27th sept 2014

SATURDAY SATURDAY SATURDAY

Sanctity of Truth

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Saturday, September 27, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 221

/newtelegraph /newtelegraph

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N150

Ekiti: Pandemonium, curfew and blood

lArrest and prosecute Fayose now, says APC lI’m not aware a judge was beaten up - Governor-elect Adesina Wahab, Ndubuisi Ugah Ado-Ekiti/Lagos

A

ll hell was let loose in Ado-Ekiti on Friday as angry youths took to the streets vandalising properties

over the killing of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Omolafe Aderiye, on Thursday night.

Aderiye, also a staunch supporter of the governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose, was shot dead about 8.30pm at his office in Ijigbo

area of Ado-Ekiti. As a result of the development, the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the state.

He has also suspended his farewell tour of the state which would have ended next Thurs-

day.

“Ekiti Kete, in order to forestall further descent into anarchy in our state, I am taking the very difficult decision to suspend the ‘Thank You’ tour which I’m undertaking as part of our transitioning-out formalities.

“Also, I have taken the decision to institute a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the state immediately.

Accordingly, there would be no movement between the hours of 7.00 p.m. and 7.00a.m. everyday CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Sport Splash SATURDAY 27 SEPTEM

BER 2014

RENEE CHUKWUEMEKA

KCEE

ASISAT OSHOALA

SPORT

From television to culinary art }13

Wizkid and Davido beef a necessary stunt }23

Dad threatened to stop my school fees }3

Conversation

SHOWBIZ

Your free 8-page thriller }25

AMCON appoints receiver-manager for MMA2 l Bi-Courtney: We have a restraining order

A

Foluso Ogunmodede Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Bi-Courtney group of companies, owned by Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), and others to hand-over its concessionary powers to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), following their inability to pay a N50 billion debt owed the asset managers.

Besides, the court also ordered Bi-Courtney’s bank accounts to be frozen with immediate effect just as it ordered the banks to disclose all account balances to the asset managers.

Consequently, AMCON was ordered to take over three other companies.

The companies, Chartered Investment Limited, Resort International Limited and Roygate Properties, including Bi-Courtney are now to be controlled by AMCON. The order, according to the court, takes effect immediately in accordance with a concessionary agreement with the Federal Government.

The court also ordered AMCON to take over the old Federal Secretariat building in Ikoyi, Lagos, belonging to Roygate Prop,erties pursuant to a concessionary agreement between Roygate and the Federal Government.

The order was however predicated on the companies’ inability to pay the N50 billion debt owed AMCON by Bi-Courtney and other related companies belonging to Babalakin and AMCON, which ceded the exparte order in favour of the asset managers.

Accordingly, the court empowered a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), to commence a recovery process with a view to recovering the companies’ assets and enforcing the liability of individual shareholders and directors.

Specifically, the court mandated Agbakoba to manage the companies’ affairs so as to recover debts owed AMCON. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

OPENING SHOT

FREE NFF elections

Akinwunmi wants FG to stop Giwa p.27

La Liga

Ike Uche aims to punish Real Madrid p.29

Interview

Winning bronze in Glasgow is a career highlig ht - Aruna Quadri for me p.31

More kn for keShioockS iheanacho ver

�Elaho, Akp oborie

F

Vincent Eboigbe

Jonathan’s 2nd term

25

Premier Leagu

e London boils as Tottenham dare Arsenal at Emirat es p.28

fault coach’s stance on you ngster

impulse in the midfield Keshi is unimpres is well known, ormer Super but ually and JonathanEagles stars, Friday Elaho criticised for his sed and has been heavily integrated inflexible position. into the Super Akpoborie, However, agreed with He said: have disEagles.

Elaho, who the “Big Boss” both in Africa“Keshi is experienced was a teammat his decision coach Stephen Keshi over in the not to include enough and e of City starlet, Manchester that football is a game Super Eagles, argued a player is good Europe to know whether Kelechi Iheanaho enough for the young this is indeed Keshi has insisted , in his he doesn’t have to listen for him or not, so and that the most appropri that Iheanach team as yet. introduce the most valuable only ideal the young to bring on to all opinions. It player at last o, who was man into the ate time to enable World Cup, “Iheanacho year’s U-17 him to learn the young lad now is senior team. cannot citing the factis too young for the to from the senior senior side, this is the best time be too young; in fact, in the team.” that his team players dom, Manchest for him to tional in “So given be in the naer City, have the United King- bracketteam. All of us youngster started me that Keshi the foregoing, it is not included the in between at buttress his their squad for the new himself,” Elaho 17 and 20 years, that age is too young can actually say thatshocking to stance. season to Iheanacho told our correspon even Keshi developm for the Eagles. telephone.

The Eagles Football is dent on the ent from one about recent time have struggled to create the “Besides stage only and this was to chances in way that can the there are during the for the happen in next and double Africanforcefully accentuated who are already full many players at his this case is age now, young man to be included against Congo internationals Nations Cup countries. he doesn’t Keshi can at fixtures in the team have put him on for their diately. so he can understu Nigeria lost home and South Africa That is how to start playing immeaway. dy the senior the bench the team, ond in Cape the first match 3-2 he can be integrate sometimes and d into leaving the Town ended in a goallessthe sec- to the end throw him into the frayplayers and in Europe but that cannot happen team with of a game. and the national when maximum That way the 10 minutes home just one point draw, will gradually team convergehe is for of six and young engagem from integrate a putting tion for the ents and s at into the team. man “I biennial champion their qualifica- say he is too young But to who don’t understand it he is not part of it? is off the Iheanacho’s On his part, ship in jeopardy. because this if well managed ability to provide Akpoborie mark.” is a boy has the world superstar noted Iheanach the creative could only develop . We all saw potential to be a and fulfill o potential if him his immense City’s pre-season given the opportun playing with during Man ity and is grad- and he was not the top players that decision. fazed. So I don’t understand ”

Count me out - Okogie

If you eat with those with dirty hands, then you must be dirty...

Is this the man they say should rule the nation for a second term?”

}45-46

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

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SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Contents | 27.09.14 INSTYLE

Blazing Trends

Is there any fashion piece classier in a man’s look than a blazer? There’s none particularly if the colour is white. White is a bold colour that stands out on its own. It’s no surprise then that the white blazer has increasingly become a fixture on the red carpet.

}17

SHOWBIZ

A Legend Departs Only a few perhaps would know that Omawumi’s hit song, Bottom Belle, is a cover version of a song composed and recorded in 1959 by highlife musician, Herbert Udemba. A tribute penned for Udemba who died this month by his nephew sheds light on the life of this Imo State-born artiste

}35

More Knocks for Keshi

SPORT

Former Super Eagles stars, Friday Elaho and Jonathan Akpoborie, have disagreed with coach Stephen Keshi over his decision not to include Manchester City youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho, in his team as yet

}25 Reviewing Bandele

THE ARTS

In a review of Half of a Yellow Sun, directed by Biyi Bandele, filmmaker and Marxist critic Didi Cheeka writes that the director’s style is “so profound you will seem too dull to understand the narrative if you’ve not read book.”

}37

TRAVEL

Ofala Groove

Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe and the people of Onitsha prepare for this year’s Ofala Festival, the centuries old communal rite to which sons and daughters of this sprawling commercial city often look forward.

}42

MY WEEKEND

Memory Lane Chief executive officer of JTA Enterprises, Tunde Adeoye, relives memories of his childhood growing up around Idungaran Street, home to the Oba of Lagos’ palace.

}44 Plus: Politics 47

|

Street Diary 10

|

Faceoff 48

Comment

T

World Tourism Day

oday, the world celebrates the 2014 annual World Tourism Day (WTD) in Guadalajara, Mexico.

WTD is celebrated every year on September 27 as a global effort to highlight tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value. This year’s ceremony comes under the theme Tourism and Community Development and focuses on the ability of tourism to empower people and provide them with skills to achieve change in their local communities.

It is widely acknowledged that worldwide tourism industry is rapidly recovering from the recession in which the global economy had been mired all this while. Spurred by such encouraging scenario, international tourist arrivals have also continued to grow, supported by higher global per capita income and improvement in consumer sentiment.

Avid followers of trends in the industry affirm that tourists from emerging economies, particularly counties in Asia and South America, have driven the industry’s tremendous growth over the past five years. They also assert that emerging economies now account for a much larger share of the tourism industry, as compared with a decade ago, and that this is expected to continue over the next five years to 2019 as the world economy continues to strengthen.

Research shows that in response to rapid changes in family structure, working pattern and public mobility, which have all generated a worldwide boom in tourism, the industry has also been positioned as one of the major growth industries as well as the largest source of employment in the world.

Available statistics indicate that the number of tourists has tripled over the past 20 years. In addition, it is estimated that the business they create is worth about N810 billion (US$ 5 billion) a year. Every year, nearly 650 million tourists avail themselves of the services provided by hotels, villas, apartments and camps in different parts of the world.

The World Tourism Organisation’s (WTO’s) long-term growth forecast Tourism: 2020 Vision envisages an average 4.1 per cent yearly expansion of the sector over the next two decades, which would result in an increase of the number of global tourists annually to possibly 1.6 billion. Correspondingly, figures from World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) indicate that the travel and tourism industry generates a hefty N801 trillion (US$ 4.9 trillion) in economic activity; contributes about 11 per cent to GDP worldwide and generates 8.2 per cent of total world employment, or 207 million jobs globally.

All things considered, the trends and figures about the global tourism industry today

and in the long-run look enticing. Yet, we believe that they will only make more meaning to Nigeria if and when we are able to align policies and programmes at all the tiers of government in the country with the firm objective of gleaning and domesticating the lush opportunities that abound in that sector for the nation’s economic, social and cultural wellbeing.

Sally Mbanefo, Director-General of Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) says the country’s tourism market is worth N648 billion (or approximately $4 billion). This may look good, but certainly remains a far cry from the country’s tourism potential, especially when the knock-on effect of harnessing opportunities from such industry products as traveller accommodations, travel arrangement and reservations, air transportation, food and beverage establishments, car rental, gasoline, recreation and entertainment as well as allied retail activities, are considered.

While opportunities springing from these spheres of the tourism industry still need to be maximised, we strongly believe that the very low-hanging segments of the market should be empowered to find space and contribute to national development. The overarching need to break away from the shackles of a monoculture economy makes this quest even more urgent.

The informal (indirect) sub-sector of the industry, for instance, needs to be immediately supported to create employment in the sector and more meaningfully engage suppliers of vegetable, fish, meat, dry food, chemicals and additives for pools and laundry equipment, stationary, food and beverages, kitchen equipment, consumables, suppliers of maintenance equipment and spare parts, bands, entertainers, magic shows, suppliers of tourism souvenirs such as wood crafts, silverware, batiks, beach vendors and beach operators, transport providers including bus hires, cars, vans and three wheelers. Fresh tomatoes alone, among other fresh vegetables used in airlines and other relevant tourism businesses, generate about N100billion annually.

Considering the huge value that can be added to the nation’s development and growth strides by this fast-growing industry, we urge the government to initiate action designed to issue visa at points of entry into Nigeria. The overall environment also needs to be deliberately made more conducive for tourism business to thrive, while such potentially viable tourism locations as Ikot Abasi, Obudu Mountain range, Ejirin, Ikogosi, Argungu, Gurara Falls, Oguta Lake and others, also deserve all the attention they can get.

Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief n Eric Osagie Deputy Managing Directors n Gabriel Akinadewo

Felix Oguejiofor Abugu

Managing Editor n Suleiman Uba Gaya

Editor, Daily n Yemi Ajayi

Editor, Saturday n Laurence Ani

Editor, Sunday n Emeka Madunagu

Deputy Editor, Saturday n Waheed Bakare

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins

Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

News Editor n Ndubuisi Ugah

Advert Manager n Taiwo Ahmed

Ag. Sales/Marketing Manager n Uchey Okezie

Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

3

OpeningShot SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER, 2014

4

‘Dad threatened to stop my school fees if I played football’ intimidations and nothing like seniors or juniors, but deep inside us we know that they are our seniors, so everybody respect each other.

Do you think Falcons can win the AWC and qualify for the World Cup? Yes definitely. Falcons are going to Canada 2015, I’m so confident about that. I have not seen the team in Africa that can threaten us, even though we didn’t resume this camp early but I still believe in the team.

How and when did football start for you?

When I was very young. Football is a talent and I wouldn’t say I started at any age, but at some point I realised I could play football so I had to go to the streets to play with my friends Were your parents and siblings in support of your choice to play football?

Initially when I started playing football, my parents especially my father did not support me. He always threatened that if he saw me close to football he would not pay my school fees because I was the intelligent type in school. He was afraid that it would make me unserious with my studies, because he was so passionate about my education and not my sport, but when he saw the determination in me he decided to support me and here I am today

Soaring high... Clockwise from top: Oshoala with her MVP award; off the pitch; and celebrating a goal at the U-20 Championship in Canada

Asisat Oshoala won many admirers across the world with her dazzling displays at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. The leggy striker recounts her experiences at the competition as she looks ahead to the African Women Championship in October and the women’s World Cup next year. She spoke to COMFORT CHUKWU in Abuja Describe the emotions you felt when you were named the most valuable player (MVP) at the last U-20 Women’s championship?

I felt very happy, I was very happy with myself when I was named the MVP. Before the tournament I gave myself an assignment: to play very well, and I can say I was really happy with the outcome because I did the assignment very well.

Did winning the MVP (golden ball) and the golden boot in any way compensate for losing the final match to Germany?

I won’t say yes, because I wasn’t happy really when I won the MVP and golden boot awards. But when people were saying ‘I’m acting as though I didn’t win anything’ that was when I realised that my mood could be better. Losing the final to Germany was so painful that the MVP award and the golden boot did not compensate for losing the trophy.

Nigeria also lost in the final of the 2010 edition to Germany. Has Germany become something of a jinx?

It is not as if Germany is better than Nigeria, but our problem is just our finishing in front of goal. The same thing happened to us in 2010 even in 2014; it was even better this time because we played better than Germany, we didn’t take our chances but I think we have to keep working on our finishing What actually went wrong considering

that the Falconets had so many chances to have wrapped up the match?

I would say anxiety because that day we had chances even better than in our previous games but we were not able to convert them. That was what led to the score line of the game, and why we lost to Germany How did the players react to Lovett Ayila after she touched the ball as it was going into the net during the final thereby making it an offside? Were there recriminations afterwards?

It happens like that football in football.

It was not her fault, if I had been in her position I would have done the same thing.

We were on the pitch so we did not know whether the ball crossed the line or not, but we only told her that if it happens that way next time she should just allow the ball to pass, it will just go in. It can happen to anybody, she was happy that at last she got a goal; that was why she touched it, it wasn’t her fault.

How did your friends and folks receive you when you came back from the World Cup? Do they treat you differently now that you are a star?

They were very happy, in fact the way they even did the thing was as if we won the World Cup, they made me feel like a star, I had a very good welcome. Lagosians also did their own, in fact House of Representative member, Abike Dabiri, was the one that hosted me because I am from

Lagos State.

The African Women’s Championship is set to begin and the Falcons are already in camp. What are your expectations and do you think Nigeria can reclaim the top spot in Africa?

Yes, this time around I think the victorious outing of the U-20 team in Canada has really boosted the morale of the Falcons, because with just this little training I’ve had with them I see that the spirit is very high. They are all ready to work because they are saying in their minds that if U-20 side can make it to the finals in Canada then they can bring the cup home.

Do you think the camp opened early enough given the enormity of the task ahead?

Actually I would say it is late because normally Falcons don’t report to camp with just one month or three weeks before the competition, it hasn’t happened that way before. However whatever the case I know we will still return with something good.

You are a member of the senior team now, are you in any way intimidated playing with the established stars?

No, no, no, in fact the senior ones in this camp have really encouraged me even the ones that we came from U-20 team together, they have been saying that we enjoyed the camp when we played the qualifiers.

They are just like friends and sisters, no

And now there is money...

It was not about the money, it was about my determination because I had to sit him down and talk to him as a father; he saw the zeal in me, knew that I serious before he decided to allow me go ahead. His fatherly support was enormous so much so that he was giving me allowance to transport myself for trainings How many clubs have you played for locally and are there plans of playing abroad?

Two clubs. I started with Ex-rebel International in Lagos, from there I moved to Rivers Angel where I am currently. As of plans of going abroad it is a yes. Definitely, I would love to go to England, Germany or France You don’t want to go to Russia or Turkey for instance?

I don’t really like those places. The countries I like most are England, Germany and France And your education, are you thinking of going further?

For now it is on hold, maybe later in the future I will go back. I stopped after my secondary school, and I got admission twice. I dropped out because of my football What are your happiest moments in the game so far?

When I was made the MVP of the U-20 women World Cup, although I didn’t really show it because we lost to Germany, but deep down I felt so happy my efforts paid off.

You are still young and may not really have low points as yet, or are there?

No, but I would say the day I collected a yellow card it was like a waste card for me. It wasn’t something good really because it was out of anger, but throughout the tournament I had to correct that.

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Waheed Bakare and Ibrahim Musa

A

rewa Consultative Forum, the socio-political group that promotes the interest of the North, has blamed governors from the region for the escalation of insurgency in the area.

The group said if the governors had implemented its recommendations on how to curtail the insurgency, the violence would have been nipped in the bud before it got

News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

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Boko Haram: Northern governors ignored our recommendations, says ACF out of hand.

ACF made its position known through its spokesman, Alhaji Muhammadu Ibrahim, who spoke in an interview with Saturday New Telegraph.

He said: “Even before it got to this stage, I remember in 2011 we sent a

high-powered delegation to visit the president and complained to him about what was going on in Borno State. That time it had not escalated to this stage.

Even when there were frequent attacks in both Borno and Yobe states at that time, we kept on urg-

ing the president to visit the area. Even the north state governors, we kept hammering on them to visit the area to console the governors of the two states and sympathise with the people. That will give them encouragement.

“Because of those calls

Ekiti State Governor, Dr kayode Fayemi, with Colonel Adonkie, Garrison Commander of 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, during an inspection tour of troubled spots after the crisis in Ado-Ekiti on Friday

CONTINUED FROM PAG E 1

till further notice. We urge the citizenry to be vigilant and provide the security agencies with details of suspicious activities that can undermine the peace in our state,” he said.

Fayemi also said he has advised the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Mr Wale Fapohunda, to advise the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Adaramola, to take the hearing of cases by the regular courts and the sitting of the Governorship Election Petition, Tribunal to venues outside the state.

“Accordingly, I have this morning directed the AttorneyGeneral of the state to issue a legal advisory to the Chief Judge of the state and all the parties to the existing cases in the state high court and the Ekiti State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal, on the desirability of seeking an alternative venue for the hearing of these cases outside Ekiti State.

The state can no longer afford to witness the bizarre spectacle of the beating up of judicial officers and wanton intimidation of lawyers and court personnel,” the governor added.

But Ekiti State’s Governorelect, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has offered a somewhat contrary view on the crisis.

“I am not aware that a judge was beaten. In fact, this is strange to me. Though, I visited the Election Petitions Tribunal as a party to the case and I was the only one that was allowed passage by security to the Tribunal. And to the

that we had been making, the president later visited Borno and Yobe states.

Thereafter, ACF organised a Unity, Peace and Development conference in Kaduna in December.

Vice President Namadi Sambo represented Mr. President. All northern governors and elite were there; we had a two-day session and a lot of security issues were discussed.

“Thereafter, ACF collated all the views expressed at the conference and documented it into what we called roadmap. It talked about education, agriculture, industries and poverty alleviation programmes.

We compiled them into a book and took some copies to the governors of the 19 states, through their chairman, the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu. He assured us that all the governors will get copies.

By our own reckoning, if the recommendations are implemented we believe that they would have discouraged most young men to join these insurgent groups.”

Total chaos in Ekiti State best of my knowledge, the three judges handling the tribunal case actually seated,” he said.

There were reports that Fayose’s supporters had beaten up an election tribunal judge, Justice John Adeyeye, and ripped his clothes for being allegedly rude to the governor-elect.

That development forced the state Chief Judge, Ayodeji Daramola, to order the immediate closure of all courts in the state until adequate security measures are in place.

Speaking further, Fayose said: “How can I order the people to beat up a Judge that has nothing to do with me? At what point was this judge beaten? Was he a member of the tribunal? Because I went to the tribunal and not the regular court.

“But I want to point out that a situation whereby judges or judicial officers who should be custodian of the law get compromised with politicians, then anarchy sets in. The judge handling the suit against my qualification dropped the case because of tension and because he lacks the confidence to continue. It would have been better for him to insist that he would try the case based on its merit. It is sad that most of our judges have compromised.

“If you have been defeated in all the 16 local government areas and you now want to come through the window, it won’t

be like ice cream party to APC. I would not be too cheap like Segun Oni. I am not going to be cheap at all because I was elected by the people.

“I don’t care about whatever they write about me because I have grown a thick skin. The strategy of APC will not work. Nobody, no matter how highly placed would remove me cheaply.”

The PDP, on Friday, also condemned the killing of Aderiye, saying it smacked of desperation on the part of the APC to cling to power even after it had been voted out of office.

The publicity secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, said: “We’ve raised the alarm on the clandestine move by Fayemi and his men to attack the Governor-elect, Dr Ayo Fayose, and some notable leaders in all the 16 Local Government Areas as from the 22nd of September 2014 while the killing of Aderiye who is one of the notable leader of the party in Ado Ekiti occurred on the 25th same month, this has vindicated our earlier claims.”

Oluwawole who said that Aderiye was at the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti on the June 21 the governorship election in the State, where he had mobilised members of the drivers’ union and other associations in solidarity with Fayose. He said the deceased became target of APC as a result of his commit-

ment to the mandate given to the governor-elect.

“We appeal to the inspectorgeneral of police and all relevant security agencies to bring to book the perpetrators of these dastardly act so that those whose aim is to create a chaotic situation that will negatively affect the swearing-in of the governor-elect will not have their way.”

Meanwhile, the campaign office of Fayemi, along Ajilosun Road, the state secretariat of the APC opposite Fayemi’s campaign office have been vandalised by youths said to be members of the PDP. Also not spared were the Ado Local Government secretariat of the APC, a popular eatery, Danke Foods, belonging to an APC chieftain, Mr Bayo Aina, public structures and vehicles parked along major roads in the town.

Areas such as Okeyinmi, Ijigbo, Odo-Ado, Ajilosun, Ereguru, Ojumose bore the heaviest brunt of the violence, as the youth moved from one location to the other to attack suspected leaders of the APC. The chaos crippled commercial activities in the state as private businesses and government institutions were hurriedly shut.

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, led officers and men of the command to constantly patrol the streets.

The development also led to national newspapers not circu-

Worried that the insurgency was escalating rather than abate, the APC spokesman said in March, the group wrote a protest letter to Aliyu and followed it up with a visit to voice its displeasure over the recurring violence in the North and non-implementation of the group’s recommendations.

“We told him that we have been talking and the president has formed so many committees but these things kept escalating. We gave him a graphic picture of what is happening, including cattle rustling in Zamfara and Katsina states, ethnic clashes in Benue State between farmers and suspected herdsmen.

The same ethnic clashes were going on in Nasarawa and Taraba states.

Many people are just being killed every day.

We were so concerned that was why we went to Governor Babangida Aliyu and we publicised our visit and the protest letter,” he added.

See interview on page 50

lating in the state, as vans bringing in the papers had a difficult time coming to the state and by the time they eventually got to Ado-Ekiti, they could not be circulated.

People coming to the state from Ondo, Osun and Kogi states had difficulty in accessing the state as a result of the violence.

Also, The APC has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Fayose “for leading a band of thugs to beat up a Judge and then instigating his supporters to attack and burn down the opposition secretariat in the state”.

The party, in a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said since Fayose does not yet enjoy any immunity from arrest and prosecution, he should immediately be arrested over the dastardly and barbaric attack, which represents an attack on justice and on the rule of law, and the violence that has gripped the state.

“Even though Fayose has not assumed office, he has succeeded in taking Ekiti State back to Egypt within a few months of his ‘election’. Not only are Judges being attacked, the kind of killings and chaos that characterised his first time in charge of the state have already started. He is struggling hard to ensure that Ekiti is no longer in the league of states where disputes are settled in courts, instead of on the streets, and judges preside in the administration of justice.”

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News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

2015: APC presidential aspirants to pay N27m for forms CONDITION

l Governors, Senators to pay N10.5m, N5.3m respectively

The APC has released the amount to be paid by aspirants for the party's elective positions

aspirants, they are to pay N10.5 million for nomination and expression of interest forms, while fresh aspirants are to pay N5.5 million for the same forms.

For the National Assembly, the sitting senators will pay N5.3 million, while the fresh aspirants will pay N3.3 million. Also the members of the House of Representatives, who might want to return will pay N3.2 million, while those aspiring afresh would pay N2.2 million.

The state house of assemblies fresh aspirants will pay N550,000, while sitting aspirants are expected to pay N800, 000.

The party's NEC also approved 50 per cent deduction for the female and physically challenged aspi-

T

Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

he National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday approved the electoral guidelines of the party, pegging the expression of interest and nomination forms for its presidential ticket at N27.5million.

However, forms for other elective offices categorised as sitting aspirants were expected to pay more than fresh aspirants for the same office.

For sitting governorship

rants for all the offices.

The meeting was attended by the members of the National Working Committee, led by its chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, presidential hopefuls, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Others were Governors of Kano and Nasarawa States, Rabiu Kwankwanso and Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, Board of Trustees (BoT) members, zonal chairmen and state chairmen of the party.

On the presidential primaries, the party stated that an electoral college comprising all statutory delegates to the national convention; three elected delegates from each of the local government areas of the federation; and all ward chairmen from the 8,

812 wards in the federation shall elect the presidential candidate of the party.

The party said: “Members shall vote by ballot at a Special National Convention which shall be convened for that purpose, collation of results shall be made and the winner announced accordingly.”

The sale of expression of interest forms will commence on October 6 and stop on October 19, while the sale of notation forms will commence on October 20 and stop on November 6. This applies to all elective offices.

For the screening of the presidential aspirants, it will commence on November 10 and be concluded on November 12.

The appeal will hold on November 13 and 14.

The Week Ahead

Oyedepo turns 60 today Founder and presiding president of Living Faith Church Worldwide (a.k.a Winners’ Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, will celebrate his 60th birthday anniversary today.

In view of his accomplishments as a minister of the gospel, educationist and author, among others, a thanksgiving service has been scheduled for tomorrow at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Ogun State.

U-17 CAN qualifier: Nigeria hosts Gabon today Nigeria’s U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, will today file out against their Gabonese counterpart in a decisive CAN Under-17 qualifier at the he U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Cross River State.

With a 1-2 loss to Gabon in Libreville two weeks ago, the Coach Emmanuel Amuneke-led team will be going into the second-leg match with a lot of determination to clinch the ticket.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) has picked Moroccan officials for the tie.

City People Excellence awards holds Sept 28 The 2nd City People Political Excellence awards will hold at Planet One Event Centre, Maryland, Lagos on September 28.

The event, which is billed to be the biggest gathering of all who-is-who in Nigerian politics, will begin at 2p.m. with a red carpet show.

CBN’s deadline on capital adequacy expires Sept 30 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deadline for the transition to Basel II/III by money deposit banks will expire on September 30.

The Basel II is an international business standard that requires financial institutions to maintain enough cash reserves to cover risks incurred through operations.

The Basel accords are a series of recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BSBS).

Court decides Fintiri’s application Sept 30

L-R: Chairman, Abuja National Mosque Management Board/Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar; Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura; former President Shehu Shagari and Vice-President Namadi Sambo, at the 54th Independence Day Juma’at prayers, at the National Mosque, Abuja…yesterday PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Police take over APC secretariat in Ebonyi Charles Onyekwere ABAKALIKI

F

ollowing the leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, heavy presence of riot policemen were yesterday, seen at the party’s secretariat on Kpirikpiri axis of the old Enugu-Abakaliki Road.

This is coming against the background of alleged plan by a faction of the party led by Dr.Ogbonnaya Onu, to conduct fresh congresses in the state.

The policemen numbering over 30, according to sources close to the party, were dispatched to the secretariat ostensibly to scuttle plots by some suspected thugs working for a faction to invade the secretariat and conduct a kangaroo

ward and state congresses.

The party in the last two months had been engulfed in a leadership crisis, following a petition written by some aggrieved members loyal to Onu to the party’s national executive, demanding the cancellation of the congress that produced the Ben Nwobashi-led executive.

In a telephone interview with Saturday New Telegraph, the member representing Ezza North/Ishielu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Peter Edeh, accused the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, of trying to hijack the party machinery in the state.

Edeh, who is the vicechairman, House Committee on Solid Minerals and a former Commissioner for Education in Ebonyi

State, expressed regrets that Okorocha had shown desperation in controlling and installing the party leadership in all the five states in the South-East.

The lawmaker further stated that there was no way any congress could be conducted in the state today, adding that the Nwobashi-led faction had gotten a court injunction restraining the party from conducting any other congress in the state outside the earlier congress supervised

by Mrs. Ndu Adesola.

“There won’t be any congress in Abakaliki tomorrow or in the near future because those who wanted to cancel the results of the former congress have been stopped from doing so by a court of competent jurisdiction. Our problem is that they have

not been able to state categorically why they want the congress cancelled," he said.

In a swift reaction, a former House of Representative member and stakeholder of the party in the state, Innocent Ugo Chima, said they were awaiting directive from the national leadership of the party, stressing that they had called for the cancellation of the purported congress.

“There was no congress that day and it was glaring to everyone. If they are on ground, why are they shying away from participating in a fresh congress. Our party stipulates punishment for anyone who goes to court, we have to await their directive, that would determine if the congress would hold today or not,” he said.

The Federal High Court in Lagos, will on September 30 deliver judgment in the suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, which contested the legality of the removal of former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State.

Ogungbeje had in the suit argued that Nyako’s removal was a clear departure from established due process of law.

But worried that the judgment may not go his way, the acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri, had filed an application seeking to stop the judgment.

In the application filed before Justice Okon Abang, Fintiri, through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), wants the court to set aside all the proceedings so far conducted in the suit.

N25.7bn fraud: Atuche knows fate Sept 30 Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, will on September 30 continue hearing in the ongoing trial of a former managing director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Francis Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth, which was stalled on September 24 due to power outage on the premises of the court.

The couple are standing trial before Justice Lateefat Okunnu alongside a former chief financial officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu, over alleged theft of N25.7 billion belonging to the bank brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

AD holds prayer session for Lagos Sept 30 The Bj Collective (TBC) with collaboration of Alliance for Democracy (AD) is organising a two-hour prayer session for peace to reign in Lagos State and Nigeria during the 2015 elections.

With the theme: ‘Lets Pray 4 Lagos’, the event is expected to commence at 9a.m. to 12noon, at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Saudi Arabia fixes Arafat Day Oct 3 Saudi Arabian authorities has announced October 3 as Arafat Day, which marks the peak of the annual Islamic holy pilgrimage.

As a result, Muslims worldwide would celebrate this year’s Eid-alAdha or Feast of Sacrifice the following day (Saturday) in line with the lunar Islamic calendar.

A statement by the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia confirmed this after the new crescent of the month of Dhul Hijjah was reportedly sighted on Wednesday night.

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Jonathan visits Edo today, may receive Ikimi, Ize-Iyamu, others Cajetan Mmuta BENIN

A

formal reception for some key national leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, who defected from the party to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will hold today when President Goodluck Jonathan and other National Executive Committee (NWC) members visits the state.

Already preparations are at the highest ebb as the leadership of the party in the state make last minute move to ensure the success of the event with mobilisation of members of the party from across the 18 local government areas and three senatorial districts of the state.

Besides, all the support groups of aspirants eyeing various elective positions at the national and state House of Assembly are locked in a poster war for space at the main entrance to the Samuel Ogbemudia

Stadium, which is the venue of the event.

Assorted banners and posters of different sizes and colours adorned with the pictures of Mr. President had as early as 9a.m. yesterday taken vantage positions within and outside the stadium complex under the auspices of different support groups to usher in the president.

While in the state, he will receive formally the former APC national leader and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi; Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and hundreds of his loyalists drawn from the three senatorial zones, including the nine PDP lawmakers in the Assembly led by the suspended Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea.

Investigations revealed that more lawmakers out of the 15 APC legislators, who were staunch loyalists of Ize-Iyamu but presently with Governor Adams Oshiomhole were set to defect to the PDP at the rally.

Suntai gets leave to serve Umar processes through submitted means Wole Ayodele Jalingo

J

ustice Silas Haruna of Taraba State High Court on Friday granted leave to the state Governor, Danbaba Suntai, to serve the acting governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar and Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Josiah Sabo Kente, court processes through substituted means.

Given the order while ruling on a motion expert brought before the court

by E.A. Eyanro, counsel to Suntai (Plaintiff/Applicant), Justice Haruna ordered that the originating process on the Speaker, who is the 1st defendant in the suit be served on the

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Clerk of the Assembly or Secretary in the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly.

Similarly, he ordered that the originating process on the acting governor, who is the 3rd defendant in the suit be served on the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Taraba State (Who is the Chief Law Officer of the State) at Ministry of Justice Headquarters, Jalingo.

Eyanro had on resumption of the case yesterday brought a motion expert urging the Court to grant leave for the processes to be served on the Speaker and the acting governor by substituted means following the inability to serve the processes on them personally in Jalingo as ordered by the court.

OGBA FBI identifies IS executioner in beheading videos

NEWS IN BRIE F

The Director of United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, has said he had identified the masked Islamic State (IS) militant, who was videotaped beheading Western hostages.

He said on Thursday night in Washington, that he was not revealing the man's name or nationality.

The masked, black clad militant, with a British accent, killed two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and a British aid worker, David Haines, in videos released by the terrorist group that controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq.

7

ENUGU BENIN CITY Benin-Ofosu dual carriageway Women group donate vehicles to orphanage homes for inauguration today

An Abuja-based women group, Okunne Daughters’ Association, on Friday donated two new Toyota Sienna vehicles to two orphanage homes in Enugu State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the beneficiaries are Holy Child Motherless Babies Home, Enugu, and Daughters of Divine Love Motherless Babies Home, Ehalumona, Nsukka.

Presenting the vehicles, the President of the group, Mrs. Victoria Ani, said the gesture was to lift the spirits of the management of the homes.

“When I saw the children, I felt somehow but I told myself that I will not cry because they are in good hands and well taken care of,” she said.

35,000

27,200

The total number of internet users in Faroe Islands in 2008.

Source: Blatantworld.com

The total population of men in Cayman Islands in 2010.

Source: Un.org

President, Goodluck Jonathan will today inaugurate the 75-kilometre BeninOfosu dual carriageway in Edo State.

A statement signed by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Works, Olusegun Ogunkayode, said the project, which is the rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of the Benin-Shagamu Road (Benin-Ofosu) is 75-kilometre length and was handled by Reynolds Construction Company at the cost of N24 billion.

“The phase 1 of the project which covered a distance of 50-kilometre along Benin bound of the carriageway was successfully completed and delivered in June 2, 2009," the statement said.

35.87

The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants of Bahamas in 2010.

Source: Itu.int

Obi of Onitsha: Second Niger Bridge is our dream, our passion APPEAL The Obi of Onitsha has called for the commencement of the Second Niger Bridge to attract investment to the South-East Okegwo Kenechukwu

T Onitsha

he Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, has said the people of the SouthEast geo-political zone and Nigerians in general are eagerly awaiting the commencement of the second Niger Bridge project.

Achebe said this while playing host to a team of officials from Julius Berger Construction Company Plc,

led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Detlev Lubasch, who paid him a courtesy call in his palace.

The monarch thanked the board of management of the company for the visit, saying the second Niger Bridge had been the dream and passion of the people of Onitsha and the SouthEast states because the one in use is over burdened, over used and as such was weakening day by day.

He harped on the important of the second Niger Bridge, promising the managing director and his team that he would do his best in giving the company a reasonable corporation.

“We want the best and I am happy Julius Berger is handling the project.

We are also aware of your

contribution to the development of Abuja and Nigeria.

It is also an opportunity for us to involve some of our good graduates for training as engineers.

“The project will also beef up commercial activities and a lot of artisans from Onitsha, Ogbaru, Asaba and indeed Anambra State will benefit.

Igwe Achebe also assured them of a guaranteed security network in the state, saying that the state government hadprovided an enabling environment for them to operate effectively and efficiently without molestation.

Earlier, Lubasch had told Achebe that the visit was in keeping with the tradition of the construction company to the host communities of their construction projects and pledge their total com-

mitment while pleading for the cooperation of the people of the area.

“It is our feeling to come along to your palace to seek your understanding and support and as well formerly inform you that we are now part of Onitsha. We also wish to inform you that the project is under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and we have come here to do the job, we will not disappoint anybody and we will always come to you to seek for your assistance if we have any problem with the right of way of the host communities,” he said.

Lubasch also used the opportunity to present two books to the royal father, one of which is the construction and development of Abuja and a brief of the company's works and projects since inception in Nigeria.

Buhari to declare for presidency Oct 8 Johnchuks Onuanyim Abuja

F

ormer Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buahari, will on October 8 declare his ambition to contest the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

His declaration is coming barely two weeks after former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had declared his presidential ambition on the same platform of the party.

It was gathered from a reliable source that the former Head of State and his supporters have drawn up an elaborate programme for the declaration on October 8.

The plan for Buhari's formal declaration for presidency came on the heels of

the approval of the time table for party primaries and fee for nomination forms by the APC's National Executive Committee (NEC).

While speaking to journalists shortly after the NEC meeting, the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the party was excited over the level of interest shown by aspirants.

“As far as the party concerned, the more, the merrier because they help in the process of membership mobilisation, particularly when they are from different parts of the country.And we have not put any geographical barriers as to who becomes our presidential candidate. We hope to seize the political space when the candidates come out and this will happen almost weakly from now,” he said.

L-R: Acting Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Benedict Adeyileka; General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke; Director, Human Resources, Mr. Austin Amadi and General Manager, Servicom, NCAA, Mr. Adekola Johnson, during NCAA’s press conference on Nigeria’s attainment of Federal Aviation Administration Category 1 certification in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

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27 SEPTEMBER 2014

JOS

Jang urges action against dubious politicians

N EWS I N BRIEF

Plateau State Governor and factional Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) Jonah Jang has advised the Federal Government to take drastic actions against Nigerians apprehended in shady deals abroad to save the nation’s image.

Jang made this statement in Jos, at the inauguration of the new 64-page International travel passport in the state.

The governor regretted how Nigerians are sometimes treated at some country’s boarders and urged all to behave responsibly abroad so as to give our passport a desired dignity and repair our nation’s image.

YENAGOA

AKURE

Ondo okays free movement Bayelsa completes sand filling of vehicles during sanita- of airport project Bayelsa State Government yestertion The Ondo State Government has announced that there would be unhindered movement of vehicles in the state during today’s environmental sanitation exercise to allow residents take part in the extended voter’s registration programme currently going in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, said in a statement issued in Akure on Friday, that the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, had approved that vehicle be allowed to move freely today to enable people participate in the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) .

day said it had completed the sand filling work at the site of the ongoing International Cargo Airport project at Amassoma.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, stated this on Thursday, while conducting a delegation of the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on an inspection tour of the International Cargo Airport, which is under construction.

The commissioner explained that civil and other construction related works would commence soon.

Gunmen kill six, burn churches, homes in Borno Ndubuisi Ugah

with agency reports

D

espite the ‘alleged’ killing of the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau II, and the surrendering of many sect members, some gunmen yesterday attacked Shafa, Tiraku and Shindiffu communities of Hawul Local Government Areas of Borno State.

In the wake of the attack, six persons were killed and some churches and houses burnt down.

An online news portal, Elombah.com reported that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack even though the possibility of the Boko Haram sect cannot be ruled out.

The caretaker chairman of Hawul Local Government Area, Dr. Andrew Malgwi, said on Friday that the hoodlums, who stormed the three communities in the early hours

of Thursday, burnt down all churches within those villages.

“Shaffa town, Shindiffu and Tiraku villages of Hawul LGA of Borno State were attacked in the early hours of Thursday and all churches within these communities including Major Christians homes were razed down,” the caretaker chairman alleged.

He also confirmed that six people were killed in the three separate attacks which lasted for several hours.

However, Shaffa residents claim that 20 people, including a pastor and a teacher were killed during the assaults while eight churches, a health centre, six staff quarters of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) of the area and several other houses were burnt in the operation that lasted for over six hours.

Lagos Police spokesperson, Braide, redeployed Juliana Francis

L-R :Executive Director, Corporate Services, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation(NDIC) Mrs. Lola Abiola-Edewor; Chief Marketing Officer, Visafone, Mr. Parag Sen and Head, Marketing & Strategy, Mr. Olumide Ajayi, with an award during the 10th Nigerian Telecoms Awards ceremony in Lagos.

PHOTO:GODWIN IREKHE

Jonathan rally: Enugu denies absence of federal lawmakers Uwakwe Abugu, Enugu and Lateef Ibrahim

T Abuja

he Enugu State Movement for the Re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan (EMJ), yesterday refuted a media report, which claimed that most members of the National Assembly from the state were absent at the rally held on Thursday in Enugu to promote the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The report had stated that only Senator Ayogu Eze attended the rally organised

by EMJ. However, the clarification came as the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), yesterday declared that it had not broken any known electoral law by mobilising Nigerians to support the President for a second term in office.

A statement signed by EMJ chairman, Charles Egumgbe, stressed that contrary to the report which he described as misleading; the only members of the

� We have not broken any electoral law, says TAN � North West rally holds today in Kano

National Assembly missing at the rally were the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and Senator Gil Nnaji.

He, however, said Nnaji had formally sought permission to be excused from the event as he was taking his son abroad.

“It is quite surprising that the said report would claim that Senator Ayogu Eze was the only member of the National Assembly at the rally when, indeed, all the other members of the National Assembly except Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Senator Nnaji, were there and they were all recognised by the masters of ceremony.

“I am at a loss as to where the reporter got his story from as it was clearly misleading and mischievous,” Egumgbe said.

He named the members of the National Assembly at the rally to include Senator Ayogu Eze and eight House of Representatives members in Toby Okechukwu (An-

inri/Awgu/Oji River), Offor Chukwuegbo ( Enugu South/ Enugu North), Mrs. Peace Nnaji (Nkanu East and West), Kingsley Ebenyi (Enugu East/Isiuzo) Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi (Udi/Ezeagu), Stella Ngwu (Igbo-Etiti/UzoUwani), Pat Asadu (Nsukka/Igbo Eze South) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Udenu/ Igbo-Eze North).

Egumgbe also used the occasion to thank President Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who represented the president and his entourage that included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Prof. Rufai Alkali.

The EMJ also commended its grand patron, Senator Ken Nnamani and other patrons, incuding Governor Sullivan Chime, former governors Jim Nwobodo, Alison-Madueke and Okwesilieze Nwodo, who

were all at the rally and extolled Chime for his sterling services and support for Mr. President.

Meanwhile, the Director of Communications and Strategy of TAN, Dr. Udenta O. Udenta, while making the clarification in Abuja at a media interactive session, said the group had not contravened any electoral law in the country.

Udenta pointed out that the relevant sections of the electoral law apply to registered political parties canvassing votes for their aspirants and candidates.

According to him, TAN is not a political party and that President Jonathan is neither an aspirant nor a candidate for election yet.

The Director of Communication and Strategy disclosed that the North West rally in support of the President, which is the last lap of the six geo-political rallies in support of the president, would hold today at the Polo ground, Kano.

T

he Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, yesterday begged those whom she had offended to forgive her as she announced her deployment by the command “for greater assignment.”

In a ‘thank you’ letter made available to journalists yesterday, Braide, who is the first female Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the command, said her junior colleague, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. Kenneth Nwosu, would take over as the image-maker of the command.

She urged all journalists to give Nwosu, “the same level of cooperation you gave to me.”

Braide, who asked for forgiveness from people she might have unwittingly

offended, said: “During the discharge of my duties here in Lagos State as the police spokesperson, l may have had disagreements with some of you, I hereby use this medium to say ‘I am sorry’. Considering the complexity of my office and varied opinions, there was no way I wouldn’t have offended someone.”

She expressed gratitude for the support given to her by friends in the media and Lagosians as a whole.

“You have been quite cooperative as you assisted me in making my job easier despite my short-comings.

As the first female Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, I expressed fears when I assumed office on June 11, 2012, but to my greatest surprise, I experienced the warmest reception and assistance from you all.”

2015: Power must shift to Delta North, says Nwaoboshi

T

he Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Peter Nwaoboshi, has said there is no going back by the people of Delta North senatorial district to produce the next governor of the state come 2015.

That for him is in line with the time-honoured principle of zoning, which the PDP is noted for.

The PDP chieftain, said this when members of the Anioma Media Professionals (AMP), paid him a courtesy call in Asaba.

He said as chairman of the PDP in the state, a party with a long-standing

history of equity, justice and fairness, the people of Delta North have the moral standing to aspire to rule the state in the next dispensation.

“It is only reasonable, just and fair that the only zone that has not produced governor in the state, Delta North, does so this time.

“We have gone too far in this journey, we have had series of meetings, we have made compromises in times past to ensure equitable distribution of power in the state, we cannot afford to recant our position as a people and as a party,” he said.

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Jonathan expected as Sultan honours Tambuwal today

T

he Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, will today, confer the traditional title of Mutawallen Sokoto on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja, by Tambuwal's Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, said President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to be the special guest of honour aside from other dignitaries expected from within and outside the country.

The statement added that other dignitaries in-

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vited include former Nigerian leaders, state governors, traditional rulers and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

Already, the national organising committee of the ceremony, headed by Senator Bukola Saraki, said all arrangements had been concluded for a successful gathering.

“Nigerians from all walks of life are therefore invited to grace the event where the rich cultural heritage of the people of Sokoto and the Caliphate will be showcased,” the statement quoted Saraki as saying.

CALABAR Group kicks against zoning of governorship in C’River

NEWS IN BRIE F

A group, Greater Calabar Forum (GCF) has flayed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State for zoning the governorship slot to the Northern Senatorial District of the state, describing it as an attempt to abuse the human right of the people.

National leader of the forum, Chief John Bassey, who made the position of the forum known to newsmen in Calabar on Friday, said true democratic practice and processes should be adopted in electing political leaders.

“We believe true democratic practice and process is to allow anybody in any of our three senatorial districts who wants to contest to do so. It is the people of our state, from Bakassi to Obanlinku, who should decide who becomes their governor." he said.

22,449

The total number of refugees and people in refugee-like situation of Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

HADEJIA Group donates goods to HIV/AIDS patients

A Jigawa State-based group, Society for Community Awareness and Mobilisation, has distributed economic empowerment equipment worth N600,000 to 31 persons living with HIV/AIDS in Hadejia.

The Project Coordinator of the organisation, Malam Saidu Kanti, stated this on Friday in Hadejia, while presenting the items to the beneficiaries.

Kanti said 25 women received sewing machines, pasta blending machines, cooking utensils and textiles materials to enable them to engage in productive activities.

“We distributed economic strengthening equipment to HIV/AIDS positive persons to enable them to become self-reliant and improve their living condition to cater for the education of their children,” he said.

17

The life expectancy (in years) of men at 60 years in Cape Verde in 2010-2015.

Source: Un.org

9

OGBA Reckitt Benckise, artistes, others partner on Ebola Efforts to scale up public education and awareness of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have received a boost with Dettol, the anti-germ protection brand from the stables of Reckitt Benckiser in securing the partnership of a health expert and some Nigerian artistes.

The health expert is Dr. Nneoma Idika, who is a member of the Global Hygiene Council, while the artistes are Lynxx, Kaffy, Omoni Oboli, Munachi, Ade Bantu, ace broadcaster Kenny Ogungbe; Owen Gee, Iyke Okechukwu (starring as Chuks on Tinsel) and Florence Uwaleke Okechukwu .

299,416 The number of fixed-telephone subscriptions of Bahrain in 2012.

Source: Itu.int

US commends Nigeria’s effort to combat Ebola spread Tambuwal

Jonathan extols Bishop Oyedepo's virtues at 60 Anule Emmanuel

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has commended the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (aka Winners’ Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo’s massive accomplishments as a devoted servant of God. He also commended his immense contributions to the education of Nigerian children.

The President in a letter written to congratulate the cleric on his 60th birthday anniversary today, declared that Oyedepo’s life was “truly worthy of celebration”.

“I write on behalf of my

family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rejoice with you as you mark your milestone 60th birthday anniversary.

“Yours is, indeed, a life truly worthy of celebration. You have attained lofty heights not just as an accomplished selfless servant of God, but also in the committed service of community, country, and our common humanity.

“You have not only committed to giving your all in pursuit of the massively impactful propagation of the Word, you have also embraced the cause of providing quality education for our children," he said.

CONGRATULATION

l UN hails implementation of MDGs policies

The US government has commended the Federal Government over its effort to contain the Ebola Virus Disease

mendation, while briefing some UN correspondents in New York on Friday.

He said Nigeria was one of the first nations to respond when she donated $3.5 million two months ago to ECOWAS for humanitarian aid and capacity building to the three Ebola affected countries.

“I will like to commend the Nigeria government on its efforts to combat the spread of Ebola. Stopping Ebola will take more than just the efforts of the U.S., we are mobilising partners around the world to help.

But we need to act fast.

“As we move forward, we must take action to control the outbreak and prevent a humanitarian disaster and also strengthen health systems for the future,” Gilmour said.

He said the U.S. government would continue to

Ndubuisi Ugah and Bola Kareem

T

he United States Government has commended the Federal Government’s on its efforts to combat the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Equally, the United Nations has commended Nigeria for her seriousness in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Africa Affairs, Mr.David Gilmour, gave the com-

mobilise other countries to join in making concrete commitments to combat the spread of the deadly EVD in West Africa.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the U.S. announced on Tuesday that it would send 3,000 troops to help tackle the virus, as part of a ramped-up plan.

The U.S. response to the crisis, to be formally unveiled by President Barack Obama, include plans to build 17 treatment centres, train thousands of healthcare workers and establish a military control centre for coordination.

The WHO, which said it needed foreign medical teams with 500 to 600 experts as well as at least 10,000 local health workers, noted on Thursday that Ebola had affected 6,263 and killed 2, 917.

Meanwhile, the Director of UN’s Millennium Campaign, Carinne Wood, while speaking at one of the side events of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, commended the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs (SSAP-MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol, for her commitment to the Project.

The event had as its theme: ‘Localising the Post2015 Development Agenda: Lessons from Intergovernmental Partnership in the Implementation of the MDGs’.

Woods also commended the former SSAP-MDGs, who is now the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Post 2015 Development Agenda, Ms Amina Mohammed, for laying the initial foundation for the Project.

AMCON appoints receiver-manager for MMA2 continued from page 1

But the management of Bi-Courtney Limited has countered AMCON’s stance with the claim that it had obtained a restraining order from a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Part of the restraining order granted by the presiding judge, Justice I.N Duba, read: “That the defendants/ respondents, particularly the 2nd respondent (AMCON), either by themselves or through their agents, officers, proxies, receivers, solicitors or otherwise, how-

soever, are restrained from commencing, taking and/or continuing any steps or actions to appoint aa receiver over, or in any manner howsoever take-over or interfere with the management, operation and/or control of the affairs of Applicant and/ or the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Domestic Terminal 11 (MMA 2) pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice for interlocutory injunction filed along with this application." see News Extra on page 52

Obi of Onitsha, Alfed Nnaemeka Achebe (left), and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Julius Berger Construction Company Plc, Mr. Detlev Lubasch, during a courtesy call by the company on the monarch in his palace in Onitsha…yesterday

Street Diary

Voices Who would you choose as your next-of-kin and why? p.12 With the victory recorded in recent times by the Nigerian Army over the insurgents, MAMMAN MOHAMMED of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) writes that residents of Damaturu can now sleep with their two eyes closed.

T

he Ajari football pitch in Damaturu was filled beyond capacity, with spectators occupying a lane of the Damaturu-Gashua Federal Highway, watching a local football match between Ajari United FC and Gwange Stars FC. The huge crowd was exceptional and such a crowd has not been witnessed in sports arenas in the city the last two years.

Scenes like this have now resurfaced in Damaturu with the football fields of schools taken over by young boys, while Majalisa, places where people gather after office hours to unwind with tea and suya (roasted meat), are now bubbling with activities.

Nowadays, hawkers move around freely on the streets, peddling their wares, while several houses, which were hitherto under locked, are now reopened; as many residents, who fled the city in the heat of the Boko Haram aggression, have returned.

Residents of Damaturu, who witnessed some carnage in 2011 and 2012 when gun shots and bomb explosions were commonplace, at the point in time could only imagine that one day, peace and tranquility will return to the city.

Observers recall that many residents then saw the situation as hopeless and fled Damaturu, after selling their property at give-away prices, out of fears that it would be a long time before peace could return to the troubled city.

They, however, note that those who bought the property were merely taking risks, as hope for peace in Damaturu then appeared quite grim.

Nevertheless, the determination and adept manoeuvres of the security agencies soon became fruitful, as the insurgents were pushed out of the city centre to the outskirts and finally into the bushes, thereby reducing the spate of attacks and violence in the state capital.

As peace gradually returns to Damaturu; stores at the famous Bayan Tasha market have reopened for business, as people now throng the market, buying and selling grains, groceries, textiles, electronics and shoes, among others.

Popular eateries such as Mama Edo and Twinkles, supermarkets like Ami and Alheri; shopping malls such as Gabarwa and Kagum plazas, as well as banks have all reopened for business, providing services to customers.

Alhaji Modu Ali, a textile merchant in Bayan Tasha market, said that normalcy had now returned to

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

10

Life picks up in Yobe as peace returns to Damaturu

Damaturu Market, Yobe State

Damaturu after years of violence which almost destroyed the socioeconomic fabric of the society.

“It is amazing that Damaturu is now serene after the tormenting period of the insurgency. Look at this place, life is back, with normal business flowing as if nothing ever happened.

“We thank God, the security agencies and the Yobe State Government for their collective efforts in ensuring the return of peace and normalcy,” he added.

Alhaji Abdullahi Mohammed, an electronics merchant in the same market, said that the peaceful atmosphere in Damaturu had

particularly boosted commerce in the city.

“The return of normalcy has been a blessing, as business is now thriving in Damaturu. We thank God and the authorities for the peace and normalcy we now enjoy,” he said.

Mr. Gabriel Ejike, who sells bag and shoes in another section of the city, said that he came back to Damaturu after his earlier flight from the city because of the insurgency.

He disclosed that he was encouraged to return to Damaturu due to the current peace and tranquility in the city.

www.naijarchives.com

Marriage and naming ceremonies, which were no longer organised in Damaturu because of fears of attacks by assailants, are now back on Fridays and Saturdays, with Muslims and Christians attending the ceremonies in their droves.

Malam Yahaya Usman, a Muslim cleric, said that marriages were now organised every Fridays across the city.

“Some residents, who planned to get married earlier, could not do so until now because of the insurgency. Now that normalcy has returned, you see a lot of weddings every Friday,” he said.

Mr. Joel Duku, a Damaturu resident, said that socio-economic and religious activities in the city had increased appreciably in recent times.

“You can now really appreciate the huge number of Christians in Damaturu and the large turnout of worshippers in churches on Sundays.

“Similarly, there are several weddings going on now in almost every church but the receptions for the weddings now take place within the church premises to ensure security.

“We are happy that our Muslim friends also attend the weddings and the receptions, as we celebrate together,” Duku said.

In spite of the fact that most parts of the state are still under curfew which restricts human and vehicular movements from 10 pm to 6 am, some weddings are now organised between 7 pm and 9 pm.

As security operatives relax their stop-and-search operations at checkpoints across Damaturu, movement around the city is now easier and faster, thereby boosting economic activities in the city.

With a few days to Eid-elKabir celebrations, people from all parts of the country are thronging the state to buy livestock for the festival.

Court dismisses Agunfoye Idi-orogbo residents’ claims to land Foluso Ogunmodede

“I

therefore hold that since the predecessors-in-title of the claimants were adjudged trespassers and the 1st defendant adjudged as Head of his family (Adeyoruwa family), the claimants are caught by the doctrine of estoppel”.

With these words, Justice Olajumoke Emeya of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja dismissed a suit initiated by the residents of Agunfoye Idi-orogbo community in Igbogbo, Ikorodu, an outskirts of the state, to stay clear of an expanse of land belonging to Adeyoruwa family.

Apparently miffed by the residents’ action, Justice Emeya berated them for initiating a suit already decided four years ago by a court of coordinate jurisdiction, describing it as an abuse of process.

For 10 years, Adeyoruwa family and the residents had litigated over who genuinely owned an ex-

panse of land in Ikorodu until the matter came to a head in March.

The residents, being led by Mr. Lateef Bilewomo, Mrs. Grace Mojisola Coker and Pastor Isaac Kunle Oni, had in 2006 approached an Ikeja High Court, asking it to determine whether their acquisition of the disputed expanse of land belonging to Adeyoruwa family was valid.

Besides, they asked the court to determine whether scores of land transactions carried-out by them in conjunction with the late head of Adeyoruwa family without the incumbent’s consent, were valid.

Specifically, the residents insisted that the land in dispute was validly acquired from the head and accredited representative of the Adeyoruwa family before the incumbent, Mr. Ishau Kolawole Ogunlana succeeded the deceased head.

But their bid to lay hold on the land collapsed as the court, presided over by Justice Habeeb Abiru, now of the Court of Appeal declared Adeyoruwa family

as the legitimate owner of the land in dispute.

The court in a judgement delivered on October 18, 2010, barred Bilewomo led residents from exercising any proprietary rights on the land as they were not entitled to any reliefs sought before it.

In the judgement, Justice Abiru, said “it is hereby declared that the Adeyoruwa family of Agunfoye Idiorogbo, in Igbogbo, Ikorodu as represented by the claimants, are entitled to the statutory right of occupancy in respect of the total area of land verge red except the area verged green in Survey Plan No.LAA/0327/07D/007, dated the 4th day of June 2007 drawn

by L.A. Animashaun, licensed Surveyor.

He went on: “It is hereby declared that the defendant is not entitled to exercise any possessory or proprietary rights in respect of the parcels of land and that the activities of the defendant on any part of the area of land amount to trespass”.

Dissatisfied, the residents, be-

ing led by their leaders- Bilewomo, Coker and Oni filed a notice of appeal before the trial judge, asking him to grant a stay of execution pending appeal.

But the appeal hit a rock as Justice Abiru dismissed their application for a stay of execution.

Undaunted, the residents again revisited the case as they approached another court of coordinate jurisdiction, asking it to invalidate the judgement delivered in favour of the Adeyoruwa family.

Reason: The trial judge, according to the residents, erred in law when he gave verdict in favour of the Adeyoruwa family as their presentations of two bottles of schinapps and kolanuts to the family periodically, including the incumbent head, Ogunlana was an indication that the land in dispute belonged to them.

But the family challenged them before the new court and denied their claims, saying that the land in dispute was entirely the property of the Adeyoruwa family.

Street Diary

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

11

Synagogue: Lagos begins identification of recovered bodies

Governorship aspirant donates transformer to community

Muritala Ayinla and Appolonia Adeyemi

Steve Uzoechi

� Demands DNA samples from relatives � Commences coroner’s inquest

T

he Lagos State Government yesterday said it had commenced the identification of recovered bodies from the collapsed guest house belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), calling on the relatives of the dead victims to come forward and submit blood samples that can aid forensic identification and DNA analysis of the corpses.

The government also said it had instituted a Coroner’s Inquest under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007 for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of the collapsed building.

Saturday New Telegraph gathered that the inquest was initiated by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, under Section 15 of the Coroner Law which provides that a Coroner shall hold an inquest whenever he is informed that the death of a deceased person lying within his-Coroner District was as a result of a violent, unnatural or suspicious occurrence.

In a statement made available, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said that the state government had considered it necessary to start forensic identification and DNA analysis of the recovered bodies in view of the need to identify each of them.

Idris appealed to the relatives of various nationals whose bodies had been recovered from the rubble

OWERRI

G

Collapsed Synagogue’s guest house

of the ill-fated building to visit the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja from Friday (yesterday) to submit samples that could aid the forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies.

He appealed to family members especially parents, children and siblings of the victims to urgently show up to enable them to identify decomposed bodies, adding that those eligible to give samples for the forensic identification and DNA analysis include; parents, children and siblings of the deceased.

Meanwhile, as controversies over the readiness of both the federal and state governments to carry out thorough investigation acertain the cause of the building collapse, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ipaye, highlighted that the Coroner had extensive powers to investigate the cause and circumstances of death and bring his findings and recommendations to the attention of appropriate authorities.

He said: “In doing this, he has all the powers of a magistrate to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, including medical examiners, and require

them to give evidence, produce documents or present other relevant materials.

“The law requires the verdict of a Coroner as certified in writing to be forwarded to the state Attorney General and such verdict may form the basis of criminal prosecutions depending on the evidence collected.

“The Coroner in this case is Magistrate O. A. Komolafe, who also sat as Coroner in the Dana Air Crash case. He is expected to announce his sitting/visitation schedules and other details and to hold the inquest on the premises of the High Court of Lagos State, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja.”

overnorship aspirant under the platform of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Dr. Osmond Ukanacho, yesterday donated a 500 KVA transformer to Umuwaku community in Ohaji/Egbema council area of Imo State.

Addressing party supporters during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected UPP officers in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area, Ukanacho said the gesture was in line with his philosophy and the passion he has for humanity.

Ukanacho said he was not at the event to campaign because it was not yet time but was present essentially to support his party, UPP and extend the goodwill to the people of Ohaji Egebma.

He regretted that successive administrations in the state had paid lip service to the sufferings of the people not minding that Ohaji/Egbema is one of the oil-bearing communities in the state.

Ukanacho promised to also install and energise the transformer.

The UPP governorship hopeful also awarded scholarship to a physically-challenged first year student of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, till graduation.

Fire guts 10 houses in Onitsha in two weeks Okegwo Kenechukwu Onitsha

D

ouble tragedy struck at Awada community in Onitsha North Local Government Area of Anambra State recently when three different buildings went up in flame simultaneously, following an alleged upsurge of electricity supply.

According to the residents, the incident occurred about 9 pm. One of the landlords at No. 26 Nworah Street, Mr. Nnonso Anumba, a native of Umuenem Otolo Nnewi, in Nnewi North Local Government Area told journalists that four of his children were already sleeping in their room at the third floor of the building when the incident happened.

He said the eldest among them was sleeping in the sitting room when suddenly there was an upsurge of electricity supply to the area resulting in the explosion of the central air condition in the sitting room. He added that the smoke that billowed from the explosion immediately spread to the rooms.

According to him, his eldest child quickly dashed into one of the rooms where his younger ones were sleeping and rescued them through the back door.

“We have lost all our landed property documents. My wife’s degree certificate, her Nitel ap-

One of the houses

pointment letters and identity card, international passport and other relevant documents were all lost to the inferno. In fact, we could not remove anything,” Anumba lamented.

He said the fire could not be put out by the combined team of the Anambra State Fire Service from Okpoko, Nnewi, main market and those from the nearby Asaba, Delta State, because of shortage of water supply.

Anumba said the disaster could have worsened if not for the timely intervention of the plastic packaging industry in the area which assisted the fire service with steady water supply from their borehole until the fire was brought under control.

He blamed the Enugu Electricity Distri-

bution Company (EEDC), alleging that the incident was caused by the excessive and intermittent electricity supply with high voltage.

But when contacted, the authorities of the EEDC declined to speak to the press. But a source in the company insisted that power surge could not have caused the fire outbreak.

The source said electricity surge could be controlled by proper management of electricity consumption, switching off of electricity appliances when not in use and proper wiring.

The source said, “It is either the appliances were not put off before the supply of the current or the wiring was wrongly connected. They are displaying ignorance by saying power surge

caused the fire.”

The source however advised electricity consumers in the state to always visit the company’s head office or any customer complaint unit to ask questions for prompt attention.

Saturday New Telegraph learnt however that the recent incident brought to about 10 buildings burnt in Onitsha electricity distribution zone within two weeks.

The areas affected according to an official of the state fire service, include Bright Street shop plaza, Umunna, St. James Street, all within Odoakpu in Onitsha North and South council areas as well as Ntueke, Nworah Street Awada and Nkpor Idemili Local Government area where two lives were allegedly lost.

Voices

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Who would you choose as your next-of-kin and why?

My wife – she is my better half My wife is my better half and she takes care of my children. So she is definitely my next-ofkin. I would have said my children but they are still very young. I also chose my wife because when we got married the marriage was for

better for worse.

(Dr. Thomson Ewata, university lecturer)

My first daughter – I am a widower I take my first daughter as my next-of-kin because I am a widower. If my wife was alive, she would have definitely been my next-of-kin.

(Professor Theophilus Fadayomi, university lecturer) My wife - because my family is compact, loving When I was newly married, my first daughter was my nextof-kin. When my marriage developed and I saw it is a stable family filled with loving and caring people I chose my wife as my next-of-kin because I know my family is a compact and loving one.

(Professor Demola Jolayemi, university lecturer) My husband – he is closest to me My husband is my next-ofkin because he is the closest person to me right now.

My sister is far away from me and so is my mother.

(Ogechi Ibbi, university administrator) My aunty – she is like another mother to me As for me, it is my aunty, that is my mum's younger sister. Apart from my mother, she is the only person I have.

I am an only child and my aunty is just like another mother to me.

(Mrs. Alfreder Aborkor) My twin brother – we are soul mates My next-of-kin is my twin brother. Right from the start, we’ve been close. We share our secrets together, play together and also fight a lot.

We are like a coin, when you see him, you see me.

(Taiwo Ajobi, student)

My fiancée – I am madly in love with her That will be my girlfriend.

She is my wife to be. She is more than a close relation because of the love I have for her.

(Temitayo Fashina)

My husband – he is always there for me My husband should be my next-of-kin because my parents are late and I don’t have any other person. Since I love him and he is always there for me, so he should be my next-of-kin.

(Mrs. Ademakinwa Adebisi)

My child should be my successor I believe my child should be my next-of-kin but I don’t pray for anything to happen otherwise my child should be the person to succeed me.

(Mrs. Helen Musa, teacher)

My children – I trust them My children should be my next-of-kin because they are the next after me and also I gave birth to them so I can trust them.

(Mrs. Fawuyi Abiola, teacher)

My wife – she knows all about me My wife should be my nextof-kin because she is the closest to me than any other person. I can't also remember the last time I spoke to anybody about myself. So since she knows more about me she should be the right person to be my next-of-kin.

(Tope Osatuberu, immigration officer)

My first daughter I would choose my first daughter as my next-of-kin because I think it is the right thing to do.

(Mrs. Cheryl Akaruese, trader)

My husband – I trust him My husband should trust me enough to choose me as his next-of-kin because he is my next-of-kin now that I am married. Although my sister used to be my next-of-kin.

(Nancy Okoro, analyst) My mother I would choose my mother because she is matured and wise enough to manage my resources.

(Ogunlana Olayinka, student) My sister – I trust her with my life I will choose my sister a million times over any other person. Because she is my blood and I can trust her with anything.

(Adeola Adesina, business woman)

My younger brother – I trust him For now I will choose my younger brother but when I get married, I will choose my wife. I will choose my brother because I trust him.

(Osahon Etiosa, banker)

My wife – we are one In short trust is the basic criterion someone must look into before choosing a nextof-kin.

It is my wife because she is me. Then when my children come of age, I will transfer my next-of-kin to my children.

(Ifeanyi Okereke, self- employed)

My elder brother – he is my best friend Presently my next-of-kin is my elder brother and he has been my next-of-kin for the past 18 years. Why I chose him and won't change him is because he's my best friend. Definitely, when I am married, I would decide who my next-of- kin will be but it can't be my wife. Most probably one of my sons or daughters, whichever one I am blessed with.

(Osaremen Ehigie, engineer)

compiled by

FAITH AIDEVO OBADAN, KEVWE OWUMI, GLORY UCHE TITTY, INIOLUWA EKEOLERE and SHADRACK YUSUF

12

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

WeekendDelight 13

C o n v e r s at i o n

Instyle

Show-stopping bandage dresses p.15

From television to the culinary art

The Arts

A review of Biyi Bandele’s Half of a yellow sun p.37

Hospitality

A n unusual laurel for Aba p.39

Love & Living ‘I slept with my father’s wife’ p.19

Renee

It’s not often you see someone making a dramatic switch from the celebrity world of television for the anonymous life of a chef. But that is what Renee Chukwuemeka did when she quit Soundcity as a presenter on the music channel to pursue a career in the culinary art. For Chukwuemeka, who is reportedly Nigeria’s first female certified chef, her current job is no less exciting. She tells OLUSHOLA RICKETTS the motivation for her action. © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

Roots of a dream I started cooking when I was nine years old, but I would say I started professionally three years ago. I have always loved to cook and even before I went to school to earn a certificate as a chef I would invite people to the house and give them a nice treat. People would tell me that I need to take it serious since I was acting like a chef already, but I didn’t see why I should focus on it. At that time too I did not think I had heard of any female chef in Nigeria and I was not seeing Nigerian chefs in the restaurants I visited too. I would see Lebanese chefs, Germans, South Africans and even chefs from Cotonou, but I would not see anyone from Nigeria. We don’t even have Nigerians as sous-chefs (sous-chef is the next person to an executive chef). So this and many more informed my decision to concentrate on it. I said to myself that it would make a lot of sense if I could take this as a profession.

Childhood memories I am the only child of my mum, but I have other siblings from my father’s. I grew up with a lot of uncles and my grand ma. I was born here in Nigeria and I had my primary

and secondary school education in Lagos.

So being the only child I had a very fantastic childhood. I got everything that I needed and a little bit of what I wanted. Even though I was pampered at home and a spoilt girl, my mum made sure I learnt how to cook. She would tell me that how do you cook for your husband when you get married. It was difficult at first, but I started loving it somewhere along the line. On Saturdays then, my mother, my late grand mum and I would be in the kitchen preparing moin moin and it gave me joy. I learnt how to roll moin moin with a leaf at eight years old and that was one of the greatest memories so dear to me. Till today I see women who cannot do it. For me it is so easy and I still use leaf to make my moin moin whenever I have access to it because it has its own certain flavour. For my university degree I wanted to study mass communication, but my mum thought being a lawyer was best for me because she maintained that I talked a lot. I didn’t get admission to study law; I was offered philosophy. I got bored and had to leave for America half way.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

14

Weekend Delight

| Conversation

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

‘Food business is the world’s next big thing’ C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 3

Anchoring Sugar & Spice on Soundcity When I returned to Nigeria a friend used me as the lead on a pilot TV show.

Though the show never saw the light of the day, it was presented to Tajudeen Adepetu of Soundcity and he fell in love with my performance. I was a TV presenter at Soundcity for about three years. I started out as a presenter for fashion, beauty and lifestyle shows.

It was really fun. I got to meet people and I had a cooking show too. I had a lot of shows that I anchored, but the cooking show was very particular for me. I would go to restaurants, meet with chefs and have a feel of their menus. The name of the show was Sugar & Spice. The chefs would cook me something and tell me how they arrived at it. And it was how I found out that we didn’t have a lot of Nigerian chefs, especially females.

Turning point I am one of those lucky people that actually did what they wanted to do and I got bored of it. I wanted to be a TV person and I got to do exactly that. But people kept remembering what a fantastic cook I am. However, I would say what I really wanted to do helped me to become who I am today. If not for the cooking show I would probably not be where I am today. One could be so excited about a particular thing, but once you get it you don’t feel anything for it again.

That was my story. Being a presenter was not fun as I actually thought it would be. But the information I had as a presenter strongly influenced my decision to study culinary as a profession. I went online, carried out my research and I discovered Le Cordon Bleu. Since I had been to the United States before then and I had family there things worked out smoothly for me. I was under intensive training by master chefs for a year. I don’t think we actually have a school to teach would-be chefs the things they need to know in Nigeria. I am sure that there was none at the time I left the country. Foreign chefs were the only ones respected in Nigeria, so I had to go to America and come back with something that I know it would be at par with other chefs all over the world. I was the only Nigerian in my class and I think in my own block too then.

Honing her skill I came here as the first trained and certified Nigerian female chef. I decided to come to Nigeria for my internship and the first place I worked was Protea Hotel, Ikeja GRA in Lagos. I was supposed to spend 12 weeks there, but I left for the VCP Hotel in Victoria Island. I did my other six weeks there and it was a great memory. I learnt a lot about adapting to Nigerian market such as costing, menu etc. Luckily for me the chef I was working with knew the owner of Brown Café and they were looking for a female chef.

He believed in me and recommended me to the management there. I worked as the executive chef of Trasco Group, the holding group of Brown’s Café, La Café Brand and the Illashe Beach Resort brand. I managed five kitchens and 16 cooks.

Frustrations on the job I am now a private chef and an instructor. I do private events for

Different faces... Chukwuemeka in her chef’s garb and (right) sampling her own meal

people. If you have a party of about 20, 50 people or more I would handle it for you. If I am working in a restaurant I would probably be an executive chef, but I am doing my thing by myself because I do not fancy the work ethic in Nigeria.

Commentator at Knorr Taste Quest I am the only female judge of the just concluded Season 2 of the Knorr Taste Quest reality cooking competition organized by Unilever Nigeria.

The experience was really amazing and it was the first time I would be rating performances of people on TV. It also gave me the impression that I am doing great for them to see me worthy to be a judge on the reality show. It seemed they Googled female chefs in Nigeria and my name came up. I heard people also spoke well about me and confirmed that they had heard of me before.

Paying the bills through cooking I don’t know if you’ve come across this, but the food business is the next big thing in the world. It is very lucrative right now and this explains why everyone wants to have a piece of the pie one way or the other. There is money there once you get it right.

Balancing work and family It is really tough but thank God I have one of the most supportive husbands on the planet. He is very supportive of my work and I have my mum who always helps me with my son. My husband is very understanding when I had to work late or shut myself so as to create something. When I was working at Brown’s Café, my husband would come and wait till I was done to take me home. My husband is also a creative person so he is proud of what I do and encourages me in his own way. I got married pretty young; we dated for about five years before tying the knot. We were inseparable since high school. Though I am a Yoruba girl and my husband is Igbo, we see ourselves as Lagosians or Lagos families.

“Everything in Nigeria has a different meaning...

Anybody that can put firewood together is a caterer”

Our mothers are good cooks, not chefs You know when it comes to traditional cooking you put a lot of things the way they are, but professionally you need to bring out a better appearance, taste, etc that would suit everybody. For instance, I noticed that many westerners do not like the taste of palm oil, so when I cook for them I either see a way to take out the palm oil or disguise and cook it in a way that westerners could still eat the food. But our mothers do not have time for this; they just want to cook their food the normal way they are used to. They are good cooks, not good chefs.

braggadocios, but I keep improving on whatever is it that I do. I cook Nigerian dishes very well too and people love them. I cook a very good podium blue dish; it is a chicken podium blue.

Attention to detail A chef can also be a caterer but it has a different meaning in Nigeria.

Everything in Nigeria has a different meaning. Most times a caterer in America has a type of certificate or license to back him or her, but here in Nigeria anybody that can put firewood together is a caterer. I am different. First of all I have a certificate which says I can cook and I have been able to learn techniques that will help me enhance food. It would be the normal food you are used to eating, but the techniques will help me further enhance whatever it is I am cooking. Also, my sanitation policy is top notch. I make sure that everything around me is clean and you will know that you would not get poisoned by eating my food. Creativity is there too, as I can create a menu to suit your needs. Some people do not like pepper but they love onions or they want a bit of everything. I am flexible because that is what I am trained to do.

Owning a restaurant This is something that almost everyone wants to know and I tell people that the kind of thing I want to achieve takes a lot of money, time and planning. I would eventually set up a restaurant. I have actually begun the process, but you know it is a long one and you have to be sure you know what you want before launching out fully.

Signature menu I constantly surprise people. The moment they think this is the best Chef Renee could come up with or has to offer, I introduce something new and it becomes the new favourite. It is going to be very hard to say this is exactly what people love about my menu. It could sound

Knowledge transfer I do cooking classes. I do some at home and I go to clients’ houses too to take them if they want. But I am looking at something bigger in the next two years. It could also be in partnership with the school I went to.

Instead of people traveling to acquire the certificate, they can get the same here with the same quality and at a cheaper rate.

Dealing with challenges There are a lot of challenges. Number one challenge for me is getting your produce because we struggle to get most of them around. We don’t have many farms here. Another one is good staff; people just want to work and earn salary. You would hardly find people who have the passion to work. Electricity supply too kills the business and running on diesel consumes money you could use for other things. Even as a private chef, I buy stuffs and I want to make sure that they are inside the refrigerator.

Given the chance I would try to regulate the food and hospitality industry in Nigeria because you cannot imagine things that go on behind some kitchens. If I can do anything about power I would quickly embrace it too.

I would get people to invest more on farms too, specifically for the food and hospitality industry because it makes job easier for us.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Show-stopping bandage dresses

B

Angela Davies

Kate Henshaw

Moet Abebe

15

Understated elegance

andage dresses are show-stoppers. The splendor about these dresses is that they accentuate a woman’s figure by hugging her body.

These figure-hugging dresses which come in different flattering styles can be worn by women of different physique. For slim women, it gives the illusion of a fuller figure by hugging the body in all the right places. It also looks absolutely stunning on full figured women as it accentuates their curves. They also have some slimming effects which just go to show how versatile these dresses are.

Bandage dresses which come in different colours, styles and lengths can be worn to various occasions ranging from birthdays, award night, cocktails and even fashion show. You can choose to go all sexy by wearing a mini bandage dress or be more subtle in one that stops on your knee.

Tips on how to pull off the bandage dress • If you are conscious about your body shape, then, opt for dark coloured bandage dresses. This will draw attention away from any flaws.

• For petite women, a strapless bandage dress is your ideal pick. Strapless bandage dresses elongate the thighs and will look great if paired with a cute pair of heels.

• Dresses with thinner bandages which are the connecting strips that make up the body of the dress tend to be much tighter so you should get a size bigger than normal.

• Thicker bandages tend to stretch more quickly so it is advised to go for a size smaller.

• Underwear should be completely seam-free since the dress is body hugging to avoid your pant line showing.

• Bandage dresses need minimal accessories. These dresses look good on their own and only needs a nice pair of shoes and you are good to go.

• For a classic look, you can let your hair down, wear drop earrings, bracelets, cocktail rings and wristwatch. How you accessories will depend on the event and your preference.

• To complete your look, you can wear pumps, stilettos, open strappy sandals or flat shoes but ensure that the shoe lives up to the expectation of the dress.

When it comes to wearing bandage dresses, no matter your body type, you are sure to find one that will suit you. Note that the bandage dress trend is not likely to fade any time soon considering the sexiness of the dress.

Anna Banner

Instyle

Flutist, Ebele Ezeamakam, loves flashy gowns and dresses, but it's not those with an in-your-face elegance. Hers is mostly understated, she tells ANGELA DAVIES.

Lilian Unachukwu

Looking chic in bandage dress

Define your style My style is simply elegant. I am simple but sophisticated. I like simplicity, it is the ultimate sophistication.

What determines the kind of outfit you wear?

It depends on the event. For instance, today, I am going to be playing the flute and also receive an award, so I wore a dress that is flashy. Also if an event has a dress code, I dress to suit the occasion.

What kind of outfits do you find mostly in your wardrobe?

It is mostly long gowns and short trendy dresses that are flashy.

Are there outfits you would rather not be seen wearing?

That will be outfits with unnecessary exposure.

What is that fashion accessory you cannot do without?

My earrings, I like putting on earrings no matter how simple they are.

Best designer Internationally, I like River Island but in Nigeria, it is difficult to make a choice. However, Tolisa has been the one that has been styling me, so I like her.

What's your signature perfume?

I use Calvin Klein perfume for women. The fragrance is absolutely awesome.

Can you recall the most expensive outfit you have bought?

It was a designer gown.

What's your best colour?

Brown because the colour is neutral and complements my complexion.

How do you love your make-up?

I like it flashy and then sometimes simple. It depends on the occasion.

How do you like your hair?

I make different hairstyles. Sometimes, I style my own hair and I like long blonde hair too. My hair goes with my clothes. When I wear long gown, I wear short hair and when I wear a short dress, I fix long weave-on.

What kind of shoes do you love?

I like high heel shoes. I don’t wear flat shoes.

If you were a fashion item, which would it be?

I guess a lovely pair of Ezeamakam earrings.

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Instyle

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Accessories to live for

Breathtaking teardrop pendant necklaces Teardrop pendant necklace is a perfect neck piece for various occasions when paired with complementing outfits, ANGELA DAVIES writes.

N

ecklaces are an important jewelry for women. No woman’s wardrobe is complete without necklaces in a few simple but eye-catching styles.

They add panache to an outfit as well as beautify the neck.

The teardrop pendant necklaces are stunning because of their unique oval shape. These dazzling necklaces feature teardrop pendants in different sizes, styles and colours and come with clasp fastening linked to silver or gold chain which is adjustable to fit.

You can crown your stylish outfit with these beautiful and easy to wear necklaces. Some come in layered design to make a strong focal point and transform any look. There are teardrop pendant necklaces all covered in rhinestones, colourful gems and crystal-sparked settings supported with elegant chains. Some designs feature two complementing colours in different sizes. The one you choose depends on your style and the

FASHION ETIQUETTE

Jeans for the office

J

eans are timeless staples that are accepted almost anywhere depending on what kind of top and accessories you choose to pair it with.

However, as a general rule, women should only wear either a mid or highwaist jeans to the office. Low waist jeans should only be worn to the workplace if it is worn with a long top that stops at the thighs.

A nice blouse, button down or casual top paired with a blazer is a stylish and professional look when paired with any kind of jeans. If you are wearing a loose top, skinny jeans are the best to wear. But if your top is fitted, bootleg jeans will balance your silhouette especially when paired with a high heel.

Remember to add some beautiful accessories to pull the look together. The way you accessorize your jeans is just as important as the jeans you choose to wear to the office.

BEAUTY

O

fashion statement you want to make.

For an evening outing, you can cause a stir by adorning crystal and sparkling teardrop necklace hung on an adjustable gold-coloured metal chain which will instantly update your look.

You can also pair a simple cocktail dress with a clustered necklace crafted with teardrop stone accents for an effortless and amazing look.

There are also lovely casual styles that can be worn with dresses, jeans as well as other outfits.

So, you can adorn colourful teardrop bead necklace that is eye-catching and dramatic. Some of these beaded teardrop necklace are complimented with smaller sizes or silver beads to complete the dazzling piece. Some designs are just one layer; however, it features five teardrop stone accents in three different sizes linked properly with a chain.

Teardrop pendant necklaces are superbly stylish and suitable for women who love outstanding neck pieces and love to make fashion statement at events.

How to wash your hair at home

nce in a while it is good to pamper your hair yourself at home especially when you feel that your hair is not properly washed at the salon. When the hair is not properly washed, it itches. Reason being that some salons economize the amount of water, shampoo and even the conditioner they use on customers even though you are paying so much for these services.

At home, you could wash your hair under the shower while taking your bath or with a bucket of water by yourself or with the help of someone.

Aside that, you can also wash and condition your hair at night and allow to dry if you are going to braid your hair very early the next day.

While it is good to wash your hair at home, here are tips on getting the perfect. l Use a good shampoo and conditioner. l Make sure you comb your hair properly to make it tangle free.

l Slowly wet your hair and gently massage the shampoo in with your fingertips. The shampoo should create lather but if it does not, it means your hair is very dirty so you have to repeat this process and rinse with lots of water. l Then, use conditioner on hair and leave in for about five minutes before rinsing. You should rinse hair well with lots of water l Pat hair dry with a dry towel. l Do not forcefully comb wet hair as it is likely to break. l Before blow drying with a hand dryer, comb hair with a wide tooth comb; apply hair treatment if you have any at home. Blow dry, cream hair and blow dry again for another two minutes. l Then style hair as you want.

Every woman’s hair is her crowning glory, so ensure to take good care of yours.

Facts Business administration graduate, Adebayo Oke-Lawal, is the creative director of menswear label, Orange Culture.

Before he started his fashion label, he was once part of Onyx and Pearl, another label where he dressed celebrities like Tiwa Savage, Ice Prince, Mo’ Cheddah and Makida Moka.

During the 1860s, dresses were so wide that women were often stuck in doorways.

Cotton is the most widely used clothing material, but it only became common in mid-1800s, when Eli Whitney’s cotton gin made it easy to separate the cotton fibers from the seeds.

YKK which stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha is the most popular zipper maker in the world.

Trends

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

17

Blazing trends with white blazers Angela Davies

I

s there any fashion piece classier in a man’s look than a blazer? This piece in any man’s wardrobe will completely transform the look of an outfit.

Blazers are a classic and timeless staple in men and women’s wardrobe as they can instantly define your look and add sophistication to any ensemble.

So, for men, a blazer should be your go-to item for every outfit, whether it is daytime or night time.

Sometimes, it is always fun to follow fashion trends on and off the red-carpet or even the runway. Hence, right now the trend for men is the white blazer which is being rocked and styled in different ways to suit individual style and the occasion. White is a bold colour that stands out on its own and always a great warm-weather option as it can bring a sharp edge to any look.

Crispy white blazer if worn correctly can create a nice dressy-casual look without looking like you are wearing a white doctor's coat. To create that nice, sharp look that will distinguish you, you should pair the blazer with the right clothing so that the blazer will do its job right.

At first, it may look a bit intimidating to pull off this trend especially if it is your first time. The most pressing question then will be, ‘what do I pair with a white blazer? The answer is quite simple; you can pair it with everything. In fact, it helps to pretend it is not white when you are getting dressed. That way, you will not hesitate, whether you are wearing it with jeans, shirt and bow tie or with chinos and a T-shirt.

Tips on how to style a white blazer • Throw your white blazer over a jeans- Wearing the blazer with jeans is perfectly fine. Just be sure to wear the sleeves all the way down. You should not bunch up the sleeves or roll them up.

If you do, you will look like a throwback from the '80s. Jeans are casual staples, so make sure your blazer is perfectly fits to add some swag to your look.

• Pair a white blazer with dress pants- To create a dressier look, pair your white blazer with neutral-coloured dress pants like for grey, blue and of course, black always works. Do not go for white-on-white, it just doesn’t look right and can be hard to pull off. Style your dress pant and white blazer with a stylish dress shirt and good looking pair of shoes to complete your look.

• Wear the blazer over a T-shirt- Wearing the blazer over a plain T-shirt gives you a more casual feel. Pair these two items with jeans and some nice shoes and you can go out looking great. However, make sure your jeans are dark.

Stick to simple basic T-shirts because the more detailed the sloppier. Remember, you want to clean and sharp.

• You can also use the white blazer to complement a look that already works for you and you will be able to wear it with style.

• For men who are not afraid to make a style statement, you can team up white blazer with a fedora hat for a day outing.

• You could decide to add some panache by injecting colour to your white blazer via a colourful pocket square.

• When it comes to shoes, you can opt for a nice loafer, lace up dress shoes or any kind of shoe.

As long as the shoes complement your outfit.

You should know that white blazers are always stylish. So how you decide to style it depends on the occasion and your preference. However, you have to be extremely careful when dressed in this blazer colour because it can easily get soiled hence messing up your clean look.

Mai Atafo

Adebayo Oke-Lawal Bolaji Akindele

Chidi Mokeme

Declan Eytan

Dashing in white blazer

Short Story SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

T

he last I could remember was a sharp pain at the back of my neck and a loud scream from my fiancee which sounded so distant to my wrecked mind; shortly afterwards, darkness fell upon me.

I woke up from a hospital bed with an alien feeling of loss of control and a head enfolded by bandages. With a fuzzy memory and heavy eyes, an immediate self awareness was impossible. My concerted attempt to sit up was greeted by maddening headache and strong, suggestive feelings of bodily damages.

"Ahhh..." I moaned with clenched fists and reclined my head. Hands clutched my arms making me to realize for the first time that I had a horde of awaiting sympathizers. In a quick searching glance, I took note of every recognizable face.

"Be calm..relax...you are hurt..." The unsteady voice was familiar. I turned to my right and looked at my mum, reading her anguished soul through eyes, sore from prolonged weeping. I held her hand, wore a sour and unconvincing smile and nodded a non- verbal message of assurance that I would be fine. Restrained tears flooded my eyes seeing the woman languishing in despair because of me. Who else would be at my bedside if not my grief-stricken fiancee? I thought, turning askance hoping to regain my fading facial pretense in time.

"Jane."

The sight of my sister's face instead of my Ruth forced out the pertinent question of "Where is my wife?" from my mouth. My mum and Jane exchanged glances as if answering my question was an onerous task which demanded a flawless respondent. My gaze was fixed on my mum whom I was expecting to douse the tension building in my system.

"Why is no one talking?" The echoes from the scantily occupied ward as a result of my shriek sent warnings of a cataclysmic rage. The anxiety was getting too much for me to bear.

"She...is missing." My brother who had rushed forth in the wake of the high pitched caution stammered out a reply finally.

The intensity of my breathing increased forcing my chest and abdomen to rise and fall like ocean waves. I felt my sanity come under threat by a barrage of ill feelings of anger, guilt and most of all, hatred for my weakness.

Flashes of the previous day's events hit me like rays of sunlight- the barricading of our moving vehicle by armed men, my struggle with two men who charged towards me aiming for destruction and the final strike which took my consciousness

The Jilted Lover

with it.

I broke down in tears finding solace in the arms of my battered mum. It comforted my troubled soul until sleep took me away from the circle of pain.

My eyelids fluttered and opened to a poorly lit room engulfed by deadening silence.

I sat up and just then felt my mother's head which rested beside me on the bed. Feeling tons better, I was able to touch her face which was hot with gathered beads of perspiration on her forehead.

As I looked around for something which could be used as a fan, I stumbled on my phone.

It had three unread messages, two from my network provider and the other from an unknown

窶郎ou wasted my womb and left me hopeless...You abandoned the brotherhood left in your care'

number.

A text which took a very disastrous toll on my life stared me in the face as I probed. "Be at the rendezvous point before 10pm". The message came in around 8pm. I looked at my wrist watch and it was 9:40pm.

I jumped off the bed neglecting the frail neck which loosely held on to my head, grabbed my shirt which I threw over my shoulders and zoomed off.

I nearly beat up the gate man who had tried to delay my movement if not for his rapid concession. The emergency was dire.

By the time I arrived the spot, my ill-fated golgotha, I was out of breath and thrived on near zero energy level. The

Writer in focus:

Chika Ugwuodo

18

place looked deserted with the noise of swaying trees being the only sound heard.

The darkness of the night would have been absolute but for the presence of a half moon which shone the earth to brightness. The cold wind which blew goose pimples unto my failing body needed a little extra effort to compromise my uprightness.

I shook in response to its commanding prowess, staggering repeatedly in readjustment.

"I am here," I shouted, feeling strains on my vocal chord thereafter. It was not long before my hosts appeared from their hiding places and formed a wide circle around me. One of them held onto my fiancee with strong arms positioned below her jaw.

"Frank!" She sobbed and pursed her lips, gasping for air.

"Ruth.....you will be fine." I was weeping.

"Akpaka, do I deserve this kind of treatment from the brotherhood I was loyal to?" I asked with a frown.

'Whaapp! Whappp!' quick successive slaps responded.

From behind me, its origin, strong feminine hands forced me to my knees. The one behind the assault came around and faced me; her face was flooded with tears. I avoided an eye contact and looked downwards still soaking the biting pains on my chin and neck.

Silence prevailed for a short while before my attacker, an ex-girlfriend of mine found her voice.

"Lord Baca!" she addressed me. "Do you think after nine abortions, I would allow you to get married to another lady?"

She paused to regain her quaking voice. She was heavy with sorrow.

"You wasted my womb and left me hopeless...You abandoned the brotherhood left in your care...the people who made you.." she sniffed. "...today is judgement day."

"Go to hell," I muttered and only knew she heard when clenched fists jammed roughly into the valley between my torturous eyes. I graced the floor, landing with a thud. "Please leave my fiancee and let me pay for my sins," I coughed sickly.

"Bastard! you will," an angry voice boomed.

I heard the cocking sound of a weapon anda the next were shots fired from it. Where? Into space? No, inside my abdomen. I wriggled in pains; my head was light and I felt my life being taken, disappearing in an elusive speed. I overheard disagreeing voices followed by few other sporadic shots.

The bullets weren't mine and as I struggled to read the situation, a darkness, different from the one I saw during the first attack, emerged and what followed...blackout!

LIfe Experience:

'My husband married my househelp'

p.20

L ve&Lv ng

True Confession: 'I slept with my best friend's son' p.22

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

‘I slept with my father’s wife' Love Confession Many believe that polygamy is the root of all evils in a family. In this story, a man goes to bed with his father's wife and this results in terrible consequences.

Kiss me on Valentine’s Day; Dream of my sweet kisses and be my Valentine!

M

y name is Testimony. But I can assure you that polygamy is not a good testimony. Polygamy is evil.

And the consequences of polygamy linger even after the main actor may have passed away. That is why it is said that the evil that men do lives after them. My father was an Urhobo chief who had two wives.

My mother was his first wife and they lived happily together for many years until my father decided to marry again. However, fate was to make me fall for my father’s second wife.

When I turned 30, my father married a very young girl old enough to be not only my younger sister, but also my girlfriend, as his second wife. As his first son, my father told me to help his new wife adjust to our home.

That was how I became friends with my young step-mother. I kept her company whenever my dad traveled and we became so inseparable that anytime she was bored with staying at home, she asked me to take her out for a change.

As fate would have it, on Christmas Day last year, my father traveled out for business. There was love in the air and Onome, his second wife, was lonely. She told me she felt like swim-

ming and I took her to a hotel with a nice swimming pool.

Only two people were in the swimming pool that day, so we had it almost all to ourselves. Inside the water, I mistakenly put my hand on Onome’s breast while playing with her. When my hand felt her breast, it was as if a high current of electricity went through my body. Our eyes met and as we stared deep into each other’s eyes, I noticed the fire of desire in her eyes.

I was also burning with desire, so I kissed and fondled her. We didn’t want the lifeguard to observe what we were doing because we knew it was an offence to make love in the pool.

So we swam to the extreme end of the pool where we thought the lifeguard wouldn’t notice what was happening.

At the extreme end of the pool, we embraced. We made ripples in the water as we moved in unison in a most passionate lovemaking.

My father ’s second wife’s moans sounded like music to my ears.

The fish that can see that its water is getting shallower cannot be stranded.

Later that day at home, Onome called me and said that what we did was an abomination, but she couldn’t help herself. She asked me if it was possible for her to divorce my father and marry me, and I said that that would be a crazy thing to do.

My affair with my step-mum has continued up till now. This year, I’m thinking of traveling out of Nigeria secretly with Onome. But I fear if my father finds out, he’ll curse us. Onome says that she’ll take me to one powerful native doctor at Ore who will give us charms that will cancel whatever curse my father might decide to pronounce on us if we elope. But I’m still afraid because I don’t know if it will work.

Romantic Quotes "In your light, I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art." ― Rumi

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you ... I could walk through my garden forever." ― Alfred Tennyson

MODEL OF THE WEEK OGE

0809 347 3190

19

20

Love&Living

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Love News

Slice of Kate and William's wedding cake set to reach the princely sum of $2,000 at auction

R

oyal memorabilia is sought after by collectors around the world, particularly those pieces associated with weddings.

The general public aren't immune to the lure of marriage keepsakes either: it is rare to find a house in the UK without a commemorative mug or tea towel from either Charles and Diana's wedding or the more recent marriage of the Duchess of Cambridge to Prince William.

And now, an exiting new auction will offer collectors a unique opportunity to own a very special souvenir: a piece of the wedding cake from Kate and William's big day.

The cake is to be auctioned at Julien's auction house in Beverley Hills, California, as part of a special sale that will see a collection of the late Lady Diana Spencer's dresses go on sale alongside the wedding cake.

Diana's dresses are expected to reach prices up to $130,000 (£80,000), while the single slice from the 2011 nuptials is estimated to fetch

Life Experience

M

y name is Theresa and I hail from Kwara State. My father was a lecturer in the university while my mother was a secondary school teacher. I grew up just like every other child from an average family and I graduated from the University of Ilorin when I was 25 years old.

I was posted to Sokoto state for my NYSC and while there, I fell in love with one of the staff of UBA where I served.

His name is Ola and he seemed to be a very charming personality. He had that air of boldness and confidence around him, and his poise was breathtaking. He swept me off my feet right from the first day I resumed at UBA. And he offered to drive me around Sokoto to see how beautiful the state is.

I hadn’t had such a view of the ancient Islamic city before, and I felt that the place was quite exotic with its ancient history and evidence of Islamic aesthestics. Ola told me not to stay in the corper’s lodge as it was quite crowded, and helped me get accommodation in an elite part of the city. He paid for my apartment and I moved in, and we became lovers.

Our days of beautiful romance were my happiest moments in life. I was on top of the world and really acted like a woman in love.

One evening, Ola took me to a hotel where we had dinner with dessert.

He said that it would be fun spending the whole weekend in the hotel and asked me to spend it with him. I agreed and spent the weekend in the hotel with Ola. He seemed to have so much money to spend and I like guys who have money to spend. I really enjoyed the weekend with Ola in the

between $1000 (£600) and $2000 (£1,200).

The cake was a bespoke creation, crafted by cake-maker Fiona Cairns.

It took her five weeks to complete the confectionery masterpiece.

The elaborate gateau was covered in cream and white icing and decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers. The culinary masterpiece took centre-stage at the Buckingham Palace reception held in the picture gallery on the day of their wedding.

Fiona, 59, whose confections are sold in Harrods, Selfridges and Waitrose, was contacted by St James's Palace in February and asked if she would make William and Kate's wedding cake.

It appears that the humble slice of wedding cake may be worth its grand price tag as Fiona says that creating the desert was a meticulous and exhausting task.

'We reflected some of the architectural details in the room so the garlands on the walls were reproduced loosely on the fourth tier - we've

used roses, acorns, ivy leaves, apple blossom and bridal rose.'

The bride wanted elements from the Joseph Lambeth technique of cake decoration, where intricate piping is used to make three dimensional scroll work, leaves, and flowers.

Kate also gave Fiona detailed instructions for her to include 17 different blooms and foliage for their meaning or symbolism - known as the 'language of flowers'.

With this in mind it seems that such an iconic component of the wedding should be deserving of such a royal price tag.

Courtesy: Woman's Day.

'My husband married my househelp' He said it would be fun spending the whole weekend in the hotel and asked me to spend it with him

hotel. We made love so many times and had so much to eat and drink that I wished our stay would never end.

The world seemed to stand still the moment Ola proposed to me.

When he asked me if I would like to marry him, I said yes one million times. I kept on saying yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, until he started laughing and planted a kiss on my lips.

Ola’s kiss was softer than butter and sweeter than honey and I cherished every moment we spent locked in the embrace of a kiss.

I married Ola and became the happiest woman on earth because I had married a rich guy. We had three daughters in three years, and after that my husband suddenly lost interest in my sexual appeal. Ola complained I was getting too fat and was no longer as attractive as I was when he married me. I told him that it was because the housework was too much for me and that I needed a

house-girl to help me look after the children.

Ola contacted an agency which provides domestic servants, and within one month, we had a young, tall, busty and beautiful girl from Calabar. She was about 23 years old and knew how to work. It was around this time that I got a job as a secretary and I had to leave home very early in the morning and close late at night.

I don’t know how it happened, but in the sixth month of her stay, my house girl got pregnant for my husband. I screamed and cried and asked her to pack her things and leave. But my husband refused, saying that the scan revealed that the house girl was carrying a baby boy for him and that he was going to marry her as his second wife since I had only three daughters for him.

Now the house girl has given birth to a boy and my husband has paid her dowry. He says that if I can’t tolerate her as his second wife, I’m free to pack out with my daughters. But I know that she cast a love spell or used a love potion on my husband.

And I’m also going to use a love potion on him too to win back his love.

We shall see whose love spell or potion is the strongest!

Love Songs

AVICII

All You Need Is Love I was low, Didn't believe in getting higher Didn't know, How easy it is to walk through the fire Oh You opened the stars in my heart.

You let in the life from the dark.

It's like the first time I realized that all you need is love.

And I'm feeling, never letting go.

Oh you take me, somewhere off the globe.

Do you feel it, it's like the first time I realized that All You Need is Love.

Yea I'm feeling, never letting go.

Oh you take me, somewhere off the globe.

Do you feel it, it's like the first time I realized that All You Need is Love.

Love Poem

Hershel B. Geouge

The Taste Pour the wine slowly Let it linger in the glass Lift the glass so lightly On your lips let it pass The taste of my passion Feel it warm when you sip This kiss will be forever As it flows across your lip.

*Send your love poems along with your name and number to ireto007@yahoo.com

Romantic Jokes

100 CAMELS

As US tourists in Israel, a man and his wife were sitting outside a Bethlehem souvenir shop, waiting for fellow tourists. An Arab salesman approached them carrying belts. After an impassioned sales talk yielded no results, he asked where they were from. "America," the husband replied. Looking at her dark hair and olive skin, the Arab responded. "She's not from the States."

"Yes I am." said the wife. He looked at her and asked, "Is he your husband?" "Yes." she replied. Turning to the husband, he offered.... "I'll give you 100 camels for her." The husband looked stunned, and there was a long silence. Finally he replied, "she's not for sale." After the salesman left, the somewhat indignant wife asked her husband what took him so long to answer, to which the husband replied, "I was trying to figure out how to get 100 camels back home."

A programme for Singles and Married takes place at Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac Town, Lagos, every Monday by 7.00pm. Hosted by Rev. Fr. Sebastine Ukwandu.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Dear Love Doctor, I am in love with my friend’s sister and I don’t want to offend my friend. Please help me, I can’t tell him and if I tell her, she may tell him. What do I do?

Odd News

W

From Chris.

Love Doctor’s Advice:

Blackberry Connection Ugo, 26, male, HIV Positive, needs male and female friends. BB PIN: 2A187B7C. 08035272115.

• Connect with Mike on WhatsApp or BlackBerry Pin: 7ab29e22 or 21978F71 for details on how to send your BlackBerry or Smartphone Connect request.

‘I’m in love with my friend’s sister' but to respect his sister’s decision to be with you, especially if she is an adult with a mind of her own.

(Even if he opposes your relationship with his sister if she accepts your friendship, all you would need to do is reach out to him in friendship and assure him that you mean well for him and his sister and that you consider his friendship as a privilege and would like to maintain the bond of friendship that exists between the two of you.)

But if she doesn’t want you, tell her to forget everything and act as if nothing happened between the two of you. In so

doing, you would avoid unnecessary friction with her brother.

If you want daily love tips or advice, download The Color of Love Guide on your iPad and iPhone.

Search for ‘Color of Love’ on your Apple App store now and download the App. *Send your comments/stories to Love Doctor. E-mail: ireto007@ yahoo.com. For free marriage/relationships counseling, or if you have fibroid, fertility problems or need a male or female child; call Love Doctor Mike 07031028714, 08131161840. Visit lovedrmike. blogspot.com

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Lovers’ Answers Game:

• Call Mike on 07031028714, 08131161840 or 08023700641 to link up and for direct hookup.

21

Divorcing wives should keep away from new romances while battling their husbands for cash, says judge

Relationships & Love Advice

Dear Chris, This is a very delicate matter and you need to go about it in a very mature, decent and responsible manner. The fact is that love should be given free expression, like free speech. So you really need to express your feelings to her now and get it off your chest once and for all.

If you fail to give your love for somebody free expression, you would be torturing yourself emotionally.

Approach the lady and express your feelings for her in a most sincere manner. However, much depends on the girl’s level of maturity. Tell her that you have been very reluctant to approach her previously because you fear that she would tell her brother and in so doing, destroy the friendship you share with him.

Genuinely express your love and fears to her and if she likes you, she will tell you. If she really loves you the same way you love her, her brother will not be a problem. That is because he would have no choice in the end

Love&Living

The rule: Ask the opposite sex one question about love, and choose your lover from the top 3 answers.

Juliet, 24, fair, in Enugu, via08135926385, is asking all men: 'What are the causes of infidelity in early marriage?" *Call Mike: 07031028714 to send questions or issues.

omen fighting their exhusbands for divorce settlements should shy away from new romances, says a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Mostyn said the start of a new relationship can be a 'significant fly in the ointment' to judges in the family court deciding how much money exwives should be awarded.

Women risk losing their share of their ex-husbands assets because judges might assume their financial future was assured through setting up home with their new partners, he said.

Mr Justice Mostyn made his comments in a written ruling on a family court case in Swansea, the Telegraph reported.

The couple, both in their 40s, had lived together with an adopted child. The mother worked hard as a journalist, while the father had no income, but had inherited millions from his family.

Their marriage turned sour in September 2012, and the couple began lengthy legal wrangles over how to share their assets.

As these disputes continued, the wife started a relationship with a former army officer.

She didn't come clean about her romance, but investigations by her husband's legal team revealed it to the court.

It seriously hurt her case, with Mr Justice Mostyn reasoning: 'She says she is not going to live with him, although it is perfectly clear that the relationship

Love Education

R

ape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse (or other forms of sexual penetration) initiated against one or more individuals without the consent of those individuals.

The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with term sexual assault or other terms such as sexual coercion, sexual abuse, sexual violence, etc. The persistent terminological inconsistencies within the sexual misconduct literature have been criticized as making comparisons across studies difficult, as these terms are sometimes used synonymously, but other times refer to different categories of behavior.

The rate of reporting, prosecuting and convicting for rape varies considerably in different jurisdictions. Internationally, the incidence of rapes recorded by the police during 2010 varied between 0.2 in Azerbaijan per 100,000 people and 92.9 per 100,000 people in Botswana with 6.3 per 100,000 people in Lithuania as the median. According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape in particular,

is strong.

'Relationships like this always are a significant fly in the ointment in the assessment of need.

'One cannot make assumptions, if it is not full-blown cohabitation akin to marriage, that it will grow into that, because if it does not, the wife may be left stranded between Scylla and Charybdis if the assumption is wrongly made.

'On the other hand, if one makes a needs assessment on the basis that she is a single woman and she soon cohabits, then the paying party ... can rightfully feel significantly aggrieved.'

Taking into account the relationship, Mr Justice Mostyn decided that around £250,000 would be enough to meet her needs - less than if she had remained single.

'If the wife were assuredly single and I could foresee that continuing, I would have my doubts as to whether a net capital position ... of just over £250,000 would be enough,' he said.

'On the other hand, I cannot ignore the existence of the relationship ... and so I reach the conclusion that the net figure that I leave the wife with of just over £250,000 is sufficient to meet her needs.'

Family lawyer Louise Halford, of Irwin Mitchell LLP, told the Telegraph she thought the judge's conclusion was 'a bit of a reach'.

'I’m not quite sure how this judge is so sure that their relationship isn’t some sort of flash in the pan', she said.

Courtesy: Daily Mail.

What is Rape?

is considered the most underreported violent crime.

Rape by strangers is usually less common than rape by persons the victim knows, and several studies argue that maleon-male and female-on-female prison rapes are common and may be the least reported forms of rape.

When part of a widespread and systematic practice during international conflict, rape and sexual slavery are recognized as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Rape is also recognized as an element of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted ethnic group.

People who have been raped can be severely traumatized and may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder; in addition to psychological harm resulting from the act, rape may cause physical injury, or have additional effects on the victims, such as the acquiring of sexually transmitted infections or becoming pregnant. Furthermore, following a rape, a victim may face violence or threats thereof from the rapist, and, in some cultures, from the victim's own family and relatives.

Courtesy: Wikipedia.

22

Love&Living

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

True Confession From Overseas

SEXUAL COMMUNICATION

'I slept with my best friend's son'

Sex and Sexual Stamina: Six ways to improve your sexual stamina E

PHOTO: DAILYRECORD.CO.UK

M

y best friend Kerry fell pregnant when she was 15. She and I had been inseparable since childhood but on the night of her child's conception she had gone alone to a town dance while I was at home sick. There she danced with the town heartbreaker (who I had been in love with).

One thing led to another and a month after the dance she confided to me that she thought she could be pregnant. Together we bought a pregnancy test so that no-one in the chemist could say for sure which one of us might be pregnant.

We did the test at my house during the day when my parents were at work.

As the test showed positive, Kerry began to cry. We lived in a small country town and she knew that the town gossip would be unbearable.

Over the next few months, Kerry told her parents and the father of her baby and his family. His family said they didn't believe her and didn't want their son to have anything to do with a girl they described as "promiscuous". I stood by Kerry as best I could but being pregnant, she had to drop out of school and spent most of her time hiding away from town gossip. In February, just as I started year 11, Kerry gave birth to a boy she named Joseph.

She was living with her parents and although we both tried to stay in touch, we drifted further and further apart.

In the next couple of years while I was celebrating the end of school and picking a university, she was fretting about getting Joseph to eat enough and trying desperately to move into her own place on government subsidies.

Eventually our contact became limited to a call on birthdays and a card at Christmas. Although I had been around Joseph when he was a baby, I didn't see him as a child. After four years of very occasional contact, I finished my degree and moved to London. I ended up staying 12 years, getting a great job in international banking and marrying a man called Michael.

But everything changed when I found out through a friend that Michael had been unfaithful to me ever since we'd married seven years earlier. I was shat-

Kerry even teased me sometimes, saying that her teenage son had a crush on me — she never suspected I might feel the same tered. I had trusted him totally and to find out that my whole marriage had been a sham shook me to the core. I lost all faith in myself and performed terribly at work. Needless to say I left Michael, but I also decided to leave my dream job and move back to my parents' house.

Being back in town after a decade and a half was strange, but Kerry and I managed to pick up our friendship and soon we were closer than ever. She had never married and lived with Joseph, who was now 16 and extremely handsome. I had noticed how clumsy he was around me and Kerry even teased me sometimes, saying that her teenage son had a crush on me — she never suspected I might feel the same.

One afternoon I popped over to their house unannounced to borrow a book from Kerry. She wasn't home but Joseph let me in and made me a cup of tea. I had received my divorce papers that morning and was feeling pretty low.

All of a sudden Joseph began to stare at me with a look I had never seen before.

He looked exactly like his father and I was taken back to my teenage years. I felt butterflies in my stomach as Joseph leaned in to kiss me. We spent the whole afternoon together and it was passionate and magnificent. The next day I came round at the same time and we spent the afternoon together again.

But I knew I couldn't do it again. The thought of Kerry finding out was more than I could take. Joseph had told me I was his first lover and I couldn't have Kerry know that I had taken her son's virginity.

I left town the next day. Joseph tried to contact me for a while but I knew it was just teenage passion and would pass. I'm back to birthday and Christmas contact only with Kerry, which is sad, but in a way I'm glad it happened. Joseph gave me back my ability to love.

Courtesy: nine.com

Wedding Traditions

Getting a Whale's Tooth: Fiji

I

n Fiji not only are men expected to ask their father in law for his daughters hand in marriage, they are also expected to bring him a whale tooth. Lets think about this, excluding the black market the only place in the world to get a whale tooth is in the mouth of the largest mammal on earth, which also happens to spend most of its time underwater. That’s true love.

Courtesy: list25.com

veryone wants to be a better lover. For many, especially men, inability to offer one's partner a lasting sexual experience is a source of concern and even stress.

However avoiding premature ejaculation in men and lack of sexual stamina in either partner can be easy with the right set of bedroom techniques and lifestyle changes.

Here are some steps to help boost your bedroom game and ensure satisfaction for both you and your partner.

1. In the bedroom, take it slow. Sex doesn't have to be fast and furious. Keep your movements slow and steady and let stimulation build gradually. Instead of being forceful, tease and titillate your partner by holding back and varying the angle, speed and deepness of penetration. When both partners are ready you can speed up together for an explosive finish.

One variation of this is called the "7 and 9" technique: keep yourself (and potentially your partner) stimulated without going over the edge of climax by alternating between seven fast strokes and nine slow strokes.

2. Change it up. One of the best ways to keep your energy up, prevent cramps and avoid premature ejaculation is to change positions, speeds and acts more frequently. When you feel yourself approaching orgasm, switch to a new position or stop to give your partner some manual or oral pleasure. Along with helping you last longer, this will give you a more interesting and varied sexual experience.

3. Take breaks. If you feel yourself getting too close to climax, or just running out of steam, just stop for a few minutes.

You can use this time to enjoy foreplay, talk dirty, or switch to stimulating your partner manually or orally. When you've had a chance to cool down, dive back in for another round of intercourse.

4. Focus on foreplay. Penetrative intercourse isn't the be-all and end-all of sex.

You can give your partner a longer experience by taking the time to have great foreplay. Kissing, touching, pillow talk, and the use of toys or restraints can all make for awesome, memorable sex. Give your partner a lot oral and manual stimulation to get them ahead of you—or even get them to climax one or more times before penetration. If you make the most of several or all of the activities in your sexual toolbox, a few minutes of intercourse may be all either partner needs—or wants—to be satisfied.

5. Use thicker protection. While some argue that there is little noticeable difference between different condoms, many men and women swear using thicker condoms can reduce sensitivity and let them hold off orgasm longer. Using lube in conjunction with a condom has also been shown to help men last longer.

6. Try a desensitizing cream. Many sex stores and sexual health retailers sell creams that can be applied to the penis to numb sensations during sex, thus allowing men to hold off their climax longer.

Of course stopping to put on a chemical cream isn't the sexiest thing you can do in bed, so this method may be best saved for comfortable and committed sexual relationships.

Look for a cream that absorbs into your skin to prevent numbing your partner as well.

MadeofBlack Guinness debuts another talent hunt

p.24

Herbert Udemba And the beat stopped for the highlife exponent

p.35

23

Wizkid and Davido beef a necessary stunt – Kcee Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo otherwise known as Kcee has released two new music videos, Ogadinma and Ogaranya. The pop star speaks with LANRE ODUKOYA about the songs but leaves his fans guessing about talks of a reunion with ex-band mate, Presh.

What are you working on at present?

Well, I’m working on quite a couple of stuff. I just released two videos - Ogadinma and Ogaranya both songs are actually two different kinds of music, Ogadinma is a song that encourages people to work hard and believe in themselves, while Ogaranya is a song that talks about wealth.

It’s a song for the big boys.

Why did you go the traditional way in the Ogaranya video with Davido?

Yes, it’s because part of the song is in Igbo and the word Ogaranya means "the wealthy one". We just decided to pass across a traditional message, and really most of my other videos have been more of western content, so I just decided to give them something different.

Why is your album concert still on hold?

Actually, as I speak, the venue has already been paid for since last year because we were supposed to do it since last year.

But I can’t complain because God has been faithful and he’s been blessing me.

I’ve been too busy, I travel every other weekend. Since last year, I can’t remember spending any weekend in my house. We’ve been busy making a lot of people happy around the globe. It’s still going to happen, but I don’t want to give a specific time or date yet because it’s still a work in progress.

So far, how would you describe the success of the album?

Well, for me it’ been great, my career has changed and moved to a bigger level, I’ve also commanded a lot of respect in the industry and so far, people have rated me above the way I was rated the previous years. So it just proves to them that this guy actually knows what he’s doing. And from here it can only get better.

Your former band mate Presh said in a recent interview that you both are likely to reunite.

We might work together, it depends because our break up wasn’t planned. We didn’t see it coming, so I cannot say we won’t work together. We can always do something together, but for now we are still doing our separate projects.

Do you miss him?

Well, we are friends and we still see once in a while, but I wouldn’t say I miss him or I don’t miss him. But as regards working together, I don’t regret it at all. I would be honest, I’m enjoying the fact that I’m working alone, and really we can’t be together forever, even

married couples don’t stay together forever, it depends on God's plan for you. So, for me I think I’m more comfortable and happy. I have no regrets or complaints before the Lord almighty gets angry with me.

What’s your take on Wizkid and Davido saga?

Well, I really don’t know what to say about it or where it’s coming from. It happens, even in America; you need stunts like this to keep the industry burning. So I don’t think it’s a big deal, because in the long run they’ll eventually make peace.

Which one of them is your favourite?

I can’t choose any one because both of them are my friends and both have got talents in their own rights. Wizkid has been there before Davido, and Davido has proven himself too. I’ve worked with both of them, so for me I can’t chose any one above the other. Whether we like it or not, they are doing good.

What motivated you to donate heavily at the Jimmy Jatt book launch?

Jimmy has been helpful and supportive to the industry and to me personally without asking for a dime. So donating to him wasn’t difficult, it was just like trying to give back to someone that has always been giving to you. On the other hand, he has helped the industry in a very big way, he has supported the industry and has given hope to a lot of DJs and musicians. He’s very straight forward and all through his 25 years journey, he never went down at any point, he was always on top.

Going forward, what’s next for you?

Well, I have a lot of songs and videos that I don’t even have time to release.

That’s why I dropped two videos at the same time, because there are more videos shot already and there are more collaborations done already.

Let’s talk about your alleged collaboration with Nicki Minaj Yea, at some point there was some discussion going on, but I don’t like talking about it. The truth is I hate bragging, I like action. For me, it’s not a big deal working with Nicki.

Has a song been done already?

What I want to say is simple: I’m doing something with some foreign artiste, so everybody has to watch out, they’ll see it when it comes out soon. I thank God I never came out to say that I’m working

with any one in particular, it just came out as a rumour. But if she’s the one I’m working with you’ll know soon.

Lately, you’ve been criticised for your dress sense; how would you react to that?

As far as I’m concerned those that are complaining about my dress sense don’t even know what fashion is all about; they just want to talk. As a celebrity, people just want to pick on you and say whatever they like. For those that know me very well, if there’s anything that I can boast of, it’s fashion, I don’t joke with it. Most of these talks actually started from pictures I posted on Instagram, and really I got the buzz I needed at that time. I even went on to post more pictures so people would talk more, and guess what, my followers have increased drastically with all these fashion talks. I don’t even respond to them, I don’t

take it seriously; I’m happy and making more money. So I’m not losing anything.

If you come to my wardrobe you’ll know what I’m saying, I’m a fashion icon and I can brag with it. Sometimes there are some things you can’t brag about, but for me I can brag about fashion, I don’t have a problem with my fashion sense.

Do you have a stylist?

I don’t have a stylist, I style myself.

These same set of people who talk negatively about a certain outfit would commend me on another one, so I just see them as confused people. The truth is I don’t get angry at them, rather I get inspired.

What’s your greatest fear?

My greatest fear as a person is poverty.

I don’t ever want to be poor. In short, I will never be poor by the grace of God. Poverty is the only thing I have phobia for.

24

Showbiz

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

LANRE ODUKOYA

SHOWBIZ TODAY

lanre.odukoya@newtelegraphonline.com

Guinness debuts MadeofBlack Search Talents Hunt

T

he Nigerian entertainment industry is getting another platform to empower budding musicians with Guinness' launch of its new MadeofBlack campaign with an interesting five-hour on MTV Base. The company used that occasion to announce its search for Africa’s best talent to collaborate with the project Pan African ambassador, Fuse ODG, on a specially written track, Black Commando. The project Pan African ambassador kicked off the search in a live video message from his studio in the United Kingdom.

Ghanaian Afro beat talent, Fuse-ODG, has written Black Commando to celebrate MadeofBlack. It is a track that signifies unity and communality, intended to showcase Africa and the bold creativity of the continent to the rest of the world. Fuse has left two verses of the track empty for burgeoning African musicians to fill.

“We are looking for talents with a lot of energy, passion and creativity to write the two outstanding verses for Black Commando. Every song I do showcases Africa and if you’re going to jump on a song with me, you have to bring your Black on board, because I want to ensure this song connects with the world. I want the world to see how much of a progressive continent Africa is,” Fuse ODG said.

At the launch of the campaign in Nigeria, the managing director and chief executive, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seni Adetu, said the

new #madeofblack campaign by Guinness will ignite the Nigerian spirit for creativity, encouraging everyone to show positively what they are made of and what makes them unique.

According to Adetu, “this campaign will reverberate and also shine a light on a movement that has been created by a new generation of Africans whose boldness cannot be contained. #Madeofblack is not about colour; Black is an attitude, an attitude that epitomizes the individuals who aren’t afraid to express themselves progressively. Black is also a beer. An iconic and most distinctive beer that isn’t afraid to express itself. A beer that has the darkest liquid, but the most distinct flavours, that beer is Guinness.”

Championing the cause of the campaign in Nigeria vis-a-vis the search for music talents Adetu noted that “Guinness recently partnered some of Nigeria’s finest entertainment artiste who lent their voices to the campaign.

The artistes partnered are Phyno, Olamide and Eva. These unique individuals are made of more, made of attitude, made of swag; simply put, they are all Made of Black”.

Explaining the choice of the three #madeofblack ambassadors, Adetu said, “Guinness believes that Phyno is made of attitude, Phyno is #madeofblack, because he dared to be different, standing up to pursue what he believed in; his dream and not wavering till he got it. Phyno

Olamide

went where many could not succeed and has made immense impact in the music entertainment industry.

"Olamide is a bona-fide game changer. This he has demonstrated not only in his style of music but in the utter swag with which he delivers his lines and the passion with which he pursues his career. You can see and feel the raw energy when he does what he is passionate about. It is that passion we celebrate today. Olamide is definitely #madeofblack.

Eva is also an outstanding example of what we identify with as #madeofblack, her unique style, her courage to venture into

Eva

the frontlines of a male dominated game and continue to leave an indelible mark with her bold freshness to rap, finesse and resilience, these qualities definitely makes Eva an undeniably fitting choice as someone truly #madeofblack.”

To stand a chance to be part of this all African collaboration, Participants are expected to listen to the beat and then write lyrics about what #madeofblack means to them. Apart from collaborating with Fuse ODG, winners will also have an opportunity to win their own MTV House Party so they could join the #madeofblack movement with their friends.

According to Obinna Any-

Project Fame: Celebrating highlife legends

G

etting closer to the grand finale seems to be bringing out the best in the Exceptional 8. The contestants proved that no hurdle presented by the competition was insurmountable, not even that of having to perform classic songs done in languages other than theirs.

The night unfolded as an exciting one, which came as no surprise because iMike, Season 2 winner, set things in motion. He opened the show to do what he did so well back in 2009 to have earned him the competition's top prize.

After iMike, the contestants each took us back in time to the days of African legends such as Miriam Makeba, Oliver de Coque, Cardinal Rex Lawson and so on. Emeka was up first with late Osita Osadebe’s Osondi Owendi, a performance that got him a standing ovation from the audience. Ruky was next, against the odds of the language barrier, was able to deliver a meaningful performance of Christy Essien Igbokwe’s Seun Rere.

Makeba was probably smiling down from heaven as Debby performed her song Malaika. Even the judges said it was the best they had ever seen from Debby. Daniella moved us back to Nigeria from South Africa as she also did the elegant stallion, Onyeka Onwenu, proud with her rendition of Ekwe.

In the same spirit, Geoffrey, backed by his "fellow Kinsmen" took the performances a notch higher, as he performed Rex Lawson’s

Phyno

alebechi, Guinness' marketing manager, “this is an incredible opportunity for Nigerians who want a platform to showcase their creativity and talent. GUINNESS' #madeofblack campaign celebrates the Africans who are carving their own path in life and gives them a stage upon which they can showcase their flair and imagination. There could be no bigger stage than a chance to collaborate on a track with a star like Fuse ODG! So we encourage our consumers in Nigeria to join the movement and leave their mark #madeofblack.”

Winners in the competition will be unveiled on MTV Hour of Black in October.

World’s 5 most followed personalities on Twitter The contestants

Bere Mote.

Amazingly, Christian connected with the audience even though he performed a song that was purely in his language, Bosue

by Joe Mensah. Clement brought a touch of humour to the night as he performed Funny Identity by Oliver de Coque. He worked his usual magic of thrilling the audience irrespective of his condition. To crown the performances, Ugo got everyone on their feet dancing all the way as he performed Experience by Sir Shina Peters, a performance the judges described as "exponential entertainment".

The evening started off on a beautiful note. Having thrilled everyone with evergreen hits from some of Africa’s highlife legends last night, the Exceptional 8 stepped on stage; this time not as contestants but as winners, dishing out amazing duets and brilliant self-composition.

Emeka and Daniela opened the floor with their intense performance of I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You, by Marc Anthony and Tina Arena. Followed by Rukky and Clement who passionately sang Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Nate Ruess.

Debbie and Ugo brought the reggae feel into Girlie O remix by Patoranking, featuring

Tiwa Savage, while Geoffrey and Christian rounded off the duet session with electrifying moves and all white attire as they sang New Flame by Chris Brown and Usher.

While the audience was still relishing these performances, the contestants made their way back to the stage with another performance as they took the challenge with their self-compositions.

Multi-talented Ugo was up first and he took everyone on a trip to his own world with a rendition of his song titled, Rain on Me. Daniela was up next and she told a true life story with her song Waka Waka.

Debbie brought in her disco-funk style into her song which she titled Tinko while Christian had nothing but love for his female fans and to them he did Cherrie Amore.

Ruky took turn to entertain everyone as she performed her club banger, What What What. Then, Clement came up with a brilliant and one of a kind heartbreak song, Bleeding Hearts.

Geoffrey decided to thread the humanitarian path as he encouraged everyone to imbibe the spirit of giving with his song Everyday is a Chance. Emeka rounded off the show with his pop song which he titled I love you Pieces.

I

t’s but a fact that individuals' popularity in today’s world may well be measured by how much presence they get on the social media. The flexibility of Twitter, given that it requires no acceptance from the one you intend to follow, makes it about the most user-friendly of all. Interestingly so, showbiz personalities dominate the list.

Here’s a list of the most followed personalities around the world in September.

Katy Perry, a 29-year-old American singer leads the pack with 46,617,479 followers.

She’s followed by Canadian singer and songwriter, Justin Bieber, who records 46,553,940 followers. Lady Gaga, the weird American pop singer hit 40,414,459 followers in September. World’s most powerful man, the US president, Barack Obama is followed by 39,339,531 users while Taylor Swift, a 24-year-old female singer and songwriter from the US has 36,305,668 followers.

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

FREE

Sport Splash 25

NFF elections

Akinwunmi wants FG to stop Giwa p.27

Premier League

London boils as Tottenham dare Arsenal at Emirates p.28

La Liga

Ike Uche aims to punish Real Madrid p.29

Interview

Winning bronze in Glasgow is a career highlight for me - Aruna Quadri p.31

More knocks for Keshi over Iheanacho � Elaho, Akpoborie fault coach’s stance on youngster

F

Vincent Eboigbe

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

ormer Super Eagles stars, Friday Elaho and Jonathan Akpoborie, have disagreed with coach Stephen Keshi over his decision not to include Manchester City starlet, Kelechi Iheanaho, in his team as yet.

Keshi has insisted that Iheanacho, who was the most valuable player at last year’s U-17 World Cup, is too young for the senior side, citing the fact that his team in the United Kingdom, Manchester City, have not included the youngster in their squad for the new season to buttress his stance.

The Eagles have struggled to create chances in recent time and this was forcefully accentuated during the double African Nations Cup fixtures against Congo at home and South Africa away.

Nigeria lost the first match 3-2 and the second in Cape Town ended in a goalless draw, leaving the team with just one point from a maximum of six and putting their qualification for the biennial championship in jeopardy.

Iheanacho’s ability to provide the creative

impulse in the midfield is well known, but Keshi is unimpressed and has been heavily criticised for his inflexible position.

However, Elaho, who was a teammate of the “Big Boss” in the Super Eagles, argued that football is a game for the young and that this is indeed the most appropriate time to introduce the young man into the senior team.

“Iheanacho cannot be too young; in fact, this is the best time for him to be in the national team. All of us started at that age bracket between 17 and 20 years, even Keshi himself,” Elaho told our correspondent on the telephone.

“Besides there are many players at his age who are already full internationals for their countries. Keshi can put him on the bench so he can understudy the senior players and sometimes throw him into the fray 10 minutes to the end of a game. That way the young man will gradually integrate into the team. But to say he is too young is off the mark.”

On his part, Akpoborie noted Iheanacho could only develop and fulfill his immense potential if given the opportunity and is grad-

ually integrated into the Super Eagles.

He said: “Keshi is experienced enough both in Africa and Europe to know whether a player is good enough for him or not, so he doesn’t have to listen to all opinions. It is only ideal to bring on the young lad now to enable him to learn from the senior players in the team.”

“So given the foregoing, it is shocking to me that Keshi can actually say that Iheanacho is too young for the Eagles. Football is about development from one stage to the next and the only way that can happen in this case is for the young man to be included in the team now, he doesn’t have to start playing immediately. That is how he can be integrated into the team, but that cannot happen when he is in Europe and the national team converges at home for engagements and he is not part of it?

“I don’t understand it because this is a boy who if well managed has the potential to be a world superstar. We all saw him during Man City’s pre-season playing with the top players and he was not fazed. So I don’t understand that decision.”

26

Sport

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Nigerian League Rendezvous with charles Ogundiya

charlesog2001@yahoo.com, charles.ogundiya@newtelegraphonline.com

08098042287

3SC to reward fans after promotion

W

ith promotion back to the Premier League almost in the kitty, Shooting Stars of Ibadan have decided to reward their fans for their support during the club’s dark days in the lower division.

The club got relegated to the lower division at the end of the 2012/2013 league season and is now on the verge of a quick return with four matches to the end of the season.

Speaking with our correspondent, the media officer of the club, Jubril Arowolo, said some fans would be rewarded with the replica jerseys of the club while others will go away with the club’s air fresheners.

“All things being equal, the Nigeria National League is scheduled to end on October 11, and 3SC will host Akwa Starlet at home, and in our quest to appreciate our fans for their total support since the beginning of the season, some jerseys and air fresheners will be given out.

“All what the fans need to do is to answer five simple questions from now till October 9 to be eligible for the jerseys and air fresheners,” he said.

Arowolo added that 10 winners would be guests at the VIP section

Glo league table No

Team

P

W

D

L

SF

SA

Pts

GD

1

Kano Pillars

28

13

8

7

40

31

47

9

2

Nasarawa

28

13

5

10

29

23

44

6

3

Enyimba

28

12

7

9

33

19

43

14

4

Warri Wolves

28

13

4

11

29

28

43

1

5

Dolphins

28

11

9

8

30

22

42

8

6

Akwa Utd

28

12

6

10

23

22

42

1

7

Abia Warriors

28

12

5

11

38

31

41

7

8

Sunshine

28

10

11

7

38

33

41

5

9

Sharks

28

11

8

9

29

24

41

5

10

Lobi Stars

27

13

2

12

28

30

41

-2

11

Heartland F

28

10

10

8

28

22

40

6

12

El-Kanemi

28

11

6

11

30

24

39

6

13

Rangers

28

11

5

12

35

32

38

3

14

Giwa FC

27

11

5

11

25

25

38

0

15

Bayelsa Utd

28

11

3

14

34

42

36

-8

16

Gombe Utd

28

10

5

13

30

30

35

0

17

Taraba FC

28

10

4

14

20

33

34

-13

18

Kaduna Utd

28

10

3

15

26

36

33

-10

19

Crown FC

28

10

3

15

22

35

33

-13

20

Nembe City

26

5

9

12

14

39

24

-25

Top scorers Osaguona Ighodaro (Rangers) Gbolahan Salami (Wolves) Peter Ebimobowei (Bayelsa) Mfon Udoh (Enyimba) Rabiu Ali (Kano Pillars) Adamu Hassan (Kano Pillars)

14 GOALS 14 GOALS 13 GOALS 12 GOALS 11 GOALS 10 GOALS

MATCH DAY 27 FIXTURES Sunshine Stars vs Akwa Utd Kano Pillars vs Lobi Stars El-Kanemi vs Sharks Dolphins vs Nasarawa Utd Warri Wolves vs Abia Warriors Rangers vs FC Taraba Giwa vs Bayelsa Utd Nembe City vs Crown Kaduna Utd vs Gombe Utd Enyimba vs Heartland

during the club’s last home game of the season.

3SC currently top the NNL Group B table with 44 points from 26 matches followed closely by MFM FC of Lagos on 42 points.

The top two teams will gain promotion to the premier league for the 2014/2015 season.

Oduokpe celebrates Wonder Goal award with another strike

T

he winner of the third edition of the Glo Premier League Wonder Goal award, Bayelsa United’s striker, Oghogho Oduokpe, celebrated his award with another beautiful goal midweek against leader, Kano Pillars.

The former Sunshine Stars player won the third edition of the Wonder Goal competition courtesy of his goal when he was still playing for Sunshine Stars. He got the goal against Dolphins on March 29, in Port Harcourt.

Oduokpe came in as a substitute in the game against Pillars to double the lead and make victory certain for his relegation threatened side.

The striker was presented the N100, 000 prize money at half time of the game by the Edo State Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Chris Okaeben.

He described the award as “one of the best stories of my career” and expressed appreciation to the League Management Company for instituting the scheme.

Oduokpe picked the Edo Orphanage Home on Siluko Road, Benin City, as the recipient of fifty percent of the money.

Oduokpe

M

Dolphins striker, Emem Eduok (left) in action in a league match against Rangers

Can we have a new goal king this season?

F

or the past four seasons, no striker has been able to beat Jude Aneke’s 20-goal record set in the Nigeria Professional Football League, during the 2010/2011league season.

But with the recent goal scoring exploits of some of the top strikers, it is likely that the mark will be surpassed at the end of the season.

Warri Wolves striker, Gbolahan Salami, and Rangers International striker, Osaguona Ighodaro, are leading the scorers chart with 14 goals each after 28 matches. With 10 games to go and the duo managing to score a goal per match as unlikely as that is, they can end the season with 24 goals.

Other strikers gunning for the record are Bayelsa United’s Peter Ebimobowei who is on 13 goals and Enyimba’s goal machine, Mfon Udoh, who has found the back of the net 12 times for the Aba Elephants this season.

Speaking with League Rendezvous, Warri Wolves striker, Salami, said the Seasiders have brought out the best in him as this has been his most prolific season in the Ni-

geria League.

“The team understands what I want and they have been playing to my strength which has given me the opportunity to express myself better in front of goal,” said the Nigerian international.

“I have never had it so good and I am looking forward to winning the top scorer award at the end of this season.”

He added: “I am not setting any target, but with the help of God and my team-mates, I will emerge as the season’s top scorer.”

Rangers star, Ighodaro, who was relegated with Shooting Stars of Ibadan last season after scoring five goals in 38 matches despite a whopping 25 goals during pre-season, could break the goal record.

“I am taking it one game at a time, I don’t want to rush, but with what I have achieved so far, I believe I can break the record.

“With 10 matches to go, if I can score at least a goal per match, I can easily surpass the 20-goal mark and create another record of my own in the league,” he said.

Nembe, Crown in relegation battle

B

ottom sides, Nembe City and Crown of Ogbomosho, will take to the field this weekend in Omoku, Rivers State, as they battle to escape the dreaded drop to the lower division.

Both sides are stuck in the murky waters of relegation, and with 10 matches to go, every available point will count if they are to escape.

The sides in the league will hope to quickly get back to winning ways after they lost their mid-week matches.

Defending champion Kano Pillars’ quest to win a third consecutive league title will continue when they confront Lobi Stars in Kano on Sunday, after losing to Bayelsa United. Second-placed Nasarawa United will be hoping for a good result away to Dolphins in Port Harcourt after losing against Gombe United midweek.

The oriental battle of the weekend will be between Enyimba and Heartland in Aba as the league reaches the home stretch.

MFM FC ready to shame detractors

ountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Football Club of Lagos said they are working hard to shame detractors by gaining promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.

The club currently second on the Nigeria National League Group B table, two points behind leader, 3SC of Ibadan, is on

the verge of gaining promotion with four matches to the end of the season.

Speaking with League Rendezvous, the chairman of the club, Godwin Enakhena, said the club has faced a lot of challenges but that promotion at the end of the season would erase all the pains.

“Our target at the beginning of the season was to gain promotion to justify all the huge resources invested in the club by the General Overseer of the church, Dr. Daniel Olukoya.

“We have been frustrated; it is on record that MFM has the highest number of away draws, and some of these matches we could

have won easily if the Nigerian factor has not come into play.

“At the end of the season, no matter the challenges that we have had to face, we must get that promotion ticket because we have one of the best teams in the NNL which can compete favourably with other clubs in the premier league,” he said.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Sport

NFF elections: Akinwunmi wants FG to stop Giwa

A

Vincent Eboigbe vice presidential candidate in Saturday’s Nigeria Football Federation elections, Seyi Akinwunmi, has called on the government to call Chris Giwa to order.

Giwa has continued to insist that he is the authentic president of the federation following the polls that purportedly brought him into

office on August 26, in Abuja.

FIFA had instructed that the elections should not hold but the faction loyal to Giwa had gone ahead to conduct the polls and he is sticking to that mandate.

Before the extra-ordinary congress of the NFF held in Warri, Delta State, on September 20, Giwa had secured a court injunction in Jos, Plateau State, stopping the assembly from holding, but it still

went ahead regardless.

A new date for the election was fixed for Tuesday, September 30 also in Warri, but Giwa is still threatening to scuttle the process, a prospect that will certainly attract the wrath of FIFA. And Akinwunmi, who is also the chairman of Lagos State Football Association, wants the relevant authorities to stop Giwa from throwing football into more chaos.

“It is sad that some people continue to place their selfish interest above all else and I think Giwa should be stopped. There are people elected to run this country and they should call him to order. I also think that the courts should know better,” said Akinwunmi.

On what the federation is doing on its own to counter Giwa’s threat, Akinwunmi said moves were on to checkmate whatever

Ajibade Olusesan

C

hippa United of South Africa defender, James Okwuosa, has said that he would wait for a recall to the Super Eagles.

The defender has not been part of the Africa Nations Cup qualifiers and he said he would grab with both hands if Coach Stephen Keshi extends to him an invitation.

“I hope so. If I get called, definitely I will be available. It is a call I always cherish and playing for Nigeria is always an honour. So it wouldn’t be a problem if I get called,” he said.

Although the African champions have struggled in the qualifying series, picking just a point in two games, the former Enugu Rangers captain believes Nigeria will still make it to Morocco.

“I am so very sure that we will qualify. It hasn’t been the very best of starts for us, but we will pull through, I’m very sure of that. The other games are games we can win and I feel so sure we will win those games. I know we will qualify,” he said.

T

he Professional Boxers Association of Nigeria has called on the executive members of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control to step down.

Rising from a meeting of the association in Lagos recently, the stakeholders said they have lost faith in the current individuals overseeing professional boxing in the country, from the president to the treasurer.

They called on the trio comprising the president, Godwin Kanu; secretary, Remi Aboderin and treasurer, Tony Lagson; to step down from their positions.

“We are the stakeholders of professional boxing in Nigeria and we have a right regarding those who should look after our interest and welfare. We have come to the conclusion that the regime of Dr. Kanu has not done anything for professional boxers in Nigeria.

“The president and the board members have no clue about running professional boxing.

He (Kanu) served with the late Adeboye as vice president for 18 years and he has been there as president for the past six years without progress,” the boxers said in a release.

he (Giwa) comes up with.

“We are not folding our hands, we are also making efforts to counter his actions, but of course I’m not going to reveal what they are. That will not be strategic. The election is going ahead, the General Secretary (Musa Amadu) has not said we should stop. So everything is in place for the polls on Tuesßday,” Akinwunmi added.

Ex-Black Stallions captain praises organisers of Independence 7s T

Okwuosa targets Eagles return

Boxers call on NBB of C executives to resign

27

Super Eagles’ Osaguona Ighodaro in action during the AFCON qualifier against South Africa...recently

Junior athletes lament poor treatment Charles Ogundiya

S

ome junior athletes in the country have accused the Athletic Federation of Nigeria of neglecting them while also denying them what is theirs by right.

The athletes who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation said they have been suffering in silence with the federation failing to come to their aid.

One of the athletes said they were paid $400 dollars for three different championships and have not gotten anything more since.

“We spent over two months in the United States during camping, we took part in the World Junior Championship also in US; some of us were part of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, before the African Championship in Morocco, and all we received was just $400,” he lamented.

While buttressing this claim, another athlete said he has been training on empty stomach ahead of the Sports Festival, but that he would not allow the AFN treatment to dampen his spirit.

However in a quick reaction to the allegations, the Technical Director of the AFN, Navy Commodore

� We don’t shortchange athletes - Nesiama Omatseye Nesiama, said the allegations were far from the truth.

According to him, the junior athletes spent eight days in US during the IAAF World Junior Championships in Oregon and were paid $50 as daily allowance.

“We are used to some people trying to malign the federation with different accusations, but we are not going to be disturbed.

“We will rather not pay the officials than to owe the athletes. The practice has been to pay the junior

athletes $50 as camp allowance while the senior athletes receive $100. After spending eight days in US, the athletes were given $400, so what are they talking about?” he asked.

Nesiama cited the example of the African championship in Marrakech, Morocco, where the money was not enough but they had to pay the athletes were still paid in full with the officials getting their allowances in Nigeria.

Cross section of Nigeria’s junior athletes at the African Youth Athletics in Warri

he Captain of Gosar Rugby Football Club of Lagos, Adeniran Gbenga Ahmed, has praised the decision of the organisers of the annual Independence 7s to postpone the competition scheduled for October 10 -11 to October 31– November 1. The organisers had cited Ebola Virus Disease which is currently being managed by the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government as a reason for the decision.

He admitted that since Rugby is a contact sport it would not be advisable to expose players, officials and even spectators to unnecessary dangers as the government has not given the green light regarding total eradication of the EVD. He expressed happiness with his team for picking a place in the fast growing competition that would hold at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos.

“We are very happy to qualify for the Independence 7s because it is one of the fast growing competitions in Nigeria. Since it is an international event everybody wants to be part of it. I am very glad to be part of this international competition,” he said.

He commended the organisers for working round the clock in their quest to make this year’s edition bigger, better and more exciting than last year’s which Police Rugby Football Club won after defeating Cowrie Rugby Football Club in the final.

“I will say kudos to friends of Rugby and the board of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation as they are putting in their best for this competition to be hosted.”

“This is the 1st time we are playing qualifiers for this competition or any Sevens competition in Nigeria, that means the Independence 7s is growing bigger and we are ready to support them, Ahmed said.”

He revealed that despite the postponement they are currently sweating it out in training to stay fit.

“We have already hit the gym because there is so much at stake, there is prize money, trophies and massive media coverage. I want to win,” he added.

Gbenga concluded that: “with all the big teams coming from Europe, America, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria, the only chance we have right now is to play in the finals and if we can qualify for the finals, I will be satisfied.”

Global Football Special

I

Ronaldo

Venue: EMIRATE Stadium Head-to-head Arsenal Tottenham Played: 160 160 Win: 67 50 Drawn: 43 43 Lost: 50 67

Ronaldo when they face Real Madrid on

V

t’s business as usual at the top of the Serie A table as joint leaders Roma and

Villarreal seek to stop Roma, Juventus look to stay perfect rampant Ronaldo illarreal are the latest side to be tasked with in Serie A halting the sensational form of Cristiano

t’s that time of year again. Arsenal and Tottenham will face off in one of the most heated rivalries in football: the North London Derby.

The Gunners are coming off a week of mixed emotions, after finally getting back to winning ways in convincing fashion against Aston Villa and subsequently being knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Southampton.

Tottenham also have a mission of redemption this weekend after losing in bitter fashion to West Brom last weekend. It is not known whether they will be downcast or extra motivated to prove themselves, but form tends to be irrelevant in derby matches.

The Gunners have had something of a quiet season so far, just two wins and three draws. Things weren’t looking as if they had fallen into place with three draws on the bounce against Everton, Leicester and Man City, in which Arsenal had to dig deep. Their wins came against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. Even then only the Gunners and Chelsea remain the unbeaten sides in the top flight this term. Arsenal have averaged two goals per game, netting exactly two in both of their home matches.

Mauricio Pochettino made a decent start to life in the Premier League with Spurs, but they quickly fell a bit flat. Two clean-sheet wins to open the season with had people talking about Spurs, but that had died down after going winless in their last three Premier League fixtures (D1 L2).

Spurs managed just one shot on target in their home 3-0 loss against Liverpool, and only got one on target in their 1-0 loss against West Brom last week. So there is a clear imbalance from them, they are just lacking a bit of a clinical edge in the final third of the pitch.

Hopefully this will be one of those famous North London derbies where they just go at each other and produce a goal fest.

Saturday Time 3:00pm

L

Roben

iverpool and Everton will be hoping to put their recent poor form behind them when they go head-to-head at Anfield in the first Merseyside derby of the season this weekend.

Brendan Rodgers’s men have lost their last two matches in the Premier League, and needed a 30shot penalty shootout to get past Championship side Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup earlier this week.

Three defeats from their last four outings in the top flight have left them 11th on the table, seven points behind league leaders Chelsea.

Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson both missed the League Cup outing with injuries, and are doubtful for Saturday’s match.

Glen Johnson, Joe Allen, Emre Can and Daniel Sturridge have also been sidelined recently, although the latter is back in training, while Jon Flanagan is out after undergoing an operation on his knee.

Meanwhile, the Toffees have just one Premier League win under their belts this season heading into the clash with their neighbours.

Saturday Time 12:45pm

Liverpool, Everton in Merseyside derby

london boils As Tottenham dare Arsenal at Emirates

www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

NEW TELEGRAPH

aving put their campaign back on track with a first away win that took some pressure off coach Laurent Blanc, defending champion Paris Saint-Germain will be putting their unbeaten record to the test at Toulouse on Saturday.

PSG, the only unbeaten team in the French league after Lille was dealt a first defeat by Nice midweek, can pull level with leader Marseille with a win. Marcelo Bielsa’s team looks unstoppable, though, and is aiming for a sixth consecutive win against in-form Saint-Etienne.

Known as “Le Classique”, the match between Paris SaintGermain and Marseille became popular during

H

PSG set to consolidate

anchester United are so severely depleted in defence that Louis van Gaal is reported to be considering a shock call-up for 19-year-old Paddy McNair from the Under-21’s.

With the news that Chris Smalling is facing a race to be fit for Saturday’s visit of West Ham, Van Gaal is left with limited options to fill the two vacancies in central defense. Phil Jones and Jonny Evans are already ruled out with injury, with the England international suffering a hamstring tear and the Northern Irishman suffering an ankle injury in the 5-3 defeat to Leicester.

Tyler Blackett, who only received his first call-up to the United

M

M

ichael Essien says he can play in any role handed him by AC Milan manager Filippo Inzaghi.

The 32-year-old has endured a limited playing time since

Essien: I can play any position in AC Milan

Essien

squad this season after loan spells with Blackpool and Birmingham, is also out of the match against an in-form Hammers side after he was sent-off at the King Power Stadium. With Daley Blind and Marcus Rojo tipped to fill in at the back, Luke Shaw looks set to come in on the left for his first appearance since completing his £27m move to United from Southampton early in the summer.

However, Van Gaal has made it clear that he sees Blind as a defensive midfielder at Old Trafford, and he could choose to call on McNair to partner Rojo with Rafael retained at right-back even though he gave away a penalty last weekend.

van Gaal battles defensive worries for West Ham tie

28 Sport SATURDAY N 27 SEPTE

Klutch Sports, the agency that represents Eric Bledsoe, managed to push the Phoenix Suns’ initial offer from four years and $48 million, into a five-year, $70 million deal for the 24-year old Bledsoe.

LeBron James came away satisfied with the negotiations between the Suns and his longtime friend Rich Paul (Bledsoe’s representative).“ Congrats to my brother @ ebled2!! Family stand for each other through the good and bad! I guess we still don’t know what we doing yet huh Rich!?! #StriveForGreatness #

Lebron James

Light welterweight king Danny Garcia has responded to reports of a possible showdown between him and Manny Pacquiao.

Garcia whose name has been constantly mentioned by Pacquiao’s camp as a possible opponent in the future, expressed his desire to fight the Filipino boxing icon.

“I think that’s a great fight for me, Manny Pacquiao,” Garcia told Boxingscene.com.

“I’m bigger than him, I’m strong, I’m a good counterpuncher. I’m young, I’m in my prime. And I’ll say this, be careful what you wish for.”

Danny Garcia

Defending Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel admits Australian young gun Daniel Ricciardo has “made life difficult” for him this season, but insists he has no plans to join Ferrari next season.

Responding to reports linking him to a possible move away from Red Bull, Vettel said he was definitely staying put.

“I’ve already said on numerous occasions that I’ve got a contract with Red Bull for next year and I’m working on the principle that I will still be driving for them,” he told Sport Bild on Thursday.

Sebastian Vettel

SPORT BRIEFLY

mmanuel Emenike has the opportunity to help Fernanahce knock Akhisar Belediye off the summit of Turkish Super Liga.

The less-illustrious side is early leaderafter three matches and although they are tied on same point and goal difference as the champions, they have scored more goals.

Fernanahce have scored just four goals in three games and that statistic is slightly a slap on Yellow Canaries’ pedigree. Emenike is responsible for one of the goals but the Nigerian has come under fire for profligacy in recent matches for both club and country and could use the match to prove his critics wrong.

Meanwhile, in England, Brown Ideye is battling to be fit for West Brom’s home match against Burnley on Sunday.

The Nigerian got mixed fortunes in Baggies’ 3-2 win over Hull City in the League Cup midweek after he scored his first goal in England and also got himself injured.

Although medics have said the knock was not serious there had not been official confirmation about his availability for Sunday’s match.

He will be desperate to build on Wednesday’s performance with a determination to open his Premier League goal account this weekend.

E

kechukwu Uche will prove his fitness level when Villarreal host Real Madrid today.

The Nigerian has managed one goal in three matches and has shown in the matches that he was yet to reach full fitness after a knock that ruled him out of two league matches.

He has proved himself a number of times against big guns and he will fancy his chance against Real Madrid who look unstoppable with the current form of their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo.

In another centre in Spain, Super Eagles midfielder, Ramon Azeez,

will be gunning for his third league game when his club Almeria travels to Deportvo La Coruna. The former junior international missed the season’s first three games but he was installed in the starting line for their last three matches.

Similarly, former Golden Eaglets hit man, Isaac Success, will be looking forward to scoring his first league goal for Granada when they face Barcelona. That may be a bit of an uphill task for the youngster as they come against a far more illustrious side but Success can prove that he is made for a big occasion.

LA Liga Saturday Villarreal v R’Madrid 3pm Barca v Granada 5pm Atletico v Sevilla 7pm Bilbao v Eibar 9pm Levante v Vallecano 9pm Sunday Getafe v Málaga 11am Deportivo v Almería 4pm Sociedad v Valencia 6pm Córdoba v Espanyol 8pm

Bundesliga Saturday Köln v Bayern 2:30pm Schalke v Dortmund 2:30pm Paderborn v M’gladbach 2:30pm Freiburg v Leverkusen 2:30pm Stuttgart v Hannover 96 2:30pm Wolfsburg v Bremen 5:30pm

Serie A Saturday Roma v Verona 5pm Atalanta v Juventus 7:45pm Sunday Sassuolo v Napoli 11:30am Cesena v Milan 2pm Chievo v Empoli 2pm Inter v Cagliari 2pm Torino v Fiorentina 2pm Genoa v Sampdoria 7:45pm

Premier League Saturday Liverpool v Everton 12:45 Chelsea v Aston Villa 3pm C’Palace v Leicester 3pm Hull v Man City 3pm Man Utd v West Ham 3pm Southampton v QPR 3pm Sunderland v Swansea 3pm Arsenal v Tottenham 3pm Sunday West Brom v Burnley 4pm

ayern Munich have restored customary order in the Bundesliga by going to the top of the standings for the first time this season. The defending champion now intends to stay there and increase the gap over Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, the two clubs considered to be Bayern’s biggest challengers for the title.

Bayern travel to promoted Cologne, while Dortmund visit Schalke in the often ill-tempered Ruhr derby. Leverkusen are also on the road, traveling to winless Freiburg.

It took Bayern five matches to climb to the top of the standings and it came against the previous surprise leader, promoted Paderborn, who were dispatched 4-0. Now Bayern can look for the first win on the road at another promoted team, Cologne, who suffered their first loss in Hannover in the midweek round.

B

Bayern travel to Cologne as Dortmund visit Schalke

Ike Uche aims to punish Real Madrid I

EAGLES FOCUS

Juventus have maximum points heading into the fifth round of fixtures.

Juventus have yet to concede a goal and the three-time defending Italian champion visit Atalanta on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Roma host Hellas Verona.

Elsewhere, Fiorentina travel to Torino and Napoli visit Sassuolo looking to kickstart their campaigns after disappointing starts.

There is also a derby match on Sunday night as Genoa entertain Sampdoria.

Juventus and Roma are the only sides which have won all four of their opening Serie A matches this season and new Bianconeri manager Massimiliano Allegri is slowly beginning to win over his doubters.

Roma pushed Juventus all the way last campaign and look set to do the same this time around after spending more than twice as much as any other Italian club in the preseason transfer market — 55 million euros ($71 million).

Coach Rudi Garcia insisted it is not yet a two-horse race for the title.

I

Emenike in top-ofthe-table clash in Turkey

Saturday.

Real travel to El Madrigal on the back of an 8-2 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna and a 5-1 victory over Elche; displays that were marked by superb performances from Portugal star Ronaldo.

The former Manchester United forward scored a hat-trick versus Deportivo and backed that up with a four-goal haul against Elche, taking his tally for the season to 12 goals in just eight appearances.

And for a Villarreal team that has failed to beat Real in each of their last eight meetings, Ronaldo’s scoring spree could not have come at a worse time.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid defender Miranda warned Sevilla to expect a bombardment of set pieces when the two sides clash on Saturday.

Miranda – who has already weighed in with three La Liga strikes in five appearances this season – headed in a corner for the only goal in Atletico’s 1-0 win at Almeria on Wednesday.

The result lifted defending champions Atletico to third in the table, two points behind both Sevilla and leaders Barcelona.

Atleti’s last three goals have come from set pieces – Miranda and Diego Godin both scored from them in the club’s 2-2 home draw against Celta Vigo last week – and Diego Simeone’s side is not likely to stop.

NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

TEAM Juventus Roma Inter Sampdoria Verona Milan Udinese Genoa Fiorentina Napoli Atalanta Torino Cesena Lazio Palermo Parma Chievo Sassuolo Empoli Cagliari

Serie A

P 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4

PTS 12 12 8 8 8 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 1

TEAM P PTS Chelsea 5 13 Souton 5 10 Aston Villa 5 10 Arsenal 5 9 Swansea 5 9 Man City 5 8 Leicester 5 8 West Ham 5 7 Tottenham 5 7 Hull 5 6 Liverpool 5 6 Man Utd 5 5 Stoke 5 5 Everton 5 5 Crystal Palace 5 5 West Brom 5 5 Sunderland 5 4 QPR 5 4 Burnley 5 3 Newcastle 5 3

PREMIER LEAGUE

Cavani

the 1990’s when the arrival of prominent stars such as Rudi Voeller and George Weah in France ignited a strong rivalry between the sides.

But the real French derby pits together SaintEtienne and Marseille, the two most decorated clubs in French football.

PTS 11 10 10 9 9 9 8 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 3 3 2 2

PTS 13 13 11 10 9 9 8 8 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2

Bundesliga NO TEAM P 1 Bayern 5 2 Leverkusen 5 3 Hannover 5 4 Hoffenheim 5 4 Mainz 05 5 6 M’gladbach 5 7 Paderborn 5 8 Dortmund 5 9 Köln 5 10 Frankfurt 5 11 Augsburg 5 12 Wolfsburg 5 13 Schalke 5 14 Hertha 5 15 Freiburg 5 16 Bremen 5 17 Stuttgart 5 18 Hamburger 5

La Liga

NO TEAM P 1 Barcelona 5 2 Sevilla 5 3 Atletico 5 4 Valencia 4 5 Madrid 5 6 Celta de Vigo 5 7 Villarreal 5 8 Granada 5 9 Eibar 5 10 Málaga 5 11 Almería 5 12 Vallecano 5 13 Sociedad 5 14 Deportivo 5 15 Elche 5 16 Levante 5 17 Bilbao 5 18 Getafe 4 19 Espanyol 4 20 Córdoba 4

joining from English giants Chelsea.

The Ghanaian international is best suited in midfield but can play defensively when the need arises and says he can fit into any role assigned him.

“Honestly, it is not important my role in midfield, because I can play in any role,” Essien said “I can play in defence, but only when it is needed. Milan are a great club so we are sure that Milan will return to where they deserve to be, we must continue to return to the top.”

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A

Ajibade Olusesan

fter suffering several postponements due to lingering crisis in Nigerian football, the 2014 elections into the board of the Nigeria Football Federation is expected to finally hold on September 30 in Warri, Delta State. Just like in the past, the incumbent President, Aminu Maigari, won’t have the chance to succeed himself as he has reluctantly stepped down from the race. However, there are still heavyweights left in the battle for the highest football position in Nigerian football.

Our correspondent, in this piece, analysis the chances of the contenders but it remains to be seen who gets the plum job?

Shehu Dikko The Kaduna state-born administrator is considered a frontrunner in the race for the NFF’s job. He is regarded as the anointed candidate of the outgoing NFF president, Aminu Maigari, and he is expected to ride on the incumbency power of his godfather, whom he contested against four years ago, to land the job.

Apart from the fact that he enjoys the backing of Maigari, many stakeholders also consider him eminently qualified to run Nigerian football being one of the brilliant new breed football administrators in the country.

Dikko has over the last 20 years been involved in football management at all levels from grassroots, state, national to the international scene and has garnered huge experience working closely and understudying several top level decision makers globally.

He holds an MBA with specialisation in marketing and finance; he is also an inaugural director of League Management Company, member of NFF Appeals Committee and member NFF Strategic Development Committee. He is also proprietor of Kaduna Professionals, who won the Kaduna State Federation Cup in 2004.

However, just like any elections in Nigeria, ethnic sentiments are now dominating NFF electioneering process. As at press time, the calculations favour the Ahmadu Bello University graduate as majority of FA chairmen and secretaries of northern extraction, who are in the majority among the delegates, are planning to give Dikko a bloc vote.

He has promised to use his expertise as a marketing development strategist to make NFF financially viable as one of the main thrusts of his programme if elected president.

“I will take into account the need for the NFF to get maximum revenues from its commercial properties, exploit opportunities to substantially increase revenues from television broadcast of the federation’s various competitions, as well as set up a licensing and merchandising project for the country’s national teams,” he promised.

It remains to be seen if he can finally ward off other candidates at the polls.

Super Eagles players Ogenyi Onazi, Victor Moses and Efe Ambrose in action at the World Cup in Brazil

NFF Elections: The gladiators

Amaju Pinnick This is one candidate capable of beating Dikko to the top job. Just like his rival, Pinnick is one of the new generation of sports administrators that have distinguished themselves.

The University of Benin graduate of political science is the chairman of Delta State Sports Commission and also doubles as the state FA chairman.

He has transformed sports in Delta especially football and he runs the game at that level as professionally as possible forming a working alliance with the private sector.

He is believed to have a robust network in the business circle as evident in what he does in Delta. The state has a sponsorship deal with Ecobank that has been running for 14 years and also gets many other corporate organisations involved in all its programmes.

In fact, he created history when he superintended over the construction of Patrick Okpomo Football House making Delta FA the

only one in the country with such edifice, and again he did that with public-private initiative.

Pinnick has also worked hard to improve every aspect of the game including coaches and referees developments.

“I promise to bring my wealth of experience and robust business network to attract the best sponsorship deals for all our programmes if elected NFF President,” he said.

Football analysts see him as the one capable of giving Dikko a run for his money. He is believed to be a close ally of Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, who is also his in-law and the governor is said to have promised to spare no effort to support Pinnick’s bid.

Meanwhile, the election is holding in his domain and some pundits have also posited that Pinnick can exploit the home advantage to swing the poll in his favour. Although he is not seen as someone who has so much influence among the congressmen, in politics, especially Nigerian politics, anything can happen.

Taiwo Ogunjobi He is fondly called the “Bridge Builder” because of his overwhelming influence in the football circle not only in Nigeria but on the continent. He is clearly the most experienced among the candidates jostling for the seat.

He transmuted from being a football player to an astute administrator and has grown through the ranks.

Ogunjobi is one of the ex-internationals who grabbed the rare privilege to get education. He has a degree in textile technology

Dikko

government financial patronage,” he said.

among other internationally-recognised certificates. He played football to the highest level and also has proven records as an administrator. He has managed top football clubs in Nigeria and led them to success; he was the former chairman of Shooting Stars FC, Julius Berger FC and Gabros International of Nnewi.

He was also the former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Association in the Ibrahim Galadima dispensation. He was a board member and chairman of the Technical Committee of the Sani Lulu-led administration. He is currently the chairman of Osun State FA and of Prime FC of Oshogbo.

Ogunjobi may not enjoy the patronage of the incumbent or unflinching support of a sitting governor, he might not even have the financial war chest but his calming influence, intimidating resume and political savvy might just work for him. He is regarded as the dark horse in the race and might just nick it if things go bad between Pinnick and Dikko.

In his manifesto, inter alia, he promised to seek financial autonomy for Nigerian football by initiating a robust marketing strategy when elected. He is also interested in restoring peace by uniting all the football stakeholders.

“We will try to take sponsorship of our football to another level when we get there.

We are going to make our national teams financially attractive. We can get sponsors for each of our national team so that we would be able to run our programmes even without

Amaju

Mike Umeh He is another man with several years of experience under his belt. He is the current vice president of the federation and a former board member of NFA. He is the chairman of Anambra FA and a businessman of repute. He is believed to have a strong connection with top politicians in Nigeria, he is particularly close with the Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, and many believe that the former Senate president can use his clout in government to sway it in Umeh’s favour.

Umeh has promised to consolidate on the achievements of the Maigari-led board if given the mandate.

The others Abba Yola Abdullahi Yola is a former civil servant with vast knowledge of football administration. He has handled several assignments as a staff of National Sports Commission and he is also the former chairman of Kano Pillars Football Club. However, he is one of those football experts perceive as jokers in the race, it is going to be a miracle if he gets the job.

Dominic Iorfa He is another candidate with little or no chance. Although he is the second ex-international in the race, the former QPR of England player is surely not strong enough to upset the frontrunners.

Amanze Uchegbulam He wielded enormous influence in the Sani Lulu-led administration as vice president and now he wants to have a go at the top position. But Uchegbulem surely does not have as much relevance in football as when he was in power and may not pull so much weight in this race.

Ogunjobi

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Winning bronze in Glasgow is a career highlight for me – Aruna Quadri African table tennis champion, Aruna Quadri, is one of the fast-rising ping-pongers in the world and he told Ajibade Olusesan in this interview about his dreams and challenges.

tennis, I mean why did you choose this career?

It was something just for pleasure on the streets and everyone did that. I started on the streets until a certain Mr. Oluwole Abolarin introduced me to indoor table tennis. From there I started practising but I never for a day thought it was going to put food on my table until 2000 when I came to Lagos to feature in a cadet tournament and surprisingly I won the title even in my first attempt.

After that tournament the man advised me to take my practice more seriously because of the talent he had seen in me. I accepted his advice and since then I have been improving.

How does it feel adding the Portuguese Super Cup to the ones you have won since moving to Portugal?

It is great adding another cup to my titles in Portugal. I am really happy because I had a little pressure in that final game but I was able to get over it. This victory means a lot to me and mine club because it will help us go far this season.

Did you get encouragement from your parents or did they insist you must do something else?

Initially they were not very supportive of the idea, but after I won in Lagos and they read it in the newspapers they easily allowed me to fully take the game seriously

How did you deal with the disappointment of crashing out in the round of 32 of the Belgium Open last week to lead your team to this title?

Losing in round of 32 in Belgium is not something strange or bad because it is impossible to win all the time. You will win some matches for sure but losing is sometimes unavoidable. Once you know this as a sportsman you will keep moving higher. It’s not about winning all the time Can you say that this title is a kind of morale-booster for you as you represent Africa at the World Cup? Of course yes, because when you win games or competitions like this, your confidence and morale level increase, although there are still more test matches ahead before the World Cup. I must play the second round of European Union Cup in Luxemburg and immediately after that I will move to the Mediterranean Club Championships in Turkey.

These competitions are coming up early next month and will serve as preparation for me ahead of the World Cup. What is the secret of your impressive run recently, you have had incredible improvement in the ITTF rankings and you are now 73rd in the world?

My number one secret is God. And my second secret is the President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation Enitan Oshodi who has continued to give me moral and financial support. My parents and my wife are also doing a lot for me in terms of prayers. More so, I am disciplined and determined, I have this self-belief and I keep working harder after every success.

There has been rivalry between Nigeria and Egypt in the past.

They are leading now in terms of success in recent years; in fact Omar Assar is still rated ahead of you, how do you think Nigeria can become the best table tennis playing nation in Africa again?

I think we are almost there, we will surpass Egypt very soon

Can we go a bit personal, how was growing up like for you in Oyo? Growing up in Oyo was not bad as one had to start from somewhere. I attended both my primary and secondary schools in Oyo and I moved to Lagos immediately in 2006 Have there been times you encountered challenges and you felt like quitting the game?

I really don’t think that has happened to me. I have always believed in myself, I believe I can succeed in whatever I do with God’s help. I stay positive always in my career. Although earlier in my career, I had the challenge of getting the materials to practice but that never stopped me from playing as I remained contented and managed the little that I had.

Quadri

because we have been doing the necessary things since a new federation president and board members came on board and we are featuring regularly in international tournaments these days. I think we are as strong as Egypt currently on the continent and D-day is fast approaching when the Africa championship begins in November.

Four years ago, four of them were ahead of me in the world rankings, but at this moment only one of them is. I can assure Nigerians that we will shock and surprise the Egyptians in November.

Can you recall an incident that changed your career for the better?

I could remember perfectly when in 2009 I was not a member of the Union Bank table tennis team, but I was included in their team as a super athlete for the African Club Championships. Another one is when I was not selected to represent Nigeria in the African singles cup and fortunately for me on getting there, I was selected to represent the national team due to

the fact that we were told Nigeria still had the chance to field three players and I was lucky to be the third player. That year, in Rabat, Morocco, I shocked the continent by winning the senior title in an unbelievable way. After that year I got a call to play for a club in Portugal. I have been a regular

profile • He was born 26 years ago in Oyo • In 2009 he became the Men´s Singles Champion in the African Cup, his first international tournament for the country.

• In 2011 All Africa Games he won Men´s Singles Bronze Medal • Also in 2011 he won bronze medal in the African Cup • At the 2012 London Olympic Games he got to the round of 64 • In 2014 he won Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the team event

member of the Nigerian team since then.

Who will you credit for the tremendous progress in your career?

That is the president of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Oshodi, because he has been of great support to me since I moved from Oyo to Lagos. He happened to be the one that got me the Joola sponsorship and I have been enjoying the deal up till today. He is also the reason I am featuring in tournaments regularly these days; he sponsored the tournaments I have played in so far this year.

How far do you think Nigerian table tennis can go if it has this kind of support from other wellmeaning Nigerians?

For sure it will go a long way if we have this kind of support.

Imagine that in just seven months I moved about 170 places in world rankings. Earlier in January I was ranked 237 but today I am 73rd in the world.

How did you start playing table

What has been the most challenging moment of your career?

The most challenging moment of my career was during the time I was trying to play outside Nigeria and it was not working out; it was very tough and difficult but God made it happened finally and crowned my efforts.

And what are your happiest moments?

My happiest moment was in Glasgow when I led Nigeria to win bronze medal without losing a single match in the team event.

I remember I asked you at the airport why you removed your shorts and was left in your underwear after that bronze medal victory against India in Glasgow, but can you tell your fans again why you celebrated that way?

I jubilated that way because it was a tense moment for me. I really did not want to play the deciding match and fortunately Onaolapo Ojo did an unbelievable job. I was just carried away. I was overcome with happiness.

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Lifestyle

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27 SEPTEMBER 2014

“Man who hates cats is insecure, but a man who likes them is one worth keeping. If he can appreciate a cat, he can appreciate a strong, independent woman.” ...Larissa Ione, Author Passion Unleashed

Making mockery of national awards

Fabregas T

Vincent Eboigbe

enjoys night out with girlfriend C

esc Fabregas didn’t waste time in getting back to London after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Sunday as he dined out with girlfriend Daniella Semaan.

The Spanish midfielder played the full 90 minutes for Jose Mourinho’s side as former Chelsea star Frank Lampard cancelled out an Andre Schurrle opener at the Etihad.

Fabregas was spotted leaving popular Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan in Mayfair and sparked engagement rumours as Semaan was sporting a large diamond ring.

The couple - who have 17-monthold daughter Lia together - have also reportedly been seen shopping for engagement rings.

Fabregas has made a stunning start to his Blues career, already bagging four assists as well as his first competitive goal in a Chelsea shirt during his team’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Schalke last week.

The midfielder’s form will no doubt have had Arsenal fans wondering why Fabregas didn’t return to the Gunners this summer.

his year’s national awards list has once again thrown up issues of the criteria used for picking the honorees. The list has divided opinions in the past and the latest one is no less polarising.

As far as sport is concerned some names that have been earmarked for honours are doubtless deserving of such distinction.

Blessing Okagbare for instance has been towering and outstanding in athletics since she first won long jump Olympic bronze medal at the Beijing Games in 2008. She had gone on to add two World Championship medals in 2013 as well as two gold and one silver at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games earlier in the year.

But other names on the list have not been so well received.

What logic did they use to arrive at the names of Patience Okaeme and Asisat Oshoala, captain and striker of the women’s U-20 team that won silver at the World Cup in Canada, that allowed for the exclusion of their teammates?

They could have singled out only the coach, Peter Dedevbo, who is also on the list after all he has been around and had led the women’s U-17 side to the quarterfinal at the world stage in the past.

But to single out only two players in a team sport like football sends the wrong signal that is capable of causing disaffection.

All the members of the Golden Eaglets that won the U-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates are on the honours list, that is what happens in team events. It is also for the same reason that all the members of Super Eagles side that won the African Nations Cup in 1994 got MON. Again, is it not a little out of the mark to give U 17s and U-20s national awards? What would they be offered when they turn 30 for instance?

These kinds of action impugn the integrity of the awards. There are several deserving sports men

and women who have not managed to get the award in spite of their consistency over the years.

Stars like Segun Toriola for instance have been constantly passed over.

“I’m struggling to understand how this can happen, if U-20s are getting national honours what would they get when they in their 30s? Athletes who win the highest hue of Olympic medals are supposed to get awards, but they have been passed over; interestingly when Olympic medals were presented to some of us not long ago, President Goodluck Jonathan made promises; so it is really surprising to be excluded.

I really don’t want to talk too much about this before it is misconstrued,” said a retired athlete who doesn’t want to be named.

“I think the criteria used for the selections need to be well defined. The National Sports Commission has to be able to advice the presidency properly. It is really disheartening that somebody like Toriola for instance still hasn’t been given a national honour in spite all his achievements.”

Aare Feyistan who is powerlifting national coach is no less peeved with the list. The coach who led the special athletes to the Glasgow Games where they won four gold medals is unhappy at been passed over again. He also wonders why one of his athletes was excluded from the list.

“They have done it again, it was the same thing they did when we came back from the Paralympics in 2012. It is as if they want me to keep talking but I have decided to be silent about the whole thing. How can you give athletes awards and forget the coach. If I decide to fail tomorrow they will say that coach is not good. As early as 5am I’m already at the stadium and this is how I’m rewarded for all my effort. Again, one of my athletes Esther Onyema was omitted from the list, she also won gold like the others, so how can that be explained?”

Fabregas’ girlfriend, Daniella

Balotelli keeps in touch with pet dog

H

Balotelli with his dog, Lucky

e’s never out of bizarre news for long, but this one tops the lot...

Mario Balotelli keeps contact with his pet DOG via video messaging on FaceTime.

The 24-year-old striker had to leave his black labrador Lucky in Milan when he completed his late-August switch to Liverpool.

Controversial striker Balotelli is said to not want to put his pooch through the pain of quarantine again, after he spent six months there when he moved to Manchester City in 2010.

A source told the Sun : “Lucky is Mario’s pride and joy.

He was gutted to leave the dog in Italy, but he just didn’t want to put him through quarantine again.

Glasgow Games powerlifting gold medalist, Esther Onyema, missing from the Stories courtesy Dailymail award list

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Foluke Daramola-Salako: There's more about me than just boobs Actress Foluke DaramolaSalako is uninhibited both on the screen and in real life. It's one of the reasons she enjoys a huge fan base. She speaks with ANGELA DAVIES about her marriage, career and style.

What is the title of your latest movie?

My latest movie is titled Cobweb. Incidentally, my husband featured in it as well.

He made his debut as an actor and executive producer. The cobweb is an intriguing story which will always attract the love and passion of every typical African family for the purpose of learning that the wish of destiny over who and what a child becomes in life can always supersede that of parental domination, force and probably undue influence most times. The movie features stars like Funsho Adeolu, Uti Nwachukwu, Saidi Balogun, Princess 2p, Dele Odule, Ayo Adesanya and a host of others. It is coming out in October by God’s grace.

You are glowing; is there a story behind that?

Well, peace of mind and, thank God, I have the right man beside me. I have a friend beyond us being husband and wife.

He is a friend that someone can relate with.

If you have a friend in your man, you don’t need any other friend outside. Having the right kind of man is in true friendship and I think God has blessed me with that.

How would you define your style?

My style depends on my mood. I wear more of jeans because I am a casual person.

I have always been a tomboy since I was young. I am more of a matured dresser now and I guess it goes with age. Earlier in my school days, I used to be the one to expose everything. But now, aside being older, the fact is that I am more matured and I am a mother.

What is marriage like for you now?

Marriage is fulfilment, contentment.

Does your husband sometimes feel jealous that you get all the attention being a celebrity when you attend events together?

Sometimes, jokingly he says maybe in another life, he will like to become a star like me. He does not have a complex problem. My husband can deal with a man toasting me; he will just smile because he trusts me. And I gist him a lot about who my toaster is and he will laugh over it and say he hopes somebody will not take away his wife. But it is just the fact that we are friends, we can share everything. Even if he admires a lady, he will tell me, ‘Foluke that lady is cute, what do you think?’ So it is beyond marriage. Marriage is not supposed to be rigid; it is supposed to be a relaxed thing. That way, you will both enjoy it.

My husband can be sweet and he can be firm. Sometimes when we go out together and I am hasty with my fans, he will say, ‘what is wrong with you? I told you to smile. You should always force a smile, they are your fans and they appreciate you'. So, he is like my teacher in that regard. At the end of the day, he is one person who has been able to push my career positively.

So you are saying people will be seeing less of the exposures?

Definitely, I want to do a bit of mentoring to the younger generation. And because I want to do that, I don’t want them having the wrong ideas about being a celebrity. When I was much younger, people used to say 'Foluke Daramola exposes her boobs' and all that. But now I think I am more grown. Also, my daughter is becoming a teenager and I don’t want her having the wrong ideas about who her mother is.

I want her to grow up like a responsible young lady as well, so I have to set the pace to give her the right direction.

How do you feel when people speak more of your boobs like you're defined by them?

It pains me because there is a whole lot to me than just the boobs and entertainment. I am an intellectual. I am one person who relate with education but unfortunately or fortunately, I will say that people just think about Foluke and the next thing they think about are my boobs. I count it as an asset and I have grown to just appreciate it the way it is.

Your dressing has changed remarkably.

How does your husband love to see you dress?

My husband is not the type that would want me to look old school. Sometimes, he wants me to look sexy, sometimes he wants me to wear bum short, but that is when I am around him. He never complains about what I wear or what I do but I am the one who knows the limit because of what I want to represent.

This is your second marriage.

What advise will you give to young single ladies?

First and foremost, they should not rush into

marriage. Sometimes you should be complete in yourself first. When I got married and I missed it the first time, I didn’t want to get married again because I felt that I already have two kids. But I discovered that if you can actually be complete in yourself and be yourself, you will enjoy that companion. We all have our misdeed, but it’s just for us to face the positive, ignore the negative and be able to respect each other.

There are challenges no doubt - like my husband and I argue sometimes - but then it is about the fact that we understand that it is beyond just being married but having true friendship. So, single ladies should be complete in themselves first.

What is your advice for women who face domestic violence and still stay in the marriage?

I am an advocate against domestic violence. I always tell my husband at every given opportunity that if any man dares raise his hands to touch me or abuse me in any way, I will not be ashamed to walk out of that marriage. I have been a victim of something like that in the past and I knew the effect it had on me. I had low esteem and I didn’t have any hope for the future. It is like you are dead while alive.

It is better for you to walk out of that marriage to discover yourself. It is better for you to be alone and be the true value of what you are supposed to be than for you to be somewhere hurting yourself and dying gradually.

What has life taught you?

Life has taught me that there is nothing you can compromise than your happiness.

And then, it is good to be able to impact humanity.

How about your signature perfume?

It is a combination of a whole lot of perfumes. I combine like 10 perfumes because I don’t want people to know exactly what I am wearing.

Are you a shoe freak?

I am a shoe and purse person but more of a wristwatch person. My favourite designer is Michael Kors. I can buy up to 15 Michael Kors fashion items at a time.

That is how much I like this designer.

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‘Why I left football for gospel music' Footballer turned gospel singer, Gbenga Oke, argues that lack of direction is the reason gospel acts turn to secular music. Shortly after the release of his seventh album last Sunday in Lagos, he spoke with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS. Why are we having this conference today?

I was supposed to do this conference five years ago. Then, I was getting a lot of mails, facebook messages, calls, etc, from people that downloaded my songs online or saw my videos on television. I started from the Winners Chapel as a singer at the head church. People would tell me that they wanted to do what I was doing but they got no idea where to get the finances to put out an album or make a video. The question kept coming so it dawned on me that many people were looking for direction. I started praying about it. Though I was not where I wanted to be too, it showed that people were looking up to me. I had no urge to stage the conference because I was an introvert and I said I cannot do it. But when I was in United States last year, I got the hint that I had to do this and people started telling me that I needed to share the gospel to people, that it was possible to do music without having a marketer, record label or a promoter.

Tell us about your new album?

This is my seventh album. My first was released in 2005. The title of this album is Full of Miracles and it is uncommon compared to the past albums I had. There is one song there, Full of Miracles, and I cannot really explain why the whole album carried the title, but I believe it is the right title How do you find inspiration?

I could be inspired in many ways. But I get my inspiration from God mostly. I have people around me who inspire me too, including Nathaniel Bassey, Segun Obey, Midnight Crew, among others I understand you were a footballer during your secondary school days; why did you leave football for music?

I started singing from age five in the church. I just left Olabisi Onabanjo University when my first album came out in 2005. I came to the Lagos State University to study English and Literature after I had wasted almost three years to strike. So music is something I was doing even while in the university; it is not that I left soccer for music. But the truth is that I wanted to be a footballer, not a singer. I played football professionally to a point. I played for Super Rocket in Abeokuta. It was very popular there and I started playing since my junior class. I played for African Church Grammar school in Ogun State and my name was always everywhere in the school. I played U-14 for Ogun State too and we won the NLPC Cup and many other competitions. So I thought I was going to play football professionally. But things took a dramatic change when I was

about travelling to Canada sometime in 2005 to continue my football career and I didn’t get a visa. Looking back now I think it was ordained by God. Even though I wanted to play soccer and I played very well, I feel God wanted me to do music.

Why do you think some gospel acts drift to secular music?

The truth is that our background and reorientation matters a lot. Even with the background, we still see bishops’ children going half naked on television. We have so many people in Nigeria who started with gospel and left at some point. The reason is mostly for fame and I think it is a misplacement of priority because if you really understand what Jesus did for us you will understand that life is not all about fame. When I had nothing and nobody knew Gbenga Oke I was offered N500,000 as a sign-off fee. Though it was tempting, around 2007, but I rejected it.

What are the challenges?

When I did my first album, Good God, I was a worship leader. People I didn’t expect showed me support and gave me money. So it encouraged me to do more because people appreciated what I did.

But you can never get enough. If I had a marketer who could spread my music across the country in no time it would help my music greatly. Though I have a marketer, it is within Lagos. I still desire a bigger marketer who will spread it across the country. The more people get to know your songs the more invitation you get. Also, it is hard for people to accept your music. After putting a lot of effort in the studio some people still find it hard to relate with your music.

When it comes to endorsement deal too gospel artistes struggle. A friend who is a popular gospel artiste shared his story with me when he visited one of the telecommunication companies not too long.

They looked into his profile and told him that they do not sign gospel artistes.

'Music is the only way I can relate with the world' Just like his role model, the music producer Cobhams Asuquo, 22-year-old Emmanuel Daniel is not limited by his visual impairment. Winning the Gospel Voice competition that earned him a Hyundai car and record deal are testament to that. OLUSHOLA RICKETTS spoke with the singer in Lagos recently.

You emerged the winner of the just concluded Gospel Voice competition. What was it like?

After weeks of hard work, battle and stiff competition, I competed with top nine contestants to win the show. We had as judges Paul Play Dairo, Solomon Lange, Frank Edwards and Namure, an assistant head of programme at AIT. The show was endorsed by the Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria.

What do you think gave you an edge?

I can’t simply say I was the best at the show because I met so many intimidating figures.

The only thing I did was to keep encouraging myself and I just kept being positive. I think who I am also helped me a great deal.

Could you tell us some of the lessons you learnt at the competition?

I got to know that it is not just about singing or making sound; there are more to music other than that. Music has a lot to do with pronunciation and getting people to know what you are saying. One of the judges, Paul Play, said "contestant 112 (my number), I love your voice and diction.” I have held on to those two things and I have also been working at improving on them.

How long have you been singing?

I have been doing music for about 10 years now. It all started back then in my primary school, a school for the visually-impaired in

Abuja. We had music and craft classes for those who could not cope with the academic curriculum. It started from there. I enrolled and later joined the Fellowship of Christian Students choir in the College of Education, in Abuja. Though my primary school was a normal school with regular subjects, the only difference was that it was a school for the visually-impaired. I am done with secondary school too and hoping to go further.

I finished in 2012. Also, I grew up knowing that everybody sings in the house, from my mother and father to my siblings. None of them took it as a profession though, but members of my household sing very well. I think I would say rehearsals, personal development and determination brought me this far.

Is your impairment congenital?

Well I was told many stories. They said the vein in my retina was weak and it affected the sight. Other medical experts said I had measles when I was child and it affected my sight. My mum told me she only discovered two months after my birth that I could not see. She said it came as a shock to her.

How were you able to cope as a child, especially with regards to doing things by yourself?

I think the basic thing that keeps me is the people around me. They’ve been lovely and that makes me feel like I am normal; I don’t have any sense of segregation or neglect.

There was no time I felt that I wasn’t fit or left alone. I have people who have related with me so well and it has really helped me.

Who are your mentors?

I have a lot of people I look up to in the gospel world. I follow the likes of Donald Lawrence, Nathaniel Bassey, Cobhams, Frank Edwards etc Was music what you really wanted to do?

Initially I was doing it innocently. I didn’t know it would lead me somewhere. But I knew I was enjoying what I was doing. So, as I was growing up I realized that it was the best form I could express myself, relate to the world as well as my generation.

Based on your experience so far do you think you stand a chance in the industry?

I will only keep doing my best because I feel there are many good singers out there. Do I stand a chance? Yes! Everyone does provided you are hard working, ready to learn and believe in your ability.

E. Daniel performing at the competition

Showbiz

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

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Udemba, whose Bottom Belle became a big hit for Omawumi who covered the song, performing with the singer in 2012, in Lagos

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Stanley Nkwazema

TRIBUTE

rehash of the birth of Jesus - alongside James Iroha (whose character Gringory Akabogu in New Masquerade was a household name).

In politics, your cosmopolitan outlook was just as evident. You worked for the late Waziri Ibrahim of the GNPP while your uncle, late Chief Ozuomba Oparaugo, was the chairman of NPP in the East. You mounted loudspeakers on Volkswagen Beatle and toured the nooks and crannies of the state campaigning for GNPP. You worked with 7up Bottling Company in Lagos and not only drove their trucks, but equally marketed their different products.

It was then your diploma in salesmanship came to play. Having finished your secondary school in Port Harcourt and despite pressure to go into the civil service or take on other white collar jobs, you chose to follow your first love - music. Even your sisters could not talk you out of that. And, alas, you left for Cameroun, touring Bamenda, Douala etc and becoming a regular visitor to Equatorial Guinea.

I had no father and mother but you cared and showed me true love of an uncle.

Today you are no more. I did not cry when I was told you had passed on. When my phone rang, I couldn’t pick the call; I simply asked your daughter to send a short message instead. She and her sister couldn’t summon the courage to break the news to "Igweogo, Bekee Shell," as you fondly called me before your demise. They did not.

Ikemefuna, your second son called just to let me know that "Daddy is tired, he is gone, he could not make it…"

I remained strong all through. But I woke up next morning with tears. I kept remembering those words from your late sister. The meaning hit me like a thunderbolt. Just recently Nneoma kept asking me when she would follow me to see her people in Owerri. She kept telling me what to do and take her to Owerri….

Ndaa Herbert Udemba, onye guy, greet my mother when you meet her. We would all go the same way. You couldn’t wait to see me finish the project you always encouraged me to carry on despite all odds.

Till you bade this world bye, you had wished that your younger brother could return to his land of birth, or even his kids who we were told were still alive somewhere you didn't know. I just hope the children and grandchildren of Ndaa Benjy Udemba is somewhere reading this. I equally wish that your Camerounian partner and backup singer, Nene, is alive somewhere.

For Herbert Udemba, the beat has stopped

ne of the most difficult things to do is penning a tribute without betraying a bias. It is equally difficult to flow freely without missing so many facts and figures. I am now caught in that situation as I talk about the legend, Obilobi Herbert Udemba, who passed on recently and would be laid to rest in Umuoronjo, Owerri Nchi Ise, Imo State.

In 2006 when my mother, Shileakanwa Rose Nkwazema (Nee Udemba), Herbert Udemba's only surviving sister, was about joining the Angels in heaven, you were closer than close to her. You and your household showed her love till she gave up in that hospital some few metres away from your abode. She loved you so much and could sacrifice even her own food for you and your children. She cared for you and never ceased to ask about your welfare whenever the opportunity arose.

As if she had a premonition that she was going to be called to higher glory, she indeed told me not to bother doing the weekly air shuttle from Lagos to Owerri, considering the frequent air crashes then. I wondered. But when she told you to fill up a cup with water and hand it over to me to drink. I couldn’t understand. In her words, it was deserving of Eto Igweogo nwa Nkwazema to drink the water. As a senior citizen, you may have understood what I did not realise then.

You tried the much you could and stood like a father.

My father had died in 1999 and then your sister followed.

Each time I had the rare opportunity to visit, you shook your head as if the situation couldn’t be handled.

Having missed your younger brother, Benjie, who did not return from his sojourn abroad till date, you stuck to your sisters - Anna (Mama Owerri,) Mary Udemba and Shileakanwa Nkwazema.

Interestingly, they left one after another in order of Seniority. Unfortunately, you were now left alone when Shile Mgboto Azuanuka, Ndom Ishiuzo Egbu eventually bade you bye.

You visited me in 2012, and indeed expressed warmth and love. Last year, I shed tears when we met in Lagos.

It was one of the best moments of your life. On that day, Ms Omawumi Megbele had invited you specially to the launch of her album Lasa. She had visited Owerri earlier to pay homage after she discovered that the man who composed and first recorded Bottom Belle, a song she remixed

with Flavour was still alive.

When Omawumi mounted the stage and told the story of how she located you in Owerri and gave you an invite to the launch, the crowd at the Oriental Hotels in Lagos gave you a standing ovation. But when you eventually stood up and I walked you to the stage, the applause was thunderous. Timaya, Tuface, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Mercy Chinwo and several others who were there to support Omawumi, equally paid homage. Her mum and sister had welcomed you to their Lekki home a day before the concert and it was not surprising that you interacted with Mrs. Megbele in her native Rivers dialect where you had your secondary education.

The younger artistes and their managers could not help but walk up to your seat on the front row to pay homage to the legend of African Baby Dance Band, the man who sang Azikiwe Bonjour and Ajuma Bolingo.

You told the story of how you wrote the song in 1959 when some of us were not born. How you decided to fill the gap when Israel Nwa Oba, another Owerri man died and all. You told us that the song was a mixture of French and English. Of course, you were proficient in written and spoken French, Spanish, Hausa, Efik and Yoruba - a linguist par excellence. You were very strong in composition, production and arranging, and could play the guitar and saxophone. Above all, you were a good vocalist.

I recall your words: "Igweogo, thank you very much.

God Bless and reward you. I am proud of you," you said.

But I quickly told you it was a duty I had to do.

I knew that you will pass on someday, but yet I dreaded the day it would be. You were employed by the Imo State Arts Council when you acted in the play, Eririnma - a local

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Showbiz

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

... a finger on the city’s pulse

CONFLUENCE

LANRE ODUKOYA

Meet the woman who keeps Adebutu young at heart

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he chairman of Premier Lotto Limited, Chief Kessington Adebukola Adebutu, will add another year in a few weeks. The revered tycoon and philanthropist whose moniker, Baba Ijebu, is a household name plans to mark his 79th birthday in a modest way. However, he is anxiously looking forward to his 80th birthday. Meanwhile, a couple of weeks back, Baba Ijebu and his youngest wife, Temitope Kofoworola, had cause to celebrate the first birthday anniversary of their twins. Last year, Kofoworola was delivered of twins in Germany. Ever since the Lotto lord married her about 10 years ago, close aides say he has been having a very youthful look. Tope, as she is popularly called by her friends, is in her late 30s. She is blessed with a captivating beauty, an attribute the Ijebu chief was said to have found irresistible the first time they met. It's no surprise then that this graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, has remained the apple of the businessman's eyes.

Johnny Okosun slows his roll... why his second and third marriage packed up

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usinessman Johnny Okosun has gone low profile. He’s now mostly absent at top social functions and, sadly so, he has also ceased being a toast of ladies. Sources claim that Okosun was compelled to go into social hibernation after a business deal he was involved with turned awry. Also, the crash of his marriage to his third wife, Queen Ebigieson, is also cited as one major reason Okosun slowed his roll.

Okosun got romantically involved with Queen following the crash of his marriage to Leila Testimony, his second wife. Prior to the crash of their marriage, both Okosun and Leila had so much going for them.

They were jointly involved in the running of their business operations.

However, the marriage crumbled due to factors they’d jealously guarded. Shortly after Okosun sent Leila packing, he got romantically involved with Queen, a movie starlet.

The affair later resulted in the birth of a baby boy. It was gathered that Okosun was persuaded to perform the traditional marriage rites with Queen. He carried out this task with-

out the expected buzz. However, the snag in the union was that Okosun would not allow Queen and their son live with him in his palatial residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Rather, he leased an apartment for Queen in Surulere and bought her a car as well.

Sources say he enjoyed spending quality time with Queen and their son and often showered them with gifts as well. But just when most people had thought he had finally found rest in marriage, Okosun decided to put an end to the affair. More pathetic is the fact that Queen had neither secured a paid job nor commenced a business. She depended solely on the goodies she was getting from her husband. For so many years, Johnny and Queen were enmeshed in a battle over the custody of their son. They made up eventually. Johnny now lives in his country home in Edo State.

But he still comes to Lagos to see to his businesses.

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ACROSS 1. STIPEND 5. LAD 7. RIO 8. LAP 9. VIE DOWN 1. SILENCE 2. IMPUTE 3. ENVY 4. DREDGE 5. LOOP 6. DIM

10. DUPE 11. NOTE 12. OG 16. UP 17. YETI 18. SOAR

22. ESU 23. AIG 24. ASS 25. NIL 26. SHUDDER

13. TRIGGER 14. DURESS 15. REWARD 19. ORAL 20. GURU 21. PIN

Undaunted, Buruji calls America's bluff, moves on with political plans

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espite facing a drug charge in the United States, socialite and politician Kashamu Buruji was full of life with hearty laughs over the weekend. The ruling party's top figure led the welcome entourage that received Dapo Abiodun, serial "decampee" Fatai Sowemimo and an estimated 2000 others into the PDP. The event was held on September 21 at the Goodluck Jonathan Political Centre, Ijebu Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State. Witnesses claimed it was a highly colourful ceremony. Buruji was at the ceremony in his official capacity as the chairman of the South-West's Organisation and Mobilisation Committee for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan. He was flanked at the event by fellow party dignitaries such as Bayo Dayo, chairman of PDP in Ogun State; Chief Pegba Otemolu, zonal secretary of SouthWest PDP; Alhaji Agboola Alausa, chairman, PDP Elders’ Council and others. The event was staged a few days after a fresh hearing on Buruji's drug case made headlines home and abroad.

Nkiru Anumudu hands out panache to gorgeous daughter, Ozinna

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kiru Anumudu’s daughter, Ozinna is taking over from her fashionista mom. The charming young woman is already showing that she's a chip off the old block, at least as it concerns her fashion and style. At all the occasions we’ve had the opportunity to cross paths, she turns out to be next to her very stylish mom, she's held her own and always looked impeccable. Both were spotted at the 50th birthday party of Mo Abudu a few days ago at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos. As it's always expected of Nkiru, she impressed in the floor length black wonder with that gold lacy outfit she wore while her daughter wore a beautiful flowery outfit, looking young and classy.

The Arts SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

W Didi Cheeka

hen a director dies, Flaherty says, he becomes a photographer. Biyi Bandele's direction of Half Of A Yellow Sun reveal the filmmaker's conception of film as a purely pictorial medium. It is not.

I do not mean, with the opening sentence, an epitaph on the director's career. Just that his seeming obsession with the look of his film is responsible for the film's weakness. (It is either an obsession or it's a diversion from a non-dramatic screenplay.) Here's Biyi Bandele on his film: "Advice to young filmmakers: beware of being literal.

"Turning a screenplay into a movie, let alone a work of prose into a screenplay, is an act of translation. For it to come alive in the new language, which is to say, medium, you must avoid – throw away – the crutches of being literal [and safe]. Opt instead for idioms and metaphors inherent to the new language and everything will soar.

For this act of impudence, those beings who mistake being literal with being faithful to your source, and who equate being dull with being profound, will excoriate you. Ignore these self-anointed arbiters of taste, these panjandrums of the craft of your trade..." and so on and so forth into the night.

There is, of course, an irresistible pull to visualize works of literature we love. All too often, a problem arises when a work of great artistic value is translated into another medium: much of the greatness associated with the original piece diminishes. It could be that this is merely subjective, in the mind of the audience who subconsciously resists fresh insights and consider their love tainted by the new medium.

I do not mean by this that the novel, Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie is a great novel.

Ms Adichie wrote a good novel. So there was, from the outset, no question of damaging its greatness cinematically. It is possible that Biyi's love for the novel supercedes that of the literary purist - I want to believe that he got carried away by love and not commercialism to visualize Adichie's novel. Similarly, I want to believe it was love and not commerce that informed his choice of Thandie Newton and Anika Noni Rose as Olanna and Kainene.

I must caution, however, against the temptation to sympathize with the filmmaker over the so-called literary purists.

Contrary to his retrospective comments about throwing away "the crutches of being literal" Biyi's interpretation honours its source.

In this sense: it's too literal, it shows his lack of knowledge of cinematic narrative. The narrative's shortcoming owes its source to the director's fidelity to literature. I trust I won't be mistaken for a "self-anointed arbiter of taste who equate being dull with being profound," but the thing is - in se-

37

If the sun refuses to rise A Review of Biyi Bandele's Half Of A Yellow Sun quence after sequence - Biyi is so marvelously profound you will seem too dull to understand the narrative if you've not read the book. In any case, in what way are you freed as a filmmaker by the "idioms and metaphors inherent to the new language" from meaning, content, quality of performance, character and gaps in the narrative? This review may "excoriate," but it will not be unfair.

After Olanna decides to move out of Odenigbo's, following her discovery of his betrayal of her, she asks Ugwu if the academic gathering still holds at the flat (that is, if the normal still goes on). This feeling of normality - normality preparatory to an event - takes away something vital from the setup.

The academes are not filmed satirically: in the sense that they engage in abstraction while their society burns. They take themselves a little too serious. And the director takes them at their word.

In a way, this abstract, impersonal, dull academic gathering prepares you beforehand: there will be an absence of directorial point of view. It seems to me this absence goes beyond a struggle to master cinematic narrative. It seem to stem from an absence of courage to match directorial vision with the author's text. But, what works for a novelist may not work for a filmmaker.

In the novel, Adichie handles Olanna's discovery of Odenigbo's betrayal rather well. There is legitimate basis for Olanna's flash of revelation. In the movie, it comes across as a sudden acquisition of clairvoyant power. To cue the audience Odenigbo suddenly engages in sub-verbal antics which sole purpose seem designed to give himself away to his lover. Is this how a lover conceals infidelity?

Beyond this, however, is the question of motive. Why did Odenigbo touch Amala (how come nobody ever called it rape)?

Because she is available - female bodies are always available - to be used and discarded? Or is it that it's in the nature of men to cheat?

To put it differently, why is it necessary for us to be shown this sex act? Because the director accepts the characters of Odenigbo and Olanna as given (in the novel) he fails to question their sex life. The sex scene between Odenigbo and Amala, thus, losses its meaning as a need to assert masculinity and power with a female body that is not an academic equal. Instead we are offered the lame excuse of what drink (and probably the devil disguised as a woman) can lure a man into. It is probably why the director misses the true meaning of Olanna's betrayal of her sister

Biyi is so marvelously profound you will seem too dull to understand the narrative if you've not read the book by sleeping with her lover. Olanna is made to play the scene like a revenge-seeking seductress. No. I disagree. In sleeping with Richard, Olanna is trying to discharge her insecurity, seeking reassurance, validation of her injured womanhood, using sex as a momentary blackout not as revenge against Odenigbo for his betrayal. The poetry of this scene, just like the poetry of Olanna and Odenigbo's love scenes, come at too cheap a price.

The director obviously does not know how to use the sex in the novel symbolically, to help draw character: Odenigbo could easily impregnate the village Amala but could not do the same with his British-trained wife; Richard could bring Olanna to a screaming orgasm (in the novel) but could not effectively make love to the wom-

an he truly love, Kainene. Equally strange is the way Kainene deciphers Richard's betrayal - again discovery and confession works at a sub-verbal level. These two women must be the smartest of women, able to read men's silences.

Again, Biyi makes a strange directorial choice! To throw away the powerful symbolism of Kainene's burning of Richard's manuscript out of her hurt over this most painful of betrayal - with her own sister.

The scene could have worked on a symbolic level of rejecting the power of someone from another culture to construct a regime of truth about a people by usurping their right to tell their own story.

I find Kainene's quiet hurt (her voice kept just below hysteria) in the novel much more moving than Anika Noni's loud retort. I've always felt Kainene is the one, of the four, who seem genuinely capable of love so I wonder if Biyi couldn't have found a way to use that really touching love note of hers to Richard.

Quite apart from the sheer egotism of his "Advice to young filmmakers," this director reveals a stark inability to heed his own advice to "avoid – throw away – the crutches of being literal [and safe]" in his use of archival footages of the Nigerian civil war. (Advice to

young filmmakers: mind who you run to for advice.) The war footages intercut the staged sequences as if to compensate for a plot that does not parse. Is Biyi not aware that the italicized semi-reportorial portion is a weakness in the novel - crudely, jarringly, mechanically tacked-on?

To visually reproduce this and still talk about the folly of being literal?

Obviously, the director feel compelled to provide a war back-drop to a missing love story.

But how about making the war a functional part of the narrative by letting the war report come out of transistor radios, intruding into the peoples' daily struggle to stay alive!

Why do you need this war footage, what purpose does it serve.

Nobody, of course, stops a filmmaker from adopting the stance of a history teacher, but why not teach without being literal.

Still on being literal. The times you really wish for this filmmaker to be faithful to the source are the times he's not. Take the scene after Olanna escapes the killings.

She lies in the car, broken by the attack and what she's just witnessed, apparently injured. We cut to Odenigbo as he harangue Ms Adebayo. In comes a distraught Olanna to intervene and at first you wonder about Odenigbo's lukewarm response to her, because you think she's just come from her escape. It is only afterwards you realize the director has misguidedly scrambled time and she's returned in a scene the director chooses not to show.

What kind of advice does this filmmaker give himself, who advised to remove Kainene's Biafran military officer - a potential source of conflict in Richard and Kainene's love? And that grubby fellow who drags Olanna away from the maniac mob? Is that Biyi's conception of Olanna's Hausa-Fulani lover, this fleetingly-glimpsed caricature? And really, this is the word. Most, if not all of the film's characters are caricatures, cardboard cutout.

To begin with Kainene. There's a sense I feel even Ms Adichie misses the implication of Kainene's definition of herself: a woman in '60s Nigeria helming the family business, a feminism that does not proclaim its feminism, that takes itself as natural as partriachy seeks to proclaim itself.

If a lot of male readers are fascinated by Kainene it's because of a faulty reading of her character - in the sense of her being a fictional creation, so to say. These same males will denounce her in real life, as they recently did Chimamanda herself. But there is a deeper CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

38

The Arts

Out of the A shadows

TONY OKUYEME previews a workshop on telephone photography that holds in Lagos at the Omenka Gallery.

ll is now set for the hosting of the second workshop on telephone photography by Dr John Ogene in the department of Fine and Applied Art, University of Benin. The workshop will hold from 10am to 4pm on September 29.

The use of traditional media in photography has fast been overwhelmed by newer technologies, thus providing alternative ways of making art. The entry of the digital camera has overtaken analogue ones, and ever since then, cameras are becoming an integral part of other technological instruments including the telephone. Mobile phones today are providing avenues for mass self-expressions and visual culture.

Besides the social and cultural significance of the mobile phone as a communication tool and a vital part of our nouveau culture, its uses as an art producing device which is being hosted by Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, is momentous.

According to the organisers, the telephone photography workshop is therefore intended to create a forum of creativity by engaging participants in utilizing the device for making art.

This series by John Ogene began on July 1, 2008 at University of Benin with the theme “Phonography”- a combination or acronym derived

ART DIARY

Abundance of Nothing...One of the exhibitor's works and (top left) a sleeve announcing the workshop

The Wives: Joke Silva, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Iretiola Doyle, confront Jide Kosoko The Agip Recital Hall Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, will again come alive with rich theatrical performance as Make It Happen Production, producers of Open Mic and V Monologues, presents “The Wives”, starring Joke Silva, Kate Henshaw, Iretiola Doyle, Jide Kosoko and Kemi Lala Akindoju. The show will hold on October 9th, 10th and 11th.

The Wives focuses on the intriguing character called Chief Theophilus Gbadegeshin Olowookere, his sister and his three wives, Angela, Cecilia and Tobi.

“We are excited about this play,” says Akindoju, who is producer of the play and creative director of Make it Happen Productions. “In The Wives, the question of ‘whether a man keeps his most cherished secrets forever is the central theme of the play. There lies a sordid little secret and no one wants to talk about it. It is a dark comedy rich in sensuality and scathing humour,” Akindoju stated.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

from telephone and photography.

The workshop is followed by an exhibition at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, from September 30 to October 15.This year’s event is sponsored by Omenka Gallery as part of activities lined up for the solo art exhibition and lecture, “No Longer Anonymous,” by Ogene.

Ogene holds a B.A Hons in fine art from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1984) and also an M.F.A in graphics from the University of Benin (1994). He is an associate professor of art history and graphic design, assistant dean, University of Benin's faculty of arts. Ogene is widely exhibited and has been published in several journals. He is also a member of several professional associations including the Society of Nigerian Artists.

Mobile phones today are providing avenues for mass self-expressions and visual culture

If the sun refuses to rise C O N T I N U E D f r o m PA G E 3 7

sense that director and actor misses the character: Kainene's sexuality is masculine, her love for Richard feels, to me, homoerotic. And I say this not in a condemning way. Biyi's conception and Anika Noni's characterization of this female are far too limited in range. (Perhaps Chimamanda too does not know what to do with a woman like this post-war and so makes her go missing in the war?) And Olanna?

I'm puzzled about how Olanna, whose lover's indiscretion with Amala caused her to unravel and betray herself and her sister so cruelly, could turn around, after the indiscretion results in pregnancy, and seek to keep the product of this indiscretion. Just before this martyr-like decision, there's that lingering shot of her before the mirror, after Odenigbo breaks news of the pregnancy. The blow seem to hurt in her womb, and here, we see that her definition of her sexuality is in line with patriarchy's definition of female sexuality: in connection with reproduction.

What informed the choice of actors? How is it possible for a supposedly Nigerian character to pronounce "Kedi" - in the novel a northern Nigerian character's version of the Igbo word "Kedu" - as "Ked I?" And what language are the northern Nigerian soldiers who storm the airport speaking?

As for Onyeka Onwenu, surely she merely performed her judgment of mother-in-laws? It is possible her standard for them is quite high, so high it over-reaches her emotional depth. It is this that destroys the sense of inevitable doom that ought to hang over the scene where Odenigbo and Olanna leave her behind - at her insistence - to die and be buried where her ancestral roots are.

Instead of quiet resignation to fate, what you have is the certainty - because whatever horror there is to the scene functions on an abstract, impersonal level - that when the movie is over she will get up and resume her life as Onyeka Onwenu.

And her later scene with Olanna outside the village house? What is one to make of this non-sequitur?

For the most part, the actors' performances are not memorable in any way. The special effect of exploding bombs calls attention to itself as special effects. The movie does not cohere, it feels so much like a series of vignettes. The unfortunate thing is that the movie might not offer new readers the incentive to pick up the book. Perhaps I need to break off and say this: criticism is not interpretive, in the sense of a Rorschach test, in the sense of however you see a work of art is correct. No. Criticism is analytical. You must bring knowledge, experience, passion, taste, intuition, honesty, creativity. Criticism is an art. It is not infallible. It is not an imposition [of taste].

Finally. What also is missing in the movie is a proper sense of the characters' arcs - how do they finish their journey from where they began. In the novel (unlike in the film), Odenigbo and Olanna ends where they began: Odenigbo's now-ruined house in Nsukka, with Ms Adebayo of the old academic circle visiting. This, I think, is a more gripping character arc: to go from the idealism of the earlier days, to post-war disillusionment.

Nothing, for me, captures the depth of this loss of idealism as the scene - missing in the film - where Olanna tries to recapture lines from the now dead poet, Okeoma of their academic gathering. It is Odenigbo who manages to recall the lines: "If the sun refuses to rise, we will make it rise/ Clay pots fired in zeal, they will cool our feet while we climb." * Cheeka is a Marxist critic, writer and filmmaker.

NIGERIA@100: Transforming a British Experiment holds in London Nigeria Art Society UK will hold the private viewing of its upcoming exhibition, “NIGERIA@100: Transforming a British Experiment,” on Wednesday October 1, at WAC Gallery, Waterloo, London.

A seminar titled, “Imagining Nigeria 2114,”will be held at the venue on October 22 at 6.30pm.

This landmark show will feature artworks by 14 artists whose themes are derived from Nigeria's socio-economic, political and cultural experience from colonialism to the present day. The exhibition will run until November 1.

Life in My City The grand finale of Life in My City art festival holds this October from 20 - 25 in Enugu.

It's a culmination of a yearlong process of selection and judging of works. Life in My City art festival began in 2007 to encourage artistic enterprise and empower young artists through an annual pan-Nigeria competition.

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Travel &Tourism 39

Chef's Corner

Carolyn Nwayo: Cooking is a passion p.40

An unusual laurel for Aba

Travel Personality

NEW TELEGRAPH PARTNER HOTELS

FESTAC, LAGOS

Victoria Soluade: My mission is to make people happy p.41

Destination

Onitsha in communal groove as Ofala Festival beckons p.42

The hotel's facade (Inset: GM Olalekan) ABA

HOSPITALITY Its name might not resonate, but Aba-based Hotel De Laurel has dreams that are just as ambitious and offers services that are by no means dwarfed by any of the industry's big players, writes ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA.

H

otel De Laurel cuts an imposing presence on the Okpu Umuobo area of Aba, Abia State. It's a sight that would keep visitors enthralled. The general manager of the hotel, Adekunle Olalekan, said the hotel’s colourful façade is one of the unique features of the hotel conceived to attract attention to the hospitality outfit which prides itself as elevating care for the customer to an art.

According to him, since opening its doors for business, the hotel has never compromised on the high standard and quality it had set for

LAGOS

One of the bedrooms

itself. He explained that the goal to be the best and first place of call for visitors to the commercial city has become an impelling force that obliges it to always offer the best to remain a leader in the market. it's not an exaggeration. Indeed, the posh interior and professionalism of the workforce are evident the moment you walk through the door. It's not a surprise then why the hotel is increasingly becoming a playground for the Aba elite.

The facility has 42 rooms of different categories. These include Ivory Towers, Crystal Lodge and Royal Suite while its restaurant serves Af-

rican and continental dishes. There is also a bar that caters to various tastes. Of course, the hotel scores big with regard to wellness, a point seen in the fact there is a well-equipped gymnasium and fitness centre at the hotel which Olalekan describes as "a home away from home". A large swimming pool comes as the icing on the cake.

It is also high on entertainment with an in–house disc jockey on the console during the week while there is a live band on Saturdays.

Other services on offer include 24-hour room service, airport shuttle as well as concierge on call.

ABUJA

HOSPITALITY BIT

Golden Tulip Warri opens for business

W

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

ith the recent opening of Golden Tulip Warri Airport Hotel, the oil city has become the latest host of the expanding Golden Tulip brand. Located adjacent the former Woodridge Hotel in Effurun, the magnificent hotel with an impressive edifice is easily accessible from any part of the city.

It is well situated for business, leisure and travels and enjoys a high sense of luxury, comfort and beauty. With 192 luxury rooms, its array of facilities and services include conference hall, meeting rooms, restaurant, bar, leisure and entertainment of all classes.

According to the general manager, Akram Daoud, the hotel has an international ambience tempered with local flavours and is managed by professional staff.

Set to change the face of hospitality in Warri and the entire Niger Delta, Daoud revealed that the hotel offers customized and personalized services and that with its array of facilities, including shopping and office outlets, the hotel is a one-stop centre where residents and visitors would have all their needs met, raging from accommodation, dining and wining, shopping and relaxation.

BENEFITS There are lots of benefits to derive as one of our partner hotels. For enquiries and details on how to join the programme, please contact Andrew Iro Okungbowa: 08023152195 (sms only), e-mail: iroandy@ ymail.com or Chinyere Opara: 08063768131 (sms only) e-mail angela_curtis-2@live.com

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Travel & Tourism

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

which is why we sell very well.”

She then offers her recipe for one of her favourite meals - white soup.

CHEF’S CORNER

Carolyn Nwayo: Cooking is a passion Carolyn Nwayo, head chef of Chelsea Hotel and Suite, Festac Town, Lagos, speaks with BLESSING ORUCHE on her career and being self-assured.

S

he exudes self-confidence and carries on with assured steps, signaling that she certainly knows her way about the kitchen. ‘‘I am a woman of substance with vast knowledge and versatile in different delicacies across the globe,” is her opening shot, as she settles down to let you into her gastronomic world. “I am the head chef here, I have worked with the best hands in the industry and with my wealth of experience and knowledge, I am never afraid to compete with any one,” Carolyn Nwayo, head chef at Chelsea Hotel and Suites, said.

She goes on to cite some of the menus she is good at. These include fried rice, chicken casserole spaghetti bronate, vegetable, ogbono, okro and white soups. Others are bitter leaf, egusi and edikang ikong.

“African dishes remain the best for us even though we do enjoy continental dishes, which are just a substitute when you want to change diet. All Africans who are in the Diaspora still find ways of connecting with home where ever they are by patronizing restaurants that serve our menus.’’

Carolyn believes that every food should be prepared with love. “Just like relationships that need to be nurtured, when you cook with love and passion you will get the desired result.’’ She believes that every chef is a good cook but the defining point is seasoning. “Whether I am cooking the meat or cooking soup or stew seasoning always tops my agenda, because that is where the real taste of the food lies and it makes consumption a real pleasure,” she says.

According to her, “home cooking is different from the professional way of cooking.’’ Whereas mistakes in home cooking may be excusable, but for a professional cook there is no room for errors. ‘‘The latter is carried out by a master planner. You need to be calculating and attentive,’’ she says.

Chef Nwayo dismisses the notion that cooking is simple and commonplace. ‘‘Such

Nwayo

notion is wrong as there are processes in cooking for people such as dressing and presentation among others. If cooking were that easy how many people can cook continental dishes? If that is the case, how many Nigerians engaged in their various field of endeavors can prepare continental dishes?

I like to keep to time. My cooking does not exceed 30 minutes."

For the lady chef, a good chef should be affable and pay attention to details. “Know what excites your guests, even though you will definitely come across guests that are difficult to satisfy,” adding that everything should be taken in good faith. “Remember that customers are always right.”

She also advises that every chef must maintain a healthy and conducive environment. Food must be protected from bugs, flies. Good hygiene is also important. “I'm very efficient and effective,” she says.

The hotel, she says, offers quality services as well as buffet and a la carte. There is good emphasis on food and drinks here

Ingredients Nsala soup (White soup) Cat fish or beef White yam (cocoyam) for thickening Fresh pepper Salt Crayfish Dry fish Fresh utazi leaf or seed Seasoning (local seasoning okpei, ogiri/ iru) Preparation Add hot water to the catfish. This helps to toughen the fish and prevent it from disintegrating into bits and pieces. Also, wash off the excess slime from the fish. Cut pieces of yam that will be adequate for the soup, pound in a mortar until soft. The same is applicable, if you are using cocoyam.

Pound or blend at least two or one. Blend the crayfish and pepper.

Season the fish, add water and cook.

Add other condiments to the cooked fish, such as crayfish, pepper, utazi leaf, seasoning and salt, dry fish and add the yam in lump sizes. Cover and allow the soup to cook.

You can serve with pounded yam, semovita, eba, amala and rice.

BACKGROUND Chef Nwayo who hails from Imo State graduated from Doff Institute of Catering and had her industrial training at the former Durbar Hotel now Golden Tulip Festac. At the end of her internship, she was employed and for seven years she worked with the hotel before moving on to other hotels and later joining Chelsea Hotel and Suite where she now calls the shots.

She says of her inspiration: “Mum was the best and we never joked with her cooking. I was always in the kitchen whenever she was cooking and gradually my interest began to develop and I started cooking for the family after which I decided to back it up with a formal education.’’

Fulfillment

White soup

"My fulfillment comes from serving my guests with confidence and noticing smiles of satisfaction on their faces when eating.

What else can I ask for if my guest is happy then I am happy? It makes my job very easy.

I am very content with what I do as nothing supersedes cooking. It is the best profession I can ever ask for. I believe that every profession should be studied with hundred percent concentrations," she said.

TRAVEL BEATS

Table Mountain rated top tourist attraction for 2014

Starwood hotels in Nigeria celebrate Eid al-Adha

Table Mountain has earned global acclaim as the World Travel Awards voted it as Africa’s leading tourist attraction for 2014.Cape Town's leading attraction, which is part of the Table Mountain National Park, offers a world-class experience, ferrying people from the lower cable station to the summit in cable cars with revolving floors.

It stands in a position to compete with other regional winners from the Middle East, Europe, South America, Asia and Australasia for the world’s leading tourist attraction crown.

Table Mountain was nominated in both 2012 and 2013, but was beaten by the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt in 2012 and Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, last year. This year Table Mountain came ahead of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, the Pyramids of Giza, Robben Island and the V&A Waterfront.

In 2012 Table Mountain was voted a New 7th Wonder of Nature and earlier this year Trip Advisor, one of the world’s leading travel websites, awarded the Cableway with a certificate of excellence.

The World Travel Awards grand final takes place in Marrakech, Morocco, in November.

Starwood hotels in Nigeria has rolled out leisure packages to mark the Eid al–Adha scheduled to hold next month across the country. The hotels are Lagos Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Abuja Sheraton, Le Meridien Ogeyi Place, Port Harcourt, Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo. On offer at the various hotels is Sallah brunch, specially designed for the season where families can enjoy roast lamb and other Ethiopian Airlines has been voted the best passenger airline in Africa at Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) 2014 expo, which was held between September 15 and 18 in the Anaheim Convention Centre in California, USA. This is the second consecutive year that the airline is winning the award.

delicacies prepared by renowned chefs of the hotels. There is also heavily discounted room rates, commencing from October 1 – 7 with breakfast as well as access to the hotel's pools, gymnasium and high speed and the golf course of Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort.

While a range of leisure activities are available in each of the hotels ranging from social hour at the lobbies to jazz and African hit favorites in the evenings.

Ethiopian Airlines voted best passenger airline in Africa APEX encompasses the largest and most comprehensive survey of passengers in 13 languages. It is the most important award in the airline industry. The CEO of the airline, Tewolde Gebremariam, said: "Passenger choice is the most im-

portant award in our industry since it is our customers, who rate us by benchmarking our service with others in the industry. This award is a strong vote of confidence by our customers and an encouragement to continuously enhance our

on-ground and on-board services with a view to meet their high expectations. I wish to thank them for their vote of confidence and our employees for working hard day-in and day-out to make our airline shine high in the sky."

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

TRAVEL PERSONALITY Mrs. Victoria Soluade, the managing director of Soltan Travels, Lagos, Nigeria and Canada where she currently lives and operates from, is one of the leading tour operators in Nigeria.

A well respected voice in the travel and tourism industry and whose wealth of knowledge, experience and skills has taken her this far.

The mother of three speaks with ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA on her sojourn in the travel world.

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Victoria Soluade: My mission is to make people happy

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Background rowing up for her was fun, as reflecting on her childhood days, she described her early education with reference to primary school days as “my nomadic primary school life.” She started at age five and attended seven different primary schools in the northern part of the country.

She attributed this to the nature of her late father’s work, as he always migrated with the family wherever duty called. At age 11, her young impressive mind decided on a boarding school, which her father granted and off she went to begin a life on her own, far away from the preening eyes of her parents. At the completion of her secondary school life, she got admitted to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where she bagged a decree in Fine Arts. Thereafter, she had her sights on conquering the world.

The journey into the world of travels Her experience of the world around her got a boost from a love of reading: “I read so many adventure and story books when I was young and dreamt one day I shall visit all the places I read about in all those books,” recounted Soluade even as she paid glowing tribute to her art teacher during her secondary school days, a Briton whom she said broaden her horizon of the world through books and illustrations about people and places she had visited.

As a result “I resolved one day I shall see all those places too!! Of course, at the time, I had no idea how it will come about, I just knew,” she said of the motivation to hop on the flight that has apparently not only taken her round the world but where she earns her living, all the accolades and more importantly had taken other people on her wings through her passion and devotion to the promotion of tours across the world.

“My mission is to make people happy via the instrument that God has given me -planning memorable vacations. There is nothing like a good vacation to rejuvenate your spirit soul and body and prepare you to return to face whatever challenges life may throw at you. Nothing gives me joy like when my client returns from a vacation happy and fulfilled,” she said of her driving force.

“I started in 1994. I set out from the outset to provide all-inclusive travel rather than selling only flight tickets, which was the norm with travel agents at the time. I saw a vacuum in the out-bound and inbound travel and decided to fill it,” she said as she recalled her first tentative step to setting up a professional tour business.

A move, which according to her, was bedevilled by challenges: “One of the major challenges I faced was in transferring funds from Nigeria to our suppliers abroad. The banks were not providing such a service for our industry at the time and I had to depend on the Bureau de Change. The process took weeks and one was never sure if payment will get to suppliers before the clients did.

It was a major issue for us at the time. Later, Citibank was able to provide that service and it really made life better for us.

Travel & Tourism

Soluade

At Grand Velas, Cancun

There is nothing like a good vacation to rejuvenate your spirit soul and body and prepare you to return to face whatever challenges life may throw at you

At Great Wall of China

“Another issue was that the Nigerian travel market was not used to going on packaged vacations.

We were a pioneer in providing the out-bound all-inclusive travel package and encouraging people to venture beyond visiting friends and family. Today it is a service being offered by many other travel agents and tour companies.”

Besides, she also had to contend and still do with hoteliers, transporters and other service providers and suppliers of travels who don’t offer tour operators industry but rather the market rates and often time compete with them for the clients. “The cost of a domestic package was as high as and sometimes higher than the international one.

I do not think that has changed much today. At that time, there was very limited regulation and understanding of how all the service providers in the sector related to one another,” she explained.

Looking back, Soluade described the long haul into the world of travels as both challenging and fun. “It has been challenging but fun. I have travelled so far and wide under many different conditions,” she said with nostalgia, explaining that Soltan was somehow destined to take on the role of pioneer in the industry following its various engagements then.

One thing for sure was that she was quite audacious and adventurous with her pioneering of children city tours of Lagos and Abeokuta and at a point extended to the adults and the family.

Later on she broke into the international scene exploring such destinations as Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, France and South Africa.

She also was the first tour operator to break into the Dubai market in 1997 and then South Africa in 1998. Her kindred spirit and egregious soul would not allow her keep her knowledge and trade secret to herself as she between 1999 and 2003 with her “role model,” Mrs. Theresa Ezobi of Tess Travel who alongside a partner of hers, late Mr. Emmanuel Okereke, arranged trainings for agents on tour packaging.

“I was keen on exposing my colleagues to all the various aspects of the travel trade so they could consider diversifying. A number of travel agents consulted me when they wanted to

Cake Decorating Allure of the Sea

expand their service offerings to clients and I am proud to say today that I contributed to and/ or influenced many agents who are today thriving in the trade,” she said of her motivation.

For a while now she has astounded everyone with her expertise on cruise tour, which she said is the new frontiers and have had to move to Canada where she currently operates from. She described her new found love as great. “Canadians are great travellers, so there are lots of opportunities to build and grow the business in Canada. Cruising and adventure travels are popular. Also there is a lot of domestic tourism. It is a vast country,” she enthused.

But she said it has not been a stroll through the garden as she disclosed that Nigeria abroad is as much as difficult when in Nigeria. ‘‘It is just as difficult to sell Nigeria from Nigeria as it is from abroad. All my clients here who travel to Nigeria are either visiting friends or family or on business trips, not leisure.”

Family, life style Thank God my children are grown, so my role in their lives is primarily that of an advisor.

My days are mostly taken up by work. However, because I do the bulk of work from my home, I am easily accessible to my family.

Best destination My favourite destination in Nigeria is Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State. It however needs detailed planning to get there without stress. Abroad, I have fallen in love with Mexico, its history and people and want to keep going back there. I however still have Fiji Islands on my bucket list and hope to go there someday soon.

I read a lot I read a lot and I have so many books and nowhere to keep them anymore. I now download my books on Kindle. It’s perfect and I also like watching live shows on TV. Once in a while, I go to the theatre or the movies.

Hat is my signature My fashion style has been evolving with my lifestyle. One thing though, it is definitely not stuffy. I also love wearing hats and it has become my signature!

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Travel & Tourism

Some of the women during Ofala Festival

DESTINATION As the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe and his people prepare for this year’s Ofala Festival, ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA previews the centuries old festival to which sons and daughters of this sprawling commercial city.

I

Prologue n Nigeria the tourism scene is busiest at this time of the year as many communities across the country, particularly in the south-east hold different forms of pomp-filled communal feast.

With the people of Igbo Ukwu in Anambra State recently hosting the celebration of the New Yam festival, the muse has quietly strut across the border to Onitsha, a shouting distance from Igbo Ukwu, where the people prepare to join their traditional ruler, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi) in the celebration of his Ofala this year.

Billed for October 11 - 12, Onitsha, the gateway to the eastern heartland from the west of the Niger River and the commercial hub will momentarily witness a different tempo and rhythm. With the palace of the obi and the inner city wearing new colours, for many,

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

A group in display

Onitsha men in their ceremonial regalia

Onitsha in communal groove as Ofala Festival beckons this is perhaps one of the best times of the year to explore the city beyond its façade.

It is the time of the year when the seldom seen side of the city come to the fore: the leisure side of the commercial city which operates like a conundrum of some sort.

Interestingly, it is a blend of the modern and traditional affairs that would be at play on the days preceding and after the twoday festival. While the Obi heads the traditionalists in the celebration of the Ofala, the people on their own devise different means to infuse the event with all kinds of modern entertainment.

Ofala The yearly festival is an essential part of the Onitsha people’s cosmos, particularly the traditional ruler, the Obi who heads the gathering. It is an age-long ceremony which defines the people, their essence, spiritual and cultural life as well as sets them apart from others.

It is the period of the year when the Obi emerges

from his yearly retreat to present himself, re-invigorated and energized with glad tidings from the gods to his people. It is also a rare occasion for the monarch to mingle with and interact with his people from across the various strata of life. And more importantly, it signals the end of one era or season and the beginning of a new one, a spring, which should usher in its wake a new beginning and harvest of plenty and wealth for the people and the community.

The ofala is a traditional feast that brings together all the indigenes of the cosmopolitan city from all spheres of life and localities to share in the communal broth as they celebrate with the Igwe and pay homage and respect to him. It is usually a festive time with the spirit of conviviality pervading the air as the people also use the period to commemorate other milestones and events in the course of the year under a carnival–like air.

It is characterized by a lot of feasting, dancing, singing and merry-making with the intermingling of diverse religious and cultural elements. As would be expected, the Igwe and his chiefs take the lead at the

River Niger

Changing landscape...the new city mall in Onitsha

The Niger bridge as seen from the entrance at the Asaba end (Inset: Onitsha Road)

theatre of the celebration - the palace of the obi. It is always a colourful and enthralling event to witness and visitors to the city would not be disappointed by the display, but rather would be amazed by the richness and depth of the cultural elements on showcase.

The entire celebration usually spans three days with the first day devoted to the grand appearance of the Obi from his seclusion and this is heralded with huge celebration led by him. While the second witnesses the real communal feast as it is a day when the people entertain themselves in dances and music while paying homage to the king. Also, different age groups, organizations and individuals showcase their art that day. Then comes the third day, which is for the royal banquet, an occasion for the Igwe to host the people to a sumptuous meal and also honour his people for their contributions to the community.

The real attraction of the Ofala Festival is the first day’s activities, which climaxes with the entrance of the Igwe, attired in his rich blend of colourful ceremonial regalia, creatively fitted with beaded crown

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Onitsha women in their ceremonial showpiece

One of the men's group on display

Travel & Tourism

43

Some of the Obi's retinue

(Okpu Ododo), all bright and shining like effervescent armour.

He moves in practiced and majestic steps and sometimes, almost in a feat of trance, displaying the awesomeness and powerful appeal of his royalty. His entrance to the palace arena is heralded by drums, music and trumpeters who eulogise the king as he makes his way, acknowledging greetings from the people.

Besides the beautiful, artistic and sometimes energetic display of the king, part of the attraction also is the theatrics of the red-cap chiefs who are just as resplendent.

Accompanied by kindred and friends, they take turns to dance and pay homage to the king. This is also the case with the different traditional age groups, organizations and individuals who put on different ecstatic displays.

Corporate seal For Globacom, major sponsor of the cultural affair, it is one moment of glory as they take the front row in many of the festival’s activities. The palace and many other parts across the city are draped in the colours of the company.

Their presence and contributions to the success of the yearly feast since assuming sponsorship of the festival about three years ago is overwhelming and even acknowledged by the king. In the past years, some of the activities put in place by the sponsor as a means of stepping up the tempo include a banquet in honour of the monarch and his many guests, raffle draws, musical concert and various corporate social responsibility projects.

For this, the active participation of the telecommunication firm is expected to assume a higher scale as it is expected to unfold what it has in the kitty for the festival and its subscribers. A major highlight is usually the launch of Special Ofala Glo sim cards with a brand new car as the star prize, among others, for winners.

At the celebration of the event last year, the Obi while expressing delight and appreciation to the sponsor acknowledged the contributions of the outfit to enriching and popularizing the festival. “It is a great pleasure not only for the Agbogidi, but the entire people of Onitsha to have Globacom as a partner in the Ofala Festival. The royal banquet we are having today is a way Globacom has devised to appreciate all of you for the warm reception you have given it since it came into Ofala three years ago," remarked the Obi. But more than that, the monarch called on locals to embrace the firm’s product as a way of reciprocating their kind gesture. ‘‘Even as we wine and dine together today, it is important for us to have it at the back of our minds that this is a great synergy between the Onitsha Kingdom and Globacom Limited. The best way we can reciprocate Globacom’s gesture, therefore, is for the entire Onitsha people to make the network their network of choice.”

Background There are several versions to the making of Onitsha, but the version that seems most popular and generally accepted by the people is that which cites the beginning of its existence as a distinct people to its migration from the former Benin Empire in

Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke

Royal strides...Igwe Achebe at a previous Ofala Festival

the 16th century as a result of war or unrest.

The immigrants with the help of the Igalas were said to have been assisted to cross over the river to settle in the present day Onitsha, which originally was known as Ado N’Idu. Gradually the people established a community, which grew in influence and scope and became known as the capital of an Igbo kingdom. In 1857, the British established a trading post in the city and by 1884 it also became part of the British Protectorate and a trading post for the Royal Niger Company later.

Onitsha is believed to be made up of three groups of people - the Edos, (Ezechimas); Igalas and the Igbos while it consists of nine villages or quarters. These include Ogbodu, Obigboru, Umueze Aroli, Okebunabu, Umudei and Olosi. The present Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe is the twenty-first historically. He was born on May 14, 1941. He is the first child of Akunne Anthony Chinwuba and Chukwuebuka Winifred Ogbenyeanu Achebe and a direct descendant of Ezearoli from the lineage of Chimedie, Oreze Obi, and Aguzani.

Today, the city has grown to become a huge commercial city and on the verge of industrialization with a number of factories and industries, which has gradually spread to such places as Awka, the capital of Anambra State. It is home to many institutions and organizations of note.

The Onitsha Main Market is actually a large and unwinding settlement where commercial activities of all kinds are conducted daily. Two things that easily stand out the city in terms of its commerce is the fact that is the home of the production and marketing of Nollywood films with Upper Iweka Street as the noted base. Its thriving book industry also catches the attention of people with a popular Onitsha literature market.

Onitsha also has a remarkable imprint in education. The city boasts a number of some of Nigeria's best read and accomplished citizens. The roll call includes the late Owelle of Onitsha, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, late Prof. Chike Obi, Justice Phillip Ebosie and Philip Emeagwali.

My Weekend SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

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ife is a multi-pronged phenomenon to different individuals. It bestows favourable turns on some, while for others, it could be a mixed bag of good turns and setbacks. But for Tunde Adeoye, a Lagos-based businessman in his early 50s life has been good. He admits that leveraging on the success of his hardworking father softened the ground for him to achieve success without sweat. This has given him and his immediate family the privilege to experience and enjoy the good things that life has to offer.

It is evident from his look that he had affluent life as a kid and this has continued even as he says, “I always like hanging out for valuable time for fun, everyday seems to me like a weekend.”

When asked when he starts his weekend, his response was apt. Tunde says, “My weekend starts on Friday about 7.30 or 8pm, when I usually wind down from the week’s busy schedules. On this occasion, I hang out with friends at cosy places and pleasant relaxation spots to share thoughts about what transpired during the week. The norm is to discuss important issues relating to business and in some cases the discussions could lead to business transactions.

“Of course, such discussions usually take place while people share drinks, like beer, for me I like to drink red wine, which is my favourite drink. I love taking the red wine these days as the larger no longer appeals to me.”

Adeoye, who was born into the Catholic family of Pa Matthew Adeoye, an industrialist from Oro town in Kwara State, relishes what he describes as rare privilege he enjoyed from his childhood days, through his father’s wealth, the impact which he believes has rubbed off on his present status. He says his foray into business has been buoyed by his opulent background, which invariably positively impacted to his social life as an adult.

He recounts his experience as a little boy at 10, Reclamation Road, which has since been renamed Idunganran Street, which is the road that leads to (Iga-Idunganran), the Oba of Lagos Palace, expressing delight that his father lived a worthwhile life and had the foresight to invest in property in his active business days as an industrialist of many decades back in Lagos.

Although opulence hovered around him, Adeoye chose to detach himself from the apron string of his wealthy and influential father in order to acquire experience that will be useful to him later in life.

“I did not work with my dad as a young boy after I left school. I chose to acquire some level of experience and independence, this made me to apply and get a job with the civil service. Precisely, I worked with the Federal Ministry of Education in the 80s because I wanted to be free from my family’s apron string. I didn’t want to be seen as depending on my dad’s wealth. This paid off significantly, as it made me to be prepared for the future and today, I’m better for it,” he adds.

He is however grateful to be among the privileged beneficiaries of his father’s estates, the platform which has prodded him immensely to achieving great success in his businesses as well as accorded him his desired social status among his peers.

He says, “I am a very sociable person and I don’t shy away from socialising with friends particularly with friends and associates. I do attend social events like weddings, house warming and others whenever I’m invited. I also socialise with other members of my social club. I am a member of my native town club, the Great United Social Club of Oro, that is Kwara State, where I hail from and I am the current president of the club.

“The club has its yearly events, which include the annual town harvest which takes place every first Sunday of December here in Lagos for all Catholic indigenes of Oro town.

27 SEPTEMBER, 2014

44

‘I can’t remember the last time I wore English attire’

Tunde Adeoye, is chief executive officer of JTA Enterprises, a merchandising outfit, which equally provides alternative for sourcing of goods and materials for corporate organisations. He tells SEGUN EDWARDS in this interview why he embraces every opportunity he gets to relax.

I also socialise with members of my Club at the Club house in Ebute-Metta every other weekends, where I visit often to unwind from busy schedules.”

Speaking on the most recent social event, he attended, he says, “The recent big social event that I can remember I attended was the conferment of chieftaincy titles on one our friends, Chief Shafari Bakare, along some of the Adelekes in Ede, Osun State. We were at Oke-Ila in Osun State for the conferment, from where we moved to Ede, precisely within the premises of the Adeleke University for the social aspect of the ceremony. The event had several eminent Nigerians from all walks of life in attendance but I think I want to refrain from mentioning anybody’s name because that to me amount to name dropping, which I don’t like.”

Attending social events for him has not been a family thing for quite a while, as his spouse has lately relocated to the United Kingdom, along their last child. He says he takes solace in the company of friends with whom he wines and dines whenever the need arises. He also says his children are grown and at present live in different parts of Europe, with two staying in Germany.

He says he plans to visit his wife anytime later in the year, as part of his vacation.

According to him, his main purpose for the vacation is to spend time with his spouse and daughter but the opportunity will also be explored to visit some places of interest in the UK. His eating habit is not on the upbeat, as he says he makes do with any sumptuous meal without having preference for any special menu even on weekends. He however confesses to having the knack for the local delicacy: Amala and ewedu soup, saying, “The menu used to feature regularly in our menu list when I was growing up.”

Hay may not pass for a sporty person from his look, he however compensate for that with his love for the game of football as fervent fan of the Chelsea Football Club of England. “I love watching football and I’m a great fan of Chelsea, and of course the club is in superb form this season. The team will go places with the present crop of players. They will sure go places this season, their collection is very superb, just watch them, they are the team to beat.”

Apart from watching Chelsea, his favourite club, he says he engages in regular exercises to keep fit. “I jug regularly to

I didn’t want to be seen as depending on my dad’s wealth. This paid off significantly, as it made me to be prepared for the future

keep fit as well as burn fat and that makes me fit.

I do this as regularly as I could muster time, it has helped me to be fit despite my body frame.”

As part of embracing relaxation, Tunde says he enjoys listening to juju music of King Sunny Ade. He often finds the songs relaxing, he said, citing some of his favourite tracks waxed by the juju maestro to include: “The Good Shepherd,” “Apala Syncro,” “Ekilo Fun Omo Ode.” He says that he plays the music of Sunny Ade at every opportunity even while driving his car. “I listen to this brand of music holistically. I do this often, even listen to the music when I’m driving, which is to show that I derive a lot of pleasure, enjoyment and relaxation from this mode of music.”

Adeoye says he embraces the native attire most often, particularly during weekend as he this has been his dress code. He emphasises that this has got nothing to do with his frame rather, he says, “I prefer the native attire of sokoto and buba, may be the kaftan sometimes, this has nothing to do with my body frame but I have preference for this mode of dressing, it has been like that for a long time. I have always been a native attire person. It doesn’t matter whether it is a working day, I can’t even remember when last I wore the English attire, it is just the way I want to be seen or appear. It also has to do with the comfort that comes with donning the native attires.”

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Politics 45

FaceOff

Chieftains of All Progressives Congress and All Progressives Grand Alliance offer differing views on Nigeria’s 54th independence p.48 & 49

Interview

ACF spokesman: Allegation that North created Boko Haram uncharitable p.50

Society

Lawrence Eze: I became Eze Ndigbo to foster peace p.51

Jonathan does not deserve a second term – Okogie Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, former Archbishop of Lagos and first president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in this interview with MICHAEL UCHEBUAKU speaks about the politicisation of CAN, involvement of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in the $9.3 million cash-for-arm deal, among other issues.

How is life in retirement and what is a typical day like for you now that you are retired?

Well, it is still the same life, except that we do not engage ourselves in too much pastoral work as we used to do when on active duty.

On a typical day, I wake up in the morning like any other person. I say my prayers, go for my Mass, then do some exercises and go for a walk because of my leg. Then I take my breakfast and after that I sit down and people start coming to see me. And I will be there sitting in my office until 2 or 3pm listening and answering people’s questions. That is what a typical day looks like.

What are your most memorable moments as Archbishop of Lagos?

Doing my duties gave me the greatest joy.

Anytime I am with people, each time I am officiating I know I’m doing what God wants me to do, I derive the greatest joy. But now, it’s not that I’m not doing what God wants me to do, but the concentration is more now on my spiritual life. That time was different from now.

That time, even sometimes when I would be saying my prayers, I would feel so tired, then I would say, God I know you understand, I would be trying to justify being tired while saying my prayers. I don’t know how I can justify such a thing before God. But now, I can fully concentrate on my spiritual life without distractions. I became an Archbishop on the 17th of June 1973. I spent 39 years as Archbishop of Lagos. Looking back, I never even imagined that I would become a bishop, not to talk of an archbishop. My entire mind when I was in the seminary was to become a priest. Pure and simple! But when that work comes, what can you do? Since it was the will of God that I become a bishop, no way, I can’t run away. So that’s how it is.

What were your saddest moments as Archbishop of Lagos?

Well, there are a few things that really demoralised me. For example, when you talk to people and you advise them, they don’t take your advice. Then in later years they regret and say, ah, ‘this man said it and I should have done it.’ But it pains me. It pains me in the sense that they think you are a liar. I tried to make them understand this is the way I feel. I haven’t got the monopoly of wisdom, no, I am only telling you I try to address issues the way I see it, the way the good Lord wants me to say it. And I

believe that when I open my mouth to talk, it is God that gives me the inspiration. For example, look at what is happening in the country today.

When the Head of State (Goodluck Jonathan) was still the deputy, I have said it several times.

Before he became the Head of State I had an audience with him. We were four in the room.

I don’t want to give you the names of the other two people who were there besides me and Jonathan. So after the audience, Jonathan said

to me, “Bishop, can you pray for me?” And I said, “Sorry, Your Excellency, what do you want, what do you want me to pray for?” He was shocked and said to me, “What? You’re the first pastor that has asked me this kind of question. All the other pastors, when I ask them for prayer they tell me to bow my head and I CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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Politics

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

‘CAN leadership today is zero’

CONTINUED from PAGE 45

bow my head and they pray. How can you ask me what do I want from God?” So I said, “Sorry o, your Excellency, don’t be annoyed, but this is the right way to pray. I want to be able to concentrate on what you are asking for; to let God open his hand and give this man this particular thing that he is asking for. I can say any kind of prayer for you, but to me, that is not enough.” So he said, “That is okay. Don’t you know I will be going in for the election?” And I said to him, “You have won, that is no problem, but you will not rule.” He said, “What? What do you mean that I will not rule?” And I said, “Yes sir, others will rule. Those around you will rule. They are the ones that will rule in your place.” What is happening now? This is the kind of thing that pains me. If you consider the example I have given you now, that is how my life is. I don’t want to tell anybody lies. I don’t want to fool anybody. Shakespeare said “flattery is the food of fools”.

That is what is going on now with many of our religious leaders. They flatter people because they want money. They want to be in the Head of State’s good book. That is what is happening today. One with God is always a majority even if they are going to kill me tomorrow.

When I was in the war front, I didn’t die, not a scratch on my body. It’s a pity Benjamin Adekunle is dead now. God bless his soul.

He was my boss. The other one was Godwin Ali. We were all under him. They were real soldiers. I wasn’t a combatant officer, I was only a chaplain, and I did the little that God wanted me to do and came out without problem.

As a former and founding president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), you fought against several perceived attempts to Islamise Nigeria, especially through membership of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC); how do you view Boko Haram and the threat it poses to the country?

We sensed these things coming, especially during the OIC period. Those of us on the Christian side, that was one of the reasons we opposed it. Even though Babangida and all the others, and even some Catholics on the panel saw nothing wrong with it. I still remember telling (Jubril) Aminu and others to be careful, that this will not augur well for the nation. They said to me, “What do you mean?” Now, look at what we are having.

It is not just a question of the Islamisation of Nigeria we are talking of? We are talking of the future of Nigeria. With these things we are bringing up, what will it lead us to in future? Politicians and so-called intellectuals get up and make statements that can destroy the nation. And what does the government do? Nothing. The government do nothing to them. They allow them to go scot-free. In a civilised nation, they will be called to answer for it. Once you make any careless statement, you must pay for it. You will be called to question. What must a Head of State, the father of the nation be afraid of? If he cannot die for the nation, why is he a Head of State?

For example, if I cannot die for my faith, why am I an Archbishop? Why am I a Cardinal?

These soldiers calling themselves Boko Haram are doing what they are doing because they believe in it. But it is there in the Quran and in the Bible that you shouldn’t shed blood. I read it in the paper that somebody said if I don’t win this election, it will be too hot for somebody. And those who are of that opinion are still around, and they are there laughing. So who is at fault? Who is the fool?

And we are calling on God, when God gave us a peaceful nation. We want to destroy it.

I just pray that sooner or later things will be settled. 2015 is coming. That is another one.

So when you are talking of Boko Haram, and the threat it poses to this nation, we caused

Okogie

it. We caused it. Some years back, during the time of Maitatsine, it took us time before we stopped it. This is how it is. You don’t play with your armed forces anyhow. You don’t swing your sword anyhow, because it can cut you and cut your enemies. This is what is happening. Look at the number of people that are being killed. Now, if these Boko Haram people even succeeded, what would be the condition of the people in those areas in the north? Will Boko Haram be able to feed them or educate them? Now, look at the education. Everything is going down daily in the north. Tomorrow now, they would say the south is cheating the north. Can’t they open their eyes to see the future? Can’t they see?

So this is the problem. This is what we were fighting for then, when I was president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

While I was president of CAN, I was the leader of the Christian team to the so-called conference. (Babagana) Kingibe was the intermediary then, begging the Christians and telling us that the Head of State (IBB) is worried. Then when he was knocking on our doors begging and saying the Head of State (IBB) is worried, I asked him, “Who caused it?” Remember that all of us have consciences. We all have a conscience and we are going to answer for it before God. Do you think the government should con-

They are claiming that they were given the jets as gifts. But why can’t they spend that money on the poor? There are many Nigerians who are begging that they have nothing to eat.

sider negotiating with Boko Haram?

My own opinion is this: When you talk of Boko Haram, who are they? How can you say you are going to negotiate with a nebulous group? They have not declared their identity. Are you going to be talking to the air? The people you want to negotiate with, who are they? Have they even given you their own terms? You can’t know or see them because they are nebulous people. And if you’re bold enough they will come and kill you. And you yourself, you need to know what you are negotiating for? Did you offend them? You are just sitting down and somebody tells you to quit. Look at all the innocent people they have killed, and taken innocent people (Chibok girls) hostage, and there is supposed to be a governor in that place. What was the governor doing, if he has no hand in it? If I were the Head of State, he would be the first person I would arrest.

Where do they (Boko Haram) get their arms from? How did they enter? There are many questions to be answered. And then you are now talking of negotiation. For what? What if they say for negotiation the Head of State should quit? Will he be ready to quit? Or what if they say government should give them so and so people in exchange for the Chibok girls, what kind of negotiation is that? To me, I don’t buy it at all.

Do you think the current leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is actually acting like an arm of the federal government or an appendage of the PDP as some critics say?

My brother, I must tell you this; CAN leadership today is zero. CAN has no leader. Thank God you are talking to one of the founders of CAN, and I was there as their leader for eight years. Then, the whole country knew that CAN had a leader, not by my own might, but by God. Because what we were doing then, we had only one voice. But the problem we have now is that people are struggling for power in unrighteous way.

And because he is struggling for power, he can do little or nothing. Power doesn’t come like that. Look at David in the Scriptures.

Look at Solomon. Even look at Herbert Macaulay and other early nationalists. You don’t force yourself to power. This is what is happening. Somebody is telling you that if you don’t allow him to rule, you will not rule well. So the person struggling for power is not going to do better. Now, election is coming in 2015 and some people are already saying they must be there. They will not allow the electorate to decide. They are ready with their moneybags. Where did they get the money from?

Where did they get the $9.3m that has been seized by South Africa from? They said it was to buy arms. We have to be very careful in this nation. What is the man (Oritsejafor) looking for? If you call yourself a man of God, then you should rely on God. Why should he be jumping up and down? But because he was not elected, not chosen by God, that is what is happening. Today, he wants to build a university, tomorrow he wants to be something else, next tomorrow he wants to be like other people. Then why is he there as CAN president? In our day and time, election was done by the groups and we know how we go about it. I think I ruled for two terms, eight years. If there was any trouble anywhere in the country, they would come to the centre. And it wouldn’t take time. We would just come to the centre and solve it and I will speak out and the whole nation would listen. Sometimes, you would hear people say, “Has Okogie spoken?” “What did Okogie say?” There was unity, because that’s what we are looking for. And we didn’t buy the position. But this time around, because they are rushing to be in power, nobody obeys them. And look at how they are making mockery of themselves and making mockery of “religion”. Is that religion?

Today, they are with the federal government. We saw the writing on the wall when we left. The very first person that took over started romancing with Obasanjo. Then one or two CAN presidents tried their best before it got to this present CAN president, Oritsejafor. This is not right. Look at how Oritsejafor has fallen, from grace to grass.

And he is not going down alone, he is also staining the name of the Head of State. Of course, why not? If you eat with those with dirty hands, then you must be dirty. Is this the man that they are saying should come and rule the nation for a second term? They think people are stupid. They have not even answered about this $9.3m, and when the matter got to the House of Reps, they said they should throw it out. Can you imagine? Are they not the ones making laws on money laundering? And this is a case of real money laundering. These are lawmakers.

And they say throw it out, we will not entertain any discussion on this $9.3m matter. Can you imagine! You can imagine that these are the kind of people we have in the National Assembly. And then of course, the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa is strained. Look at the T.B. Joshua building collapse affair, and they think all South Africans are stupid. Just watch and see what comes out of these two affairs. These are bad signs. Tomorrow now, they will say Nigeria is the giant of Africa and the economy of Nigeria is booming, with mouth. The Head of State is a PDP man and he (Oritsejafor) is linked with this rubbish. So what other proof do you want that CAN has now become an appendage of the PDP? So do you feel now that President Jonathan and Oritsejafor have a case of money laundering to answer?

Of course, they have. In fact, if I have a lawyer, I would sue them. And I am telling CONTINUED ON PAGE 47

Politics

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Many people know you as Dave Umahi, a rich contractor, engineer, and politician. Is that all about you?

Well, when you say that a man is rich, there is one adage that says, “the rich also cry”. I think what a man should pray for is the grace of God because when you say a man is rich, the next thing you want to ask is what is he rich in. It is when a man is rich in grace that I consider him rich. Because if you are rich and not happy, your environment is not proper or people around you are suffering, are you really rich? But this grace, God answered all things.

And they say that contentment with godliness are the ways of God. So I want to be addressed as a man that has the grace of God. Describe your relationship with Gov. Elechi?

It is that of friendliness and mutual understanding ever since Chief Martin Elechi came in as the Governor of Ebonyi State in 2007.

Ever since, I have been admiring his wisdom. I cherish his wisdom, experience and forthrightness in the handling of state affairs. Suffice it to say that fate brought us together as a party chairman and I think the score card he gave to me as party chairman was A-plus and it is something I must cherish all my life.

For such a man to say to you, you have done well; and again for such a man to ask you to be his Deputy, is the height of honour.

And that is the way I look at it. So far, the relationship has been wonderful. Yes, but we are not unmindful of the devices of darkness that want to manipulate this existing cordial relationship.

I know people have been working hard to tarnish my image and also to cause problems between us.

But the governor is a child of God. The secret of the governor, as a man who has built a house for God, is that he has brought the hands of God upon himself and his administration. When you see a man who has the hand of God upon him, nobody would be able defeat him in the battle of life.

Detractors can’t truncate my destiny, says Umahi

47

Dave Umahi, Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, speaks to CHARLES ONYEKWERE in Abakaliki, about 2015; the cordial relationship between him and his principal, Governor Martin Elechi, and other issues. totally completed and put into use.

Some people allege that you do not enjoy the best of relationship with the governor?

The man has been a blessing to me. He has respected me so much and has made the office of the deputy-governor strong and relevant.

I don’t see me having any problem with him because my heart is pure towards him and before God. The important thing is that let not any of the rumours be the truth. I am a child of destiny. And there is nothing anybody can do about it because the just shall live by faith.

So sometimes, you want to destroy me because you want to rise but you can never truncate my destiny.

My destiny is on course because I am a child of destiny. And there is nothing anybody can do about it.

The place God wants me to get to, I must get to the place but I must continue to be loyal to the governor and continue to have him and everything associated with him.

The rest is in the hands of God but I don’t foresee any disagreement. I don’t foresee any misunderstanding because I am praying very hard that the truth will stand.

As the administration that you are part of winds up soon, many fear that it saddled itself with many projects beyond it capabilities?

No project is beyond the capability of this administration; it cannot be beyond because all these things, like the governor do says, are needed by the State; we are in a hurry to develop. Is it the water project which is there to give a final

Umahi

blow to the guinea worm scourge we had suffered as a state? Is it the pilot schools or university? Is it the health sector? Is it the International Market? There are so many things we need to do to catch up with others. So the Governor has laid the foundation and the foun-

dation is irreversible. It takes God to send another Joshua to build on the foundation he has laid; so there is nothing wrong with all our projects. Our heads are very high and I can assure you that before the administration terminates, you will see most of these projects fully and

As former PDP chairman, it is obvious you know the political arena very well. What would you advice all those who want to run for Governorship come 2015 in the state?

My advice would be in line with what the former Governor Sam Egwu said: he said we should have God-factor in our political dealings.

I believe you are not supposed to run down another person to sell your own credentials because if you do, that also becomes part of your credentials in the sphere of life. The fitness of another candidate does not add to your credentials. When you meet people tell them what you can do for the state; tell them what you have done so far with the positions you held before seeking another one. Tell them how much you love the state. For example, if you had a contract in the state, how did you perform? What are the investments you have put in place to show the people? Who and who did you pay their school fees for?

Who and who have you empowered? These and many more are the indices to measure a man’s love for his people. Not to start running down another person.

At the end of the day, it is only one person and that person is the person God has ordained. My advice is let us play the game of politics with the fear of God because leadership is in the hands of God and He gives it to whomever he wills.

‘Jonathan, Oritsejafor should be charged for money laundering’ CONTINUED from PAGE 46

But why can’t they spend that money on the poor? There are many Nigerians who are begging that they have nothing to eat, and yet you say you’re preaching. Preaching for what? Are there no pastors where they are going? May God not punish us according to our sins.

you that I will win. If you can tell me that if I carry huge sums of money without declaring it, that you will arrest me for money laundering, then what is this one. They were carrying all that money and it was not declared. It is a clear case of money laundering.

Yet, they are the ones making laws against money laundering.

The report that the aircraft which flew some Nigerians and an Israeli to South Africa allegedly to purchase arms belongs to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has once again revived the debate about the propriety of ministers of God owning private jets.

What is your view about this episode?

As far as I am concerned, why are they men of God? I asked one so-called religious leader, and you know what he told me? He said, “My God is a rich God. So if yours is a poor God, that’s your business.”

Imagine! So you can even see that this one can’t be called a man of God. And these are the people that tell you they can work miracles, that they have a direct telephone line to God. They say they can do this, they can do that, and God is watching all of us. If it were to be in the Old Testament, they would all have been struck down by God. But God is a patient God. We have to be praying for this kind of people, for them to have a change of heart. What are they looking for with jet? Another one

Okogie

said, “Jesus said go into the whole world and evangelise, so how can I go into the whole world, with what? I need a plane to be able to go to the whole world.” Even the devil can quote scripture. But did Jesus Christ say you should go and steal to go and buy plane? But now they are claiming that they were given the jets as gifts.

Do you see indications that there is now a sufficient will to tackle corruption, or that corruption is no longer as pervasive as it was?

Corruption is in every nation but Nigeria’s own is number one. I am telling you. And if we are not careful, this nation will go down the drain. Now, people can’t help you to bring something from that corner without asking for remuneration. Look at so many children and youths who have no school to go to, or no money to pay school fees, and there are rich men who parade themselves up and down the place as rich people. For what? They seem to have forgotten that this life is not the end. Nobody chose his parents, and nobody came into the world with a gold or silver spoon. So even if you have a gold or silver spoon, you are going to go empty handed. A wise man lives life in a simple way. That is how I am. Even Fela told them the truth, even though they said he was mad and called him all sorts of names. Naked you came into this world, and naked you will go back. These are people that are supposed

to rule and govern this nation. What is happening? Money is exchanging hands.

Now, they are asking the nation and the national assembly to approve so and so huge sum of money for them to borrow.

They think people are stupid. Whatever you do as the Head of State without the permission of the people, you will pay for it. Those who were ministers and Heads of State before, some of them are in Abuja today begging for job, because if you get ill-gotten wealth, you will spend it anyhow. It is an ill wind that blows no one any good.

With the next election just a few months away, what would you say of the president’s ambition to seek re-election?

You can deduce that from what I have said before. You can even see from all that is going on, that some people have been saying that he even signed for one term. You see, if I were in his shoes, I would hide my head. I am not a prophet, just like I told him that day, but that is what my mind is telling me. And nobody knows what is going to happen. Even, nobody knows who is going to be alive to see 2015. So, one has to be very careful.

Talking about election, what kind of election are we even going to have in Nigeria? Is it going to be free and fair and just? Tell me what election we have had in Nigeria that is free and fair? Is it not mouth that they use in saying it is free and fair?

FaceOff SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

What is your assessment of Nigeria at 54?

At 54 Nigeria is not progressing as expected, the nation is retrogressing and this is not supposed to be so. If the foundation is destroyed what can the righteous do? The foundation handed over to us by the colonial masters is faulty.

Nigeria is still wobbling and is not really stable. The present structure of Nigeria does not make it stable. We must make government less attractive. We must reduce the cost of governance. The major business in Nigeria today is government, politics. Every other industry has died.

The only industry that is surviving is politics and it is non-productive industry. We need to make it less juicy, we need to cut allowances, and we need to cut salaries. We need to make most of the government offices part time. We spend most of our budget on running government. There are things we don’t need.

We don’t need bi-camera-legislature anymore. We don’t need almost 40 ministers.

We need to make government positions less juicy. We need to first of all restructure Nigeria. One of the major problems of Nigeria is leadership; we also need to get our leadership right. Well 54 years so far it has been a period that so many things have happened, there is tragedy, there is hope, there is belief that things will still get better. We all have to play a part; we all have to do our best. We all have to believe in Nigeria, we all have to believe in ourselves. We have to get the institution working. It’s like so many institution are sleeping, many of them are not even on the ground yet.

What do you think is the major way out of Nigeria’s numerous problems?

The major way out is to allow the people of the country to own the country by fully participating in the affairs and policies of the nation. The people must be allowed to genuinely elect the people that will lead them.

As a delegate at the recently concluded National Conference, don’t you think the conference has set template for the restructuring of Nigeria?

The National Conference has helped to create a new template for Nigeria to move forward and it has also helped to create a process to resolve political conflicts in the country. The conference has produced a process that can give the people the ownership of the country. For me, I think it is the first step in resolving Nigeria’s problems by producing the constitution for the Nigerian people. My advice to Mr. President is to implement the resolutions of the conference in order to make the nation stable and stop the blood- letting and militancy that is going on in the country. The process has started and we have started well with the convocation of the national conference for the development of this nation Why did you say we need to restructure Nigeria’s foundation?

Definitely, because if the foundation is destroyed what can the righteous do?

You need a very strong foundation that can prevent malpractices and rigging during election, there is no way we can have credible elections under the present system. What we need to do is for Nigeria to build political consensus and agreement towards restructuring of credible foundation upon which we canconduct elections. Nigerians need to own what President Jonathan has started. Nigerians need to own it for it to succeed. That is why we need mass mobilisation, mass enlightenment and edu-

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At 54, Nigeria is retrogressing – Okunniyi Olawale Okunniyi, is a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and 2015 Ogun State governorship aspirant. He was also a delegate to the recently concluded National Conference. In this interview with WALE ABIODUN, he says Nigeria needs restructuring in order to make progress.

Okunniyi

cation as suggested by Yoruba United Assembly that people should be aware and our local people should be reached through local assembly. It should not be an elitist thing. There should be mass movement to get the support that will give the right foundation for election in 2015. If we go to election with all these tension and current system without building political consensus and political agreement about how Nigeria should be run, it can lead to the end of the country. And we don’t want that, we have approached 100 years and it has been predicted that the amalgamation was planned to serve for 100 years. We need to rework and own our country through national consensus, just concluded conference and consultation. If we don’t rework and own it by ourselves it will blow up. It will explode and nobody will be able to own anything. We have gone to the conference to talk and confronted all our problems. With the present system where we have ammunitions all over the place like in the Niger Delta and Boko Haram zones and you want people to go and campaign for presidency in such places, there will be war. We are building a process to give ourselves political agreement and political consensus. If you study the process of constitution making, this is the first time Nigeria will be having constitution.

The previous efforts, none of them could be qualified to have passed through the proper constitution process. What we have in Nigeria today is a law, decree so; therefore we said then in PRONACO before the convocation of just concluded conference that we should try as much as possible to start that process. The National Assembly cannot give people’s constitution As governorship aspirant in Ogun State

how do you intend to bring about positive change if elected?

With government machinery in my possession I will not forget where I’m coming from. I will carry people and all the stakeholders in the state along to effect a positive change. I think the current government in the state is stretched to the limit but their best is not just impressive enough to me and the people of Ogun State. We think that we can do better than what obtains now. I am coming out to bring about a model for the people of Ogun State. Late Chief Bisi Onabanjo tried his best, there are rooms for improvement. We think improvement will come through us. We are not supposed to be static; we believe that things should always improve for the people of Ogun State.

sion which we have started with the last national conference. We need to constitutionalise the agreement. The constitution was foisted by the military.

You don’t decree the constitution; it is the people that will give themselves the constitutions. It has to be done for you to have a thorough transition. We have to transit from the military government because what we have been running is military law. You can’t do election without the constitution. It was after the election that 1999 Constitution was promulgated. Election in democratic setting is not guided by military acts; it is guided by the constitution. 1999 Constitution is not guided by the due constitution process. That constitution must go; if it does not go it will make this country shaking forever.

Some stakeholders are saying that Nigerians need to agree on how they will live together. Hence some are calling for a weak centre and strong regions.

What is your view on this?

The first 100 years failed because Nigeria was not created for the benefit of Nigerians. It was created to satisfy the economic interest of the colonialists. It was put together in a way that we can fight one another perennially. We need to rework that trough national discus-

Some stakeholders are calling for regional integration and self-determination, what is your take on this?

It is vital; we have been saying that we should revert to the regional system of government. People have been agitating for the weak centre so that the federating units can develop at their own pace. With this, there will not be domination of one on the other. The centre of activities should be at the federating units while the federal government should be saddled with fewer responsibilities. The federating units should also have their own constitution too.

The first 100 years failed because Nigeria was not created for the benefit of Nigerians. It was created to satisfy the economic interest of the colonialists

What is your assessment of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria since 1999?

My assessment is that it is a democracy by force and just civil rule. We are just playing politics of moneybags. The only business that is surviving in Nigeria is politics. No industry is surviving.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

FaceOff | Politics

49

Nigeria is not a total failure, says Akrika Mr. Okoye Akrika, a lawyer and the immediate past commissioner for land and urban development in Anambra State and current secretary of the state chapter of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in this interview with CHINEDU EKEJA, argues that Nigeria at 54 is on the path to greatness.

What is your assessment of Nigeria’s 54th year of independence?

I will say the journey has been that of the mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. But above all there is every hope that the future is bright for the country.

The founding fathers of this nation had many noble dreams about what they thought that this nation would be. But along the line, the military intervention in the nation’s political evolution made it quite difficult to attain. And that as a matter of fact this affected almost everything were are doing in this country.

The civil war and all other crises along the line also affected our development.

The civil war alone took the country 30 months and at the end of which it was proclaimed no victor, no vanquished in a war that was avoidable.

Because of what the military did from 1966 to 1975, from 1983 to 1999, you can see that between these interims, it was as if nothing was going on. So the assessment will be from 1999 till date. From that time we have been moving gradually till what we have today. What is coming out is that Nigerians are beginning to enjoy the true taste of democracy. Thank God for President Goodluck Jonathan. If not for a president in the mould of Jonathan, Nigeria would not have been able to manage those trying times like Boko Haram and other challenges that the nation is facing at this point in time.

What I am saying is that Jonathan’s democratic credentials are helping the nation now. I think Nigeria is on the path of greatness if we should continue with the way we are going now. We have had it good, bad and ugly, but what is important is that Nigeria has survived all those storms and we are on the threshold of that ideal nation.

compare it with a country like Ghana or South Africa?

We are still the most populous black nation, we have the population, and we have the resources. We have the manpower. We should not fail to appreciate this obvious fact. That we have not maximised our resource should not and cannot be equated with total failure. At a point in time, Ghana was not making any progress until (Jerry) Rawlings came.

The same with South Africa which took the emergence of Nelson Mandela for things to take the right shape. And now that we are beginnig to have semblance of good leadership, let us support the government of the day, let us engage in

If Nigeria were an adult, will you be proud to call her a responsible adult at 54?

Yes, Nigeria can be considered a responsible adult because some say that life begins at 40. The civilians came in just 1999, which is just 15 years now.

At 54, Nigerian may not be categorised as an adult that has attained her full potential but that is not to say that at 54, Nigeria is a complete failure. If I take what is happening at present, I would say, with boldness that there is bright light at the end of the tunnel. Someone who at 54 has begun to find his bearing, considering the many years of challenges, cannot be considered to be a failure. After all, a man of 60 years can still be productive even at 70.

So what is important at this stage of our national life is at 54 are we beginning to get it right, at 54, we are beginning to put certain things in place so that in a short time to come this nation will be where the founding fathers have envisaged for it.

Do you think Nigeria has a course to answer the giant of Africa when you

Someone who at 54 has begun to find his bearing, considering the many years of challenges, cannot be considered a failure

Akrika

constructive criticism to make sure that our country shall not continue to wallow in abject poverty especially now that we have a leadership that is focused, accommodating and has respect for the rule of law.

Specifically, what exactly can you cite and say you are proud of Nigeria at 54?

I am proud that Nigeria despite all odds has remained a strong, viral, united and prosperous nation. What is important in life is the ability to grow, the ability to develop and moves forward. We shall not allow our self to be held captives by our past. We have made some mistakes in the past, that notwith-

standing, we are on the path of getting these things right. We are now having elections where those who lost can congratulate the winner knowing that the process was transparent. We are having a situation where people from different ethnic and political background are beginning to see themselves as one united Nigeria.

You have just spoken as it concerns the corporate existence of the country, what about physical development, anything to be proud for?

We are talking of a country with different religions, political and ethnic background, so knowing we have a heterogeneous entity, unity, development do not come that easy. Nigeria like any other country, had its ugly past, but the most important thing is where we are today and where we are going. What we need to do is to put all things together to enable us to realise our potential. To answer your question, we have good network of roads, though I will say it is not yet uhuru. We have the modern GSM, thanks to former president Olusegun Obasanjo. We have had our national conference where we discussed raging number of issues; I believe that by the time the resolutions of the conference are implemented, this country will be good for it.

If you had a chance to give your independence speech, which area of our national life will you advise the president to focus more on?

I will take three drastic measures.

One, I must ensure that the local government system is efficient and effective.

What the federal government should do is to monitor the local government system using the various anti-graft agencies to make sure that money meant for local government system are efficiently deployed. The local government has enough money to take care of the system, but various state governments use transition committee to run the system.

At the end of the day, they will remain where they are. That is one.

Secondly, I will ask him to tackle the power sector. There is no reason why as at now we have not been able to generate and distribute efficient power in this country. The power distribution companies should be empowered to make sure that the consumer has prepaid meters. I don’t know why it is taking a long time. Like this telephone where we have MTN and other telecommunications operators, if you go there, you buy the recharge card, once you exhaust the one you bought, your call will be terminated till you recharge again. Unlike the days of NITEL when whether you get the service or not, you will be expected to pay some money.

With regard to electoral reform, Jonathan is doing that already. But we can work towards putting in place a transparent electoral system in such a way that whenever anybody is going into election, he or she will know that he must enter into a solemn social contract with the people. Winners of election will now know that the power they are enjoying was derived from the people. That will make them to take pains to make sure that the interest of the people they lead is paramount in what they do. That is when the people will enjoy the essence of democracy as the government of the people, for the people and by the people. With this, the nation will irreversibly be on the path of greatness.

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Politics

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Allegation that North created Boko Haram to destabilise Jonathan uncharitable – ACF The spokesman for the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Muhammadu Ibrahim, speaks with IBRAHIM MUSA on how the North will benefit from the National Conference’s recommendation that 25 per cent of the annual budget should be used to fund education from primary to tertiary levels, and why the Almajiri school system should be phased out, insurgency, among other sundry issues.

After the National Conference, ACF commended northern delegates for a job well done. In specific terms, what did the north gain at the conference?

The National Conference was convened by Mr. President and inaugurated on the 17th of March. But before then, if you will recall, the Federal Government set up a kind of Advisory Committee to advise it on the structure of the conference. The conference was as a result of agitation for a national discourse on issues that Nigerians felt they need to discuss.

It came in so many forms. Some of them called it national dialogue, some called it conference of ethnic nationalities, others called it sovereign national conference and so many other names. At the end of the day, the president caved in because initially, he had objected to it.

And his reason at that time was that we have democratically- elected structures in place which should be able to address issues that Nigerians were agitating for.

The north as region went to the conference without any specific agenda. If there was any, we went to make sure that this country remains one united, indivisible Nigeria. We went there to see that Nigerians continue to live in harmony. We went there to support that whatever other regions may bring to the conference if it’s in the interest of Nigeria. If it is against the interest of the north, we will block it. But we didn’t go there with a kind of primordial and sentimental position like others did.

The way the conference went, no region got everything that it wanted. Our southern counterparts came with regional or zonal positions on political restructuring, types of government and those from the South SSSouth came with the issue of resource control. These issues generated a lot of controversy and decisions were taken based on consensus. Some decisions were generally not in the interest of the country as a whole.

Could you mention some of these decisions that are not in the interest of the country?

For example, the issue of creation of states.

Here in the north, we wanted states to be created but we outlined procedure for it. The South East wanted just one state in addition to the five that they have without following the procedure. To us, we felt that was very abnormal, it was not the proper thing to do.

But the South East wanted to be at par with other geopolitical zones...

That was their argument. But are the geopolitical zones the same? Certainly not. And are geopolitical zones constitutional creation?

There are not. This was a proposal that was brought up during the 1995 conference and the thing became politically accepted. But there was never a bill from anybody to the National Assembly to make it part of our constitutional structure. All the same, for convenience, we have accepted it but the zones cannot be at par because they are not the same in terms of population, size and the

number of local governments. For example, the North West, as big as it is, is called a zone with seven states. Kano State alone, with due respect, can take about three or four states in the South East in terms of population. The population of the North East is much higher than the South East and this is based on the 2006 population census.

So, the South East demand for an additional state is for political reasons but when you look at it critically, there was no need for it. Like I said, the conference adopted some recommendations just to have peace.

Some people are of the opinion that the conference was just a talk shop that ended up rehashing old themes and proffering the same solutions. What did the National Conference achieve in concrete terms?

Northern delegates fought tooth and nail to secure the retention of the Land Use Act in the constitution as its abrogation will, over a period of time, not be in the best interest of our local farmers as the likelihood of rich people acquiring their land is high. The conference recommended the creation of Solid Minerals Development Fund to finance exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in Nigeria, especially in the North. We also advocated the retention of presidential system of government with bicameral legislature at the federal level and states as federating units as against the parliamentary system with regions as federating units advocated by the southern delegates.

Talking of peace, the issue of insurgency which is ravaging the North wasn’t mentioned in the president’s speech when he inaugurated the conference and yet ACF did not raise it.

It was discussed at the conference. The issue of insecurity was discussed very thoroughly. In fact, sometimes it borders me when I hear some of our colleagues say that the issue was not discussed. For example, there was a Committee on National Security headed by Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, former Inspector General of Police. His deputy was former head of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Chief Horsefall. We also had a lot of retired generals in that committee and former top police officers, lawyers were there and also people from the civil society. That was why there was a recommendation that, because insecurity has ravaged the North East, a special fund should be set up to rehabilitate the area. So, the issue was well discussed but people concentrated more on resource control but there were so many recommendations that were made. For example, the conference recommended that the Federal Government should allocate not less than 25 per cent of its annual budget to education. The conference made a strong recommendation that issue of Almajiris in the North should be phased out. That it is not really a system of education.

Even the Almajiri Model Schools?

They should gradually be turned into a formal school; not just a question of these boys going to learn only how to read the Qurán.

Like you know, we have a lot of Islamiyya schools in the North. Some private primary schools have integrated both the western and Islamic education. There was even a time limit from the time the recommendations are accepted. The conference’s report recommended that the Almajiri schools should be phased out in the next 10 years.

Before writing an open letter to the president, what efforts had the ACF made to engage him privately over the insurgency that is ravaging the North?

Even before it got to this stage, I remember in 2011 we sent a high-powered delegation to visit the president and complained to him about what was going on in Borno State. That time it had not escalated to this stage. Even when there were frequent attacks in both Borno and Yobe states at that time, we kept on urging the president to visit the area. Even the north state governors, we kept hammering on them to visit the area to console the governors of the two states and sympathise with the people. That will give them encouragement. Because of those calls that we had been making, the president later visited Borno and Yobe states. Thereafter, ACF organised a Unity, Peace and Development conference in Kaduna in December. Vice President Namadi Sambo represented Mr. President. All northern governors and

elite were there; we had a two-day session and a lot of security issues were discussed. Thereafter, ACF collated all the views expressed at the conference and documented it into what we called roadmap. It talked about education, agriculture, industries and poverty alleviation programmes. We compiled them into a book and took some copies to the governors of the 19 states, through their chairman, the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. He assured us that all the governors will get copies. By our own reckoning, if the recommendations are implemented we believe that they will discourage most young men to join these insurgent groups. This year, around March, we wrote a protest letter and the ACF executives went to the governor of Niger State because the insurgency kept escalating. We told him that we have been talking and the president has formed so many committees but these things kept escalating.

We gave him a graphic picture of what is happening, including cattle rustling in Zamfara and Katsina states, ethnic clashes in Benue State between farmers and suspected herdsmen. The same ethnic clashes were going on in Nasarawa and Taraba states. Many people are just being killed every day. We were so concerned that was why we went to Governor Babangida Aliyu and we publicised our visit and the protest letter. Later, we compiled all these killings in a book and sent it to all the governors, including northerners who are in positions of authority at the federal and state levels. That’s the best we could do as a pressure group; there is nothing we could do more than what we had done.

I cannot go about killing my brothers just because I’m against Mr President. It doesn’t make sense at all

Ibrahim

Society

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

‘I became Eze to make peace and bring smiles to faces’

that God is a perfect finisher. I also want to use the day to thank God for protecting my life all these years. You can see my gate is open, everybody comes in but I have not been harmed by anyone. It is not my power, that is God’s grace. I keep requesting God ‘the Chukwu Ndi Igbo’ that in my ongoing reign, let there be no bloodshed, let peace continues to rein. Even when there is problem, with the wisdom God has given me, I am able to solve it.

I go as far as pleading with people not to cause trouble.

Eze Ndigbo, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Dr. Lawrence Eze, tells CAMILLUS NNAJI in this interview that the government needs to give more support to monarchs because of their closeness to the grass root.

Why did you accept to become Eze of Alimosho?

In June 2009, I was in my house when a group of seven elders came to me. Then, I was based in Abuja.

They came to tell me about the demise of Eze Madumere just a year after he was installed as Eze Ndi Igbo in Alimosho. So, they wanted me to take over as their Eze. I asked them if they knew me quite well and they said ‘yes.’ I then told them to give me time to consult with my people before responding to their request. Seven days after consulting with my community in Umudioka, Awka in Anambara State, I told the elders that Ezeship is an honour. I assured them that I will accept the honour not because of the honour and glory associated with the title but to promote peace among my people and indeed all ethnic groups within Alimosho and Nigeria in general. I was inspired

to use my position to put smiles on people’s faces. If people are happy, there won’t be crime.

Five years on, what are your challenges and successes so far recorded?

Frankly, a king should not and ought not to lie, I will not lie too.

The challenges are numerous. Alimosho is the largest LGA in Africa with 22 markets and about 8,000 stalls. The government has not supported me to lead the people here. I have carried the burden alone, everyday hundreds of people troop into my compound, they do not have house, they want to pay house rent, they want to start a business, they have not eaten. As a leader, I keep committing my own fund to alleviate the problems of these people. I think the government should empower the kings, who are nearest to the people irrespective of

51

Eze

where they come from. During the 2011 election, I fed about 4,000 people, I went around my constituency with keke NAPEP sensitising people, telling them to register and vote. Nobody supported me. The only recognition I have was from the Divisional Police Officer who is now at Igando. He brought a goat to my house for being a promoter of peace in my domain. When there is peace and progress everybody will live in peace.

As you are preparing for your coronation anniversary, what will

the day mean to you?

The day will make me happy.

All tribes will be here to show we are one and live in unity. We have one God all over the world. The occasion will bring together over 5,000 people and about 30 Ezes will be in attendance including those from South East. When I see all these people, it will make me a happy man and confirm that we are one even in diverse cultures.

What does the anniversary signify?

The anniversary will showcase

What is your view on President Goodluck Jonathan’s aspiration for a second term?

Jonathan is God sent for Nigerians. If you fight him you are fighting God. Because he comes from a minority tribe does not mean he is foolish. Apart from (Yakubu) Gowon and (Odimegwu) Ojukwu, no Nigerian Leader has faced harsh treatment, and rebellion which Jonathan is facing. Yet he is succeeding. I want to bet you, Jonathan will be sworn in by 2015 not by his power but by He who sent him. If God has sent him which we are sure of, He will guide him.

What have you to say about the security situation in the country?

It is written in the Bible, “they will surely gather but the will of God must come to pass.” There is problem everywhere but the federal government is managing it. The president is not a soldier, he is not even paramilitary, he is a core democrat. He controls the best security apparatus with human conscience. The man has done so well to manage the security situation.

C&S Divine Blessing chapel celebrates Awode at 51 Kayode Olanrewaju

T

he main auditorium of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church (Ayo Ni O), Chapel of Divine Blessing, AIT Road, Alagbado, Lagos, was agog on September 7, when members of the church, friends and family members celebrated the GMD/CEO of Chemstar Paints Industry (Nig.) Ltd., maker of Finecoat & Shield Paints, Special Apostle Emmanuel Aderemi Awode, who clocked 51.

The special birthday thanksgiving service, which attracted family members, members of staff of Chemstar Paints, business associates, friends, religious leaders within and outside the church, and wellwishers was celebrated amid singing, dancing and worship.

In his sermon Senior Apostle Emmanuel Omototemi expressed gratitude to God Almighty for His divine grace over the life of the celebrant, quoting Psalms 90 verse12; Proverbs 11verse 25 and Matthew 5 verse 7 to buttress his message.

He charge the celebrant to continue in the good work God has ordained and empowered him to do, to put smiles on the faces of the less privilege in the society, without recourse to ethnicity or religious inclination.

He admonished him to not to allow nothing whatsoever to separate him from his strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The celebrant, who sang and danced to give thanks to God, however in his thanksgiving message, praised his Creator for spearing, protecting and guiding his life in all ramifications.

Awode further thanked his parents, Special Apostle Dickson Awode, Chairman/ Leader, C&S Movement Church, Victory District, Ikorodu, Lagos and mother, SP/ Mother-In-Israel Modepeola Awode, for

Aderemi

bringing him to life and for all what they have done in making him a success in life.

He also lauded his wife, Special Mother-In-Israel/Prophet Tosin Awode and children for their support, saying without their understanding, support and prayer, and the glory of God, he would have been nobody.

In the prayer session, the Leader-InCharge, Special Apostle J.A. Oyeku (JP), who praised God Almighty for His benevolence in the life of the celebrant, how-

ever offered prayers for his long life, good health and prosperity.

Born on Saturday September 7, 1963, in Lagos to the family of Dr. Dickson Adekunle Awode and Delphine Modupeola Awode, he attended the Polytechnic Ibadan where he obtained his Higher National Diploma (HND) with Upper Credit in Chemistry.

Awode joined the Bato Chemical Laboratories, Lagos as Chemical Analyst in 1989, from where he joined the International Paints for West Africa Plc (IPWA) as Paint Chemist.

He resigned from IPWA in 1994 to set up Chemster Paints Industry Nigeria Limited, manufacturer of Finecoat and Shield Paints.

With his core determination to attain excellence in all that he does, and couple with his love and contribution to humanity and the society at large, Awode founded the Remi Awode Foundation (RAF) for the church in January 27, 2013, which he funded with the initial N20 million.

The aims are to empower and sponsor members of the church by training them in various vocations and skill acquisition programmes of their choice.

The foundation, which is manned by a committee, also provides soft and interestfree loans to the members of the church as financial assistance to be self-reliant and to be financially independent.

Under the foundation, no fewer than 100 members of the church have benefitted from the interest-free loans, while 33 members had been trained in various vocations such as fashion designing/tailoring, fisheries, printing, computer, bead making, decoration and cake making, among others.

Apart from the training, the foundation also supports the trainees with seed funds to start up their businesses.

As part of his philanthropic gesture, RAF

has constructed two-storey administrative building comprising offices for the leaderin-charge, deputy leader-in-charge, secretary, children’s auditorium, while the foundation presented three cars and a Toyata Siena Space bus to the leader-in-charge, deputy leader-Incharge, church pastor and church prophet.

Another two-storey building which is nearing completion is being built by the foundation for the church’s theology college.

Besides, the oundation is building a modern and magnificent edifice, which is almost nearing completion at the Galilee land, Orile-Igbon, along Ogbomoso /Ilorin Express Road, Abuduka/Asileke Village, Oyo State for the Spiritual Father of the C&S Movement Church Worldwide (Ayo Ni O).

To address the water challenges confronting the church host community at Olubu Close, Agbado, the foundation executed a water project which was donated to the community on September 1, last year.

Awode, a man of many parts, who has traversed to the landscape of business world, has to his credit several awards and recognitions, among which are fellow, The Polytechnic Ibadan, in recognition of his tremendous contributions to the infrastructural development of his alma mater; fellow, Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria in 2012; Corporate Achiever Award, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Excellence in Enterprise Award.

Other awards include the INRI Widows Foundation Distinguished Philanthropist in Socio-Economic Development Award; Meritorious Award of the Ijamido Children’s Home, Ota, Ogun State; and Distinguished Leadership in National Development Gold Award (D’LINGA)

by Corporate and Media Africa Communication.

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News Extra

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

DUTSE Lamido lauds NIS over 64-page e-passport

N EWS I N BRIEF

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State on Friday commended the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for introducing 64-page e-passport system for frequent travellers.

Lamido made the commendation while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after receiving the newly- introduced travelling document from the NIS Comptroller in the state, Alhaji Isa Gere, in Dutse.

Describing the innovation as “a positive step”, the governor said the initiative would address the problems faced by frequent travellers for unnecessary request and renewals of international passports.

“For instance, when I was a Foreign Affairs Minister, I had about seven passports before the end of my tenure, which was a burden on me,” Lamido said.

€6.5m

The annual earnings of Danielle De Rossi of Roma in 2012-2013.

Source: Goal.com

FCT Australia commits N8.7m to tackle Ebola

BAUCHI 2,000 youths to benefit from entrepreneurship programme

About 2,000 youths will benefit from entrepreneurship development programme of the Bauchi State Government in partnership with United States-based Entrepreneurial Media Consortium.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Aminu Hamayo, stated this when a team of the firm paid a courtesy call on Governor Isa Yuguda in Bauchi, on Friday.

“The team is here to begin the process where more than 2,000 youths would be trained on entrepreneurship skills.

After the training, the trainees would be required to come up with a bankable business plan to enable them to set up profitable and sustainable business,” he said.

The Australian Government yesterday said it had contributed about N8.7 million to Nigeria’s Ebola Virus Emergency Appeal, which was launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

A statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, by the Australian High Commission in Abuja, said the donation would assist in purchasing vital personal protection equipment for health workers combating the deadly disease.

The Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Jonathan Richardson, was quoted as saying the funds would be used to improve training in epidemic control techniques for Red Cross volunteers.

93,030

The total area (in sq. km) of Hungary.

Source: Worldfactsandfigures.com

29%

The percentage of food emergencies as a result of human-induced disaster in 1981.

Source: Unesco.org

World Tourism Day: Duke calls for community development

l It offers better livelihood, says UNWTO scribe

Andrew Iro Okungbowa

A

s the global community marks World Tourism Day (WTD), Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke, has called for sustainable development of the communities as they are the bedrock for tourism.

Also speaking, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Dr. Taleb Rifai, urged the world to pay more attention to tourism because of its potential to offer economic opportunities and better livelihood for the people.

This call is coming against the background of the theme of the celebration of this year’s WTD: “Tourism and Community Development.”

Since 1980, the UNWTO had dedicated September 27 as World Tourism Day, an occasion used to draw attention to the importance of tourism and create global awareness on the significance of tour-

ism and its contributions to economic development, job creation, poverty alleviation, international cooperation and peace.

The city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, is hosting the global celebration, while the different countries of the world are also marking today at their various cities and communities.

In Nigeria, the national celebration is taking place at the Arts and Craft Village in Abuja, while Lagos will celebrate it at the Freedom Park, Broad Street.

Duke in his message said: “Tourism as a major socio-economic force in communities around the world and the need for sustainable development is a primary concern." He added that tourism depended on the communities for it to thrive and that concrete effort should be made to develop the various communities so as to offer tourists options to explore.

Synagogue: We were never served contravention notice T

L-R: National Missioner, Fatiu Quareeb Society of Nigeria, Sheikh AbdurRahman Adangba; Chief Imam, Rahaman Islamic Society, Sheik Ishaq Tejideen; Convener, Conference of Islamic Society, Sheik Abdurrahman Ahmad and Coordinator, Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, at a press conference on $9.3million cash-for-arm deal in Lagos …yesterday

I have learnt my lessons, says Ikuforiji CONFESSION The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly has declared that he would be a good representative of the people Juliana Francis, Muritala Ayinla and Emmanuel Onani

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peaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, yesterday said he had learnt his lesson over his victory at the Federal High Court, which dismissed the 54-count charge brought against him and his aide, Oyebode Atoyebi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This was, even as Saturday New Telegraph learnt that the Speaker would formerly declare his ambition to join the governorship race under the All Progressives Con-

lEFCC to appeal Speaker's acquittal gress (APC), soon, following acquittal from the allegations levelled against him.

It was learnt that the money laundering case had remained the only issue preventing him from publicly declaring his aspiration to succeed Fashola come May 29, 2015.

However, the EFCC has said it will appeal yesterday’s decision of the court which acquitted the Speaker.

Speaking shortly after he was acquitted by the presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, Ikuforiji described the allegation as a concocted case orchestrated by certain political detractors, who, according to him, are too cowardly to reveal their identities.

In his victory speech titled: “Hope in the season of Vindication”, Ikuforiji said he had been unnecessarily prosecuted by the EFCC in the last three years,

commending the 40-member of the state House of Assembly for standing by him during the legal tussle.

“Of course my travail in the last three years has taught certain lessons. Victory is sweet; but I have learnt to wait patiently for it; I have learnt to persevere in the face of daunting challenges; I have learnt to expect the best even when all hope seems lost,” he said.

He commended the APC chieftains, particularly the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the state, Governor Babatunde Fashola and Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, for their unflinching support and prayers during his travails.

“By pronouncing me not guilty , in fact, by dismissing the bases on which the needleless trial was wrought, the Federal High Court has renewed my com-

mitment to the struggle for a greater Lagos State, in particular, and a better society in Nigeria, in general.

“I am not tired: the task of governance must go on. I promise to never betray the confidence reposed in me; today’s victory is historic; it will spur me to work harder for the growth of our dear state and the progress of our people," he said.

Meanwhile, the commision in a statement signed by its head of media and publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, argued that Justice Buba erred in law, when he held that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the accused persons.

“The EFCC has said it will appeal against the ruling of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which today (yesterday) set free the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeniyi Ikuforiji and his aide, Oyebode Atoyebi," the statement said.

he Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has refuted media reports that it ignored contravention notice served on it by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA) over the collapse of one of the church’s guest houses.

The church said it neither received a contravention notice nor was the building in question ever sealed off before the unfortunate incident, adding that at no time was any stop work notice or directive served on the church or pasted on the building prior to the September 12 incident.

The church said the only form of communication with the LSBCA occurred days after the incident.

According to the church, “the letters that were written to the church were written

after the collapse in the following order: A letter dated September 16, 2014 with Ref No. LASBCA/AL/PCA/ DH/01 requesting for the submission of a development permit and approval of structures within the church complex, four days after the building collapsed.

"A Contravention Notice dated September 17, 2014 Ref No. AL/LASBCA/ DH/PCA/CN 06 alleging certain contraventions, five days after the building collapsed; another Letter dated September 17, 2014 with Ref No. AL/LASBCA/DH/ PCA/CN 06 requesting for non-destructive tests for structural stability, five days after the building collapsed.”

The church further noted that no sealing or quit notice had been served as the building never called for such.

FG set to ease traffic gridlocks on Nyanya-Mararaba axis Yusuf Shuaib Abuja

T

he Federal Government has said the redesigning of Abuja-Keffi Road is in progress to ease the traffic gridlocks on the road, which have created concern among residents living at the Nyanya-Mararaba axis.

Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, who made this known while playing host to high-ranking officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), led by the Corps Marshal, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, said the Abuja-Keffi Road, was one worrisome

issue that had generated a lot of concern because of the large number of Abuja workers residing on that corridor.

According to him, the traffic on that road is handling far in excess of the maximum designed traffic for that road.

“We believe that the Abacha Barracks end should not and cannot be the only entry point into the city. So, we are going to do a kind of an arc diversion through which we will have a number of entry points into the city.

We believe that is the design solution for that particular problem," the minister said.

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Dalai Lama: 18 Nobel Peace Laureates boycott South Africa’s summit Ndubuisi Ugah with agency reports

A

t least, four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates have pulled out of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which is scheduled to hold in Cape Town, next month over South Africa’s decision to deny a travel visa to Dalai Lama.

An online news portal, Saharareporters, reported last week that 14 Nobel Peace laureates had sent a letter to South African President, Jacob Zuma, urging him to grant a visa to Lama, after reports emerged that the South African government had requested Lama to postpone his visit to the following year.

South Africa’s decision to deny a travel visa to Lama is widely believed to be a political decision

to avoid upsetting the Chinese government, which views Lama as a separatist bent on leading Tibet in seceding from China.

An article published in the Firstpost reported that Jody Williams from the US, Shirin Ebadi from Iran, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and an unnamed representative of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) have announced their withdrawal from the summit in solidarity with Lama, after attempts to pressure South Africa to reconsider his visa application failed.

Lama had previously been prevented from visiting and participating in events in South Africa. In 2011, he was prevented from attending fellow Nobel Peace laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday bash causing much public outrage.

NCAA threatens foreign carrier over unfair treatment Wole Shadare

T

he Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Benedict Adeliyeka, has read the riot act to foreign airlines operating to Nigeria, saying the agency will sanction any carrier that shows disrespect to its nationals or flout NCAA's laws.

This is just as the regulatory agency warned that it would not spare any international airline that flouts Nigerian Civil Aviation laws.

Adeyileka said this while speaking at a media briefing to officially announce the retention of Category one by Nigerian aviation.

The United States' apex aviation regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had on Tuesday in far away Washington DC, awarded Nigeria the certificate of

retention, showing that the nation had complied with all know aviation safety regulations.

The country is among six African nations that are category one rated. Others are South Africa, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco.

He advised Nigeria's flag carrier, Arik, to take advantage of the retention to expand its international flights in the US. Adeyileka, who was flanked by directors and general managers, said that Arik Air had helped the country to achieve Category one just the way they did in September 2010.

NCAA, he said, would collaborate with the airline as a partner with Category one in the back of its mind and that the regulatory body will also work with Arik Air bearing in mind that it is the only airline flying into the United States.

Aigheyisi emerges Egbeda Rotary president Olushola Ricketts

R

otary Club of Egbeda, Rotary International, District 9110, Nigeria, has installed Jerry .E. Aigheyisi as its 12th president.

Speaking at the ceremony in Lagos, which also featured fundraising for the club’s community projects among others, the guest speaker, Mr. Joe Ogunu, attributed reasons for the raging wars, unjust killing and persecution of innocent people across the world today to “supremacy struggle”.

In his speech titled: “Conflict resolution and human development,” Ogunu said conflict was a normal part

News Extra

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

of human relationship and a reality of our existence.

He added that the very nature of man’s existence made him to be averse to competition, individualism, communism and capitalism stating that primitive accumulation of wealth made it imperative for conflicts to arise.

The newly-inducted president, Aigheyisi, said his tenure would concentrate on the completion of the vocational centre, which is currently under construction and continue the club’s Adult Literacy Programme, where over 30 had acquired the basic skills of reading, writing and speaking English language.

VICTORIA ISLAND FG commits N1.4bn for IT Innovation Fund-Minister

NEWS IN BRIE F

The Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, said on Thursday that the Federal Government had committed $9million (about N1.4 billion) to the Information Technology (IT) Innovation Fund.

Johnson, who said this at this year’s Demo Africa forum in Lagos, said: “One of the mandates of the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology is to promote and facilitate the development of the ICT industry in Nigeria.

“This initiative, which is a public private partnership, is focused on carefully selected tech start-ups who will be provided a training and mentorship programmes through heads of ICT businesses and relevant executives in private sector.”

19

The number of refugees and people in refugee-like situation assisted by UNHCR in India at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

53

CALABAR IKEJA C’River PDP asks ambitious Nigerians in Diaspora back Jonathan commissioners to resign Serving Public Officers, including Commissioners in Governor Liyel Imoke’s administration in Cross River State have been given up to September 30 to resign their appointments and face the prosecution of their ambition.

About six serving commissioners are said to be nursing the ambition of becoming the next governor of the state.

The state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ntufam John Okon, stated this on Friday while on his way to Benin City, Edo State for the South-South rally of the party.

“As you are aware, the national leadership of our party has released the guidelines for the conduct of primaries leading to the general elections."

The PDP Young democrats (PYD) in Diaspora yesterday congratulated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, National Assembly members, members of the House of Representatives and the National Working Committee (NWC) for unanimously adopting President Goodluck Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate in 2015.

The group stated that the adoption of Jonathan without rancour “was a big victory” against the expectation of political enemies, who had worked to see “separation, malice and grudges within PDP, and a sign of what to come in 2015.”

581m

The estimated number of the world’s population that lives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)..

Source: Unesco.org

23.4m

The total population of men in Colombia in 2012.

Source: Un.org

N213bn power sector intervention fund not a bailout fund, says NERC INTERVENTION With the expected N235 funding announced for the powr sector, hope for improved service on the horizon

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hairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, has clarified that the N213 billion power sector intervention fund approved by the Federal Government was not a bailout fund.

The Federal Government on September 23, announced a N213 billion facility to assist Electricity Distribution Companies offset legacy gas debts and address the revenue shortfall in the power sector.

Amadi, who made the clarification on Friday in Abuja, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said government was not putting any money in the fund.

“No federal government money is in the fund; all the monies are coming from commercial banks through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he said.

He explained that with the intervention, the banks have now taken over the debts Electricity Distributing Companies (DISCOs) owed to Generating Companies (GENCOs).

Amadi further explained that the fund was aimed at addressing inadequate gas supply for power generation and misalignment between electricity tariff and the true cost of running electricity business.

“The intervention is a sort of buy-back of debts owed GENCOs by the DIS-

COs,” he said.

The chairman said the fund would not be released to investors until the legal framework was put in place, adding that the disbursement of the fund would be the last process to be undertaken.

He said the interven-

tion fund would deal with revenue shortfall without placing any burden on electricity consumers.

The NERC chairman said the commission would monitor beneficiaries of the fund to ensure that they are invested judiciously.

“We will monitor it by opening their envelopes and looking at the money each DISCOs received,” he added.

Amadi said the major challenge in the power sector was lack of metering emanating from revenue shortfalls.

54 Sport Extra

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Keshi recalls Enyeama, Moses for Sudan Ik Uche, Martins, Iheanacho not listed

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Ifeanyi Ibeh

uper Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has recalled goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and Victor Moses to the national team ahead of next month’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations must-win qualifying ties against Sudan in Khartoum and Abuja.

Both teams will clash in Khartoum on Saturday, October 11 before trading tackles at the National Stadium, in Abuja, four days later.

Keshi has also included a hatful of new faces, including former junior international Raheem Lawal, China-based striker, Aaron Samuel, and relatively unknown Anyora Ugonna, who plays his club football in Norway with Haugesund FC. There are also opportunities for Babatunde Michael, Reading of England’s Hope Akpan and Austria –based forward Sunday Emmanuel.

The Super Eagles must win both matches against the Sudanese next month to have any realistic chance of reaching the finals in Morocco early next year.

Contrary to expectations, Ikechukwu Uche, Obafemi Martins and Kelechi Iheanacho, were not listed for the upcoming games against Sudan, despite recent clamours for their inclusion.

THE FULL LIST: Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Austin Ejide, Chigozie Agbim Defenders: Elderson Echiejile, JuwonOshaniwa,

Murray

Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Kenneth Omeruo Midfielders: Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Nosa Igiebor, Sone Aluko, Hope Akpan, Raheem Lawal, Anyora Ugonna Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Emmanuel Emenike, Gbolahan Salami, Osaguona Ighodaro, Victor Moses, Aaron Samuel, Babatunde Michael.

N3m up for grabs at Ikoyi Club Nigeria Cup Emmanuel Tobi

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total sum of three million Super Eagles’ striker, Emmanuel Emenike (left) contesting for the ball with an opponent naira will be up for grabs when the professionals take to the course at the 18th edition of the Nigeria Cup Pro-Am Championship, taking place in Lagos, at the Ikoyi Club.

According to the chairman of the organising committee of the tournament, Tony Onwu, the money will serve olden Eaglets’ head coach, as motivation for professional Emmanuel Amuneke, has categorically told golfers in Nigeria.

Onwu said the weekhis wards to be mentally The governor who spoke long programme, which got strong throughout the duration of through the state commissioner underway on Friday with their decisive African U-17 Champi- for sport and youth development, the children’s tournament, onship second leg final round quali- Patrick Ugbe, stressed that Nigeriwould on September 29 see fier against Gabon on Saturday at ans were fully behind the Eaglets. the Ikoyi Club hosting cad- the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium.

“We want you to go out there dies in a tournament, with Smarting from a 2-1 first leg de- knowing that the people of Cross the ladies taking to the feat in Libreville a fortnight ago, the River state and Nigerians at large course the following day.

Golden Eaglets need at least a 1-0 are behind you.”

He said that the Indepen- win based on the away-goal rule to Similarly, Dr. Emmanuel Ikdence Kitty, scheduled for qualify for Niger 2015 U-17 finals. peme, a professional psychologist October 1, Nigeria’s IndeAmuneke said: “We all watched pendence Day, would be an the 2014 World Cup and I want to exciting carnival for all club remind you that the Germans won members and invited guests. because they had a strong fighting Ifeanyi Ibeh He added that the tour- spirit and they played collectively nament for the profes- as a team,” Amuneke said after the ormer international, Segun Odegsionals would tee off on team’s last training. bami, has called on sports minister, October 2.

“This match against Gabon is the Tammy Danagogo, to do all he can to decider for us and we must do it in ensure that elections into the executive style; and show everybody we are committee of the Nigeria Football Fedthe best team.” eration are in line with the body’s statAmuneke said that he was not utes, especially as he feels the September perturbed about all the drama that 30 polls are not in line with the electoral clouded the team’s 2-1 loss in Li- code and guidelines of the NFF. breville.

In a letter to the sports minister, “We have forgotten about all made available to New Telegraph, Odethat happened in Libreville and we gbami, who also forwarded a copy don’t want to be bothered about the to football’s global body, FIFA, urged past rather, we want to show that Danagogo to take urgent action “in orwe are a better side on Saturday,” der to avert any more confusion and the 1994 African Footballer of the an escalation of the present crisis” in Year said.

Nigerian football.

Meanwhile, Governor of Cross “There is no justification for a rushed River State, Liyel Imoke, has sent a election that will only benefit those that message of goodwill ahead of the brought us to this present situation,” team’s crucial match. stated the former Green Eagles cap-

G

…as Imoke, Ikpeme psyche players and Director Technical at the Nigeria Football Federation, has given the Golden Eaglets some nuggets to help them achieve success against Gabon.

“The match is like a cup final for you and you must do everything within your power to beat Gabon on Saturday because that is the most important match for you,” Ikpeme said.

NFF: Odegbami petitions Danagogo, FIFA

tain. “Several bona fide members who intend to compete in the elections are waiting patiently for the right time and environment. They will not be a part of a chaotic process skewed to favour anyone. Nigerian football owes them a level playing field, clear rules, and neutral umpires.

“The elections slated for September 30 should be delayed with a postponement to allow normalization of the situation for elections to be organized according to the correct procedures and time lines prescribed by the NFF Electoral Code and Guideline.”

He added; “Sir, as the supervising officer by law of all of Nigerian sports including the NFF, you have no option but to intervene now and play the neutral arbiter.

“What the Minister should do today is not stop the elections, or change the electoral committee, or change the rules.”

F

Andy Murray beats Lacko to hit semis in China B ritain’s Andy Murray defeated Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 6-3 7-5 to reach the Shenzhen Open semifinals in China.

Murray, the world number 11 from Scotland, is chasing ranking points as he looks to qualify for November’s ATP World Tour Finals in London.

In the last four on Saturday he will face Argentina’s Juan Monaco, who earlier defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

Eaglets: Amuneke seeks strong mentality to crush Gabon

Murray is yet to reach a final since winning Wimbledon last year.

A single break in each set was enough to wrap up a 79-minute victory, with the Briton striking in Lacko’s opening service game and the 11th game of the second set before serving out for victory.

Only the top eight players in the world qualify for the season finale and Murray needs a run of good tournament performances to reach the 02 Arena.

GAMES/CROSS WORD PUZZLE Some Areas in Lagos-4

KEY WORDS

IKOYI TIN CAN ADEKUNLE MARYLAND IFAKO IPAJA

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2

AKESAN MANGORO IDIMU ISOLO IKOTUN IKORODU EGBE MASHA IJEGUN AGUDA AGEGE IYANA IPAJA

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I E T I J E G U N M A

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A A I O Y I K O Y I J

N I D D O E R I F A E

A P I U K O L O S I G

C N O J R A O N G M N A A S M H E A I P U T

I Y A N A I P A J A L

T M E G B E K U N J M

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ACROSS 1 Allowance 5 Young boy 7 Kind of Kia car 8 Race course’s circuit 9 Contend against 10 Swindle 11 Observe 12 Biblical Bashan king

15 17

16 In a higher place 17 Abominable snowman 18 Increase suddenly 22 Yoruba Satan 23 Asst. Inspector-General (abbr.)

24 Donkey 25 Naught 26 Tremble violently

DOWN 1

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14 Compulsion by use of force

2 Attribute responsibility to

15 Give something to

3 Grudge

19 Spoken

4 Sprinkle with flour

20 Hindu religious teacher

5 Rounded shaped

21 Metal peg

6 Not bright 13 Set in motion

See solution on page 36

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

27 SEPTEMBER 2014

55

TRENDS

SPORT

Blazing trends with white blazers

P.17

w ww. n ew te l e g r ap h on l i n e . c om

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth – Buddha

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

N150

More knocks for Keshi over Iheanacho

P.25

Islamism under the fire of international justice A

discussion of this nature is always bound to be very delicate. Religion is as much a matter of blistering emotion as it is a matter of individual and group faith. Arguments that have provenance within the rigorous departments of logic, realism and rationalism are held with suspicion, intolerance and disdain by religious zealots.

However, the narrative that I have set out to present here is not intended to question genuine faith or Islam in particular. Rather, I shall endeavour to separate Islam, the religion of good men and women true from Islamism, the ideological extremism of fascistic monsters.

The ordinary people who perform ablutions, turn in the direction of eternal sunrise and pray five times a day are generally considered decent people of faith. They do not seek to do harm to others. They are concerned primarily with their private transactions with God – the forgiveness of sin, the granting of grace, peace and security, and the hope or expectation of eternal life in an everlasting paradise. This, in the strictest sense, is Islam, the profession of humility, the protestations of faith and the expression of submissiveness to the supreme will of a magnificent God. We know that the religion of Islam is an Abrahamic religion of compassion, accommodation, bond of brotherhood and mercy.

For centuries starting from A.D. 800, Islam sparkled and outshone Christianity in many aspects of human endeavour. It blazed a glorious trail with its advances in science, mathematics, astrology and social development. Indeed, some adherents believe that Judaism and Christianity are but defective variants of Islam, which they see as God’s final, perfect religion.

Culturally, the Islamic world was the most advanced. The adherents of Islam enjoyed the best healthcare in the known world; they enjoyed a vastly superior life expectancy, led the world in education and intellectual advancement by conducting the most advanced scientific and technical research, and deployed usually victorious armies.

According to Daniel Pipes, “This pattern of success was evident from the beginning: in A.D. 622 the Prophet Muhammad fled Mecca as a refugee, only to return eight years later as its ruler. As early as the year 715, Muslim conquerors had assembled an empire that extended from Spain in the west to India in the east. To be a Muslim meant to belong to a winning civilization.

Muslims, not surprisingly, came to assume a correlation between their faith and their worldly success, to assume that they were the favoured of God in both spiritual and mundane matters”.

Then, enter the cowboys – the renegade bunch of lawless fanatics that have infected an otherwise pure spectrum of faith with the brutal medieval ideology of fascistic totalitarianism. They swaggered into this calm and celebrated civilization and hoisted the

BROADSIDE EMMANUEL ONWE agubata@aol.com

Shekau

damnable black flag of Islamism.

Islamism is not the same as Islam. Islamism, the ideology to which the likes of Boko Haram and ISIS subscribe, is essentially an article of hate and wickedness. The Islamists, as a matter of ideology, political conviction, and religious commitment, are dedicated to executing an agenda of death, including the abduction of young girls, the beheading of innocents, and the slaughter of women and children.

The systematic, calculated, and extensive mass murders perpetrated by the Islamic thugs in Iraq and the excesses of Boko Haram in Nigeria are perfect examples of the horrific outcomes of the ideology of hate and retardation.

Boko Haram, ISIS, al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda and its many variants and affiliates, to name just of a few of the deranged purveyors of the ideology death, have come under the incinerating fire of international justice.

As the ancient saying goes, many days are for the thief but one day is for the owner of the house. The determination of civilised people to bring to a cessation the scourge of Islamism has never been in doubt. This month of September has been particularly costly for the murder-

Islamism is not the same as Islam. Islamism, the ideology to which the likes of Boko Haram and ISIS subscribe, is essentially an article of hate and wickedness ous Islamists.

In the course of the first week, the United States hit a convoy of al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia, taking out its leader.

“We have confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the co-founder of al-Shabaab, has been killed,” said rear admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon Press Secretary. He went further to describe the spectacular operation as a “major symbolic and operational loss” for the Islamist group, which aligned itself with al-Qaida.

That action came only days after African Union (AU) troops and Somali government forces launched “Operation Indian

Ocean”, a major offensive aimed at seizing key ports from al-Shabaab and cutting off one of their key sources of revenue: multimillion dollar exports of charcoal. AU forces were targeting al-Shabaab on several fronts, with Ugandan troops leading the offensives against the main port of Barawe, south of the capital, Mogadishu.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram has been reeling from the intensity of the counter-offensive launched against it by the Nigerian military, particularly in the Borno town of Konduga.

Abubakar Shekau, or the impostor of the real Abubakar Shekau (quite frankly it doesn’t matter one jot. A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist. Period!), the leader of the suicidal nihilists, was killed in the course of the military operation in Konduga. Several other Islamist fighters were also reportedly killed and hundreds surrendered to the Nigerian military forces.

For the first time in more than a year, there has been renewed in the thoughts and instincts of Nigerians the possibility that the scourge of Boko Haram could be finally eliminated – or, at the very least, brought under endurable limits.

In a recent media broadcast, President Barack Obama stated that “Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, [the Islamic State] through a comprehensive and sustained counter terrorism strategy.”

With the broadcast, President Obama authorized the deployment of additional U.S. Forces into Iraq, as well as authorizing direct military operations against the Islamic State within Syria. Consequently on the night of September 21st and 22nd, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Qatar started air attacks against ISIS in Syria. France, the United Kingdom, Holland and other countries will soon join the antiIslamism coalition.

The Islamic State or ISIL or ISIS represents nothing more than the manifest insanity of perverted monotheism. They delight in slaughtering everyone who disagrees with them, including Muslims. They embark on wanton and illegal appropriation, driving hundreds of thousands off their land, taking women and children as slaves. Murder and rape are the two-pronged beacons on the mast of their totalitarian ideology.

The main grievance of ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and similar Stone Age deviants is that we don’t believe in exactly what they believe in - there is no middle ground. They will kill and keep killing in pursuit of their goal and will only be stopped by counter force.

They are the exact equivalent of the GIA in Algeria. This isn’t about equidistance between two sides with opposite but arguable views.

No. They are the other side, they are the antithesis of everything the enlightenment has achieved – their reaction to any counter argument is with beheadings, rape and pillage.

But now, at least this month of September, the world has brought the searing heat of justice at the point of bombs and bullets to the primitive animals.

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