current executive governor for the whole of Enugu State.

He was elected by the people of Enugu State in April 2007[4] and was sworn into office on May 29, 2007. The governor is above a group of commissioners who he has placed as heads of ministries that oversee various portfolios such as Health and Housing; both the governor and the commissioners form the Executive Council of Enugu State.

Government House, Enugu is where the government of the state is based.

Economy Economically, the state is predominantly rural and agrarian, with a substantial proportion of its working population engaged in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are also important. In the urban areas trading is the dominant occupation, followed by services. A small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities, with the most pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka. The state boasts of a number of markets especially at each of the divisional headquarters, prominent of which is the Ogbete Main

market in the State capital, Enugu. There is also one of the largest grains market east of the Niger, the Orie Orba Market which plays host to most farmers from the North Central States of Benue, Kogi, Nassarawa and Plateau who use the market to dispose their produce for consumers in South-East and South-Southern Nigeria. Every four days, grains and other farm produce are found in large quantities and at highly competitive prices.

Energy Electricity supply is relatively stable in Enugu and its Environs. The Oji River Power Station (which used to supply electricity to all of Eastern Nigeria) is located in Enugu State. With the deregulation of electricity generation in Nigeria, and the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), it is hoped the State Government would assist private investors to negotiate the take over and reactivation of the Oji Power Station.

This is more so with the proximity of the Enugu coal mines to the power station, a driving distance of about 20 minutes.

There are also traces of crude oil in Ugwuoba, in the same Oji-River Local Government area of the state. The state will also negotiate with investors interested in investing in the coal mining in Enugu. The coal industry used to be one of the biggest employer of labour in the state and the state is looking to attract investors in the industry.

Education Every community in Enugu State has at least one Primary/Elementary school and one Secondary school, funded and run by State Government.

There are also large numbers of private nursery, primary and secondary schools in Enugu State.

Nigeria’s first indigenous university,

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

― African Proverb

(University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)), is located in Enugu State. The state also hosts the Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Federal Cooperative College, Oji River (FCCO), Enugu State College of Education Technical, Enugu, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Renaissance University, Ugbawka; Federal Government College Enugu, Federal School of Dental Technology & Therapy College of Immaculate Conception, Enugu; Queen’s School Enugu a Prominent high school for girls in the Eastern region; St. Theresa’s College, Nsukka; Special Science Boys’ Secondary School Agbani, Nkanu West l.g.a; [St. Patrick’s Secondary School], Emene; Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu; Awgu County College, Nenwe; Community Secondary School, Ugbo-Okpala, Ugbo; Corpus Christi College, Achi, [Royal Crown Academy, Nsukka, Enugu State, Enugu]; Our Saviour Institute of Science and Technology, Enugu; and the Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Seat of Wisdom Secondary School Trans Ekulu Enugu.

There are also a host of private computer schools and training centres concentrated in Enugu and Nsukka.

Medicine The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) is located in Enugu State, as is the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital and College of Medicine. In addition to numerous private hospitals and clinics in the State, there are seven District Hospitals at Enugu Urban, Udi, Agbani, Awgu, Ikem, Enugu-Ezike, and Nsukka and at least one health center or cottage hospital in every one of the seventeen Local Government Areas and thirty nine Development Centres in the State.

ROOTS 47

October 31, 2014

Slavery And The Slave Trade In Pre-Colonial Africa

By Akosua Perbi

Introduction Slavery and the Slave Trade have been age old institutions and practices in almost every continent in the world. Orlando Patterson states: There is nothing notably peculiar about the institution of slavery. It has existed from before the dawn of human history right down to the twentieth century, in the most primitive of human societies and in the most civilized.

There is no region on earth that has not at some time harboured the institution. Probably there is no group of people whose ancestors were not at one time slaves or slave holders. Slavery was firmly established in all the great early centres of human civilization (Slavery and Social Death-A Comparative Study, U.S.A. 1982, p. vii).

The earliest known legal documents concerned not the sale of land, houses, animals, boats and such like, but the sale of slaves.

In Mesopotamia for example, the sale of slaves was known from 2300 B.C. (A Slavery in Time and Space, J. Goody, in Asian and African Systems of Slavery, Ed. by J.L. Watson, Berkeley & Los Angeles 1980, p.18).

Scholars cannot agree on the reasons for the rise of slavery. Some believe that the need for labour, especially agriculture gave rise to slavery. Others believe that political reasons gave rise to slavery, and yet others postulate that commerce gave rise to slavery.

The general belief held by Historians and Anthropologists is that slavery was not important when Humankind depended on food gathering, hunting and fishing, i.e. the basic economy in the first stage of human evolution. Goody, however cautions that even among hunters and gatherers there were exceptional instances where slavery occurred, and he cites the example of the North West

coast of America (Goody, Time & Space, p.

26).

From North to South, and from East to West, the African continentbecame intimately connected with slavery both as one of the principal areas in the world where slavery was common, and also as a major source of slaves for ancient civilization, the medieval world and all the continents of the modern period. The greatest African community in the Diaspora is believed to be in Brazil with a population of about 200 million, followed by the Caribbean and the U.S.A. In North Africa slavery was practiced in the Sahara desert and its southern border lands, as well as in the region of modern Western Sahara, Morocco and Algeria among the Berbers. In the Central Sahara and in the sub desert areas further south, the Tuaregs practiced slavery. In North East Africa, the Ethiopians, Somalis, Egyptians and the people of the Sudan were all familiar with the institution of slavery. In West Africa slavery was known among many of the states and societies. For example among the Wolof and Serer of Senegambia, the Mende and Temne of Sierra Leone, the Vai of Liberia and Sierra Leone, and virtually all the states and societies in Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Mali, Nigeria etc. In Central Africa slavery was practiced in much of Bantu Africa for example among the Duala of Cameroon; the Bakongo, Bapende Luba and Lunda of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Congo and part of Angola, and the Lozi of Zambia. In East Africa the Buganda state, the Nyamwezi and the Chagga peoples practiced slavery. Along the coast, the Mrima Arabs, Omani Arabs and the Sawahilis practiced slavery. In Southern Africa the Cokwe of Angola, the Sena of Mozambique and the Ngoni people scattered across East, Central and Southern Africa were all familiar with the institution of slavery.

Two dimensions to Slavery and the Slave Trade There were two dimensions to slavery

and the slave trade in pre-colonial Africa, an external and internal dimension. The external dimension involved trade across the Sahara, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Arabic and Indian Ocean worlds. This trade began in ancient times and continued into the modern period. Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome used African slaves. Medieval Europe and the Arabic and Islamic world, and the continent of Asia made use of African slaves. On the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean African slaves could be found working with slaves from Asia Minor, Greece, the Balkans, Eastern and Northern Europe.

In the early modern period the picture was very much the same. What I find interesting in the ancient, medieval and early modern period is the existence of not only black and white slaves working together but also the prevalence of three main forms of labour not limited to colour, i.e. slave labour, indentured labour and serfdom.

In 1453 the Ottoman capture of Constantinople halted the flow of white slaves from the Black Sea region and the Balkans. Mediterranean Europe was thus cut off from one of its traditional source of slaves.

Mediterranean Europe turned completely to Africa for slave labour (A History of World Societies, 3rd Ed., Mckay, Hill & Bucklar, U.S.A. 1992, p. 596).

The last phase of the external trade was that which involved the Oriental, Islamic and Atlantic worlds during the 15th to the 19th centuries. Suzanne Miers relates that the function of slavery in the Islamic world was both social and economic, and that the market was selective and sophisticated. The most highly prized were not Africans but the white slaves usually Circassian or Georgian girls. They were wanted as concubines in Harems as far apart as Zanzibar and Morocco in Africa, but they were expensive and the numbers small. In Arabia, Ethiopian men cost more than the black men of Africa because they were considered more refined and intelligent and less suited to heavy work.

The desert nomads and the employers of heavy labour, however, wanted hardy blacks.

There was a market in Arabia for black slaves from as far afield as modern Malawi in Africa (Britain and the Ending of the Slave trade, S. Miers, London 1975, p. 56-58).

The internal trade was conducted within the African continent itself.

It involved trade between North Africa and West Africa on the one hand and East, Central and Southern Africa on the other hand. My country Ghana, formerly called the Gold Coast became important in the trade with other West African states and with North Africa because of its richness in gold. Daaku relates that the Akan of Ghana were drawn into the main stream of developments in the trade across the Sahara to North Africa because the Offin and the Pra river basins where they were concentrated in large numbers were rich in gold (Trade and Politics on the Gold Coast 1600-1720, K.Y. Daaku, Great Britain 1970, p. 3).

Archaeological evidence indicates that the ancient gold mining areas in Ghana were at Jinjini and Chemraso in modern Dormaa Ahenkro; Nsuhunu, Banda Nkwanta, Jenikrom, Awusu and Atuna in the modern Takyiman area and a number of Adanse villages and towns such as Kenyasi, Jameskrom and Jeda (Rediscovering Ghana=s Past, J. Anquandah, Great Britain, 1982, p.41).

Bono Manso and Begho in modern Brong Ahafo region became important centres for

A bad corn promise is better than a good lawsuit.

— Dominican proverb

this trade from 1000 to 1750 A.D. The Mande Dyula were the professional merchants in this trade. The West African forest region supplied gold, kola nuts, ivory and slaves in this trade. Ghana though in the forest region was known to have supplied gold, kola nuts and ivory. The West African savannah region provided millet, sorghum, wheat, livestock, gum, shea butter, ivory, ostrich feathers, cloth, gold and slaves. The Sahara contributed salt, copper, tobacco and dates.

From Europe and the Muslim world came textiles and garments made from wool, silk, brocade, velvet or satin; calicoes, metals such as brass, copper, silver, tin and lead.

Other goods from the Mediterranean world were books, writing paper, cowries, tea, coffee, sugar, spices, jewellery, perfumes, bracelets, mirrors, carpets, beads etc. Ghana obtained slaves through this trade from the 1st to the 16th centuries A.D. All the West African states along the Atlantic coast were linked by a southern trade route covering modern Senegal to modern Nigeria. Ghana, again because of its wealth in gold, exchanged gold for slaves, beads, cotton, cloth and palm oil from the Benin state in modern Nigeria.

From Dahomey and Ivory Coast, Ghana exchanged gold for the famous quaqua cloth.

Shama on the Ghana coast was the entry point of trade.

When the first Europeans i.e. the Portuguese set foot on the shores of Ghana in 1471, they found in existence a brisk trade in slaves and other goods between Ghana and its coastal neighbours, it took part in the trade and for 100 years was the only European country trading directly with Ghana and its coastal neighbours. In 1479 Eustache de la Fosse stated that he bought slaves from the Grain Coast for sale at Shama. Pacheco Pereira reported that because the kingdom of Benin in modern Nigeria was usually at war with its neighbours it possessed many captives. The slaves were brought to Ghana and exchanged for gold (Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, D. Pacheco Pereira, translated and edited by G.H.T. Kimble, London 1937, p. 126).

In addition to slaves the Portuguese brought cotton cloths, panther skins, palm oil and some blue shells with red stripes called coris from Benin to exchange for gold.

The major means by which slaves were acquired in Africa There were five major means by which slaves were acquired in Africa for both internal use and external demand.

These were warfare, market supply, raiding and kidnapping, tribute and pawning.

Prisoners of war were enslaved and they usually constituted the largest proportion of the total slave output. Warfare was rife among the savannah and forest states of West, East, Central and Southern Africa.

The jihads of the 19th century, waged from Senegambia in the west to the Red Sea in the east resulted in the enslavement of thousands of people.

Many markets were established along the length and breadth of the continent and members of royalty as well as free individuals could go to any of these markets to purchase slaves. The famous markets were those established along the caravan routes.

In North and West Africa all the markets along the trans-Saharan routes were important suppliers of slaves. In West Africa some of the popular markets were Salaga, Yendi, Bole and Wa in Ghana; Bonduku and Buna in Ivory Coast, and Ouagadougou in modern Burkina Faso. In the North Eastern part of the continent Egypt and the Sudan had slave markets.

flavour WEEKEND

Miss Big World 2014: Queen Ochefije Gets Grand Prize

By Patience Ivie Ihejirika, Abuja

Skies Vision Communications ltd, promoter of Miss Big World, presented a grand prize to the winner of Miss Big World 2014, Queen Ochefije Ineke, last weekend in Abuja The 2014 edition of project, being the 8th edition, ended with glamour and colours as the winner went home with a brand new car Chairman/CEO, Edi-Jen Group Nig Ltd. patron of Life Int’l Mission The CEO of Skies Vision Foundation, Chief Dr Benjamin Omale (JP), presenting the grand prize Communication, Chief Dr to the winner of Miss Big World 2014, Queen Ochefije Ineke Olubunmi Usim-Wilson, said: "Our aim is to make positive projects. of nature; to portray Nigeria "Part of our objectives are: as a socially responsible the special size of ladies endowed with natural to improve on the quality country where freedom of paraphernalia of beauty to of existing pageants and association and expression be special in the hearts of to show case the elegance thrives." in big, bold and beautiful people."

Dr Usim-Wilson revealed She said the pageantry ladies in extra capacities in that this year's event is was, therefore, set to provide leadership and to change showcased to submerge a platform were ladies who from negative to positive, the illusions of fear and are endowed with extra public perception of 'big' challenges of insecurity natural body structures in ladies; to contribute to the presently threatening the spirit and in brain, come to development of culture and social environment tourism industry in Nigeria compete with their likes.

She said, "Miss Big World, Dr Usim-Wilson further and world in general; to Nigeria Beauty Pageant stated that Miss Big World give big and beautiful ladies is surely too big, like our Nigeria Beauty Pageant a sense of belonging by nation, to succumb to gives the plus -size ladies recognising their natural insurgency. That is why the opportunity to showcase endowments; to give every we created an atmosphere their God-given talent big lady an opportunity with big and elegant ladies, and to provide support in to express themselves; to whose beauty overwhelm building and developing portray big ladies all over and calm the atmosphere of a better society through the world as beautiful works insecurity."

October 31, 2014

KSA, Others To Thrill At Havana Classic

By Aderibigbe Tolulope, Abuja

Penultimate Saturday, Dolce Entertainment Ltd, headed by Hon. Ejiro Okpiwho, yet again put together a prestigious and well attended beauty contest at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, which produced the Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja 2014 in the person of Okwuazu Violet, who represented Life Camp.

The star-studded event which paraded Nigerian musical, fashion and comedy stars such as MC Galaxy, Big Mouth (master of ceremony), etc, and also Nollywood star actress, Empress Njanma (mistress of ceremony), exMBGN, Isabella Ayuk (judge of the event) and a host of ex- and incumbent beauty queens, pageant organisers, politicians, CEOs of top/corporate brands, fashionistas, top runway models and OAPs and many more.

The stunning Miss Okwuazu Violet beat 33 other beautiful delegates in what seemed to be a very tight contest to emerge as the 14th Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja as she was presented a brand new Jaquar car and N1million.

The runner-up went away with lots of exquisite prizes.

The winner, Okwuazu will represent Nigeria at the All Africa Beauty Pageant in South Africa. The judges of the night include actress Empress Njamah, exMBGN Miss Isabella Ayuk, Dr. Adejo Suleman, MD/CEO Messengers of Peace Foundation, Miss Rose Julius Ejiro, and Dolce Entertainment Ltd. Barr. Emman Ukera.

The top 5 in the contest: Miss Life Camp (winner), Miss Durumi (1st runner-up), Miss Asokoro (2nd runnerup), Miss Bwari (MBGA Face of Dolce), Miss Kado (MBGA 2014 Ambassador), Miss Kwali (MBGA Model of the Year).

Miss Violet being crowned MBGA 2014

When Love Happens Breaks 30 Days In Atlanta' Premieres Today Record First Weekend In Cinemas By SAMUEL ABULUDE, 30 Days In Atlanta

Beverly Osu, Owumi Ugbeye, Tayo Sobola, Commend Producers Of Stolen Lives

Lagos

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, Abuja

By SOLOMON NDA-ISAIAH, Abuja

Stolen Lives, the new movie Beverly from Nelson Jombo and I had a nice time working Emmanuel Williams has with every member of cast received accolade from the and crew.”

“I played the role of members of cast of the movie. They applauded the Jumoke, Bukky Wright and producers for a job well Kunle Coker’s daughter. I was a good daughter and done.

Speaking on her role I fell in love with a guy, in the movie and her played by Alex Ekubo. I later experience on the set of turned out to be a bad girl Stolen lives Owumi Ugbeye due to peer pressure and said “my experience on my boyfriend. My character set was nice, was a fun was a flashy girl, she could experience. I played the lead do anything for love and character Amarachi. People she lived a fast life” Beverly should expect an honest Osu said.

According to Tayo Sobola, performance, hopefully a real depiction of the “my experience on set was struggles a lot of youths fine, it was the normal have to go through in their location lifestyle and it was daily lives. On the whole, really very cool.

When Love Happens, the movie featuring Desmond Elliot, Weruche Opia, Gideon Okeke, OC Ukeje, Bukky Wright, Beverly Naya, Keppy Ekpeyoung Bassey, Shaffy Bello and Helen Paul has broken box office records in its first weekend in cinemas.

The movie which opened in cinemas across the country on Friday October 24 broke box office figures, emerged the most viewed movie and became a crowd favorite in cinemas over the weekend.

The movie was able to make an impressive showing in its first weekend in cinemas, making it the number one movie in cinemas ahead of other movies over the weekend.

According to one of the

producers of the movie Moses Babatope “our outing in cinemas this weekend was really impressive.

It was like movie lovers had been waiting for us to come to the cinemas.

When Love Happens is a part representation of the richness and diversity in our industry. The movie speaks to the tenderness and warmth of our culture for a widening audience base and a different cinematic experience to be expected from Nigeria.”

Speaking further on the performance of the movie in cinemas, Moses Babatope said “We felt so much love at the reception the movie got in cinemas. We are urging all those who have not seen the movie to go and see it. I promise that it would not be a wasted effort.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Award winning movie at the recently concluded Best Of Nollywood BON Awards 2014 gets premiered on Friday, October 31, 2014.

The movie, '30 Days In Atlanta' is described by its producer, AY as a 'Nollywood Meets Hollywood movie with a Ghollywood swag'. The hilarious movie which has gotten nominations from the upcoming GIAMA has a rich cast of Hollywood divas- Vivicia A. Fox, Lynn Whitfield, Nollywood greats- Mercy Johnson, Ramsey Noah, Desmond Elliot Rachel Oniga and Ada Ameh.

Ghollywood ambassadors that starred in the movie include Michel Majid and Juliet Ibrahim.

― African Proverb

produced by comedian/ entrepreneur Ayo Makun popular known as AY is a movie that cuts across and is from the adventure of a mischievious character, Akpos. The movie which has caused a buzz in the film industry is not lacking in accolades- clinching the Best Comedy Movie in BON awards and has also been nominated in different categories in GIAMA holding in United States.

AY

FRIDAY SPECIAL/BOOKS & ARTS 49

October 31, 2014

With Chikelu Chinelo & Onukogu Kanayo Jubal In his fourth publication, Diverse But Not Broken: Wake Up Calls For Nigeria, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher examines the pervading culture of our society, Nigeria.

What should be and what should not be.

As the ‘what should be’ had been turned inside out while its reverse takes center stage.

The author broaches the evils of certain culture practices in the nation that has reduced Nigeria to its current state, an eagle with broken wings. Likewise, he expands on the shackled cultures that would have made a difference.

Literaryicon, Chinua Achebe said, the problem with Nigeria is her leaders or lack thereof. The author emphasizes, the Nigerian leadership culture, wallowing inlies and grand corruption. These endemic qualities ensure that leaders, no matter how honest or will powered, cannot change that culture. Since those mired in that culture are more dominant than the ideologies of the leader.

Oncehe is successfully seated at the Aso Rock, the reader inherits the Neopatrimonial crowd that ensured his rigged ascent. The leader’s fear of penchants of office tenants, those who manage to outlast governments; and the undecided voters is less than the pacification of his excessive lovers and the opposition prepared to oust him at all means.

These excessive lovers must be appeased lest they turn into excessive haters. To avoid this pendulumic swing of votes, leadership turns a blind eye on their antics; of amassing wealth, turning personal celebration into state affairs, collecting traditional titles and taking medical jaunts abroad. All these further widen the gap between the supposedly poor electorates.

It hardens the capillaries of the haves and embitters the hopeless have-nots.

On the lower rungs of power, there is no exception. The writer calls attention to developments in Benue community sometime ago, the creation of ten traditional chiefs, where there was none before. According to him, there was no need to create more liability for Benue people, for a few who play advisory roles to the government. This capacity the Tor Tiv as well as the existing wards represent.

The new bill shows contempt to the 1999 constitution, by seeking to confer powers on traditional chiefs. It is a return to feudalism where some traditional leaders believe they have the divine rights to rule and would do anything to hold power.

Also, it is retrogressive to the efforts of its ancestors who knew better to install the Tor Tiv. They had with care ensured that any Tiv would inherit the title. Thus at the death of the Tor Tiv, his children are the least likely to inherit.

Theicy fingers of the free yet damaging culture trickles down to the education system. Among politics being played in higher institutions, the endemic culture of cultism, drug addiction, fallen standards, ill-facilitation, indigenization of admissions and strikes has devalued

A Poet For The Streets

Book Review: Diverse But Not Broken...

Wake Up Calls For Nigeria education. Unknown to leadership its lofty ideals of meeting 2015 MDGs and the 20.2020 vision is unrealistic, owing to the dearth of intellectuals and lack of research in universities.

Further crippling progress is the western ideologies that African needs more scientiststhan arts graduates. The Intellectual whom the author describes as one who refuses to be confined to his designated specialization, foliage elsewhere and everywhere. This is contrary to the academic, a specialist who has disciplined his curiosity to operate largely within designated area. Intellectuals are the bearers of change in a society. Through their canvass, books, ideas, music and humane outlook, they reflect to the society, truths it fails to see or heed. They foresee the self destruction it’s racing towards. In similar manner of individuals like Galileo, Socrates, Aquinas, John Locke, Descartes, Leonardo DaVinci, Picasso, Van Gogh did, Fela. Problems exist in society like ours where the intellectuals distance themselves from national discourses today.

Hagherends the 287 pages of lectures, essays and tribute collection with

poeticreminisces of his intellectual residence, Canada. The poems rich in imagery, allusion, rhetoric, personification, euphemism, irony and satire explore the plundereddepths of Dawson city, the true descendants of Canada, the Inuits and the Yukon. It also champions the minority in Canada, and the simplicity lost in the vast diplomatic games of leaders and the led.

The author’s tone conveys his emotions, from unpleasant awe and despair of leadership culture, to pity for Nigeria’s Failed Code of Shame. The tone veered to outrage in the Chieftaincy Institution and Constitutionality in Nigeria, then advocatory to Artists as Intellectuals in the society, and admiration in his tribute to Achebe.

The reader is swept along with tides of emotion evoked. Few exceptions appear intechnical terms and couched words in chapter 13, and the author’s prolonged citations to prove a point.

Itis with pride and shame that we must embrace the lessons, challenges and criticism bound in this book and work as leaders and followers to uproot the harmful cultures that is yet to break Nigeria.

BOOKS FrOm BACK Then

No Longer At Ease – Chinua Achebe, 1960 In this sequel to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Obi Okonkwo leaves Umofia Village for a British education and then returns to take a job in the colonial civil service. However, he

struggles to adapt to a Western lifestyle. When he falls in love with Clara, an osu, he realises that despite embracing Christianity, the customs and beliefs of his people are deep-rooted.

He gradually becomes drawn into the ways of the first-generation Nigerian civil servant and, unfortunately, gets sucked in – with accompanying consequences.

Title Waiting for Sanity Author Joe Dudun Genre Poetry Year Published 2014 (July) For someone who is not a huge fan of poetry, because of its in-between the line meanings and very shaded interpretations, Dudun’s work is so easy to understand and get a grip on. Perhaps, the gloassary helped out somewhat, but as someone who spent almost a decade in Itsekiri land (Sapele), much of his meaning was quite easy to relate with.

The 35 poems are divided into three sections – Inspired, Placed and Waiting. Apart from the opening poem, First Song which is obviously dedicated to the ultimate creator, the remaining poems in the collection (written over a period of three decades) are dedicated to his parents, brothers, secondary school classmates and principal, university mentors and schoolmates as well as socio-cultural and political inspirers (local and international) who basically represent the vision of the desired change.

Waiting for Sanity is the product of social observation; the work of one who reflects on his environment via his own experiences.

In this witty workwhich, of course, is good enough for the streets, Dudun shows that being an academic does not take one above the realm of the normal; a learned man can still write for the streets, so to speak.

Dudun begins his feast of observations like a true African, paying homage to the traditions and customs of his people, acknowledging the fact that he is a man with roots which should be respected, with poems like Ogheyegba, Umale-okun, Umale, Kpomitsiale and Ereyon.

Dudun penned a number of street-worthy poems; he even had one for Maitama, Olibiri, Jos, Oworonshoki, London, Ado Ekiti, Yenagoa anda number of other places.

His social consciousness was aptly captured in the poems, Daybreak, Fuel Hike, Hopeless and the pick of the pack, Waiting for Sanity – a song about the mad-house called Lagos. He even spared a few loving thoughts for one of Nigeria’s greatest sporting talents, Nwankwo Kanu in the poem Kanu and another for the national conference, Confab, which he reported extensively on for LEADERSHIP Newspapers, for as long as it lasted.

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October 31, 2014

“In all spheres of life, Nigeria is worse off today than it was in 1999, when the PDP first assumed office” — John Oyegun, APC national chairman, October 29th, 2014

ARE YOU BETTER OFF THAN BEFORE jONATHAN? INDIces

Pre-JoNathaN

JoNathaN era

Per capital income Inflation Poverty rate Sovereign Wealth Fund NSE market value Food import bill Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Life expectancy Crude oil production Local Content Nigerian-owned crude oil transportation tankers NPDC exploration and production Rail passengers National Industrial Revolution Plan National Aviation Master Plan and Road Map Motorable Federal Roads Phone lines Airport infrastructure Dry season farming Fertiliser access

$1091 15% 62.2% Non-existence N9.92 trillion (2009) Over N1.4 trillion $5 billion 47 years (2009) 700,000bpd (2009) No indigenous terminalling facility Less than 60

$2800 8% 33.1% (World Bank) $1.4bn N13.23 trillion (2013) Less than N700bn $8 billion in 2013 alone 52.11 years (2013) 2.5 million bpd Now attained 400 and counting

Nil Less than 1 million Nil Nil

130,000 bpday Nearly 5 million On course Developed, being implemented

4,500km out of 35,000km 400,000 (1999) 60 million (2010) Poor, obsolete Nil 20%

25,000km 120 million Remodelled, renovated Revolutionary Nearly 100%

Cement

Net importer

Net exporter

• • • • • •

In sports, Nigeria has never had it so good. In 2013, the Super Eagles won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 19 years.

Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons, are the 2014 winners of the African Women Championship.

This is the first time an African country is holding the two titles simultaneously.

The Golden Eaglets set a world record by winning the U-17 World Cup for the 4th time last year.

Nigeria placed 1st at the 2012 Senior African Athletics Championship in Port Novo with 10 Gold, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze medals.

Nigeria won two medals at the 2013 World Athletics Championship after not winning anything since 2000.

NIgerIaNs, beware of those who DoN’t have resPect for harD facts!

SIGNED BY: THE PDP RESURGENT GROUP & THE JOINT COUNCIL AGAINST FALSEHOOD

October 31, 2014

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October 31, 2014

October 31, 2014

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56 FRIDAY analysis

Jonathan

October 31, 2014

Sambo

2015: Fate Of Sambo Unknown As Jonathan Picks PDP Forms

As President Goodluck Jonathan officially kicked off his 2015 re-election process by obtaining his forms from the PDP yesterday, Adesuwa Tsan writes that the vice president, Namadi Sambo, must now struggle to keep his place as his home state, Kaduna, remains divided on his candidacy.

I

t is no longer news that some influential northern power blocs within the ruling PDP are working seriously on ensuring that the vice president, Arch. Namadi Sambo, is removed from the joint ticket of the party ahead of the 2015 presidential election.

Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa State and Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina State top the list of possible replacement.

Governor Shema’s profile in the NorthWest has been gaining a steady rise while Governor Lamido, on the other hand, is seen as a political son of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has not hidden it that he has an interest in him, not just for the VP slot, but for the presidency.

Sambo’s present situation is fuelled by the argument that his electoral value in his Kaduna State base has continued to diminish at an alarming rate, a situation which they believe could adversely affect the party’s electoral fortune in the zone in 2015.

Political analysts have said in comparison with Shema, Sambo had not performed up to standard considering that in Katsina State, local government council elections were won by the PDP, thus securing it as a PDP state even though General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who is highly revered by people in the state, belongs to the All Progressives Congress (APC). They say on the contrary, Sambo has been losing consistently in areas under his watch and could not deliver in Kaduna when the state held its council elections in November last

year when the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) won even his Kaduna North local government chairmanship and councillorship positions.

Waiting on President Jonathan The national leadership of the PDP has said Jonathan will be the deciding factor of Sambo’s fate. PDP’s national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, explained: “The president is yet to communicate his acceptance of the endorsement to the party and the nation. We should wait for the president to announce his running mate instead of jumping the gun. I believe the incumbent vice president enjoys the confidence of the president.”

Arguments against Sambo Only two days ago, a political group in the state advised President Goodluck Jonathan to listen to wise course by dropping Vice President Namadi Sambo as his runing mate ahead of the February 2015 elections.

Speaking under the umbrella body of Southern Kaduna Volunteers for Good Governance (SKBGG),the group described Sambo as “political liabilities” to the president’s re-election.

This is just one among the many voices of opposition to the vice president with the most recent been that of the dethroned Emir of Gwandu, Major Mustapha Jokolo (rtd), who told President Jonathan that his vice is a political liability with no electoral value.

This has elicited a lot of arguments, for

and against Sambo as there are groups and individuals too, like that led by elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, the Northern Elders Forum, who believe he still has what it takes to deliver the north to PDP in 2015.

SKBGG said, “Sambo may have nice personal qualities, but he is an irretrievably failed politician who has relied mainly on fate to reach his present position.”

“He lacks the political skills and personal charisma to harness his present job into good political fortunes for his party, the PDP. He surrounds himself with persons of opaque characters and is totally removed from the main swath of northern electorates, said the group.

To this end, the group called on President Jonthan to heed to Jokolo’s advice due to the fact that Sambo has lost every election in his polling polling booth since he became number 2 citizen in 2010.

They argued that the rebellion by some northern governors against Jonathan is largely because Sambo is deficit in respect and clout to forge their unity the same way that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar did under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“In Southern Kaduna, which Sambo virtually neglected us when he was governor, his name stirs negative passion.

For him to be fielded again as Jonathan’s running mate come 2015, is to finally push the area to the warm embrace of the fast encroaching APC. “We want to make it clear that Southern Kaduna Volunteers for Good Governance is not campaigning for anybody. We are just stating the fact, as concerns indigenes of Kaduna state and Nigerians,” the group added.

Sambo Is Secure-Supporters Elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai, who leads the pro-Jonathan Northern Elders

A good name is better than riches.

Council (NEC), has risen to the defence of the vice president following his bashing by Jokolo, saying he is a “nuisance”.

Jokolo, a former aide-de-camp to General Muhammadu Buhari, had described VicePresident Namadi Sambo as a political liability to President Jonathan, saying he factionised NEC with Yakassai at the helm to protect his interest. He also asked President Jonathan to consider picking another vice presidential candidate to replace Sambo during the 2015 presidential election, saying he is a political liability who is not capable of delivering the North to Jonathan.

Yakassai replied, “It is quite obvious that Jokolo can only add nuisance value to national discourse since he has chosen the easier road to cheap popularity by rumbling incoherently to the press. For the sake of posterity, it is important that we set the record straight. The Northern Elders Council, as is contained in our Mission Statement, is our own creation aimed at fostering national unity and peaceful coexistence amongst Nigerians.

“Our membership is spread across all the three geo-political zones in the North.

We have, in our fold, tested politicians, technocrats and successful entrepreneurs who are not only patriots, but see Nigeria from the perspective of ‘One for All, All for One.’ Our decision to come together is in pursuit of our fundamental human rights as citizens to form and belong to legitimate associations.”

Similarly, Arewa chieftain and former commissioner for Information in Kaduna State, Alhaji Rabiu Bako, also rose to the defence of Sambo. Bako, an executive council member of the Northern Elders Council (NEC), said: “I won’t have reacted to this statement coming from Mustapha Jokolo but for the fact that his outburst is too timely towards rubbishing the good image of Sambo even when the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, acknowledged to the whole world the attributes and qualities of the Vice President to run with President Jonathan in 2015 general elections.”

He added: “I want to believe that Jokolo is hiding under his present predicament to drum support for somebody else in the political firmament. I am not too surprised because we know where he is coming from and where he is going. We want to know when has Jokolo become spokesman for Kaduna people to the extent of advising the President to do away with Sambo politically?

“This type of advice coming from a traditional ruler is not only dehumanising, but a disservice not only to the North where Sambo represents politically, but to the entire country where he (Sambo) is the No. 2 citizen. It is advisable that Jokolo should keep quiet and remain where he is.

“My joy is that President Jonathan has not in any way denied or isolated Sambo as his running mate. “I can say without fear of contradiction that President Jonathan has on many occasions left the country in the hand of his deputy while on overseas trips due to the confidence he has in Sambo.

“From the foregoing, it cannot be said that Jonathan running with Sambo in 2015 would amount to political suicide as claimed

by Jokolo. So, the deposed Emir of Gwandu should once again keep quiet because his seemingly political advice to Jonathan holds no water as well as irrelevant.”

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE 57

October 31, 2014

Ustaz Abubakr Siddeeq Muhammad Focus On Faith 08076760011 (sms only) www.abubakrsiddeeq.com, email: deedat@gmail.com

I

n the area of pilgrim enlightenment programmes, there were a lot of them in the run up to the 2014 airlift. State agencies, and boards as well as private Hajj operators made pilgrims take part in Hajj induction courses across the country. These interactions are necessary because through them the pilgrims are able to learn how to perform this once-in-a-lifetime ritual. The standard we set when we introduced Hajj induction course in Nigeria during the late nineties, was to use scale models of the major landmarks in the holy territories in teaching intending pilgrims how to perform the Hajj - the Ka’bah, Hajar Alaswad (Black Stone), Maqaam (Station) of Ibrahim, Hijr Ismaa’eel, etc.

Praise is due to Allah, this ‘innovation’ that we brought about, of explaining the Hajj ritual by the use of scale models has gained currency in all state pilgrims’ boards and agencies in Nigeria, to the extent that permanent structures are erected in many Hajj offices and camps for the education of intending pilgrims.

The induction course is not only about teaching intending pilgrims theoretical or practical aspects of Hajj.

It is also to remind them on benign modes of behaviour so as to project a good image of Nigeria while in the holy land. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should have some interest in this area. Countries with larger Hajj contingents than Nigeria have shown their ability in better management of pilgrims, orderliness in movement, and coordinated logistics during the pilgrimage. Their pilgrims are calm, will line up to board buses, and are obedient to leaders of the groups. Some Nigerian pilgrims have a lot to learn in decorum and discipline in how they should conduct themselves in public especially during Hajj, not the least those who are too proud to be in a queue.

Another benefit of the induction course is to sensitise the pilgrims on health issues, as Hajj means movement of large number of people from one place to another, using common facilities and conveniences. With the threat of Ebola, sensitisation on how pilgrims should protect themselves against the disease became necessary.

The best place to do that was the induction course venue. In our case, the usual two-day course was held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, where our pilgrims received a cocktail of presentations, (practicals and theory) on Hajj as well as ‘Vital Health Guidelines for All Pilgrims During 2014 Hajj’ by Dr. Ibrahim Kana, Commissioner representing the Federal Ministry of Health on the NAHCON Board. Coming from a medical practitioner well-experienced in handling medical issues affecting Nigerian pilgrims, Dr. Kana’s lecture was quite enlightening and

Dr. Ibrahim Kana, Commissioner representing the Federal Ministry of Health on the NAHCON Board

Hajj 2014 Operations (2) informative. In my company’s 10 years of organising Hajj induction courses for intending pilgrims, Dr. Kana was one of the best resource persons we have got, and even our pilgrims attested to that.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) was represented by the Head of Tour Operators’ Unit, Alhaji Alidu Shutti who, during his brief remarks, expressed confidence in what we are doing, the standard we have set, and the Commission’s desire in seeing more quality service delivery to pilgrims by Hajj operators.

Many intending pilgrims wrongly assume that Hajj induction course is for those who do not know how to

The way we process information differs and we have to recognise that difference if we are to be seen to be tolerant and forbearing; a quality much desired in a pilgrim and pilgrim guide

perform the ritual. Yes, participants are taught how to perform an acceptable Hajj during such meeting, but that is also an avenue where pilgrims get to recognise each other even before the commencement of the trip, which is part of Hajj, imparting knowledge, share experiences and form business alliances because sanction is given to pilgrim to engage in trade. Moreover, it is in meetings like that of the induction course that Hajj organisers pass important information on the package to pilgrims. It is sad to hear pilgrims asking you questions on issues that have been explained at the induction course which, obviously, they failed to attend.

During the early days of Zulhijjah, a time in which pilgrims leave Madeenah for Makkah in preparation for going out to Minaa on the 8th, a dearth of buses was experienced in Madeenah.

There were too many pilgrims and a limited number of buses. This was not unconnected to the increase of Hajj flights into Madeenah, and thus having more pilgrims stationed in Madeenah than in Makkah before the actual days of Hajj (8th to 12th/13th Zulhijjah). In the past, the population of pilgrims in Makkah was more than that of Madeenah during this period.

A thief passes for a gentleman when stealing has made him rich. ― German proverb

But the scale turned the other way when the Saudi authorities introduced more landing slots for Hajj flights into Madeenah.

These extra slots created the problem we saw this year, where transporting pilgrims out of Madeenah led to the scarcity of buses. Many pilgrims were stranded for days. They checked out of their places of accommodation in Madeenah, and waited for buses that were virtually not available to convey them to Makkah. In fact, some pilgrims were so late that they finished the tawaaf of Umrah on the day of ‘Arafah and had to rush from Makkah to ‘Arafah directly, upon missing the first stay in Minaa.

This situation, actually, did not mean that there were no buses. The buses were either on their way to drop pilgrims in Makkah, a journey of about 13 hours (to and fro), or that the Bus Syndicate office held some other buses in readiness for transportation of pilgrims to Minaa starting from the 7th of Zulhijjah.

The Saudi Hajj Ministry had to intervene by an edict which stipulated that pilgrims must be conveyed out of Madeenah by all means necessary.

Bus companies, therefore, used all buses available, including VIP buses on special contract for private Hajj groups, to transport pilgrims to Makkah. It took us quite sometime to secure the four VIP buses for our group, because, despite our subsisting contract, the bus company was to give only two buses for our journey to Makkah.

This confusion caused a two-hour delay of our departure for Makkah.

There were many pilgrims from other groups that were stranded for days in Madeenah. In short, as I earlier mentioned, even on the 8th of Zulhijjah when pilgrims are to leave for Minaa, many stranded hajjis were still in Madeenah.

Two things could happen as a result of this, with respect to the pilgrim; depending on who handled the trip.

He could begin to distrust his operator and in the worst case, insult him and impugn on his integrity. The second possibility is that he would remain calm and realize what was happening had nothing to do with his agent who is as frustrated as the pilgrims by the development. What often makes the big difference is information dissemination.

If information is passed clearly, honestly and timely, only a few people would still react negatively to it. Among those who receive the information you will always find that small group of people. They are looked upon by the rest as being unreasonable. This is not necessarily so. The way we process information differs and we have to recognise that difference if we are to be seen to be tolerant and forbearing; a quality much desired in a pilgrim and pilgrim guide.

58 article

October 31, 2014

Emefiele’s Move To Connect Finance To Development

By Chinedu Moghalu

It is clear to see that Mr. Godwin Emefiele has demonstrated preparedness for his current position as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria than what analysts may have acknowledged.

During his confirmation-hearing before the Senate, Mr. Emefiele said his regime at the CBN will make banking count for development. Since assumption of office, he has made concrete policy commitments to back his assertion that finance should have strong connections to development. One can safely expect that more actions in this regard will follow in the course of his time in office.

Mr. Emefiele’s position has long been validated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as the United Nations at various times and through various pronouncements and declarations. Since 2007, long before the financial and economic crisis, the ILO has maintained its position regarding the role of central banks in controlling inflation and promoting job creation. The point is, despite precarious levels of unemployment and underemployment in the developing world, many central banks in those regions have not seriously considered employment creation as part of their mandate. Instead, they have narrowly interpreted monetary policy to mean just stemming the tide of inflation through inflation-targeting and price stabilisation.

As has been established by development experts, it is now trite for central banks to limit monetary policy solely to price stabilization.

This is notwithstanding the fact that this alone cannot guarantee that economic growth will improve since low inflation does not necessarily lead to a high income and a stable economy. Nor does a high rate of economic growth necessarily lead to a high rate of employment creation. This is especially the case in Nigeria where we have witnessed impressive GDP growth rates over the past seven years without a corresponding reduction in the unemployment rate, which rose to 23.9 per cent in 2012 relative to 13.9 per cent in 2000.

Indeed, in his presentation at his maiden press briefing, “Entrenching Macroeconomic Stability and Engendering Economic Development in Nigeria,” Mr. Emefiele disagreed with the dominant school of thought that sees the role of central banking as being limited to achieving low inflation as a policy strategy for growth, increase in employment, and poverty reduction. He audaciously stated that the CBN under his leadership would also begin to include the unemployment rate as one of the key variables considered for its Monetary Policy decisions.

To truly create a ‘people-oriented Central Bank’ as envisaged by the Governor, the issue of access to finance by Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSME) needs to be quickly addressed. The weak connection between banking and development in Nigeria is expressed in the remarkably low access to financing by the MSMEs; difficulties in accessing financing by women entrepreneurs; paucity of long-term funding for real sector operators; high cost of credit across the business spectrum, owing to prohibitive interest rates;

general low banking penetration; and weak grassroots banking due to very limited success of microfinance banks. Without a doubt, these issues are impediments to economic growth and development.

MSMEs are generally regarded as drivers of innovation. They are also reckoned as the engine of economic growth across developing and advanced economies. In China’s vibrant economy, SMEs account for 99.9% of total number of firms, and they provide 84% of total employment (World Bank, 2013). Inadequate funding for this sector in Nigeria has long been diagnosed as an impediment to innovation, employment generation and economic growth.

Another frontier of growth is women entrepreneurship. Empirical data has shown that women are increasingly getting involved in business formation. This global trend has gained even more momentum in developing countries where women, from time, have been known to be very enterprising in the agrarian economy and in trade. But notwithstanding, around the world, women still very much lag behind men in business ownership. Businesses operated by men tend to be more successful.

Apart from the myriad of social forces that militate against the success of women entrepreneurs relative to men, lack of access to financing has been somewhat intractable. Primordial prejudices against women have shifted only in some little ways. Thus, disparity in access to financing based on gender is unfavourable to women.

The funding structure in the economy also calls for interventions in real sector activities.

Manufacturers of different stripes turn to Nigerian Export – Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) with the same requirement. They want longterm financing at affordable, or preferably, single-digit interest rates. But the funds to supply credit under these conditions are hardly available in the market. The lending environment is defined by tight monetary stance, which has seen the Monetary Policy Rate remaining at 12% in the past two years, in order to stymie inflationary pressure. In tandem, yields on risk-free government securities are in lower double digits. Moreover, low-cost deposit mobilization by commercial banks remains aspirational due to low level of household savings and low banking penetration. (Only about 25% of the population is banked.)

As for the microfinance segment, it would be apposite to have the following hypothesis tested. One of the consequences of the rapid pace of urbanization over the years is that renewal of the economically-active population in rural and suburban settings has been impeded. As such, microfinance is being addressed to the urban poor while the rural poor are chronically underserved. But social identification which influenced traditional practice of micro lending and drove positive repayment behaviours is absent in the cities.

For that reason, microfinance banks have especially struggled to make significant impact and remain in business.

This general context to financing in Nigeria has meant that commercial banks are hardly taken to be agents of development. This per-

Emefiele

ception needs to change through the implementation of policies that underpin the role of banking in the development process. It is, therefore, appropriate and also commendable that Mr. Emefiele has construed the role of the CBN as making banking particularly relevant to development. Central banks have policy tools to make this happen. The CBN governor has hinted on his intent to deploy a variety of such tools.

The MSME Fund In August, President Goodluck Jonathan launched the Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises fund. Promoted by Central Bank of Nigeria, the N220 billion fund has become the first concrete step under the regime of Mr. Godwin Emefiele to deliver on his promise that the CBN will be an agent of development.

The MSME fund spared none of the issues that have been enumerated above. While the size of the Fund means that it will not meet all the needs; it can provide the basis for scaling up the interventions in one form or another.

The MSME sector comprises an estimated half a million operators. Operators in the sector collectively account for about 50% of Nigeria’s GDP, according to the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga. However, only 8% of the MSMEs in Nigeria are reckoned to have access to financing. This underscores the importance of this Fund which will lend at single-digit interest rate. With significant funding, it is imaginable that, like the data from China, MSMEs in Nigeria can contribute over 90% of the GDP. The MSME Fund is not necessarily a novel idea in Nigeria. There have been similar initiatives in the past, which achieved little success.

But here is a situation where past failures should not be a hindrance to new efforts. The stakes are higher now for the success of the MSME sector. Because of the large number of the firms, they not only constitute the engine of growth for the economy, they will also create millions of jobs and therefore alleviate poverty. To put this in context, it has been acknowledged that micro, small and medium scale enterprises tend to employ the poor including those without formal qualifications; and the enterprises are usually the only hope of employment in rural communities. Even so, most poor and unskilled people only get by through self-employment.

It is no surprise the CBN governor has worked really hard to launch the MSME fund with presidential backing and as quickly as he did. He has restated time and again his determination to link Nigeria’s economic growth to job creation. Around the world and in the country, policymakers are weary of “jobless growth” because of high unemployment

A close mouth catches no flies.

― Russian Proverb

rates. Instead, they are pressing for inclusive, job-oriented economic growth models. Global employment rates have raised concerns, but not merely because employment has again played the role of the laggard in recovering from the last economic downturn. Unemployment is also associated with social risks, and a move towards full employment is critical for inclusiveness and shared prosperity.

By design, 60% of the MSME Fund is allocated to women entrepreneurs. This is good news for gender advocates and those who care about inclusivity. The fund is a necessary boost for women entrepreneurship. I agree completely that women are the new frontier for finance. The women folk have long been deprived of access to credit. Whereas women are adept at business formation, mostly in order to improve the living conditions of their family, they are less successful in business.

Their greater dedication to family life poses a limit to their business success. But beyond this, lack of collateral, often based on gender discrimination especially in land and property ownership, has meant that women have lesser access to financing for their businesses. However, women are proven to be better money managers. Their success is also known to have more impact on the family than when men are the bread winners. This, therefore, means that women can make more contributions to development if they are empowered with financial access.

Working through the DFIs The decision of the CBN governor to work with development finance institutions is of particular interest to NEXIM Bank, and Nigerian exporters in the non-oil sectors. Although the development finance segment of the Nigerian finance industry is in the early stage of transformation, the DFIs have garnered some experience to help deliver development outcomes in their areas of focus. NEXIM has been working with SMEs in our sectors of focus -- Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Solid minerals and Service – under what we call the MASS Agenda. Our interest has been to help nurture indigenous businesses in the MSME sector to become global players, by financing their production and export capabilities.

From our experience, the “MASS” sectors are in the frontline of employment generation, and they are mostly characterized by low barriers for new entrants. This means that interventions in these sectors can quickly scale up.

It is very heartening to note that President Goodluck Jonathan has been an ardent supporter of the DFI community in Nigeria.

This undoubtedly will translate to fiscal support for the agenda of the CBN Governor for intervention in the quest for development in the country. We saw this in the housing sector with the launch of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company earlier in January. As already noted, the MSME programme received presidential attention, with Mr. President being physically present at the launch of the fund.

Also, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala has already hinted last June, at the dinner organised by the African Development Bank (AFDB) to flag-off events marking its 50th anniversary that the Federal Government was fine-tuning plans to establish a Nigerian Development Bank in 2015. This is in addition to other programmes by the Administration that will restructure and strengthen development finance institutions in Nigeria to enable them scale up results and close the gaps in development financing. NEXIM Bank is very enthusiastic on these brighter prospects.

— Moghalu is Head of Corporate Communication Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM)

LEADERSHIP FRIDAY

world news REPORTS AND ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL EVENTS AND ISSUES October 31, 2014

Burkina Faso President Declares State Of Emergency Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore has imposed a state of emergency to end violent protests against his 27-year-old rule.

The main opposition leader, Zephirin Diabre, told a local radio station that the state of emergency was unacceptable.

The government and parliament has been dissolved, and an overnight curfew has been declared across the country.

Meanwhile, anti-government protesters in Burkina Faso have set parliament ablaze in a surge of violence that forced the government to at least temporarily scrap a vote on

constitutional amendments that would allow President Blaise Compaore to extend his 27-year rule.

At least one person was killed in yesterday violence, according to news agencies.

Hundreds of people broke through a heavy security cordon and stormed the National Assembly building in the capital Ouagadougou, ransacking offices and setting fire to cars, before attacking the national television headquarters.

Police had tried to control the crowds using tear gas, but the demonstrators were able to push through the barricades and make

their way into parliament.

The crowd then headed towards the presidential palace as a government helicopter flew overhead, shooting teargas at protesters.

Security forces fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the presidency in the Ouaga 2000 neighbourhood, media reported.

Lawmakers had been due to vote yesterday on a government plan to change the constitution to allow Compaore - who took power in a coup in 1987 - to stand for re-election again next year, when he was due to stand down.

—BBC

Protesters pose with a police shield outside the parliament in Ouagadougou as cars and documents burn outside, yesterday. PHOTO by AFP

Peshmerga Troops Enter Kobane To Fight ISIL

West Africans ‘Abused’ In New York Over Ebola

The first group of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters has entered the beseiged Syrian town of Kobane through the border crossing with Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

The British-based monitoring group said 10 fighters had moved in yesterday and the others were expected to enter the town, which has been under attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for more than a month, “within hours”.

A convoy of Peshmerga fighters arrived close to the Turkish town of Suruc on Wednesday night, meeting up with others who had flown in earlier in the day.

“Minutes ago, about 10 members of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces entered the town of Ayn alArab, ‘Kobani,’ through the border crossing between the town and Turkish territory,” the Observatory said.

Members of the West African community in New York say their children were being bullied at school and their businesses were losing money because of hysteria over Ebola, a disease that has killed about 5,000 people in West Africa.

The African Advisory Council (AAC), a community group in New York, said in a news conference in the Bronx, home to one of the largest African communities in the US, that ignorance was driving the hysteria over Ebola.

“What happened to your children is unacceptable, as New Yorkers, as Americans, as human beings,” said the congressman for the Bronx, Jose Serrano.

“I need my community to be safe but also to be protected,” he said, likening the fear of Ebola to the ignorance and panic that once confronted the emergence of AIDS. Panic has gripped many Americans since a Liberian citizen brought the killer virus into the country and died on October 8 of the disease in a Texas hospital.

Two nurses who treated him became infected, though have since recovered, and a US doctor who returned to New York from treating Ebola patients in Guinea was diagnosed with the virus last week.

In the face of public panic, some US states and the Pentagon have imposed quarantine rules for people returning from Ebola-afflicted countries: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

A convoy of Peshmerga fighters arrived close to the Turkish town of Suruc yesterday night.

Ayn al-Arab is the Arabic name for mainly Kurdish Kobane.

Syrian Kurdish officials have said around 150 Peshmerga were expected to aid their fellow Kurds in the besieged town.

The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, said yesterday that the region was prepared to deploy more forces to Kobane if asked.

Neither side has gained a decisive advantage in the fighting, which

Burkina Faso Crisis: ECOWAS Calls For Compliance With Constitutional Governance

by TUNDE OGUNTOLA, Abuja

In a swift reaction of too Burkina Faso crisis, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reiterates the need for compliance with the principle of democracy and constitutional governance as stipulated in the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance.

According to a communiqué made available to LEADERSHIP Friday, signed by Chairman of the

authority of heads of state and government, John Dramani Mahama in Accra, it said: ‘’The ECOWAS has followed with grave attention the events unfolding in Burkina Faso and the tension around the process leading to the consideration of the draft bill on constitutional amendment.’’

It said ‘’ECOWAS takes note of the decision by the government to withdraw the passing of this draft bill.’’ ‘’ECOWAS believes that this de-

cision is geared towards preserving the stability and peace in the country. To this end, it reiterates the need for compliance with the principle of democracy and constitutional governance as stipulated in the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance.’’

Meanwhile, ‘’ECOWAS calls on all the people to remain calm and law abiding, and the security forces to respect and act in accordance with the constitution of the Republic.’’

has forced almost 200,000 Syrian Kurds to flee into Turkey.

The town’s fate has become a test of the US-led coalition’s ability to combat the ISIL fighters.

Al Jazeera

5,000

Over 5,000 people have died from the Ebola outbreak, amongst which are up to 200 health workers.

307

Three Al Jazeera staff; Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy have been imprisoned for 307 days in Egypt.

You can’t claim heaven as your own if you are just going to sit under it.

60 OPINION

October 31, 2014

Adamawa 2015: Real Reasons PDP Must Adopt Zoning Principle

By Daneh Bubakari

The lingering problem in Adamawa PDP had been on for years, before it boomeranged and is now snowbailing into larger crises in the party. It first began with the dissolution of the PDP executives in the state by the national HQs. The then Executives led by Mijinyawa Kugama, a fellow fulani man who hails from the same ward and LGA with Murtala Nyako had expired, but the impeached governor wanted to force it on the rest of PDP members in the state.

The INEC had to intervene by writing to the national HQs of the party, asking it to conduct a congress election to elect new exco in Adamawa, but in his usual characteristic manner, Nyako vehemently resisted that the Exco must not go.

The picture painted above, is a deliberate attempt to correct an impression created by some self-serving fulani stakeholders who feel uncomfortable with Bala James Ngilari as governor, and Joel Madaki as PDP state chairman who incidentally are non Fulanis.

For the record, it should be noted that while Gov Ngilari from the Northern Zone is in his present capacity, courtesy of the judiciary, Madaki was constitutionally elected as chairman of the party from the Central Zone of the State. Conversely, Mijinyawa Kugama was imposed on the party by then Emperor Murtala Nyako against due process.

This of course resulted in the current seeming lopsidedness angrily complained about by a section of Fulani community in some national dailies; which to any discern-

ing mind does not hold water as what goes round comes round. Let both Ngilari and Madaki be for now before 2015.

The impeachment of Nyako,and subsequent swearing in of Ahmadu Fintiri as acting Governor, sent shivers down the spine of a lot of Fulani Stakeholders in the state, who believed Fintiri was anti Fulani due to his stance and open persecution of the folk.

It is gathered that bulk of Fulani stakeholders were planning to throw their weight behind Senator Bindow Jibrilla of the APC, in the botched October 11, 2014 election, who fraternised openly with them, as a result, the plan to remove Fintiri was hatched and the rest is now history. He has been replaced by Ngilari who is seen as a pro-Fulani Marghi man.

As the party gears up to hold its primary election in November this year, there are agitationsfrom concerned quarters, especially stakeholders that it must keep with the zoning principle if it is to make meaningful impact in the forthcoming polls.

On this note,proponents of zoning in the state aver that since Boni Haruna, a non-fulani had ruled the state for two terms of (8 years), and Murtala Nyako, a Fulani for almost two terms, political equity and fairness demand that PDP must ensure that it is given to a non-fulani this time around, stressing anything short of this could spell danger for the party at the polls. With the avalanche of aspirants on its platform there are palpable concerns among relevant stakeholders in the party whether or not zoning should be adopted in selecting the party’s flag bearer.

However, majority are of the opinion that in picking its candidate, the party should in the interest of justice and in a delibrate manner fo for an outright zoning formula to give any disadvantaged area the gubernatorial opportunity by ensuring the emergence of a non-Fulani flag-bearer of its dream if emerging victorious in the election is to be realized.

Since democracy is a game of numbers, it is necessary at this juncture to buttress this point further. In a state of 3.8million people (2006 census), are the ethnic minorities make up 98.2% while the Fulani are 1.8%.

No doubt, this statistics is likely to rankle those who are profiting from the present hegemonic system, whereby the minority lords over the majority and even make the thumb up their noses in disapproval, but a comprehensive breakdown local government will humble their seemingly haughty disposition.

According to a statistic released by a highly-respected NGO, the percentage of population of Muslims in Madagali LGA is (0.1%), Michika (0.1%), Mubi North (0.2%), Mubi South (0.2%), Maiha (0.5%), Hong (0.1%), Gombi (0.1%), Song (0.5%), Girei (0.4%), and Yola North (0.2%). Others are Yola South (0.5%), Fufore (0.5%), Mayo Belwa (0.3%), Jada (0.4%), Ganye (0.4%), Tonugo (0.4%), Demsa, Numan, Lamurde, Guyuk, and Shelleng (0.1%) in all the five L.G.As. Interstingly, in each of these L.G.As, non-Fulanis constitute the remaining population.

The larger nay potent implication of this statistic is that it will amount to committing

political hara-kiri for PDP or any political party for that matter to ignore this piognant reality and give its ticket to a Fulani candidate to fly its flag. The ugly truth is that giving the ticket to a Fulani candidate is likely to trigger protest votes from the dominant none fulani population in the state, a developing that will make PDP kiss a permanent goodbye to the gubernatorial position of the state.

Dear readers, instead of being seen as a religious bigot for canvassing for a christain flag bearer for PDP, my decision should be viewed from the prism of an attempt to ensure equity in the party. Historically, National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the precursory of the PDP, adopted zoning and rotation of executive and political offices to give sense of belonging to all party members In the same vein, the decision of the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime to zone the presidency to the south west in 1999 was a deliberate ploicy to assuage the angst of the people of the region for the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. This made way for the then two dominant political parties, the All Peoples Party (APP) and the PDP to field Chief Olu Falea and Gen. Olusegun Obansanjo respectively for the presidential election that year, and the soothing effect of this wise decision was evidently palpable. It gives all members of the parties, irrespective of the geo-political zone a huge sense of belonging and relief that anybody can aspire to the highest political office in the land.

—Bubakari is a student of Adamawa State University, Mubi.

Information Ministry: Need For The Right Person

By Okezie Rolland

Essentially, the task of projecting, explaining and defending policies, actions and directions of government bulkily rests with the Minister of Information and candour would require us to admit that the gentleman, Mr Labaran Maku, did that not only to the best of his ability but to the admiration of many of our citizens. Mr. Maku has now become the former Minister of Information; this is sequel to his aspiration to lead the good people of Nasarawa State. We cannot but wish him the best of luck. In the circumstance, the President has mandated the Minister of State (II) for Foreign Affairs, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed to supervise the Ministry pending the appointed of a substantive Minister of Information.

Still at this time of departures, the Ministry of Information would need more projections, explanations and defence to be made, not just to citizens and residents at home but to the world community. This, therefore, compels the engagement of a highly capable hand to man the Information Ministry. There are too many positives to be projected about our nation; this projection needs greater vigour for an exponential impact. But given our adversarial politics that breeds and

engenders a highly inclement opposition, cynicism and inertia, national interest becomes an ephemeral phenomenon, too detached or at best a function of the political prism through which camps view their nation. In this regard, Boko Haram’s cruelty in Baga would turn “havoc wrecked by the Nigerian army”; the nation’s arms deal would be “money laundering in South Africa,” etc.

Consequently and for instance, Obama and brothers would find justification in turning in logic that ensures our dire security situation endures. These are not gaps that should await a trail.

In this regard therefore, the name, Dr Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, comes highly commendable. The reasons are not farfetched but rather too numerous. Dr Okupe has been in the arena of public discourse and national direction for more or less than 30 years, sufficiently versed in the knowledge of our people and national psyche. He has the advantage of excellent education, culture and maturity. Need it be reminded that he has been in many engine rooms of governmental and party administrations? That is public knowledge.

Before, his emergence as the Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan, national

narrative as appertains to the President’s performance was almost one-sided – with the nay-sayers having a field day. Okupe successfully stemmed the tide, balanced the narrative, making room for the discernible to take an informed position.

I got enamoured of him because, having watched and listened to him on radio and television and read him in the papers for a considerable number of years, I have never heard Dr Doyin Okupe speak angrily against or project or pit one ethnic group against the other. Whereas, his critics play the contrary card at moments of disappointment.

Instead, Okupe’s focus has always been the protection and support of the disadvantaged, minorities and the oppressed.

It will be an irony if not a serious mistake to weigh his consideration by the assertions of hyper-critics. For by their scale, “no government spokesman does it right”. In their hand, this has always been the fate of every government in Nigeria and their spokespersons. The President’s spokesman is not just an amour-bearer but also a minessweeper. Therefore, in the discharge of his/ her onerous duties, commendations and accolades are not necessarily resultant appurtenances, much more rewards. His arsenal comprises the pen, his voice, olive

branch and green leaf of peace. But it will be incorrect to add the “white flag of surrender” to the wishes and whims of every critic. More so, when it has become the fad that, in many public gatherings, for one to appear as agent of change and politically correct, one has to run the nation and her government down, paint the gloomiest picture of today and conclude that tomorrow is bleak. This, from my observation, has been the area where Dr Okupe has maintained, with all vehemence, that the white flag of surrender does not and will not apply. I agree with him. And that is why I hold that he should not be weighed on the scales of critics.

Dr Okupe is endowed with the gift of eloquence, the gusto and the savvy needed to discharge the onerous duties of that office. He is one who presents his views with admirable candour and lucidity.

Okupe is highly restrained and engages public discourse and space with restraint and reverence, virtues that are a rare commodity in the temperament of most critics of government. Dr Okupe is not in a race for what to eat as most Nigerians and even critics would easily acknowledge his background. We have already entered the turbulent political months.

Okezie wrote from Umuahia

It is only a stupid cow that rejoices at the prospect of being taken to a beautiful abattoir. — African Proverb

61 October 31, 2014

1 Community - Chibok, Borno State 1 School - Government Girls Secondary School 276 Girls Abducted 0 Rescued 57 Escaped 219 Remain 11 Dead Parents 200 Days & Nights > 6 Months

#BringBackOurGirls

We will NOT stop!

www.bringbackourgirls.ng | info@bringbackourgirls.ng | 08033579711, 08057704111

62 opinion

October 31, 2014

Demonizing Dikko Abdullahi And The Customs Service

BY Nkem Ibekwe

At a time Nigerians should be celebrating five years of meritorious service and the achievements of the Comptroller-General of the Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, it is surprising to read in a national daily the insinuation that the organization has been turned into an instrument of oppression.

This was the unflattering impression or unpalatable buffet served Nigerians by Mr. Clement Udegbe in an essay entitled, “Nigeria Customs as Instrument of Oppression?” on page 19 of the Vanguard of Friday, August 8, 2014.

One of the main grouses of Mr. Udegbe against Dikko Abdullahi is that “the recruitment exercise he conducted last year has been criticized as largely in favour of the Fulani against the Christian North”. Now, it must be regrettable that Mr. Udegbe decided to reduce the great works Dikko Abdullahi has done in the Customs Service over the years to complaints about tribal loyalties and nepotism in the discharge of his duties to the nation. For those who are abreast with the character of the demographics of the North, it is difficult to appreciate the point Mr. Udegbe made in his presentation about Dikko Abdullahi favouring Fulanis in a recruitment exercise apparently because he is one of them.

But the truth is that Dikko Abdullahi, with a mixture of Hausa and Fulani blood, is Hausa because his father is a Hausa man.

If Udegbe was not, therefore, trying to play mischief, what was the point talking about the Fulanis and the Christian North as if

Fulanis cannot be Christians? Even if Dikko Abdullahi were to be a full-blooded Fulani man, is Udegbe insinuating that there are no Fulanis who are Christians in Northern Nigeria? The truth is that all Fulanis are not Muslims as Udegbe would want the world to believe. In fact, an average knowledge of the history of Nigeria presents the information that there are a lot of Fulanis who are Christians in various states of Northern Nigeria like Kebbi, Zamfara, Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe and even Kano, just to mention a few. For instance, the former External Affairs Minister in the President Shehu Shagari Administration of the 2nd Republic, the late Prof. Ishaya Audu, a fullblooded Fulani, lived and died a Christian.

Assuming without conceding that the recruitment exercise in question yielded more Fulanis into the Customs than the Tivs, Idomas, Nupes, Beroms, Angas, etc, of the North who are largely Christians, Mr. Udegbe did not provide any empirical population data in the recruitment exercise for the reader to make an informed decision on his false allegations of tribalism and nepotism against Dikko Abdullahi. How are Nigerians expected to believe that the Comptroller-General, Dikko Abdullahi, being Hausa, wronged anybody by allegedly recruiting more Fulanis into the Customs Service when no information was provided as to the number of Fulanis, Christians and other ethnic nationalities of the North who participated in the recruitment exercise?

Even then, what is the nonsensical talk about Dikko Abdullahi breaching the

federal character principle in the Customs’ recruitment exercise that should earn him a sack? According to Mr. Udegbe, “It was for a breach of the federal character principle that Mrs Uzoamaka Nwizu, a former ComptrollerGeneral of Immigration from the South East was dismissed, yet nothing has been done about this”, in Abdullahi’s case. It is clear from the pontifications of Mr. Udegbe that his only desire is that Dikko Abdullahi should be relieved of his post in the Customs Service as was the case with the former ComptrollerGeneral of the Nigerian Immigration Service, even if it is on spurious grounds. If that is the case, why would Udegbe not straightforwardly call for Abdullahi’s sack, rather than embarking on a long-winded argument to try to achieve his objective?

From the Immigration reference drawn into this matter, there is no doubt that Mr. Udegbe, a legal practitioner, is yet to come to terms with the intents and purposes of the federal character principle in Nigeria. Section 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) says: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies… shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria…, thereby ensuring that there shall be no preponderance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”.

From the constitutional quote just made, where is the religious consideration in the federal character principle for which Udegbe decided to bellyache about more Fulanis in a recruitment exercise of the Customs

Department than the Christian North? Or, is this simply a question of trying to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it?

From whatever perspective this matter is appraised, the federal character principle is about the ethnic composition of the staffers of government ministries and parastatals. The principle has nothing to do with the faith or religious inclination of federal civil servants or government employees. Therefore, the insinuation that Dikko Abdullahi ought to have been sacked from the Customs Service as was the case with Mrs. Nwizu of the Immigration over a breach of the federal character principle is not only mischievous but highly misplaced. Mr. Udegbe and his cohorts can look elsewhere for reasons that could be used to relieve Dikko Abdullahi of his duties; for the attempt to use the outcome of the Customs’ recruitment exercise, will not work.

As a matter of fact, it is preposterous to say the least, that at a time most Nigerians are singing the praises of Dikko Abdullahi for his glorious achievements in customs and excise management that has immensely contributed to the growth of the Nigerian economy, all that Mr. Udegbe could find worthy of bothering Nigerians with is the ridiculous charge of tribalism and nepotism against the Comptroller-General in the way he has directed the affairs of the Customs Service over the last five years.

— Mr. Ibekwe, an information manager with Corporate Concepts Limited, Abuja, sent this piece from nkemibekwe489@gmail.com (07087541480).

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SCHOOLS, EDUCATION, & FAITH PLATFORM

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF

SPECIALISED CLASSIFIEDS PAGES GOD’S DIVINE INTERVENTION INTERNATIONAl BIBlE CHURCH

JEV CARE HOME INITIATIVE

ENERGy CONSERVATION INITIAVE!

This is to inform the General Public that the above named CHURCH has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under Part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act, 1 of 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named INITIATIVE has applied for Registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission under Part “C” of the Companies And Allied Matters Act 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Pastor Yakubu Jimoh Simon - Pr e s i d e n t / G e n e r a l Overseer 2. Pastor Mrs. Christiana Yakubu Jimoh 3. Pastor David Johnson - Secretary 4. Pastor Emmanuel Joseph 5. Elder Friday Okolo 6. Deaconess Mercy Andy

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Uriri Evi Jessica - Chairperson 2. Udechukwu Innocent Chris 3. Eyaro Goodluck 4. Ahanonu Raphael Chukwudi 5. Johnson Oshoma - Secretary

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of Christianity 2. To win souls for Christ Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from this publication.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Paul Ibrahim Audu 2.Tobias Nkom Wada 3. Bolly Avong 4. Jeremiah Bako 5. Dr Solomon Wuyah Audu 6. Sarah Cecilia Avong 7. Dandien Nathan Alat

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To provide care and shelter for the elderly and the less privileged.

2. To rehabilitate victims of violence and displacement.

3. To promote education and enlightenment.

Any objection to the Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar general, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARy

Signed: CHINyERE CHIGBU & CO

AIM AND OBJECTIVES 1. To create and promote awareness of the process of energy delivery and sustainable efficient consumption.

2. To advance and promote the culture of energy conservation and efficiency.

3. To create and promote health and safety awareness in the process of energy consumption.

4. To promote research and development in the generation, delivery and sustainable consumption of energy and other alternative energy sources.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission (C.A.C) P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Irosi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: BOlly AVONG

NIGER DElTA INDIGENOUS ARTISAN ASSOCIATION

lORDS FAVOUR GOSPEl BElIEVER CHURCH

SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF INSURGENCy INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORMED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1 OF 1990.

This general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Eminence Tiyeinabeso - Chairman 2. Ntima Jane Onuoha - Secretary 3. Obelemari Godwin 4. Mina Tamunotony Friday 5. Comrade Wodu Goodnew 6. Nelson Afakuru 7. Victor Okon 8. Mba Uma 9. Bakare Asitoa 10. Paul Ojonugwa Emmanuel

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR ADEAGBO OLUBODE DAVID 2. PROPHET ADEAGBO ADEBOLA JOHN 3. EVANGELIST AKINMUTIMI OLAPELOYE ABIODUN AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1 TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To cater for the needs of members.

2. To provide a legal platform for artisans to operate and render their services.

3. To serve as a platform for advancing imrovement of skills artisans.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja within 28 days of the publication.

Signed: MOHAMMED ATTAHIRU ESQ; FOR PRINCIPAl PARTNER

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, GARKI, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

OBINKITA lIBRATION FOUNDATION

RITA ONyINyE FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 2004.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. (Dr.) Johnson Okoroafor 2. Pastor Emman Okoroafor Nwachukwu 3. Pastor Friday Chukwu Okoronkwo 4. Pastor Onyebuchi Mark Okereke 5. Rev. Sunday John Mmerem 6. Rev. Onyebuchi John Okoroafor 7. Pastor Sunday Peter 8. Pastor (Mrs) Angela Chima Ihebinandu 9. Pastor Ikechi Mark Ogbonnaya 10. Pastor Emma Onyema Chima

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MRS. CHIGOZIE OBIAGELIH 2. BARR. CHARLES UDE 3. MISS RITA ONYINYE OGUEBIE 4. NURSE VIVIAN OGUEBIE

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To champion the spiritual and moral emancipation of Obinkita Community in particular and Arochukwu in general.

2. To undertake charitable causes such as scholarship grants to indigent students, welfare materials to widows and the needy in the community.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE AMONG FEMALE GENDER. 2. A FEMALE ADVOCACY THAT BROADEN AND STRENGTHENS THE SUPPORT BASE FOR THE FEMALE GENDER. 3. TO SOLICIT EXPLICIT COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL A CLASS TO FEMALE DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, ABUJA, WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

Signed: AyODEJI AJE ESQ 0803306871

SIGNED: IFEANyI ONWUZURIKE CEDARWOOD SOlICITORS, ABUJA. 08050605543

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Essel Kingsley 2. Christopher Ikuenobe 3. Kolo Adam 4. Abdulkadir Yunusa 5. Augustine Bassey Edet AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To create a platform that will network and assemble all stakeholders for increased participation in the struggle for a restored North Eastern States.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: ESSEll, ESSEll & CO

HIS COMFORT FOR MOTHER AND CHIlD CARE INITIATIVE The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MRS. WILSON OLUREMILEKUN FUNMILAYO 2. MR. WILSON ADEDOKUN DAMILARE 3. ALHAJI AWA IBRAHEEM 4. MRS. ADEDOYIN OLUWAFUNMILAYO OLUFIDIPE 5 MR. WILSON ADEDAYO OLUMIDE 6. MRS. ALIMI COMFORT OLUFUMILAYO AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To educate the mother and child on the need for self development and protection 2. To assist the less privilege in our communities to grow in all aspect of their life 3 To create health awareness that will be of help for the mother and child 4 To empower individuals and communities through acquisition of vocational skills to be able to sustain themselves 5. To create awareness on the importance of the environment and the need to keep it safe for living 6 To assist individuals and communities to discover and develop their potential for their benefit and mankind.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: TRUSTEES

lEGAl NOTICE

lEGAl NOTICE

COSMOS NIKE FOUNDATION

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE FEDERAl CAPITAl TERRITORy, ABUJA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE FEDERAl CAPITAl TERRITORy, ABUJA

Whereas the person / persons whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date and place in the said column. And whereas the parson(s) whose name and address is set out in the second column hereunder claimed the relationship of the said deceased and has applied to the above named court for the grant letters of Administration of the personal property. Notice is hereby given that the said letters of Administration be granted to such person (s) unless “NOTICE TO PROHIBIT’’ the grant thereof is filed in the probate registry of the above named court within twenty one (21) days from the date of publication.

SCHEDUlE

Whereas the person / persons whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date and place in the said column. And whereas the parson(s) whose name and address is set out in the second column hereunder claimed the relationship of the said deceased and has applied to the above named court for the grant letters of Administration of the personal property. Notice is hereby given that the said letters of Administration be granted to such person (s) unless “NOTICE TO PROHIBIT’’ the grant thereof is filed in the probate registry of the above named court within twenty one (21) days from the date of publication.

SCHEDUlE

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORMED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1 OF 1990.

DECEASED NAME AND ADDRESS

APPlICANTS FOR GRANT

DECEASED NAME AND ADDRESS

Alhaji Abubakar Garba Jibril

Haj. Fatima Jibril and Abubakar Sadiq

Victoria N. Gambo

Block B, Flat 2, Bauchi Court Gaduwa Estate Who died on the 31st December, 2003

Block B, Flat 2, Bauchi Court Gaduwa Estate

Asokoro General Hospital, Abuja

The widow and son of the said

Dated at Abuja this 30th October, 2014. deceased.

SIGNED BARR. HAFSAT SADIQ FOR: PROBATE REGISTRAR

For booking or inquiry call

> HENRY UBIMAGO 08068640944

Who died on the 15th August, 2014

APPlICANTS FOR GRANT

Henriatta N. Wuyep guardian to Sandra B. Wuyep ECWA Church New Karu, Nasarawa State

Dated at Abuja this 30th October, 2014. The daughters of the said deceased.

SIGNED BARR. HAFSAT SADIQ FOR: PROBATE REGISTRAR

> AUGUstINE 08032325988

> GLORIA OKwUM 08038722368

> ABIGAIL sAMBO 08064382438

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. NWEDU COSMOS NIKE 2. MR. ELECHI NWEDU 3. MR. CHRISTOPHER NWEDU 4. MR. ELOM IFEANYI LEONARD AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TO ENGAGE IN HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES DIRECTED TOWARDS MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE POOR. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, GARKI, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: MBA DIANA, ESQ 08035537059

> GLORIA RAPHAEL 08061356519

> GLORIA ODIO 08034285851

> GRACE OJO 08035054444

68

October 31, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

Whereas the person / persons whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date and place in the said column. And whereas the parson(s) whose name and address is set out in the second column hereunder claimed the relationship of the said deceased and has applied to the above named court for the grant letters of Administration of the personal property. Notice is hereby given that the said letters of Administration be granted to such person (s) unless “NOTICE TO PROHIBIT’’ the grant thereof is filed in the probate registry of the above named court within twenty one (21) days from the date of publication.

SCHEDULE

Whereas the person / persons whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date and place in the said column. And whereas the parson(s) whose name and address is set out in the second column hereunder claimed the relationship of the said deceased and has applied to the above named court for the grant letters of Administration of the personal property. Notice is hereby given that the said letters of Administration be granted to such person (s) unless “NOTICE TO PROHIBIT’’ the grant thereof is filed in the probate registry of the above named court within twenty one (21) days from the date of publication.

SCHEDULE

DECEASED NAME AND ADDRESS APPLICANTS FOR GRANT Abu Daniel Echoga Echoga Mar y ene and Echoga

DECEASED NAME AND ADDRESS APPLICANTS FOR GRANT Andy Inji James Morine P. any guardian to Jonathan

Defence HQ Medical Centre

Nigerian Police Force

COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT LFN 2004 COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES MEMBERS’ VOLUNTARY WINDING-UP REDROCK TRADING & INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD RC 703412

NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY WINDING-UP AND APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATOR PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 457, 458 & 491 At an extra ordinary general meeting of Redrock Trading & Investment Services Ltd duly convened and held on the 29st October, 2014 following the statutory declaration of Solvency dated the 27th day of October, 2014 IT WAS RESOLVED; “That Redrock Trading & Investment Services Ltd be and it is hereby voluntarily wound-up and that ADEBOLA OLUBANJO of Adebola Sobanjo & Co. (Chartered Accountants) of 22A, Omorinre Johnson Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos be and he is hereby appointed the Liquidator for the purpose of the winding-up” Dated this 29st October, 2014

Omuche Anne Army Post Housing Kurudu, Phase 1

Who died on the 16th August, 2014

The widow and daughter of the said

Dated at Abuja this 30th October, 2014. deceased.

Who died on the 16th June, 2014

Andy K. Block 6, Flat 2, Mopol 44, Kuje junction, Abuja

Dated at Abuja this 30th October, 2014. The widow and son of the said

deceased.

ADEBOLA OLUBANJO LIQUIDATOR

SIGNED BARR. HAFSAT SADIQ FOR: PROBATE REGISTRAR

SIGNED BARR. HAFSAT SADIQ FOR: PROBATE REGISTRAR

COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT LFN 2004 COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES MEMBERS’ VOLUNTARY WINDING-UP REDROCK TRADING & INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD RC 703412

UGANE THE LIGHT DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

CHRIST PILLAR COVENANT CHURCH OF GOD

The general public is hereby notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named CHURCH has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF A LIQUIDATOR PURSUANT TO SECTION 491

NAME OF COMPANY:

Redrock Trading & Investment Services Ltd

REGISTERED OFFICE:

1, Perchstone & Graeys Close,off remi olowude street, lekki, Lagos, Nigeria

LIQUIDATORS NAME:

ADEBOLA OLUBANJO ADDRESS: ADEBOLA SOBANJO & CO. 22A, Omorinre Johnson Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos

DATE OF APPOINTMENT: 29th October, 2014 DATED THIS 29st October, 2014 ADEBOLA OLUBANJO LIQUIDATOR

ASSOCIATION OF ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY PRACTITIONERS FOR HEALTH CARE The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990 THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Chief Tony Okoroji - Chairman 2. Mr. Innocent Idibia 3. Mr. Sammie Okposo 4. Mr. Audu Maikori 5. Mr. Sani Danger 6. Mr Sam Kargbo 7. Mr. Atunyota Akporobomerere 8. Mr. Seun Apara 9. Mr. Antar Laniyan 10. Mr. Jimmy Amu Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To source funds to cater for the health care needs of members of the Nigerian entertainment industry.

2. To intervene by subsidization or total adoption of premiums of enrollees under the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: NDUKA OKATTA; 08030925138

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Evang Sunday Oguche 2. Tokunbo Salami 3. Emmanuel Adejoh Ibrahim 4. Ameh Amana 5. Gabriel Agada 6. Daniel Idih 7. Rev. Akor Abraham 8. Monday Bakwo Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To empower the less privileged.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Alex Eyeregba 2. Eyeregba Alex Igbowe Elizabeth 3. Dafe Newton Magege 4. Onomhila A. Adedion 5. Engr. Ware Juowei Ijaw-Ebi Duncan 6. Sanctus Olorunwapelumi 7. Eyeregba Benjamin Omojefe Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To propagate the gospel of Christ round the globe.

2. To establish a Church with branches planted around the world.

3. To organize outreaches, crusades, seminars, workshops and revival services for the works of the gospel.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: ARINZE J. UZOCHUKWU ESQ; 08038466838, SOLICITOR

DIGITAL CURRENCY EXCHANGERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS AND VIDEOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ayobami Taiwo Nurudeen 2. Okwudili Ugochukwu 3. Omonira Omoyele Jude 4. Adeola Sokoya 5. Ovwiovwio Christian 6. Ejezie Sunday Okwudili

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Pastor Joe Asaju Agbaje 2. Mr. Taofeek Olanrewaju Tyson 3. Mr. Daniel Ehimen 4. Mr. Raji Murphy 5. Mr. Sunday Idajili 6. Mr. Sunday Folayan 7. Mr. Ebi Oweifie 8. Mr. Yen Choi 9. Mr. Michael Bi Okponung

- Chairman

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To create awareness on the need to empower and develop Africa through digital currency exchange.

2. To assist Africans on the use of digital technology to deepen and sharpen entrepreneurial and leadership.

3. To provide opportunity for educating the public on the advantages of digital currency exchange.

4. To act as an umbrella body where members come together to discuss any challenge confronting them.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To promote the shooting of video and photographers from the sky.

2. To development and research the study of Aerial photography and videography.

3. For the welfare of members.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

REACHING OUT TO THE NEEDY INITIATIVE

FOUNDATION FOR DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, PEACE AND POVERTY

LAGOS STATE MEDICINE DEALERS ASSOCIATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for change of its trustees under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mrs. Bar. Member Jika 2. Madam Joy Chia 3. Mrs. Martha Ibrahim Puri 4. Dr. Jennifer Braimah 5. Miss Dorcas Akila 6. Mr. Kaghtor Jika 7. Miss Mimi Jessica Gerna 8. Joy-Bess Ekaeteh 9. Bankole Oloruntoba

- Chairman - Secretary - Member

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To provide services to indigenes citizen in our society.

2. To render assistant to deserved victims.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: CHANLORY CHAMBERS; 08035920449

LOSSOF loss of OFDOCUMENTS document DOCUMENT LOSS

This is to notify the general public of the Loss of acknowledgement of land recertification AGIS of plot No. 706 cadastral zone C02 with file No. AB426 and new file No. MISC 54925 bearing MARY N. OKORO belonging to DR. ADEMOLA OLUWAMAYOWA ADEYINKA (The Kings Multiventure). All efforts made to trace the said document proved abortive. If found, kindly return to the nearest police station. General public to please take note.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Kingsley Okafor 2. Chika Iheama 3. Momoh Adejoh Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To build a critical mass of informed citizenry and informed opinions.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

LOSSOF loss OF ofDOCUMENTS DOCUMENT document LOSS This is to notify the general public of the loss of original letter of grant with plot No RES/92/2907 located at No 712 Unguwar Waika/Dawanau Dala LGA, Kano, belonging to SHEHU BABAN KABO. All efforts made to trace the said document proved abortive.

If found, kindly return to the nearest police station. General public to please take note.

THE OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1. G. U. Egonu 2. J. C. Ijemba 3. D. Adumekwe 4. A. Ajogu 5. A. N. S. Dikeocha 6. B. Onaga 7. L. Agha 8. C. F. Nwokedi

- Removed - Removed - Removed - Removed - Removed - Removed - Removed -Retained

THE NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Okolie Boniface Chibuike Gerald - President 2. Madu Finbarr Madu 3. Nwanekezi Alphonsus Chibuikeze 4. Orjiakor Christopher 5. Anisiofor John Ndubuisi 6. Obafuso Salisu Afolabi Aims And Objectives REMAIN THE SAME Any objection to this change should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: BARR. VICTOR OYONAKPORE

LOSSOF loss of OFDOCUMENTS DOCUMENT document LOSS

This is to inform the general public of the LOSS OF ORIGINAL COPIES OF LETTER OF ALLOCATION AND RECEIPT OF PAYMENT IN RESPECT OF HOUSE NO. 14, 1(K)7 ROAD,FHA LUGBE,ABUJA,BELONGING TO MR. EMMANUEL IFENKILI OKWEDADI. All efforts made to trace this missing document proved abortive. If found,please return to the nearest police station or call: 08038695282, 08034003350

69

October 31, 2014

NEW JERUSALEM HOLY GHOST MINISTRY

LIVELYSTONE CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL

THE GIRLS TALK INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby notified that the above MINISTRY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

TRUSTEE: 1. MR ALOJI PIUS ANOKWU -CHAIRMAN 2. MR GABRIEL ADAIDU - VICE CHAIRMAN 3. MR LUVINUS CHUKWU - SECRETARY 4. MRS ANNA ADEJO - MEMBER 5. MR DANLADI UMORU - MEMBER 6. APOSTLE DESTINY AMEH ADEJO - GENERAL OVERSEER 7. MR. GODWIN AMEH - ASSIST. OVERSERR

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Olaiya Temitope Adeniyi 2. Olaiya Abiola Funmilayo 3. Esho Olatunji Sunday

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Barr. Deborah Odeworitse Oniah 2. Chief Dr. Mrs. Patience Essie Blankson Uku 3. Bawo Blankson 4. Gladys Emidih

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja Within 28 days of this Publication.

SIGNED; CHANCERY CHAMBERS’ 08035920449

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To preach the word of God to mankind.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: BARR. VINCENT O. ENEMOSAH

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To empower family particularly women and children.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

focal lead empowerment and development foundation

JESUS THE HEALER INTERCESSORY MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL

GRASSROOTS WEALTH SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby notified that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mrs. Akabunwa Rita 2. Mr. Akonjie O. Henry 3. Mr. Baffoe B. Godfred 4. Mr. Gabriel E. Abunmere 5. Mr. Abraham O. Okoawo

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Hon. Ndifreke Mark 2. Barr. Mrs. Patience Mark 3. Hon. Barr. Saviour Udoh

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ms Edith Tochukwu Orji 2. Mr. Chimobi Nweke 3. Ms Onyinye Oyemobi 4. Mr. Benjamin Dike 5. Mrs. Nancy Chinyere Orji 6. Mr. Jude Oguta 7. Mr. Tochukwu Gift Moses 8. Mr. Ikechukwu Oyedum 9. Mr. Okwudili Nweze

- President

- Secretary

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To raise a generation of resourceful, effective and dynamic teenagers/youths with the capacity and passion to solve socio-economic problems through intellectual, good ethical and moral values.

2. To harness the potentials of teenagers/youths and empower them towards national relevance, with age focus on (9-25yrst).

3. To provide functional and effective life, academic and career coach to young peoples; by directing training needs that focuses on career counseling, personal development, leadership development.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To cater for the less privileged.

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

Signed: SECRETARY

ASSOCIATION OF AGRO INPUT DEALERS KADUNA STATE

APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN EVANGELICAL MINISTRY INT’L

GLORIOUS REHOBOTH GLOBAL MINISTRY

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

This general public is hereby notified that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1 of 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Basil Mbachu - Chairman 2. Alh. Yau Adamu 3. Alh. Usman Abduallahi 4. Dr. Yusufu Leo Nyam 5. Musbau Bello Sani - Secretary 6. Jerry Ndakbo 7. Alh. Sanusi Yari

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Pastor Ifeanyi Edward Mazeli 2. Rev. (Mrs) Edidion Grace Mazeli 3. Pastor Luke Mbagwu 4. Dr. Obioma Ogbonna 5. Brother Sunday Ilvbare

Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To promote the interest of members.

2. To foster love, peace and unity among members.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To minister the word of God. 2. To win souls for Jesus Christ.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

SIGNED: DR. OBIOMA OGBONNA

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Andrew Izokun 2. Pastor Mrs. Hannah Izokun 3. Deacon Felix Ugbana 4. Pastor Ogbechie Azubike John 5. Evangelist Abraham Alegieuno Stephen 6. Okafor Deborah Onyelo 7. Obot Effiong Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To win souls (evangelism) through the preaching of the word of repentance, salvation, teaching and deliverance.

2. To teach practical holiness, faith, prosperity and how to be led by the spirit of God. Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: BARR. HELEN OKHIRIA; 08060415732

JAIZ CHARITY AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

PREMIER POVERTY ALLEVIATION INITIATIVE

TEACHING ESIEN ITA ITAM EDUCATION TRUST FUND

This is to inform the general public that the above named ORGANISATION has applied for alteration of its constitution to corporate affairs commission under ‘‘part C’’ of the companies and allied matters act, 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ORGANISATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990

The provisions to be aLttered are: Objects of the foundation meetings of the foundation appointment of trustees tenure of trusteeship management structure Any objection to this alteration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

Akinlolu

l, formerly known as Buraimoh Taiwo Emmanuel now wish to be known and addressed as Akinlolu Taiwo Emmanuel.

All former documents remain valid.

NOSDRA and the general public take note.

Rebecca

I formerly known as Miss Rebecca Anthony Manu, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Rebecca Paul Wazimtu. All former documents remain valid.

National Youth service Corp and The general public to please note.

Suleiman

l, formerly known as Mrs Munira Ahmed Ismail now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Suleiman Tanimu. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

Luka

I formerly known as Mr Atiku Sule, now wish to be known as Mr Luka Musa Sule. All former documents remain valid. Taraba State High Court of Justice and the general public to please note.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Adebayo Adedayo Adeyinka - Chairman 2. Olamide Adeola Adeyinka 3. Kenneth Chidi Agba 4. Abimbola Adepeju Adedokun 5. Opeyemi Oluseyi Dada 6. Adetola Olanrewaju Onafowokan 7. Samuel Ajayi Adaramola Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To create long-lasting self-employment and work opportunities for less privileged people and those with low incomes, including women, thereby easing their self-sufficiency.

2. To enable displace people and those with low incomes, including women, to depend less on humanitarian assistance and to become self-sefficient.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Chief Gershom Henshaw - President 2. Elder (Prof ) Eyo Etim Nyong 3. Chief Dr. James Eneboco 4. Bankole Olusola - Secretary 5. Mrs. Ekanem Uduma 6. Ekpenyong Ita 7. Barr. Mrs. Temitope Ekpenyong Ita Aims And Objectives Are : 1. To assist brillant and under-privileged students with proven track records of excellence in academic achievements and leadership potentials to achieve good education.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the day of this publication.

Signed: BARR. OLUBOBOKUNOLA OMOJAYOGBE; 08165269880

Signed: SECRETARY

Joseph

l, formerly known as Ibrahim Misbau-Deen now wish to be known and addressed as Joseph Ibrahim. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

EKAETE

l, formerly known as Miss Ekaete Aloysius Ntong now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs EKAETE lDONGESIT EFIK. All former documents remain valid.

NSCDC and the general public take note.

YAHAYA

l, formerly known as UMAR BALARABE now wish to be known and addressed as YAHAYA BALARABE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Idiabana

l, formerly known as AISHA MOHAMMED ABDULLAHI now wish to be known and addressed as Idiabana Clementina Akporherhe. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

USMAN

l, formerly known as MISS USMAN HAFSAT now wish to be known and addressed as MRS USMAN ISA HAFSAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EMMANUEL

l, formerly known as EMMANUEL SIMEON UKARAKPA now wish to be known and addressed as EMMANUEL PETERS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OMUARU

l, formerly known as MISS DOKUBO KAINE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OMUARU KAINE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Emedike

l, formerly known as Igwegbe Chijioke Azuka now wish to be known and addressed as Emedike Chijioke Azuka. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

70

October 31, 2014

GARDEN OF SUCCESS CHRIST POWER MINISTR

CAR UPHOLSTERY CANOPY AND BAG MAKERS ASSOCIATION EKITI CHAPTER

MILE 3 GROUNDNUT DEALERS ASSOCIATION, PORT HARCOURT

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration in accordance with the provisions of part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No 1 of 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

This general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

The Trustees are 1. ONIFADE CHRISTIANA ANIKE 2. OJO OLUWASINAAYO 3. ADEYEMI ELIZABETH OLUBOLADE 4. ADEMILUYI RASAKI SOLA 5. ALADE WEMIMO COMFORT OYEGOKE 6. ADEBAYO ADEJOKE EMILY 7. OWONIFARI OLUBUNMI EMILY 8. OLORUNFEMI ADEBISI

THE TRUSTEES ARE1. ADEGBORO SEGUN 2. BABATUNDE JOHN 3. OGUNKUADE IDOWU 4. ADEBIYI ARIYO 5. DUROJAIYE OJO 6. OLAROTIMI BOLA 7.ORISANIYI ADELANI 8. AJIBUA RASAQ 9. SULEMAN RASAQ 1O. OKUNOLA TAIWO.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Elechi Peter Obinna 2. Uchenna Stanley Anyanwu 3. Ikechukwu Darlington Ndubueze 4. Chukwuebuka Christopher Ikegboo 5: Chibuzo Ozurumba 6. Chibueze Okoroafor 7. Udoka Okoro 8. Egwoum Azusuike 9. Mr. Ruben Duruji 10. Ibe Viginus

Aims and Objectives 1. To preach the gospel of the lord Jesus Christ to the whole world.

2. To provide for the needy members.

3. To establish and build churches & worship centre all overtheWorld.

4. To train & disciple men to win souls for Christ.

The Aim And Objectives: 1. To foster unity among members.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja within 28 days of the publication.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To see to the needs of members.

2. To bring qunity and harmony among members. Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: TRUSTEES

Signed; Secretary

Signed: Barr. Eke E. F. Efficient Solicitors. N0. 7 Igboukwu Street, D/Line, Port Harcourt

CHAIN SAW AND ALLIED PRODUCTS DEALERS ASSOCIATION

COMMUNIO SANCTORUM MINISTRY INT’L

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE (WEIN) BAUCHI

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990

The general public is hereby notified that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja for the Registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

TRUSTEES: 1. CHIEF GODWIN EZEEMO

2. SIR PETER OKALA

3. CHIEF FINBARRS OFODUM 4. UMEH LIVINUS O. 5. JOEL ONYEBUCHI 6. CHINEDU NWUNELI 7. CHINEDU UZONDU

- CHAIRMAN - SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION AND WELFARE OF REGISTERED MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION SIGNED: SECRETARY

LOSSOF loss of OFDOCUMENTS document DOCUMENT LOSS

This to is inform the general public that in the month of August, 2014 that the receipt of payment and some other documents showing the purchase of my shop at wuye district, Abuja belonging to MISS. JOYCE SAM-AMAGA got missing, all effort to locate the said documents proved abortive and the general public please take note, any information please contact: Barr.

Eniola Moses 08034622690 UCHECHUKWU

I, formerly known and addressed as UCHECHUKWU JUSTINA KURUE, now wish to be known and addressed as UCHECHUKWU JUSTINA IKEZUE. All former documents remain valid.

UniAbuja Teaching Hospital and the general public should please take note.

TOCHUKWU

I, formerly known and addressed as TOCHUKWU SAGACIOUS AGULEFO, now wish to be known and addressed as TOCHUKWU SAGACIOUS IKEZUE. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

ADEBOYEKU

EZENWAFOR

I, formerly known and addressed as UMOZURU U. NKECHI CHINWENDU, now wish to be known and addressed as EZENWAFOR NKECHI CHINWENDU. All former documents remain valid. Nipost, Jigawa and the general public should please take note.

YERIMA

I, formerly known and addressed as YERIMA DANIEL, now wish to be known and addressed as YERIMA DANIEL ENGA. All former documents remain valid.

The General public should please take note.

maureen

TRUSTEES: 1. REV FR. PROF BONACHRISTUS UMEOGU 2. 2 ONYEBUCHI GEOFFREY CHIDI 3. UMEOGU CHINEDU JUDE

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the Gospel of Christ all over the world.

2. To take care of the welfare of its members.

3. To establish Local Branches for the propagation of the Gospel worldwide.

4.

To employ and deploy, train and ordain ministers for the furtherance of the work of the Church.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION

LOSSOF loss OF ofDOCUMENTS DOCUMENT document LOSS

This is to notify whoever concerned that I Mr. Frank Chenemelu lost my documents consisting an allocation of a plot of land situated at Dutsen Alhaji Bwari Area Council with plot No. 440 of about 1,500m2 dated on 2/2/95, with the recification letter from AGIS dated 9/8/2011 with file No. EN 44805.

General public are hereby equally informed. If found please contact AGIS Dept. of FCT or the Nigerian Police Area 11, FCT

CELESTINA

l, formerly known as CELESTINA JABUWA now wish to be known and addressed as CELESTINA STEVE MIDALAH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

MARIA

I formerly known and addressed as MRS MARIA OBI ANSELM now wish to be known and addressed as MRS MARIA OBI IKWUAGWU. All former documents remain valid.

The general public to take note.

PAULINA

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS PAULINA D. YARO, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs PAULINA YERIMA DANIEL. All former documents remain valid.

The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Maureen Obiageriaku Iwueke, now wish to be known and addressed as mrs. maureen obiageriaku hembadoon gbagir. all former documents remain valid. council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and the general public to please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as CHANCHAGI HASSAN ABUBAKAR, now wish to be known and addressed as MAISHANU ABUBAKAR HASSAN. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MRS BOLOKOR ONYEKA JANE FRANCIS, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS CHUKWU ONYEKA JANE FRANCIS due to divorce. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS VICTORIA OCHONIA EGENE, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs VICTORIA OCHONIA ANDREW. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I formally known as AMINA SANI HUSSAINI now wish to be known as MRS. AMINA SHEHU NABABA. All documents remain remain valid. Kebbi State University of Science and Technology and the general public to note.

I formally known as AMINA SANI HUSSAINI now wish to be known as MRS. AMINA SHEHU NABABA, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology Aleiro and general public to note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ODEBUNMI OLABIMPE ABISOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs AKINGBA OLABIMPE ABISOLA. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as NA’OMI AYUBA, now wish to be known and addressed as MARIAM A. YUSUF. All former documents remain valid. General public to please note.

AMINA

1X1 SPACE FOR SALE

CHUKWU

AMINA

VICTORIA

AKINGBA

MARIAM

1X1 SPACE FOR SALE

NAME OF TRUSTEES: 1. Ahmadu Rufai Sabo - Chairman 2. Confort J. Bindi 3. Hadiza Nuhu Guna 4. Prof. S. E. Bogoro 5. Lydia H. Tsammani 6. Hauwa B. Pyiki 7. Mary I. Abubakar 8. Tabawa Sule Atiku - Secretary AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. Educate the society on peaceful coexistence.

2. Ensure access to education for women and girl-child for self actualization.

3. Ensure adequate participation of women at all levels of governance.

4. Support and foster the formation of grassroots’ women’s organizations.

5. Implement programmes that will promote good health and reduce poverty among women.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Secretary

SIGNED: SECRETARY

I, formerly known and addressed as ADEBOYEKU MOROUNTOSAN OLUWABAMIWO, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEBOYEKU MOROUNTOSAN ISEOLUWA. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

MAISHANU

-PRESIDENT

UYI

l, formerly known as FRIDAY MARY now wish to be known and addressed as UYI MARY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Akinlolu

I formerly known and addressed as Buraimoh Taiwo Emmanuel now wish to be known and addressed as Akinlolu Taiwo Emmanuel.

All former documents remain valid.

NOSDRA and general public to take note.

GLORY

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS PRATT CYNTHIA ROLI, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs GLORY ROLI AWAJI-ONYI JAPHET. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

TIMBYEN

LOSSOF loss of OFDOCUMENTS DOCUMENT document LOSS

This is to inform the general public of the LOSS OF AGIS CERTIFICATE AND ORIGINAL LAND OFFER OF PLOT NO. D58, LOCATED AT KANGO IN KUJE AREA COUNCIL MEASURING 2000SQ METERS BELONGING TO MBAKWE ONYEBUCHI. All efforts made to trace this missing document proved abortive. If found,please return to the nearest police station or call: 07035559300 OBIJIAKU

l, formerly known as MISS DIJI JESSICA CHIZOBA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OBIJIAKU FELIX JESSICA CHIZOBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Princess

NMAJU

l, formerly known as BIENOSE PATIENCE NWADOZIE now wish to be known and addressed as NMAJU DONALD PATIENCE NWADOZIE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Babangida

I, Formerly known as Princess Nnenna Ifeora Okadigbo now wish to be addressed as Evang. Princess Theodore Ekemezie All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, Formerly known as Babangida Isa now wish to be addressed as Babangida Isa Captain All former documents remain valid The general public should please take note

I FORMALLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AMINA IBRAHIM MADUGU NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AMINA HABIB BALARABE. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, NYSC AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS MUSA GRACE EGBUNU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OGACHEKON GRACE EGBUNU. All former documents remain valid.

Directorate of Police Education, Usmanu Dan Fodi and the general public should please take note.

AMINA

Rukayya

OGACHEKON

Esele

I, formerly known and addressed as Rukayya Adamu Barde, now wish to be known and addressed as Rukayya Hussaini Elnafaty. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, Formerly known as Esele Fortunate Okonofua now wish to be addressed as Esele Fortunate Ekuaze. All former documents remain valid University of Benin, Nat. Post Graduate Med. College of Nig. , Med & Dental Council Of Nig. West Afr. Col. of Surgeons and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OLAPADE AHMAD BOLAJI, now wish to be known and addressed as GIDADO-AHMAD AHMAD BOLAJI. All former documents remain valid.

The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ADEBISI FUNMILAYO ELIZABETH, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs SANUSI FUNMILAYO ELIZABETH . All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss ODEBUNMI OLABIMPE ABISOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs AKINGBA OLABIMPE ABISOLA. All former documents remain valid. The General public should please take note.

I, formerly known as OLUBUKOLA TEMITOPE ABATAN now wishes to be known and addressed as OLUBUKOLA TEMITOPE OLATERU. All former documents remain valid. General Public take note.

l, formerly known as Miss Omon Henrietta Inedia now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Omon Henrietta Ize-Iyamu.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS TIMBYEN SAMANTHA GARBA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs TIMBYEN SAMAnTHA LAWAL. All former documents remain valid. FGGC Langtang, Nasarawa State University and the General public should please take note.

GIDADO-AHMAD

OLUBUKOLA

SANUSI

Omon

AKINGBA

Ayedime

l, formerly known as Miss Ayedime Faith Olokun now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ayedime Faith Elukpo.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

LEADERSHIP FRIDAY

sports PREVIEWS AND NIGERIANS ABROAD October 31, 2014

Keshi Back As Eagles Coach, Commends Jonathan Appeals Committee Vows To Void he has not been informed of Pinnick’s Election If…. his reinstatement.

By salifu usman,Abuja

Reinstated Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has expressed his willingness to lead Super Eagles through the two remaining Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers matches with Congo and South Africa respectively.

He commended President Goodluck Jonathan for ensuring that he returns to his job.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja after a brief meeting with the Minister of sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Tammy Danagogo, Keshi said though

He noted that if truly President Jonathan has intervened and he will be allowed to continue with his job then he thanks him for believing in him even when no one else did.

“Really, if it is true that President Jonathan had intervened and asked me to return as Eagles coach, I just thank him for that.

I have not heard it, you guys are just telling me. I only came here to say hello to the minister of sports, Danagogo that’s all,” he said, “Returning to Eagles’ job is going to be very hard, but I have my mind to think about

By Salifu Usman, Abuja

Keshi

it first, but if the president has ask me to return, for the peace to return in the country football which is important to the players too and for the love I have for the country I have served for fourteen years as a player while not despite the treatment meted on me,” he concluded.

NFF Crisis: Giwa’s Faction Withdraws Case From Court

By Salifu Usman, Abuja

The lingering crisis rocking the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will soon be over as Ambassador Chris Giwa-led faction have finally withdrawn their case against the Amaju Pinnick-led board from the Jos High Court and to set to embrace peace.

Presiding judge, Justice Ambrose Allagoa struck out the suit yesterday after the plaintiffs indicated that they would no longer continue with the case. The case filed by Obinna Ogba and Yahaya Adama; who are both members of the Giwa-led faction.

Giwa

The decision by Chris Giwa-led faction to withdraw their case from court, LEADERSHIPfriday sports reliably gathered was facilitated

by President Goodluck Jonathan, who they said furious about how the country has been portrayed in bad light with the unending crisis in football.

Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Tammy Danagogo said the President for his love football and Nigerian youths intervene in the logjam to safe the country from FIFA’s ban from international competitions and other football related matters.

Giwa who has consistently argued that he remains the legally elected NFF President was before now appealed

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) elections appeals committee has vowed to annull the September 30 elections that brought in Amaju Pinnick as the President of the NFF if it discovers that the elections were blemished with a lot of irregularities against the electoral guideline.

Chairman of the appeal committee, Barrister Okey Ajunwa stated this yesterday while briefing newsman after the inaugural sitting in Abuja.

He said the committee have so far received four petitions on the general conduct of the September 30 NFF elections in Warri. to by the Sport Minister Tammy Danagogo to withdraw his litigation against the Football House, however the appeal was not heeded to.

The Sports Minister stated that Giwa and indeed the other factions should look at the bigger picture-Nigeria rather their own personal self.

With the latest development, Nigeria looks set to escape a backlash from the world football governing body who had given the country till midday of Friday October 31 to furnish It with proof that all cases in civil courts against the NFF has been withdrawn.

President Cup: Danagogo Tasks Organisers On High Standard

By Salifu Usman, Abuja

Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Tammy Danagogo has charged Alhassan Yakmudled organising committee of the President Cup to put in place a befitting tournament that will meet international best

standard anywhere in the world.

President Cup is an age-soccer competition conceptualised by former Super Eagles captain, Kanu Nwankwo alongside other ex-internationals to help discover young talents from all the nook and crannies of the country.

The event expected to kick off in the 774 local government Areas of the country, will hold next month between October and early next year.

Addressing the participants at the oneday stakeholders’ retreat with the theme ‘Delivering a Quintessential

Tournament’ held yesterday in Abuja, Minister said, the organisers must ensure high standard and transparent to achieve the objective of fishing out burden talents between the ages of 16 and 19 years when the competition gets underway.

Borrowing is bad, and paying back is always a loss.

— Egyptian Proverbs

He said his committee will be fair to all parties.

“We have received four petitions on the conduct of the elections in Warri.

We have been debating on petitions since the morning (yesterday) and we found out that the respondents are not even aware of the petitions.

“What we have decided to do is that, the petitions will be copies the various respondents to enable them respond adequately to the petitions. We are going to do a hide sitting because everybody is involves in football. Our sitting will be open and transparent for everybody to see what we are going do.

“We are going to invites everybody that the

Pinnicks

allegations are made against and they will respond accordingly.

They can respond through their lawyers and they can also come to defend their case themselves. But you cannot come to say different things from what you have written to us. You will come to state your case and the prayers you are asking us to grant you,” he stated.

ODI COMMUNITY COMPENSATION TRUST FUND This general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. HRH KING SHINE APRE, THE AMANANAOWEI OF ODI 2. PROF KOBINA KEME -EBI IMANANAGHA 3. TRUMAN ABIAMA -SECRETARY/OGBOLOMA REP. 4.CHIEF MILLIONAIRE ASANGBA PLAINTIFF/OGIEN-AMA 5.CLEVER GEORGE AMAKIRIEBIAMA 6. CHIEF GORDON DENENU /CHIEF IN KINGS COUNCIL 7.CAPT. JESSE TOMBIRI /PLAINTIFF/ 8. PROF. DAUKIYE ZIBOKERE /EBEREZE/ 9. CHIEF LANGIBOFA GUAGHA (CASE WITNESS) 10. CHIEF GODFREY INOKOBA (CHIEF IN KINGS COUNCIL) 11. TONYESEIGHA JOHNSON BOLOU 12. CHIEF ANDAKOBOWEI EBIKORO 13. DISEYE MESSIAH IBE. 14. JONES YABITEIGHA (IFIDI) 15. CHIEF ARIBO IMBAZI 16. AGADAH SHADRACH 17. CHIEF RICHARD POYERI 18. CHIEF MRS OKORINAKI CHARITY AYAOWEI 19. CDR. KOKU IMANANAGHA RTD 2O. CHIEF AMARAN ETETE 21. MR IDONI INGEZI 22. CHIEF EBITIMI KARIORU

-CHAIRMAN

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. TO PROVIDE A LEVEL PLATFORM FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF ODI COMPENSATION FUND TO BENEFICIARIES. Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: IFEANYI ONWUZURIKE CEDARWOOD SOLICITORS, ABUJA 08050605543

AMAZING GRACE EVERLASTING ARM CHURCH THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR EZEKIEL TUNDE OLUMOROTI 2. EVANG. RACHEL OLUREMI THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO PREACH D GOSPEL OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

AMUSEMENT PARK

it’s not that i’m afraid to die. i just don’t want to be there when it happens — Woody Allen

FOR GOD AND COUNTRY c

www.leadership.ng

NIGERIA'S FIRST FRIDAY NEWSPAPER

Guest Column Jorge Ramos

No. 76

@thisisfusion

P

residents tell lies. Well, not all of them, and not all the time. But one of the main lessons that Ben Bradlee, the recently deceased former editor of The Washington Post, taught us is that our job as journalists is to challenge what the people in power tell us. All the time.

Bradlee was responsible for the newspaper’s coverage of the Watergate scandal – the tangled web of spying and corruption that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. It was a story that forever transformed the craft of journalism because it demonstrated how two dogged reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, could play a role in removing a lying politician from the highest office in the land. After Watergate, Bradlee wrote, “I started looking for the truth after hearing the official version of a truth.”

Of course, when Nixon denied that his administration was involved in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal, it wasn’t the first time a president lied, or certainly the last. There are thousands of examples of heads of state around the world resorting to dishonesty in order to get what they want or to cast themselves in a more favorable light.

Hugo Chavez, the late president of Venezuela, for instance, was notorious for doing this. I spoke to Chavez in 1998 right after he was elected president the first time. During our discussion (which can be viewed here) Chavez pledged that he would step down after his first term had ended, or even before. That turned out not to be true. He also said that he wouldn’t seek to nationalize Venezuela’s industries and that he would respect the rights of an independent press. Two more falsehoods. In fact, lying

N200

31.10.14

Presidents Lie. It’s Our Job To Find The Truth Journalism is about objectivity, but it’s also about being fair. As a journalist, you cannot treat a dictator the same way you would treat his victims

Ben Bradlee

helped Chavez bend Venezuela toward totalitarianism, a trend which has continued with his handpicked successor, Nicolas Maduro.

Then there is Fidel Castro, who, following the triumph of his Cuban revolutionaries in 1959, repeatedly declared that “we are not Communists.” Fiftyfive years later, his brother, Raul, heads one of the most repressive Communist regimes in the world.

As journalists, we cannot swallow the official line without question. We should challenge almost everything that dictators, presidents and officials say. This irreverent, rebellious side of reporting – described lately by some commentators as “point-ofview” journalism – insists that we demand results from our leaders, rather than cozy up to them in order to gain favor.

For instance, it’s perfectly OK for a journalist to approach a topic from an antagonistic position. That’s what Edward R. Murrow did 60 years ago

when he took on Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist tactics on his program “See It Now.” Walter Cronkite did the same thing when he criticized the government’s handling of the Vietnam War. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour criticized the United States’ passivity during Serbian abuses in the Balkan War in the 1990s. And Anderson Cooper pointed out the failures of President George W. Bush’s administration in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. The list goes on.

Journalism is about objectivity, but it’s also about being fair. As a journalist, you cannot treat a dictator the same way you would treat his victims. One of our main responsibilities is to point out and prevent abuses of power.

But when journalists forget that our job is to question and annoy those in power, there can be huge consequences.

Remember that more than 120,000 Iraqi civilians and almost 4,500 American soldiers died in

the Iraq War, an unnecessary conflict that was rooted in officials’ dishonesty about weapons of mass destruction.

Those claims weren’t questioned by the majority of journalists.

In Mexico we have a long history of dishonest presidents who came to office with the help of fraud at the ballot box.

Another troubling example in Mexico is that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of student demonstrators were massacred by the army in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco plaza in 1968, yet the most renowned journalists in the country kept silent in the aftermath. In contrast, the recent massacres in Tlataya and Iguala, which involved the army and police and have resulted in dozens of deaths, are being covered by a new generation of Mexican journalists, particularly in digital media, and they are not afraid of confronting those in power. Facing this new wave of criticism from journalists with a point of view, the response of

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration has been paralysis and silence. But these journalists will keep asking questions until the truth is revealed.

Not every corrupt and dishonest president will lose power, as Nixon did, but Bradlee and his reporters at The Washington Post demonstrated that every politician should be afraid of that. Nothing is more revolutionary than the truth.

Jorge Ramos, an Emmy Awardwinning journalist, is the host of Fusion’s new television news show, “America With Jorge Ramos,” and is a news anchor on the Univision Network. Originally from Mexico and now based in Florida, Ramos is the author of nine best-selling books, most recently, “A Country for All: An Immigrant Manifesto.

GHANA MUST GO Abuja indigenes to get ministerial slot in 2015 — Jonathan

So what?

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