Binder123456789 august 24, 2014

Sunday Edition

Sanctity of Truth

N150 Sunday, August 24, 2014

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Vol. 1 No. 187

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Sanctity of Truth

ON SUNDAY

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Page 15, AUGUST 24, 2014

NTWEEKEND ONLINE AT www.newtelegraphonline.com/body&soul

Comfy Boubou for African chic

Nigeria’s most authoritative newspaper in politics and business

newS

newS

Reactions trail Mimiko’s plan to dump Labour Party

Ebola: immigration mounts surveillance on borders

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NEWS

FASHOLA’S SENATORIAL AMBITION MAY SPLIT APC

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FASHION

Marriage can wait while I savour this moment!

I wouldn’t be a politician if my mother were alive -Titi Oseni

ASARI Dokubo replies IBB

I’ll declare war at the right time

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IBB

Dokubo

2015

S’West raises 1.8 million signatures for Jonathan lFayose absent from rally Sola Adeyemo

A Ibadan

L-R: PDP chieftain, Chief Bode George; Minister of State For FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide; Secretary to Government of The Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim and House Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, at Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria Rally in Ibadan yesterday. Inset: Anyim unveiling the booklets of 1.8 million signatures for Jonathan’s second term.

Shake-up in police as IGP posts DIGs, AIGs Emmanuel Onani

lMbu now AIG zone 7, Manko AIG Zone 2

n a move toward effective consolidation, the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Suleiman Abba, yesterday announced a major reorganisation in the structure

of the Police Force, with the posting of eight Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) and twentyeight Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs).

In the postings contained

I

in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, New Telegraph on Sunday observed a change in the management team, as the new arrangement

shows that the most senior DIG is not in charge of the Department of Finance and Administration.

According to the new desCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

head of the 2015 presidential election, South-West politicians on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party yesterday confirmed their endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term as 1.8m of them appended their signatures in favour of the project.

Many PDp chieftains, including Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim Pius; Chief Doyin Okupe; Otunba Iyiola Omisore; Mr. Jide Adeniji; Chief Buruji

ogun shuts olabisi onabanjo varsity p.6

Kashamu; Senator Ayoade Adeseun; Kingsley Kuku; Senator Hosea Agboola; Ajibola Muraina; as well as LP chieftain and former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, converged on the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, formerly Liberty Stadium, Oke Ado, Ibadan, Oyo State at a rally for Jonathan.

They gave the endorsement at a rally organised by Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) held at the venue.

TAN is a non-governmental body established to promote good governance and to foster the continuation of Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

News

South-West raises 1.8m signatures for Jonathan

Bring Back Our Girls protest by some concerned Nigerians led by a former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja… yesterday. PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1

Speaking at the event, the Chief of Staff to the President, Brig-Gen. Jones Arogbofa (retd.), said the people of the zone appreciated Jonathan for his unprecedented achievements.

“You are a performing and transforming President and the people of the South-West are calling on you to be president again,” Arogbofa said.

Jonathan was, however, not present at the rally as he is currently in Germany on a private visit.

Arogbofa told the gathering that the President was watching the proceedings live and therefore used the opportunity to tell Jonathan that going by the mammoth crowd that turned out for the event, he should heed the calls of the people and give the seat another shot CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Babatope Okeowo, Akure

M

ixed reactions yesterday trailed the plan by Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State to dump the ruling Labour Party (LP) for the rival Peoples Democratic Party.

While the acting Ondo State Chairman of LP, Chief Dele Akinyele, said the party was still consulting on the need to join the PDP, the Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief Wale Ozogoro, said LP members are welcome to the ‘biggest party in Africa’.

Also, two state PDP leaders, Prof. Olu Agbi and Chief Segun Adegoke, said Mimiko’s imminent return to PDP had justified the position they took in supporting him for a second term.

Mimiko, who joined LP in 2006 in order to realise his governorship ambition, has reportedly directed LP members of the state house of assembly, his aides and commissioners to return to their respective wards and join PDP.

come 2015.

Anyim told the crowd that 1.8million Yorubas had signed a register, asking Jonathan to contest and continue with his transformation agenda beyond 2015.

Anyim, who received the booklets from Arogbofa, commended the people of the zone for the love and support expressed to Mr. President.

He said the signatures’ compilation “is an ongoing exercise and similar rallies will be held in all the geo-political zones of the country before the presentation of the overall documents in Abuja next month.”

Before presenting the booklets to the SGF, Arogbofa described the South-West zone as a home to the President.

He recalled that the zone was the first to adopt him ahead of the 2011 presiden-

tial election and urged him not to ignore the fresh call, which he said was a demonstration of love and loyalty to the President.

“I want to call on my people to let’s work with unity of purpose and I can assure all of us that if we work together, the reward will be superlative. We worked for Mr. President in 2011 and we all can see that there’s no regret and this time around, we will not regret but have more and better reward,” Arogbofa added.

To the Majority leader, House of Representatives, Alhaja Mulikat Akande-Adeola, the President deserved the support of the zone due to his achievements.

She said, “President Jonathan is the best man for the job; tested and trusted. He has consistently supported the women. You can see the

turnout of women here.”

Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, who hails from Oyo State, said the President deserves support for a second term, having transformed the nation tremendously.

She said, “I mobilised over 25,000 people to this event, in spite of the short notice, to join me in appreciating a man of honour, performer and transformer. She also asked the people of Oyo State to give their support to Jonathan.

Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, in his remarks, said the people of his home state, Ekiti, had shown support for Jonathan, by voting for Mr. Ayodele Fayose as the governor-elect.

His statement countered reports that the Ekiti PDP leadership would not be part of

the rally because they were not carried along in the planning of the programme.

“In Ekiti, we are solidly behind the Jonathan,” he said.

Curiously, however, Fayose was not at the rally.

Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, said those opposed to Jonathan’s re-election were working against God because it was God that raised the President up for this moment in the political history of the country.

Rhetorically, he asked, “As a zone, what did we benefit from the Federal Government in the whole of eight years when we had our own person there? The LagosIbadan Expressway that is wearing a new look was there when our own son was there. It is among the laudable things the President is doing for our zone.

“All those rising against him had benefited from the PDP at one time or the other and since it had not been possible in history for any individual or group of persons to rise against God and defeat God, they will also fail.”

Kuku, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, charged the youths in particular to seize the opportunity of having somebody that believes in them to work for the betterment of their future.

He uged the people of the zone to ensure full participation in the ongoing registration of voters so as to be able to exercise their franchise at the appropriate time, stressing that the importance of voter cards in electoral contest cannot be over-emphasised.

A former Aviation Minister

and indigene of Osun State, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said that the people of Yorubaland were appreciative of Jonathan’s ‘beautiful’ style of leadership.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina, from Ogun State, said the President deserved commendation and support for his sterling leadership qualities.

“The President has through his transformation agenda boosted food sufficiency in the country,” he said.

Chief Olusola Oke, a former PDP governorship candidate in Ondo State, in his address said the people of the state were solidly behind the President.

“Whatever we jointly support will definitely yield good result. Jonathan has done well no matter what anybody may say to the contrary,” he said.

Chief Olabode George, a PDP leader from Lagos State, urged the people to come out in 2015 to support “a rare leader,” who had transformed the nation.

George described the President as a man who had worked and served the people in every facet of life and had tremendously transformed the economy.

Speaking to newsmen later, a former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, said the President meant well for Nigeria.

“He has started many efforts to transform Nigeria and it is his constitutional right to seek another term. If he does, it is logical that if we want to see his laudable ideas develop, he deserves our support.

No doubt, he has displayed good leadership qualities,” he said.

Reactions trail Mimiko’s plan to dump Labour Party lOndo senator defects to PDP At a meeting held with leaders of LP at the Government House, Akure on Friday, the governor was quoted to have told those present at the meeting to go and consult with their members at the grass roots on their need to move to PDP. Mimiko said he was willing to work for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that since the election for the National Assembly would come up on February 14, 2015 as the presidential poll, he would not be ready to campaign for any LP candidate.

According to competent sources, Mimiko, who is the National leader of the LP, was said to have met five leaders from each chapter of the party in the 18 local government areas of the state on the need to join the PDP. Reacting to the development, a PDP chieftain in Ondo State, Benson Eni-

kuomehin, said Mimiko’s return would only be meaningful if it doesn’t affect the fortunes of the party negatively in the state in future polls.

Enikuomehin, who had earlier left LP for PDP, expressed the hope that Mimiko would not wreck the party’s chances.

He stated that PDP was already waxing stronger in the state, as attested to in the ‘inconclusive’ byeelection in Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency.

He expressed the hope that the PDP candidate in the Ilaje-Ese-Odo byeelection, Adewale Kukute, would be declared winner of the ‘inconclusive’ poll.

In its reaction, the Ondo State PDP chapter said although the party had not been formally notified, there was free entry and exit in political parties in the country.

The party’s Publicity Secretary, Ozogoro, who spoke

to New Telegraph on Sunday, “By the time the party is officially informed, the party’ elders caucus will meet with the incoming and we will give them a rousing welcome.”

Agbi and Adegoke said by the time two major parties merge, the 2015 elections would be a mere formality for PDP. They, however, said that Mimiko as the leader of the party should be magnanimous with the party structure and give everybody a level playing field.

Meanwhile, Senator Boluwaji Kunlere representing Ondo South, yesterday dumped LP and returned to PDP. Kunlere, who was a State PDP Secretary during late Governor Olusegun Agagu’s administration, had left the party for LP with the then State Chairman, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, currently Mimiko’s deputy.

With Kunlere’s exit, LP is

now left with only Senator Patrick Ayo Akinyelure as the party’s only senator.

Senator Ajayi Boroffice representing Ondo North had earlier left the party for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in 2012, before ACN merged with the Congress for Progressive change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the All Progressives Congress.

Speaking with reporters at his residence in Akure, Kunlere said he decided to part ways with LP on matters of principle, adding that he had been sacked before he left the party for PDP. He described his decision as ‘personal’, noting that he was being envied by some Mimiko aides due to his performance as a senator.

He said those people had been blackmailing him and also harassing his close friends and acquaintances.

He lamented that they even lied against Olanusi and President Goodluck Jonathan’s Chief of Staff, Brig-Gen. Jones Arogbofa

(retd.), whom he claimed never acknowledged his invitation during his son’s wedding, that they held a meeting against LP and the state government during the ceremony.

Kunlere denied using his office as a senator to line his pockets or acquire property overseas.

He noted that his decision to return to PDP had been received as a welcome development by national and state leaders of the party.

His words, “I’ve received representatives of PDP from top to bottom. I went to Igbotako ward two and those in ward one joined in the meeting. I have met with the State Secretary of the Party who is from my local government. I have met with Chief Olusola Oke, Hon. Kingsley Kuku and so many of them.

Agboola Ajayi was in my house to come and invite me early this year. The leadership of the Senate is not left out of my plan to return to PDP.”

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

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Moments

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (middle), exchanging pleasantries with Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Adesola Amosu and other top Nigeria Air Force officers, during a visit of the Air Marshall to the governor in his office…on Friday

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Mr. John Darlington; Managing Director, Mr Fortunato Leynes and Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole, during the inauguration of the joint committee of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and University of Ibadan at the Institution’s premises…on Thursday

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola (right) APC National Vice Chairman, South west, Segun Oni and others, during a meeting of the Alliance for Progressive Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja... on Thursday

L-R: Dean of Students Affairs, Delta State University (DELSU), Prof. Temi Akporhonor; 100-Level Industrial Chemistry student /winner of the brand new Hyundai i10, Prince McCarthy; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, DELSU, Prof. Chukwuemeka Aloamaka and Analyst, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Michael Nwoseh, at the Etisalat Cliqfest event in DELSU, Abraka …on Friday

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

L-R: Managing Director /CE, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Darnesh Ghordon; Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and Plant Manager, Culinary (Maggi), Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Nto-Unwana, during the Minister’s visit to Agbara Factory, in Lagos…on Friday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji (left), receiving an award of excellence from the Chief of Army staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Umuahia

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth Development, Dr. Henry Akpan; Minister of Youth Development, Mr. Bonni Haruna; Chairman, Board of Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), Mr. Bisi Omoyeni and Director of Human Resources, MUD, Alhaji Abdullahi Basharu, during the inauguration of CLTC board members in Abuja…on Thursday

General Secretary, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr. Clement Wetkur (JP); National Sales Coordinator, Globacom, Mr. Ibrahim Fadipe; National President, NURTW, Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin; Head, Glo Gateway, Mr. Steve Stretch; and Globacom Business Director, North West, Mr. Kemi Kaka at the unveiling of the Security Verified Identity Card (SVID) initiated by Globacom for NURTW members recently in Abuja

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

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Moments

L-R: Training Instructor, LAGBUS, Hassan Olasunkanmi; Head, Bus Captain Training, Babatunde Shoderu; Human Resources Officer, Sumbo Anifowose; Training Instructor, Mustapha Akeem and Trainee driver, LAGBUS Training School, Joseph Rose, at the female drivers’ recruitment and training exercise in Lagos…recently

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun (right), presenting the State’s plaque to the General Secretary, Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Prince Peters Adeyemi, during NASU’s visit to the governor in Abeokuta… on Thursday

L-R: Kogi State Governor Idris Wada; Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano and Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, at the 8th Annual MSME Finance Conference/Entrepreneurship Awards in Abuja...on Wednesday

L-R: Leader-in-Charge, Imole Ayo Spiritual Cherubim and Seraphin Church, Alapere, Lagos, Bishop Samuel Adebanjo; Special Apostle Samson Akinrele and Most Senior Apostle Alade Taiwo, during a Seven Days and Nights Prayer Convention of Imole Ayo Circuit, Ogun State

L-R: Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Sango, Prof. Olufemi Otubanjo; Professor of Comparative Grammar, School of Arts and Social Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Lagos, Prof. Olu Akeusola; Prof. Nebath Tanglang and Registrar, NOUN, Mrs. Josephine Akinyemi, at the 5th Inaugural Lecture on preserving Yoruba Language through Linguistic Vaccination of Comparative Grammar in Lagos…on Friday

L-R: Member Board of Trustees, O Trafford Squash Club (OTSC), Mr. Tunji Olaniyi; Group Managing Director/CEO, BGL Group PLC, Mr. Albert Okumagba and Group Managing Director/CEO, UAC of Nigeria PLC, Mr. Larry Ettah, during a reception in honour of OTSC members in Lagos…on Thursday. PHOTO:

L-R: Pro-Chancellor, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Prof. Fola Tayo; Immediate past National Chairman, Association of Lady Pharmaciests, Mrs. Yetunde Morohundiya and Managing Director, Victory Drugs, Festac Town, Lagos, Mrs. Folashade Lawal, during the first annual Scientific symposium of the National Association of Pharmacists in Academia (NAPA), Unilag branch, in Lagos…on Friday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

L-R: General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Abdul Kareem Motajo; National President, Garments Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Oladele Hunsu; General Secretary, Textile Union, Comrade Issa Aremu; Director General, Nigerian Textile Garments and Tailoring Employers Association, Comrade Jaiyeola Paul Olarnwaju and National Chairperson, National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Funmilayo Issa, during a sensitisation workshop on Prevention of Ebola in Workplaces in Lagos…on Friday. PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

News

Adamawa: Modibbo calls for fairness in PDP primaries

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Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Adamawa State, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Modibbo, yesterday called for a level playing ground and fair treatment for contenders seeking the platform’s ticket to contest the October 11 governorship election.

Modibbo, who has remained a staunch PDP staunch member in Adamawa after his tenure as the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission, said power resides with the people and could only be given

by God. A statement by his Special Assistant, Julius Toba, said Modibbo spoke at the state PDP secretariat in Yola while officially declaring his intention to fill the vacant governorship seat.

He said, “We are all stakeholders in Adamawa politics and so our rights must be respected in this election. Therefore I’m

calling for fairness and a level playing ground for everyone who is interested in this race. This is because power belongs to the people but it is only given by Almighty God.” He also cautioned his co-contenders in the race to eschew what he called “dangerous scheming” and “political vendetta” capable of plunging Adamawa into crisis.

He said, “Following our declaration of intention to contest for the governorship of Adamawa State, we hereby pledge to commit the best of our ability to progress, peace and prosperity of our citizenry. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Modibbo is particularly disturbed by the rate of poverty, under-development, illiteracy, laziness, corruption and backwardness in his home state, Adamawa, compared to other states in the federation.

“For this reason and more, he is compelled not just to stand and watch but to par-

Ondo urges INEC to extend PVCs’ collection dates

O

ndo State Government yesterday called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, to extend the deadline for the ongoing Continuous Voters’ Registration Exercise in the state by three days.

Chairman of the state’s Committee on INEC Voters Registration, Mr. Clement Faboyede, told newsmen at a briefing in Akure that the extension would accommodate all eligible voters in the state who had signified their intention to register

but have been unable to do so as a result of recorded inadequacies.

The state government said the extension would enable residents of the state to register and obtain their voter cards and perform their civic duties during the 2015 elections.

Faboyede, who addressed the media in company with the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, noted that 98 per cent of the capturing machines being used in the 2003 wards across the state were either faulty, slow or archaic.

L-R: Adamawa State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Women Leader, Mrs. Altine Inuwa; governorship aspirant, Dr. Umar Ardo and the State’s Party Chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, during Ardo’s declaration, in Yola …yesterday

ticipate and commit himself and his teeming supporters to improving the living con-

ditions of his people.”

He pledged to give attention to security, affordable

healthcare, education, massive agricultural and rural development, poverty alle-

viation, women and youth empowerment, industrialisation and urban renewal.

Ogun shuts Olabisi Onabanjo varsity

O

gun State Government yesterday directed the Governing Council of Olabisi Onabanjo University, AgoIwoye to shut the institution immediately over alleged threats to peace.

This follows alleged plans by leaders of the student body to organise fresh protests over the reduction of school fees by the state government.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, said the action was taken to forestall the breakdown of law and order and advised

all parents whose wards are students of the university to caution them.

The SSG said the state government would not tolerate any act capable of disturbing the peace of the state. Adeoluwa said the decision to shut the university was taken in the overall interest of peace and order as OOU students had continued to issue threats while rejecting all entreaties and concessions made by the government on their various demands concerning the reduction of the fees.

The state government had on August 12 after exten-

sive deliberations involving the leadership of the student unions in the 10 state-owned tertiary institutions, heads of the institutions and government representatives, announced reductions in school fees by as much as 61 per cent.

The state government also abolished the indigene/ non-indigene dichotomy in the school fees regime and announced the 20142015 academic session as commencement period for the policy.

“However, while students in nine of the 10 institutions commended the gov-

ernment for its decisions, OOU students insisted that the new school fees regime should take effect from the 2013/2014 academic session and that the fees should be further reduced.

“The OOU students premised their position on the fact that they are currently running the 2013-2014 academic session which will end in January. They also rejected the fact presented by students of other institutions that they are also in the same situation as some of them will only be concluding the 2013-2014 session in December,” he added.

Mbu is AIG Zone 7, Manko AIG Zone 2 Boko Haram may use nuns’ regalia - DSS he Department of State While zone 7 comprises Others are Ambrose “With the recent trend of cious activities within their T Security Services yester- female suicide bombings immediate environment. the FCT, Niger and Kadu- Aisabor (Zone 11 Osday alleged that suspected in the country, the theft of This Service will continue ignations, DIG Dan’Azumi na states, Zone 2 oversees ogbo); Mohammed Gana CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

suicide bombers were plotting to steal the regalia of Catholic nuns and use same to infiltrate and bomb churches.

A statement issued by DSS spokesperson, Marylyn Ogar, said some unidentified persons broke into a tailoring shop located at No.55, Odutola Street, Sabon Gari, Kano on August 20 and stole about 13 pieces of the regalia.

these regalia heightens concerns about the possibility of terrorist elements using same to perpetrate acts of terror,” Ogar said.

DSS urged Nigerians to exercise greater vigilance with users of such peculiar attires.

“We therefore enjoin all to continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies through the provision of useful information on suspi-

Appolonia Adeyemi

Pharmacists task Jonathan on training

A

gainst the background of the planned reform of the doctors’ Residency Training, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has advocated for a broad spectrum and total re-organisation to inculcate new programmes.

Also, the PSN has called for

the creation a management platform that would include all health professionals to be led by the permanent secretary or other skilled administrator so as to guarantee an unbiased output in the best interest of consumers of health in Nigeria.

These were contained

to collaborate with all stakeholders as we strive to keep our country safe,” it said.

The warning comes at a time when the Boko Haram sect has increasingly made use of female suicide bombers to strike different locations in Northern Nigeria.

The sect had claimed that an explosion in Apapa, Lagos State on June 25, 2014 was carried out by one of its female suicide bombers.

in an open letter from the President of the PSN, Olumide Akintayo, to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Akintayo in the letter called for the establishment of a new structure of Residency Training that inculcates all the various health professions in Nigeria.

Job Doma is the second-incommand, while Hilary Opara is the new DIG in charge of Finance and Administration, which used to be the ‘A’ Department.

Others DIGs are Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe (Department of Logistics and Supply); Solomon E. Arase (FCID); Saliu Argungu Hashimu (Training); Kakwe Christopher Katso (Research and Planning); and David O. Omojola (Information and Communication Technology).

Meanwhile, the former Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory Command, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, and his erstwhile counterpart in charge of Lagos, Umaru Manko, have been deployed as AIGs in charge of Zones 7 and 2, respectively.

Lagos and Ogun states.

Interestingly, Zone 7 was headed by Abba before his appointment as acting IGP. Apart from Mbu and Manko, other AIGs and their postings are: Sule Mamman (Force Secretary); Ballah Magaji Nasarawa (Force Intelligence Bureau); Kalafite Helen Adeyemi (Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos); Adisa Bolanta (Commandant, Police Academy, Kano); Tambari Muhammed (ZONE 1 KANO); Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar (Zone 3 Yola); Adeola Adeniji (Zone 4 Makurdi); Musa Daura (Zone 5 BENIN); Mark Idakwo (ZONE 6 Calabar); Chris Dega (Zone 8 Lokoja); Usman Gwarry (Zone 9 Umuahia); and Bala Hassan (ZONE 10 Sokoto).

(ZONE 12 Bauchi); Jubril Adeniji (Maritime Police); Edgar Nanakumo (Force Animal Branch); Sabo Ibrahim (Border Patrol); Chintua AmajorOnu (Ivestments); Lawal Tanko (Federal OPS); Felix Uyanna (Police Mobile Force); Joel Theophilus (Force Communications); Ibrahim Miashanu (INFOTEC); Godfrey Okeke (Research and Planning); Yahaya Ardo (CounterTerrorism); Wilfred Obute (Aarmament); and A.J. Abakasanga (Special protection Unit).

The IG charged the senior officers to bring their experience to bear on their new postings and urged the public to partner closely with the force in its determination to ensure improved safety and security of the nation.

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

News

Boko Haram sacks Adamawa border towns, hoists flags Ibrahim Abdul, Yola

B

arely 48 hours after suspected members of Boko Haram members dislodged trainees at the Police Mobile Training Camp in Limankara village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, the insurgents have stormed Adamawa border communities in Madagali, sacked them before hoisting their flag.

Madagali town located about 20 Kilometres from Gwoza town which also is situated between Adamawa and Borno States and the Republic of Cameroon is surrounded by the Mandara Mountains.

Although this was not the first time Madagali area was attacked, the latest on-

slaught which occurred on Saturday was the deadliest, with a number of residents feared killed, before the insurgents established a settlement there.

Confirming the attack on phone, Chairman Madagali Local Government Council, Mr. James Abawu Watharda, said that the insurgents, who came in large in number, using rocket propelled launchers, improvised explosive devices and petrol bombs, invaded the communities, opening fire on innocent civilians before overpowering security operatives and vigilante groups and hoisting their flag.

He said: “Yes some Boko Haram terrorists invaded most of our villages, shooting sporadically and killing many innocent people and destroyed a lot of houses

before hoisting their flags in different locations. We, the people of Madagali are very worried with the spate of killings and destruction by terrorists without military or security agencies confronting them.

“The terrorists are now having a field day; just last Wednesday, the terrorists invaded the Police Mobile Training Camp in nearby Limankara village and took over the facilities on ground and today they are here in Madagali.

“For now, people are fleeing for their lives and no one can tell the exact casualty figure, because of the pandemonium that ensued,” Watharda has said.

Reports say that, this development has forced some internally displaced persons who ran away from the Gwoza attacks three

weeks ago and resettled at neighbouring Madagali town and residents to vacate their community following the sounds of explosions and gunshots from the terrorists.

One of the Gwoza refugees who fled to Gulak, Mr. Dauda Musa said that “the latest attack forced many people in Madagali including the displaced persons to flee to neighbouring Mubi and Gombi towns in Adamawa State for fear of possible attacks from the terrorists who now operate freely without confrontation from security operatives.”

All effort to get the Police Public Relations Officer, in Adamawa Mr. Micheal Haa proved abortive as his phone line was switched off as at the time of going to press.

L-R: PDP Women Leader, Mrs. Kema Chikuwe; Chief Edwin Clark and National Coordinator, Northern Women Mass Movement for Goodluck Jonathan, Mrs. Halimat Hussan Tukur, during a visit of the group to Clark in Abuja.

PHOTO: ELIJAH OLALUYI

Appolonia Adeyemi

A

gainst the background of the planned reforms of doctors’ residency training, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has advocated for a broad spectrum and total re-organisation of residency such that it includes new programmes.

The PSN has also called for the creation a management a platform that would include all health professionals to be led by the permanent secretary or other skilled administrator so as to guarantee an unbiased output in the best interest of consumers of health in Nigeria.

These were contained in an open letter from the President of the PSN, Olumide Akintayo to President Goodluck Jonathan. Akintayo in the letter called for the establishment of a new structure of Residency Training that inculcates all the various health professions in Nigeria.

“Specifically, there is a need for residency programmes

Pharmacists task Jonathan on broader residency training

in pharmacy, laboratory science, nursing, radiography, physiotherapy and others to address the myriad of complexities that are emerging in public health,” he said.

According to him, “the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Health Professional Alliance (a body encompassing the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), World Medical Association (WMA), International Federation of Nurses and Mid-Wives and International Federation of Physiotherapists) continue to assert with and responsibility that only collaborative efforts can boost healthcare delivery across the world.”

Nigeria being a major player in the global arena, he reasoned the country definitely has little or no choice than to key into this progressive vision.

Further, he said:”We strongly admonish that

beneficiaries of the residency training at government expense from now on to be made to sign bonds to work in Nigerian federal health institutions for a specified period in addition to other commitments revolving around productivity.

To prevent unbiased management of the health sector, he said, “We appeal

Prominent religious leaders across Nigeria and around the world, are expected to gather today at the Ecumenical Center for ‘Abuja 2014 National Prayer’ to pray for peace and unity in Nigeria.

According to Archbishop of New Covenant Mission, Apostle Dr. Emma David Okafoagu, the organiser of the prayer session, the purpose is to seek the face of God for repentance and a

Etaghene Edirin

T

he Nigerian Ambassador to Austria, His Excellency, Abel Adelakun Ayoko, has called on Nigerians resident in Austria to come together and work for the unity of Nigeria.

Ayoko, who was speaking at the launch of the Oodua People’s Union (OPU), held at the Centenary Hall, Vienna, Austria, advised Nigerians to form a solid union and work for the interest of Nigeria, irrespective of their ethnic background.

He commended the organizers of the OPU for their foresight, urging the members and other Nigerians in Austria to be good ambassadors of Nigeria in their daily activities.

“I call on all of you to be good ambassadors of our great country by engaging yourselves in activities that will promote the image of Nigeria and ensure that we are indeed a country to be reckoned with in the world,” Ayoko said.

In his welcome address, the Chief Promoter of OPU, Otunba Gani Adams, said the organization was established to create a platform for Yoruba sons and daughters to unite and work for the progress of Yoruba people across the world.

Adams said in view of the current challenges confronting Nigeria, the time had come for all Yoruba to join hands and work for the common interest of their race. “The launch of the OPU in Austria today is a fulfillment of the determination of some positive-minded fellows among us to ensure that there is a generational

platform for Yoruba sons and daughters, wherever they may be, to rekindle those spirits that made us stand out among others in the past.

“The launch of the OPU in Austria is coming at a time when Nigeria is facing a lot of challenges, ranging from political to security and economic issues. The Yoruba nation is not left out of the major attempt to reposition our country. Let me tell you that the time has come for all of you to make that all important decision to clearly identity with your root to be able to survive the potential dangers.”

Adams said the organization has been launched in 51 countries across the world, and promised that preparations have been concluded for the launch of OPU in Spain, Sweden and France before the end of 2014.

Earlier, OPU Coordinator in Europe, Akogun Banji Ojo, called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to unite and support the Nigerian government to overcome all the challenges confronting it.

Otunba Adams, in a meeting with the leaders of the Yoruba community in Austria, advised them to provide the necessary leadership that will established the Yoruba race as a world Power.

Other dignitaries at the well-attended event include Mr. and Mrs. George Alaba, the parents of Nigerian-born Bayern Munich defender; Chief Chucks Ugbor; Mr. Valentine Ogunya, Patron, Oodua and OPU coordinators in France, Holland, Germany, Norway and Finland among others.

Three orphans get scholarship awards

that specific directives are given to the Federal Ministry of Health to create the platform of a representative committee of all health professionals which would be led by the permanent Charles Onyekwere, secretary or other skilled ABAKALIKI administrator to guarantee an unbiased output in the non-governmental orbest interest of consumers ganisation in Ebonyi of health in Nigeria.”

State, Chiboy Foundation has offered scholarships to three orphans in each of the three senatorial zones in the move to ensure that God’s state. spirit flows across the counThe Chief Executive Oftry for peace, transforma- ficer of the Foundation, tion and renewal.

Comrade Chinedu Ogah, While calling on Chris- while announcing the tians and non-Christians scholarships during the to participate in the pro- annual Women August gramme, Archbishop Oka- Meeting of the Assemblies foagu said: “Great and amazing things happen of God Church, Abakaliki, disclosed that it will cover when the Church prays.

The National Prayer for from primary to tertiary Nigeria has become neces- education in any parts of sary in light of the numer- the country.

Ogah, who is also the state ous challenges the nation is going through.

Peoples Democratic Party

National Prayer holds today Temitope Ogunbanke

Ambassador charges Nigerians on unity

A

Youth Leader and National President of Ebonyi Youth Assembly, also made a N400, 000 donations to assist the women in their meeting.

Ogah had mandated the District Superintendent of the church and state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Rev. Emmanuel Nshii to go into the remote part of the state and fish out three orphans in each of the senatorial zones in the state for the scholarship. He said the programme was designed to complement the efforts of the governor, Chief Martin Elechi and his wife, Josephine in uplifting the lives of vulnerable children in the state.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014

The best university ranking debate

T

he Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State and the University of Ilorin, Kwara State have differed on which is the best university in Nigeria. While OAU is claiming to be the best, pointing to a ranking by Cybermetrics Lab-CSIC, based in Spain, UNILORIN is backing its position with a ranking carried out by the International Colleges and Universities Web Ranking. According to OAU Public Relations Officer, Mr. Biodun Olarewaju, the university has been for fourth consecutive times ranked first in Nigeria.

Olarewaju said, “According to the latest ranking released in July, 2014 on its website: http//www.webometrics.info/en/ africa/nigeria, OAU has been adjudged to have continuously recorded excellence in its area of research, academic, university governance and extensive deployment of ICT for its operations. “This is the first time that any Nigerian university would be so ranked and rated the first and the best for four times running, bringing to rest any contention from any quarter.

However, a statement by the UNILORIN Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogu, said the university was adjudged best in Nigeria. According to him, the university is also 20th best university in Africa and 1,842nd in the world in the 2014 University Web Ranking. He said the result of the ranking conducted

by International Colleges and Universities was released on July 29, 2014.

This is a needless exercise and rather than aspire to be a local champion, Nigerian universities should strive to be the best in the whole of Africa. They must

be able to compete with any university globally. A situation where no Nigerian university is not in the top ten in Africa is unthinkable and totally unacceptable.

Although it is not a small feat to accomplish, it will indeed take some doings but it is quite doable for Nigerian universities to rank amongst the very best top 10 in the globe, it takes determination, focus and well-coordinated efforts to get to this enviable position.

Education is too important to national development and nation-building to be treated with levity and kid-gloves. The relationship between education and development is well established such that education is a key index of development.

It has been documented that schooling improves productivity and health. It reduces negative features of life such as child labour as well as bringing about empowerment. This is why there has been a lot of emphasis particularly in recent times for all citizens of the world to have access to basic education. Education as a

Education is too important to national development and nation-building to be treated with levity and kidgloves. The relationship between education and development is well established such that education is a key index of development

social institution therefore could be seen as a great value concerned with imparting knowledge and skills, which help an individual to participate in society.

Therefore, education in general, and higher education in particular, are fundamental to the construction of a knowledge economy and society in all nations. However, the potential of higher education system in Nigeria to fulfill this responsibility is frequently thwarted by long-standing problems of funding, efficiency, equity, quality and governance. Now, these old challenges have been augmented by new challenges linked to the growing role of knowledge in economic development, rapid changes in telecommunications technology, and the globalization of trade and labour markets.

A professor once noted that Nigerian universities are under the siege of decay. There are no facilities for effective practicals for the students especially in those universities with a technology bias. When universities face accreditation exercises for their courses, some departments have to borrow equipment from neigbouring and sister institutions.

Section B sub-section 59 of Nigerian National Policy on Education articulates the goals of tertiary education in the country, and states that these include; Contribute to national development through high level relevant manpower training; Develop and inculcate proper values for the survival of the individual and society; Develop the intellectual capacity of individuals to understand and appreciate their local and external environments; Acquire both physical

and intellectual skills which will enable individuals to be self – reliant and useful members of the society; Promote and encourage scholarship and community service; Forge and cement national unity’, as well as promote national and international understanding.

To get the Nigerian universities to be among the very best in the world, there must be an urgent national summit on university education in Nigeria. The funding of Nigerian university must improve tremendously and such funds be judiciously applied, value orientation about university education and scholarship must change, and there must no short-cut to success amongst students.

It is also important to note that research takes a lot of effort and demands a great deal of money. If an academic staff is to research and publish in reputable journals outside the country, he should have access to funds and adequate equipment . This is the global standard procedure which has ensured scientific and technological advances. If Nigeria is going to catch up with and get into the main stream of development in the twenty -first century, her universities must be alive to their research responsibilities. The products of science and technology, which Nigerians consume with unbridled avidity, take their root from world-class universities and research institutions. Nigeria has resources both human and material to accomplish this goal. What is lacking is committed, insightful and informed leadership to propel the nation’s potentials. Indeed, Nigerian universities can rank among the very best in the world.

GABRIEL AKINADEWO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief FELIX OGUEJIOFOR ABUGU Deputy Managing Director/DEIC YEMI AJAYI Editor, Daily LAURENCE ANI Editor, Saturday EMEKA MADUNAGU Editor, Sunday JULIET BUMAH Deputy Editor (Sunday) LEO CENDROWICZ Bureau Chief, Brussels MARSHALL COMINS Bureau Chief, Washington DC SAM AMSTERDAM Editorial Coordinator, Europe EMMAN SHEHU (PhD) Chairman, Editorial Board BIYI ADEGOROYE Assistant Editor, News & Politics TIMOTHY AKINLEYE Head, Graphics ROBINSON EZEH Head, Admin.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

OPINION

At 56, Ikuforiji ready for the next level Olufemi Anibaba

F

ew weeks after becoming a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji started showing the brilliant stuff he was made of right on the floor of the House during debates, particularly on germane issues affecting the state. There was therefore little doubt that he knew what he wanted and he was ready to make his mark as a lawmaker in a state known for its leading role in the struggle for democratic rule.

It would be recalled that he was the first lawmaker in the state that moved a motion in 2003 that resulted in a resolution of the House requesting the Federal Government to accord Lagos a special status, before the issue was taken up at the National Assembly by Alliance for Democracy (AD) federal legislators.

When he became the Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties & Inter-government Relations, Ikuforiji organised a historic conference on the relationship between the states and federal government, how it ought to be and how disagreements between the two levels of government can be resolved legally and politically. Lecturers who were invited to deliver papers at the conference included the former External Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, senior lecturers from the University of Lagos and other eminent personalities, while the programme was moderated by the then Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Guardian Newspapers, Dr. Reuben Abati.

He was the first and only state top official elected twice into the Lagos State House of Assembly from Epe. He was also the first lawmaker elected Speaker thrice from the state. It is unusual for anybody from that part of the state to be elected as a lawmaker and as well assume the post of the Speaker twice. He was elected Speaker for the third time in June, 2011 after being elected into the Assembly from Ikeja constituency 1 during the 2011 elections.

Through his leadership as the Speaker, he changed the negative perception of lawmakers by the Executive arm to a positive one. And from January 2006, members of the State Executive Council were forced to accord the lawmakers enough respect and recognition, either at public functions or private engagements.

To instill discipline as well as maintain a corrupt-free record in public finance, the Speaker inaugurated a new standing committee of the House known as Anti-corruption Committee.

Besides that he organised the first-ever Town Hall Meetings in each of the 20 old Local Councils where Hon. Members met with members of all the 40 constituencies in the state in 2009.

The Assembly under Ikuforiji realised that people must also be involved in matters that concern them and that the lawmakers needed a feedback forum, hence the holding of the meetings. In other words, since the people are targets of development, constituents freely expressed their ideas, feelings and opinions on how the state is being governed at the forum.

Lagos lawmakers were able to know the manner in which governance in the state was assessed in the areas of road construction, provision of water, free education, health, rural development, etc. and a report on the findings was prepared by the Assembly and sent to the Governor for the preparation of 2010 budget.

In an unprecedented move, Ikuforiji in 2009 spearheaded the struggle for the implementation of the Self-Accounting Law of the Assembly and the subsequent passage of the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission, thereby making the State Legislative arm independent of the Executive arm with regards to finance, recruitment and discipline of staff.

Added to this is the staff development agenda of the Speaker, as all Assembly members and many support staff now enjoy workshops, seminars and other training programmes, both locally and internationally. This was an opportunity that was never enjoyed by the lawmak-

ers and staff before he became the Speaker. The agenda is aimed at developing the legislative institution in the state, believing that democracy and the people will be the greatest beneficiary of the initiative.

The infrastructural development of the Assembly and building of a befitting Official Residence for the Speaker has been Ikuforiji’s interest for so long. But the dream came true in June, 2009 when the completed edifice was commissioned by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). The Speaker’s residence, located on Joel Ogunnaike Street, GRA Ikeja, is a sprawling building with a swimming pool, squash, gym rooms, etc. and other modern facilities that make the place an befitting home for the third citizen of Lagos State.

Yet another milestone recorded by the Speaker is the new chamber for the holding of plenary sessions. The chamber, perhaps one of the best on the continent, is equipped with modern and sophisticated electronic and communication gadgets to make it easy for Members and Staff to communicate within and outside the precincts of the Chamber and also to the outside world. The new Chamber was opened in June, 2012 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, with the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in attendance.

A new office block for lawmakers has been completed and members have moved into their new offices since last year August. The staff’s new office block has reached 90 per cent completion and the project is expected to be completed and opened before the end of this year.

Improvement in the welfare of the members and staff could not have been achieved without his ingenuity and insistence that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. He also created an excellent working relationship between the lawmakers and staff, to the extent

that the lawmakers see the support staff as important in the delivery of legislative service to the people.

In Epe, his home town, he built and commissioned a block of four classrooms at St. Patrick Primary School in Epe in honour of retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice George Oguntade, who incidentally was an ex- pupil of the School. He also equipped the science laboratory of his alma mater, Epe Grammar School with scientific materials worth millions of naira. Needless to say that he has also contributed in no small way to the development of Epe and its people.

Ikuforiji never shied away from telling the unwary that the members should be praised for giving him the opportunity to serve the state as the chief lawmaker, adding that he would not have lasted a second if they don’t want him there. It is, however, noteworthy that to his credit, since his emergence, the Assembly has not witnessed any crisis or major disagreement.

He has, at critical junctures, demonstrated leadership, both in carrying members along and cementing the symbiotic relationship between the legislature and the executive.

It is also instructive to note that prior to the 2011 general elections when uncertainty was hanging in the air and many members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were leaving the party in droves, it was Ikuforiji who became the rallying point. And being a pragmatist, it was not difficult for him to be the needed “umbrella that did not fold up when it rains,” for members who at that time were in need of leadership.

Thus, as Ikuforiji, the longest Speaker in the history of Lagos State clocks 56 today, one can only wish him well with good health and continued God’s guidance and blessings. It would also be auspicious to say that given his experience, achievements and leadership qualities, he has more to offer the state in the years ahead. *Anibaba, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos

Obiano and price of purposeful leadership James Eze

T

hinking of the recent media attacks on Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, and his wife, the only morsel of wisdom that comes to mind is the admonition

by Winston Churchill that, “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” Famous for his inspiring leadership of 20th Century Britain to resounding victory over Nazi Germany and the Axis Power during the Second World War, Churchill has made quite a home in the hearts of millions across the world with his remarkable rhetoric. And of the futility of a leader responding to every calculated attempt to distract him, Churchill should know. Nothing makes a great leader wiser than crisis or conflict and he rode the crest of World War II to historical acclaim.

True, Anambra State is not at war with any visible enemy but like all human societies in search of accelerated development, Anambra is at war with itself. Today, the greatest challenge that is facing Anambra State is the challenge of rejecting the half-way house to greatness; of accepting anything less than the fullness of its promise! And in defining this reality for Ndi Anambra and carving a stone-paved pathway for its rejection, Willie Obiano has erred in the sight of some people whose ultimate wish is that Anambra never rises beyond mediocrity.

These people are content with the poor picture of the old Anambra as the place where people point at from the safety of other less gifted neighbours. And now that their long knives are finally drawn, it remains to be seen whether Ndi Anambra will allow them a chance to plunge a blade at the figure behind their changing narrative and halt the emergence of a state of their dream. This should provoke the thoughts of any right-thinking Onye Anambra. Should this emerging symbol of renascent Anambra be allowed to be hacked to pieces so soon? Should Governor Willie Obiano be left at the mercy of power mongers whose only claim to fame is

their infinite ability for mischief? Anyone who decides to choose silence in the face of this gathering storm should remember the warning from America’s charismatic civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., that, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

Quite frankly, the spate of attacks on Governor Obiano and the current wave of defections by some important figures in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are clear pointers to the discomfort of some elements with Obiano’s giant strides in Anambra State. The recent concentration of earth-moving equipment to Aroma Junction in fulfilment of Obiano’s promise to change the landscape of the long neglected Awka Capital Territory with a modern flyover and a fancy tunnel seems to have confirmed the worst fears of some politicians that the change in Anambra has gone beyond a metaphor. Expectedly, their rhetoric has changed. Suddenly, it is no longer that the indigenes of Awka are resistant to change and have frustrated all efforts to give Anambra a befitting capital but a funny story-line. Out of their fevered imagination leaps out stories of how Obiano has commenced payment of mind-boggling sums of money in settlement to the National Chairman of APGA , Chief Victor Umeh, and how the governor’s appointments have been skewed in favour of his own people. But these charges are at best jejune and at worst asinine! They are products of an afflicted imagination that have found an outlet in a discredited blog. Ndi Anambra are far too sophisticated to be led by the noose. Already, they have started asking the only important question which is whether Willie Obiano has delivered on his promises in just 130 days. Okwu agwugo!

But sincerely, anyone who can read the political climate of Anambra State can easily tell that the recent wave of defections in APGA is nothing but a natural reaction by politicians who have lost the moral authority to work on behalf of the people who put them in office. Scared at the obvious reality that they have not earned

their keep, these politicians have decided to make hay while the sun shines. They knew that in the renascent Anambra of the Obiano era, any public office-holder who has not justified the people’s faith in him has lost the moral claim to a renewed mandate. But they are not prepared to go down without a fight, without splashing mud all over the place to sully others up.

In proving that a people who are plagued by some persistent human problems can push back and reclaim a veritable foothold; that a gravely wronged society can finally seek redemption under a purposeful leadership, Willie Obiano seems to have asked for too much from some people who have yet to read the signs of the times. And for these people, all is fair in love and war! And in the ensuing melee, nothing is too sacred to be left out from the boiling cauldron, not even the Church. How else can anyone explain the political undertone in the peaceful protest staged by the Anglican Diocese on the Niger over a disputed school block between it and Nkwelle Ezunaka, its host community? Chanting songs of protest and hurling invectives, the protesters had pointed a finger in the direction of the state government, claiming that the roof of their new building at Oyolu-Oze Primary School was pulled down on the instruction of agents of the state. On close interrogation, some leaders of the church explained that they were angry that the wife of their leader, Bishop Owen Nwokolo, was not allowed to address the governor when he visited the scene of the crisis to announce the steps his administration had taken to address the dispute.

What has not escaped the curiosity of many discerning people, however, is how the entire population of the Anglican Church in Onitsha could stage a protest over an alleged slight on the wife of their bishop. There are obvious gaps in this scenario which gives the protest away as an outright machination of some out-of-favour politicians. This is made even more so by the fact that on the same day that Mrs. Nwokolo was purportedly slighted by the government, she

was invited to the Governor’s Lodge along with her close aides and the church’s legal counsel where she had a long and fruitful meeting with the governor and his deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, who heads the special six-man committee on the dispute. It must be noted that Dr. Okeke himself is a member of the Anglican Church.

It is unlikely that the leadership of the church is aware of this meeting with Mrs. Nwokolo.

Otherwise, the staging of a protest to announce its displeasure over the purported slight, which is in itself an overkill, would have been unnecessary. If not for the probable incitement of some insidious politicians, it is highly unlikely that a whole church would go on a protest to announce its anger over a purported slighting of the wife of its bishop. But politics corrodes and in its corrosive best, nothing is too sacred for it.

Sadly, barely four months on the saddle, Governor Obiano must be finally getting acquainted with the full meaning of purposeful leadership.

He must be rubbing his chin and grinning to himself now that he has realised that sometimes, when a leader does his job well, he courts the disaffection of a segment of the people whose interest is better served by bad leadership. And for this segment, it is unacceptable for any leader to rise beyond mediocrity; beyond their limited vision of society.

But there is one more lesson for the highperforming governor of Anambra State. Using the paradigm of the orchestra to illustrate the nebulous relationship between a leader and his followers, Max Lucado, American-born writer and preacher, observed that “a man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”

In the final analysis, Governor Obiano will learn that to achieve his vision for Ndi Anambra, he must turn his back on the expected hysteria from a segment of the crowd and that if that does not work, he should take it all in his stride as the price of purposeful leadership.

•James Eze (eziokwubundu@gmail.com) writes from Ifite, Awka

Letters Editor to the

11

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

AUGUST 24, 2014

You have a right to be heard! Send your letters and photographs to sundayletters@newtelegraphonline.com.

Letters should not be more than 150 words and must have the name and address of the sender.

Ebola virus disease: Our attitude I want to use this medium to express my displeasure over the attitude of some of our government officials towards the case of Ebola in Nigeria.

In the first place, we were all complacent enough to allow the virus enter Nigeria. 2. We had about 59 cases of 1st degree and 2nd degree contacts with the Liberian, late Patrick Sawyer. 3. today we are talking of 177 Nigerians under surveillance, 10 Full Blown cases and 2 deaths. 4. NTA reported that out of the 177 surveillance cases, 27 are in Enugu.

My Question: How can we allow this virus to spread in Nigeria in this manner? Where are the Isolation Centers? Don’t you know that some Nigerians out of the 177 surveillance cases can be as mad and wicked as the late Patrick Sawyer? Is anybody above being isolated or quarantined?

These questions may look rhetorical but are not.

They need to be answered. Now from Lagos (West) to Enugu (East) and from Enugu to God know where.

We read the news of the woman that died in Abia State of the deadly Virus.

The news had it that she came back from Lagos, was a relation of the dead nurse that treated late Patrick Sawyer. She was ostracized and later died.

All that the Abia State Governor could tell us was that the news reporters were detractors and enemies of the state. He never told us who the woman actually was; where she came back from; whether she was a relation of the late nurse that treated Patrick Sawyer or what actually killed the woman.

These are the kinds of attitudes that baffle me and need to be checked.

E. C. Njoku Enugu

Furniture workers appeal to Gov Babangida Aliyu

Dear Sir, Kindly allow us an opportunity in your newspaper to appeal to Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, the chief servant, to rescind his move to relocate all furniture makers scattered in various parts of Minna, the state capital, due to the activities of a few of our members operating near the Government House.

We the furniture makers in Minna, the state capital, are law-abiding people, who have through the years carried out our duties within the provisions of the law.

In the process, we also contribute to the growth of the economy of the state through our craft.

However, recently, because of the excesses of some of our members operating near Tabila House, the seat of power, the governor has directed that all furniture makers should be relocated to Mandela Road, a remote part of Minna where we may not get patronage.

We want to appeal to the governor to kindly allow us to stay at our current places, and if anyone should be relocated, it should only be those furniture makers who have contacted the state government in one way o another, and expressed their desire to move.

While we are not opposed to change and efforts to develop the place, we believe that such movement should be a gradual thing, to be carried out only after necessary facilities must have be put in place in the state and enough awareness must have be created.

The move by some executive members of the association to relocate to the proposed location does not represent the view of all of us, and should therefore, be rejected by the state government.

Thank you.

Ibrahim Mudasiru, Kanchaga, Minna, Niger State.

Where are the customers?

Ebola: Lagos State Govt should close all schools

Dear Editor I am still surprised that with the way the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has gone wild in Lagos State, the state government has not deemed it fit to close all public and private schools in the state. With the way news is flying about concerning the number of infected persons, Governor Babatunde Fashola ought to have closed all schools immediately. I think the best way to stop the spreading of EVD is to close down all public places like schools, offices and markets and order people to be indoors and take actions against contact with other people and also, churches should try and trim down the number of activities they hold. Since the Federal Government has declared an emergency situation on the disease, we need to do what is right. Prevention is better than cure Quincy Igwe Lagos

Pastor Adeboye should feel pains of motorists Dear Editor I want to use this medium to appeal to the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to remove sentiments and an attitude of absolute holiness and feel the difficulty that motorists using the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway pass through any time a church program is held in the Redeemed Camp.

I understand that there is a need for Nigerian Christians to exercise their right to religion and faith but that should not put other people to pains and anguish. Last Friday, the traffic gridlock along that road made many people including those with families to be held up from 4pm till close to 3am in the morning. What kind of wickedness in the name of God is that? Can’t the Redeemed Church afford to construct a bypass, say through Ikorodu or any other place to save thousands of Nigerians; men, women, children, aged persons, sick people and people of other faith that pass through that road? The GO should leave his comfort zone and try plying the road from Ojota on a day he schedules many of his Holy Ghosts services and see if he can get to the venue on time, while being held up on that traffic, he should take time out and witness firsthand what his many programs do to people.

Jonathan Ikeduru Ojota,Lagos

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

Doctors and EVD Dear Editor, I was woken up this morning by an order from above saying...”stand up now and make sure you put salt inside water and drink and put salt and take your bath before 6am and I do not need your usual argument”.

Well being who I am, I have defied that order and I have no plans of complying subsequently.

While all these myths about Ebola continue to occupy our time, the reality is that Nigeria is under a potent threat of extinction. Given the nonchalant attitude of the charlatans we call our leaders to matters of security and welfare, we may be heading towards a disaster.

Those old greedy mafias who call themselves medical doctors have insisted on continuing with their senseless strike, not minding the medical calamity that has befallen our nation. The earlier the masses of our country see this ongoing unjustifiable NMA strike as a declaration of war on them and respond accordingly, the better.

What happened to the Hippocratic Oath which these physicians of death took? How can they go on strike to stop other health workers from reaching the zenith of their career despite a subsisting judgment of the National Industrial Court on the matter which favored the other health workers? I was expecting the Attorney General of the Federal to approach the court and obtain Form 48 ( Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of the Order of the Court ) against the criminal leaders of the NMA. These professional monsters should be cited and committed to prison for contempt of court.

My prayer to God is: if Ebola must penetrate this country further may it go to Aso Rock, the National Assembly, Houses of Assembly, Governors’ offices, judgment selling courts and all public places where the resources of this nation are being stolen. May Ebola not spare those responsible for the decay of our public infrastructures and health care services. Amen Inibehe Effiong Lagos

Life

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12

Ebola: Patrick Sawyer and the wrath of Nigerians A Ahaoma Kanu

s the world battles with the Ebola Virus Disease described as one of the worst epidemic to break out in recent history, Nigerians are yet to forget the manner in which the highly contagious disease got into the country. some people believing it was an act of terrorism.

Although cases of EVD were diagnosed in some parts of West Africa in March, Nigeria recorded it first EVD case in July 20 when an American of Liberian origin, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, the he sneaked into Lagos and died some few days later of the virus.

Since then, five EVD related deaths have been recorded in Nigeria with 14 cases and six undergoing treatment out of which three persons had been discharged with 213 cases being observed.

While the disease continues to ravage West Africa and the world at large with 2,127 suspected cases resulting in the deaths of 1,145, a closer look into the manner in which the epidemic started and the responses by the regional governments shows that most of the currently affected countries did little or nothing to prepare for the recent scourge which is said to be the largest most severe and most complex outbreak in the nearly four-decade histo ry of the disease. Margaret Chan, DirectorGeneral of World Health Organisation (WHO) had to declare the pandemic a global emergency, “I am declaring the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern,” Chan said, warning of the “serious and unusual nature of the outbreak and the potential for further international spread.”

Suspected Bioterrorism act.

Revelations have been rife with the way Sawyer introduced the disease to Nigeria. His dual identity of being both Liberian and American casts so much doubt on his real reason for visiting Nigeria. So many Nigerians are insinuating that Sawyer may be the first bioterrorist to have emerged in Africa, given the circumstances surrounding his movement to Nigeria.

“If you look at the way and manner in which he was said to have sneaked into the country and the way he intentionally was acting in a manner to infect people treating him that makes him a suspected terrorist,” Kunle Odekeye told New Telegraph on Sunday.

Special Senior Assistant to the president on Youths and Students, Mr. Jude Imagwe in a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Vanguard conference in Abuja last week, labeled Sawyer a terrorist for bringing pains on Nigerians.

The suspicion grows even fiercer as Nigerians hurl curses on the deceased. In the popular website, Nairaland, not many have kind words for the late Sawyer.

“The idiot knew he had Ebola in his system before boarding the plane. There is absolutely no justification for his action. He was a Medical Terrorist,” posted one user with the handle name Ceasar1. Another member with the name Lilprinze said, “If he was truly looking for cure, he would have gone to U.S or any country in Europe with good medical facilities. He just wanted to infect us with the virus and he was successful, I pray his soul rot in the bottomless pit of hell.”

But security specialist, Mr. Godspower Okozua, believes there was no indication that Sawyer had intention of carrying out any terrorist attack on Nigeria soil.

“No, I don’t think the late Sawyer came into the country to carry out any form of terrorist act. It is clear from his records.

He was a diplomat and his history is there; one member of his family suffered from EVD and he had a meeting in Nigeria and he came into the country already infected. I will say that when the issue of Ebola first came up, we didn’t look at the issue of our borders and immediate screening of visitors from the then affected countries. But we allowed it to get into our land before we started reacting,” he said.

To Dr. Ona Ekhomu, another security expert, though it is uncharitable to call Sawyer a terrorist, he was not a Nigeria lover. “He wasn’t somebody with a favourable disposition to your country. Even though his wife has come out to say that he wanted to seek better medical treatment in Nigeria, I don’t think there is anything further than the truth in that. He had a conference in Calabar but anybody who is ill should first take care of themselves before attending to their official duties. He had been infected and he knew that; he was even under quarantine but he broke it and jumped on the plane to Nigeria. For me, there is an element of forethought here and for somebody

Sawyer

of his intellectual level as a diplomat to do that is suspicious. He showed an attitude of I am not going down alone and he has really succeeded,” he said.

According to Wikipedia, Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents.

These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form.

Sawyer was said to have been in the employ of the Liberian Government in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and also worked as a consultant in ArcellorMittal, a mining company.

Sawyer who had been in Monrovia to take care of his 27-yearold youngest sister, Miss Princess Christina Nyen netue, sent out an email on July 10 to notify close friends and colleagues about his sister’s death and communicated the cause of death.

According to the email, Sawyer had requested for the Ministry of Health to extract blood specimens from her body to determine cause of death and the result specified EVD. “My junior sister, Miss Princess Christina Nyennetue died on Tuesday July 8th at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital. At my request, the Ministry of Health agreed to extract blood specimens from her body in search for cause of death and the result just came in this morning...she died of Ebola Disease. Princess was the only girl child of my mother’s five children this makes it particularly difficult for us, especially for my mother who lives alone in Southwest Philadelphia. If you Facebook searched my late sister, Princess, you will soon realize that death has cheated a promising young life,” the email read in part. He did not specify the extent of contact he had with the deceased or if he subjected himself to screening. But on July 11, in an ArcellorMittal newsletter to staff, the company disclosed Sawyer had informed them on July 9 at their Buchanan site that his sister’s died of Ebola. The newsletter also stated that “the employee had minimal contact with the victim, at the state where the virus was infectious.

Doctors say the risk of potential transfer to any member of the ArcellorMittal staff or contractors is very low. The employee has submitted to the Ministry of Health for a medical examination for possible Ebola infection, and has also requested the Ministry of Health to make the result available to ArcellorMittal Liberia and its close affiliates. There is no evidence to suggest that the employee has been infected.”

ArcellorMittal management also indicated in the newsletter that Sawyer, under the Liberia Ministry of Health guidelines, was being monitored on a daily basis and will be for a 21 day period throughout which he would be absent from work; he was supposed to be released on August 1. Nine days later, he boarded a flight to Nigeria to attend a conference and collapsed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos from where he was rushed to hospital and died.

The Liberian Government confirmed that Sawyer sneaked into Nigeria suggestive of his actions being intentional.

Though there has been no record of bioterrorism in Africa such acts have been attempted in Europe, North and South America since the beginning of the 20th century.

Coming to Nigeria for better medical treatment

The only critical pronouncement coming from the Federal Government on Sawyer was President Jonathan calling him a crazy man for bringing the disease into Nigeria when he ought to have been in an isolation ward during an inter-faith conference in Abuja. Sawyer’s widow, Decontee, came out to say that her husband’s choice of visiting Nigeria at the time he did was done in a desperate measure to access better health facilities.

Writing on her social media Facebook account, she posted that she wanted to shed light on the reason her husband decided to visit Nigeria.

“I’ve read other reports in other papers about Patrick’s “recklessness.” I get where they’re coming from, and they certainly have the right to feel the way they do. However, as Patrick’s widow, I would like to shed some light on this from another perspective. One that only I, his wife, would know,” she wrote.

“I knew Patrick better than anybody else (including himself).

He had told me many times in the past how much he didn’t trust the Liberian healthcare system. He would tell me about how a person would get checked in for one thing, and get misdiagnosed and get the wrong treatment as a result. On top of that, Patrick was a clean freak, and told me how filthy a lot of the hospitals were.

“He didn’t tell me this, but I know in my heart of hearts that Patrick was determined to get to Nigeria by all means because he felt that Nigeria would be a place of refuge. He has expressed to me many times in the past that he felt passionately about helping to be a part of strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system, but he knew it wasn’t there yet, and he wouldn’t want to take a chance with his life because a lot of people depended on him.

Patrick had a passion for life, and he wouldn’t have wanted his to end. So, I bet anything that he was thinking, if I could only get to Nigeria, a way more developed country than Liberia, I would be able to get some help. How ironic,” she wrote.

But from her submission, her husband never informed her or any of his superiors both at the ECOWAS or the Liberia ministry where he worked about his intended plans.

Secretive travel to Nigeria.

Former Deputy Finance Minister for Budget at the Liberia Ministry of Finance, Mr. Sabastian Muah, disclosed that Sawyer deceived him and the Ministry regarding his travel to Nigeria.

“Upon checking his government emails I was able to uncover that he was communicating differently and directly with the ECOWAS Commission (both using his Yahoo and Gov. Lr) and got an e-ticket from the Commission’s travel Unit. He did NOT even inform the ECOWAS Ambassador in Liberia, who was traveling with him about his situation. His email to folks at ECOWAS only said he had lost his sister,” Muah said.

Reports had it that Sawyer was tested for both ma laria and HIV AIDS. However, when both tests came back negative, he was then asked whether he had made contact with any person with the Ebola Virus, to which he denied.

It is believed that Sawyer may have contracted the virus when he brought his sister to the hospital with a complaint that she was bleeding profusely and hemorrhaging during her pregnancy.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

News

Ajimobi has returned Oyo to path of glory – Ashamu Felix Nwaneri

A

ll Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for Oyo Central Senatorial District of Oyo State in the 2015 elections, Mr. Ibukun Tony Ashamu has commended Governor Abiola Ajimobi for the positive impact of his administration on the people of the state in the last three years.

Ashamu, in chat with New Telegraph on Sunday, said Ajimobi’s achievements since he took the mantle of leadership in Oyo, has not only returned the lost glory of the “Pace Setter” state, but also made it an envy of other states in the country.

According to him, the governor’s landmarks achievement which dot the 33 councils of the state are not ones observed in the speeches of politicians and dreams of the constituents, but seen by all, even his political opponents.

His words: “Within three years, development, which has eluded the state for long due to bad governance is finally availing itself to Oyo indigenes, thanks to our governor, Ajimobi. But one is not surprised, given the governor’s background and track record.

“Ajimobi is a great leader who sees beyond today.

He is a true pace setter for leadership in our very own Pace Setter state. He has em-

powered majority of people, while transforming Oyo into a world class economy.

Governor Ajimobi can simply be qualified as one of the best performing governors in our country quite frankly, Nigeria needs more of him.

No doubt, His Excellency has earned our commendation as one of the worthy sons of our great state.”

On the inept leadership the state suffered before Ajimobi’s coming, Ashamu said, “Oyo State never lacked worthy sons in its history, just that most of them never bothered to venture into politics thereby leaving the governance of the state in the hands of mediocres who hijacked the state’s politics and left the citizens worse off.

“Our fathers never saw politics as business, they were pure entrepreneurs. It is for this reason that charlatans hijacked governance and took the people backward. The decadence in the society has forced some of us who are their children to volunteer to come forward.

It is for this reason that we now have someone like Governor Ajimobi directing the affairs of the state.

And I can tell you, things have changed now and this is why we are telling the people never again shall we allow shallow thinkers to rule us at whatever level,” Ashamu said.

Yero denies being Sambo’s stooge Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

G

overnor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna state has debunked insinuations that he is being controlled by Vice President Namadi Sambo, just as Kaduna PDP stakeholders endorsed him as their candidate for the 2015 election .

Yero who spoke at the Umaru Yar’Adua Indoor Sports Complex at Murtala Square, Kaduna, said, “ I want to put it on record and disabuse people’s mind that I am a boy to Vice President Namadi Sambo, with due respect, I am not his boy, I am a matured man capable of taking decisions for myself and with right to do what I want.

“I don’t want to be insulted alongside Vice President Namadi Sambo. If there is

CHANGE OF NAME PRISCILLA I, formerly known as Miss Kogwonye Priscilla Chidima, now wish to be known as Mrs Nkaraonye Priscilla Chidima. All former document remain valid. Mouan, N.Y.S.C and general public take note

any reason for me to be insulted by whoever, please do so without joining the Vice President to it and the other way round,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the PDP chairman in the state, Chief Abubakar Gaiya Haruna had x-rayed the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Yero, saying people should know that hard work and honesty must be rewarded in line with the will of God. He also said President Jonathan’s transformation agenda has brought relief and succor to many Nigerians hence he should be given another opportunity to complete the good work he has started.

Thereafter, delegates from the 23 local governments, political appointees as well as party chieftains from the state expressed their support for the President Goodluck Jonathan/ Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections.

In the same vein, the delegates and stakeholders endorsed the candidature of Yero and his Deputy, Ambassador Audu Nuhu Bajoga.

Commander 2Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port-Harcourt, Brig.-Gen. Osasogie Uzamere (left) and Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, during the visit of Minimah to the Brigade in Port- Harcourt … on Friday

2015: Ezeife, Mantu rally support for Jonathan

Onwuka Nzeshi

F ABUJA

ormer Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife and former Deputy President of the Senate, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu have endorsed the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan in next year’s presidential polls.

The two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave their endorsements at the inauguration of the Goodluck Development Foundation(GDF), one of the numerous groups drumming support for the president ahead of his formal declaration for the race. They said they would back Jonathan because he remained the most eligible candidate on the political turf today.

The endorsement came as the Elders Council of the Goodluck Support Group began screening the over 300 non-governmental organisations lined up to participate in the Goodluck Jonathan 2015 campaign train.

Ezeife who was addressing the coordinators of the GDF, said that in spite of attempts by some persons to make Nigeria ungovernable for Jonathan, his administration has trudged on, scoring goals in terms of development in various sectors of the economy.

He said that events in the last few years have shown that there is a divine plan at work.

“As I see it, Goodluck Jonathan is only a tool in the hands of God to bring about God’s purpose in Nigeria.

“Those who said they will make Nigeria ungovernable are trying their best to the ex-

tent of even putting Fulani clothes on Malian herdsmen to attack and kill farmers in Nigeria. But after all these troubles and the elections are allowed to hold and they open the Villa, they will find out that there will be a President whose name is Goodluck Jonathan. If because of the troubles they are creating, elections cannot hold, they will still go to the Villa and find out that there is a President whose name is Goodluck Jonathan,” he said.

Ezeife urged Nigerians to desist from blaming the colonial masters for Nigeria’s woes but to take their destiny in their hands in choosing who should lead them.

He said that Britian did not decide on its own to create Nigeria but that God used the instrumentality of British

imperialism to bring Nigeria into being for the purpose of liberating Africa and the entire black race.

In his own endorsement speech, Mantu urged Nigerians to shun tribalism, regionalism and religious intolerance as no one chooses where he is born and the average person usually would adopt the religion that is predominant in his place of birth and origin.

Mantu who is the Chairman, Governing Board of the Elders Council of the Goodluck Support Groups applauded the various groups that have been rallying support and urging Jonathan to join the presidential race. He said these groups including the Goodluck Development Foundation were making a lot of sacrifice and should remain focused till

the goal of re-electing Jonathan has been achieved.

He said that for a long time, Nigerians have allowed things that they cannot change stand between then and progress. Mantu urged all Nigerians to unite in support of Jonathan, insisting that the present administration had done creditably well and should be encouraged to continue beyond 2015.

He berated critics of the Jonathan administration and reminded them that the country has never had it so good. According to him, apart from the giant developmental strides of the present administration, Jonathan has demonstrated high qualities of a democrat by guaranteeing freedom of speech and safeguarding the rule of law.

Okonkwo wants Dora Akunyili immortalised R enowned politician from Anambra State, Senator Annie Okonkwo, has called on the state goverment to work in concert with the Federal Government to immortalise former Minister of Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili in a manner and size befitting her stature.

Okonkwo, who recalled that Prof. Akunyili was one of his finest constituents during his sojourn at the Senate, lamented “It is a bleak tragedy that our inspirational Dora, whose transformational strides in NAFDAC gave Nigeria a shining global polish, succumbed to early death in a manner that hardly leaves room for celebration”.

The Senator who spoke through his Special Adviser, Mr. Collins Steve Ugwu

maintained that “Dora’s public service commitment unrivalled and unsurpassed, must be taken as a wake-up call to all Nigerians of vision and sacrifice, to resolve to exploit their opportunities and leave a positive mark for Nigeria and Nigerians”.

“I therefore call on all Nigerians persuaded by the indelible feats of this amazon to rally around her state and the Federal government to immortalise her appropriately and expeditiously too.

“This is important and urgent because encomiums and tributes are naturally good for the dead, and Dora will surely not lack that. But when an exceptional public officer with Prof. Akunyili’s unusual zeal and sacrifices translate so unfairly, we must do more than wail, lament, and then

celebrate. Let us do something that will demonstrate that our outpour of temporal emotions are not just in a hurry to ease her sublime accomplishments away from our collective memory and national consciousness.”

“In fact it is so easy for us to honour this woman of virtue, the Senator insists, because as an academician, she was remarked for brilliance. As an ordinary person, she was a typical stereotype for rare warmth and charm. And as an adorable gift to Nigerian Public Service, Dora became a revelation that broke grounds and expanded our frontiers of diligence, dedication and integrity”. No wonder Nigerians were united in their applause for her alive as they are traumatised in grief over her departure.

14

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

News

Ebola: Immigration mounts surveillance on borders

Johnchuks Onuanyim

M Abuja

inister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, yesterday stated that the intensified border patrol of the Nigeria Immigration Service has helped to prevent the spread of the Ebola Disease Virus in the country.

Moro, who spoke at the NIS Comptroller General’s Annual Conference/Stakeholders’ Interactive Forum, commended the NIS and other agencies for this feat.

Declaring the two conferences opened, the Minister in his speech said, “It is noteworthy that through enhanced border patrols and working in conjunction with port health officials, the Nigeria Immigration has been in the forefront of the fight to contain the spread of the dreaded Ebola Virus.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service has cultivated appropriate synergy with the Port Health Authority officials to effectively man our legal and illegal entry and exit points, with heightened border patrol by the Service Border Patrol Corps for proper screening of all persons that enter and exit Nigeria.

“It is therefore heartwarm-

ing to note the combined efforts of the Nigeria Immigration and other relevant stakeholders have curtailed the devastating spread of the EVD,” he said.

In his keynote address, the Senate Committee Chairman, Ministry of Interior, Senator Mohammed Magoro also commended the service for its 50th anniversary and stressed the need for it to improve on the security of the nation’s border posts.

He said, “I am, however, aware that inadequate funding has been a major clog on the wheel of progress of the NIS, as the service needs to be given the funds along with basic tools equipment to be able to discharge its duties effectively and efficiently. We must realise that all over the world, the cross cutting issue of migration is never handled with levity.

This is because migration is a dominant human behavior and certainly affects every aspect of human life.

“The existing realities of the interactions between migration and all aspects of our national development, including health matters –Ebola issue is the best example-goes to show that migration, whether internal or international can impact both positively and otherwise on our national life,”

Mass Failure: Lagos calls for review teaching methods, curriculum

Muritala Ayinla

L

agos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has advocated the review of teaching methods and curriculum in all secondary schools across the country in order to enhance the performances of the students in public examinations.

Fashola who lamented mass failure of students in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), said that adoption of more exciting and effective teaching methods in schools would go a long way in addressing frequent mass failure of students in examinations.

The governor opined that the use of information communication technology could impart more knowledge on the students, saying continuous use of unappealing teaching methods was one of the major causes of mass failure.

Briefing journalists at the opening of a three-day retreat for the State Executive Council and Permanent

Secretaries in Lagos tagged “ Up-scaling the processes and benefits of e-governance in Lagos”, held at the Intercontinental Hotel Lagos, Fashola said the time has come for stakeholders in the education sector to consider new teaching method that will appeal to the students.

According to him, the current generation of students is averse to rigid way of learning and would prefer fun based and exciting teaching methods and tools like computers.

To improve the performances of the students in examination, Fashola however, canvassed for the comprehensive review of schools curriculum to include more practical to stimulate learning.

Fashola said ‘’Performance in WASSCE can be improved with better teaching methods.

We need to understand that the current generation of students does things more on-line and less on paper. We need to teach our students in line with these realities. We need to employ methods that they find appealing and would make them learn better.”

Magoro said.

The Comptroller General, Mr. David Parradang, in his speech, stated that he rolled out a four point agenda that have enhanced the service in the last one year. They include the “establishment of a specialised border patrol corps, with the right regimentation, discipline and

appropriate equipment for effective border management and policing; robust internal monitoring and control of immigrants so as to be able to account for the presence and activities of every non-Nigerian in this country” Others are deployment of “ cutting-edge technol-

ogy that is sustainable and adaptable to our local clime in the performance of all immigration operations; and to develop a total Immigration Officer who by re-orientation and requisite capacity building is professional, confident, firm, focused, disciplined and better disposed to render world

class service.”

The CG, also recommended to the Federal Government the employment of at least 5, 000 new officers annually into the service for the next five years. The theme of the conference is: “Effective Border Control Systems and Procedures for National Security.”

A woman undergoing blood pressure test at a Family Health Day organised by Rotary Club of Gwarinpa-Abuja… yesterday

Fashola’s senatorial ambition may split APC Wole Adepoju and Temitope Ogunbanke

T

he Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress may be heading for a major crisis over Governor Babatunde Fashola’s alleged desire to run for Senate in 2015.

New Telegraph on Sunday had exclusively reported in its August 17, 2014 edition that Fashola was intent on running for a Senate seat like some of his colleagues whose term will expire next year.

However, sources in the party told our correspondent that Fashola was torn between seeking the ticket in Lagos West and Lagos Central.

He was picked by his then Action Congress of Nigeria platform to run for governor from Lagos Central while his deputy, Adejoke Oorelope-Adefulire, is from Lagos West. Speaker of the state house of assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, is from Lagos East and is eyeing the governorship ticket for 2015.

If Fashola decides to gun for the Lagos central ticket, he may clash with the current occupant, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who has yet to declare whether she is interested in a second term.

Should she decide to get a second term, Fashola’s hope may be dashed as his godfather and APC National leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,

may not be favourably disposed to the idea.

If he decides to switch to Lagos West, where he lived for many years as a resident of Surulere before becoming governor, he may have to contend with his deputy, who is said to be interested in the ticket.

The zone is currently being represented by Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, who is seeking to succeed Fashola in 2015 on the APC platform and has already set up a campaign office in Ikeja, few kilometres from the Lagos State governor’s office at Alausa.

Sources said Fashola may leave the ticket for his deputy, based on her strong influence in the zone. But there are indications that she may opt for the House of Representatives.

APC sources told New Telegraph on Sunday that some party chieftains were already scheming to frustrate Fashola’s ambition.

The governor is said to be unhappy about the situation as he believes that he should be accorded the respect as an outgoing state chief executive and given the right of first refusal on the matter.

However, his relationship with Tinubu, which some party chieftains described as ‘cosmetic’, may wreck his bid.

The governor is said to be considering forming an alliance with either the Peoples

Democratic Party or Labour Party to realise his ambition, if his godfather decides to stand in his way.

Efforts to obtain comments from the party’s spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, were unsuccessful.

However, a close Tinubu associate said though Fashola has not publicly declared his senatorial ambition, he may be given the ticket.

“It is not yet confirmed whether Fashola will run for Senate. It is still a speculation; he too has not made up his mind on what he wants to contest for in 2015. The major position on ground for him is the Senate and that is why there is speculation that he wants to go for Senate. There was a period that they told Fashola about going for Senate after 2015, but he declined. But now, I think he is thinking about going for the Senate.

I believe that Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) will decide on that.

“If Governor Fashola decides to contest for Senate, the issue is which senatorial district would he contest for? So, the calculation in APC is that, they want Senator Remi Tinubu to contest from Lagos West to take over from the incumbent, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, so that Fashola can contest from Lagos Central. But the issue is yet to be finalised.

“Remi Tinubu was supposed to have contested for Senate in Lagos West in

2011 but because Senator Solomon’s wife, Ronke, is a friend to her, she decided not to contest from Lagos West so that people would not say she was the one that prevented Solomon from achieving a second term.

Asiwaju wanted his wife to contest from Lagos West in 2011 but she preferred Lagos Central for peace to reign in the party,” the source added.

A party source recalled that former Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi was moved from Lagos Central to sun for a second term from Lagos West in 2003 and how Ikuforiji moved from Epe Constituency to Ikeja Constituency in 2011 for the house of assembly election in like manner, adding that Remi Tinubu’s movement to Lagos West may not cause any chaos in the party.

He, however, stated that if there is any strong opposition to her moving from Lagos Central to Lagos West in 2015, she may be asked to seek re-election in Lagos Central while Fashola picks the Lagos West ticket.

Political observers believe that having served in the Senate for two terms, Solomon may not get a third term ticket. But considering his influence and political structure in Lagos politics, APC leaders may concede the ticket to him as a form of appeasement if he fails to pick the party’s governorship slot.

Sanctity of Truth

ON SUNDAY

Page 15, AUGUST 24, 2014

NTWEEKEND ONLINE AT www.newtelegraphonline.com/body&soul

Comfy Boubou for African chic FASHION

Marriage can wait while I savour this moment!

I wouldn’t be a politician if my mother were alive -Titi Oseni

16

Body&Soul

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

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Juliet

Contents 24.08.2014 COVER

Style is a thing of the mind. Whatever you feel comfortable wearing, whatever you feel comfortable doing, whatever colour suits you, whatever designer or outfit you feel you are most comfortable in, that is your style -Titi Oseni } 18-19

BEAUTY

There are several reasons why dreadlocks are ve r y popular. Chief among them is the fact that they are natural and require no processed chemicals at intervals

} 21

OUR LOVE STORY

The only quarrel we have most times is when I go out and don’t come back on time.

Lagos socialite, Tunde Ojo, and wife, Abiola, talk about their love live

} 45

CELEB LOUNGE

The former governor of Bayelsa State, Timpriye Sylva, recently showed his critics that he is indeed a politician to watch out for.

His 50th birthday bash in Abuja was a gathering of the whois-who in the society who came to identify with him

T h e Te a m Juliet Bumah (Editor)

Vanessa Okwara (Correspondent) Wole Adepoju

} 46

ACCESSORIES

A scarf is probably the most multipurpose item in a woman’s wardrobe. It is an accessory that comes in handy when you are having a bad hair day

Biwom Iklaki (Correspondent) Abimbola Sodeke Ugochukwu Nnakwe (Graphics) Edwin Usoboh (Graphics) +234 (0) 811 675 9770, +234 (0) 701 110 1014 chibumah@yahoo.com julietbumah@newtelegraphonline.com

Associates

} 17

BED, WORK & LIFE

Everyone there seems to know Dave. They move

from one table to the other, saluting friends and business associates. It is obvious that Dave is showing her off.

They are all eager to meet her, which surprises her. Is he not bothered that his wife may get to know?

} 20

Helen Paul

Stanlee Ohikhuare

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

17

Accessories

Body&Soul

Fashionable scarves to the rescue!

Vanessa Okwara

S

carves are a fun, colourful and fabulous accessory that you can easily rock with any outfit. A scarf is probably the most multi-purpose item in a woman’s wardrobe. It is an accessory that comes in handy when you are having a bad hair

day. It also saves the day when you wish to glam up a non-descriptive outfit made up of monotones.

Scarves are practical and easy to style. With just a little twist and tie on the head, neck, shoulders or even your handbag, it transforms your outfit and makes you stand out in a crowd.

Get creative and use scarves as turbans or headbands to get that timeless and sexy look that retro fashion brings. A silk scarf can take the place of a regular belt. It looks both feminine and can be worn in a variety of styles.

There are numerous ways of wearing a scarf around your neck. From a

bow tie, to a layered knot, to a simple slip knot, or neck rosette–these fabric gems are fashionable, functional and look great any way you wear them.

They can keep you warm in cold climates, covered and modest in some necessary religious settings and also give you that chic look.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Body&Soul

I wouldn’t be a politician In her quest to give back to the society that moulded her, Titi Oseni ventured into partisan politics and later became the first female speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly. In this interview with WOLE ADEPOJU, the former Ogun State lawmaker speaks about her experiences while in public office; her relationship with the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, and sundry issues You have been out of power for a while.

What would you say you miss most about public office?

I don’t really miss it much because I have always been a private person. It’s good to be private. It’s good to have privacy and I enjoy what I do now. I kind of like my life the way it is now - being private - and I don’t have any regrets.

If I have the opportunity of serving the people of Ogun State again in any capacity, I won’t mind doing so.

What was it like being in a position of power?

To me, it was a call to service; you were called to represent the people of your State, the people of your constituency, to make good laws, good governance.

Of course, it’s something I enjoyed doing while it lasted. You attend to a lot of people, you are in the public glare, and you meet a lot of people and listen to them. You barely have time for yourself and your family. The position of authority is so demanding, it takes a lot out of you and you have to put up your best at all times. It was good while it lasted, it was quite an opportunity and like I said, I’m still in politics, it’s not as if I have stopped. I’m still available to serve my people. I still hold meetings with my people, demands are still there. They will never stop whether you are in or out of government. You still have to be with your people and do what you have to do for them to the best of your ability.

You would have noticed that people don’t come around you like when you were in power. How do you feel about it?

When you are in public office, of course, you have a lot of demands because people see you so often and they want a lot more from you. When they see you are no more in power, the pressure of everyday work will reduce; same for the pressure from the people who are demanding from you. Those who want a favour or want you to assist them in any capacity while you are in office will reduce, but people who are your friends will always be there for you; that will not change. It will not take away anything from you, because if you have good friends and friends who are real, they are as constant as shining stars.

Wherever you are, either you are in or out of government, they will still stand by you, and those I still have.

There were stories that you were having issues with your husband?

(Cuts in) Please leave that o! I don’t have any issue with my husband. I’m still happily married as Mrs. Oseni. So, I don’t know if there were any stories. I don’t listen to stories; I listen to issues that are real.

We can’t also but talk about an allegation that you were having an affair with the former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, while in office?

I don’t listen to things like that. My boss is my boss, my home is my home.

Do you have any ambition to contest in the next elections?

I’m contesting, and at the appropriate time, I will come out and let the whole world know what I’m contesting for. Yes, I’m a politician and I have the urge to represent and serve my people.

My people have been calling me, they want me to come and represent them.

In what capacity? I will let the people know when I’m ready, very soon.

Internal rancour was part of what made your platform, the Peoples Democratic Party, to lose woefully in the last elections. The situation is not different now. Do you think PDP stands any chance in Ogun State in the next elections?

One thing you have to realise is that there’s no political party that we have in the system that doesn’t have conflicts.

With a party like the PDP, the biggest party we have in Nigeria, of course, there are bound to be disagreements and issues. When it comes to political offices, there will be disagreement. If you look at APC now, they are not any better or any different from PDP. Whatever issues we had at that time, they are having currently because they are in power in Ogun State. So, having issues among the members or leadership of the party is a recurring factor. It will always happen.

Well, of course, at that time, it affected PDP a great deal because a house that is divided against itself will definitely not stand. As we are right now, we are working with everybody that had left the party and I can assure you that people are coming back. The election is still a few months away and I want to tell you that before that time, we will all come together. This is because a lot has gone into fence-mending. We are bound to have disagreements and all that, but at the end of the day, we will come out with a formidable front. To be a formidable party is what we are all after, and we are going to get there. We are going to deliver Ogun State back to PDP. The people have seen, they have tested the two parties and they have seen that they are better off voting for PDP, which is what is going to happen. We will come together and deliver Ogun to PDP. Chief Obasanjo is standing aloof. Don’t you think that can be a minus for the party?

As far as I’m concerned, Baba is still our father and our leader in PDP. So, I don’t believe in that. He’s still very much involved. He may have other activities that he’s involved in that make him not to be very visible. Don’t also forget that Baba is a great grandfather, an elderly man and if you have enough soldiers you have trained that have benefited from your grooming, you tend to reduce your activities little by little.

That’s what I see.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Body&Soul

if my mother were alive -Titi Oseni But I read somewhere that you said Baba has reasons to be bitter and you suggested reconciliation.

Those issues are in the past tense. Even though, of course, we still need to reconcile, we can never finish reconciliation in the party. Even after election, you continue to reconcile people. There are different feelings and opinions, people have different permutations and all that, and when they do not go the way you feel or you want, of course everyone has a right to be aggrieved.

The most important thing is to be able to come to a roundtable and resolve issues. Of course, going through election period, there will be crisis, there will be fights but as I said, we have the ability to come back together and work as a formidable team. Immediately after working together and winning the election, there will be another set of fights by the time they begin to share positions. It is a continuous process.

How would you rate the current government in Ogun State?

I think I’ll keep my opinion for now and allow the people of Ogun State to rate what they have. To the best of my knowledge, however, I know the people of Ogun State are asking for PDP to come back.

But some people are of a contrary opinion. They say the current government has performed better than the one you participated in.

When it is time for election, we will allow the people of Ogun State to decide and to speak with their votes.

What was your mission when you joined politics?

My mission was to serve. From what God had blessed me with at that time, it was to offer myself to my community, to serve them. To be of assistance in any capacity at that time, to serve and represent them well.

When I was going into it, I never thought I would be the speaker. I just wanted to represent my community and my constituency. But as things worked out at that time, I became the speaker but the main purpose was to give back to the community what I had achieved and benefited from them.

How would you react to the story that your influence in Kasamu Buruji’s camp of PDP is so much?

What I know is that I am a member of the PDP and I have never for once gone anywhere, except to remain in PDP. I am a member; I am a leader in PDP Ogun State. That is all I know.

It is believed that you have fallen out with Otunba Gbenga Daniel. What is the relationship between you and him

at the moment?

If I see him, I will greet him now.

At that time, he was my boss and my leader.

Many expected you would follow him to the Peoples Party of Nigeria back then because of your closeness.

It is a personal thing. When I joined PDP, nobody invited me. I went personally to join PDP and I believe in the party. The party has contributed so much and I represented the party to serve my people for eight years. Of course, I am very young in politics, but my belief and my conviction is that I should remain in PDP, and that is what I did. If my boss decides to go to A, B, C or D party, so be it. I joined the party on my own as an individual; I did not join the party as a group.

When it was time for him to leave, he left and I remained because I felt it was the party on whose platform I

contested and won elections on two occasions and served under. I don’t believe in leaving. I was not convinced to leave the party.

But I read in an interview you granted that you have issues to sort out with Gbenga Daniel?

I can’t remember that but I don’t have any issues to sort with him. If I see Otunba Gbenga Daniel, I give him the greatest respect in this world. He was my boss and my leader for eight years and I served with his government for eight years and we don’t have any issues at all.

Since you are young in politics, how were you able to rise quickly?

I guess at that time, it was the zoning that contributed to it because the governor was from the East, the deputy governor at that time was from the West and the zoning permits that the number three citizen will come from the Central.

I happen to be from there. I was the only female in the house of assembly. My local government is the federal constituency; the SSG came from the North, which was also my senatorial district.

So, zoning means the speaker comes from the Central, which I am also from. It was further zoned to my federal constituency and my local government. It was a contest. I did not just get it, I contested for it and I won.

Was joining partisan politics what you envisaged?

I never envisaged that o!

I know if my mother were alive, I would not have been a politician.

Why? She would not have allowed me. She’s a private person, she does not like publicity at all and I am sure she would have done everything within her power to make sure I never became a politician.

What does style mean to you?

Style is a thing of the mind. Whatever you feel comfortable wearing, whatever you feel comfortable doing, whatever colour suits you, whatever designer or outfit you feel you are most comfortable in, that is your style.

What are the things you cherish most?

I cherish truthfulness. I cherish honesty and openness. I also cherish bluntness. Good things of life are useful but I don’t believe in do or die to have anything. I love my family, I love my children.

Above all, God is the ultimate. If I have God in my life, I have everything.

Do you do anything to keep fit?

Nothing o! I drink water a lot, I don’t eat meat. I eat fish and chicken only. I stay away from fried food. I try to look good and be clean. I don’t exercise unfortunately, I wish I could. I would really love to, may be two times a week, but I don’t.

20

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Body&Soul with

Juliet Bumah +234 81 1 675 9770

chibumah@yahoo.com

Marriage can wait while I savour this moment!

K

athryn turns and stares at him. Now, she’s convinced that something is wrong with this stranger.

Her heart beating wildly, she stutters, “Wha... what is the problem? Have I done something wrong?”

Dave takes a few steps back. His eyes sweep from the very tantalising woman in front of him to the very inviting bed. His blood vessels throb and pulsate. The man encased in his groin seeks a way out.

“No, Kathy darling. You’ve done nothing wrong,” he says huskily and clears his throat.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you. Get dressed and let’s go out. I want you, but I want us to be sure we really want each other. Be assured that I love you,” he says shakily, head pounding.

Kathryn masks her disappointment.

“Oh sure. We need to be sure of what we want, you’re right,” she says, cursing under her breath.

She’s darn sure this guy wants her. She just can’t understand why he’s holding back. Maybe he doesn’t want to cheat on his wife. The bulge between his thighs is a sign that he’s normal down there.

Men have always come for her like starved bulls. But not this man!

She turns, looks at him and smiles.

In her heart, she says, “No man who has been in this close proximity with me has remained the same.”

She resolves to break his resolve, just for the fun of it.

“I must conquer you before you go back to your wife,” she says to herself.

They move to the dressing table. As she picks her makeup box, he places his palm over hers and says, “Don’t paint your face, please. Just wear your clothes. I want your natural looks.

Please darling...”

She sighs and drops the box.

“Thank you my darling,” he says.

She will do anything for him. Love is very stupid!

She wears her clothes and sandals, dabs a lip balm on her lips, spritz some good perfume behind her ears and throat, picks her bag and is ready to go.

“You are so beautiful darling,” he says, admiring her.

Each time he says the word, ‘darling’, Kathryn goes weak. There’s something so honest and loving about the way he says it.

At the door, he brushes his lips against hers before they step out.

“Wow!” This is cute,” she says of the car.

“You like it?” Dave asks and she nods.

“I’m glad you love it,” he says.

“She’ll have it when we get married,” he tells himself.

He holds the door for her and closes it gently after she has sat down.

He then moves to the driver’s side, slides in and gives her a peck before turning the ignition on.

“I love you to the moon and back,” he says before they drive off.

John, the gateman, smiles and waves to them.

“So, Aunty madam has a husband? Why doesn’t she live with him? These rich people sef! This Oga na proper ‘money miss road o’. Hai! See car,” John heaves his shoulders in wonderment as he closes the gate.

Kathryn catches the smile and admiration on John’s face.

“Aha, why did you introduce yourself as my husband to the gateman?” She asks him.

“But you are my wife,” he replies, not taking his eyes off the road.

He turns on the music.

“Find a way to my heart...” he sings along in a rich baritone.

Kathryn settles into her seat and daydreams. ********* Dave pulls up in front of a nondescript gate on a street off Ozumba Mbadiwe Road on Victoria Island. He honks his horn and a man peeps from a notch on the wall.

An infrared camera picks the details of the car and the huge gate slides to the left. He drives into a very large compound. A lone building stands way back to the right while numerous exotic vehicles nestle in the open space.

The compound is well kept.

“Where is this? Why this tight security?” Kathryn asks, looking around her.

“It’s a club. An exclusive club for members only. Security is very necessary here. Members of the club are successful businessmen and politicians,” he says, smiling as he turns off the engine.

“But this is not where we planned to meet,” she says.

“Yeah, I changed my mind. You deserve the best, angel.

Trust me,” he replies, a twinkle in his eyes.

Before she could say anything else, a uniformed security man appears and opens the car door for her.

Dave gives her a quick peck and opens the driver’s door. ******* As they step on the foyer of the building, the door opens. They enter into a reception area where they wash and sanitise their hands. The Ebola virus scare is real.

Three beautiful ladies and a gentleman ensure they have all they need there.

Dave swipes a card at a smaller door to the left and it opens.

The noise hits her with a force. More than 30 men and women are in the large tastefully furnished, dimly-lit room.

“Wow!” Kathryn exclaims. This is class, the type she is used to.

Everyone there seems to know Dave. They move from one table to the other, saluting friends and business associates. It is obvious that Dave is showing her off. They are all eager to meet her, which surprises her. Is he not bothered that his wife may get to know?

Now wait for this!

“D Chair!” A rotund man hails, while they thump fists.

“Sake!” Dave responds.

“Who is this belle?” He bellows and heads turn in their direction.

“My wife, Kathy,” Dave says, drawing her to his side.

Kathryn’s eyes pop. Wife?

“Darling, meet my name sake, David. He’s a business associate and a jolly good fellow,” Dave tells her.

David shuffles to his feet.

“Welcome madam,” he says with a nod.

Kathryn murmurs a response. She isn’t sure what to say. How could Dave introduce her to his friends as his

wife? That’s a sign of irresponsibility. She’s sure they know his wife. And why is everybody pretending to believe him?

“Congrats, Dave,” someone shouts from a corner and everyone takes up the chorus.

Congrats! Congratulations! rent the air and Kathryn wishes like she has the power to disappear.

Dave draws her to his chest and plants a kiss, smack, on her lips and her worries disappear. She feels like a queen. By the time she’s sitting beside Dave, she is already enjoying the attention. She looks around and can recognise many of the faces. What! Oh they are faces she has seen on television. Oh cool!

“Well, I’m in love with him already so lemme enjoy myself while it lasts,” she tells herself and sips from the choice ChampagneLe Grande Dame Verve Clicquot Ponsardin - which is served in an exotic glass.

They eat a late lunch, dance, nibble finger foods and sip glass after glass of Champagne until they’re tipsy.

Four hours later, they say their goodbyes.

David promises to visit them at home and Kathryn surprises herself.

“Oh, that’ll be great. Looking forward to seeing you,” she tells him.

“She’s a great cook,” Dave says proudly. He drapes his left arm across her shoulders as they walk out of the club to their car.

“Which house is David visiting?” Kathryn asks Dave.

“Our house,” he says.

“Our house? Which house?” She asks, confused.

“Shhhhhhhhhh....” Dave says and shuts her mouth with a kiss.

“I’m taking you home...to our house,” he says. Kathryn is in no state to argue. She’s tired and wants to sleep. She also wants to be with him. She relaxes in her seat and wakes up when Dave honks his car horn.

“We are home,” he says as he drives into the beautiful compound.

She takes in the wonders on wheels in one breath and her eyes pop out.

What! She needs to tour this house during the day.

“Meet my brothers, Hanson and Mike, he tells her as they enter the sitting room.

“She’s Kathy, my wife-to-be,” he continues as the two guys look at him, surprise in their eyes.

“Welcome sister,” they murmur, one after the other, and Kathryn murmurs her response. She is so confused.

Dave leads her to his room upstairs -a large, richlyfurnished room with a giant bed in the centre. The room is opulence redefined.

She goes into the loo. ***** Dave has got to the end of his tether. If he does not let his man out of his boxers, there will be problem. He wants Kathryn and he’s not going to pretend anymore.

He also wants to get married to her. It is as if he’s been waiting for her all his life.

He pulls his jeans and boxers down and steps out of them. His blood vessels throb and his man pulsates.

During his university days, they called it ‘Penistus Trouserius’. As memories of his escapades flood his mind, his ramrod PT nods in excitement. ***** Kathryn has been admiring his firm figure from behind while he’s deep in thought. She shivers with excitement.

“Lemme enjoy him while his wife is away. After all, I didn’t bring myself here.

Stealthily, she pulls off every item of clothing on her and leaves them on the floor.

“That’s a sexy torso you’ve got there,” she says huskily.

He turns, startled, as he beholds the unclad killer shape the second time that day. He stares at her, lost for words but his almost weeping PT says everything. It bobs and bobs...

Kathryn moves to him, pushes him against the wall and drops on all fours in front of him. He shivers.

Did he taste the forbidden fruit? Join me here on Sunday!

Send your observations to julietbumah@gmail.com

21

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Body&Soul

Dreadlocks savvy Biwom Iklaki

W

hen talking about trends in hair, dreadlocks often crop up more often than most. There are several reasons why dreadlocks are very popular.

Chief among them is the fact that they are natural and require no processed chemicals at intervals.

They can be styled in many different coifs and braids and they have low maintenance.

Some fashionista out

there may be on the verge of joining‘ the dreaded wagon’ and may need a few tips to push you to a start off, or to get off the wagon.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind: 1) Before you chop off your permed hair or begin the locking process for your fresh, cropped, virgin hair, find a good ‘locktician’. This person will be your bestie in the months or years to come on this journey. She will take care of your locks and give you tips that only an experienced person can.

2) Make it a habit to love and massage your scalp before you go to bed for at least five minutes daily.

You will be amazed

at the difference this will make to the growth rate (massaging the scalp stimulates blood flow through the scalp which promotes healthy, luxuriant hair).

3) Resist the temptation to re-twist the hair too often. The fact that the hair looks neater doesn’t make it a healthy approach. In fact, it can cause excessive thinning to the roots of the hair.

4) Use as little greasy products as possible. This is because the grease easily builds up and clogs the follicles of your hair which may reduce circulation of blood as well as trap dirt that causes the hair to smell. Use shampoo and conditioner that is greasefree and that will not leave

any residue behind.

5) A dreadlock strand is like a mop strand. It retains water and doesn’t dry easily. Treat it like a sponge when washing and drying by squeezing, rather than rubbing.

6) Learn to sleep with a silk scarf on. This is to protect your scalp and edges. It will also keeps the moisture in your hair rather than on your pillow which will also cause rough edges.

7) Call forth your patience! Locking your hair is a journey and you mustn’t rush the process.

It will grow out and lock eventually and this may take months, years even.

But it will happen. Be patient.

22

Fabrics such as guinea brocade and Ankara were used to create these styles in the past but today, Chiffon and other supple fabrics have been added to create beautiful designs.

A major feature of Boubou and Kaftans are the unique embroidery designs that

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

orgeous African chiffon dresses made from fine materials are in vogue. The popular Boubou and Kaftan are African couture that has evolved over the years.

G

Vanessa Okwara

add glamour to them. Many of them come in three-pieces - a top, inner slip and a head wrap in Chiffon or the fabric of the dress.

Kaftans and Boubous are comfy to wear.

They are not form-fitting even though the fabric may cling to the body. They, therefore, help to hide some of those bulges

around the mid riff. They can be worn for casual outing, ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ at the Office, church or even a birthday party and still come out looking classy and stylish. Invest in one today and step out looking like the sophisticated African chic you are.

Comfy Boubou for African chic

Body&Soul

43

Hardball Coomassie: North didn't plan to scuttle confab p.27

biyi adegoroye, ASSISTANT Editor, Politics biyi.fire@yahoo.com

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Tel: 08033024007

AUGUST 24, 2014

Interview I've all it takes to be Akpabio's successor - Albert Akpan p.30

23

Politics ON SUNDAY

INEC and challenges of PVC distribution The distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to the electorate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) entered its second phase last week. So far, about 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),have been covered by the commission, leaving only 12 more states to be attended to. ONYEKACHI EZE reviews the significance of the exercis and challenges encountered by Nigerians in the effort to collect them

W

hen he left his house at about 9 am on Saturday, August 16 tothe LEA Primary School Lugbe, one of the satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja for the collection of his Permanent Voter Card (PVC), Chijioke Ugwu thought he would be attended to within 30 minutes by polling attendants. He was unable to go the previous day because of a downpour. But it was around 4 pm that he was able to succeed in his mission.

Chijioke was, however, lucky. Chukwudi Okechukwu, a trader at Wuse Market who left his shop with his 'boy' around 4pm that same Saturday to the designated polling unit near Gwarinpa where he lives, was unable to collect his PVC as at the time ad hoc officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stopped attending to prospective voters on Sunday, the end of the exercise. He told New Telegraph on Sunday: "You see, this is what we are saying: Time is money. I left my shop since Saturday and have been coming here so that I can vote in 2015. But where is the card?"

Okechukwu said the polling attendant was overwhelmed by the number of people who came out to collect their cards. He said the attendant was slow and spent over 30 minutes attending to one person.

INEC had set aside Friday, August 15 to Sunday, August 17 for Nigerians who registered during the 2011 nationwide exercise to collect their cards in the second phase of its distribution of PVCs exercise. The states are Yobe and Bauchi, (North-East); Jigawa and Sokoto (North-West); FCT and Kwara (NorthCentral); Anambra and Ebonyi (South-East); Ondo and Oyo (South-West); and Delta and Cross River (South-South). The commission also said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), exercise will follow immediately in the 12 states from Wednesday August 20 to Monday 25.

The first phase of the exercise was held sometime in May this year. Twelve states were again covered during the exercise, which also included the CVR for those who missed the nationwide voter registration exercise in 2011, those who attained 18 years of age since then and others whose biometrics were not captured or were missing in INEC data.

The heavy rain in Abuja started around 1 pm on Friday, the first day of the distribution exercise and stopped very late in the evening.

Jonathan

Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, INEC director in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, agreed that the rain was a setback to the exercise, but he saw the donpour as an 'act of God'. He promised that the commission would "afford everybody the opportunity of getting their cards.

So if the INEC staff were not seen, maybe it was because they were hiding from the rain," Uzzi noted.

The director admitted that some registered voters were discouraged from coming out because of the rain but said he could not comment on the late arrival of materials until he investigates it. "I have been to most places and they were there. We know there were isolated cases and we will take remedial measures where they arise," he said.

The remedial measures later came on Sunday when the exercise was extended by two days. Osaze-Uzzi admitted that "the extension

Jega

became necessary following heavy rain in the FCT on Friday, the first day of the exercise.

Many people could not come out on the first day, and the youth corps members could also not do much because of the rain, so it has been extended by two days and it will now end on Tuesday in FCT." But Okechukwu said nobody should expect him to leave his shop again in pursuit of PVC. "How much are they paying me? It is from the sales that we feed," he countered when reminded that he still had the opportunity of collecting his card.

The issuance of PVCs was one of the measures adopted by INEC to strengthen the electoral system and ensure the credibility of the elections. After the nationwide voters registration exercise in 2011, eligible and registered voters were issued with temporary voter cards.

Unlike the previous exercises, INEC adopted the electronic voter registration system, which involved the use of Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines to capture the biometrics of the registered voter, which include the facial features and the 10 finger prints of the registrant.

Benefits of PVC Instead of embarking on fresh registration exercise each time general elections are to be held, the electoral body intends to make registration a once in a lifetime affair. Every eligible voter who registers with the commission has his or her full particulars in the INEC data bank, and will be given a permanent voter card. What the commission will be doing from time to time is to update the register through continuous voter registration exercise for CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

24

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Politics / Analysis

INEC and challenges of PVC distribution C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 3

those who have attained 18 years of age after the last registration exercise and others who missed the previous exercises.

In doing so, INEC said it intends to eliminate multiple and under age registration. It also hopes to eliminate the registration of fake and non-existent persons, which politicians are believed to be using to rig elections.

For instance, when the voter registers were cleared in Ekiti and Osun states during the distribution of PVCs in March this year, a whopping 114,882 multiple registrants were discovered and removed from them. In Ekiti, 77,609 people, representing 12 per cent of the total number of 688,950 registered voters were removed after INEC ran the Advanced Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The figure was, however, lower in Osun, which had 37,273 multiple registrants representing 2.75 per cent of the total number of voters 1,355,393 registered voters.

And after the conduct of CVR, 76,091 people registered newly and were added in Ekiti State register while Osun State had 149,755 new voters on the register. The commission did not, however, rule out multiple registrants during the exercise. INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, observed that “in both Ekiti and Osun, we have seen how our politicians were using vehicles and moving people from one polling unit to another. So we are going to again catch multiple registrations.”

Although INEC promised to prosecute people who registered more than once, so far nobody has been arrested for breaching the law.

Earliest distribution The distribution of PVCs by INEC started in Anambra State last year in preparation for the November 23 governorship election in the state, but marred by some hitches, especially logistical problems. Some Nigerians who came to polling units to claim their PVCs encountered problems ranging from inadequate attestation forms, swearing of affidavit in court, absence of PVCs even when the voter’s name and picture appeared in the INEC voter register, shortage of electoral officers to attend to the teeming population of voters who thronged the polling units to collect their PVC as well as delay inherent in the exercise.

INEC ad hoc officials conducting the exercise were also said to be hostile and could not provide information to voters who had problems in collecting the cards. There was also the problem of sorting of names by the electoral officers on duty per polling unit. The names were not arranged in alphabetical order, which led to unnecessary delay. Many people could not find their names in the INEC register during the governorship election in the state. Comrade Tony Nwoye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the election and some of his family members were among them.

Subsequent PVC distributions in other states were also trailed by complaints of either lack of enough personnel to attend to people who came out to collect their cards or inadequately training of corps members recruited to conduct the exercise. In some polling units, one or two corps members were assigned to attend to the people, not minding the population.

Reports have it last week that the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise in the 326 wards and registration collation centres in Anambra State turned sour when some officials of INEC in Onitsha were accused of selling the voter cards and registration intent form for N200 and N500 respectively.

It was alleged that at some registration collation centres in the commercial city of Onitsha, some INEC staff allegedly demanded between N200 and N500 from people waiting to be registered before they were given forms to fill. Though the Public Relations Officer of

Mu'azu

INEC in the state, Mr. Frank Egbo, said the commission had a form, which every intending voter must fill and submit before registration, he stressed that they were not for sale.

In Oyo State, a former governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, faulted the cancellation of the distribution of the PVC by INEC in four council areas in the state. In a statement, Alao-Akala alleged foul play, stating that INEC had no reason for suspending the PVC distribution in the councils.

Oyo State REC, Mr. Nasir Ayilara, had penultimate week at a stakeholders meeting in Ibadan, announced that there would be no distribution of PVCs in four council areas in the state, including Ibadan North-East, Ibadan South-West, Ogbomoso North and Afijio in Oyo town due to data loss.

He gave the assurance that a fresh registration exercise would be conducted in those places.

Akala said that it was very wrong for INEC to have taken such decision, adding that the PVC was distributed in three of the wards in Ogbomoso North with others cancelled.

"How could the electoral umpire have said that it was cancelling the distribution of PVCs in four councils due to data loss? How did they get lost and whose negligence was that?

The distribution of the cards was done in three wards in Ogbomoso North and the others cancelled, including mine,’’ he said.

He said that there had been many complaints from the people alleging the connivance of INEC with some people, while urging the agency to brace up and prove that it was an unbiased umpire.

"I hope this is not a ploy to disenfranchise our people and to rig the 2015 elections for specific interests as alleged. We won’t tolerate this mess and INEC should not betray the people’s confidence in it," he said.

Alao-Akala called on the electorate to be more vigilant and report every case of foul play by politicians to INEC, so that they could have the opportunity to elect their desired leaders. Also, some PDP chieftains in Lagelu Local Government area called for the cancellation of the ongoing distribution of the PVCs in the state, alleging fraudulent withdrawals of the cards.

They told newsmen in Ibadan that the ruling party in the state, the APC, may have connived with the INEC to withdraw the cards by proxy. Among the aggrieved chieftains was Chief Lekan Balogun, who described the act as "a structural rigging

Odigie-Oyegun

of the 2015 election," adding that the cards had been kept for friends of INEC. This necessitated the calls for the extension of the number of days allotted for the exercise. In Oyo State, which participated in the second phase of PVCs distribution, a group named Coalition of Human Rights Groups, warned that the commission’s failure to extend the date would amount to a deliberate attempt on its part to disenfranchise majority of the electorate in the state.

The group contended that three days were too short for an exercise of that magnitude and suggested the exercise ought to last one week.

“Our demand for extension for days becomes very necessary since anyone who does not have the PVC would not be allowed to vote, according to INEC,” the coalition said.

INEC clarifications There is confusion on the continuous voter registration. INEC has listed three categories of people who are qualified to participate in the CVR exercise. There are people who turned 18 years of age since last registration exercise, those above 18 years of age but have missed the previous exercise and others whose names are missing in the INEC register.

But a radio jingle by one of the non-governmental organisations sensitising people to take part in the exercise expanded this to include voters who lost their temporary voter cards and others who relocated from the place where they first registered to a new place and want to transfer their cards so as to vote in the new place of abode.

Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, said such people would be committing an electoral offence.

"If they chose to listen to radio jingle by an NGO and not what INEC is telling them, they will be committing an electoral offence," Idowu warned.

During the just concluded PVCs distribution exercise, some registered voters whose names were in the register were told that their cards were not available. Among these people were former governors of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Otunba Adebayo AlaoAkala; governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Lekan Balogun, and others who had yet to collect the cards during the distribution exercise in Oyo State.

Their attempt to re-register during the CVR exercise was rejected by INEC. The commission's Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr.

Ayo Folami, said the affected electorate should wait till their cards would be released from the headquarters of the commission in Abuja.

Folami said, “If someone belongs to a polling unit, where INEC officials did not show up at all, that meant they did not send us cards for that unit from Abuja.

People in that unit should wait till we get those cards from Abuja. They should not re-register. When we have the cards, we would make enough publicity for them to go and collect their permanent cards. We would stay there for three days as well.”

He also advised people who had relocated from where they registered during the last voter registration exercise to new places not to re-register in the ongoing continuous registration.

“People that registered in one place but have relocated to another place don’t need to reregister. All they need is to write an application requesting for transfer of their registration from wherever they are coming from. If it is inter-state, they would mention the state. If it is from one local government to another in Oyo State, they will still need to write a letter of transfer from local government A to local government B. “The transfer letter would be taken to the electoral officer of their new place of abode.

They will not participate in the continuous registration exercise because they have already registered. They should attach the photocopy of their cards to the application letter,” he added.

Questions over hiccups To the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ebonyi State, Mr. Okey Ezeani, the hiccups which have greeted the exercise should be blamed on poor funding. “We are aware that one person cannot adequately handle the entire people in one polling unit, but the finance is not there to recruit more people,” Ezeani explained.

There were also complaints on the number of days given for the exercise, which people said was not enough. INEC allows only three days for the exercise after which unclaimed PVCs were taken to INEC offices in the local headquarters, where it claimed, the distribution would continue.

But electorate said they encounter redtapism in the process. In Osun State, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

25

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Politics / Column

Y

ou belong to the group called the three musketeers in Cross River State. Talk to us about this group?

I think the three wise men tag or the three musketeers tag is a name that evolved from the populace. It wasn’t a name that we gave ourselves. I think it is a name that a lot of our well wishers gave to us. So really I don’t know how it came about but I do know that Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke and I in the early years around 1995 and 1996 had started a lot of discussions on Cross River State, and essentially we had talked about the direction we wanted to go as a state. I think it was from those discussions and series of meetings that we had that a lot of ideas for Cross River State came about. Of course, by that time we had no political power. We were just talking as idealistic young men and I think it was from there that God blessed our endeavours and our thinking. So he made it possible for us to achieve political power and try to implement some of those ideas that we had as young men.

How did you people come together?

We had all been friends for some time. I know Donald very well because we grew up together, attended primary school together, secondary school together and Liyel, I knew in the University and so on. All of us had come under the tutelage of Clement Ebri who was governor of Cross River State in 1991, and Liyel contested for the Senate and won. Donald was commissioner under Clement and I was one of Clement’s major political allies in 1991 when he contested for governorship position.

So all of us had come under the tutelage of Clement Ebri and I think that that was when we started to understand that we had similar political ideology and that was how our political friendship developed.

And part of the resolve was that each of you would govern the state?

No. We had ideas for the state on how we wanted it to develop. As young men, we thought that under the military, the state was not really going in the direction that was best for it. It was more of a think-tank time but the quest for political power came later.

Most people seem to believe that you are likely to succeed Imoke?

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. The issues have been said; the issues have been addressed, the governor has addressed them, the PDP caucus in Cross River has addressed those issues and there is nothing else we can say except to wait and see.

See what?

We have told you that the caucus has said it, the governor has said it and I think he said it on his birthday, all these things have been said and I don’t want to keep flogging this issue. I always tell people that these rumours are going to persist until we swear in this our

‘How Imoke’s successor will emerge’ Gershom Bassey is a contender for the Government House in Cross River State in the 2015 elections. Though Bassey is from the same senatorial district as Donald Duke, former governor of the state, his chances are high following the zoning of the seat to the northern part of the state. He explains how the next governor of the state will emerge. CHIJIOKE IREMEKA reports

Bassey

governor from the north.

Governor Imoke has said severally that power is moving to the northern part of the state this time. Is that right?

It is not the governor that said power is going to the north. It is the PDP caucus and I am a member of the caucus. So, all of us said that power should go to the north or that the north should be given a chance to produce a governor. It is a collective decision. I don’t think I have declared for even the seat of councilor.

Cleary, I have not declared for anything.

So why have you decided to contest?

I agree that there are a number of people who have come to urge me to come out and contest one position or the other; whether governorship or senate, but I have not declared. I

am a complete team player and if we as a political family have said that look, let the north have a shot at this thing, then we have to stand by that collective decision.

That means you are not contesting the governorship?

What I am saying is that let the north have a shot at the governorship.

What future do you see for Cross River State?

I see a very bright future. I am confident that Cross River State will have a bright future.

Where are these posters coming from?

They are coming from supporters. I have played politics in this state for a long time. I am a founding member and convener of the PDP in the state and over the years, you gather people who have confidence and believe in

what you have to offer and it is those people who have come out to urge me to run for one office or the other.

Left for you, which office would you love to go for?

The way we have played our politics, I am not sure that any of us has had ambition for ourselves. It is not about personal ambition, it has always been about a group ambition. That is the way we have played our politics and if the group has an ambition to be in a position to implement some ideas in Cross River State, then we now say to ourselves who is the best person to lead this change of power? In the case of 1999, it was Donald that we thought was supposed to lead the change and in 2007 we thought it was Liyel that was the best person to lead the change, but it wasn’t that they themselves came and said they wanted to be governor of Cross River. No. We said come and be governor. That is the way we have operated as a group. Essien Ayi is a good example. We said to him ‘go to the House of Representatives’ and even Victor NdomaEgba, we told him to go to Senate. So a lot of the time our family takes decisions for us.

How will Imoke’s successor emerge?

The party guidelines are clear. First of all, you must have the basic class and capacity to be governor and that involves certain things. You must have the ability to carry the three senatorial districts along. What are the positions the person has held before? Is he popular to carry the three senatorial districts along? As we all know, PDP is not the only party in this country.

There are two big parties in the country now.

The PDP cannot operate in isolation. We must be conscious of what the other parties are going to come up with.

What will you say is your own agenda for Cross River?

My personal agenda for this state is for this state to be the most prosperous state in Nigeria and I know that by the grace of God we are going to get there. I expect that the new governor will continue to grow the economy in line with what his predecessors has been doing. I expect him to be a continuation of what has been done in the past. I also expect him to bring fresh ideas, to be hard working, to be dedicated and above all, to love the state.

INEC and challenges of PVC distribution

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2 4

All Progressives Congress alleged that its members who went to INEC offices in the local government areas to collect their cards encountered delays and denial of their cards based on the party they belong.

Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State called for an extension to enable the electorate to collect the cards. The governor had declared public holidays for two days to enable civil servants in the state to collect their cards during the first phase of the exercise in May. The intention of the commission to have a comprehensive data bank of registered voters in the country was hampered by viral attacks of DDC machines where most of the data were stored.

In Enugu State, names of 40 per cent of the registered voters were said to have disappeared from the INEC register. Out of 2,940 polling booths in the state, 621 were said to

have been completely wiped out from the register over what INEC officials said was caused by human and machine error.

Prominent politicians, who could not find their names in the register include Governor Sullivan Chime; the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Eugene Odoh; Chairman of the PDP in the state, Vita Abba; Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo; as well as other prominent officials of the state government.

The state chapter of PDP had threatened a court action if the anomaly was not rectified before the elections, and accused INEC of deliberately trying to collude with some 'desperate' politicians to disenfranchise majority of the people of the state in the coming elections. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Lawrence Azubuike, said a fresh voter registration exercise would be conducted in the state to remedy the situation.

Although INEC had conducted a fresh

voter registration in Enugu State between May 28 and June 1, this year, Abba said it would be difficult for the people to be mobilised for a fresh exercise which lasted for only five days whereas the last exercise lasted for three weeks.

Also, names of registrants in the entire 129 existing polling units in Ika South local Government Area of Delta State were said to have been affected with viral attacks.

Again, Chief Public Affairs Officer of INEC in Delta State, Mr. Livy Unuibe, said this would be addressed by fresh registration of people in the area, which started last Wednesday. Unuibe said "the corruption of the system by virus was not man-made."

In Bayelsa State, Deputy Governor, Rear Amiral John Jonah (retd), could not collect his PVC in the Nembe 1 constituency of Nembe Local Government area when he showed up at the just concluded distribution of PVCs exercise in the state. Jonah,

who arrived at the polling unit with his temporary voter card, was said to have been told that his PVC was unavailable. No explanation was given by the ad hoc staff.

While the complaints greeting the issuance of the cards may be numerous, observers believe the card is one of the best innovations into the nation’s electoral process. Though the complaints may have been exaggerated by politicians and electorate alike, they said INEC should rise to the occasion and ensure proper distribution of the cards.

With the successes recorded in Ekiti and Osun States where governorship elections were held even weeks after the discovery of thousand cases of multiple registrations were discovered and rendered invalid, the issuance of PVCs is not only reassuring, but a panacea to earlier cases of disenfranchisements. It is hoped that the challenges encountered now will be corrected before the 2015 elections.

26

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Politics

Uneasy calm over Ebola threats fades away

A

n atmosphere of calm is gradually returning to the vicinity of the seat of power, the presidential villa after fears over the Ebola virus. In the last few weeks since reports of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), workers and visitors indeed had been agitated due to the existence of monkeys and bats which health experts reveal are carriers of the virus.

The drop in tension among villa workers of course, may have come as a result of available information that the entire nation's capital remains safe from the epidemic as well as government interventions to subdue the spread of disease in the country.

From the index case imported by the late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer to additional 11 cases reported of Nigerians affected by the Ebola disease, the number of recorded and confirmed cases rose to 12. Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu told State House Correspondents last Wednesday that of this figure, five cases have been successfully handled with the individuals discharged, while five persons including the index case have died within the period of the outbreak.

Reports put the total number of cases currently in Nigeria at two- one doctor and a nurse who had managed the index case. As explained by government officials, they are presently on treatment at isolation centers. In fact, the positive record in the reduction of cases rather than escalated spread of the disease is responsible for the calm that has also

Anule Emmanuel emmyanule@yahoo.com

been witnessed inside the villa.

But interestingly, there has been massive education of the workers about personal hygiene to avoid contracting Ebola with a number of other strategic interventions such as the introduction of automated hand sanitisers already installed at major entrant and exit points and tips on how to keep away from the mammals (the monkeys and bats) for several weeks now.

The outbreak of the disease has now compelled the return of hand wash (soap, detergents) in all toilets within the villa. For quite a while, staff and visitors alike were left to use these facilities without hand wash. Of course, this was unhygienic and unusual of the presidency.

With these initiatives and the fact that the bats particularly which could have posed the highest threat through defecation on parked cars, are presently on exile, the idea of shaking hands very customary with Nigerians is also gradually coming back in Aso Rock. Although no case of the disease has been reported in the nation's capital, before now, in the

view of many, there was every need to trade with caution.

What is most of concern to Nigerians including staff here in the presidency at the moment is the absence of at least, the experimental drug ZMapp, which appears to be working in treatment of Ebola patients as witnessed recently in the United States of America.

Nigeria had requested from America the experimental drug but got a negative response with a mere explanation that the product was out of stock. In the words of Professor Chukwu, the Federal Government is still pushing hard to access clinically tested drugs that could help save many lives in the midst of the threat.

"Presently we have not stopped requesting for drug, a company in Canada and a lot of Nigerians including the High Commissioner in Nigeria to Canada are making that request to see whether the other drug being manufactured in Canada called TKM Ebola would also be extended to Nigeria."

Onyechi said.

It would really appear that America

has not been fair to Nigeria. The reason being that we were among the first African countries who requested for the experimental drug alongside Liberia.

Although our case is not as alarming as that of Liberia, the decision to ignore the country without one single dose of the drug to help save the lives of the few Nigerians infected by virus is unfriendly.

Who knows, if the Federal Government were to access the ZMapp drug on time, possibly, four of the Nigerians that have so far lost their lives to the disease, including the most senior doctor, senior consultant/physician/endrocologist at First Consultant Hospital Lagos where the index case was recorded, Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh would have been saved.

That America has now decided to donate 30 body scanners to the Federal Government for use at major entry and exit points in the country in testing of body temperatures for the EVD is not enough. Government needs to intensify efforts to access and make the drugs available to treatment of already diagnosed cases. In so doing, it would compliment other intervention strategies by government to curtail further spread of the disease.

When this happens, the fear and possible stigmatisation of persons who have in anyway come close to those suspected to be infected with the virus will also reduce. In the presidential villa, the mood, however, has returned to normalcy. There is yet need for staff and workers to adhere to the health tips handed them by officials.

FG/ NMA impasse and Mark's insomnia

T

he indefinite strike by members of the Nigerian Medical Association since July 1, 2014 in connection with issues of welfare and fortunes of the medical personnel in government hospitals across the country is still a cause for concern.

Though some have said their demands are noble, others are of the opinion that they are selfish and an indication that they are not committed to the Federal Government’s healthcare programmes.

Before the doctors resorted to the strike which has entered the eighth week, there were many futile attempts to nip the crisis in the bud. However, the strike, which has left pains, anguish and immeasurable losses on the health sector and Nigerians seeking health care, would have been avoided but for the fact that the resident doctors were bent on having their way in the various issues of contention with the government.

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) had earlier called on the Federal Government to treat as unlawful the current strike by the NMA and Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). JOHESU, in a statement issued shortly after the NMA strike, posited that the two associations were not trade unions and therefore, logically could not negotiate trade disputes with government for any reason. It further called on government to capitalise on the doctors' strike to disregard all propaganda of the striking workers in the media.

Funny, nay, embarrassing enough, the NMA strike seemed to have arisen out of professional jealousy against JOHESU, for it earlier issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to stop all the demands made by JOHESU and honor its own or face an indefinite strike from July 1. The NMA President, Dr Kayode Obembe, made this position clear in a letter which he once circulated to journalists in Abuja and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Fed-

From the Chukwu David chukwudavid68@yahoo.com

eration, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, for delivery to President Goodluck Jonathan.

As part of its demands, the NMA asked the Federal Government for the letter of appointment of four Deputy Chairmen, Medical Advisory Committee for Teaching Hospitals, and three for Federal Medical Centres. He stated that the deputy chairmen would assist the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, whose statutory responsibilities, in his view, were too heavy for an individual to handle.

According to Obembe, the demands of other medical workers to be appointed directors in the hospital were illegal and not in line with the Act that set up teaching hospitals, claiming that it caused anarchy as well as led to distortion in the chain of commands, and at the same time exposing patients to conflicting treatments.

After all these threats and attempted resolution of the conflict through many meetings by the NMA officials and the government negotiating team, the body finally called its members to a nationwide indefinite strike about 55 days ago. This has thrown a lot of confusion into the health sector and the entire polity. Many people including the laity and the professional analysts have been talking on the matter. Some tend to defend the doctors while blaming government for not satisfying their demands. Others rise to

vilify the medical experts for their seeming unpatriotism, greed and covetousness.

Meanwhile, for the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, it has been a sleepless moment. Since the NMA declared this war against Nigerians, who are at the receiving end of the lingering industrial action, the number three man in the country has been running from pillar to post to see an end to the imbroglio. He has held meetings with the aggrieved doctors in the morning, in the day and late at night. In fact, it was his importunate persuasion and appeals that offer a hope of an imminent resolution of the crisis.

It would be recalled that one week into the NMA strike, Mark intervened and implored the striking doctors to see the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country as a national emergency that should necessitate immediate suspension of their strike and return to duty. He enjoined the doctors to be patriotic enough to put aside whatever grievances or misgivings they had with government and return to work in order to help tackle the prevailing health challenge in the country.

The President of the Senate, who was highly worried by the eruption of Ebola epidemic in Nigeria, asserted that if the aggrieved medical practitioners failed to listen to voices of reason to call off the strike, it would be tantamount to sentencing the citizens of Nigeria

to untimely death.

Moreover, he further stated that it would also amount to a disservice to humanity and a total betrayal of their noble and revered profession to close their eyes and watch Nigerians die in hospitals as a result of their lingering industrial action.

Also, determined not to sleep until the problem is solved, Mark on Sunday night last week, met with the leadership of the NMA, with a view to seeking an end to the industrial action in the interest of Nigerian citizens, whose lives are currently in serious danger. He argued that, though the Federal Government was not insensitive to their demands, the unprecedented situation at the moment called for patriotism on the part of the doctors in the interest of the people, and promised to table their grievances before the President Goodluck Jonathan-led executive arm of government in order to find prompt and permanent solution to their demands.

As a fallout of Mark's dogged and resilient efforts, strong hopes emerged on Wednesday last week that the FG/ NMA impasse would soon come to an end as doctors planned to return to duty. Obembe gave the hint in Abuja after a meeting with Mark. He, along with Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, a medical doctor, Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okuke met with the doctors from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning in his Apo residence.

There is no doubt that if and when this crisis comes to an end, Nigerians will shower encomiums on Mark for his patriotism, determination, commitment and sacrifices towards the resolution of this life threatening conflict.

Mark, through his efforts, has showed that governance is a collective responsibility, which makes it imperative for the three arms of government to cooperate and collaborate in delivering good governance to the people.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Politics

Coomassie: North didn't plan to scuttle confab

Y

ou have been at the Confab for months. How do you feel now that the conference is over?

Well, I am glad it's all over. All is well that ends well. Let me add, very well too.

Are you fully satisfied with the way the issue of the draft constitution was resolved?

There is no draft constitution at all. We have the report of the conference, Volumes 1, 2 and 3. That is the one which we accepted after some amend-

Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie is a former Inspector General of Police and one of the delegates to the just concluded National Conference. Coomassie was at the conference as Co-Chairman of the Northern Delegates Forum (NDF). He spoke with ONWUKA NZESHI before the conference submitted its report on a number of issues ments. No draft constitution at all. No draft bill to the National Assembly at all.

What about the document renamed as Amendments to the 1999 Constitution?

Ehh? That is the Volumes 1, 2 and 3.

Is the North satisfied now?

It is not a question of the North. What we did was for Nigeria not for the North. We were doing it for the country, not for ourselves.

Before now, there were speculations that delegates from the North were planning to scuttle the conference and...

But is it true?

Don't you think that I should be the one asking that question?

No, you have to say it. I have spoken before and I said it is not true. If we wanted to scuttle it, we would have gone a long time ago. Don't forget that we started with deficiencies. We are only 189 Northerners in the conference as opposed to 303 from the South. Is that justice fairness and equity? But we didn't want to disappoint the President or the country by refusing to participate in an endeavour which was meant to improve

Commassie

Nigeria. We came and participated and we acquitted ourselves very well. We made contributions; decisions were taken, so you cannot accuse the North of trying to scuttle the exercise. In fact the North helped the conference to reach very good decisions.

Do you think that this conference has done justice to the issue of devolution of power?

Yes. We did very well and everybody in the committee agreed that we did well.

But we also have delegates who are complaining that most of the issues which people said should be left with the states are still with the central government.

What they were quarreling about was the issue of 13 per cent which they wanted increased. Some wanted 50 per cent; others wanted 100 per cent - that means all the oil money should go to them. But this is the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Should we develop some areas and ignore the others? If you go down memory lane, back to history, you will see how we have been looking after this country.

As a former Inspector General of Police, are you comfortable with the recommendation on state police?

No, I'm not because I know the implications. There are pros and cons but what can we do when the majority said states can establish their own police? But it has to go through another due process before we can all agree whether to have state police or not. The police force of this country has been neglected, giving rise to lack of job satisfaction and under performance. If you look at it, you will find that both the federal and state governments are abusing the police.

How do we stop the abuse?

Let them look into the conditions of service of the police and address the problems. We need to reinvigorate the Nigeria Police; make it the people's police, not government's police or police for the rich and the 419ners. In that way, the police will be answerable to the people.

Are you comfortable with the so called militarisation of elections in the country? I mean the use of solders to police elections.

No. Even the police are not supposed to be involved in elections. They only stand by in case of any eventuality and when they are invited, they move in, restore law and order to move back. Election is a civic responsibility. If you go to other countries, you will find that their citizens go to cast their votes without the police or the military around.

Why can't we do same in Nigeria?

Have you considered our peculiar situation where elections get chaotic with thugs snatching ballot boxes and unleashing violence on voters?

Yes, because of that we have to use our security forces, but we have to find a way of doing it professionally. We have to educate the police and the army on how to conduct themselves when they are on such duties.

What do you see Nigeria becoming after this conference?

Well, if we try to address some of the important issues, then we will see some changes coming up. It will take time and not immediately. But it all depends on all of us- the government and the governed.

The purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people. If we address these issues, we will make progress.

Govt agencies, companies neglect Apapa, says LG boss Philip Nyam Abuja

A

n aspirant to the House of Representatives and current Chairman of Apapa Local Government of Lagos State, Hon. Deji Joseph, has said his ambition is informed by the need to improve on the transport, education and health sector in the constituency.

Joseph, who made his intention known in an interview with New Telegraph on Sunday, said the Apapa Federal Constituency, which hosts strategic federal establishments, is not being accorded the recognition it deserves.

According to him, so far, the representatives of the constituency have not been able to fight for the rights of their constituents, hence the imperative of having an experienced, aggressive and more dynamic representative like him to lead the campaign.

He said: “I am interested in contesting for the House of Representatives seat to represent the people of Apapa Federal Constituency. I feel there is a vacuum that needed to be filled.

There is someone occupying the position currently but I think with my experience as a two-time council chairman and my level of exposure, I should up the ante of representative democracy in our constituency and the state at large.

“If I am elected, I will sponsor bills in the areas of transportation, education and health.

I am very confident that I have the wherewithal to represent my people effectively at the federal level”. The council chairman maintained that instead of engendering de-

velopment in Apapa, the presence of federal parastatals and companies have not impacted positively on the lives of the constituents.

“It has been rather negative than positive.

These federal parastatals should have been a source of blessing but they have not helped our cause. Just like the Europeans underdeveloped Africa, these companies are also under-developing us; that is what these companies are doing to the people of Apapa. They have done a lot of damage to Apapa; they make so much money from Apapa but give little in return.

“We feel that since the oil producing communities in the country enjoy a special derivation package, Apapa should also be accorded such a privilege. You can imagine how much NIMASA and Customs rake in for the Federal Government in a month. NPA is equally making huge money and Apapa it is providing the enabling environment, yet we are not reckoned with. This is not fair and should be redressed”, he said.

Hon. Joseph believed that his achievements as a two-time council chairman would deliver the constituency to him come 2015. Enumerating his achievements, the aspirant said “We have done a lot but we believe in living it to the people to judge. When I came in I discovered that school children in Apapa had problem of transportation. So, in order to ease their transport difficulties, I quickly provided buses to convey them from home to school and back home.

“Secondly, I discovered that most of the students had no uniforms. They were coming to school in jerseys of sports clubs, some wear-

Joseph

ing clothes not befitting of students. Then you would see students wearing jerseys of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and other teams to school. It did not look fine at all. We discovered that some of the students have parents who cannot afford this. So, what we did was to start providing free school uniforms and free books

to school children and we have been doing that up till today.

“Again, when I came on board, I noticed that the roads in Apapa were in a sorry state.

I swung into action and we have done almost 300 roads and these are quality roads that will last for a long time. We have also worked extensively in the area of environmental development.

Dismissing any potential threat from the biggest opposition party in the state, Joseph said “PDP is non-existent in my constituency.

In fact, the PDP cannot withstand APC in any contest in Lagos State. But just to let you know that most people who have been contesting elections on the platform of other parties in Apapa have since joined the APC. So, the implication is that there is no one standing that can challenge the APC in Apapa.

He said that “Apapa people have seen the wonderful works the APC has done in the state since 1999 and have resolved not to identify with any other political party. You must also not forget that my achievements, which I have just enumerated a few speaks a lot about what I can do. I am not a stranger to the Apapa politics and I am a grassroots politician. I am at home with my people and they know my antecedents.”

He said that APC has the best manifesto and the states under the party’s control are doing wonderfully well. “Take Lagos for instance; even the PDP members have agreed that Governor Babatunde Fashola has performed and is working. Check out the other states controlled by APC, the difference is clear,” he said.

28

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Politics / Hardball

Asari Dokubo replies IBB: I'll Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, responds to a recent challenge by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, for people like him to stop making noise and go back to the creeks to carry out their threats to declare war over certain issues. He spoke to LOUIS ACHI and ONWUKA NZESHI

Asari Dokubo

What are your thoughts on the just concluded 2014 National Conference?

I think that the conference, as I have said in other interviews, was only useful for the purpose of giving us an opportunity to sit down and talk; and that we have done. It has also exposed the fraud inherent in the Nigerian State - that Nigeria is not a federal state, that one section of this enclave called Nigeria is opposed to Nigeria moving forward and Nigeria being a federal state.

If you look at the conference, the South East, South West ,South South and parts of the Middle Belt clearly wanted a true federal state like it was when the British left. One section of the country, the Gambari-North or the Fulani and their collaborators, feel that that is not possible. I think that this is happening because our people had always condescended to these people; had always accepted to play the second, third and last fiddle to them. For me, I had always believed that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction and except that happens, you will not be respected. The other person would think that he has a monopoly of violence;

he has a monopoly of rascality and he would continue to do what he is doing.

The national conference has come to vindicate people like us who have been saying that there is no need for dialogue and there is no need for negotiation. The only language these people understand is their own language, which is violence and violence. Every one of us must be prepared to give it to them.

As at the time the conference closed, people were jubilant and expressed hope that the outcomes of the conference would usher in a new Nigeria. Does it mean you do not share in this optimism?

I don't think like that because from the recommendations of the conference that I have read, it is to maintain the status quo. What is maintaining the status quo? We would continue to remain a very crude unitary state with a powerful centre that has the military, immigration, SSS and that has an omnibus NNPC and so on and so forth. But that cannot engender genuine development in any part of this country because when one part of the country wants to develop, the other parts would be pulling that part back.

Even though I said the conference was a good start, we have discussed and we have known those who are the enemies of this part of the world. This is not a cheerful outcome for a conference.

What would you have loved to see as the outcome of the conference?

It should have been a no-holds barred conference. It should have been a conference that has sovereign powers to make decisions; a conference that confers sovereign powers on the various nationalities, not states. The states are battle stands created by military fiat and I think it is abnormal; it is nonsensical for us to have delegates nominated from states. What should have happened is to pick delegates representing the various ethnic nationalities in the country.

We know ourselves, no matter how small an ethnic nationality may be, each nationality should have been given a voice. Now when that is prevented, it should be taken back to the people for vetting or ratification through a referendum by the various nationalities that make up the country. So if Ijaw people say we don't want to be part of Nigeria, they should

be allowed to go. No be by force! This is what I expected from the conference.

I do not desire to be a Nigerian, I don't want to be a Nigerian, and I don't want my children to be Nigerians. I want to be who I am. I am an Ijaw man. Simple.

Now 2015 is around the corner and tension is rising across the political space, particularly with the North insisting that power must return to them. What are the options to save the country from imploding?

As far as I am concerned, Nigeria can only move forward when the right things are done.

You cannot be doing something the same way all the time and expect a different result. As long as you don't change your ways and methods, you will get the same result. We can't be fooling ourselves except if there is something wrong with us. It is very clear that we cannot move forward. We are not the same people, we are different people and our distinct nature must be taken into consideration in whatever we are going to do or whatever we want to be.

So for me, 2015, anybody wey dig a pit is going to fall into the pit. There are no two ways

29

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Politics / Hardball

declare war at the right time about it. If anyone thinks he will put monkeys, baboons, chickens and everything on the streets and that there will be blood, let him try now! Na only him to fit catch monkey, baboon and soak them in blood? As him dey soak, we too go dey soak now! There is no problem about it. You see people like to waste their time.

If somebody tells me that Gwoza has been taken, Damboa has been taken, its okay. It is because you want it. If you don't bend your back nobody would ride on you. I'm not ready to end my back and nobody is going to ride on me. So as he is planning to kill, I am also planning to kill him. That is it.

During the conference, the issue of threats to the unity of the country came up when the Lamido of Adamawa said that his kingdom extends as far as to Cameroon, an utterance that suggested that the North was ready to call it quits with Nigeria.

What do you make of this threat?

He has no kingdom! He has no kingdom!

Which kingdom is that?

It seems that the political elite in Nigeria don't think the way you do. The elite think they have a lot at stake in Nigeria and they want the country to remain one, no matter the challenges confronting the polity. What is responsible for this difference between you and them?

It is not the political elite that will decide when the sound gets louder. It is street people like me.

It is not IBB and others who built a 200 bedroom mansion on top of a hill that would decide the fate of this country. It is raw street people like us that are going to decide. IBB said that I stay in hotels; that is the falsity of information he has about me. I don't stay in hotels. I abhor hotels.

I don't drink, I don't smoke. I am just a simple fellow. I go to hotels to see people but I don't live in hotels. If he wants to see me, he can come to my little village and he will see where I live.

The elites are just grandstanding. They are just talking, they don't control anybody. As far I am concerned, they will not decide when the sound gets louder.

You just made reference to former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. I recall that in one of his recent interviews with the media, he dared you to declare that war you have always talked about. What would be your response to this challenge?

Look, a lot of people have dared me and they have seen that for every step they dared me, I go a step further. There is time for everything. I am not going to follow his timetable. I have my own timetable. I have my road map. So when it's time for me to do what I have to do, he cannot shout and he cannot push. I know that he will not be anywhere; he will run away. That I am very sure of.

He said that should you declare war, he will put on his uniform again and fight you if that is what it would take to halt the disintegration of Nigeria. What is your take on his threat?

He is a liar! The last time he put on his uniform.... in Bonny, we knew what happened to him. Up till now he is limping. He had to be flown out. So this time with his bad leg, we will know. So let him not boast.

But he spoke well of Isaac Adaka Boro, the Ijaw freedom fighter and he seems to have much respect for him. Are you not following in the footsteps of Adaka Boro?

This s a man that talks from both sides of his mouth. Who was Adaka Boro? Adaka Boro declared the Niger Delta Republic, the 12-Day Revolution. He was crushed because it was not like it is today where the vast majority of our people are now conscious, are vigilant and are waiting. At that time it was only a few people that knew what was happening. Isaac Adaka Boro was like a seer and was seeing far off. He was put in prison, he came out thinking that we were fighting against the Igbo, which was a very wrong assumption. It was a very wrong way to think but at that time our people were made to believe that our problem was with the

Asari Dokubo

Igbo and not the Nigerian State. He came out and after fighting and thinking that if we were all together things would be okay, he was shot behind the back. He was murdered. So that was why Adaka Boro could not execute what we are doing today. Isaac Adaka Bro is the doyen of our struggle. He is the direction of our struggle. He is the light that leads us. So he (IBB) is talking from both sides of his mouth.

How can anybody take such a fellow serious?

A man who wore uniform paid for through the resources of the Niger Delta and used his gun to overthrow a legitimate government; seized power ad destroyed the very moral fabric of our country? He cancelled an election that was free and fair. These are some of the things we have been saying that Nigeria cannot exist because when people like this talk, they offend our sensibilities. How can a man like IBB talk in the face of all his atrocities? He should have run away and we would have been looking for him. But because he is comfortable, he is going about talking. It's a shame!

Now let's get back to the conference and its outcome. Are you saying that all the ethnic nationalities ought to have recognised if we were a true federal state?

Don't get me wrong. That is not what I am saying. I said there must be a Sovereign National Conference and the decision of the conference by these nationalities should be put to a plebiscite for these nationalities to vote yes or no. Referendum has taken place twice in Nigeria - the one in Southern Cameroon and the other in the former Mid-West that resulted in the creation of the Mid-West out of the old Western Region. So this is not a new thing. It can happen again.

Are you advocating for the Ethiopian model of a national conference?

Yes. The Ethiopian model. There is also the South African model and CODESA. As we speak, Scotland is going into a referendum; Canada has been having a referendum where Quebec wants to leave. So the option should be given to people here as well. Nigeria is not sacrosanct. I have no relationship whatsoever with this fellow they call IBB. I don't have any relationship with him and I don't want to have one.

When President Goodluck Jonathan

received the report of the conference, he pledged that he would send it to the Council of State and the National Assembly. Do you have hope on this or you have a problem with this move?

Look, the usefulness of the conference like I said earlier is that it afforded us the opportunity of sitting down and talking. That is just the usefulness. Apart from that, there is nothing to it. As far as it does not have sovereign powers, what we are having are mere recommendations.

Now that it is not sovereign, some Nigerians still believe that if it is channelled properly through a referendum, we would have those results you crave for. Do you share this view?

No. I don't think so. With the kind of recommendations in that report, the creation of various parasitic states that cannot stand on their own and other things contained in it, I don't see anything coming out of it. Somebody is talking about local governments in a federal state. How can local councils be separate from the states? Are the local councils the federating units or are states the federating units? Are the ethnic nationalities the federating units? So this is a confused document.

You have disagreed with Gen. Babangida on many issues but there is a point he made in that interview where he advised President Jonathan not to negotiate with Boko Haram. Do you also disagree with him on this position?

Are they ready to negotiate? Are the Boko Haram people ready to negotiate? When you want to negotiate, demands would be put forward by both negotiating parties. The last time they said that for them to talk to him (Jonathan), he must become a Muslim. Is he ready to do that? Is President Jonathan who represents the Federal Government ready to do that? No. He will not. There is no compulsion on religion.

To you are your beliefs and to me are my beliefs. Nobody can force anybody at gun point or whatever to change his religion. It is not acceptable in the sight of God. So for me, there is no basis for negotiation. If the basis exists and there is an opening for genuine negotiation we will know because Boko Haram is not fighting

I said there must be a Sovereign National Conference and the decision of the conference by these nationalities should be put to a plebiscite for these nationalities to vote yes or no.

for anything other than the seizure of political power by the Gambari - Fulani people. Yes, they are using Kanuri territory to perpetrate the evil but the main people instigating this bloodletting are the Gambari from Futa Djallon. We know where they came from. They are colonialists and if we made the British to leave, what are these people doing here?

They are also colonialists. You have to reflect and ask yourself some questions.

Kano is a Hausa city, the Emir of Kano is not a Hausa man; he is a Gambari. Ilorin is a Yoruba city, the Emir of Ilorin is a Gambari.

Bida is a Nupe town, the Emir of Bida is a Gambari. Birnin Gwari is a Gbagi town, the Emir of Birnin Gwari is a Gambari. The Lamido of Adamawa who is residing in Yola is a Gambari who claims he has other Gambaris in Cameroon and other places. These are not Fulani cities. We know where they all came from. They all migrated from far-flung places to their present locations. So if we know where they come from and we know that they are not from here, they came to colonise these territories. What are they still doing here? If the British left, the French left, the Germans left, the Portuguese left, the Belgians left, what are these people doing here?

They are also colonialists but this is what our elites are ready to accept. Why should we allow foreigners to dominate the aborigines?

When people like us talk, they say these are very sensitive issues, don't touch them. Why should we not touch them? Why should the Sultan of Sokoto be the head of Muslims in Nigeria? Where did we meet and make the Sultan our head? So these are the things.

But a lot of people don’t look beyond the surface. A man says he is born to rule; you have not asked yourself, if that man is born to rule, what about you? If the man is born to rule, you are born to be ruled. So you become drawers of water and hewers of wood. A wise man in one of the great books I have read said: For I have seen a grave injustice on the surface of the earth that I saw servants riding on horseback and princes walking on foot. The Hausa man in Kano is walking on foot; Sanusi, a Fulani man, a Gambari from Guinea is riding on horseback. Gambari Suleiman Gambari is riding on horseback.

These are the issues that we've not been able to capture. Why should injustice continue? Why should the indigenous Hausa population in Kano not be given back what rightfully belongs to them? Why is it that in Ilorin, the indigenous Yoruba people, the ones they call Baba Agba, are not given back what rightfully belongs to them?

30

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Politics / National

I've all it takes to be Akpabio's successor - Albert Akpan Obong Bassey Albert Akpan (OBA), the immediate commissioner for finance in Governor Godswill Akpabio’s administration tells TONY ANICHEBE why his aspiration to become the next governor of the state has nothing to do with zoning.

Why have you resolved to be the next governor even when zoning principle is not in your favour?

I want to say that I have consulted widely and I'm still consulting. I must say that after due consultation with my family, my dear wife, community and local council area and based on the collective feelings of the good people of Akwa Ibom State that I should serve them in office as executive Governor of Akwa Ibom, and I have started consulting across the entire local Government areas of the state in preparation for the formal declaration. So far we have visited about 24 local government areas in preparation for the final declaration after covering the remaining seven councils. Power comes from God and he gives it to whoever he pleases, my prayer is that God should give us a governor who loves Akwa Ibom. Akpabio has done well, he is a good governor but God should give us a better governor that will take the state to the next level and that can only be displayed through the collective support and willingness of the Akwa Ibom people when I will emerge as the next governor of Akwa Ibom State. I am not going to be a governor by zoning but I will be by divine prophecy and if you feel that prophecy is not good or that it came from a false prophet then I leave it to God to decide. The Bible said that who is he that has spoken and it comes to pass when the Lord of Hosts has not commanded it? David in the Bible did not become a king by zoning, when God sent Prophet Samuel to go to the House of Jesse, God said I have found for my people a king in the House of Jesse. When Samuel got there, he thought it would be the first son which was zoning, Samuel thought it would be the second son and that was zoning and that applied to the third, while bible did not tell us what David position was, Samuel only asked if there was any one remaining and was told there was one in the bush taking care of sheep and David became a king not by zoning but by divine prophecy.

I give you another instance. Solomon took over from David, Solomon did not become a king because of zoning. He was the 10th child of David who was born by a controversial woman so God can make something out of nothing. God says, 'I choose to bless whom I choose to bless and I choose to hate whom I choose to hate'. Esau did nothing wrong but God said, 'Esau I hate and Jacob I love'. So between Esau and Jacob is the play out of a programme divinely orchestrated by God. I see my aspiration to become the governor of Akwa Ibom State as the will of God. You may begin to wonder how I will do it but I tell you I will do it through the support of the people of Akwa Ibom State and God in Heaven. Like I tell people, our governor is a human being and he has the right to support whosoever pleases him. Don’t forget that Biblical Saul wanted his first son Jonathan to take over from Him which was his right but God said it must be David. So the governor has the right to support whom he chooses to support. The governor has demonstrated this right through the Akwa Ibom Consolidation Alliance (ACA) that he is supporting his SSG, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, to become the next governor of the state. But the people of the state are supporting my aspiration to lead them as governor through the instrumental-

ity of Akwa Obong Abasi 2015. I leave my fate in the hands of the Akwa Ibom people come May 29th 2015.

Why were you dropped from the cabinet of Governor Akpabio?

My removal or sacking from office was as a result of my interest in becoming the governor of Akwa Ibom State, based on the popular demand of the people of the state. I saw my sacking as a step forward to pursue higher goals in life. That was why when the governor gave me my sack letter, he wished me well in my future endeavours. So, I'm still pursuing those future endeavours.

I am happy because my modest contributions to the administration of Governor Godswill Akpabio are well noted but since I left government over four months ago, I have been waxing stronger by the day. I am strong and courageous by the special grace of God through the power and instrumentality of the Holy Spirit.

With what pedigree are you contesting the coveted position?

I graduated from University of Uyo with a very good Second Class Upper Division. I narrowly missed first class. I have worked in the bank for about 11 years, I left the bank as a vice president in 2007 to serve the people of Akwa Ibom State as a commissioner for finance, I have an MBA from University of Nigeria Nsukka. I have had 18 years cognate experience. My service to the state as a commissioner for finance for seven years without any blemish and with accolades trailing my performance, especially the one from my governor that I was one of his best commissioners, makes me feel satisfied.

But what is more interesting is that Governor Akpabio served Obong Victor Attah as a commissioner for seven years and I also served him for seven years as a commissioner. Governor Akpabio once said that the only person in his cabinet that acts like him, dresses like him, talks like him and gives like him is his former commissioner of finance (myself). I believe those are words of a king and they have their own power. So having served for seven years with my own contributions towards uncommon transformations with all the milestone successes I recorded as a commissioner, I am in a vintage position to understand the dynamics and workings of the government. I am in a position to understand what happened in the last seven years in all facets of the state's economy. I was also in the position to understand the vision for the greater Akwa Ibom State. So I think that I am best positioned to take over from Akpabio by the special grace of God as a governor. You also know that Akpabio served Attah and still took over the government from him, notwithstanding the fact that Attah had his own candidate. So I have the vision, charisma, exposure and experience to be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State and in all of these I still believe that God has the final say in the Affairs of men. So I can only call upon God to let His will be done through me and I give all glory to Him. Your comments at former SSG Umana Umana's birthday party gave the impres-

Albert Akpan

sion you may soon collapse your political structures to support his own political ambition. Please shed light on this?

Well I have received several text messages on that matter. For me, I believe that there is no ambition that is bigger than the collective interest of the people. Umana and I are brothers but fortunately or unfortunately we see ourselves contesting the same position in government. My presence at Umana’s birthday was a pointer to the fact that no matter the political arena you find yourself, you must always be your brother’s keeper. Everybody can contest the governorship but we will have only one governor. With the political dynamics playing out in Uyo Senatorial District, I said at the event that I would work with Umana Okon Umana for Uyo Senatorial District to produce the next governor. At that point, I was referring to the interest of Uyo Senatorial District. Now if you have it within Uyo Senatorial District and you have Umana and myself, the question will be who is better? The Answer is, that late Obong Akpan Isemin, the first civilian governor of the state was from Etinan Federal Constituency like Umana; former military governor, Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, is also from Etinan Federal Constituency like Umana; while Uyo Federal Constituency produced Obong Victor Attah. So, which federal constituency is remaining to produce a governor? It is my Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency in fairness and equity.

Then if you say no to zoning as I also say, then I believe Uyo Senatorial District alone cannot produce a governor. Then, let's think of one that will be acceptable in the entire three senatorial districts and the component ethnic blocs, their general acceptability and wider appeal will also count. The people will have the final say on who becomes the governor. I was only showing friendship and brotherhood by my appearance at the birthday party. Like I always say, anybody who wants to be the governor of Akwa Ibom

State must be the governor of all. You must be accepted by all. I play politics without bitterness. Like the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, his son, I want to say that I have offered myself to the people of the state who want me and I leave the rest to God. Since Akpabio has done much in the provision of infrastructure, what will your focus be, if elected Akwa Ibom State Governor?

The programmes of my administration, if I'm elected, are very simple. My main focus will be human capital development and creating an Akwa Ibom State where everybody will have an opportunity to express themselves. But I will make my entire manifesto public during my formal declaration in line with the manifesto of the PDP. So it is being fine-tuned and I believe that whatever we will do will be in tandem with the vision and mission of our dear party PDP. Your supporters were said to have embarrassed Governor Akpabio so much at Ibom Airport during the PDP national chairman’s visit to the state that he was forced to say that those who want to take power through the back door will die like the Biblical Absalom. What is your take on this?

When the national chairman visited the state, I was outside the country. When I returned and heard the story of Absalom and the fate awaiting aspirants, I called the governor and asked if he was referring to me. He said, 'No'. So I left the matter at that.

But I think that the story of Absalom was quoted out of context because if you read your Bible very well, then you know that despite Absalom's behavioral deficiency, King David was still in love with him. I want to say that if the governor was referring to me as Absalom then he should love me to the end. As I said earlier the governor has the right to support any candidate but God will choose a governor for Akwa Ibom people.

News Ebola: Nigerian Ports on red alert-NPA MD p.37

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Sunday Business Apapa gridlock: The pain, the loss p.33

31

Business Paul Ogbuokiri

pauloguokiri@gmail.com

ON SUNDAY

FG may hike electricity tariffs before Dec

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Paul Ogbuokiri

arely two months after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, raised the electricity tariff by 8.3 per cent, the commission is planning another increase in the last quarter of 2014.

Sources close to the management of NERC told New Telegraph on Sunday that the increase would ameliorate the huge cost the electricity distribution companies would incur as a result of the recent increase in the price gas.

He said as would be expected the Generating Companies will pass the cost to the DISCOs. He said the price which NERC would approve for the DISCOs have not been agreed, “but tariff review will ensure that customers do not pay more than they should and that the industry remains viable and attractive for investments.”

The source who would not want be named, said that tariff reviews are driven by economic variables including inflation rate, exchange rate, gas price and available generation capacity. “As is obvious, these variables are not static. Any plus or minus five per cent change in the aggregate variables is a trigger for a tariff review,” he adds.

According to him, NERC is statutorily expected to review the fundamental variables that drive the electricity tariff calculations twice a year (June 01 and December 01), saying any significant change in the variables would be reflected in the new tariffs He said that if Nigerians are desirous of stable power supply, they must brace up for tariff review, noting that without a viable electricity industry, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to attract the quantum of required investment.

Meanwhile, an analyst with the Nextier Capital Limited, Mr. Oludare Oduale in an email message to New Telegraph on Sunday

said that even with the last increase in electricity tariff on June1, Nigeria still have the lowest tariff in West Africa.

He said that countries like Liberia, Bukina Faso, Senegal, Mali, among others, have higher electricity tariffs than Nigeria.

He said the public frustration tariff review is driven more by the fact that there is shortage of electricity supply rather than the quantum of the increase in tariff.

He said, “Most Nigerians understand that there could be tariff increases in the early stages of the privatised industry and that the prices will correct downwards as the sector increases its capacity.

“The frustration seems to have been exacerbated by the botched communication around the power sector privatisation that made it seem as if there will be instant increase in power availability as soon as the new owners of the privatised power companies signed the dotted lines of the sales agreement.”

He explained that a cost-reflective tariff is what is pivotal to the viability of the industry, adding that tariff reviews are conducted to ensure customers do not pay more than they should and that the industry remains viable and attractive for investments.

But Managing Director, PowerCop Nigeria Ltd, Mr Biodun Ogunleye, also urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to ensure that no further increment of tariff is carried out by the DISCOs, at least in the interim, pending when supply is improved across the country.

“The power regulator should ensure that consumers are not cheated by the new investors,” he said.

Mr. Bede Opara, President General, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), said any more increase would add to the current

L-R: US Consul General Mr Jeffrey Hawkins and Managing Director Nigerian Ports Authority, Mallam Habib Abdullahi; during the visit of the Consul General to the NPA head office in Marina…Wednesday

hardship the masses are passing through in Nigeria.

He said that over the years, electricity consumers in the country have continued to suffer from blackouts even when they had to pay through their nose for power they did not really enjoy, no thanks to estimated billing, which still remains the order of the day in the electricity market.

There have been growing complaints from consumers about over-estimated or ‘crazy’ billing in recent times.

In his reaction, the Publicity Secretary of the National Association of Small Medium Enterprise (NASME), Mr. Kingsley Okwudili, said the decision to hike tariff is a case of putting the

cart before the horse, maintaining that power investors should invest more in infrastructure upgrade to improve on generation and distribution capacity before conspiring increasing tariff.

He explained that privatisation in any part of the world is meant to inject fresh funds into such sector, regretting that the situation in Nigeria was rather the reverse.

The NASME boss, while condemning the new policy in its entirety, said consumers will be made to pay for what they did not consume.

Also reacting, the Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos chapter, Mr. Idowu Adelakun, warned that the union would resist such a move.

Stakeholders decry dubious withdrawals Chijioke Iremeka

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takeholders across the country have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop commercial banks in Nigeria from assisting fraudsters in defrauding Nigerians.

The stakeholders from different sectors also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission to investigate commercial banks suspected of engaging in such a criminal practice.

In separate interviews with New Telegraph on Sunday, they stated that majority of financial crimes involving huge sums were perpetrated with the aid of banks. They alleged that at the time of verification, such banks claim the transactions cannot be traced.

The Managing Director of Joetex Ltd, Johnson Adelabu, said his company had lost N1.7 million in such a case, noting that it is common with companies involved in contract bidding and acquisition.

“There was a case where we heard that some fraudsters used

a German company’s name to defraud us of N1.7 million. The act was so crafted that we got trapped in their net. We paid the money through a bank account on Friday afternoon and that was the last we heard from them.

“We tried to reach the bank to reverse the transaction on Monday but that was an exercise in futility. The bank claimed they didn’t know anything about the transaction. And I kept wondering if banks have criminal accomplices within.

“I want to believe that such

crimes will not be taking place in a bank if the management of such an institution is not aware. Though, it’s arguable to say that they don’t know. In all fairness, there are some bad eggs among the bankers because we have heard cases where some of them disappeared with banks’ money. We’ve also heard of bank managers sending kidnappers after depositors.”

According to a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Udo Ogechi, all bank transactions must have paper CONTINUED ON PAG 37

Inside

At 76, Alex Akinyele says: It’s time for me to retire

pg 34

Brokers instigate fraud in Nigerian dredging sector-Otuya

pg 35

SundayTransport 32

PAUL OGBUOKIRI, paulogbuokiri@gmail.com 0802-779-0557, 08037613380

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNRDAY

AUGUST 24, 2014

2014 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

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eep, the legendary offroad and sports utility vehicle, is back again with a new addition.

After observing the wide acceptance of the Wrangler in the Nigerian auto market, Weststar Associates Ltd, the authorised General Distributor of Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram in Nigeria, now debuts the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

Managing Director and CEO of Weststar Associates, Mirko Plath, is convinced that the Rubicon will prove to be a ‘big hit’ among the lovers of the acclaimed SUV. He said that the 2014 Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited is a model of the Iconic, rugged Jeep- a pop- 2014 Jeep wrangler rubicon ular American automobile brand division of Chrysler Group LLC, now a subsidiary of the Italian multinational automaker - Fiat SPA. The jeep is easily identifiable by its fender flares, symbolic seven-slot grille and 17-inch polished mineral grey wheels, the Wrangler is stylish, fun and offers maximum comfort even whilst tackling rough terrains.

According to them, the Four-door Rubicon Unlimited version, which is designed in premium leather seats, offers notable features like the monotube shock absorbers which have low speed tuneable valve technology that’s firm on the rocks and relaxed at higher speeds. It also features standard Dana 44 front and rear axles which are equipped with Tru-Lok locking differentials and offer the ultimate in traction, they said.

In addition, the Rubicon has elevated height for better ground clearance- suitable for the Nigerian roads, and the front axle sway bar disconnect allows for better articulation off-road, said Plath.

He said the Wrangler Rubicon can be appreciated for its

weather-resistant surfaces and its courtesy interior lights which illuminate the front footwells.

Like all other Wranglers, the Rubicon is fortified with standard safety and security features. Besides advanced multistage front airbags which help provide occupant protection by matching airbag output to impact severity, there are also side-supplemental airbags with sensor detection.

Its Hill Descent Control helps monitor throttle, speed and braking when travelling downhill, it was disclosed and the Hill Start Assist keeps your brakes applied for a short time after you’ve removed your foot from the brake to give you time to accelerate without rollback.

According to Plath, inclusive are on-road four wheel disc Antilock Brake System (ABS), and Brake Assist, high-efficiency round fog lamps comprising of chip-resistant polycarbonate plastic lenses with halogen bulbs that provide a low, wide beam of light, Tire Pressure Monitoring Display System to enable them to drive with the utmost confidence, the Sentry key Engine System which makes it virtually impossible for anyone without a valid key to drive your vehi-

cle, and the Electric Stability Control (ESC) with the Trailer sway Control (TSC) help keep you (and whatever you are towing) safely and securely on course and under control, he said.

Also available are: special quiet, watertight three-ply Sunrider Soft Top that’s easy to fold away, the Freedom Top Hardtop which gives you the control to bring in the sun as you see fit, removable full-framed doors and fold-down windshield. Delivering communication and entertainment straight into the vehicle is the Uconnect System. This consists of the CD/ DVD and Mp3 player, Voice Command, and Uconnect Phone via Bluetooth, Plath said.

He said the Rubicon brags a powerful and efficient 3.6L Pentastar V6 VVT 285-horsepower engine that provides power, satisfying fuel efficiency with up to 600 km on a tank of fuel, and delivers up to 260 pound-feet of torque.

He added that the Rock-Trac 4WD system enables more control and torque at the wheels to help you go virtually anywhere you point your vehicle.

Despite boasting under body armour that protects its critical components with 2.5-mm stamped steel skid plates on its fuel tank and transfer case and heavy duty forged-steel dual front and single rear frame-mounted tow hooks for pulling less capable vehicles out of ditches, the Wrangler is still considered a high-end luxury vehicle, Plath stressed.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is available at Weststar Associates and its authorised dealerships i.e. M-B Automobile Services and Sunny Motors Ltd. It comes with a 4-year free service and an integration into its Jeep Plus programme. This programme comes with a Jeep Plus card and enables Jeep customers to be recipients of many rewarding benefits.

Equipped with up-to date workshops and skilled technical man-power, Weststar Associates assures its customers that their vehicles are in good and capable hands.

Chevrolet sponsors youths to Old Trafford

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wo youngsters on sponsorship by Chevrolet South Africa to Old Trafford for an ‘unforgettable experience’ returned on Tuesday.

As new shirt sponsors to a club that has over 659 million global followers, Chevrolet said it set out to create lifetime memories for two previously disadvantaged football lovers, Nokuthula Nkabinde and Mfanelo Mabale.

Twelve-year-old Nokuthula enjoys her football on the dusty streets of Katlehong. This passionate individual shows great leadership amongst her peers as well as an eagerness to learn and will no doubt thrive from this experience. One year her junior, Mfanelo is a grade six learner at Bopang Kgotso Primary School in Vosloorus. He too has a promising football future and loves nothing more than to debate the game or partake in it.

As only the fifth shirt sponsor in 136 years, Chevrolet stressed that it is set to ensure that the fan is valued in every step of the journey, “A club would not exist if it weren’t for the passion-

Drinking and Driving

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f you know someone may drive drunk, you know the importance of intervening before that person gets behind the wheel.

How you can intervene

Below are some helpful tips to get the keys away from a drunk driver: If the person is a close friend, try to use a soft, calm approach at first. Suggest that he’s had too much to drink and it would be better to let someone else

ate supporter, the individual who lives and breathes the beautiful game. These two youngsters have shown great promise both on the field and in the classroom which is why we wanted to give them a Chevrolet memory that will last forever,” said Tim Hendon, Chevrolet Brand Manager in South Africa.

New Telegraph on Sunday learnt that the two mascots while in the United Kingdom were looked after by the Chevrolet team in Manchester. Two days later, they witnessed Manchester United’s 2014-15 opening Premier League match against Swansea City FC at Old Trafford.

To sweeten the overall experience, the mascots took part in a name swop with two MUFC players prior to the 14h45 (UK time) kickoff. The mascots will enjoy a stadium tour, fantastic hospitality and all round VIP treatment.

The two young South Africans joined 10 other children from around the world in Manchester as part of Chevrolet’s What do you #playfor campaign. Asked what do you Made-in-Nigeria Hyundal Grand #playfor, Nokuthala said, “I play for peace.”

Auto Clinic drive or to take a cab.

Be calm. Joke about it. Make light of it.

Try to make it sound like you are doing him a favor.

If the person is somebody you don’t know well, speak to his friends and have them make an attempt to persuade him to hand over the keys. Usually, he will listen.

If the person is a good friend, spouse or signifi-

cant other, tell him that if he insists on driving, you are not going with him. Tell him that you will call someone else for a ride, take a cab or walk.

Locate the person’s keys while he is preoccupied and take them away. Most likely, he will think he’s lost his keys and will be forced to find another mode of transportation. If possible, avoid embarrassing the person or being confrontational. This makes him appear vulnerable to alcohol and its effects.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Sunday business

Apapa gridlock: The pain, the loss The economy bleeds as government dithers on finding a lasting solution to perennial traffic congestion on ApapaOshodi Expressway in Lagos, PAUL OGBUOKIRI reports

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he traffic challenge in Apapa, home to Nigeria’s two major seaports, began like a brief inconvenience few years ago. It has now snowballed into an endless nightmare; forcing scores of ancillary businesses in the port city to relocate to nearby towns.

Researches show that as at today, a journey of 20 minutes from Mile 2 to Wharf takes between seven to nine hours because trailers, fuel tankers and other articulated trucks have converted the road to their parking lot.

Further research shows that Nigeria has since after the port concession in 2006 grown its port infrastructure considerably.

This has resulted in an average annual growth of 10 per cent in the volume of cargo handled in the seaports, without a corresponding growth in transport infrastructure within and outside the port environment.

For instance, in the pre-concession era, the Apapa Container Terminal handled an average of 250,000 20 foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers annually, but today the volume has jumped by over 150 per cent to average of 630,000 TEUs yearly.

This has also increased the number of trucks that take delivery of consignment from the port on a daily basis. Today, about 700 trucks take delivery of cargo every day at the Apapa Container Terminal, with another 800 trucks returning empty containers. This makes a total of 1,500 trucks that do business at the terminal. When the total number of trucks at the other four terminals in Apapa is added, it would amount to over 3,000 trucks.

Furthermore, in the pre-concession era, access to the port was only through Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Ijora-Apapa Road. Today, despite the overwhelming growth, these two major roads remain the only access into Apapa. Alarmingly, the aforementioned roads have deteriorated due to over-usage by increased volume from the ports as well as the increased volume from the oil tank farms that have sprouted everywhere within Apapa in recent times.

Hundreds of trucks and tankers line the road from Ijora Bridge through Barracks Bus Stop to the front of Lagos Port Complex, Apapa. You also find trucks from Mile 2 through Coconut Bus Stop past Tin Can Island Port second gate on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway every day. Sometimes, the trucks leave only narrow lanes through which other vehicles meander.

But the owners of the trucks and tankers park indiscriminately on the roads. Apart from them, the distressed nature of portions of the roads as well as the obstructive activities of policemen and other security operatives within the port complex have been blamed for the worsening traffic situation.

Apart from the indiscriminate parking of trucks, policemen attached to Area B Command of the Nigeria Police Force constitute a serious hindrance to smooth traffic flow.

A couple of weeks ago when it was raining heavily, the Apapa gridlock caused a total paralysis of business in the port complex. The bad roads and heavy rain created flash floods and hampered the free flow of traffic in the area. Many commuters spent between five and six hours in traffic to get to their offices in Apapa. For several days, Lagos Traffic Radio advised people without very serious businesses to transact in Apapa to refrain from heading that way.

However, the terminal operators are believed to be major losers, including the freight forwarders, Customs and other members of the port community.

An importer, Uche Maxwell, said that he lost about N100 million in 2013 due to the traffic snarl, which robbed him of many customers who could not come to his warehouse in Apapa to buy his goods for fear of being trapped in traffic.

Executive Vice-Chairman of ENL Consortium, one of the terminal operators in the Lagos Port Complex, Princess Victoria Haastrup, said the Apapa traffic gridlock had caused a serious slump in the earnings of the terminal operators.

She said that for over three weeks, her terminal, which handles mainly bulk cargo, could not clear one vessel because of the traffic congestion. She said things were made worse ascontainer-laden trucks couldn’t exit the port.

Haastrup, who is also the chairman of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria, said that most of the vessels bringing cargo into Nigeria are old and often their gears develop problems during discharge operation. She added that improper cargo storage system and poor packaging of cargo, especially those arriving Nigeria from other third world countries, contribute to cargo damage.

She said the under-declaration of goods by importers not only create delays in the cargo logistics chain and but are also recipes for port congestion.

She said that over 20 Nigeria-bound vessels are unable to discharge their cargoes for the past three weeks because of the heavy traffic.

The National President of National Association of Govern-

Scenes from the gridlock

ment Approved Freight Forwarders, Chief Eugene Nweke, also warned of a possible increase in freight rates which may result from the likely introduction of special levies imposed on cargo destined for Lagos ports by the shipping lines.

The President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alhaji Remi Bello, also said that the perennial gridlock is destroying businesses and the economy of the country, saying there is the urgent need for the federal and state governments to intervene to remedy the situation.

The truck owners under the aegis of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) have also lamented that they have started to lose their trucks to the traffic nightmare while some of their drivers are daily exposed to dangers as the trucks often upturn due to bad roads.

The chairman of the Association, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, stated that the situation was getting unbearable every day which he noted has resulted to losses of businesses and valuable man-hours on the roads.

This is coming on the heels of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to control the operations of the tankers and other heavy duty vehicles along the access roads to the seaports, failing which all ports operations nationwide will be shut down.

In its petition dated July 9, 2014 and addressed to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, the union, through its Secretary General, Aham Ubani, lamented that the gridlock had practically shut down all economic and other activities on the Oshodi-Apapa axis besides inflicting untold hardship on residents and business owners.

Disturbed by the situation, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has said it will be impossible to access the tank farms along the axis and lift the petroleum products if the roads are not fixed, according to PTD National

Public Relations Officer, Comrade Adebayo Atanda.

He said if the rains continue, it might not take more than two months before the road fails and Apapa becomes inaccessible.

According to Atanda, 56 tank farms are located in Lagos State alone, out of which 35 are located along the Kirikiri, Trinity junction axis along the wharf/Tin can road. This is where the condition of the road is most deplorable, causing extreme inconvenience to residents, tanker drivers and other road users. He said the PTD is worried because that is the only road plied by all its members nationwide.

He said PTD has often been at the butt of criticisms as residents and the government usually find it convenient to blame members of his union for creating problems on the road. At a time, he explained, the state government approved that his men could be parking only on service lanes, but these lanes are now so bad that they can no longer serve the purpose thereby forcing the drivers to get back on the road.

To bring lasting solution to the recurring traffic congestion, it was suggested that the tank farms in Ibafon should relocate to Lagos-Ibadan expressway, because they are not only see to be part of the cause of the traffic congestion, but they are seen to constitute security hazard It was gathered that the Nigerian Navy had issued a stern warning against the construction of tank farms in clusters at Tin Can Port. The Navy reportedly came up with a report of a study that if there is an explosion in Apapa with the tank farms it could sink the entire Apapa because of the closeness of the tank farms, and recommended that they should be relocated to remote areas away from the city.

Tank farms within the area are particularly a significant factor in the traffic gridlock. But relocation of tank farms and construction of Truck Park, for trucks plying the ports, is expected to significantly eliminate traffic

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Interview

At 76, Alex Akinyele says: It’s time for me to retire Dr. Alex Akinyele is the Chairman, Global Appliances Nigeria Limited, a former chairman of the National Sports Commission and Minister of Information during the Abacha regime. Akinyele, who retired as the Chairman, National Reconciliation Committee, in this interview with CHIJIOKE IREMEKA says his company is losing court cases to counterfeiters of its products, worsened by the insecurity in the country.

The country’s fortitude to industrialise has made a number of companies jostle to assemble and manufacture products locally. What are the cost implications of this pursuit?

F

irst of all, let us say that Global Appliances Nigeria Limited is into household electrical and electronics products, such like pressing iron, inverters, fridges, deep freezers, fans and among others. We are into other aspects of the businesses in the country. We assemble our products here in Lagos. We bring them in Completely Knocked Down (CKD) form and assemble in the country, and by so doing, create jobs. Our assembly plant is at Isolo along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

It costs more to import finished products and when you import finished products, you deny Nigerians chances of getting employment. Several years ago, about 30 years, we didn’t have these products. But we moved into the business and today, the products are readily available for the masses. At a time, we were into other electricals but we stopped due to the prevailing circumstances at that point.

In the midst of global giants like Sony, Samsung and LG, how has the struggle been?

We don’t have any competition at all. We deal with good quality products and people cherish good quality Binatone products. Our products are of superior quality and that is why you find them everywhere.

Looking at the competitive business environment in Nigeria without corresponding infrastructure, do you think such intense rivalry is good for growing businesses and investors?

There are things we can do to attract investors, of which investment in infrastructure and replacing the decaying ones is one of them. Also, the state of insecurity in the country should be considered because there is no right thinking investor that would want to invest in a country, where there is no security of lives and property as well as where the safety of their money is not guaranteed.

For those of us that are already in the country, we are not feeling so sad about the situation. This is because we are not manufacturing everything in Nigeria, even when I know it’s affecting our businesses, especially with regards to overhead cost. But the new entrants are not comfortable with our power situation.

We have big generators that consume much from us.

We have to spend money to service those sets to do our business, which will increase our overheads, leading to increase in the prices of goods and services. The distribution companies (DISCOs) are not doing well. Insecurity is the biggest challenge for the Nigerian business environment and a bigger threat than epileptic supply of power.

Product fakers go for popular brands. How has this affected your brand and business?

We are affected too and that is why I’m talking about the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). I also want to appreciate SON because they have done reasonably well in tracking these fake products at the point of entry.

But the question remains, those substandard products that escaped at the point of entry, who then goes after them?

Do you think SON is living up to its responsibilities?

Like I said, they are doing their best but stakeholders should join forces with them. SON might not be everywhere and for that same reason, not performing satisfactorily but they are working and doing their best. We need everybody to be part of this anti-fakers’ campaign.

You earlier said your company has been losing court cases to the fakers of your products. How? You see, when you go to court, most government lawyers are not as well equipped and smart as the private practi-

Dr. Alex Kinleye Dr. Alex Kinleye

tioners, who would hear and study their cases well before going to court so that they can win on merit.

The fakers get the best lawyers to defend them in court.

Since they know that what they are doing is wrong, they are ready to part with any amount of money to guarantee their success in such matters.

But this is not the same with SON, as a Federal Government agency. We don’t sue anybody on that matter; SON does on behalf of the law, because the offence is committed against the law. So, in some cases, we win and in others, we lose. That hasn’t affected my business that much but we need to control this menace.

What would your customers say of the brand?

Like I said, it hasn’t affected my business that much because those who buy such fake products will not have value for them. Second, they feel embarrassed when they are harassed by police. This would make them withdraw their patronage of such products. But the original products would outlive those fake products.

Good business succession is as good as its management. You said you are tired. Would you hand over the chairmanship of the company to your child?

Yes, I’m tired and if I pretend not be tired, I will be killing myself. I’m retired and I want to rest. I took over the chairmanship of this company long ago and I’m now ready to give it up to a competent successor. You see, we have been so lucky with our general managers and managing directors, and there are chances that we would take a managing director within the system to continue the job.

How do you see the tariff regime in the country? Is it business and investment friendly?

The government has a way of fixing the tariffs under excise, that is, those products manufactured in the country and those of import don’t have the same tariff system.

Those imported are higher than the locally manufactured ones.

Again, one thing you should know about businessmen is that the tariff is never their friend, no matter how low.

Even if it’s two per cent, they will still complain. But by and large, the government is fair enough in terms of tariff to those that manufacture in the country.

This is so because they look at the employment opportunities created by those producing in the country, which

is not the same with those that import finished products. So, their tariff is minimal.

As a pensioner, what are the major challenges facing the country’s pension scheme? Are pensioners well paid?

The major challenge pensioners are having now is health challenges. Most of the pensioners are having health issues. Some have lost their sight, memories and strength, among others. Apart from that, those of us on Federal Government pension scheme are paid accordingly.

As an elderly and experienced business man, what would be your message to the government and Nigerian young entrepreneurs, who aspire to get to the pinnacle of their careers?

For the young entrepreneurs, I would say do not be discouraged about what is happening in Nigeria today.

Do what you have to do to get to where you are going to.

On the other hand, don’t expect to achieve the sky in one year; it will come when it will.

Don’t give up on Nigeria; we will surpass everything that is happening now. Whatever you can do to reduce the tension in the country, do it for there is no other country you would go to and become a first-class citizen. It’s only in Nigeria that you are a first-class citizen.

The government should sit down and strategise on how to make Nigeria a strong economic fibre of the world by providing the needed infrastructure and providing a legal and enabling environment for all.

Politicians have failed the country in the matter of Boko Haram. They are supposed to come together, irrespective of their political parties to fight the insecurity in the country and not the time for buck-passing.

You remember September 11; all the Americans were involved in that fight irrespective of their party loyalty.

The party system in the country is not mature enough to know that they are fighting for one cause, which is to make Nigeria a better place to be irrespective of party loyalty. This is killing businesses in the North.

In one single lock with one another we drive away the devil, Boko Haram. What is important here is patriotism and not party loyalty.

They forgot that a national problem is everybody’s business. We need to fight for each other and ensure the security of lives, properties and businesses among others as one indissoluble Nigeria.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Interview

Brokers instigate too many frauds in Nigerian dredging sector – Dr. Otuya Dr. Pricilla Otuya is the Deputy Managing Director, Swan Dredge and Marine Ltd. In this interview with CHIJIOKE IREMEKA, she calls for a synergy between the government, its agencies, anti graft agencies and the Dredgers Association of Nigeria in efforts sanitise the dredging sector Dredging business in Nigeria is a zone that most people do not know much about. How would you compare the sector of today and yesterday?

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Currently, dredging is a lucrative business in Nigeria but the business has been threatened by the recent influx of brokers in the business, which is currently giving the business horrible experiences.

Though before now, most of the contracts were being given to multi-lateral corporations but there has been a great change now. The contracts are now being given to the local firms instead of foreigners.

At least, the local content law is really helping us today.

Indigenes are now having contracts unlike before. Averagely, people are doing well today. Then, Italy, Netherlands, United States, China and Germany were the major players in the country’s dredging business.

People were not really encouraged then to go into dredging business and the business didn’t favour them, but now, we are improving on that and local content law is helping the business today. A number of us are now doing well.

In most cases, subletting of contracts affects the quality of job done. How does this affect the sector and your business as well?

It doesn’t affect the quality of job done per se. I’m referring to industry colleagues, who have too many works at hand and decided to give some to another capable company to handle.

They might give one a link to a job especially, when they have information on an existing job. We support each other at any time. Once the right pricing is there, it doesn’t affect the quality of job.

We are yet to get contracts from state or federal governments. We deal with the private investors.

So, what are the major challenges confronting the industry in Nigeria?

The major challenges now range from getting the dredging licenses, registration and payment of multiple levies, especially those paid to Lagos State. It’s good to pay taxes, everybody knows that and I believe that the government meant well for the country but there are multiple agencies doing the same task.

We have the Federal Government (FG) agencies, such as the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals and Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), collecting levies and registering dredgers and issuing licenses among others, yet the Lagos state agencies are duplicating the same task.

So, by the time you know what is happening, we have paid a lot of money to different agencies for the same purpose.

This amounts to multiple taxations and that is what we are talking about. There should be a synergy or harmonisation.

Having said this, secondly, there is another serious challenge, which has to do with man-know-man. Getting license for the genuine dredgers is hard. It appears a number of people in the business don’t have dredgers but have licenses because they have one person or the other in the government.

Those that have dredgers find it difficult to access license for genuine business and this is an area, we implore the government to look into.

Thirdly, there is another and very challenging situation that has to do with brokers menace. Brokers are those, who enter the sector due to the fact that dredging is a lucrative business, yet do not have formal training or knowledge about the business.

Most of them are truck drivers, who happen to be around, where dredging activities take place. In fact, they print complementary cards and assume a position of middlemen in the business. They are serious threat to the business; they collect money from job owners without doing the job, thereby giving us bad image.

They make the owners of the job pay thrice the cost of the project. Due to their greed, when they get the job, they give peanut to the contractors and they would do the job poorly.

Also, in order to make their huge profit, they will still give the jobs their fellow quacks. There was a case where a

Otuya

company was paid to dredge sand, and they started dredging and heaping sand on a sinking ground. My husband advised them to reclaim the land but they claimed they know it all.

So, what happened? Though they succeeded in heaping sand there but within 24 hours that heap of sand sunk in the ground, wasting somebody’s money. These and many others are challenges are staring at our faces on daily basis.

They do not know anything about the job; they just have a bit insight in it and they run with that to meet the job owners because they have one connection or the other.

I know of a woman that they duped of N70 million just to do a job. What they did was to hire a dredger and put the rest of the money in their pocket. Of course, the dredger was not given the amount that could execute the job and it was abandoned. So, brokers are one and major problem we are facing right now.

That was the question I asked earlier whether contract subletting affects the quality of job done…

Contract sub-letting is different from brokers menace.

The brokers are the people, who shouldn’t have any stake in dredging, they are errand people, but subcontracting is handing over a job you can’t do to another company that has the capacity to do the job.

But a broker goes into the business because he had seen his boss do the job in a number of occasions and he feels he can do the same. He jump out and start collecting jobs, but at the end hand them over to the professionals or quacks after collecting a greater chunk of the money.

They are just like quack nurses coming to treat an ailment they knew nothing about. They get their money, get a dredger and pay the dredger as though they are the owner of the business.

In most cases, this obtains when the brokers have privy information on one contract or the other, but we are trying to work with Dredgers of Association Nigeria (DAN) to educate the members and perhaps, the job owners to stop patronising the quacks.

In fact, there was a case of a man that my husband brought into the business, who didn’t stay up to a year before he left; and unfortunately, I saw him in another company assuming position of a manager. You can imagine what such a person would do.

You can imagine if you spent over N200 million to acquire a dredger and you employ a roadside mechanic to man the machines. That machine will pack up because dredging has to do with timing and availability as well as planning and costing.

If you look at our shorelines, you would see a lot of engines that have been abandoned for lack of proper handling because quacks are employed to man people’s multimillion naira dredgers.

You mentioned that some people defraud others by saying they have jobs that never existed. How do they do it?

This is another dimension of fraud in the business. There

are these good looking, laptop carrying fraudsters, who go about defrauding people, under the pretence that they have jobs to give out.

They would first ask you to pay as high as N5million or N10 million as a facilitation fee for a nonexistent contract.

This is a well organised fraud and when you pay, the money is gone.

On two occasions that I was in Abuja to follow up a job bid, I met with them where we came to bid for a job. They said they had jobs and required an XYZ facilitating fee of about N5 million for their logistics and tickets but at the end, they were all fake.

They do this because of the money involved in dredging. People are ready to part with such amount to get big contracts. That’s why many people fall victim of such. This is a new fraud I want the government to come in stop. Many people have fallen victim of the crime and many more are yet fall.

Some of them are using names of prominent Nigerians to defraud others. They would claim to be working for this and working for that, and before you know it, your facilitating money was long gone.

There was an ugly scenario that our client was called upon that there was a job, and he parted with N11 million to get the job. He prepared and traveled to Abuja, but on getting to the Airport and called their numbers, behold, the whole lines had been switched off. That was how he lost N11 million.

These are well planed documented crime. We are calling on government and its agencies to be on top of these matters.

There are a lot of crimes in this sector, that we are calling on government intervene. It didn’t stop here, the same is happening at the international market, where we purchased equipment.

There are hardened fraudsters there but because they wear white skin, many do not know that they are also brokers, yet the worst. You want to buy a dredger abroad, they would get bad equipment and paint them and present them to you and by the time it works for a month, a machine that you spent millions of naira on is packed.

These are not the thing you can detect easily but they are succeeding because Nigerians don’t go to Italy and Germany with a consultant, when purchasing these equipments. If Nigerians would learn how to go with equipment consultant, this would be reduced. It’s better to pay N200, 000 to a consultant to get a good machine than paying N200 million just to discover you have purchased bad equipment. So, because they are wearing white skin you won’t know they are also brokers.

With your level of exposure to these crimes, how best could these problems be solved?

First of all, we need to come together as dredge owners association and fight the crime and create a platform that has to do with periodic publication to educate the stakeholders in dredging.

36

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Commerce

Success Nuggets

Julian Atufunwa S only) (08032810713 SM

080395121535 (SMS only)

Psychology of Greatness (Untold Secrets of Some of the Greatest Men That Ever Lived

N

didi was a 17 year old secondary school dropout when she got pregnant for Mr. Obi, a roadside motor mechanic in the village where she lived. When she broke the news of her pregnancy to Obi, he did not hesitate to suggest an abortion, stressing that he could not father any ‘illegitimate’ child.

Ndidi refused to give in to an abortion. That was the last she saw him. She had to take responsibility all alone, given that her parents were dead.

Against the odds, she successfully gave birth to a set of twin, whom she named ‘Nkiruka’ and ‘Azuka’, both female. The babies having arrived, it was time for her to execute her ‘escape’ plan. One night, when it seemed everyone was asleep, she took the babies to another village, where she was not known, and dumped them in an uncompleted building, but didn’t return to her village. Early the next morning, she went to the neighbourhood where she abandoned her babies, but hid at a spot from where she could clearly view the building where she dumped them.

Twenty minutes after her arrival, the owner of the building, Mrs. Chinenyenwa, who incidentally had been married for nine years without an issue, arrived the premises in a black jeep. The owner of the property noticed the labourers discussing, instead of working, some with their hands on their heads in bewilderment.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

It was Onyeka, the head of the labourers, who replied: “Madam, see wetin we come see this morning o!”

She was impatient. “What is it, my friend?”

Pointing at the spot where the babies were kept, Onyeka replied, “We saw two babies crying on the floor when we came this morning.”

“Jesus!” Mrs. Chinenyenwa exclaimed, rushing to the spot to ascertain the veracity of the report. When she got there, she didn’t know when she put her hands on her head and started crying.

After crying a while, Mrs. Chinenyenwa asked two labourers to carry the babies and accompany her in her jeep.

Ndidi, who was at her hiding spot, saw the jeep head to the police station a stone throw away. Given that she couldn’t tell what transpired thereafter, she kept going to that neighbourhood to keep track of her children from a distance. That, however, only lasted some years, as Mrs. Chinenyenwa’s family relocated to the United States.

For the earlier part of their lives, Nkiruka and Azuka went to the same school. While Nkiruka was branded ‘dull’ in class, Azuka excelled academically until she got wind of the true story of her background. When she confronted ‘her parents’ (Mr. and Mrs. Chinenyenwa) about it, they tried to lie to her, but had to own up, when they saw that the girl was too intelligent to be deceived. That was the beginning of Azuka’s diminishing returns. From then, her life took a reverse turn, as she developed a negative attitude about life, believing that she had been unfairly treated. All she wanted to do was to execute revenge on the ‘wicked’ parents who abandoned her to die. All efforts to ‘re-psychologise’ her failed, including the family’s decision to relocate to the U.S. She became a secondary school drop-out.

Nkiruka, on the other hand, never bothered about her background. She always remembered hearing one Pastor Femi Emmanuel say on Radio that “Your BACKGROUND is no excuse for your BACK to be on the GROUND.” That statement made her resolve to live life facing forward, as her name suggested. She graduated with a First Class, emerging the Best Graduating Student in her set. She became a prolific author and renowned international motivational speaker, always concluding her motivational talks with the sentence, “You can rise above your challenges.”

LESSONS 1. There are no illegitimate children. We can only have illegitimate parents.

No child has a hand in his or her coming to this world.

Children come as a result of actions of parents. Why then should children take on the ‘stigma’ for parents’ actions?

Mr. Obi’s perspective was suggestive of irresponsibility.

2. A wrong step is not the best way to correct a previous

wrong step.

It was bad enough that Obi took undue advantage of Ndidi, a young girl. Abandoning her to save his ‘reputation’ (he did not want to be a father of any illegitimate child) only made things worse.

Friend, sometimes, in running away from our mistakes, we make more mistakes. Sometimes, in running away from our ERRORS, we, unknown to us, unleash more TERRORS on our destinies. Friend, brace up to your mistake. That is responsibility.

3. Your THROW-AWAY might be someone else’s TAKEAWAY. Mrs. Chinenyenwa was married for nine years without a child. On the other hand, God blessed Ndidi with two babies, but she threw them away.

Friend, that which you want to throw away just like that may be what someone else is waiting to take away. Think twice before you sell your acres of diamond in search of an illusive gold mine. I said so.

4. The opportunity you abuse today, you may never get again.

Ndidi and Obi had the privilege of being parents to both Azuka and Nkeiruka, particularly Nkiruka, who became an internationally acclaimed success. They abused the privilege. The result? They lost it forever.

Friend, I am not a professor of the “opportunity comes but once” school of thought. No! Opportunities lost CAN come again, but the truth is: some opportunities lost MAY never come again. Think about it.

5. The stigma associated with some things only lasts a moment.

It was very possible that people in the neighbourhood where Ndidi lived looked at her with disapproval for getting pregnant when she was not married, and at such a tender age. But that certainly would change if people got to know that she was the mother of an author and public speaker of international repute. In fact, it would no longer matter to anyone the circumstances in which she bore Nkiruka.

Friend, I don’t know what that stigma is. Whether it has to do with unemployment, a past reputed for delinquency and insipid frivolity, or whatever, if you can endure the stigma while it temporarily lasts, you will become a glorious testimony tomorrow. After all, the filth of the STORY makes for the weight of the GLORY; the extent of the PAIN makes for the value of the GAIN. Think about it.

6. The STIGMA of today can be a SIGNAL of tomorrow’s greatness.

What amounts to a stigma today could be a signal of a greater tomorrow. It depends on how you look at it.

While some people see a glass with water half-way in it as ‘HALF-EMPTY’, others see it as ‘HALF-FULL’. While some see a dark lining in every silver cloud, others see a silver lining in every dark cloud. Perspective!

The unwanted pregnancy that was a stigma to Ndidi and Obi was a proof of their fertility and blessing from God, particularly for their old age.

Friend, instead of SEEING the stigma, SEE THROUGH the stigma. Instead of letting that stigma weigh you down, let it be a spring board that will spur you up to greatness.

Don’t see it as your END, but a BEND in your journey of destiny. See that SET-UP against you as what will lead to your STEP-UP. Change the way you see things. If you change the way you see things, the things you see will change. I call it THE LAW OF PERSPECTIVE. 7. You are responsible for your life and destiny, not someone else.

It doesn’t matter what your life’s story is, nobody can make you fail in life without your permission. Similarly, nobody can help you succeed in life if you are not willing to succeed. The primary responsibility for your life lies with you. Azuka thought her biological parents were responsible for her success or failure in life, but Nkiruka practically proved her wrong.

Friend, stop looking for who to blame. BLAME will only make you LAME in the journey of destiny. I said so.

Stop excusing away failure.

Each time you EXCUSE yourself, you ACCUSE yourself.

To beCONTINUED

My gateman is a Landlord!

J

Ikem Okuhu anuary this year saw me move from one apartment to another. It is common in Lagos. You may move because you want to stay nearer your place of work; you got married and needed a bigger apartment; you got a quit notice from your landlord; the roads in your neighbourhood have become unbearably bad; or you have been able to build your own house.

One of these reasons informed my change of residence. But just a few days after I had parked into this new place, I noticed some very odd trends. At night, I found that the gate man (I cannot call him or any one of these people that open and close our gates security men) gathers all manner of people, whom he gives spaces to sleep in the compound. They are mainly Okada riders and itinerant cobblers and they sleep practically everywhere in the compound: the gateman’s house; staircase and by the walls.

Sometimes when I come home late in the night, as often happens on this job, to find space to park is an issue as they would have littered the entire space with all manner of motorcycles. It was something I could not bear for many reasons. These people are unknown to anybody in the compound and thus presented serious security threats. I was shocked that other tenants never found any reason to question what were clear threats to their lives and property.

On a particular night, I confronted one of those Okada riders, who practically told me he was a legitimate tenant. How, you may ask? Well, every night, he ensures that he pays the sum of N100 to the gatemen. So I did a calculation and discovered that the baba at the gate makes as much as N1,500 every night from these guys.

For three months, I tried in vain to convince my co-tenants that it was dangerous to continue to allow the gateman to bring in these people but they just did not understand. So I took the task upon myself. On a particular Sunday, I went to the neighbourhood association meeting with the intention of reporting the issue and seeking their help to evict these people.

Coincidences happen. On the day I went to make this report, about seven members of the association were there to report cases of burglary in their apartments. By the time we examined the patterns and discovered that the ‘insect that eats the vegetable lives inside the vegetable’, it was easier for me to convince everyone of the need to dislodge all illegal squatters in the neighbourhood.

I came back to my apartment happier and more secure. But you know what happened? When my gateman was informed that he could no longer habour people, he resigned his ‘appointment’. On the last day of the month, after he had collected his salary, he packed all his belongings, broke the door and windows to the gate-house and fled!

My co-tenants had been living with a criminal for years and did not bother to look at him closely. This is not an isolated case as I have discovered most of us do not give more than a passing thought to security issues until they degenerate into intractable crisis.

“...We examined the patterns and discovered that the ‘insect that eats the vegetable lives inside the vegetable’, it was easier for me to convince everyone of the need to dislodge all illegal squatters in the neighbourhood....”

37

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Sunday Transport

Made-in-Nigeria Hyundai Grand: A mix of art, innovation

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Stories by Paul Ogbuokiri he Hyundai Grand does prove a point that a comfortable and spacious car doesn’t have to be cumbersome. And that exactly was Hyundai Motors’ conviction when it went to the drawing board to design this exceptionally car that has become the toast of most automobile freaks worldwide.

The feature-packed Hyundai Grand responds to every expectation with alluring cabin colour, textures and shape that lend it a sport appeal that could easily make any large car envious.

From whatever angle you view this car, it is evident that the Grand was crafted to meet utmost degree of needs.

The Grand is a whole new level of art + innovation which ordinarily gives the car an unimaginable feel.

Head of Sales and Marketing at Hyundai Motors Nigeria, Mr. Jatin Nadkarni, affirmed this as he took delivery of the first set of Hyundai Grand cars assembled at the Hyundai Motors Nigeria plant in Lagos.

He said, “The world is chang-

ing every day, so we decided to also change the way people communicate with each other by introducing the Hyundai Grand - a car that lets you share a new language with the world.”

And true to his words, the Grand shows a sharp styling with a whole new level of innovation that attests to the brilliantly crafted exterior which leaves an everlasting impression on all those who catch a glimpse of it.

He said that the newly designed clear headlight clusters for instance, not only look good, they improve your night vision and on-road visibility

with extra safety.

He added that the vehicle is also equipped with chromecoated radiator grille positioned to perfection to project strong presence.

The outside mirror repeaters are aerodynamically sculpted while the outside mirror is ornamented with LED repeaters for enhanced looks and safety.

Inside the car, the front and rear seating ergonomically designed bucket type front seats gives the car a premium feel with spacious and cushioned rear seats and adjustable headrests assure ample support and comfortable seating.

This is in addition to the lib-

eral boot space to accommodate your weekend luggage with bench folding function that provides an extra flat load space.

Powered by a dual CVVT Kappa 1.25litre all-aluminum engine that emits quiet and smooth operation the Grand will delight drivers looking for exceptionally low weight cars that maximise fuel consumption.

Manufactured only in petrol variant for the Nigerian market, the Grand offer light weight and robust five-speed manual transmission that enhances smooth and accurate gearshift for optimum performance.

What’s more, the Grand’s

aerodynamic designed bumper reduces forward air flow resistance and the rear spoiler effect enhances fuel economy and driving stability.

The Grand may be compact in looks its makers did not compromise on safety. The structural safety of the Grand which utilizes anti corrosive steel, ring structure application to enhance the rigidity and body robustness while its Anti-lock brake system (ABS) prevents skidding and retains the car’s steer ability on slippery surfaces. This mechanism also enables stable braking and restricts wheel lock-up during panic braking.

NUR boss emerges president African Railway Workers Union

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he President General of Nigeria Union of Railway Workers (NUR), Comrade Raphael Okoro, has been elected to the exalted office of the President of Africa Railway Workers Union (ARWU).

He was elected to the new office at the just concluded 43rd World Congress of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) which held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“The election of our President General to this lofty position is in recognition of his experience and exemplary leadership roles at both local and international circles of trade union activities and we strongly believe that this will significantly advance the prominence of the rail transport subsector of the continent and that of our nation at the centre stage of the world in general”, Comrade Yakubu Mohammed, Deputy President General of NUR, said.

International Transport Workers Federation was founded in 1896 as a global union federation of transport workers’ trade unions. ARWU, African Charter of ITF, is the Trade Union platform through which ITF coordinates its numerous affiliate trade unions in Africa among which is Nigeria Union of Railway Workers.

It would be recalled that, prior to Comrade Okoro’s appointment to the post of President, ARWU, he was once the Union Branch Chairman of the Eastern District of Nigerian Railway in 1982 which was the beginning of his trade union activities.

L-R: Marketing Manager, Virgin Atlantic, Kudirat Scott-Igbene; GM, Marketing & Corporate Services, Coscharis, Abiona Babarinde; Head Sales & Marketing, Virgin Atlantic, Wuraola Oduntan; JLR Brand Manager, Coscharis, Cletus Aregbeshola, at the recently Ride and Drive event in Lagos.

Ebola: Nigerian Ports on red alert-NPA MD M anaging Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mallam Habib Abdullahi, has said that the organisation is on red alert for preventive and curative measure in case of any suspected Ebola Virus Disease in the Ports.

He said this when the United States Consul General, Mr. Jeffry Hawkins visited the NPA head office in Marina, Lagos on Wednesday.

The Management of Nigerian Ports Authority had received the commendation of the Consular General of the United States Jeffrey Hawkins, over efforts in

combating the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) He said: “All relevant departments and agencies like the Medical, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) the Ports Health, the Federal Ministry of Health and Lagos State Ministry of Health have been placed on high alert for preventive and curative measure in case of any suspected EVD case in the Port.”

He said Port Health officials are the first to enter vessels and conduct checks before other legitimate officials like Customs, Immigration etc. are allowed on board. He asserted that the num-

ber of people who board the vessels have been reduced drastically.

Abdullahi also added that since Nigeria does not operate cruise ships and hardly receives vessels from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea for now, the possibility of passengers with the EVD coming in through the port is very low he allayed fears that likely carriers of the deadly virus would slip through the ports into the country.

Speaking while being received

by Abdullahi at the NPA Headquarters in Marina, Hawkins described efforts made by the NPA as “reassuring and genuine.’’

Hawkins said the effort of NPA

is ‘reassuring and genuine’. He said the American Government is ready to collaborate with Nigeria, which is why the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has some experts on ground in the country.

He also stated that they are ready to work with the Port Authority on how to handle and control any suspected case of EVD. Hawkins said the Nigerian Ports being the life blood of the Nigerian economy and the key element in Nigeria’s inflow and out flow of business concerns, need to consolidate on its efforts in the prevention and control of the scourge.

Stakeholders decry dubious withdrawals CO NT INU ED F R O M PAG E 3 1

proof. He stated that any bank whose transaction doesn’t have paper records is fraudulent and should be investigated by CBN and antigraft agencies for aiding and abetting financial crimes in the country.

A business consultant, Mr. Michael Ovienmhada, alleged that most financial crimes in the country are done in conjunction with bank insiders. He said the management of such financial institutions may not be aware of such until they are reported officially.

He said, “I have been a victim of this, so, I know what it means. In 2012, my houseboy collected my cheque book and went to two dif-

ferent branches of my bank (name withheld) and cashed my money, despite the irregularities of the culprit’s signature.

“That was a smart job they did because I didn’t place a limit withdrawal alert on my account. The boy withdrew N480, 000 from one branch and another N480, 000 from another branch, making it N960, 000. He was obviously targeting N1million, but he broke the transaction so that no call could be put across to me.

“When I got the wind of that, I moved quickly to my bank and reported the matter. Then I discovered that it was my houseboy that did such. Immediately, I applied to the bank for a

refund, which lingered for over a year but my persistence made the bank to take a decision to pay me N500, 000 out of N960, 000. I collected it and walked away.

“Many Nigerians, who could not wait as I did, would have lost the whole of that money.

So, our security operatives, CBN, EFCC and ICPC should investigate this financial crime and find a way to control it.”

Ayodele Ugunbumi, who is an IT expert, said such transactions could be traced since money was actually deducted from one account and another was debited. He stated the IT technicians in the bank must be part of the crime for it not to be traced.

38

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Market sentiments negative

T

he index returned 0.45% for the week to bring the Ytd return to 0.57%, as the volume and value of transactions declined by 25% and 8% respectively. Though the Nigerian equities market returned positive for the week, it was a topsy-turvy ride as the index gained significantly by midweek before paring at week’s end.

The major gainers for the week were PREMBREW, CORNERST, and FIDSON which gained 43.64%, 13.46% and 10.63%, while the major decliners included FLOURMILL, EVANSMED, and FORTISMFB which pared by 15.81%, 11.50%, and 9.67% respectively.

With the earnings season winding down, the generally weak earnings performances have failed to drive the index upwards as the NSEASI has pared by 2.22% Qtd. There were 9 companies which released earnings results this week including financial sector notables MANSARD and GUARANTY. The Tier-1 bank, GUARANTY, released an uninspiring H1:2014 result this week. With only a few more tickers yet to release results, we expect that the negative sentiment might persist next week.

Banking Sector: STERLNBANK leads gainers The sector traded positive during the week as the MERI-BNK index closed 0.01% higher than it did in the previous week. Six of the fifteen banking stocks closed positive, while seven shed points and UNITYBNK and WEMABANK traded flat. The gainers for the week were STERLNBANK, ZENITHBANK, STANBIC, FCMB, UBN and UBA which appreciated by 8.57%, 3.35%, 2.92%, 1.18%, 0.74% and 0.28% in that order. Conversely, price losers for the week were SKYEBANK, ETI, FIDELITYBK, GUARANTY, FBNH, ACCESS and DIAMONDBNK which posted respective losses of 7.05%, 4.18%, 3.45%, 1.96%, 1.62%, 1.03% and 0.16%.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. released its half year audited result during the week, which showed a 7.07% increase in Gross Earnings, while Profit after Tax declined by 10.21% in the same period. The drag in profitability was largely due to the 305.4% increase in Loan impairment charges driven by the growth in specific impairment charges, which was mildly offset by the 95.1% decline in collective impairment charges and NGN1.63bn reversal in collective impairment. Also, the company declared a NGN0.25kobo interim dividend, which resulted in a yield of 0.83% on the day of declaration. Sector’s activity is expected to remain calm in the following week.

Industrial goods Sector: Cement stocks continue to drive sector gains The industrial goods sector returned to positive zone this week as the MERI-IND index gained 1.58%, largely driven by trading activities on DANGCEM. CCNN advanced by 1.95% to NGN14.61.

DANGCEM gained 1.76% to drive share price up to NGN229.97 and 2014 returns to date to 5.01% as the ticker recovered from weeks of negative sentiments worsened by the release of its half year numbers, which showed 11% decline in PAT following the end of tax holiday on its Obajana and Gboko plants. BERGER also recorded a 2.2% increase in share value to close the week at NGN9.20.

PORTPAINT, CAP and PAINTCOM shed 1.57%, 1.19% and 0.62% respectively during the week due to what appeared to be profit taking activities by investors, as they all had recorded significant price gains in recent times. WAPCO and ASHAKACEM however traded flat.

We believe that the mood in the sector is motivated not just by impressive half year scorecards from most of the players in the

…albeit, NSEASI surges by 0.45%

sector, but also due to renewed interest of investors in building materials’ stocks (especially cement stocks) on the back of expectations of increased building and construction activities in the run-up to the 2015 elections.

While we expect investors to continue to price industrial goods stocks upwards due to their positive earnings releases, we note the possibility of profit taking activities by investors in the coming week, as most of the stocks have recorded significant gains in the past 2-3 weeks.

Consumer Goods Sector: Sector Records Marginal Gains The consumer goods sector recorded a marginal gain as the NSE-FB10 posted 0.58% return for the week. Ahead of the pack in terms of price appreciation is PREMBREW with a 43.64% return for the week. We note the sustained demand pressure on the stock which may not be unconnected with possible acquisition bid in the pipeline, in line with recent trends in the industry. Data available to us indicated that the brewer is currently non-operational as its last filing with the exchange shows zero turnover in 2012 and 2011 financial year.

Other top performers in the sector include 7UP, NB, GUINNESS and HONYFLOUR with 10.24%, 4.47%, 0.53% and 0.24% returns respectively. On the contrary, sector performance was dragged by losses recorded by sector heavy weights NESTLE (-2.70%) and FLOURMILL (-5.51%). Other losers include, INTBREW (-1.82%), VITAFOAM (-2.35%) and NNFM (-1.78%) moving with overall market’s bearish mood.

Champion Breweries Plc.’s offer to raise NGN11.65bn by way of right issue (6.3bn ordinary share at NGN1.85 per share) is still on-going with the right characterized by relative illiquidity. The proceeds will be used to fund the company’s huge financial obligations and optimize its operating capacity. The rights opened earlier this month (August 4th 2014) and will close 10th September 2014. The stock traded flat in the week.

We expect activities in the sector to stay relatively calm in the coming week, as we do not foresee any major event in the sector save for the expectation of GUINNESS’ full year result.

Oil & Gas Sector: OANDO Increases stake in Oando Energy Resources Oando Energy Resources (OER), a subsidiary of Oando Plc. that acquired the assets of ConocoPhillips announced during the week that USD98mn loan in capital and interest outstanding under its USD1.2bn facility agreement with OANDO Plc. has been converted to equity. The conversion further increased Oando Plc.’s stake in the Toronto listed subsidiary to 93.8% from 93.2%.

OER also reported increase in production level by 20% during the first half of 2014 largely due to improved well optimization at OML 125 and increase production level at OML 56. Average daily production level during the period was 4,540 b/d against 3,800 b/d in the corresponding period in 2013.

OANDO’s share price declined by 0.90%

for the week to close at NGN26.45.

FO is expected to invest USD90mn to upgrade its Geregu power plant in order to fully utilize the generating capacity of their installed 414MW plant. The company also increased its fleet of trucks by additional 100 to further boost its distribution efficiency.

FO was among the gainers in the industry during the week, returning 2.30% to close at NGN231.20.

MRS, CONOIL, and TOTAL were the other gainers in the industry, advancing by 8.31%, 4.98% and 0.57% respectively. ETERNA and SEPLAT shed 4.51% and 2.16% for the week, while MOBIL closed flat.

TOTAL remain our top pick in the industry while we maintain our overpriced position on MRS and FO. Agriculture Sector: Posts -0.98% returns, as PRESCO sheds 1.89% Increased trading activities was observed on PRESCO during the week as the stock posted -1.89% return to drag sector WtD return to -0.98%. LIVESTOCK followed same trend as it shed 0.31% to close at NGN3.21.

OKOMUOIL, ELLAHLAKES and FTNCOCOA remained flat at their current prices.

At current prices, fundamental valuation of the sector stocks (OKOMUOIL, PRESCO & LIVESTOCK) show they are currently trading above their fair values by 11.16%, 17.63% and 44.55% respectively. Technical indicators also show that OKOMUOIL is trading in the overbought region and we might see a correction in its price soon. PRESCO on the other hand, appear to have moved into the oversold region due to losses recorded this week. On this basis, our market outlook for the sector in the coming week is negative.

Insurance Sector: Calm trading brings sector to a negative close It was a serene week for the sector as it lost 0.56% during the week. Three stocks (CORNERSTONE, ROYALEX and NEM) gained 18.00%, 7.02% and 1.25% while three (WAPIC,

CUSTODYINS and CONTINSURE) lost 7.32%, 2.03% and 2.00% respectively. Other insurance stocks traded flat. PRESTIGE, GUINEA, ROYALEX and MANSARD released their FY2013, Q1:2014, H1:2014 and H1:2014 results respectively during the week.

PRESTIGE reported a growth of 2.89% in its Gross Premium Earned while its profit declined significantly by 114.82%, owing to the 59.55% increase in management expenses and the base effect of the NGN782mn recovered impairment on trade receivables in 2012 which did not re-occur in 2013. GUINEA recorded a 42.89% decline in its top-line and its current loss position caused a 134.49% decline in bottom line during the period.

Though MANSARD grew its top line by 27.35%, increased claims (+41.73%) during the period caused profit to decline by 55.81%.

ROYALEX however, posted good numbers, growing top and bottom lines by 41.33% and 99.35% respectively.

Healthcare Sector: Improved investors’ appetite causes a rebound The sector rebounded from its loss position last week, as the MERI-HLTH index increased marginally by 0.02%. Gainers for the week were NEIMETH, FIDSON, PHARMADEKO and GLAXOSMITH which appreciated by 11.11%, 11.00%, 4.85% and 1.51% in that order. There were only two losers for the week, EVANSMED and MAYBAKER, which lost 6.98% and 2.47% respectively.

The Nigerian healthcare sector has not enjoyed much of investors’ patronage in the year, which has been fuelled by the generally mediocre results posted by the industry’s players in both FY2013 and quarterly results. This is evident in the Year-to-Date returns which currently stand at -3.02% for the sector. In third quarter however, there has been a level of reversal as Month-to-Date and Quarter-to-Date returns are +1.51% and +3.06% respectively.

Services Sector: Buy sentiments outweigh sell sentiments The services sector closed the week upbeat having gained 0.90% as measured by the MERI-SER index.

REDSTAREX recorded the most gains as it consolidates on the previous week’s gain as stock price advanced by 4.55% to NGN4.6.

AIRSERVICE, TRANSCORP and LEARNAFRICA also gained 2.9%, 1.6% and 1.3% respectively to make up the list of price gainers in the sector.

RTBRISCOE (-9.5%), ACADEMY (-9.4%), CAVERTON (5.1%), UPL (-2.9%) and IKEJAHOTEL (-1.3%) contributed to dragging sector gains as they all recorded price declines during the week.

South-East

39

BEATS

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

AUGUST 24, 2014

Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (right), donating computers to the Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State... on Wednesday.

Day Orji Kalu 'blessed' UNN

Uwakwe Abugu

L Enugu

ast Wednesday was a busy day for the office of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba. On that day, no fewer than four different groups queued up literally, waiting to take their turns to have an audience with the new helmsman of that citadel of learning. But what really created a huge scene that drew the attention of the university community was the coming of the former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, and his entourage into the foremost university.

It was the second momentous visit by the politician and billionaire business mogul to the federal university this year. Kalu had on March 11 also taken the university by storm when he delivered a lecture at the Department of Economics, UNN and gave the faculty members of that department his words to the effect that he would return. And it was that promise that the philanthropist went back last Wednesday to fulfil, a gesture that visibly electrified the hosts with shouts of joy and appreciation.

Perhaps, the best way to x-ray the elation that rendered the environment convivial on that occasion would be to report the feeling of the students of the Faculty of Social Sciences, especially those in the Economics Department who were the direct beneficiaries of the donation of 30 computers by Kalu . And this could be seen through the prisms of speeches and cultural displays. For instance, President of the UNN chapter of the Nigeria Economics Students’ Association (NESA), Mr. Peter Eze, who presented a welcome address to the donor and his entourage, captured the mood in its proper perspective. He said he would begin by thank-

ing those who gathered on the occasion “for joining us this afternoon to recognise, celebrate and appreciate H.E. Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, who has made outstanding contributions to our learning, education and development of this department.”

He told the gathering that “on March 11, 2014, like a lion, Dr. Kalu roared in our den, and after spending some precious and priceless time with us, His Excellency, out of benevolence and philanthropic gestures, promised to leave a large footprint in our department.”

And the student leader further underscored the usefulness of the computers donated by the former governor: “His benevolence has come to us at a prime time, a time when the computer and its accessories are fast changing how we learn and what we learn, how we live and also how we die.” Beyond the enthusiasm of having the 30 new computers in the department, the student leader stunned the gathering when he also strolled into the realm of political assessment of the visitor. He said, “This is a man who conquered the world of politics and business from the Igbere town of Abia State.”

Then, reference to Kalu’s exploits in the media industry came next as the UNN’S NESA president also pointed out in a rather poetic rendition that the donor was “a political iroko, a man who saw tomorrow for he also was among the first that saw Third Term in Nigerian politics. A man who believes that for a society to make progress, it needs a progressive press and on that note, he gave us a voice through Daily Sun and when he saw that we needed more voice, he also gave us New Telegraph.”

Yet, the encomiums did not end with the eulogies of the students in their central message to the former governor. The chief host and UNN VC, Prof. Ozumba, was full of kind

words for Kalu. The VC, who had earlier held a closed door session with the former governor, described him as “a highly distinguished Nigerian either in or out of power. He is a role model in politics and in the business world.”

Ozumba, who also said Kalu was known to be successful in his endeavours, had abandoned some other delegations waiting for an audience with him to attend to the former governor and his entourage. He followed the visitors to the Auditorium B of the Department of Economics, venue of the presentation ceremony, during which the donor formally handed the computers to the Head of Department, Prof. C.C. Agu. The former governor himself who had seen the stream of visitors around the office of the VC earlier before the ceremony referred to Ozumba’s decision to give his entourage full attention as “a mark of deep respect” for him.

In like manner, Prof. N.I. Ikpeze, who was chairman of the occasion, described Kalu as “an old young man.” He said the donor earned the description in view of his huge exploits even a youthful age, which make him also fit into the realm of statesmen. And the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof.

Tagbo Ugwu, as well as the head of the benefitting Department of Economics, Prof. Agu, also expressed joy that Kalu kept his earlier promise, largely uncharacteristic of many a Nigerian politician.

During the donation ceremony, Kalu drew a loud ovation intermittently, and he clearly upped the ante when he announced to the vice chancellor and the gathering that he was instituting annual cash awards for various categories of best graduating students of the institution. The annual cash awards he announced for the best graduating students included N500,000 for the best graduating student; N250,000 for the best graduating

student of the Faculty of the Social Sciences; and N250,000 for the best graduating student of the Department of Economics. Kalu, who donated 20 desktop computers and 10 laptops to the Department of Economics, also used the occasion to announce the readiness of his SLOK Group to partner the institution whereby each student of the university could own a computer made by SLOK Technologies at a minimal cost. While presenting the computers, Kalu told the vice chancellor, staff and students of the department that “these computers are proudly Nigerian.”

He added, “I have told the vice chancellor that we can partner his administration so that at minimal cost, each student of the university can own a SLOK computer.”

He also responded to the kind words said about his spirit of enterprise in the business world, saying that “since this year, I have slept in Nigeria for 17 days.” He said his trips around the world were in furtherance of enterprises being grown by his SLOK Group. He told the academic gathering that he was working hard to industrialise Igbere, his hometown, and that it was his desire to retire home when it becomes appropriate to do so and not remain abroad either in Lagos or Abuja.

Also on hand to cheer the former governor were the members of the Niger Delta Students Association and Abia Students Association in the institution as well as the league of student traditional rulers in the institution. Many of them came with their cultural dance groups. The cultural displays with the intermittent exclamatorily praise songs by the different student groups at the auditorium visibly excited the donor and members of his entourage, including Senator Emmanuel Onwe, who added a bit of his oratorical skills when he was called upon to make comments.

40

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

South-East Beats

Storm trails ‘unholy demolition’ of Anambra church Tony Okafor Awka

O

n August 10, 2014, the Clergy and laity of Ebenezer Anglican Church, Oyolu-Oze, NkwelleEzunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State had a peaceful church service and dismissed. They hoped to be back to the church for mid-week service on Wednesday, but that was not to be as unknown persons allegedly accompanied by security agents stormed the church at about 1am Monday night and pulled down the church.

Following this development, Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had to set up a four-man panel of enquiry to investigate the cause of the demolition and fish out those behind the ‘unholy act’.

The panel was given two weeks to submit its report. According to Obiano, the panel was given the mandate to find out the actual owners of the primary school premises where the church building was situated, as well as suggest the means of bringing lasting peace to the area between the community and the Anglican Communion. The panel is headed

by Deputy Governor Nkem Okeke and has four commissioners in the state as members.

Addressing members of the church, Obiano condemned the demolition and described the act as the handiwork of hoodlums. He added that for the sake of clarity, the parties involved in the matter were the Anglican Church, Anambra State Government and the leadership of Nkwelle Ezunaka Town Union. The governor, who visited the site, in the company of his deputy, who himself is an Anglican and the Anglican Bishop of Awka Diocese, Rev. (Dr.) Alex Ibezim, appealed to members of the church to maintain peace and tranquility, while the committee would expedite action on its work.

He said, “In the interim, I want to ask that you exercise restraint. I don’t want any breach of the peace. I don’t want anything to disrupt the relative peace in the state. At the appropriate time, government will rebuild the church or do appropriate reparation. The committee will look at the bottom of the matter as to the ownership of the place. Please don’t politicise this matter.”

Reacting to the development, Anglican faithful in the state called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in what they called ‘unending destructive religious crisis’ in the state.

The church tasked the state government to rebuild the church.

Speaking to newsmen, the chancellor of the Diocese on the Niger, Chief Nnamdi Ibegbu (SAN), insisted that the state government should ensure that the church was rebuilt, saying, “This is the house of God. Anybody who destroys the house of God will obviously face the wrath of God.” Although he said the church was not suspecting anybody or group of persons as the police were still investigating the matter, they would ask questions “with respect to the President General of this Nkwelle Ezunaka community and also the government.”

He encouraged members of the church to go ahead with their protests on the ugly development, so that the government and the public would know what happened. He lamented that the church which was duly built was razed down by armed assailant in the middle of the night with a bulldozer.

“This is absurd and shocking. I would not ask the members of the church to stay back.

The public has to know what has happened that the church duly built was razed down by armed assailants in the middle of the night,” he said.

While addressing the protesters who marched from the premises of the church through Otu-Ocha Road singing and carrying placards, Rev. Iyke Egbonu said members of the church had been worshipping there for the past three decades.

He also said the administration of former Governor Chris Ngige approved their use of the place.

He noted that even when schools were being handed over to churches during the era of

Demolished building of Ebenezer Anglican Church, Oyolu-Oze, Anambra State

ex-Governor Peter Obi, the place was given to the Anglican Church.

He accused a certain administration in the state to have sown the seed of religious discord in Anambra State, adding that from the look of things it appears the incumbent government in the state is following in those steps.

They alleged that the act was a calculated attempt to destroy the Anglican Church in the state.

However, the President General of Nkwelle Ezunaka community, Elder Chris Eluemuno, denied any involvement of his people in the demolition of the church. He said the church had written the community through the headmaster of Oyolu Primary School sometime in 1990, requesting to make use of the school building on a temporary basis as a service centre. He said this was granted to them only for the church to start laying claims to the school, whereas, according to him, they were not part of its building.

Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Usman Gwary, last week banned further protests

by Anglicans in the state over the demolition of Anglican church. Gwary, who spoke to New Telegraph on Sunday in his office, said the protests would no longer be tolerated.

The commissioner who was visibly angry over the protest of the church after Obiano’s intervention on the matter, quipped, “I don’t know what they (church) want. My brother, after God, is the governor not the next person you can complain to on an issue like this?

These people had complained about this matter to the governor, so why are they still protesting? “We can’t allow such protest anymore from them without clearance.”

But the Anglican faithful in the state are not moved.

Shortly after the CP’s warning, members of the knights of St. Christopher of the Church of Nigeria, joined the fray and called on Obiano to fish out those behind the act, without further delay.

Addressing the knights and other members of the church after a special prayer session ON the demolition, the President of Knights of St. Christopher, Dr. Ike Okonkwo, said it was unimaginable that this type of hooliganism could be deployed against a church. He said it was shocking that such an act could be carried out in Anambra State, presumed to be a prime Christian state. Okonkwo said adherents had been trying to find out those behind the act but had yet to get any answer.

The group wondered how armed people allegedly backed by the police and soldiers

could destroy a church by 1am. He said it was even more shocking that up till now, the state government and security agencies in the state could not fish them out.

Reacting to the development, a nongovernmental organization based in Onitsha, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law in a statement signed by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi, said, “The attention of International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law is drawn to the recent demolition of a church building belonging to the Ebenezer Anglican Church in Oyolu Oze Layout, Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State. The incident reportedly took place on 12th August, 2014. This resulted to protests by members of the demolished church in some streets in Onitsha, accusing the Government of Anambra State and other unknown persons of being behind the demolition. Flyers were also distributed in many parts of the state by some sympathisers of the church, accusing some religious bodies including Catholic Church of being behind the demolition as well as other alleged similar ill-treatments against the said church and its faithful in the state in recent times.

“It is our observation that the conversion and indiscriminate erection of church buildings in public school compounds in the state has become a recurring decimal, to the extent that 70% of all public primary and secondary schools in the state have cunningly been taken over and colonised by some religious bodies, particularly the Catholic and Anglican churches. This ‘holy’ sin/’holy’ crime is committed with utter alacrity in both the urban and rural parts of the state. We also observe that the Government of Anambra state has in recent past returned all missionary primary and secondary schools taken over in the 70s to their missionary owners with an agreement to continue to pay the salaries and other emoluments of their teaching staff. This took place under the administration of Mr. Peter Obi. Yet, the religious organisations under reference have continued to encroach on the remaining public school lands owned by the public, which are held for them in trust by the Government of Anambra State.

“In recent times, frictions have erupted between the Catholic and Anglican churches over the control of those public school compounds. For instance, such frictions have erupted between the two over the control of Lafiaji Primary School, Township Primary School and Urban Boya Secondary School

compounds, all in Fegge, Onitsha. Today, Township Primary School and Otumoye Primary School have been seized and colonised with impunity by the Catholic and Anglican churches respectively. This despicable conduct is indiscriminate across the state and the most disturbing thing is that the said churches use deceitful tactics of ‘Seeking for an approval to temporarily worship in the premises’, only for them to sort their way through and begin to erect their permanent church buildings including priest houses.

“The despicable conduct under reference is not limited to the Catholic and Anglican churches alone. Other dominations are also involved. Sometimes, the affected school buildings are allowed to collapse or become dilapidated so as to be converted to church buildings at the expense of the benefiting school pupils/children.

“In the case of Oyolu Oze Primary School compound under dispute, the law is that neither the Ebenezer Anglican Church nor the Oze community or any other body or body of persons has the power to concede it or lay claim to it. Whether it was given to the church by Oze community in 1990 is immaterial under the law. This is because when Oze community gave it out for the construction of Oyolu Oze Primary School, the community ceased its ownership of the compound and its ownership expressly went to the Government of Anambra State, which held it in trust for the people of the state.

“The manner under which the church was demolished is totally condemned. The church deserves adequate compensation and proper apology. The full scale investigation ordered into it by the Government of Anambra State is commendable and a welcome development.

This is because the circumstances behind its demolition in the hour of blue law are utterly malicious and unlawful.

“One of our firm demands is that the Government of Anambra State should henceforth ban all religious bodies in the state particularly the Catholic and the Anglican churches from encroaching on all public primary and secondary schools. All forms of religious activities whether they are ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent’ worship or crusading activities in such public school premises should also be banned. If any of the religious bodies wishes to have a place for such activities, it should look for a parcel of empty land to buy. This is more so when all previously owned missionary primary and secondary schools have been returned to them.”

At the time of filing this report on Thursday, it was gathered that the leadership of Ebenezer Church had been invited by the government panel for interview.

But a reliable source said the church was not comfortable with the government panel of inquiry. According to our source, the church is contending that the four-man panel is made up of government officials, adding that under the circumstances at hand, the church ought to have representation in the panel of enquiry.

Whatever be the case, observers say it is settled law that even an adverse possessor in possession of any property should be given due notice before he could be quit or be denied ingress or egress to the property. They note that anything short of that amounts to self-help.

41

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Abuja Beats

Abuja Beats

Unveiling $500m Abuja Light Rail

F

Yekeen Nurudeen

elix Omorodion, 25, works in the Central Business District (CBD) of Abuja but lives in faraway Kubwa, one of the satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory. He wakes up as early as 5am and makes sure he gets to the bus-stop at 7am to board the staff bus of one of the federal parastatals that ply the route.

Each time he misses the bus, he must pay as much as N200 to get to the office and pays same while returning after closing from work. Each day Omorodion who earns less than N40000 monthly spends between N300 and N500 on transportation.

His daily experience represents that of millions of Abuja residents who commute to their respective offices and businesses in the city centre from many satellite towns in the FCT. However, he and many in his shoes may soon heave a huge sigh of relief with the completion when the Abuja light rail is completed in 2015. The project, when completed in December 2015, will bridge the gap between the city centre and the satellite towns.

This is particularly true, as the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Gen. Marthin Luther Agwai (retd.), attested to recently after seeing the model of the project at the Idu site office of the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

In his words: “This is one of the projects that will provide mass transit for people working in and around the central area and other satellite towns of Abuja.”

Though the project is nearing completion and waiting to be used, it is still very much unknown to many Abuja residents.

Besides its overhead bridge that stretches across Jabi-Airport Road and perhaps the signpost at the site office of CCECC on the same road bearing a picture of the proposed light rail, which naturally heralds it to onlookers and visitors to Abuja, the $500 million project remains obscure to several millions of Abuja residents.

Only a few residents of Abuja, the administrative seat of Nigeria, have heard about the gigantic rail project, while those who know about it are unaware of its coverage area and progress of work.

This was readily attested to by Agwai when he said many residents would be surprised when the project is completed.

Apparently surprised by the progress of work so far done after a tour of the project, Agwai, who led other members of the committee on the tour, could not hide his amazement and delight.

“It is very clear that a lot of work has gone down here with many of us not knowing that there is such a development in the Federal Capital Territory.

I’m impressed and I enjoyed the coach ride,” he said.

Arguably, the light rail project will put the FCT on the global map when completed. Though it has had to be abandoned due to paucity of funds, cooperation between Abuja and China EXIM

Agwai

Bank saw to its revival and continuation.

It is jointly financed by the two parties.

The project has gone as far as 52.7 per cent and is due for completion and operation December next year, according to the FCT Director of Transportation and Light Rail Project Implementation Unit, Kashim Alli. He noted that work commenced on the project in 2009 but was stalled due to paucity of funds.

The Lot 1A and 3 of the project which are currently being executed have gulped as much as $411m. Kashim gave

the breakdown of the project funding, saying that up to “$249m have been spent from the EXIM Bank loan while $162m have been spent by the Federal Government.”

He added, “We have a loan of $500m from the China EXIM Bank and the balance is being paid by the Federal Government of Nigeria. When it started, for almost three years there was no funding but now funding has been assured under this arrangement. For the EXIM Bank loan, we have spent about 249m and for Nigeria we have spent $162m.

It will be completed

by December 2015,” he explained.

Although the project has six lots covering 300 kilometres, what is being worked on by CCECC is 45.245km of 100km per hour light rail.

Explaining this, Kashim said he was optimistic that Abuja residents would ride in the rail in 16 months’ time. He added that there are 12 stations from the city centre through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, to Bazango in Kubwa where the rail terminates and also links the national rail. The interstate rail project is also ongoing and is expected to link Kaduna and Abuja.

“What we have here is what we call Lot 1A and 3 of the Abuja mass transit

system. The system has six lots covering a total length of about 300kms. What we are doing now is 45.245kms.

“Lot 3 takes off from the Central Business District around where you have the NNPC Mega station, that’s the Metro Station and runs all the way through Idu here to airport. Then Lot 1A takes off from here to Kubwa, terminates at Bazango station and we have 12 stations. It would have a speed of 100kms per hour,” he explained.

It is said to have a 1000-passenger capacity at peak periods, and because it has a station at the airport, many who are coming into the city through the gateway would no longer need the services of cab operators to get to the city centre.

Perhaps, when the interstate rail project is also completed, workers in Abuja may also come to work from Kaduna by rail.

Agwai stated that the Federal Government had committed N10bn to the project from the N268.37bn total SURE-P budget for this year to ensure its completion.

He said, “When completed, you would find out that you can travel from the airport into the heart of Abuja with little challenges. Definitely, the fare will be by far cheaper than riding in a taxi or even in a bus.”

To him, funds for the project would no longer be a challenge, given the commitment of the Federal Government; the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed; and the Project Implementation Unit.

“I believe that, seeing the commitment from the PIU and knowing the commitment of the FCT Minister because we have met several times on this thing. I’m sure of his desire to see this thing done as well as the willingness of our committee to make sure that funds that are meant for projects are delivered quickly and with integrity. I’m assuring you that it will be done,” he declared.

Offices shun handwashing campaign Kenneth Tyohemba

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Ochekpe

espite an emergency handwashing campaign championed by the Federal Government to sensitise the public on the need for proper hygiene to guard against the spread of the Ebola Virus, apathy still looms as most public places in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have yet to procure containers in their premises.

The Federal Government had through the Ministry of Water Resources in collaboration with the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) and Wash Sector Emergency Response Working Group, embarked on a National Emergency HandWashing Campaign as part of efforts to help prevent the spread of Ebola Virus in Nigeria.

Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, while kicking off the campaign maintained that the ministry embarked on the campaign for thorough handwashing as one of the ways of preventing Ebola. She therefore enjoined Ni-

gerians to stop the spread of the virus by always washing their hands with soap and running water especially at critical times.

The fanfare of the campaign commencement, however, has yet to produce the desired effect due to complacency on the part of the public.

Most public institutions visited by our correspondent had no provision for receptacles and soap as recommended by the Federal Government.

A civil servant at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja who did not want his name published blamed it on the management of the MDAs. He described handwashing as a personal thing, but noted that the management of public institutions need to provide a platform on which the public can practise the model.

“If I am at my house I can wash my hands regularly. But I can’t be moving about with water and soap to wash my hands,” he said. he called on government to provide wash basins in strategic public places.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Abuja Beats

Only young people can change Nigeria- Ekpo Mfon Ekpo is an Abuja-based lawyer and one of the 45 young people who represented Nigeria at the African Youth Leadership Training in the United States. Mfon tells TUNDE OYESINA that it is only if young people are engaged in leadership that the nation can experience change

Recently, you represented Nigeria as a delegate at the young people’s leadership training in the United States.

What was it all about?

Yes, we are about 50,000 Nigerians but out of that they chose about 500 for the programme. I was one of those chosen from Nigeria and we went for a six-week training and exchange programme. We had a week’s meeting in Washington D.C with President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State, John Kerry, and other government officials. The centre point was to train young people in the art of leadership in every aspect of life’s endeavours.

What are you bringing to Nigeria from that?

First, what I

went there for was to engage the young people in governance. We can’t ignore anymore the fact that we need to engage people in public service, in governance, in business and entrepreneurship. Africa is going to have about 45 per cent of young people in the world by 2025 if the facts are correct.

The young p e o p l e have been treated like a minority all this while, though we are in the majority. It is to get the young people into governance. It is to

encourage young people to learn how to engage about policy and education and how to set up structures to re-engineer Nigeria.

What did it mean to you to sit down with Obama and his team?

It was a life changing experience. Not just meeting the president but learning about all the policies that can bring out the best of governance if young and energetic people with ideas are given a chance. You know, from George Bush to Barack Obama, it makes you know that one person, in their place can achieve so much.

How does what you learnt there be related to the situation in Nigeria?

One of the things I realised was that the perception of Nigeria is changing.

Before that, we thought we had a lot of corruption but now the world seems to know Nigeria, in terms of entrepreneurship, industry, in terms of the fact that they want to engage, they want to invest. We need to be ready for the world because they are ready for us. We need to prepare for them, they are prepared for us. We need to be prepared in what we know and what we do. The situation is changing and the young people are going to lead that movement like any other developing country. In other words, it makes me know that if the people are in the right places, we can re-engineer a social change as it were.

How do you intend to bring what you learnt to bear in Nigeria, considering the nation’s complex situation?

We were about 43 that represented Nigeria. The issue is atimes, when people travel outside Nigeria, what they bring is not tailor-made for Nigeria.

The fact is that, you cannot just adapt all you see out there to Nigeria. You must sit down and see if such a thing can fit properly and is applicable to what is on ground, the people and the situation. If it not, you tailor make it to be applicable to what is on ground. You can bring policies from America to Nigeria which will work; it all depends on how you apply them. A lot of time we have just borrowed policies without tailor making them to fit our own situation. If I were to do anything, first of all, I would tailor make it to fit into our system as Nigerians. I will understand what is on ground with the people, the nation, our politics and then apply that, though not everything is applicable.

Mfon Ekpo

So where do you think you can start that?

I will start in my corner.

Sometimes, we look at this high level kind of solution and it paralyses us young people from doing certain things. I run a business and training outfit. I will start from there.

I will start from the people I train, the people I invest in. I start from where I am, may be

starting from person that represent me in the National Assembly. Sometimes we don’t think that anything we do really move people but it does. Little things we do go a long way to affect and change situations. But what I will do is to start from my corner, start from the little things I do, start from my integrity, from how I treat other people and what I pass across to them.

What sort of training programme are you into?

I train young people in transformational leadership, in the kind of leadership we want as a people. I also train young people in the law of process. A lot of young people have the passion, the goal but they don’t follow process. They just want to jump the queue and become the next millionaire overnight, forgetting that whatever one will become in life, it takes a process. There is a process behind every success. I train youths in the process of training leaders. We don’t lack leaders, but we lack people who can step up to the stage to say ‘I will lead’. We don’t lack good leadership in Nigeria, they are sitting in the corners of their rooms, but they need to be encouraged and come to the limelight.

What about the insecurity in Nigeria?

Hmmm! Threat or no threat, danger zone or no danger zone, I will play my part.

What were the yardsticks used in selecting you to represent Nigeria?

First, they wanted people who had been involved in development programmes in their communities for a consistent period of eight years. They did not want a flash in the pan or someone who suddenly likes Nigeria because, if you have done it consistently for eight years, it means your heart is in your country. The second thing they asked is what problem you see in your community and how you intend to solve it.

To that, my solution which I highlighted was to engage young persons in training, educating them on the effect of their involvement in governance. People don’t know that what they do or don’t do affects their leadership one way or the other. We showed them how their involvement changes things and how their non-involvement makes things to be stagnant.

Another thing was that we were asked to write essays, about five. They were vetted and we were asked to write again. The essays were sent to the Department of State for vetting. It was a thorough process.

What did you take away from the training?

I realised the importance of engaging young people in governance because before Obama met with African Heads of states, he had engaged us for six weeks.

So we all as Africans asked ourselves who we are for Obama to gather us together. It shows how African people take their young people as opposed to how the United States knows that young people are the turning point.

Though this is strange but I think some African leaders are catching up with this, including our President because we met in Washington as well. We are tired of saying we are the future. The future is here, it is time to engage us; it is time to listen to our ideas on how we want to change things.

44

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Body&Soul

Ankara beach shorts for stylish blokes Vanessa Okwara

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any people go on annual leave about this time of the year in order to go for summer holidays with family and friends. What better way to relax at exotic beaches or go shopping than in comfortable Ankara beach shorts.

Ankara is a patterned fabric of very rich colourful designs. It is mostly made of 100 per cent cotton and gives a comfy feeling. Nigerian designers have continued to create amazing designs with this fabric. The Ankara beach shorts is definitely a musthave for the guy who wants to unwind during the weekend and vacation. This trend is more than just for vacations and sporty style. It can be worn for casual visits and special outings as well.

Classic fit shorts created from Ankara fabric is basically made for fun in the sun! Shorts made from plain or tweed material can be boring if your aim is to have a cool, fun time with friends and family. Instead, go for the tropical vibe that a graphic and colourful floral Ankara print gives.

They come in a range of cool African prints with side pockets and drawstring waist. The top can be made with the same fabric as the shorts or you can mix and match the shorts with T-shirts, polo or shirts.

Pair them up with loafers, sneakers or a great pair of sandals and some cool, mirrored sunglasses. Then give the look a little extra edge with a leather or denim jacket for a cool evening in case the weather gets a bit chilly and you are ready to enjoy your free time in maximum pleasure.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Sleeping with the enemy

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ive years ago, Gloria thought the sun rose and set around Tayo. He has a unique way of making a girl feel loved and on top of the world. Tayo can be very loving when he wants to be and can turn to ‘Mr. Charming’ at will.

Fine, it is true they had a fairy tale wedding that was the buzz of the town but all that is ephemeral. Standing outside, looking into her home, all you will see is this picture-perfect couple having a wonderful marriage.

You will never see the hell that has become her marriage of five years.

Looking back now, Gloria could pin point exactly when the physically abuse started. It was so subtle that she completely missed it as an abuse then. They had gone out to the club and Tayo went to get drinks for them when a tall, lanky guy came over to their table to talk to her. She just smiled and told him she was with someone else but he was insistent on getting her number. She was still trying to dissuade his overture when Tayo came back with their drinks. When the other guy saw him, he walked off but Tayo was already angry with her over the scenario he witnessed.

He became very moody and they didn’t stay long after that. Throughout the ride back home, Tayo berated her for talking with the guy in the first place and accused her of flirting.

When she tried to explain what actually happened, he turned and gave

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her a furious smack on the cheek, making the corner of her mouth to bleed.

She was shocked to her bones that this guy she loves so much and whom she thought loved her back could as much as lift a finger on her. When he saw she was bleeding and crying, he quickly calmed down and was very apologetic. She wanted to break up with him but he begged her and swore never to do it again and she forgave him.

Five years down the lane and in a marriage where she has been turned into a punching bag, she wished she had listened to her instincts. Tayo has become a different man from the charmer she fell in love with. He has become obsessive with controlling her life. He has stopped her from working, accusing her of dating her boss; checks her E-mails, social media, phone text messages and monitors her every movement. She feels like a prisoner in her own home.

Gloria makes excuse that she ‘fell’ if any of her relatives see the bruises Tayo inflicts on her regularly. She had two miscarriages in her five years of marriage due to the maniacal beatings she receives when he gets into one of his moods. She is seriously contemplating leaving the marriage but afraid of what people will say. She will be branded a loose woman who can’t keep her matrimonial home. Yet she is dying slowly every day as she wakes beside her worst enemy.

Well, correct me if I’m wrong: Is it better to be maimed or killed by your husband or run for dear life? Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of status or educational background and should not be taken lightly.

Ladies, please look before leaping into marriage. It is not every man with a fat bank account or fleet of cars that has the potential to make a good husband. If you are in courtship or in a serious relationship, this is the best

time to study your partner closely.

There are always signs to look out for in a guy who will tend towards violence in marriage. Don’t be carried away by all the attention showered on you or the sweet nothings whispered into your ears.

Take time out to study your partner’s behaviour towards you and women in general. Does he go into unexplained mood swings, gets physically violent with other people or pick up fights at the slightest provocation? Do you get scared when he is angry? Has the incident of physical abuse occurred only once or twice in the relationship?

Studies in domestic violence indicate that if your partner has injured you once, it is likely he will continue to physically assault you unless something is done to stop him. A lot of ladies have not heeded to these warning signs while in courtship much to their peril later in life.

No one should live in fear of the person they love. You can’t be sleeping with your enemy and expect to wake up alive the next day. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Some state governments and nongovernmental agencies have enacted laws to protect women from domestic violence and abuse and will help you get through it. There is help available, please do not suffer in silence or risk the chance of getting killed one day.

Race, racism and race related rant

ncient African wisdom states that one who borrows wisdom and knowledge will not fall into disrepute. This week, I will bow to this greater understanding and address certain responses to this column from last week.

Perhaps, it will be pertinent to start with a few updates from last week.

Having called upon the president of the United States to stand up and be counted on the side of those who voted for him, I am happy he has heeded the call and made a statement to condemn the killing of Michael Brown in Missouri as well as call for calm. Sadly, his appeal has fallen on deaf ears as the police have once again shown that while you can teach race relations and how best to fight crime, you cannot teach class. With their back to the wall and trying as best as possible to look good in the face of growing condemnation, the police released the name of the trigger happy officer who killed Michael Brown -Darren Wilson.

Just as I was about to give them some credit, they threw away the last bit of credibility left by simultaneously releasing a video supposedly showing Michael Brown ‘robbing’ a store 15 minutes before he was shot. Seriously? They had to release that video?

They simply burnt the last element of credibility they had. First, the release of the video only exacerbated the violence and prompted the said store to be attacked by an already angry mob.

Secondly, the police also confirmed what I alluded to last week; that they were complicit in the whole affair by not releasing Officer Wilson’s identity until forced to do so. What they forgot

to tell the world was that Darren Wilson did not even know of the video or ‘robbery’ by Michael Brown when he killed him. Listening to the Missouri Chief of Police, you get the impression he was doing everything possible to let the world know what a good officer Darren is and how bad Michael Brown is. If this is not institutional racism, then I am not an African.

No wonder, the Police have lost their city and the president has called in the National Guard and the Highway Patrol. An independent enquiry has been set up and the Attorney General is on his way to Missouri to assess the damage. The Police have further exposed America, the so called symbol of democracy and policeman of the rest of the world to ridicule. Bayo Faseyitan,

a Facebook user, posted on his page that Ferguson looks like the street of Libya. Something that was not lost on the international community as Egypt too was quick to condemn the events in Missouri and called on the American government to exercise restraint in its dealings with innocent citizens.

Now, there would be nothing wrong with this statement if it were not the exact wording of America’s statement to Egypt during the riots following the ouster of President Mursi about a year ago. A ridiculous situation that was caused by the complacent attitude of the authorities and I think they deserve it.

However, while writing my piece last week, I knew I was touching on some raw and sensitive nerves. Race

Secondly, the police also confirmed what I alluded to last week; that they were complicit in the whole affair by not releasing Officer Wilson’s identity until forced to do so.

What they forgot to tell the world was that Darren Wilson did not even know of the video or ‘robbery’ by Michael Brown when he killed him

and racism is always a subjective issue and satisfying everyone is at best hard and alternatively, impossible.

Decades of racial segregation and inequality, exemplified by the slave trade has just made the racial subject a touchy terrain. I was called out by a good friend, Dayo Asubiojo, for my use of the word white and black to refer to the race of Michael brown and his Police aggressor. He got support from Tade Akinyemi and Lori Dean who all felt my use of such words will do nothing to defuse the tension.

I bow to their wisdom and can only reiterate again that as this is a public forum, I have used those words as a description that everyone can understand. Perhaps, my goal should also be to educate people about how divisive such words are. Therefore, I retract the use of black and white and state here that Michael Brown is African American like Barrack Obama and Darren Wilson is …now I need the education on how you call people with light skin.

As we are still on the education bit of this piece, I state here that as one who comes from a racially and ethnically divisive background, my culture teaches me that there is just ONE race; the human race and there are only TWO kinds of people who make up that race, good and bad. Slavery will never have succeeded without the complicity of local chiefs and natives.

The fight against Apartheid was won by activists like Nadine Gordimer who is not dark skinned African.

When we all accept this simple truth, only then can the images coming out of Missouri be a thing of the past.

46

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Body&Soul

with

Wole Adepoju 08085003746

woleadepoju@yahoo.com

Timpriye Sylva’s classy Olori Ladun set to bury mum 50th birthday G

oing by how the clash with the powers that be that frustrated his bid for a second term as governor of Bayelsa State and how his quest to become the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress failed, many were of the opinion that Timipre Sylvia is a paper weight. The former governor of Bayelsa State recently showed his critics that he is indeed a politician to watch out for. His 50th birthday bash in Abuja was a gathering of the high and mighty in the society who came to identify with him.

With a number of governors as well as captains of industry, top politicians and other well-meaning people in attendance, Sylvia could not have asked for a more befitting celebration. Sylva and his beautiful wife ensured

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t’s no longer news that Olori Ladun, wife of one of the most respected and revered traditional rulers in the country, Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, recently lost her 92-year-old mother.

However, what may be of interest to event watchers is that a date has been picked for the burial of the late woman.

Going by the fact that the deceased, Mrs. Flora Harold-Sodipo, was a colossus in social circles, coupled with the class to which her children belong in the society, many would expect a befitting burial for her. Information at the disposal of Celeb Lounge has it that late Harold would begin her final journey on August 28 at a world-class event in Lagos. The journey, it was learnt, would start with a wake at the

that all that came to felicitate with him enjoyed every moment. Talented comedian, Gordons, spiced up the event with jokes. Dancing time was also accommodated in the order of event. All the dignitaries took to the dance floor to wriggle their waists to old school tunes. At the appropriate time, guests took time to make their remarks. The National Chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun, extolled the virtues of a good leader in the birthday boy while he wished him long life.

The birthday lecture, however, got to a crescendo when Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, delivered a paper in which he highlighted the flaws of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. These, he said, had led the country to a sorry state.

Concern over Dokpesi’s purse

Abuja pastor, Joshua Iginla, spreads tentacle

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astor Joshua Iginla, the man behind one of the fast rising worship centres in the city of Abuja, Champion Royale Assembly, is one of the most talked about men of God in the Federal Capital territory. Brother Iginla, as he is called, became popular following the number of his predictions that became reality.

His philanthropic gestures are also another reason he’s so much talked about.

What sources are telling

Celeb Lounge about this ally of Pastor T.B Joshua is that the man just coughed out several millions of naira for a parcel of land in Abuja for the expansion of his church. We were further informed that work h a s be-

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cion of Babangida dynasty, Moham-

med, is one guy who does not hug the limelight but he sure loves to live life to the fullest. Many at a time thought Mohammed was preoccupied with the game of polo. That line of thought has changed about him as the young man has been linked with some business concerns.

What is making the rounds about Mohammed now is a political ambition -that he

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gun on the site for a masterpiece.

Mohammed Babangida’s moves is likely to contest for the governorship position of Niger State. The son of the former military president has neither denied nor corroborated the speculation.

However, his father had in an interview with New Telegraph on Sunday some months ago said his son would not run for governor. Many are waiting with bated breath in case IBB, as his father is fondly called, and his son change their minds.

Church of Ascension, Opebi, while the funeral service in her honour will take place at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Ita Faji, Lagos Island.

The reception is billed to hold at Harbour View on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island.

ghenebode, Edo State-born media guru, High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, made his name and fortune as an entrepreneur of excellence. But many people began to see him from different perspectives when he got involved in partisan politics.

Celeb Lounge learnt that Dokpesi might be having financial difficulties at the moment. This, they adduced to the fact that his staff at AIT and Raypower are being owed seven and 12 months’ salaries respectively. However, Dokpesi is said to be erecting a 36room edifice somewhere in Abuja, leaving people to wonder if he’s truly broke as it’s believed in some quarters.

Liz Anjoin’s love for wheels

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adagry-born Nollywood actress, Liz Anjorin, seems to have remained on the rise since she hit a fortune some years ago. The lightskinned slim actress started out on a very nice note a few years back when she took delivery of a Murano and a Highlander at a go. Not long after that, she opened a multi-million naira store and has remained on top of her game.

Sometime last year, the mother of one took delivery of a Land Rover SUV. Liz has since relocated to highbrow Lekki area of Lagos. The most recent is the new pace she just set in the Yoruba arm of the industry, where she

dwells more. Kofo, as the actress is fondly called, just added a brand new Range Rover Evoque

to her fleet of cars. She has since been painting the town red in the white exotic automobile.

47

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Body&Soul

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Wole Adepoju

THINKING ALOUD

paulhelenproductions@yahoo.com; 08072709777

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with Helen Paul

Tayo Ayeni ventures into new terrain

Don’t give up

hat Ilesha Osun State-born Tayo Ayeni is a success is stating the obvious.

The stoutly built dark-

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skinned dude has all it takes to be called a successful man. The success did not appear overnight though but by dint of

hard work and consistency. Ayeni, it could be said, was fortunate to have discovered himself early in life and moved into the auto business.

He climbed the ladder until he got the enviable point he is today.

Ayeni, through his popular auto company, Skymit, comfortably sits among the leading auto dealers in the country. He has also invested in a number of other sectors, among which is hospitality. This wellconnected man owns Westin Hotel, one of the best in Ikeja area of Lagos. Commissioned alongside the hotel is a top class night club, Vegas, in the same premises. Since then, the fun spot, Vegas, has become a choice place to be for fun lovers on the mainland.

Celeb Lounge learnt that adult entertainment has been added to the facility and this is said to have endeared the place to lovers of strip dancing. It was, however, learnt that the strip bar arm of the club is exclusive to patrons who can pay their way into the VVIP section of the club.

City photographer, Leafhat weds

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he name, Laefhat Photo, sure rings a bell within Lagos metropolis because the studio, at a time, was one of the most patronised in the city.

The fact that Leafhat enjoyed the patronage of the movers and shakers of the society, including governors, heads of state and top individuals in various sectors, was an edge for the outfit.

Many years after, the outfit is still very much intact with the same high standard and high profile patronage. The owners, Fatai and Segun, have done wonderfully well for themselves also.

One of the owners, London big boy, Segun Bada, recently renewed his marital vows with his soulmate of many years in Lagos. Ijero, Ekiti State-born handsome Segun reassured his wife, Oluwaseun, from the popular Lanhehin family of Ibadan, of his love in the full glare of everyone present. The event, which held in Ikeja, Lagos, was attended by family members and some society big names. The glamorous and flamboyant event was anchored by lecturer cum actor, Doyin Hassan.

s a little child, I usually heard peo- that you won’t even pray for. That is ple say that quitters don’t win, but I why I pity people who pray that God never knew or understood the true should make them rich like this person meaning of that parlance. The more I grew, or that person. The question is; can you not just in age, but with the numerous ex- withstand the problems such people periences life has taught me, I needed no had endured in the past? I’m sure the soothsayer to tell me that it is only when answer is ‘NO’.

I’m currently doing my Ph.D in Theyou don’t give up that your lofty dreams atre Arts at the University of Lagos; can be achieved.

There are certain people who knew some people might be envious, but I’m my very humble background. They sure they won’t pray for the humiliaknew the numerous challenges I faced. tion and setbacks I had to endure before It wasn’t really easy then because I was coming this far academically. deserted, to the extent that I thought Before I got admission to UNILAG, God Himself did not like me. At times, I I struggled to gain entry to the Uniwondered why God created me the way versity of Ilorin. I actually gained the I was, not aware that He was preparing admission, but my mother could not me for great success ahead. I had a terri- afford the fees, so she ran from pillar to ble set of brownish teeth, and that made post sourcing for a loan from people. As me feel inferior to my peers. I laughed a result of this, everybody in the neighwith care so that my teeth wouldn’t be bourhood was aware that I had gained exposed. This is just a tip of the iceberg admission. My mother was particularly of the challenges I faced as a little girl. happy about this because she wanted But within me, something kept telling me to be educated at all cost.

Unfortunately, by the time she sourced me that all would be well.

Recently, Mr. Femi Adepoju, one of the for the money and I travelled to Ilorin, very few persons who stood by me dur- I was told that admissions had closed. ing those stormy I wept profusely, and periods, said, Unfortunately, by the time she the shame “Helen, do you of going know that when- had sourced for the money, I ever I see you on travelled to Ilorin, only to be back home TV now, I don’t swallowed want to watch told that admission had closed. me up. So you because it I made up forces tears out of I wept profusely, and the my mind my eyes when I re- shame of coming back home not to remember what you turn home. I went through.” swallowed me up, so I made didn’t even Yes, he is right, inform my and he is not the up my mind not to come back Mum that first person to tell home. I didn’t even inform my the admission had me this.

The point I’m Mum that the admission had closed before I got trying to make to school. here is that no closed before I got to school. If I If I did, she matter the situ- do, she would have had cardiac ation you are in would have had a cartoday or what arrest. diac arrest. people say about Apparyou, where you are going and the plan God has for you ently confused on the next thing to do, are the most important. No matter the I walked up to a male lecturer in the situation, giving up should be the last school and told him my predicament. thing you should consider. The problem He said there was nothing he could do with most people who fail is that they about it. I even begged him to assist me give up easily when they are confronted enrol in a tutorial class – just to keep with temporary defeat. myself busy in Ilorin.

Before a baby begins to walk, he or To cut the long story short, I missed she tries several times to stand up, but the university admission, and did not falls back to the ground. At times, even inform my mother until I got admitwhen the baby has managed to stand ted to UNILAG some years later. But I up, he or she would still fall to the was attending dance classes with Theground after taking one or two steps. atre Arts students. Some of them even But with resilience and a never-give- thought I was a student. Thank God up spirit, the baby will not just walk, I’m doing my Ph.D programme now. but gradually learn how to take faster No pain, no gain.

Well, let me sign out with this inspirasteps. It is just a matter of time. That is why I always say that no condition is tional rhyme. I hope you enjoy it: I was taught to fight, taught to win. I permanent.

Every successful person you see to- never thought I could fail. No fight left day has a story to tell. They have at one or so it seems. No one wants you when point or the other in their lives gone you lose. Don’t give up; I know you can through ‘hell’ and turbulent periods make it good.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 10 2014

Body&Soul

My wife’s shape attracted me to her -Tunde Ojo Architect, Lagos socialite and aspiring politician, Tunde Ojo, met and married Abiola, a Chartered accountant and finance manager in a private oil and gas firm over nine years ago. In this interview with VANESSA OKWARA, they recount their intriguing and romantic love story When and where did you meet?

Abiola: We met in my first year in school and I was studying Statistics. I and my friends went to read in the studio of the architecture students where they usually did their drawings overnight. We were preparing for exams that day and we decided to read there. He came and spoke to me and my friends.

Tunde: We met in school, back in Yaba College of Technology in 1995. That was our first higher institution. I was in my second year then and I went and chanced her like a Jambite because it was the normal Jambite rush.

She and her friends came to the studio to read. We, the architecture students, were the good guys in school; so all the girls wanted to come to our studio. That was how we started out as friends.

When he asked you out, did you play hard to get initially or readily agree?

Abiola: I think it is a normal thing to play hard to get when a guy comes to you.

He didn’t really ask me out on the first day. We just started out as friends and one thing I noticed about him was that he is very brilliant. We were doing some calculations and he came and assisted us. That struck me because I like very intelligent people. I also noticed that among his mates, he seemed to stand out. Also, I was a church kind of girl and I didn’t want to be seen with boys. But when I started seeing the characteristics of what I want in a man in him, I began to soft pedal.

How long did it take from courtship to marriage?

Tunde: It actually took me a year to ask her out. We met September 1995 and we started dating around September in 1996. I think we courted for eight to nine years from 1996-2005 before we eventually got married on April 9, 2005. That makes it 19 years that we have been together.

Why did you take that long to accept him for a serious relationship?

Abiola: Like I said earlier, because of my background, I never had a boyfriend. He

was my first boyfriend and I really had to take my time.

Because of what I had been hearing about how guys come around to play with girls, I wanted to be sure who I wanted to marry. Before I even came to school, I made up my mind that my first boyfriend would be my husband and it became a prayer. God actually answered it for me. I took my time because I really wanted to be sure he was the person I wanted to marry.

How did he propose?

Abiola:Our courtship took a very long time and at a point, we just got to know that we were going to get married to each other. There was no formal kind of proposal of him taking me out the way people do it these days with a ring and all that.

We went for a programme at the Redeemed Christian Church, Redemption Camp in 2002-2003 and he proposed during one of the programme’s break periods.

I didn’t hesitate because I had already found in him the man I wanted.

You would have dated so many other ladies before you met her. What made you decide she was the one you wanted as wife?

Tunde: It has to be more of a background thing. She has the fear of God in her and she is not so extravagant.

When you know where you are heading to in life, you need to understand what you want. I am the extroverted type and she is an introvert. I am more social and the outgoing type.

Because of the kind and nature of business I was doing, I tend to meet with people every day and socialise. So I decided that if I am going to have someone like me; then we will be having problems.

So I decided to go for someone who is a direct opposite in terms of behaviour so that we can actually come to a meeting point.

Why did you decide to accept him?

Abiola: Apart from the fact that he was brilliant, I also found him to be responsible. He struck me as a very responsible man. You know for a woman, responsibility is very important

to us. I also saw in him the fear of God. When you are responsible, intelligent and you don’t have the fear of God, all the other areas will crumble. His social nature also attracted me; maybe because I’m not the very sociable type but I am now because of him.

Do you get jealous when you see other ladies flocking around him?

Abiola: Initially, he wasn’t as sociable as he is now; probably because he was still in school. Now due to the nature of his job, he meets a lot of people. At the beginning of the marriage, I was a bit uncomfortable, but I later realised that it was something he had to do. This is because there are some jobs for which you don’t sit at home to get your clients. It is part of me now, because in the midst of all that, he still creates time for the family.

You have been associated a lot with the government of Osun State. Are

you planning to go into politics?

Tunde: Yes, I am a stakeholder in Osun State and a member of the All Progressives Congress. We have a hotel in Osun State called Spring Games and the governor commissioned it last year. It is a 35-room hotel in Ilesha. I am from a royal family in Ijeda Ijesha.

Hopefully, I will be coming out for a political post in my constituency very soon.

Are you going to support your husband to go into politics?

Abiola: It was a great burden to me initially because of my nature. I am the type that hates to be seen. I probably wanted to extend that to him, which is not what he is. I didn’t want to support him initially. I was always speaking against it and not encouraging him. But now, I have given him my full support.

Do you check each other’s phones?

Abiola: The truth be told,

when we first got married, I used to do it a lot. But as we grew older, I just realised that some things are really not necessary. The opposite sex is bound to come and bother him but that does not disturb the love he has for me as his wife. So now, I really don’t do it because it is not necessary.

Tunde: No, I don’t check my wife’s phone.

What causes quarrels and how do you resolve them?

Abiola: In every marriage, there is bound to be misunderstanding, even when couples have spent 50 years together. There is bound to be misunderstanding because your backgrounds are different. But when there is love, no matter the type of misunderstanding, the love you have for each other will overshadow whatever annoyances or grievances you may have towards each other. We don’t allow our misunderstandings to go overboard.

Tunde: The only quarrel we have most times is

when I go out and don’t come back on time.

What do you do to continuously to sustain your marriage?

Tunde: We pray hard and we support each other’s dreams and aspirations.

Like she just said, politics was not a main thing for her but now she is keying into it. I let her realise that it is a call for me and she is keying into that now. Also, whatever she wants, I try as much as possible to support her and that has helped us a lot.

Abiola: I think it is the understanding. Love and understanding keep the marriage.

What physical attributes drew you to each other?

Tunde: It was her shape that attracted me most about her.

Abiola: He is very handsome; though when I got married to him, he was not as handsome as this. I think I am taking good care of him.

AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

49

Wine & Dine

Body&Soul

Enjoy the White Grape Riesling Ibukunoluwa Kayode

W

e all drink wine for different purposes, either for personal relaxation or party refreshment with family and friends. Wine is one of the drinks both high and low cannot do without to make the occasion refreshingly memorable. Whenever the need arises to choose a kind of wine to refresh the palate, various options come to mind; white to pinks.

Whenever there is a call for soft palate rejuvenation, white wine is one of the best options to choose. Under the white grapes, Riesling grape wines is one of the finest with its crisp, clean, green apple, pear and lime flavours.

Riesling white grapes are structured with an in-depth honey flavour and attractive rich aroma. This type of wine grapes is mostly grown in Germany, the Alsace region in France, the finger lakes of New York, alongside some parts of Australia and Washington.

The white grape wine can be served both at formal and informal occasions such as dinners, cocktails, birthdays, pool and beach parties.

Riesling wines usually have a flexible undertone of 11-15 per cent ABV, which makes it a healthy, palate-friendly for moderate alcohol drinkers. It is also founf in any wine market cross Nigeria in different brands from wine makers.

This perfect indulgence holds good weight for a variety of dishes ranging from continental to locals; spicy foods, barbeque grill, poultry and pork, sausage and meatier pastas.

Immunity boosting plantain porridge with snails

Biwom Iklaki

W

hile we keep fighting one way or the other to stay afloat of the scourge of Ebola amidst us, we must stay healthy and fit to ward off infections from the inside. This means making sure that there is a proper balance between our pH and alkaline lev-

els. The alkalinity must be way higher than the acidity content in our systems. There are foods that make sure this happens.

Eat more foods that fall under the alkaline list and much less of those high in acid. Most animal protein (except fish, snails etc) and complex sugars fall within the acid category.

While leafy greens (veg-

etables), seeds, nuts, herbs and spices and fruits fall under the alkaline tag.

INGREDIENTS 10 large snails (cleaned and halved) 4 Medium sized greenish-yellow plantains (peeled, washed and cut into 5 sections each) 3 cloves garlic (crushed) 2 bulbs onion (chopped)

Pepper (desired taste) 3/4 cups Palm oil 3 stock cubes 1 teaspoon curry 1 cup fresh basil (chopped) PREPARATION Parboil snails, some onion, salt and one stock cube for 10 minutes or till desired tenderness.

In a large pot, bring two

cups water to the boil.

Pour in your plantain, onion, pepper, garlic, palm oil, salt and two cubes. Allow to cook for 10 minutes (stir and add water if it dries up). Add snails and curry and cook for another five minutes.

When you are satisfied with plantain tenderness and thickness of sauce, add basil, stir and cover

pot and turn off the heat.

Serve with Zobo, which is a caffeine-free drink with riboflavin, niacin, carotene, calcium (all nutritional ‘gold’). It is rich in Vitamin C and makes a wonderful herbal remedy to fight off colds and infections. Be sure to add ginger and serve with ice cubes and some more fresh basil leaves.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Body&Soul

Ethnic styling for kids Biwom Iklaki

W

atching your toddler develop and grow into a little person is amazing and rewarding. One of the things many parents do with their kids is to play dress up. There is nothing cuter than seeing your kids in our traditional attire. Clothes you would normally only find on adults are now finding their way into children’s wardrobes.

It has become so popular now that some designers have incorporated children in their clothing lines.

Ranging from cultural identities like Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, to South-South’, Efik, and many others, these clothes are made to fit in half sizes and they are a perfect way to style a child for that family photo shoot, traditional

wedding, birthday, school party, costume party...the different occasions for this look are endless. The idea is to make these clothes to fit them. There is no point exploring these looks when they are ill-fitting. It is best to have them tailor-made. Taking into consideration that they are for kids, the fabrics should not be itchy or uncomfortable. The child’s comfort should be paramount, just like when choosing any of their casual or dressy clothes.

Choose from different fabrics like Aso-oke, George, Adire, Lace, Ankara, etc. make sure to keep the accessories to a minimal so that your child is not drowning or weighed down by heavy accessory pieces or jewellery.

Sermon Understanding the way of peace p52

News Many pastors don’t pray before getting married-Eric Chindu p.54

TAI ANYANWU, titus.anyanwu@newtelegraphonline.com titusanyanwu.2012@gmail.com 0706 438 0029

NTWEEKEND ONLINE AT

www.newtelegraphonline.com/faith

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

AUGUST 24, 2014

Why I won’t marry, have children-Rev Chris Christian

Sermon Unlocking The Supernatural! (4) p.57

51

Faith ON SUNDAY

Rev Chris Christian, a prolific writer and Shepherd of Locust Army International Church, explains his celibate status to TAI ANYANWU What was your discipline before you went into ministry and why did you take to ministry?

I studied Physics 24 years ago at the University of Jos. After I graduated, I started working BU I resigned because of an encounter.

Could you explain what you mean by an encounter?

What I mean by an encounter is a process. Your life is a process. There was a process of conversion that brought me from where I am to where I will be. That’s what I call an encounter.

Where were you? What form the encounter take?

After graduating, I started working but then there was God’s interest in me. The interest was strong like a prompting to me. It was not yet clear; but it was strong. It was like something that dragged me beyond my interest. That’s what I mean by an encounter. In the beginning it was blurred but gradually it became clear until I left. I didn’t understand it but it eventually dragged me. There was a brief from divine will to move me just like the days of Jesus, when He was in a carpentry workshop and He was a Messiah. When He was looking out for Himself, He was doing a carpentry job and gradually he left carpentry work and entered the ministry.

Precisely what were you doing before you entered ministry?

I taught in some institutions and during the process I left.

I was not completely in charge; God was because there was a purpose. The purpose overcame what I wanted to be personally.

How big is your ministry now in terms of enlargement?

What do you consider as success in ministry?

In the ministry everything was not clear in the beginning; but God was there. When we began then like I said, 18 years ago, you know back then we began from the Northern part of Nigeria like Katsina, Zaria, Maiduguri and then to areas in Southern Nigeria like Aba, Enugu, Onitsha, my village. And over time, we started scattering.

I coordinate other ministries like my spiritual sons are in America, United Kingdom and all over the place. Like in Lagos, it was one of my sons that brought you. I sponsor churches within Nigeria and abroad; so we have churches in many countries. God is kind.

How do you define success in ministry?

My idea of success is that you should fulfil what you are designed to do. It doesn’t matter what people’s idea of having things is. It is only God that measures

that this is the course and vision for your life that you should accomplish.

Sometimes, it might not make a meaning to some people. But somebody will understand. Like Jesus who lived for only 33 years. He was successful; even though His ministry was three and half years and within an enclave. He went from Galilee to Bethlehem and to Capernaum and then three and half years he was through. He wasn’t here at that time, but He is here now because of the strength of what He Rev. Chris Christian accomplished in a very short time. So success is just fulfilling God’s will for you.

What then is the vision of this ministry you are pioneering?

My mission is to raise an altar for the capital messiah in the heart of Africa. So this is a corporate company of messiahs born to raise an altar for the capital messiah in the heart of Africa. We are picturing the return of Jesus.

There are many churches in Nigeria and more are coming up. What is your take on the direction of Christendom in the country?

Nigeria is a country in prophesy. No doubt, it is the hope of the world because she is the trigger of Africa; and Africa is the hope of the nations. So the angel of prophesy is here to look after and fulfil the last programme of God. While Nigeria should be in peace, in this country we don’t have problems because God has interest in Nigeria. The interest of God in Nigeria is more than the interest of man in Nigeria. That is why Nigeria cannot break. We don’t have problems.

How come you speak with such certainty when other men of God have predicted that disaster and anarchy would engulf Nigeria in 2015?

No there is nothing to worry about. In 2015, nothing will happen. God is in charge. If I look at the book of Matthew, God said that these happenings today are a mark of the end time. So nothing strange is happening. The crises will also help Nigeria become what she should be. Don’t you see Ebola disease? Where is Ebola today? Ebola is

almost on its way out. It is a demon. It is a manipulation and it is not going to remain in the land because God is against it. And the will of man will not override the will of God; no matter how they are manipulating things. So prayer is not the first; what is first is to understand what the will of God is.

What inspired you to write 66 books?

I know that God is light; where there is light darkness cannot comprehend it. We are children of light; and God has given us a command that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. So, light carries our destiny, that is why I write.

So no matter how the church prays, anywhere there is no light darkness will be there. Knowledge is a spirit, and I celebrate knowledge. It is unfortunate that the reading culture in Nigeria has dwindled. But everywhere I go to preach, I first of all sell these books.

You must have been devoting a lot of time to writing.

Do you have time for your wife and family?

I am not married; I will never marry. I was not born to reproduce.

Are you saying that you are barren?

I am not barren; not that way. I was born to live this way.

Women are not part of my destiny.

Isn’t that an unusual thing for a matured man?

CO NTINUED O N PAGE 53

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Faith

Understanding the Way of Peace

A

As it was in the beginning world that desires peace cannot afford to ignore or demean the divine. Without due regard for God man cannot realize authentic peace.

The direct cause of sin and conflict in the world is revolt against God as Genesis demonstrates in the Bible. So it has been from the beginning and continues to be. It explains the contrast between the order in creation when God saw that all that He had made was good (Gen. 1:31) and the situational change once man began to call the shots in creation (Gen. 3).

Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the sovereignty of God as ruler over all things, for all three share the same Scripture of the Old Testament. “Listen, Israel, Yahweh our God is one Yahweh. And you shall love Yahweh, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5). For all three religions, God is supreme and his sovereignty is never questioned by the adherents of these religions.

Jesus the innovator But Jesus Christ introduced a higher relationship between God and believers. Through Him, we are no longer servants but children of God, our Father. It was Christianity that

H

Firm faith: right reason by

Most Rev. Emmanu el Ade Badejo

Tel: 08039494219 Email: revodege@yahoo.com

gave humanity through Jesus Christ the very intimate identity of a family with God as Father and of God as builder of a household; with his people as a building in which all the stones hold firmly together, Jesus being the cornerstone.

The image of children in relation to a father in a family is far more intimate than that of a people under a king or ruler.

A father cares personally about his children (Matt. 10:29-31) and cares that his children live in peace with one another far more than a ruler would care for people under his rule. The image of each person being a part of God’s building with Jesus Christ himself as corner stone emphasises another precious dimension. With Jesus as the cornerstone, every other stone, every brick in the building must fit on to him and even fit in with the others. Both of these images eminently favour

peace among the children of God (Eph.2:21-22).

The price of peace Quite often, in order that a brick may fit in with others it has to be chipped and chiselled into shape. The moulding and remoulding of the clay is the prerogative of the porter as confirmed by the words of Yahweh. “People of Israel, can I not do with you what this potter does? As clay in the porter’s hands so are you in my hands” (Jer. 18:6). It is in this line that the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians enunciated the kind of relationship expected of those who believe in God, irrespective of their race or tribe. Such a relationship suggests that each component renounces something of its original character. “Now you are no longer strangers or guests but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the

house whose foundation are the apostles and the prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:19-20). If God means much to the life of any believer this is the way he must relate to his fellow men and women. “For Christ is our peace, he who has made the two peoples one, destroying in his own flesh the wall – the hatred – which separated us” (Eph. 2:14). Paul further clarified the role of Christ thus: “He came to proclaim peace; peace to you who were far off, peace to the Jews who were near” (Eph.2:17).

The terms of peace True peace is being one with others in God, believing that all human beings are from the same source, the same father.

Any other peace that does not factor others in it is superficial, only waiting for the next conflict. Is it any surprise that Jesus, at the end of His life, prayed to God that His followers may be one like He and His father are?

(Jn. 17) Unity is a true source of peace. There is the story of a monk who after many years of teaching his disciples the way of enlightenment, one day put them to test: “How do you know when morning has truly broken?” He got different answers. Some said it is when the first light appears. Others suggested that it must be at the first crowing of the cock.

Yet, others thought morning comes with the sound of the early bird. The holy monk faulted all of them. When no one seemed to have the answer he said: “You only know that morning has broken when you look at your neighbour and see in him a brother. Be it early, late or midday if you cannot see a brother or sister in your neighbour, then you are still in the dark and morning is very far away.”

God is simply irreplaceable

To comprehend such sublime thoughts one requires a deep sense of God’s presence. Our world seems so adept at generating tribal, racial, political, economic, social and domestic conflict but is hardly able to procure peace. St. Paul’s assertion that “Christ is our peace” (Eph.2:14) offers an authentic solution. That may be a peculiar doctrine to Christians, but it is indicative of the truth inherent in every religion that man cannot have true peace without giving due regard to the divine. Aldous Huxley is credited with the very fine saying: “Almost all of us long for peace and freedom, but very few of us have much enthusiasm for the thoughts, feelings and actions that make for peace and freedom. Our generation needs to change that fatal attitude of chronic hypocrisy.”

To live is easy, to die is difficult

ow painful it is to the Lord when one of His people dies (Ps. 116:15 – Good News

Bible) It pains God so much when one of His children dies. Permit me to quote from my language Bible Translation (Eleme) E’ otoKpoaru ONE-EEI be anyeemoekoo mi nne one ajeokurinnyea’u (NyimeEso 116:15) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Ps. 166:11 KJV) His love ones are very precious to Him and He does not lightly let them die. (Ps. 116:15 Living Bible).

If I die today, the Lord will cry.

It will pain Him very well, if I die, and this is the reason why the devil fights to take away my life and the lives of all His loved ones or saints. For this reason, the Lord has decided to protect the lives of His people, and does not lightly let them die.

Yesterday, it was I who was crying to the Lord to give me long life. Today, it is the Lord that is pleading with me to stay very long on earth so as to give Him praise and satisfaction, as I dominate, replenish and develop the earth. Similarly, if in the time past, you were asking God for longevity, today it is God pleading with you to, please, accept to live long on earth.

When one of His children

dies, how do you think the devil feels? Happy or sad? Again, how do you think God Himself feels when one of His children dies? Painful; yes, very painful.

This is one of the reasons why I know I will live long. God does not easily let His loved ones die, and so I cannot easily die, and you can’t easily die.

Truly speaking, before you die, your file will go from one table to the other up there in Heaven for approval. God Himself has said ‘No’ because of the pains it will cause Him. It is only yourself that will have the final say in that matter.

Eventually, the question will come back to you ‘Do you really want to die now?”

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again.

“No man taketh it from me but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to take it again.

This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:17, 18).

This was exactly what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He decided to wait till the appropriate time to die. I cannot die until I am ready to die.

You may say that the Lord Jesus Christ was the person who said what you just read in John 10:17, 18; but listen to Apostle Paul himself.

“But if I live in the flesh this is the fruit of my labour: yet what

WORD OF LIFE by

Bishop Moses Kat tey Tel: 08087707486, Email: moseskattey@yahoo.co.uk

I shall choose I know not.”

(Philippians 1:22) Paul said he was to make the choice of whether to live on earth or to die and be with Christ. You are the one to make the choice in your own case. I am the one to make the choice in my own case. The enemy or the devil has no hand in this matter. Paul said that he had decided to live, and he lived on.

“And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith (Philippians 1:25) “…. I know I shall live on…” is a very powerful word or RESIDENCE PERMIT. This is one of the reasons I know I will live long: I have made up my mind not to cause God pains which would happen if I die.

A girl was in the hospital for months and there was no hope

for her to survive. I visited her one day and promised her that I would enrol her name in a training programme organised by Shell Nigeria. After about two weeks she became well and was discharged from hospital.

She had the training as I promised. One day she came to me and said: “Daddy, do you know why I recovered?” I said, “No”. She said, “I recovered because you promised me that training sponsored by Shell. Without it I could have died long ago.”

Do you see, she decided to live because I promised her the job. Do you know the next thing that happened? As soon as she completed the training, she fell sick again and died!

I remember another case of a lady who came to me and told me that she was about to die. She was not sick but she

said that she was looking for something that would pain her mother. She said she found out that her death would cause her mother great pains and much sorrow. She said, “Since my mother did not like me, I have decided to die to cause her great pain. This is the only way I can pay her back for all the evil that she did to me.”

It took me over an hour to plead with her to forgive her mother and decide to live. She finally said she would do so just for the respect she had for me. Today, she is happily married. She decided to live and she is alive.

Listen to me: if I die today, God will cry. So I have chosen to live, in order not to cause Him pains.

Residence Permit The circumstances that bring about death will not come close to me since I made up my mind, like Apostle Paul, to live. The Lord will not only give you a Residence Permit, but will give you also a Work Permit. This will enable you to stay long on earth and also work, even up to old age. You will not be idle. You will be very useful on earth even when others are idle.

It is more difficult to die than to live. To live is easy and to die is very difficult.

Soon you will realise this fact.

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Why I won’t marry, have children-Rev Chris Christian CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 51

It is a sacrifice. The earth is a place where the will of God released on us a true sacrifice. I have to pay the sacrifice. Like I said, there is no way I will marry, there is no way I will have children.

How did you come about this way of living?

At the age of nine, I discovered that there was a spirit in me, that I needed to know. So, I started seeking and I also discovered that the spirit talks to me. At that age I knew certain things did not appeal to me and one of it is that I don’t have anything to do with women relationship. I knew there was a way I was feeling. From the age of nine, I knew I won’t have a wife because what we become is already controlled by who we are. So we would always become who we are.

If you look at the book of Luke 2 verse 11, Jesus was born Jesus Christ and became a carpenter to become what He was. I already knew the way my life would go, in that I knew I won’t get married, because I have already knew what I would become in the future. Because there was a voice I heard telling me this is the way I should follow in the book of Isaiah 30 verse 21. The voice kept telling me but I couldn’t understand it because then I was ignorant, but I kept seeking it.

Then you were very young, but now that you are matured and control a congregation. How do you handle female admirers?

No matter the level of pressure there is something I look at in my decision and not pressure. And I don’t live my life from outside, I live from within.

With that I conquer the pressure because I know what I want, which is to serve God. No matter the level of

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fter the church was born on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem at the Upper Room, 120 people were filled with the Holy Ghost, evidenced by the divine nature of Christ manifesting in their lives – Acts 2:1 – 3, Acts 11:25. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is the third and last stage of conversion of the spiritual birth. Before now, the disciples had been immersed in water. Then in John 17; they were sanctified by the words of Jesus Christ, cleansing them for the Holy Ghost baptism. I suppose the reader has gone through all three processes for a genuine spiritual birth. The truth is, what we have today among professing Christians is nothing but spiritual still-birth, not completing the three stages of Water Baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, a sanctification stage before the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, the third and the last stage.

The church of God grew upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets until in the course of church history, the advent of the Nicene Council in AD 325, organised churches began to be founded with unscriptural teachings that assumed political and state recognition. As Jesus Christ was building His church, man simultaneously was building his own church within the kingdom

pressure that mounts I would surmount it. God in me would help me conquer the pressure. My vision is my immortality and I cannot motivate my immortality with things in this world. That is why some don’t know me because I don’t believe in so many things. I am a figure, a figure that would shake the world. As a preacher I won’t do things that would not glorify the name of the Lord, and even preach a message that when people hear of it they would neglect me.

Instead, I would not go out, I would wait till I have something substantial.

Until I’m sure of what to preach, from the spirit of God and what I can represent, what I can stand for what people would not neglect like the book, ‘The Creative Power of Intelligence’, that book stayed up to five years in my mind, before I perfected it.

Men can know their lives. When Jesus came, He knew His life. When we receive life from God, we have received power from Him. So, it’s left for us to believe what He said, so there’s no death in my life.

Have you thought of who will take over your flourishing ministry after you are no more?

I don’t believe in death.

So are you saying you won’t die?

Yes; that’s what I just said. I’m not going to lay down my life. Redemption cannot be fooled with death. If you say that Jesus died for our sins, took our infirmities and was bruised for our iniquities and we are preaching it then we have to know that He died for all men. Some people would say it’s a spiritual death and then not physical death. But it is the spiritual that gives birth to the physical death.

So I say if Jesus Christ has forgiven us of our sins, then the gate of sin is shut, then death would be far from us. But you know that there are some things that are beyond human imagination, and it takes spiritual maturity before man can be able to understand spiritual things.

For example, there was a secret God revealed to me at the age of 27, but I then asked Him why he kept it from me before this time. He said he was preparing me before the time so I can be ripe to understand it. There are some things that people want to know but because they are not prepared for it they can’t access it. For example, if you want to go to university, you have to write UTME and you have to prepare for it.

Are you saying that you will live forever?

No it’s a transition, like Enoch, Elijah, like Jesus in the book of John 10 verse 17. He said, ‘I have power over my life’. As you are interviewing me it is very important for men to know that they have power over their lives.

What should people do if they want to live forever?

The word like immortality has been covered up with life. There are certain levels of impression that your mentality should catch quickly. God used to be a man. Man is the second person of God’s form.

Are you raising some of your associate pastors to live celibate lives?

No I don’t force people; like the one that was with me till he eventually got married and left. But I don’t have one currently with me that is an associate pastor because the work of ministry has to do with a calling of God. The reason why I can stay alone is because I don’t get distracted. I can’t take it and I am already 27 years old.

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Faith

Bishop Okonkwo clocks 69, holds lecture

T

Chijioke Iremeka

he Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) and the former National Vice President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Mike Okonkwo will be holding his annual lecture and award presentation as part of the activities to mark his 69th Birthday on Saturday, September 6, 2014.

The activities billed to usher in his birthday celebration in the 15th Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture and the presentation ceremony of winners of the 11th Mike Okonwko National Essay Competition for Secondary School students, which is slated for Thursday at Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos as well as a thanksgiving service at the TREM Headquarter in Lagos. The lecture with the theme: “The Power of your Vote - A catalyst for a Stable and United Nigeria,” will be chaired

by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, while a professor of International Law Akin Oyebode, would be the guest speaker. Also, on Saturday, August 30, the finals of the Mike Okonkwo’s soccer tournament between Maryland United Football Club of Maryland and Current Football Club of Gbagada will hold at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Ground.

Bishop Okonkwo, the host of ‘Power for the Wise,’ a daily devotional programme on radio, is also an author of several books that have transformed many lives and holder of several doctorate degrees and honorary awards.

He is the Convener of the Communion of Covenant Ministers International (CCMI), a gathering of pastors designed for fellowship, spiritual covering, mentoring, strengthening, and networking, through conferences, seminars and other interactive sessions. He is a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and member, Board of Trustees of the Women of Global Impact (WGI), a non-governmental organisation, which provides shelters to the homeless and also organises free medical fair for both men and women across the nation.

Bishop Okonkwo’s passion gave birth to the empowerment programme instituted under his Less Privileged Foundation, a non-governmental organisation committed to alleviating the plight of the less-privileged in the society through donations to hospitals.

Elijah Returns Again of God. That was entirely contrary to the original church.

After a 1000-year reign by the Catholic Church following the exit of the early church’s disciples, the mighty spiritual breakthrough came about during the time of the Reformation. Men like John Wycliffe, John Hus and others were enlightened by the Spirit of God, because they took the Holy Scriptures into their hands and the word of God into their hearts. They paved the way for the reformers. The reformers came on board to reform; i.e. correct the errors, creeds and traditions the man-made churches had formulated as Bible truth and doctrines. Then came Martin Luther, Phillip Melanchton, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and others who stood for the free proclamation of the Gospel.

Other revivals followed with John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church; John Smith, the founder of the Baptist Church, Menno Simons, founder of the Mennonite Church, right to Dwight Moody and many others. The world also knows about the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal Revival at Azuza Street in California at the turn of the 20th century. Simple preachers were filled with the Holy Ghost and testified of Jesus Christ as their personal saviour and also of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire.

THE Oracles of God by

Frank Oboden Olomukoro frankolomukoro@yahoo.com, 07033621866

(Matt. 3:11 – 12; Acts 11:15 – 16).

WILLIAM MARRION BRANHAM Here comes William Branham.

He fulfilled the Bible prophecy: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” That is THUS SAITH THE LORD. We are living in the time of grace, which is also called the ‘Day of Salvation’ (Isaiah 49:6 – 8; 2Corinthians 6:2).

The time of grace began at the first coming of Christ and will end for the nations with the return of Christ, the imminent rapture as promised unto us in John 14:1 – 3 and 1Thess. 4:17.

After World War II, William Branham came on the scene in the spirit and power of Elijah to specifically turn the hearts of the children to the fathers (the teachings and foundation laid down by the apostles and prophets).

He had a special calling and commission with a prophetic ministry. He fulfilled Malachi 4:5 – 6 as the Elijah to restore all things; he fulfilled Matthew 25:6, as the Midnight Prophet who advanced with a message to forerun the Second Coming (Rapture) of Jesus Christ. He also fulfilled Revelation 3:14 and Revelation 10:7 as the 7th Laodicea Church Age angel messenger when all the mystery of God as revealed to His servants the prophets shall be revealed and finished. He was chosen and had a divine calling.

Even his opponents and critics concede that such a ministry has not been present on earth since the days of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May 7, 1946 was a very special day, the day God had chosen to commission His servants and to tell him the purpose connected to his calling. With this, we come to the main promise for our time

which could not remain unfulfilled. We must emphasize that God does all things related to His plan of salvation according to His word, so it can be verified on God’s word. Every prophecy and promise in reference to the first coming of Christ were literally fulfilled back then, but the scribes and teachers did not recognise them, because they were spiritually blinded by their own interpretations. Bible prophecy may not be interpreted under any circumstances (2Peter 1:20).

It must be seen and recognised in its fulfilment. Misinterpretations are always the work of the enemy (Genesis 3:1 – 6) and only stand in our way. In fact, they keep us from seeing the fulfilment by revelation.

The ever-true God watches over His word and fulfilled what He had promised. How could it be otherwise? Indeed, He has sent us a man whom He ordained to be a prophet the likes of Elijah.

Whoever does not recognise or accept it is living in spiritual darkness and has not yet recognised the merciful visitation of God. May the Lord always bless you and reveal this truth to you.

Amen.

Frank Oboden Olomukoro writes from Christian Ministry of Reconciliation Km. 14, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (beside PUNCH Newspapers), Wasimi, Lagos.

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Faith

Many pastors don’t pray before getting married - Eric Chindu

Pastor Eric Chindu

Pastor Eric Chindu, Founder of Army of Christ Church is passionate about dancing. He also believes that women who dress in trousers should not be castigated. He spoke with TAI ANYANWU

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Could you recall how the church started? pastor named Anthony Eke told me that God had decided to bless me. He said that I should carve out one day in the week for three months to fast and pray. Then I was a clearing agent lifting UPS goods and parcels from Lagos to the Northern part of Nigeria. There was a lot of competition then; and I needed God’s help. I won the contract to lift their goods from Lagos to Kano, Kaduna and many times I lacked the capital to finance my goods. So I went to the man of God and he asked me to observe the prayer and fast each day and not do any other things on those days. The first challenge arose when he told me to fast any other day except Sunday. As a business man I found it difficult to leave my business for a whole day. But I obeyed and went to a little forest nearby, where people gathered to pray, and they refer to the location as Prayer Mountain. I went to the mountain, in obedience to the divine instruction. I would get there at 6am and close at 6pm. After I had prayed and fasted for three weeks, a strange woman came to me at the prayer ground. She told me that she saw me in her dream praying for her. She also told me that the Lord said I should pray for her; I told that I never knew how to pray. She came with a little boy. She troubled me a lot; and that was about 5.45pm when I had grown very hungry and wanted to go home to refresh. I asked her what she really wanted. Then she explained that she was buying and selling goats, but complained that her business was not doing well. And I said, ‘God, you have heard, answer her answer, answer her’, and she went away. She said her business changed for good from that day I prayed for her. Consequently, she brought her friends who had similar problems to me at the prayer mountain and asked me to pray for them. I told

them that I am not a pastor, and showed them many pastors who were at the mountain whom they could consult to pray for them. But she said to me, ‘Have you finished’? I said, ‘Yes’; and she said, ‘Pray for us’. Again, I said, “God, you have heard them. Answer them.” And they went away. The following Saturday, they came.

That was how the church started under a mango tree along the international airport road, around Mafoluku in Lagos. So every Saturday, people would gather under the mango tree to pray. In the year 2001, we had over 50 members. Those women I had prayed for had become so prosperous that they no longer come to Saturday prayers because their businesses were doing well. Their lifestyles changed and those who were not able to pay their children’s school fees were now able to do so. However, they came every Sunday morning for prayers before going to worship in their respective church. But they complained that services at their church usually ended before they got there so they suggested that we commence full blown Sunday fellowships. We then moved away from the mango tree and secured a place only to relocate again to Mangoro near former PUNCH Newspapers headquarters. Later, we bought a parcel of land at Ago area, and built a small church because God told us that we were moving very soon.

In December 2012, we started the foundation of this building where we are now. We wanted to build simple church, a simple glass church.

Why the emphasis on a simple glass church?

We want people to change their orientation about church. People feel that there is a secret in the church. There is no secret in the church.

We want a simple glass church because there is nothing hidden about this church. When one enters the auditorium, one can actually see everything and everywhere. The altar is right in the centre and the pastor’s office is made of

glass so that one can see everything that goes on there from any corner of the church.

How did you come about the church’s name - Army of Jesus Christ Ministry?

God gave us the name when we were struggling to give the church a name. That lingered for six months; but one day, I was in a dream and saw a church named ‘Army of Jesus’.

When I entered the church, I saw myself preaching. I was confused; how can I be the pastor whose is preaching? And what I saw in the church were soldiers, people who were ready to serve God at all time. The pastor told me that they train soldiers for Christ, people who work by the word of God and people who are enlisted and are in the vanguard of the Lord’s business. He asked me if I had come to join them. I said ‘yes’ and that was how this church derived the name Army of Jesus Christ Ministries.

What attribute could help one to identify a genuine army of Christ?

Christ was so simple that it was difficult to recognise him among his members such that it required one of his disciples to identify him. He was so simple that he entered the house of publican; he dined with Lazarus and his sisters and mingled with sinners. The Bible says that Moses was the most humble man that ever lived on earth. Yet nobody has an anointing higher than his apart from Christ. Moses discussed with God one on one and God answered him, yet he was humble. Simplicity has to be about humbling oneself, has to do with honouring people, admiring people. It has to do with respecting people for who they are even though they are thieves or armed robbers.

Honour them and respect them so that you can change them. Look at how Christ drew crowds to himself.

He was so simple. He talked with authority, yet he didn’t behave like the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, who demanded respect. He had the authority yet he was so simple. Simplicity does not remove the authority given to us, it is grace not that we are better than others. Honour attracts honour. Christ hates arrogance, pride and ego.

So it is not about appearance?

No, no, no. It is not about appearance. Every religion has a culture.

In the generation He belonged to, people were wearing it but he came to destroy the works of Satan. If wearing ear rings was actually good, Christ would have won it. Just like the tattoos that people wear today. If you read history very well, you will discover that during the generation of Jesus, wearing of tattoo was in vogue.

But the fact that He didn’t put it on even when it was in vogue meant that it wasn’t the ministry’s culture. That is telling us that our simplicity should not include perverse ways of life.

What about women?

Who said women should not put on ear rings? That has to do with personal choice. If a woman decides not to wear ear rings, good. The Bible didn’t say we should not cover our hair. It says a woman’s covering is her hair.

Whether you cover it or not, there is a way that is always reasonable, which is dressing properly. The pagans even

recognise proper dressing.

A time came when the lord said to me, ‘My son you don’t know how to pray. I’m sending you to the mountain. Go to Babalola mountain and watch what people are doing there.

So I went there and I saw what they were doing. They were seriously praying for at least 45 minutes and I learn many ways to pray. It is not only about church. The dressing of some people is so evil that you are a woman, you are sitting or even walking and one is seeing your panties. It is no longer church; simplicity should not be likened to such evil. That is waywardness. Simplicity does not mean that women should not wear trousers. Many people who say that women should not wear trousers don’t know the genesis of trousers.

They are not students of history; and it is not in the Bible. The Bible only said that women should not put on clothes meant for men and men should also not put on women’s wears. That is telling you that there are trousers meant for women. And if you and I go to the market now I will show you trousers meant for women. Trousers meant for women have a special lap. There are trousers meant for men also. If a man puts on trousers meant for women, people will notice the relaxing of his manhood. So the Bible is telling us not to deceive people by pretending to be a woman or a man through your dressing. That is the message embedded in that scripture; that we should not put on wears meant for the opposite sex.

The question of skirt and trousers has to do with culture. In fact, if you go into history, a woman wore the first pair of trousers. It was prepared by a woman. Originally, trousers were made for women. People lack the knowledge of this history, it is not written in the Bible. So what they have is dogma.

Why in your own estimation are some pastors having problem with their marriages?

There is a lot in marriage and that is why I believe that a man should be matured before going into marriage.

On the other hand, some women marry just because of sex; likewise some men marry because of the need that cannot be provided by themselves. There are many reasons many why people marry, but all these are not what God want from marriage.

What God wants from us in marriage is to bring up children that can serve him, worship Him and obey Him. Many men of God don’t even kneel down to pray before going into marriage. For the fact that Sister Mary or Sister Rose is a fine girl doesn’t mean that she is your wife. And for the fact that Brother Kalu or Brother Eke has money doesn’t mean he is your husband. Men of God need to seek approval from God before going into marriage. Marriage is meant to be a partnership. A man should help the woman and a woman should help the man. I believe that social deliverance is very important in marriages, because those things you do as a man that can cause trouble to your home, you have to stop them. And for a woman, all those things you do that can cause problems between you and your husband have to stop.

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

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Faith

Your needs and pressures A

nd he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.

11And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he

commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

14But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.” I Sam 13:8-14 As human beings, there is a universal concern that stares us all in the face; whether young, old, rich, poor, big or small. We all have needs; we need things for ourselves, our loved ones, etc.

Though you are not of this world, but there are things you will need in this world.

And as a child of God, you need to understand that your need will exert pressure on you. Whenever you are in a particular need and it seems not to be forthcoming, it puts pressure on you. When you need to settle bills, pay rent, get married or even embark on certain projects, all these are enough to put physical, spiritual, social, mental and even emotional pressure on you.

The pressure often becomes stronger when you begin to see others around who have it or are testifying about it. For instance, admission, travel visa, among other things, all these are capable of increasing pressure. In the case of Saul, in responding to that pressure in verse 8, he had to do what he was not supposed to do.

He said, ‘I was under pressure’, the same way Hannah was under pressure of having a child.

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair” IICor 4:8 Jesus also had His own pressures, so also did David (I Sam 21:10-15); even Samson in Judges 14. Need is enough to bring pressure, but it even becomes greater when people around you are getting those things.

The second thing that can increase pressure is when you allow yourself to be influenced by what people are saying around you. It is enough pressure when a sister is not to be married even when she’s fully ready for it, but there is a way people can escalate it for you.

Another source or cause of pressure is when other unmet needs are added to your needs. For instance, you are job-hunting and the landlord comes with a quit notice, this is enough to add to your pressure and it becomes frustration.

What do you do about pressure?

•You must understand that you

Prophetic Insight with

Rev. James Akinadewo Tel: 08037188392 (SMS only) motailatugrow@hotmail.com

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hat an aura of favour and glory. Testimonies heard last week were soul-lifting. It is a confirmation that God is blessing millions through this teachings. This season, more miracles are coming your way and your joy shall be full.

When God created man, the Almighty blessed them male and female and said – Go and replenish the earth and have dominion. It simply means succeed, be the best and not a mediocre.

Mediocrity is a sin, you must maximise your potentials and be whom God wants you to be. This forms the thrust of our teaching today – Be the best.

DIVINE WORD Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

(2 Timothy 2 verse 15) THE WORD Show thyself Approved – God is

an investor. He invested in you to be a blessing to the world. You were created to be creative. In anything you do, according to His will, you must excel and be the best.

Needed not to be ashamed – Excellence and perfect touch must show in your endeavours in the world. You must not settle for less or be like the rest but must be the best.

LIFE CHANGER Nobody celebrates intentions but reality. Don’t just wish, make it work and let the world see the manifestations.

Whether in government circles or private business, you must be the best on your job and in your time.

Whenever you leave the stage, the world will remember to celebrate your achievements.

Are you a carpenter, mason, engineer or cleaner, you must be the best and people will be demanding for your services. You will be in high demand and people will be ready to pay your charges (not minding the cost), once they have the assurance of getting the best

are not the only one who is under pressure. Other people are also under pressure though the nature and cause may differ. “Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (I Pet 5:9).

So you are not the only one looking for a baby, job or spouse etc.

- Pressure is not enough reason for you to do anything. You married that man because you are under pressure because of what your parents are saying. If you do there is always regret at the end.

•You can handle pressure with God’s help - it could be physical, financial, social or even marital.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Phil 4:13 •The pressure that comes to us is not as bad as it first appears; the longer you hold on, the stronger you become and the weaker the pressure becomes because it gradually fades off. When you stand your ground, it will lose its position, it is not as hard as you see it, the devil is the one manufacturing it.

Verse 12 of the scripture above: Saul said, “…so I forced myself therefore...” Don’t force yourself, don’t take that step without consulting God. Surrender your life to Christ.

Ask yourself, if you are prepared

to pay the price after you have succumbed to this pressure?

Would God be happy? Don’t give in to pressure; whatever makes you give in to pressure will make you lose your position. Remember Aaron, Esau, Samson, even Saul.

Put pressure on your pressure and tell the pressure that ‘you are just for a time and I will see your end’. Remember the word of God, Phil 4:19 says, ‘My God shall supply all your needs…’

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

I Cor. 2:9 Break away from evil company.

It does not cost God anything to grant you the desires of your heart, but you must show Him you love Him and esteem Him over and above all your worries and pressures. He needs you to magnify Him beyond that situation.

I know you have been blessed.

Write and share your testimonies, comments, etc., through; info@thehebrewsng.com.

Hotlines – 01-7903163, 08085845864.

You can also listen to messages on our podcast at www.thehebrewsng. com/podcast.

Rev’d Femi Akinola – The Hebrews International, Lekki, Lagos

Be The Best

services from you – they will even recommend you to others.

Tailors that sew the dresses of Presidents and Kings don’t have two heads (just one like yours). It is their work that approves them; that’s why the Bible says ‘show yourself approved’.

People book for appointments to see Mr. President and queue to see governors but their tailors and cleaners see them easily.

DUTY POST When a former Information Minister and presidential candidate, Prof. Jerry Gana, was at the helm at MAMSER (Mass Mobilisation for Social and Economic Recovery), a body set up by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s regime for effective social order , hesaid then on television – If you are a soldier, soldier well; a teacher, teach well; a minister, minister well; a driver, drive well; and a commentator, comment positively well. He charged us to be good Nigerians and give our best services to the country.

The publicity gained ground that small children easily recognise Jerry Gana on television.

Infact, Prof. Gana still claims the credit for the publicity success enjoyed by Babangida’s government.

AIM FOR THE BEST/ EPISODE ONE

One of the country’s musical legends, King Sunny Ade (KSA), started his musical career in the 50s and never looked back. When he started, he had one thing in mind – To be the best.

When he released his first record titled ‘Alaanu L’oluwa’ in the 60s, he was forward looking and said in his mind – ‘with determination and God’s backing, I will make it in my career and be the best for years to come’.

His result speaks volume today. He has been a strong pillar in Juju music for more than 50 years and is still waxing stronger.

When he started, he took a decision to be the best and that has worked positively for him.

He was once nominated for the prestigious Grammy world music awards in America. A real focus indeed!

EPISODE TWO One company that has stood out in Nigeria in the ‘elevator business’ is Kresta Laurel.

Those constructing skycrappers in the country knows that Kresta Laurel is a household name when it comes to that area.

Those who understand ‘lift’ to use the language in our local parlance will identify them with the business. They are one of the best in the field, handled many jobs

for government, industries and individuals. Reports say they did the elevators at the Julius Berger headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

Be the best in your job and you will be celebrated.

EPISODE THREE Mention road construction in Nigeria, Julius Berger will be a mong the top three. They worked their way to the top by being the best all these years.

They did many roads in Nigeria and are still doing more. Giving best services and deliver on time is their creed.

To them – If every job is done the best way, we would get more.

EPISODE FOUR Comedy is now a profitable venture. Bill Cosby, veteran international comedian started his act many years ago and is now a role model to many upcoming comedians the world over.

Very good. His delivery superb and will make you laugh easily.

His endowments and talents has placed him on same table with Kings and Presidents. He is simply the best in his business and has gained much followership.

What business are you doing today? Be focused and be determined. Make it profitable and be the best there.

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Faith

MYSTERY OF ANXIETY with

F

Bishop John Ogbansie gbe Tel:08033416327

avour is when a person enjoys kindness from every person, whether they are good, bad or ugly, even enemies.

Favour is a special preferential treatment given to somebody who did not work for it. Favour is when a person enjoys good will from all. Favour is an act of grace shown from one person to another. Favour is when a person is preferred to others or chosen among many. Favour also means regard or support given from one person to another.

It takes favour to get married.

It takes favour to have children. It takes favour to get a lucrative job.

It takes favour to be successful in life. It takes favour to have international breakthrough. Favour is a supernatural experience because it comes from above. Favour is divine assistance. When there is divine assistance, a consistent failure becomes a sudden success and a frustrated loser becomes a winner. God shall show you favour this season. God shall give you divine assistance.

In the book of 1Samuel 16: 11-12, the Bible records thus: “And Samuel said unto Jesse; are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him for we will not sit down till he comes hither. And he sent, and brought him

I

in. Now, he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise anoint him for this is he.”

God’s supremacy lies in His ability to execute His will anytime and anywhere in the world. He is God and no man can question His actions. He can choose to elect or distinguish anyone He wants. He is an expert in making nothing to become something. He chose David who was the least in his father’s house.

As at then, David was nothing in the eyes of man; that was why his father did not present him to Samuel initially. This is why the word of God also declares, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever ye shall ask of the father in my name He may give you.”

As a credential to the above scripture, the word of God also says, “Howbeith, the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler, and of the house of Judah, the house of my father and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me King over all Israel.”

The above scripture reveals David’s acknowledgement of the fact that he was not qualified. In other

Channels of favour: Favour is it words, he said, “I am not qualified.

I don’t have the credentials, but ‘He liked me’; ‘He liked me’ and made me king over Israel.” It naturally follows that whatever favourable position you are enjoying in the world today is all about God’s choice and election. He chose you to favour, not because you are beautiful or handsome, not because you are intelligent, strong, smart, highly educated or connected, but because He likes you. The Lord shall give you a divine assistance this season in the name of Jesus Christ.

When God decides to favour you, He will do it in such a way that everybody including your enemies will know that God has done it.

This is why the word of God declares: “For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and i will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So, then it is not he that willeth, nor runneth, but God that showeth mercy” – Roman9:15-16. Hard work is good but a man that has God’s favour prospers and increases with an incredible speed.

A man of favour, in a twinkle of an eye, and by a mere wave of hand will achieve in one minute what a man of hard work without favour will achieve in five years. Favour is divine. That is why man must live a lifestyle that will attract favour.

God’s ways are far and different from man’s ways. That is why there special channels of favour without which it may be farfetched. Divine

favour is the cure to generational curses, plagues and many inherited misfortunes. Favour and misfortunes are like light and darkness.

If any man is in divine favour with God, he can never be a victim of misfortune, disgraced or calamity on earth.

Divine favour can give a man wonderful opportunities beyond human expectations. This favour has a spirit which I call, the spirit of favour or the angel of favour. When it comes, it motivates and propels people to do things for you without knowing what they are doing.

Even your enemies and those that hate you will seek to favour you, because they are under divine influence which is beyond their human control and expectations. To this end, the word of God declares, “For thou Lord will bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield” - Psalm 5:12. Because of favour people will do things for you which ordinarily, they wouldn’t have done. Also, the word of God recordss thus: “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they leant things to them such as they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians” - Exodus12:36.

Divine favour gave Joseph an automatic divine turnaround from prison to the palace. As you read this book, you shall contact the grace for supernatural favour and you shall begin to operate in the realm of the supernatural favour in the name of

Jesus Christ.

In the land of Babylon, Daniel insisted that he would not eat the king’s meat. It was granted unto him because he got the favour of the prince of eunuchs. In the book of Daniel 1:9, the Bible records thus: “Now God hath brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of eunuchs.” At the risk of his own life, he granted Daniel’s request because it was a major crime punishable with death, to violate the king’s order. This is divine favour from above.

Similarly, Esther needed the king’s audience, but the law clearly stated that anybody that came into the king’s court without invitation must be put to death. The Bible also records, “And it was so that, when the king saw Esther, the queen standing in the court that she obtained favour in his sight, and the king held out to Esther, the golden sceptre that was in his hand.

So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.” The king breached protocols just to favour Esther. Men and women shall break protocol just to show you favour, love and kindness. They shall risk their lives to be a blessing to you in the name of Jesus Christ. You shall be favoured; you shall be blessed specially and uniquely. The favour and blessings of God shall come upon you and over take you as you queue in these channels of favour revealed in this message in the name of Jesus.

Maximising your child’s potential

n order to maximise the potential of any child, the potential of that child needs to be discovered in the first place!

It is only after discovering the child’s potential, capabilities, talents and gifting, that the potential can be maximised.

Let’s take a look at the word – potential. According to the Webster’s comprehensive dictionary, potential is: 1. Having capacity for existence but not yet existing 2. Possible but not actual Potential refers to qualities that exist that can be developed (Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary). It is the latent ability or innate ability of an individual, yet to be expressed. (My definition) Myles Munroe, an expert in this field, says that the grave is the richest place on earth, because people die without fulfilling their potential.

They have a lot of abilities unexpressed and unfulfilled and die with them. This is an error, as God gave each individual several abilities for them to express themselves, utilising them for the benefit of their fellow human beings.

The Bible, speaking in 1st Corinthians 12: 4- 12 say, “Now there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit. And there are diversities of administrations but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the

Power in the word with

Banke David

Tel: 08034156014 word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another diverse kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh the one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

You see, we all have varying gifts given to us by the Holy-Spirit!

Your child’s gift could be administration, it could be helping people, and it could be knowing things supernaturally or other gifts.

Whatever gift your child has been blessed with, should first of all, be discovered. If he or she is good with drawing, the arts, the child should not be forced to read the Sciences just because you wish

for a medical doctor son or because you wanted him or her to be a doctor and missed it. Allow your child to be his self, as forcing a child to be what he is not, could lead to dissatisfaction and regrets. All children should be allowed to study courses they are interested in or love. If you notice your child would love to be an actor or actress, do not discourage them rather encourage them by exposing them to professionals in the field. Remember, a person’s gift will bring him before kings, so says(Proverbs18:16).

Discovering your child’s talents could be done by asking yourself several questions: 1. What is my child’s hobby?

2. What does my child enjoy doing?

3. Is he or she gifted in the arts, literary subjects or the Sciences?

4. In what subjects does he or she score highest?

5. What career choice has he or she made and why?

6. Is he or she making the choice for the money or for pleasure?

7. What is his or her life vision?

8.

What can I do to help him actualize this dream?

A cousin of mine desired to study Computer-Science but his parents desired to have a doctor son; as Medicine is a professional course and being a doctor is quite prestigious. Due to a lack of proper counselling, he went ahead to study Medicine for six years coupled with another two years of housemanship and youth service making eight years of training. At the end of the day, upon graduating, he discovered he was not fulfilled working as a doctor. He went ahead to study Computer Science and is now doing extremely well in the field. Not only is he making loads of money, he is satisfied and enjoys himself travelling all over the world, pertaining to his career.

This account is a true life story and only goes to show that no career is bad and one should not be favoured over the other. We only need to make sure our kids are doing what they love, using their talents and God-given abilities. When this is the case, we are assured that they will enjoy a fulfilled life.

After discovering the potential of your child, the child still needs to be encouraged. Secondly and in order to maximise your child’s potential, you can do the following: Maximising my child’s discovered potential: 1. Encourage your child to read books and articles relating to his chosen field of endeavour.

2.

Introduce your child to an

adult in that field that can serve as a mentor to the child.

3. Give him assignments and targets related to his field, in order to stimulate his interest 4.

Reward him for a job well done.

5. Take him on a field-trip to a place relating to the field. For instance if your child wishes to be a newscaster, take him to a television station to see first-hand how production is done.

6. Buy him mock instruments for his trade, so he can practice e. g. for a doctor-to-be, you can buy him a stethoscope and a thermometer.

(Pretend to be sick and let him be the doctor!)

7. Keep on speaking words of encouragement and affirmation to your child.

It is my opinion, that when you have taken these steps listed above to encourage and stimulate your child’s interest, he or she will not only be keen, but knowledgeable.

Remember, we discussed patience as a factor in raising Godly children (a previous article). If any hitch is observed in your child along the way, please be patient- (Rome was not built in a day, neither will your child be!)

Here’s wishing you the very best in your quest for a gifted and promising child of tomorrow. You’re not alone; we’re in this together and even many other parents out there, who desire a well-rounded child.

God bless you.

Banke David writes from Aba in Abia State

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

L

Faith

Unlocking The Supernatural! (4)

ast week, I showed you the Faith Command.

This week, we shall be talking about The Sound Command.

Mere knowledge of the supernatural world won’t bring about its manifestation. You need an understanding of the dynamics of its operations, if you must benefit from it. A cardinal step in the release of the supernatural is the production of sound. It is the production of sound based on the Word of God revealed to you that will compel supernatural forces to work in your favour.

That is what brings about the signs you desire.

Soundless Christians are, therefore, signless Christians. The night discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus is very revealing of the dynamics of sound production. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and… goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

When the wind blows, you hear the sound distinctly; that is the evidence that the wind is blowing. In the same way, everyone that is born of the Spirit produces sounds. You must be heard, for the supernatural to be released in your life. Everyone that is born of the Spirit of God is designed for sound production. This is the switch that sets the supernatural

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The Voice of

Dominion by

Bishop David Oyedepo

Phone: 7747546-8; E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

in motion. Just like no one understands the movement of the wind, the sound of the believers may not be understood. You hear the sound alright but may never understand it until you see the effect.

Get this straight; your mouth is a weapon of authority ordained

by God to keep you in perfect dominion. It is your instrument for the exercise of supernatural authority. Jesus said everyone that is born of the Spirit is like the wind. You must make distinct sounds with your mouth concerning what you desire before you can see a sign in that direction.

Product of Sound: Every sign and wonder is a direct product of a sound. That is why only the confident loudmouths command the miraculous in the Kingdom. A preacher who wants the supernatural to manifest must first proclaim it

with his mouth. This is why during healing meetings, one often hears preachers making great proclamations of what the power of the Great Jehovah can do. You hear them declare confidently that blind eyes will be opened, the lame will walk, the deaf will hear, etc. They are giving sound to what is in their hearts. As such proclamations are being made, supernatural forces are called into action.

Even God the Father of the miraculous operated this way.

We are told in Genesis chapter one that a time came when God wanted a change of situation. He wanted to re-create the heavens and the earth. Darkness was everywhere. No sign of light and of life. God’s Spirit was hovering over the shapeless, formless void but that alone did not bring about the desired result.

So, how did God go about the task? He followed the same pat-

tern that Jesus talked about in John 3:8. “And God said…” God produced a sound. This turned on the supernatural. As soon as God said, “Let there be light,” light came. The same thing happened for every other thing He created. If God needed to produce sound to manifest His divine nature, then you and I have no choice if we must manifest that same nature.

There was darkness upon the face of the deep but God called light out of it. This means that for every problem there is a solution, but it takes a calling out for the solution to manifest. If you cannot produce the sound, don’t expect the sign.

For several years now, I have been making a clear sound about my health, based of course on the revealed truth of God’s word. To the glory of God, I live in perfect health today despite my busy schedule. It is the same thing for every other area of life - ministry, family, etc. Like God, everything I desire (in line with God’s word), I sound it out. I want protection so I sound out protection. I want a great future, so I make the same sound and so on.

You can replace “And God said…” in Genesis 1 with “And God sounded…” I take after Him, Halleluyah! Do the same thing too. Keep saying what you desire until it comes alive

and manifests physically. The supernatural responds to a sound drawn out of a fountain of revealed truth. God could not have what He wanted without producing a sound. Neither can you.

Friend, the grace and power to make good sounds is for the saved. You get saved by confessing and accepting Jesus as Your Lord and Saviour. If you are set for it, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today.

I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for saving me. Now I know, I am born again!” I will conclude this teaching next week!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books — Commanding The Supernatural and Walking In The Supernatural.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@ lfcww.org

Why you behave the way you do

magine how many times you are on your way and someone steps on your toes. You stop halfway on your journey, half way on your mission and dwell in an argument, just to justify yourself. But how hurting is that pain that you could not have ignored the fellow and moved on with your life? The devil masterminded it to distract your attention from your focus for that day. And you must gain wisdom to control yourself from this time on.

Beloved, instead of dwelling in negativity, you must have a feel-good attitude. That is how to defeat the enemy. When they expect you to be down in depression and you choose the golden rule of being positive and happy, then you have returned the ticket to the devil to fly to hell.

According to medical science, every human being has about 160 trillion cells working for the effective functioning of the human body. Every cell is made up 80 per cent water. Many of them die and are replaced immediately. It is because your cells are made up of 80 per cent water that you are advised to drink water on a regular basis.

And these cells are con-

trolled by your feelings. They operate by the way you feel.

When you feel bad, they arise to make the body system comply with your feelings. Same thing happens when you feel hungry, or happy and excited. Once you hear something good and pleasant, the body reacts to that feeling immediately with a smile on your face and excitement everywhere.

Let one bad news hit you, suddenly too, your feelings change and the cells react to your feelings. The moment you say I am depressed, every cell in your body responds to bring you to the mood of depression. And that is the reason you behave how you feel.

But the good book says, “Let the weak say I am strong.”

This means give the right control and the cells in your body will respond to your feelings.

God wants you to have a feel-good attitude. He wants you to be positive and hopeful about your expectations. Worry does not change anything but your positive attitude and hopefulness can give you an insight into what next to do.

Dwelling continually on what is not working will soon weary your soul and land you in the hospital for one ailment or the other. Doctors may never

trace the source. So why die before your time?

You may never be able to appropriate your potential if you don’t know how to control yourself. That is why I have decided not to be angry over little things anymore. Every time you take charge of your feelings, you disarm your enemy. And that is why I know that any man who has rule over his emotions can rule the world. The word of God puts us in charge. That is why the good book says any man that is in Christ Jesus overcomes the world. You are an overcomer and child of God. Your destiny is a thing in glory. The devil only paints those ugly pictures to deceive you. If only you calm down, you will soon know that the so-called huge challenge is really no issue.

In the Bible, the Preacher tells us that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones.”

It says feeling good is medicinal and has healing powers. A feel-good spirit helps you to build a home. You can build that empire and achieve that goal and mission if you pursue it with a feel-good attitude. Things will only dry up when your spirit is broken down with ill emotions. May

Taming your Emotions by

Apostle Clement by Ogbonna Bishop Lawrence Osagie apostleofgraceinwo Tel: 08063250667, mail:powerlineministries@mail.com, www.powerlineministriesinc.org

God help you not to break your walls with broken spirit in the name of Jesus.

Many have taken undue advantage of you; it is high time you take control and don’t allow undue pressures and whipped up sentiments to override your sense of discretion anymore. So it is important for you to generate that good feeling. If you can disallow Satan from stealing your joy, he will not be able to get you depressed and spiritually defeated.

In 2Kings 4, the Bible tells the story of a woman who was blessed by God after she had blessed the man of God, Elisha.

Her child took ill and later died.

Despite this negative circumstance, the woman’s slogan was: “It is well.” She refused to see any wrong in the death situation but chose to wear a feel-good at-

titude. She went to the man of God on an ass. She decided to go forward in good spirit. Even when the servant of the man of God approached her, she said: “It’s well.” I agree with her principles of feel-good attitude. Did the death of her child make her feel good? Well, she chose the feel-good attitude and at the end of the day her child was restored.

May God by the grace of this message restore all that you have lost to you. May you receive uncommon grace to put up the feelgood attitude in Jesus name. It is all about understanding your emotions and that is what I want to discuss in the next episode.

Only read on.

I invite you to fellowship with us at the Powerline Bible Church, Glass House, Odo-Olowu Bus Stop, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ijesha Tedo, Lagos on Sunday 9am.

ADVERTISE YOUR CHURCH EVENTS, SPECIAL PROGRAMMES, CONVENTIONS AND OTHER CHURCH ACTIVITIES ON THESE PAGES. CONTACT: TAI ON 07064380029

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

News

Tension in Nasarawa over fate of policemen attacked in Gwoza Cheke Emmanuel LAFIA

T

here was palpable tension in Nasarawa State over the weekend, concerning the whereabouts of un-specified number of police officers and men attached to Mopol 58 and 38 Squadron in Lafia and Akwanga who have been reportedly missing following attack on the police training facility at Gwoza, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday.

New Telegraph on Sun-

day’s findings showed that a unit of Mopol 58 in Lafia and many others from Mopol 38 Squadron at Akwanga were attacked at Gwoza while on a training programme.

It was gathered that the policemen were asked to drop their arms and get into the hall but tragedy struck when Boko Haram insurgents invaded the facility killing scores and injuring many while others scramble for safety.

It was gathered that many survivors ran to Cameroon and Borno and Adamawa

States through the bush after hours of running and trekking. When our correspondent visited Mopol 58 situated along Lafia-Makurdi Road at about 4:pm on Saturday, a police van was sighted at the gate conveying some a policemen who scaped from the attack.

Some policemen were also seen in groups both in the barracks and at the gate of the squadron discussing in low tunes the tragedy that befell their colleagues at Gwoza, reminiscence of Alako episode in Lafia local

government where over 90 security operatives were ambushed and killed by militia group last year One of the survivors who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that they saw hell in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents who invaded police training college. His words: “When we got to Gwoza we were asked to drop our guns and go into the hall and when all of us were in the hall, suddenly Boko Haram people came from nowhere and opened fire on

us. Some of my colleagues and I ran into the bush. We saw hell I don’t know how I managed to escape.”

When contacted, State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, confirmed that some policemen from the state went for training in Borno State , but, declined knowledge of what happened there.

Confirming the incident, the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu told our Correspondent on Telephone that there was an attack on the police train-

ing facility at Gwoza, on Wednesday but declined to disclose casualty figure.

His words: ‘’All we know is that there was an attack on that facility by the insurgents.

They attacked at random and our men fought back as usual ’’ When asked whereabouts of the missing policemen, Ojukwu said “we have not gotten information of casualty we are expecting 35 of them to re-unit to their base very soon but we cannot give you the actual number.”

Ebola: Jehovah’s Witnesses urge compliance with govt directives Esther Odili

F

Managing Director, Sarsoli Industrial Company Limited, Mr. Jaiprakash Changrani (right), being presented with an Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Manufacturing by Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Remi Ogunmefun, during MAN’s Business Luncheon in Lagos

ollowing the outbreak of Ebola Virus Dieses in some parts of Africa, Jehovah’s Witnesses on the continent have been advised to adhere to all safety measures and directives issued by various countries where such cases have been discovered.

In a directive to all its members last week, by the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York, United States, they were also advised to be discreet and apply wisdom in having handshake with people and other interactions agents capable of transmitting the virus.

Reliable sources said that in agreement with the di-

Yola stands still as Ribadu declares for gov Ibrahim Abdul, Yola

B

usiness activities, and vehicular movements were brought to a standstill for closed to four hours as former chairman of the Economic and financial Crimes Commission Mallam Nuhu Ribadu declared his intention to contest the scheduled Adamawa governorship byeelection.

A crowd besieged the convoy of the gubernatorial aspirant from the Yola International Airport to his campaign office, causing serious traffic snarl along the ever busy Galadima Aminu Way down the PDP secretariat in the state.

Ribadu was escorted to the party secretariat by PDP executives and chieftains both from his ward, local government as well as others party chieftains from the 21 local government areas of the state.

Some of the party chieftains present at the occasion include former state lawmakers led by former speaker Abubakar Abdullahi, former local government chairmen, ex-councilors and senior political associates of the impeached governor, Murtala Nyako that have pitched tents with Ribadu.

While declaring his governorship ambition, Ribadu was emphatic that he was in the race to bring change in the state, “The

trigger of me being here today is that passion to uplift that I have; it is that spirit with which I am known, all my life. It is that zeal that saw me going into the police, as against obviously more lucrative career paths.

“My philosophy, as we were taught, is that one should put the interest of the public over any other consideration. In life of service, one’s first consideration should be the impact one makes under the circumstance. It is therefore that same will to serve that is responsible for me respecting and answering to the people’s choice to come back home and serve the people of Adamawa State under the platform of the

PDP,” he averred. He further commended those that woo him to PDP stressing that, “I would like to appreciate those members of the PDP who privately and publically prodded on me to join this party. My appreciation also to the leadership of our party for the warm reception accorded me deserving of any fullfledged party stalwart.

“This kind reception did not begin from today, it began from the day I signified the intention of joining this great party.

Today, I come to you as a full blown party member who defines himself in the spirit of community service and party development. Whatever brought us here, the love for and

need to serve our people is supreme,” he said.

On the sentiments that have defined politicking in the state, Ribadu urged the political actors to do away with anything that could not promote the growth of the state, saying that, “ No one’s ambition is worth the peace and stability of our people.”

“We should eschew antagonism or stoking primordial sentiments. Elections would come and go but the people will always be together.

Damaging the harmony we enjoy as a people would have dire consequences on all of us and is the gravest disservice anyone can do for our dear state,” Ribadu said.

rective of various government agencies, members of the organisation were advised to avoid contact with dead or infected animals like porcupine, monkeys, bats, antelopes, their carcasses and human corpses whose death is as a result of the EVD. They were also urged to take precautionary measures like positioning hand washing bows and soaps at strategic places at their Kingdom Halls, where members and visitors can wash their hands regularly.

“All of us have been directed to follow such scriptures as Ecclesiastes 7:12, which says that ‘wisdom is for protection, because it saves the lives of it owners,’ and Proverbs 22:3, which says: “the shrewd one sees calamities and conceals himself.”

According to a member of the Christian organisation, the warning has become even more timely in view of the commencement of the Witnesses three-day global convention titled “Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom,” based on Matthew 6: 33, currently holding in various cities around the world.

The convention, which features Bible-based dramas and attracts local and international delegates, has been broken into various regions and with a crowd of at least 5,000 Bibles students every weekend, will end in the month of December.

New Telegraph on Sunday reported last week that there was apprehension over the spread of Ebola Virus Disease in Zimbabwe when the witnesses’ held international convention which attracted over 50,000 delegates.

Di Maria on verge of Old Trafford move p.62

Sani Muhammed: I regret playing volleyball for nigeria p.60

NTWEEKEND ONLINE AT

www.newtelegraphonline.com/sport

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

AUGUST 24, 2014

Dapo Sotuminu, Deputy Sports Editor dapo.sotuminu@newtelegraphonline.com 08099400190, 08038154192

59

Sp rt

Falconets players with Oshoala dance

Jonathan tasks Falconets to win World Cup title

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Anule Emmanuel

resident Goodluck Jonathan has challenged members of the national Under-20 women’s soccer team; the Super Falconets to go all out for victory against their German counterparts in today’s final of the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada and get a heroic presidential treatment.

A statement by Dr. Reuben Abati, Presidential Adviser on Media and Publicity yesterday said the President who is currently on a private visit to Germany called the Falconets at their base in Montreal at about 15:15 Hours Nigerian time and spoke with the captain of the team, Patience Okaeme, top scorer, Asisat Oshoala, Assistant Captain, Deborah Okoye, US-based Courtney Dike, Uchechi Sunday, the delegation leader, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu, Head Coach Peter Dedevbo and other members of his team urging them to make the country proud.

President Jonathan who com-

mended the players for getting to the finals of the tournament once again, urged them to do their best to exceed their 2010 second place finish by overcoming the Germans today and bringing greater glory, pride and joy to soccer-loving Nigerians.

“You have done very well by getting to the final. I urge you to crown your efforts with ulti-

mate victory today by playing with the greatest possible artistry, discipline, determination and patriotic zeal.”

He said: “I look forward to receiving you at the Presidential Villa with the winners’ trophy and you can be assured of the immense gratitude of the Federal Government and the very appreciative people of Nigeria,” President Jonathan told

the girls and their handlers.

He assured the Falconets that although, because of time difference, it would be very late night in Germany by the time the final begins in Montreal, he will stay up to watch the game with his aides and join millions of other Nigerians at home and across the world in cheering them to victory.

Go for gold, Mark tells Falconets Chukwu David Abuja

S

enate President, David Mark, has urged the Nigerian representatives at the 2014 FIFA Under-20 World Cup holding in Canada to leave nothing to chance in the crucial encounter with their German counterparts today.

Senator Mark, in a goodwill message to officials and players in Abuja yesterday implored them to re-enact the indomitable

spirit which Nigerian female footballers have been known for to confront Germany.

“Interestingly, you are meeting a familiar German team. You have done very well in this championship. I am sure you should be able to overwhelm them this time around,” he stated.

Mark further assured that all Nigerians were solidly behind the players and officials, promising that government would do the needful in terms of their welfare.

In a statement signed by the

Chief Press Secretary to the President of the Senate, the Senate boss stressed that sports, especially soccer, had become a yardstick for measuring strength and weaknesses of nations globally saying: “that is why nations all over the world are rising up to the challenges of improving on sports development.”

The Nigerian government, he also assured would live up to its responsibility of ensuring support to all sports development in the country.

Goodluck Jonathan

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Sport

Sani Muhammed: I regret playing volleyball for Nigeria Sani Muhammed played in the national men’s volleyball team for almost 20 years, where he featured in four All Africa Games for the country and he remains the only Nigerian to be voted Best African Player of all time. Today, Sani who was Nigeria’s Best Setter for 14 years is languishing in abject penury and he told DAPO SOTUMINU in this interview that he regrets playing volleyball for Nigeria When did you start playing active volleyball?

I started playing active volleyball in 1981, with a Plateau state-owned club called Pioneers of Jos. The experience was good and it was a good beginning for me as I learnt the rudiments of playing excellent volleyball from here.

When I left Pioneers of Jos in 1984 for Kano Super Stars Volleyball club, it was another era in my career as I developed what I learnt in Jos and became a star player with my world class setting skills which took me to places.

I stayed with Super Stars for 11 years, where I won several national and international laurels for the club. I left the Kano team in 1984 after the creation of Jigawa state. I played here until the Nigeria Customs Volleyball team handpicked me from Jigawa.

This took me to Lagos where I played for the Customs team for two years. I had to leave the Customs team when it was disbanded in 2000.

From here I moved to the Nigeria Police team as a coach, I worked here as a coach for four years. I was with the Police team until it was also disbanded. At this point, I was still active in the national team. After all these, I retired from active national team volleyball and decided to move to Asfac of Burkina Faso where I continued playing as a player and also continued as a coach.

This was in 2004.

I left Asfac in 2006 and came back to Nigeria. Since my return, I have not been attached to any team a situation that has been quite uncomfortable for me. Despite my huge experience playing and coaching, I have been struggling to survive.

In your club career, which titles did you win?

I won lots of titles while moving from one club to the other across the nation.

In my playing career, I was the only Nigerian volleyball star to be voted the best player in Africa. I held the Best Setter’s Award in Nigeria for about 14 years and was never dethroned. I was also voted best player in Nigeria for two years. These are the best of my records.

What about club titles?

When I was at the Pioneers Volleyball Club of Plateau, we won the National League title for t w o years.

A t Super Stars o f

Kano, we ruled the Nigerian club league for 11 years as champions. When I left Super Stars and joined the Nigerian Customs, we were champions for one year. The situation was not different at the Nigerian Police team as we were national champions for four years.

While at the national team, how many Nations Cup competitions did you play for the country?

I played quite a lot. In the whole of Nigeria, aside from Usman Amdallah, I happened to be the player with the highest ranking as a national team player. I had 114 caps playing at various competitions for the country, while Usman had 116 caps.

Where is Usman Amdallah?

He is back in the country now after playing professional volleyball abroad for so many years. He is back home. At a point he was coach of the senior national team some years ago. He lives in Kano presently.

He was my teammate.

How many All Africa Games did you attend in your career?

I attended four All Africa Games events.

The first was at Algiers 76 which was the one that was hosted after the All Africa Games in Nigeria. My second outing in the biggest African sporting fiesta was in Kenya 87, I was also at Harare 95 and the last one was in South Africa 99.

How far

did Nigeria go in all these?

At the Algiers 76 Games, Nigeria won the silver medal in the men’s volleyball, which was my first major international laurel in the sport. In Kenya 87, Nigeria won the bronze medal, we also finished third at the South Africa Games.

Are you not

sad that despite being one of Nigeria’s legendary volleyball players, you did not play in the World Championships and the Olympics?

In fact, these are some of my regrets as a sportsman. It’s always painful when you see your fellow countrymen playing in these top international competitions while we stayed at home watching them on television. It would have been the best record for me if Nigerian volleyball had been well developed to the level of picking qualifying tickets for the World Championships and the Olympics.

What do you think contributed to this?

Our failure to qualify for these world class competitions was due largely to poor preparations and the insensitive nature of those people who administered volleyball in the country at the time. Most times when we had African qualifiers for these top notch international competitions, players were always called to camp when the qualifiers were close by, and this resulted to poor preparation as the coaches loaded the players while trying to teach them many things within a very short period. The best bet would have been a long term training programme where the Nigerian team could start preparations three years ahead of the World Championships and the Olympic Games engaging in training tours of top volleyball playing countries. But instead of this, players are called to camp months to these qualifiers.

We don’t prepare for championships in good time that has been the problem, but funny enough, it is still the problem of Nigerian sports development today.

How do you see life as an active international volleyball player and life as a retired player?

Actually, in my own case, life as an active player was a very fantastic one where I had everything going for me. I was given first class treatment by everybody as I was top of my game then. I travelled across the world on national team assignments. I had money in my pocket to do a lot of things, it was really good.

Life as a retired player has been frustrating and not smooth at all. Nothing seems to be moving on for me. Things have been so difficult and static, no help from the national federation I served for ages.

The situation in football and basketball is different, as the Nigeria Football Federation and the Nigeria Basketball Federation have been giving valuable employments opportunities to their ex-international stars who are today serving in the national teams.

Some are serving in committees set up by the sports federations.

I believe the Nigeria Volleyball Federation should wake up from its slumber and do the needful for ex-internationals who gave their lives serving their fatherland.

The Volleyball federation should try as much as possible to bring in retired players who are good enough to help the sport grow and contribute better to the game.

If the sports technicians in the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Commission do not come to give a helping hand to the Volleyball federation by

giving advice on ways to employ former national team stars who are ready to help, things would continue to go wrong in the federation. It is very unfortunate that this is happening to volleyball.

Can you share your greatest moment in volleyball with us?

My greatest moment in my entire volleyball career was when there was a change in power in the volleyball federation. Before now, we had crisis during the era of former president Eddy Aderinokun when things were turned upside down and the sport was heading for doom. At the point we had all lost hope, somebody came from nowhere. His name is Engineer Habu Gumel.

He saved the situation and things started moving again and volleyball regained its pride of place in Nigerian sports and also in Africa.

Gumel brought life back to the sport and once again we started playing competitions most of which he sponsored personally.

Some people have said that Gumel should leave the scene for others to serve, but I believe that he should be left alone to continue his good work for the development of the sport.

Do you have regrets as a volleyball player?

My biggest regret is the failure of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation to take care of people who had served them. I am complaining bitterly.

Thank God I saw a story in the media where the Sports Minister complained officially that Nigerian volleyball has not been doing well in recent times. It was a good observation as the volleyball league is moribund and nothing seems to be moving on well for the federation. The league when reintroduced should not be for senior players alone but should also include junior players in both the male and female categories. This would help prepare the youths to take over from the aging senior players, as most of the senior players are tired.

It is only when the federation decides to go back to the grassroots that volleyball would develop and come up again.

What is Sani Muhammed doing now?

At the moment I am not attached to any volleyball club in Nigeria, neither am I involved with any state association. I have been shuttling between friends for me to sustain my life. I handle a small team called Legacy Club of Lagos, we only train on Saturdays.

Do you have any of your children playing volleyball?

Yes, I have my 14 year-old daughter playing volleyball, I am encouraging her to go far in the sport and she is very good. I believe that in the next two to three years, she would be out exploding with excellent skills

Life as a retired player has been frustrating and not smooth at all. Nothing seems to be moving on for me. Things have been so difficult and static, no help from the national federation I served for ages

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NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

Sport

Police Machines beat Cowrie in the final last year

Rugby 7’s Play-off: Lagos RFC, five others battle for Independence Seven’s slots Dapo Sotuminu

T

he organisers of this year’s independence Rugby 7’s tournament sponsored by CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited, The Friends of Rugby, have announced that today August 24, 2014 starting from 10am to 4pm, at the National Stadium, Lagos, would be the judgment day for teams that are going to participate in the annual rugby event to commemorate Nigeria’s Independence anniversary later in October.

In the words of the organisers, the Southwest region has been allotted five team slots out of which 2013 finalists, Police Machines and Cowrie RFC were awarded automatic spots at this year’s tournament with the remaining three play-off spots to be determined between six other teams.

The six teams are: Lagos RFC, Racing RFC, Gosar RFC, Hawkster Athletic, Eco II and Royal Stalions of Ilorin.

The play-off would come up at the Main Bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos where the men would be separated from the boys. The kick-off time has been fixed for 10am.

From all indications, the play-off became necessary as expression of interests from European, South African and West African teams increase this year’s international representation as never witnessed before.

The Friends of Rugby-organised event has grown to be the biggest Rugby 7s party in Nigeria with the 2013 edition enjoying a better and wider participation with clubs from the United Kingdom, Egypt and Ghana adding the much needed international flavour.

Clubs from all zones in Nigeria competed well, and two local teams emerged finalists in last year’s event with the Police Rugby Football club of Lagos beating Cowrie RFC 12-7 to emerge 2013 champions.

This year’s edition, the organisers have said promises to be bigger and better with eleven local teams and five international teams expected to battle for the trophy, at the Onikan Stadium from October 10 to 11, 2014.

Northern clubs will also battle to claim three slots allocated to the region in a separate play-off, while the South South, South East region and the Capital Territory clubs will play for a slot each in the event.

The Friends of Rugby have also commended the CMB Building Miantenance and Investment Company Limited for bankrolling the first phase of the South West League which was concluded August 16.

The company, a leading Real Estate firm has been behind the promotion and sponsorship of rugby in Nigeria for over 10 years now. They have helped clubs grow and have been so supportive to the upliftment of female rugby alongside grassroots development in Nigeria.

According to the president of NRFF; Sir Edward Fom,

CMB’s sponsorship is essential and provides opportunities for teams to participate in all three regional leagues in the country.

They also work closely with the NRFF in supporting the national team called “The Black Stallions.”

The Technical Director of the NRFF, Mr. Olatunji Fasimoye, expressed his satisfaction over the CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Co Ltd sponsorship package which he said has been helping the development and awareness of the sport in the country.

Fasimoye also commended the administrators of the Friends of Rugby for their support towards Rugby development in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the last games of the first phase of the South West League matches were held at the Main Bowl of the National Stadium. Lagos RFC took on The Police Machine in the first game; Racing RFC who disposed Police Machines to claim second spot on the league table played against Royal Stallions of Ilorin. The Eco II RFC battled Hawkster Athletics. While the defending champions Cowrie RFC defended their 7 years 15s unbeaten run in West Africa

Action from the 2013 Independence 7s semi final game between Merlins UK and Cowrie RFC. Cowrie won the game 5-0

against the most improved side in the league Gosar RFC in the last game of the day. Cowrie RFC still tops by 35 points.

Before this cracker, Cowrie RFC were up top of the table with 30 points; they were trailed by Racing RFC who defeated Police Machine to claim the spot by 21 points; Eco II RFC sits at the bottom of the log with no point.

Northern League Zaria RFC remains unbeaten after four games (Northern League) AS the northern league progresses to week four, two games were played last weekend where Zaria RFC registered a home win against Kaduna RFC by 21 to 7 points.

Barewa RFC also defeated Kano RFC by 53 to 3 points, while the game between Sabongari RFC and Jos RFC was postponed due to security uncertainties.

Considering the fact that Jos RFC and Sabongari RFC have two outstanding matches each, while Kaduna RFC and Kano RFC have one match each left to be played, Zaria RFC remains at the top of the table after four games with 18 points; they are being trailed by Barewa RFC who have also played four games with 15 points while Kano RFC sit at the bottom of the table after three games with no point.

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AUGUST 24, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY

Sport

FIFA U-20 World Cup final: Nigeria seek revenge against Germany C

Mourinho: Chelsea players are lazy

T

he final of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 is a repeat of the 2010 showpiece between the then hosts Germany and Nigeria. That game went the way of the European side, an outcome the in-form Africans will be aiming to avenge this weekend as they battle in yet another final game today in Montreal, with kick-off fixed for 19:00 (local time).

This is the fourth time the ultraconsistent Germans have reached the final of the competition and the third in a row, though the Super Falconets can also lay claim to being a powerhouse in this age group, having checked into their second final in the last three tournaments. Given those impressive records, today’s showdown will reveal much about the balance of power in the women’s youth game.

Nigeria’s 6-2 defeat of Korea DPR was the biggest win ever seen in the semi-finals of the competition and saw their attacking spearhead Asisat Oshoala become only the third player to score four goals in a match in the history of the competition. The rampant Nigerians have made a habit of scoring early and then overwhelming their rivals with their strength and speed, a winning formula they will be out to repeat against the Germans.

Maren Meinert’s side are a formidable unit, however, and have barely put a foot wrong at Canada 2014. They now have their sights set on repeating their 2010 final win on home soil, one that saw the Germans lift the U-20 Women’s World Cup trophy for a second time. To achieve that, they will almost certainly need Meike Kamper to maintain her fine form and blunt the threat posed by the lethal Oshoala.

The player to watch in today’s final game is Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala who is the leading scorer at Canada 2014 with seven goals.

RESULTS

Germany - Bundesliga Bayern 2 - 1 Wolfsburg Frankfurt 1 - 0 Freiburg FC Cologne 0 - 0 Hamburger Hannover 2 - 1 Schalke 04 Hertha Berlin 2 - 2 Bremen Hoffenheim 2 - 0 Augsburg B/Dortmund 0 - 2 Leverkusen Barclays Premier League Aston Villa 0 - 0 Newcastle Chelsea 2 - 0 Leicester City Crystal Palace 1 - 3 West Ham Southampton 0 - 0 W/Brom Swansea City 1 - 0 Burnley Everton 2 - 2 Arsenal Premier League Fixtures Sunday August 24 13:30 Hull City vs Stoke 13:30 Tottenham vs QPR 16:00 S’land vs Man Utd .

Monday 25th August 2014 20:00 Man City vs Liverpool

She is likely to score more goals against Germany.

Four of Oshoala’s goal came in the semi-finals. No African player has ever scored more in the history of the tournament, with the player they call Superzee having now moved past compatriots Desire Oparanozie,

Ebere Orji and Cynthia Uwak, each of whom scored five goals in their previous appearances in the competition. It goes without saying that the Germans will be keeping a close eye on the freescoring Falconet.

The Nigeria coach, Peter Dedevbo said whenever you

score early it always gives you confidence and knocks the opposition off balance. We’re in the final now and we’re not scared of anyone. If you want to win big things, you need to keep your wits about you on the pitch and have a player who can make the difference.”

Rescue point: Substitute Olivier Giroud scores a last-gasp equaliser for Arsenal against Everton

Giroud gets Gunners off the hook

T

he Toffees looked good for a repeat of last year’s convincing home victory against Arsenal, but threw away a two-goal lead in the final ten minutes.

The Gunners made a good start at Goodison Park as they looked to atone for their dismantling on this ground last season, with World Cup winners Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil restored to the starting line-up Yet, the game quickly took on an uncomfortably familiar feel for the Gunners, who haven’t won against Everton in four league ties.

Roberto Martinez looked to

have bested his opposite number in the tactical battle after seeing his side go two goals up, but late strikes from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud left the sides level on the final whistle.

Seamus Coleman and Kevin Mirallas were back in action for the home side and it was Everton’s prolific right-back who opened the scoring with a fierce header into the roof of Wojciech Szczesny’s net after 18 minutes, thanks to a raking ball forward

by Gareth Barry.

Things nearly got worse for the Gunners minutes later, with Calum Chambers caught out and Mirallas claiming his heels were

clipped in the box after racing through the Arsenal back-line.

The Toffees continued to look dangerous on the break as the first half wore on, finding plenty of space down the flanks on the counter, with the visitors’ midfield sloppy in possession more than once.

It was from just such a move that Everton’s second came shortly before half-time, with Romelu Lukaku terrorising the Gunners defence as he did last year, rolling Mertesacker and then driving to the box to play in Steven Naismith, who cooly finished with a nutmeg despite appearing offside.

ners. But as fate would have it, Sunday and her team-mates will have the opportunity to avenge that result in Montreal today.

Sunday was a mere 15-year-old when she represented her country at Germany 2010 and is the only member of Nigeria’s Canada 2014 squad who was present at those finals. “I was the youngest player in the team but I had two friends with me and they helped me a lot during the competition,” she explained. “They kept encouraging me the whole time.”

Older and wiser, Sunday is now offering support to her most inexperienced team-mates and to the team as a whole, chipping in with three goals despite having started every game on the bench, two of those strikes coming straight after entering the fray. Though happy with her haul, she still has one objective to fulfil: “I usually score a lot of goals with my head but I haven’t

got one in Canada yet. Maybe it’ll come on Sunday.”

As she went on to explain, Sunday has had to fight hard to get where she is today: “I started out playing in the street with the boys after school. We played on dirt pitches. Then I enrolled at an academy but it’s not easy to play football in Nigeria, especially if you’re a girl. What you need in situations like that is for your parents to support you, which is what mine did. It gives you the strength to carry on.”

The forward was rewarded for her perseverance with that trip to Germany 2010 and a call-up to the full national team in 2011, though she missed out on a place in the U-20 side that travelled to Japan 2012, a setback that has only stiffened her resolve ahead of Sunday’s showdown. “This final is very special for me,” she said in anticipation of it.

Uchechi: Germany will fall

S

uper Falconets of Nigeria star player, Uchechi Sunday, who was on the bench in 2010 when the country was beaten 2-0 by Germany in the finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, has vowed that, the Germans this time around would fall like a pack of cards when the two battle for supremacy in today’s final, this time around at Canada 2014.

“I remember that game. I was on the bench feeling really nervous and apprehensive, hoping that my team would score.It’s going to be a different story this time,” she vowed yesterday.

“In 2010 they were playing at home, with all their fans behind them, but that won’t be the case here. This final against Germany is also coming at a good time for me, because I’ve got a lot more experience now.”

Her team did not score, with Die Mannschaft running out 2-0 win-

helsea manager, Jose Mourinho, accused his players of being lazy as they struggled to break down Premier League newcomers Leicester at Stamford Bridge, before they responded to his criticism in fine style with a sparkling second-half display.

Goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard after the interval maintained Chelsea’s perfect record after two games of the league campaign, but Mourinho insisted there was plenty of room for improvement after the 2-0 victory.

He curiously tried to blame the mild late August London weather for his side’s lethargy in the opening 45 minutes against Nigel Pearson’s side, as he admitted he had to fire home a few home truths to his players at half-time.

“We were lazy in the first half and I told them it was not enough to win the game,” said Mourinho.

“In the second half, we were more aggressive, we won the second ball, the possession of the ball was good, it was fast.

“They created problems in the first half, but in the second half we were too strong for them. We had the goals, we hit the post, we had saves from Kasper (Schmeichel), we had everything. We deserve the points.”

Di Maria on verge of Old Trafford move

M

anchester United are set to sign Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria.

Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed on Thursday that Di Maria had asked to leave the European champions and now, according to Balague, he is closing on a move to Old Trafford.

Balague told Sky Sports: “It now looks certain that he will leave Real Madrid and become a Manchester United player. The final meetings will take place at the beginning of next week.

“United will pay between 60-70 million Euros (£48-55m) for the player. More than 60. A great deal for Madrid.

“I can exclusively reveal that, as we speak, football agent Jorge Mendes is on a flight from Singapore - where he has been putting to bed the purchase of Valencia by Peter Lim - to Europe, with a view to sealing the sale of Di Maria to United.

“So advanced, in fact, are the negotiations that it has already been agreed that Di Maria will wear the number seven shirt, worn in the past by no lesser players than David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best and Bryan Robson.

“As soon as Di Maria knew of Manchester United’s interest he was very excited about the possibility of coming to Old Trafford.

“At first Paris Saint-Germain showed interest in singing him and said they were prepared to meet his wage demands of 8m Euros a year net but the deal offered by United was much more interesting to him.”

NEW TELEGRAPH ON SUNDAY AUGUST 24, 2014

63

SPORT Jonathan tasks Falconets to win World Cup title

}59

FAITH Sanctity of Truth w w w. new tel eg rap ho nl i ne. co m

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. – Buddha

VOL. 1 NO. 187

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014

N150

Why I won’t marry, have children – Rev Chris Christian

}51

Nassarawa Assembly and the power of powers

T

he last All Nigeria Judges Conference before our country embraced democracy in 1999 had as its theme the “Role of the Judiciary under a Democracy.” Dr. Akinola Aguda, the eminent scholar and Nigerian-born international jurist delivered a key note paper at the conference. It was focused on the functions of the judiciary in a system that encourages the separation of powers like the 1999 constitution that was soon to be.

He looked at the philosophical foundations of the separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary pointing out that… “if the performance of these functions is concentrated in the hands of one person or a group of persons, he or they may soon become too powerful and mostly tyrannical for the good of the state and its peoples.”

It was a timely warning. Prolonged military rule in Nigeria meant the concentration of executive and legislative powers in the hands of the military. Not satisfied with that, the men of power also greedily went for the remaining powers of the judiciary.

Court orders, they disregarded while decrees were randomly issued sometimes with retroactive effect to oust the competence of courts to handle certain cases of their choice.

The beauty of this concept of separation of powers is that the legislature makes laws, the judiciary reads the letters and even minds of the legislature by interpreting the laws while the executive plays its role by implementing the laws. The temptation even under our new democratic dispensation to tamper with the separation of powers has always been there. Turf wars have been fought by the three arms of government to ensure that no body encroaches on the territory of the other.

The most glaring and dramatic example of such wars is the situation that exists in Nassarawa State today. The state House of Assembly there decided that it was time to remove the governor via a process that has been wrongly termed ‘impeachment’ by everybody including the media.

The 1999 makes no provision for impeachment.

I have conducted a diligent search for that word in the constitution - none exists. The constitution we operate talks of a process of removing certain executive officers - the governor, deputy governor, the president and the vice president. Somehow, in our haste to become Americana, we often talk of impeachment. In our own usage of the term, impeachment is equivalent to removal from office. To America, these are two different things. Bill Clinton for instance was impeached as President but not removed from office.

In Nigeria, we just ‘carry go.’

In Nassarawa, the Assembly took the first step of removing the governor. The constitution provides that the allegations of ‘gross misconduct’ to warrant removing a state governor must first originate from the state assembly. This was done. The constitution provides that the state chief judge will be called upon to set a panel to investigate these allegations.

This again was done. The state assembly however decided in its own wisdom that the constitution of that panel did not suite their purpose so they called on the state chief judge to sack the panel and appoint a new one. The man rejected the legislative order and inaugurated his committee which soon swung into action. The state assembly boycotted it but the committee went on regardless.

Meanwhile a menacing mob started looming the

Al Makura streets of Lafia the state capital, stalking the legislators to teach them a lesson in law making by thrashing their buttocks or even executing them publicly and summarily. They soon trampled two people (not members of the assembly to death).

Re: Silent massacres in Taraba

I

have known Aaron Artimas – the Special Assistant on Media to the Acting governor of Taraba - as long as I can remember. I have always held him in very high esteem, maybe higher than he holds me. Our current disagreements are not personal.

All along I have been a sympathizer of his principal, Acting Governor Umar.

Before I started my column at New Telegraph, I had and still have another weekly column at Peoples Daily, which I used generously to rally support for him.

To me, Umar was minding his own business when Danbaba appointed him to be his deputy. At that time, Danbaba knew very well that he was a Muslim.

He also knew very well that given our constitutional arrangements, a deputy governor is as good as a governor. It did not, therefore, make sense to me when people were trying to block him for no other reason but that he was a Muslim.

I know what discrimination is because I have been on that road before. I hate to see it in whatever form.

I have often written about the ethnic problems we have in Taraba. To add to them the inflammable problem of religious palava is one too many. Tragically, that is the way Taraba is going.

My friend Aaron says my headline was alarmist and not in my character. The fact is that I have a list of close to 200 Tiv

men, women and children that have been brutally murdered in cold blood since the crisis started. It is by no means exhaustive since the killings are ongoing. Those are just the Tiv alone. I do not have the list of Fulani’s, Jukuns, Hausas, Kutebs, Ichens and many other innocent ethnic men who have been killed since Umar took over. The list is supported by equally gruesome pictures. These names are not in the media.

I could not in all good conscience continue calling on people to give Umar a chance when he appears helpless in the face of this massive waste of human life.

I picked on the case of the Tiv not be-

MAMA LASISI

cause I am a Tiv man but because I read in at least four responsible national newspapers where the acting governor and his commissioner of police were quoted as saying that Tiv people in Taraba should go to Benue and pressure their kit and kin to allow the Fulani’s graze their cattle there if not they will not have peace in Taraba. I waited for weeks for the governor to deny that statement. None came. On the other hand, I received factual information from the Tor Tiv’s palace in Gboko that a delegation of Tiv men from the government of Taraba was in the palace to deliver the sordid message I read about in the papers.

Frightened, the assemblymen moved sittings to a hotel in Karu, the Local council of the state that shares borders with Abuja where the affairs of the lawmaking body were allegedly being controlled by a puppeteer.

The committee set up by the state chief judge returned a verdict of not guilty on the governor and the attempts to impeach Al Makura suffered a setback. The state assembly has not given up the fight. They are currently at the National Judicial Commission where they have asked that disciplinary action be taken against the state chief judge for constituting a partisan panel to investigate their allegations.

The actions of the assemblymen have so far demonstrated how not to respect the sanctity of the separation of powers as entrenched in our constitution. If they believe that the chief judge offended the constitutional provisions for appointing the investigation panel, the right thing for them to have done was to go to the courts where an interpretation of what the constitution provides would be given. But to insist that they do not like the faces on the panel set up by the chief judge when the constitution gives discretionally powers to that office to set up the panel is to assume the roles of the accuser and the judge.

Our constitution did not envisage a situation where an individual or a group of persons will enjoy such power of powers.

In the US, it was established that President Clinton was in the habit of fiddling with the private parts of a young girl in his office. The legislature found him guilty but could not remove him from office. The man by his other activities in the White House had put a smile on the faces of Americans. The attempts to disgrace him were seen by the American public as a move by his opponents in the Republican Party to carry politics too far. The man enjoyed sex in the office and so what? He had put a smile on American faces and as a handsome man he also deserved a smile on his own face!

Al Makura has performed well. He has put smiles on Nassarawa faces. The state legislature should just let him be.

These were the facts that dictated the tone and content of my column in reference. I will never retrace my steps to work with those who are intent on subverting the constitution or people whose judgments are based on the narrow and limited elastic limits of religion and tribe.

My friend Aaron has a tough job. He must not allow a falsehood published against his principal to go unchallenged. It was a grave misjudgment for him to have allowed the statements credited to Umar and police Chief, Mrs. Adeyemi to go unchallenged. The power of the printed word is such that it remains a reference point for millennia.

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By Aliu Eroje