Binder1 15 november, 2014

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Saturday, November 15, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 270

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2015: eko for war

NEWS

ATIKU LOBBIES OBASANJO...

TINUBU IN SECRET TALKS WITH FORMER PRESIDENT }8

CONFUSION IN CHIBOK AS B’HARAM ALLEGEDLY OVERRUNS TOWN }7

Battle for Lagos splits Tinubu’s godsons

NIKE OKUNDAYE

‘My first husband had 15 wives but I still stood out from the pack’

}5 , 48-49

}13

Ambode

Ikuforiji

Solomon

Hamzat

BANIRE

Coomassie: Presidency must return to the north in 2015 Ndubuisi Ugah and Ibraheem Musa

QUEEN AHNEEVA

My life as Sunny Ade’s wife }19

B

arely five days after President Goodluck Jonathan declared his ambition to contest the 2015 presidential election, the Northern socio-political pressure

group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has said it is not perturbed by the president’s declaration as the north is ready to produce the next president of the country in 2015.

The group also clarified that it was not against the president’s

declaration for presidency as it was only a competent court of law that could decide whether President Jonathan is eligible or not for a second term bid.

Chairman of the ACF, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, said it was imperative to inform

Nigerians on the need to understand why power should return to the north, given the events which heralded President Jonathan’s emergence, after the death of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

“I am telling you that as chairman of Arewa

Consultative Forum (ACF), come 2015, it will be the turn of Northern Nigeria to produce a president. Whether it is legally right for the president to seek re-election, let the court decide,” he told Saturday New Telegraph.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Three killed as another Air Force helicopter crashes in Yola }9

2

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Contents | 15.11.14 INSTYLE

THE ARTS

Wear These

Big hoop earrings come in a variety of styles and shapes.

That’s just as well because it means you could always find a suitable pair when you want to dress up or dress down

}17

Nostalgia on Canvas An exhibition of paintings by two childhood friends, Sam Ebohon and Hamid Ibrahim, which opened in Lagos last week explores new ideas and shed light on the beauty of creation

}18

SHOWBIZ

Nnenna’s Magic Since starring as Nnenna in Super Story, Yinka Olukunga has virtually lived under that character’s shadow. Not bad, because it has spawned some successful projects which has won her several fans

}21

SPORT

Rumble in Congo

Goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu, has said that the Super Eagle are fired up for the match against Congo today. He is convinced the team will get the vital win that may secure them AFCON qualification

}25

DESTINATION

Alluring Victoria Falls For anyone who has been to Victoria Falls which straddles Zimbabwe and Zambia, it won’t be a surprise that it’s listed as one of the world’s seven natural wonders

}42

FACE OFF

No Love Lost The spat between former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, and APGA chairman, Victor Umeh, shows no sign of abating as their aides jump into the fray

}50-51 Plus: Street Diary 11 | Love&Living 35 | Perspective 47

Comment

INEC’s shoddy PVCs distribution exercise

I

t is not a surprise that many rightthinking Nigerians with discerning minds, irrespective of political or ethnic affiliations, have roundly decried the shoddy manner the Professor Attahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far handled the on-going distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) in some parts of the country.

The protests and controversies continuously trailing the all-important exercise clearly attest to the fact that INEC failed to put necessary measures in place to ensure its success.

We recall with dismay that before the commencement of the exercise, INEC, as usual, had boasted that it had concluded plans to ensure hitch-free exercise in all the affected states. However, it is disturbing and highly disappointing that the avoidable irregularities that have so far characterised the exercise in most of the states are indications that INEC lacks the unwavering commitment and the unswerving sincerity to ensure realisation of the cardinal objective for which the exercise was introduced.

We observe that even when the exercise was conducted earlier in the year during the staggered elections in some states, as well as in some other states, it was controversy-ridden due to some glaring lapses on the part of INEC. It is worrisome that the electoral body has failed to learn from its past mistakes in this regard. We strongly believe that if INEC had accorded the exercise the serious attention it rightly deserves by finding lasting solution to its past mistakes, the avoidable lapses bordering on logistics, security and INEC staff’s misconduct, amongst others, would have been averted this time around.

If INEC had done its homework well, the protests over the distribution of Permanent Voters Card in many of the 12 states would have been averted. It is unfortunate that the way INEC has handled the exercise has made some political leaders, especially in the major political party to accuse the electoral body of “colluding with the presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the 2015 general elections” According to the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “we will consider it as part of the rigging exercise. INEC had colluded with the presidency and the opposition party to rig the 2015 elections from the data to the end”. This allegation is certainly not in the best interest of INEC under the

leadership of Jega.

As the crucial 2015 general elections are fast approaching, INEC should be seen to be truly transparent, neutral and fair in all its dealings to be able to earn the trust, respect and confidence of the political parties. INEC shot itself in the foot when it reportedly indicated recently that the number of registered voters in Lagos State had reduced from 6.2 million in 2011 to 4.8 million.

As expected, the Lagos State Government has kicked against the report which it claimed is INEC’s plan to disenfranchise the electorate in the state. Although INEC has refuted the allegation of missing 1.4 million voters’ names, we implore the electoral body to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that it has not delisted any of the registered voters in Lagos, and that all duly registered voters in Lagos in particular and in other parts of the country, will be allowed to exercise their civic duties in 2015.

We commend INEC for admitting the lapses such as non-availability of electoral officials at designated locations, missing names on displayed registers and other logistics problems currently bedevilling the exercise.

However, the Resident Electoral Commissioners in the affected 12 states should use the opportunity of the one-day extension to ensure the lapses observed are accorded prompt attention so that all the duly registered voters can collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards.

We implore INEC not to dismiss the ongoing fears being expressed in some states that the extension by one day in such states is a plan by INEC to assist PDP to rig the 2015 elections in Lagos, Ogun and Kano states.

The electoral body should also refrain from any action that could show that the postponement of the exercise till later in the month in nine of the 20 local government areas in Lagos State is aimed at disenfranchising the electorate.

The success of the exercise will go a long way to determine the overall success of the decisive 2015 general elections in the country. This is why in this regard, INEC cannot afford to fail. This is a task INEC has no choice but to perform creditably.

The distribution of PVCs is part of the solid foundation being laid for fair, free, transparent and acceptable elections in 2015.

We urge all duly registered voters to troop out in large numbers to collect their PVCs to enable them vote for their preferred candidates in 2015. This is a civic duty they owe themselves and future generations.

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

Felix Oguejiofor Abugu

Managing Editor n Suleiman Uba Gaya

Editor, Daily n Yemi Ajayi

Editor, Saturday n Laurence Ani

Editor, Sunday n Emeka Madunagu

Deputy Editor, Saturday n Waheed Bakare

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins

Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

Ag. Bureau Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi

News Editor n Ndubuisi Ugah

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed

Ag. Sales/Circulation Manager n Uchey Okezie

Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

Telegraph Adam&Eve

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SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

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Starting from this edition, Telegraph Adam&Eve debuts. It’s a page for the young, lively, sexy, cute and daring male and female. If you fit the bill, send your profile, snazziest image, phone number and email to: editor.body-soul@newtelegraphonline.com or our corporate head office, No 1A, Ajumobi Close, Off ACME Road, Ikeja. Enquiries: +234 (0)811-675-9770.

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15 NOVEMBER 2014

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News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

5

Battle for Lagos governorship splits Tinubu’s loyalists

L

Wale Elegbede ess than one week after the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, summoned gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos to a meeting at his Ikoyi residence, Saturday New Telegraph can reveal that the impasse within the state chapter of the party has not been resolved. The parley with Tinubu has rather played up fresh intrigues and cloudy permutations.

For the past 15 years, Tinubu’s political dynasty and clout has presided over the affairs of Lagos and it is through such influence that the political process of who gets what, how and when has been apportioned.

Even after leaving office as governor in 2007, his influence and grip on the affairs of the state, continues to loom large and it is on record that he solely “installed” the incumbent governor, Babtunde Fashola, who was at the time his Chief of Staff, against the deluge of opposing views from within and outside his party.

Sensing a crack in the Lagos APC over the intense rivalry for the governorship ticket of the party in the 2015 election, Tinubu last Sunday summoned an emergency meeting, which, according to a source, had in attendance the 10 aspirants jostling for the ticket, except Tayo Ayinde.

It was gathered that each of the aspirants was given an opportunity to express their concern and expectedly, the recurring question on the lips of the aspirants was whether their leader, Tinubu, had anointed any candidate among them, a query that the APC leader firmly denounced, the source noted.

Though Tinubu’s denial of anointing any of the aspirants, especially the former accountant-general of the state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, calmed some aspirants, their supporters and strategists seem to have taken Tinubu’s denouncement with a pinch of salt.

Tinubu was said to have assured the aspirants of a fair contest, urging them to sheath their swords and desist from any overt or covert attack against one another. He was said to have extracted from each aspirant a pledge to support whoever won the primaries

and work for APC to retain Lagos come February 2015.

Last week, one of Tinubu’s closest acolytes and the National Legal Adviser of the APC, Dr. Muiz Banire, threw a veiled dart at his former boss and the party leaders in the state, warning that the party might meet its waterloo in 2015 if it fields an unpopular governorship candidate.

“The next governorship candidate of our party in Lagos State must be someone who has the capacity to lead and promote our general wellbeing. He must be a product of popular democratic process as required by the provisions of the Constitution of our party and the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and not someone imposed by subterfuges of one or few party leaders,” Banire said at a recent symposium in Lagos.

Already, leaders and caucuses in the party are currently placating some of the aspirants and negotiations are on course to ensure that aspirants who yield to the voice of the leaders and stands down, gets a soft landing with one compensation or the other.

One of the permutations is to make Senator Ganiyu Solomon the running mate to Ambode since he is apparently not keen to return to the Senate.

Though some supporters of the Senate Minority Whip are firmly opposed to the arrangement, stating that their principal wants the guber ticket and not anything else.

Also, given the warm assent that the aspiration of the Speaker of the state assembly, Rt. Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has met, it was gathered he may be pacified to step down before the primaries with the offer of a House of Representatives ticket.

Perhaps, the biggest pie the party may have to deal with is the influence of Fashola’s camp who it was gathered is queuing behind a former attorneygeneral of the state, Supo Sashore (SAN).

While it look dramatic to many pundits on the sudden turnaround of the governor’s camp from the aspiration of Obafemi Hamzat, the commissioner for works and infrastructure, who was seen as Fashola’s favourite, some have claimed that the governor had foreseen the “impediments” that religion and ancestry would have on Hamzat’s candidacy.

Saturday New Telegraph

learnt that Shasore’s chances would be curbed technically. “The party has zoned the governorship ticket to Lagos East whereas Sashore comes from the Lagos Central. So he will definitely be edged out of the race,” a senior member of the APC told our correspondent.

As of today, Hamzat and Ayinde have yet to openly declare for the governorship race. It was gathered that while

Hamzat is angling to be settled with slot of Secretary to the State Government, Ayinde on his part, has already settled for a House of Representatives ticket, after allegedly being reprimanded by Tinubu over his governorship ambition.

A leader of the APC told Saturday New Telegraph that, “Now that all the aspirants have committed to a primary election, with a

pledge to abide by the outcome and support the winner, can anyone still cry foul? But I can assure you that a sizeable number will step down before the primaries and support one of them.”

It was further learnt that Governor Fashola may end up contesting the Lagos West senatorial seat, a position for which his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and former Minis-

ter of State for Defence, Ademola Seriki, have both shown an interest.

The outrage generated by a possible Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the APC has ruled Fashola out of the race. Initially, he was being considered as a presidential running mate in 2015 to any of the northern candidate.

See pages 48 and 49 for full story

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo (right) and former Vice-President and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, during a courtesy visit to Obasanjo in Abeokuta…yesterday

Coomassie: Presidency should return to the north in 2015 CO N TI N U ED F RO M PAGE 1

The ACF chairman, who gave instances that led to the president’s emergence after the death of late Yar ’Adua, said: “We have said it before when President (Umaru Musa) Yar ’Adua died; automatically, Jonathan stepped in and completed that tenure.”

He noted that President Jonathan would have become a hero had he stepped down to allow for a northern president to emerge after completing the “Yar’Adua’s tenure”.

“Then he (President Jonathan) decided to contest for the second tenure, some of us have said if Jonathan had thought wisely, after completing Yar’Adua’s ten-

ure, he should have stepped down and allowed another northerner to complete the rest four years, going by the power shift agreement.

“Jonathan would have become a hero in this country and had he come now to contest, he would have been supported by everyone in the North. Some of his supporters tried to legitimise his re-election in 2015 during the National Conference by introducing a new constitution but we resisted it. So, we are waiting for Jonathan at the polls, we really want the presidency to come back to the north.”

Asked if he was aware that President Jonathan was returned as a consensus candidate by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors and stakehold-

ers, Coomassie said: “There are other parties and they are organising. They will bring out a northern candidate and they will fight it over. It will be the duty of northern electorate to use their votes wisely. They have seen what happened to their region in the last years. Will they still elect somebody who didn’t bother to check these killings and kidnappings all over?

“Look at the Chibok girls. We don’t even know where they are. Students have been killed in their schools. So, will Nigerians re-elect Jonathan again besides the constitutionality of his seeking re-election?”

On whether he was aware of the one-term pact allegedly signed by the President with some PDP governors in 2011 that pow-

er will return to the north, the ACF chairman said he was unaware of any document regarding the pact.

“I don’t think it is mandatory for anybody to show me that agreement.

Don’t forget that we had that same problem during Obasanjo’s time. There was also a gentleman’s agreement that was reached, for power to return to the north but he also denied it. He did his two terms and even tried to get a third term but didn’t get it. So, he brought in Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck. So, what will happen in 2015, will absolutely be in the hands of the electorate and the election officials,” he said.

See pages 45 and 46 for interview

6

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Eight feared killed as Boko Haram overruns Chibok community ONSLAUGHT Insurgents attack Chibok community after hoisting their flags.

Ahmed Miringa and Mohammed Abdullaziz

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Maiduguri and kano

unmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram terrorist group yesterday recaptured Chibok town in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, killing eight persons in the process after hoisting their flags.

Similarly, a twin-bomb exploded at Igbo Road/ Enugu Road and on New Road, opposite Ado Bayero Square, where about six persons were reportedly killed, while others ran hellterskelter in Sabon Gari, Kano State, which is a a predominantly Christian quarters.

A residents of Chibok, who fled the town, Apogu Afaramai, said they had to flee the area into the bushes for fear of their lives.

News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

l Kano twin bomb blasts claim six

The terrorist group had on April 15 attacked the community, where over 200 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, were abducted.

However, a resident of the town, Dala Muta, said the insurgents entered the town, after hoisting their flags and announced that the town was in their control, a development, which forced residents to flee the area.

Muta said: “The military personnel deployed in the town fled to Damboa and left us helpless, the situation which made it easy for them to capture the town.”

Our correspondent gathered that the attack followed the dislodgement of the insurgents in Mubi town, Adamawa State.

It was gathered that the capturing of the town led to the death of eight persons.

“Before entering the town, the torrists on their way met some people who went to Tsalanburma and killed eight of them.

I learnt that one of those

killed is from Mbalala, three Kautikari, while four were from Askira/Uba,” the resident stated.

Another resident, who did not want his name in print told our correspondent that the terrorists, who came in a Civilian JTF pick up van, after their vehicles had broken down at the outskirt of the town, trekked before storming the town.

He said: "Nobody can ascertain the number of those killed in Chibok, as most of us fled the town and you know there is no network to communicate with those trapped in the town."

Confirming the incident on a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa service, monitored in Maiduguri, the Senator representing the area, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, said: “Yes, I was told that the Boko Haram terrorists attacked the town but I cannot tell whether there is casualty or not, as we are yet to receive calls from those in Chibok since the insur-

gents have burnt down the masts in the town.”

However, security agencies confirmed the Kano bomb blast incident but said they were still gathering details as at the time of filling this report.

The first blast occurred at 9:12p.m. at Enugu/Igbo Road near International Hotel, while the second blast followed three minutes later, at exactly 9:15p.m.

The spokesman for the Joint Task Force, JTF, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, confirmed that there was such incident, and warned residents to remain calm.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated the Presidential Initiative on NorthEast with a view to assist the victims of insurgency.

Speaking at the inauguration yesterday, President Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Mohammed Wakil, said the policy was part of a non-military interventions.

7

Nuhu Ribadu’s brother escapes from abductors

M

r. Sani Ribadu, the kidnapped brother of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, has escaped from his abductors, family sources told Premium Times.

Another of the Ribadu brothers, Arabi, said his brother escaped from his abductors “around 2a.m. in the bushes surrounding Girei Local Government Area where they kept him.”

He said Sani then trekked to a nearby village, Sangere, arriving there at about 4a.m. where he waited to observe his Fajr prayer (early morning prayer) at the Mosque there before taking public transport to his house in Yola, arriving around 6:03 a.m.

There was speculation last night that Sani, a former chairman of Yola South local government area, was freed by his abductors. But several family members, who spoke to Premium Times, dismissed the report, saying

his whereabouts remained unknown.

Sani, police said, was abducted by three gunmen around 6:30p.m, Sunday, in his farm along the YolaFufore expressway.

“The three gunmen accosted the former chairman in his farm along Yola-Fufore road and asked him, alongside 12 of his workers, to lie down,” the spokesperson of the Adamawa State Command of the Nigeria Police, Othman Abubakar, told journalists in Yola.

He said: “But four of the workers managed to flee the scene leaving Ribadu and eight workers.”

According to him, the gunmen initially bundled Ribadu into his Toyota Tundra but suddenly changed their minds. They then transferred him to a white Starlet and escaped through the route leading to Mayo Belwa Local Government.

Abubakar, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), could not be reached yesterday for comments on Sani’s return.

The Week Ahead NCSN marks Azikiwe Day tomorrow Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, will tomorrow deliver a special message at a ceremony to mark late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Remembrance Day, which is coming up tomorrow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos at 2p.m.

A statement issued by the organisers, Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria (NCSN), said other eminent dignitaries from all walks of life are expected at the event.

Money laundering: Fani-Kayode knows fate Nov 17

Vice-President Namadi Sambo (right), presenting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential nomination form to the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu'azu, in Abuja …yesterday.

PHOTO: TIMOTHY IKUOMENISAN

Jonathan submits presidential nomination forms Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday submitted his Expression of Interest and nomination forms as an aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 presidential election, to the National Secretariat of the party.

The president, who was represented at the occasion by his Vice, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, may have put to

l May adopt Sambo as running mate rest the issue of whether or not he will run a joint ticket with his vice in the election.

However, Sambo, who arrived the PDP headquarters at 12.25 p.m. was accompanied by the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark and other principal officers of the National Assembly as well as members of the Federal Executive Council.

Handing over the completed forms to the PDP National Chairman, Dr.

Adamu Mu'azu, Sambo showered praises on President Jonathan and promised that the administration would continue to pursue its transformation agenda.

“This is the president that has moved the country forward; this is the president that has improved the economy, making it the best in Africa and 26th in the world,” the Vice-President stated.

Mu’azu, who received the forms on behalf of the

National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, said with the completion of the nomination forms, Jonathan had fulfilled the desire of “the majority of our party men and women who asked you to run as sole presidential candidate of PDP in 2015.”

President Jonathan had on October 30 obtained the nomination forms, with a promise that he would not disappoint members of the party. The submission of the nomination forms ended yesterday.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos will on November 17 decide whether or not to clear former Aviation Minister, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, of the money laundering charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC is prosecuting Fani-Kayode on an amended 40 counts for allegedly laundering about N100 million.

He is also being accused of conducting financial transaction exceeding N500,000, which was not done through a financial institution by accepting cash payment of various sum which was further carried in cash to First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB) through some of his associates.

Court delivers judgment in Synagogue’s inquest Nov 17 A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, fixed Nov. 17, to deliver judgment in a suit seeking to stop the ongoing inquest into the collapsed Synagogue building.

Justice Ibrahim Buba reserved judgment after entertaining arguments from the applicant and the respondents in the suit.

About 116 people, including foreigners, had died on September 12, following the collapse of a six-storey building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in Lagos.

Consequently, Lagos State Government on September 26, set up a Coroner’s Inquest to unravel the circumstances leading to the incidence and appointed Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe as Coroner.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, had on October 28 filed a suit to restrain the Coroner from further inquest into the building collapse, pending the determination of the case at the FHC.

8

News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

BENIN CITY Illegal arms: Edo CP warns politicians

N EWS I N BRIEF

Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo, yesterday issued a 14-day ultimatum to politicians, suspected thugs, cult members and supporters of various political parties to surrender all illegal arms in their possession or face the ugly consequences of the law.

Adebanjo, who raised the alarm over massive build up of arms and ammunition by some politicians, said the possession of such illegal arms was unauthorised by the force.

The warning, however, came as the command also yesterday paraded 76 suspects, who were arrested for various crimes in the state.

FCT I won't step down for Jonathan -Balewa’s son

A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, yesterday said the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party did not have the mandate of the party members to adopt President Goodluck Jonathan as PDP’s sole candidate.

Belewa, who is the son of Nigeria's first Prime Minister spoke after submitting his nomination forms, said he would not step down for President Jonathan.

“How many people are there in the BoT, NWC, and other groups, compared to 180 million people. I am a strong member since inception and I would remain a member and I am appealing to all Nigerians not the people who think they have the right to speak for us," he said.

IKEJA CBN’s N100 commemorative centenary notes wasteful -TUC The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), yesterday said it was unimpressed by the introduction of new N100 bank notes for the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which was meant to commemorate Nigeria’s centenary.

The group said the unveiling of the notes

by President Goodluck Jonathan was grossly wasteful.

A statement issued by TUC’s president, Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Secretary General, Musa Lawal, said: “We are also uncomfortable with the clandestine approach adopted by the Federal Government and the CBN on the matter."

2015: Atiku lobbies Obasanjo, govs, APC chieftains Kunle Olayeni

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Abeokuta

he battle for the presidential nomination of the All Progressives Congress (APC) intensified yesterday with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, meeting some governors and former President Olusegun Obasanjo as well as party chieftains in the South-West.

Atiku, who visited Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as part of his nationwide consultation, also welcomed the entry of the House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, into the APC presidential race, describing it as “the more the merrier.”

He also took a swipe at the transformation agenda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led federal government, saying the ruling party was only feeding Nigerians with propaganda.

Also yesterday, former Lagos State Governor and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni,

l Tinubu holds secret talks with ex-president again held a secret meeting with Obasanjo, which lasted about one hour.

Tinubu and Oni came in a chopper prior to Atiku’s arrival. They proceeded to Obasanjo's residence for a closed-door meeting and departed before the former vice president came.

The Turaki Adamawa had first paid a courtesy call on the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, in Ibadan before visiting Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

His visit to Obasanjo lasted about one hour.

The former vice-president, who arrived at Obasanjo’s hilltop residence in Abeokuta about 2:55p.m., said he was greatly indebted to the former president.

According to him, it was through God and Obasanjo that he attained national exposure in leadership position in the country.

“First and foremost, I came to pay my respect to my former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and then secondly, of course, we discussed the state of

the nation generally, and thirdly, our relationship is extremely cordial,” Atiku told journalists shortly after the meeting.

Commenting on the reported entry of Tambuwal into the APC presidential race, Atiku stated that the development indicated that his party was democratic.

“APC is a very democratic party. So, the more the merrier,” he added.

While making comparison between the PDP and APC, Atiku argued that the ruling party had failed Nigerians.

He said: “What has always affected our developmental strides in this country is that when we changed administrations and they could not continue what their predecessors have started, they begin a new project and new thing; because nation-building is a continuous process and therefore at a point in time, it requires continuity.

“They (PDP) call themselves transformers. The reason why we called ourselves progressives is that

our transformation goes with progressiveness but their own transformation goes with backwardness.

“I have visited all APC states, you will really feel, see and touch. They will tell you that they have rehabilitated railway stations and those stations are not running. That is the kind of thing PDP isgood at. They are good at propaganda.”

Speaking on the crisis rocking APC in Ogun State, which had polarised the party into two factions loyal to Amosun and former Governor Olusegun Osoba, the former vicepresident said the national leadership of the party had not given up on reconciling the feuding camps.

“I am the chairman of the South-West Reconciliation Committee but we have also decided to set up an elders sub-committee, which is to try and see if there will be what I call internal reconciliation before the bigger committee looks at the reconciliation process,” he said.

Suswam, deputy survive road accident Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

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enue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam and his Deputy, Chief Steven Lawani, yesterday narrowly escaped death by the whiskers as their convoy was involved in a road accident.

The incident occurred at Angbaaye area, a suburb village located at the outskirts of Makurdi town along Gboko road at 11:25a.m. when an on-coming commercial vehicle from Gboko to Makurdi, hit the pilot car of the governor that somersaulted three times before veering into the bush.

Suswam and Lawani were travelling to Tarka and Gboko Local Government Areas for the unveiling of this year’s Tree Planting Campaign, which he later delegated his deputy to handle, while he proceeded to Gboko for the flag-off of the over 36.7

kilometres road that links Igbor- Ikpa and Wannune.

The accident, which came less than 24 hours to the birthday celebration of the governor, saw three of his official cars, including his Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a back-up car, which veered into the bush and badly destroyed.

Suswam and his deputy, however, came out unhurt.

Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the incident, gathered that the accident occurred due to over-speeding by the driver of the commercial vehicle which equally damaged beyond repairs.

Suswam and his deputy, Lawani, who personally went down and sympathised with the victims most of who sustained varying degrees of fractures, also gave undisclosed amount of money to some sympathisers to facilitate the movement of the victims to the hospital for treatment.

Destructive criticism not good for democracy –Clark Tunde Oyesina Abuja

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n Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday chided the opposition, who have always been criticising every actions of President Goodluck Jonathan, stating that such act is not good for our democracy.

Clark, who stated this while playing host to a group of youths under the aegis of PDP ‘Ward to Ward’ initiative in Abuja said that every country must have problems and such problems have solutions devoid of destructive criticisms.

“We have a duty to say and do things that will unite us as a nation and not things that can break the nation. The opposition should know that they are still members of the society, so they should not do

things that will undermine the unity of this country,” Clark stated.

Also speaking, the Ambassador of the group and former Captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo, stated that the initiative has a vision of promoting the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“President Jonathan deserves the second term. We have things he has been doing and if we can give him another chance, he will definitely do more.

“In the sector to which I belong, that is the Sports sector, the President has brought a lot of transformation to it and the same thing goes to all other sectors. Nigerians should not hesitate to give the President another chance to lead the country to the promised land,” Yobo stated.

U.S to partner Nigeria on food security

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Mojeed Alabi

L-R: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; the celebrant, Pastor Tunde Bakare; his wife, Layide; Prof. Pius Adesanmi and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, at a book presentation entitled: ‘MOMENT of TRUTH’ to mark Bakare’s 60th birthday in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: GODWIN IREKHE

s part of efforts towards encouraging diversification of Nigeria’s economy, the United States of America has pledged her commitment to the promotion of agriculture as a viable alternative to oil and support the nation’s efforts to improve food security.

The US Agriculture Attaché in Nigeria, Mr. Selfart Kurt, made this commitment recently when he visited TUNS Farms, one of the country’s leading poultry farms, located in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

Kurt, who was in the

farm to gather information on the company’s production as part of America’s agricultural policy to ensure food security and safety for the people of Nigeria, said the purpose of his visit was to “collect, analyse and act on information on agriculture, agriculture business, and food security and safety.”

He said: “You know my country and Nigeria share the same agricultural practices. Nigeria wants higher standard and we also want higher standard in agricultural practices. So, in order to ensure maximum food security and safety, we are here to exchange ideas with Tuns Farms.”

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Court okays move to stop PDP convention

IKEJA Ajudua gets relief to seek medical check-up abroad

l APC amends date of primaries Tunde Oyesina Abuja

T

he Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday okayed moves to stop the planned Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) slated to hold on December 10 and 11.

The court while delivering ruling in ex-parte motion moved by Aliyu Ayuba Gubrin, through his counsel, Lilian Ojimma, seeking to stop the planned convention asked the plaintiff to put the defendants on notice.

The court, however, adjourned till November 20 for hearing of the substantive suit.

In the originating summons filed by the plaintiff, he is seeking the removal of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu as the chairman of the PDP. The plaintiff also prayed the court to restrain Mu’azu from acting as the chairman of the party.

The court, however, fixed December 20 for the hearing of the originating summons.

In the motion on notice, the court was asked to stop the planned national convention of the PDP sched-

News

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

uled for December 10 and 11.

The plaintiff, in suit number FHC/AbJ/ CS/821/2014 and dated November 10 said the resignation of the immediate past Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, did not comply with the provision of Section 47(5) of the constitution of the party which stipulates that a 30 days notice be given to the National Executive Committee (NEC)

by Bamanga Tukur.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the APC has announced the amendment of the dates of its forthcoming primaries.

The amended dates by APC has shown that the party's primaries would be holding after the PDP primaries.

In a statement, the party stated that the state Assembly primary election will hold on December 1, the governorship on December 4, while the national Assembly and national convention for presidential primaries would hold on December 8 to 9 and December 10 respectively.

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday, set aside the ruling of Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of an Ikeja High Court and granted a Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, bail to seek medical treatment abroad.

The judge of the lower court had earlier refused Ajudua’s bail application in a suit filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for allegedly defrauding a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd.), of about $8.395 million.

However, not satisfied with the ruling, Ajudua through his lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, lodged an appeal at the appelate court asking that the ruling of the lower court be set aside.

64 The sex ratio of men to 100 women in the above 60 years group in Cambodia in 2012 .

Source: Un.org

ASABA NBA honours Utuama

The Nigeria Bar Association, Asaba branch, has bestowed on the Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama (SAN), the Bar-Man award of excellence by NBA, Asaba branch.

The award was presented to the deputy governor at a Law dinner in Asaba as part of celebration of the NBA, Asaba branch 2014 Law Week. Others honoured alongside Utuama includes Mr. Ken Mozea (SAN) and Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Ikechukwu.

Receiving the award, Utuama said the judicial system had continued to play a vital role in the sustenance of the present democratic system.

According to him, “I thank you for this honour, it is not easy to see fellow lawyers giving award and honour to their colleagues in the profession.”

9

IKWERRE Ikwerre group condemns attacks on Wike

Ikwerre Monitoring Group (IMG), a non-partisan group of Ikwerre indigenes resident in the United States of America, has condemned what it describes as the ‘obnoxious and vituperative attacks’ against the former Minister of State for Education and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Chief Nyesom Wike, for aspiring to govern Rivers State come 2015.

The group in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Chindah Wami, said those who were attacking Wike for expressing his fundamental human rights to contest the 2015 governorship election in the state were enemies of democracy.

280

The number of deaths that resulted due to Ebola virus outbreak that occurred in Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976.

Source: Who.int

0.51

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

Source: Itu.int

Gemade to Suswam: Stop politics of desperation Chukwu David Abuja

C

hairman, Senate Committee on National Planning, Senator Barnabas Gemade, yesterday urged Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, to stop playing politics with desperation.

Gemade, who stated this following the alleged rift between the governor and him, spoke through his Legislative Aide, Mr. Bob Jija, in Abuja.

He stressed that his advice was informed by the need to save the state from what he described as “inordinate ambition” of the governor, pointing out that it had became imperative for him to clarify some

“calculated misinformation” credited to Suswam in some national dailies on Thursday.

The politician, who represents Benue North East Senatorial District described the alleged governor’s remarks about him as not only a “misrepresentation of facts” but also as “irresponsible, callous and immature.”

Gemade noted that it was reported that Suswam said the “Peoples Democratic Party has not given any person automatic ticket.”

He also said Suswam was reported to have said “Senator Gemade promised to serve only one term in the Senate, when he contested in 2011 and that “there was local arrangement for him to be elected a Senator.”

L-R: Chairman, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, Chief Faith Majemite; the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Chairman, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Mrs. Nkechi Chukwura, after their swearing-in by the governor at Government House, Asaba…yesterday.

Photo: Government House, Asaba

Three killed as Air Force chopper crashes in Yola TRAGEDY Another military helicopter crashes in Yola, Adamawa State.

Ndubuisi Ugah, Emmanuel Onani and Ibrahim Abdulaziz LAGOS AND Abuja

Don’t sack us, cleaners appeal to Fayose Adesina Wahab Ado-Ekiti

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treet cleaners in Ekiti State have appealed to the state Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, not to sack them or reduce their take home.

There are about 700 street sweepers, who are currently working with the state Ministry of Environment in Ado-Ekiti and Ikere-Ekiti.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, the

spokesman for the group, Messrs Ojo Joseph Olufemi and Ayegbusi Kunle, urged the government to retain the present N10,000 monthly stipend being paid to their members, rather than reducing it to N5,000 as being contemplated.

Ayegbusi, who described Fayose as a man of the people, who would not contemplate sacking any worker, said relieving them of their jobs would further

compound unemployment in the state.

He said the group was not oblivious of the fact that they are ad hoc, but added that members were contributing immensely to stemming the breakdown of epidemic in the state.

“We heard that the government is planning to reduce our stipend to N5,000 monthly and reduce the working hours from 6a.m to 2p.m to justify the reduction.

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arely five days after a military helicopter crash landed few minutes after take-off from the Yola Airport, Adamawa State, another ground attack helicopter, on Thursday, went down around the Federal University of Technology, Yola, killing the three crew members aboard.

The aircraft and others have been involved in military operations aimed at flushing out Boko Haram elements from territories taken over by the insurgents.

Military sources also said the incident took place about 200 kilometres away from the theatre of Boko Haram’s terrorist activities.

Confirming the latest crash in a one-paragraph statement posted on the Defence Headquarters’ blog (http://defenceinfo.mil. ng/) yesterday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), said the incident occurred at

10p.m. on Thursday.

It added that a rescue team had since been working to clear the wreckage, for proper investigation of the crash to be carried out.

The DHQ said: “At 2200hours yesterday 13 November 2014, a ground attack helicopter on an armed patrol crashed around the Federal University of Technology Yola, Adamawa State.

“The crew of three was lost in the ill-fated accident. Rescue party worked throughout the night to preserve the wreckage of the aircraft and scene of the accident for proper investigation to be carried out.

Further details would be made known later.”

Meanwhile, PRNigeria in a statement revealed that since the Boko Haram campaign of terror commenced in full scale in the North-East states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, the Nigerian Air Force has

flown at least 6,000 missions in efforts to rid the zone of insurgency.

“The missions, aiming to decimate, degrade, destabilise and demoralise the Boko Haram terrorists with a view to completely curtailing their freedom of actions, comprised ground attacks platforms, mission on ATR-42, Beechcraft air surveillance platform, airlift missions using the G-222 and the C-130H,” PRNigeria stated.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, had said at a recent forum at the University of Ibadan that the scope of the operations included airlift of troops and equipment, rotation of forces, battlefield interdiction, casualty evacuation, air surveillance operations and armed reconnaissance missions, among other operations. see news extra on page 53

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15 NOVEMBER 2014

IBADAN FCT Accord Party flays Ajimobi’s Police promote 31,576 recruitment of teachers officers

N EWS I N BRIEF

Accord Party (AP) has challenged Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State to prove the employment of 5,000 teachers, stressing that records provided by the state Teaching Service Commission revealed that about 1,000 teachers were actually employed.

The party also described as executive joblessness, the distribution of employment letters all over the state by the governor himself thereby usurping the functions of administrative officers and assistant directors, claiming that the roadshow has exposed the office of the governor to ridicule.

41.3% The percentage of households with internet access at home in the world in 2013.

Source: Itu.int

OBANIKORO Shepherdhill Baptist Church holds ‘Just Worship’

This year’s edition of ‘Just Worship’ will hold on November 21 at Shepherdhill Baptist Church, Obanikoro, Lagos, at 10p.m.

This year’s edition, which is the third in the series, is tagged ‘Majesty’ and will feature many top gospel artistes.

The lead worshipers and visionaries of the programme, Rev. and Mrs. Israel Kristilere, said ‘Just Worship’ was a programme meant for all believers irrespective of denominational affiliation and it involved pure worship and soaking in the Holy Spirit in all night worship.

Kristilere, who is a Senior Pastor at the church, said the event, which kicks off at 10p.m., would be featuring an inspiring singing group called The Indian Christian Congregation.

Towards addressing the welfare challenges facing the nation’s security systems, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Suleiman Abba, has approved the promotion of total number of 31,576 police men and women, especially within the rank and file.

The beneficiaries include about 4,826 officers who were moved from sergeant positions to inspectors; 20,748 from corporals to sergeants, among others.

According to information from the IGP’s office, the newly promoted officers are those who attended the Force’s batch ‘C’ 2014 promotion course at various police colleges and training schools across the country.

N3.72bn

The IGR realized from other revenue sources of Cross River State in 2011.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

19,695 The number of people in refugee-like situation in Sudan at the beginning of 2010.

Source: Blatantworld.com

PDP seeks dismissal of suit on Cross River delegates’ election result Chukwu David

T Abuja

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has asked the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Adeola to dismiss a suit filed by some members of the party in Cross River State restraining the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu, from using the result of the ward congresses other than the hand written results submitted by the electoral panel.

The panel had submitted a hand written document in a plain sheet as result of the ad hoc delegates election from Cross River State as opposed to the results contained in the official result sheet compiled by the ward and local government collation officers across the 196 council wards and the 18 local government areas of the state.

The solicitors to the par-

l Ita-Giwa hails conduct of congress l Anosike denies alleged N500m bribe ty, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) and Paul Erokoro (SAN), had filed preliminary objection to the suit, saying the plaintiffs lack the locus standi to file the suit.

They argued that an ad hoc delegate did not have a legal right to sue the party as their responsibility is merely ad hoc.

They further contended that the ad hoc delegates only constitute about 50 per cent of the entire delegates required for the electoral college for party primaries while the remaining 50 per cent were statutory delegates.

It was their contention that “only candidates have the right to sue the party.

Ad hoc delegates were not candidates nor aspirants.”

The court adjourned the case to November 18.

In the same vein, the

former Special Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita Giwa, has described the purported peace in Cross River State over the years as a graveyard peace and submitted that the state was the only state where party elders are disrespected.

Ita Giwa, who revealed this against the backdrop of the recently concluded congresses in the state, said this was the first time true democracy took its turn in the history of the state.

“I thank the party for allowing due process and true democracy to prevail for the first time in Cross River State even as other states are crying foul that the process was hijacked by their leadership. I want to add that the peace that

had existed in the state were graveyard peace because the people had been suppressed for so long and I make bold to state that Cross River remained the only state where party elders are disrespected and treated recklessly," she said.

Meanwhile, a member of the five-man electoral panel that conducted the election, Senator Emmanuel Anosike, yesterday in Abuja declared that the congress was a fair process.

He made the declaration while reacting to series of allegations being levelled against the committee by the state government since the submission of the election results to the PDP National Secretariat.

Anosike, who represented Anambra North Senatorial District during the fifth Senate, also denied the allegation that he received a bribe of N500 million to compromise the results of the election.

Tambuwal faults Yero’s project priorities Ibraheem Musa Kaduna

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peaker of the House of Representative, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has faulted the priorities of Kaduna State Government for building a N10 billion office complex at the Government House, when social amenities are lacking in the state.

Tambuwal made this known during the formal declaration of Isa Mohammed Ashiru as the governorship aspirant of the state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, there are no drugs in public hospitals in Kaduna State, no pipe borne water in some parts of the state and public schools lack sufficient instructional materials yet the government had embarked on such wasteful spending.

The speaker also noted that billions had been spent

INEC should conduct party primaries –Abacha’s son Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

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ollowing the controversies trailing the ward congresses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a governorship aspirant on the platform of the party, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Abacha, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to handle the conduct of party primaries.

Mohammed, who is the son of the former head of state, General Sani Abacha, said after submitting his nominations forms, that the ward congress held in Kano State was not free and fair.

“I am not satisfied with the ward congress. The congress was also not free and fair. The process was not

done properly. I pray and I ask that anything that is called election should be handled by INEC, be it the biggest or smallest election.

If the responsibility is given to the state, it will hardly be free and fair. So, I advise that government looks at it properly and for the future, INEC handles such elections,” he said.

He said he had already appealed against the outcome of the congress and expressed optimism that all aspirants would be given a level-playing field.

Despite the controversy however, Abacha expressed the confidence that PDP would win Kano State, adding the aspirants were united and determined to work together for the interest of the party.

Benue CAN condemns Tiv killings in Nasarawa, Taraba Cephas Iorhemen Makurdi

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L-R: Immediate past President, Apapa Rotary Club, Dr. Emmanuel Aipoh; past President, Mr. Ezekiel Ainabe; incumbent President, Mr. Innocent Umeh and Chris Azowana, during a visit to Apapa Club, Lagos…recently

on the Zaria water works and yet there is no drop of water from the project.

He advised the people of the state to vote the current PDP government out of office.

Tambuwal revealed that Ashiru played a pivotal role in his becoming Speaker, adding that when he assumed the office, he had asked Ashiru which committee he wanted to head.

“Ashiru told me that heading a committee was not his primary reason for supporting me. He said that what is paramount is for us to succeed in our legislative agenda,” Tambawal recalled, adding that ‘’he has remained the vice chairman of the Appropriation committee ever since’’.

The speaker described Ashiru as a man of integrity, dedicated and honest person who would bring development to the state.

he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue State chapter, yesterday condemned what it called the defenceless killing of Tiv people with impunity in Nasarawa and Taraba states by armed insurgents.

Chairman of the association in the state, Archbishop Yiman Orkwar, who made the condemnation wondered why all government's efforts to kick-out insurgency in the country has proved abortive in recent times.

He advised the Federal Government to device possible ways to address the

problem once and for all to ensure the return of permanent peace in the country.

Orkwar, who is the General Overseer of All Nations Evangelism Ministries (ANEM), said any government that failed in its duty to protect the lives and property of its citizens had no moral justification to remain in power.

He decried the level to which the church had compromised its stance in preaching against bad governance, injustices, corruption, sponsorship of militias, religious intolerance and other societal ills without fear of intimidation.

Voices How would you react if you discover your spouse is bi-sexual? p.12

Street Diary SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

11

Niger Delta groans over East-West Road

Travelling on the deplorable East-West Road in the South-South is nightmarish. EMMANUEL MASHA writes on the importance of the road and why government must fix it without further delay.

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hoever that has had cause to traverse Port Harcourt and environs in the past four years, will be familiar with the misery that any journey on the East-West Road can easily translate into. More than 70 percent of the road is not only in a total mess, but an indictment of the much-orchestrated efforts to reform the aggravated mess.

Some portions of the road have broken down completely and are not supposed to entertain vehicles, including heavy duty trucks which, easily, add to the . But because it is the only road that links Port Harcourt, through the ever busy Aba Road, motorists don’t have any option than to continue to fight their way to work and carry out their businesses.

Many complain that the nightmarish reality of passing through the road daily dampens the morale for work.

This partly explains the steadilyprohibitive cost of accommodation in places like Eleme, Nonwa, Akpajo and Onne. These are outlying areas in Port Harcourt, which outrageousness was what originally forced many to settle for these communities.

In the absence of an organised housing scheme in the state, which is not that keen in developing other cities near Port Harcourt, most developers and landowners who resort to self help have inflated the cost of accommodation.

In Rivers, where it rains almost throughout the whole year; where a few drops of rain take time to settle down and where the state and federal governments have been over-stretching their running battle over political differences, it appears that commuters and motorists would have to wait much longer to ride smoothly on the over-politicised road.

It appears the authorities have forgotten the economic importance of the road, or have been overwhelmed by the challenge of putting the road in order. Some claim that some persons are feeding fat from the near-road, arguing that nothing meaningful has been achieved since men of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) started re-patching the hotchpotch several years ago.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, which awarded the contract for the East/West Road, has repeatedly assured road users of its readiness

East-West Road

to clean the mess, but its deteriorating state has made many to wonder whether or not governments really attache due importance to the strategic value of the road. If it does, why the scandalously slow pace of work along the road some have asked?

It is along this road that Indorama Petrochemical Company is located as well as the Refinery Junction, which is less than five kilometres to the Port Harcourt Refinery. And from Onne Junction, you have the Onne Port; Intels; the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority as well as hundreds of oil and gas servicing companies that employ thousands of people. That is why commuters and motorists are yet to come to terms with why the road remains in such a deplorable state.

The Director, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Anyankwe Nsirimovu, has criticised the ministry on the poor state of the road.

He said: “That ministry has demonstrated lack of non-commitment to that project -the only project that concerns the Niger Delta states, the only project that connects us.

“I do believe that the Federal Gov-

Another section of the road

I think it boils down to ignorance on the part of the people.

They are not asking questions over the billions of naira earmarked for the road

ernment, under the leadership of late President Umaru Yar’Adua set up the Ministry of Niger Delta with a view to bringing development to the longsuffering delta. The minister has no capability to be in that ministry and I call for his resignation with immediate effect.”

It would be recalled that the former minister of the ministry, Godsday Orubebe, and Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi clashed on the poor state of the road. At a point, the governor wanted to reconstruct the road because of its direct impact on the state’s economy.

The seriousness, with which the Rivers State government constructed the Port Harcourt/Owerri Expressway, must have influenced the governor’s decision but because the East/West Road was already a work-in-progress, and based on the involvement of FERMA in repair works on the affected portions, there was absolutely nothing the governor could to about it. And the people have had to pay dearly for it.

But on June 12, 2013, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Petroleum

and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria protested in Port Harcourt over the deplorable state of the Eleme-Refinery end of the East-West Road in Rivers State. The protesters, who were joined by other concerned individuals, blocked a portion of the East-West Road, and urged the Federal Government to reconstruct the road without further delay. They warned that oil workers would embark on an industrial action if serious rehabilitation work did not commence soon on the road.

The state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, who is also an executive member of NUPENG, Mr. Chika Onuegbu; Mr. Godwin Eruba of PENGASSAN and the Zonal Secretary of PENGASSAN, Mr. Micheal Amadi, led the protest.

Onuegbu said: “The East/West Road is the road that leads to the Eleme Petrochemical. It leads to the Port Harcourt Refinery; it also leads to the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone and the Onne Port.

“Ordinarily, the strategic importance of the road should have encouraged the authorities to embark on repair works without any delay.”

When the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Stephen Oru, visited the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently, he called for a strong collaboration between his ministry and the commission in order to speed up development in the Niger Delta region.

He said that since his ministry and the NDDC have the common goal of developing the region, there was no need for them to promote even development in the areas of human and infrastructure, empowerment, peace and order.

“We are entrusted with the responsibility of addressing the deplorable state of neglect, environmental degradation and abandonment of the region in spite of the fact that it is the region with abundant oil and gas mineral resources that sustain most of the revenue of the Nigerian economy.

Voices

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

12

How would you react if you discover your spouse is bi-sexual?

I will feel bad but counsel her

I will divorce her

I will feel very bad about it because of the trust I have for her in the first place. But all the same, I will call her to order by counseling and also ensuring a change of attitude towards her in the sense that whatever I have not been doing right to her that might have led her to such an act. Then I will draw her close to God and if after that she still didn't change, then I will have to file a divorce with immediate effect.

First and foremost, I will advise him to stop it but if he is adamant then I will go to the church and report him to the pastor so he can be prayed for because it may not be his real man that is engaged in the act.

– Mrs. Modupe Bello, businesswoman

One has to be creative with his or her partner in this world that we are in. Instead of me to kill myself with heartbreak and jealousy I will adapt to her sexual orientation and make myself

I will just divorce her because she has kept it a secret from me and I cannot continue to live with such a person.

– Ogunlade David, student

happy.

– Henrion Dwayne Ghogzay, journalist

I will keep it a secret

– Kolawole Babatunde, civil servant

I will seek spiritual help

I will adapt to her sexual orientation

I will walk away from her

For as much as I love him I will have to stick to him and keep it a secret. But he has to feel sorry because I cannot afford divorce.

This is very serious. I will walk away immediately I found out.

– Rotimi Ajele, banker

– Buremoh Ayoyimika, student

I will end the relationship

I can’t live with such a lady

I will be surprised and terrified and won't continue with the relationship because it means he has been faking orgasm with me which is worst.

–Tolani Balogun, graduate

I cannot live with a bisexual lady, I will call off the marriage and that is it.

– Oni Shola, student

I will end the marriage

servant

If she is bi-sexual automatically that is the end of the marriage because it is a sin against God. As a Christian I cannot live with such a woman.

– Opeyemi Oyeyemi, civil

We will seek for professional help It is not normal; therefore, I will discuss the root cause of the problem with her. Then we will know how to proffer solution(s) to the problem because who knows if it might be what a simple professional psychologist's intervention can resolve.

– Victor James, civil servant

I can’t continue with the marriage I will be very angry with him because that is not fair on his path to me. I cannot continue with the marriage.

– Atolagbe Tosin, student

I am safer with it

I will take her for deliverance

I would be happy because it makes me feel safe.

Tendency of cheating on me with a man is less though risky because her female partner could be the jealous type. But it still makes me safe. All I need is just to be sure she appreciates my person.

– Oduala Tayo, self-employed

I will take her for prayers.

That is the only way you can help such a person. You know bisexual is a demonic manifestation.

– Afolabi Ikujumi, businessman

I will leave him immediately

I will seek help

Bi-sexual! I will leave him immediately. I can't continue with such person having that in mind.

– Oladeji Esther, graduate

I wouldn't know how to respond to that yet, maybe if it happens, then I will know how to react to the issue. I will want to find out the reasons why he has been indulging in such a thing and for how long such a practice has been going on after which I will find a way out of the problem.

– Mrs. Blessing Akpan, civil servant

compiled by

OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, JOHN EDU AND TOPE DADA

He has to choose between me and his male partner

I will be angry but I'd ask for details. I will have to remain calm for him to tell me the truth He has to choose between me and the other man.

– Ella Austin, actress

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014

WeekendDelight 13

C o n v e r s at i o n

Instyle The wide-leg trousers p.15

The Arts

Of nostalgia and reminiscences p.18

Hospitality

Fall asleep and awake in nature’s embrace p.39

Nike

okundaye

Love&Living I had lesbian relationship with my sister-in-law p.38

The motherless kid who sought fortune from Osun Goddess Few stories are as compelling as Chief Nike Okundaye’s fairy tale rise from a childhood defined by abject want to a life of fame. Founder of the Lagos-based Nike Art Gallery talks about religion, evolution of indigenous textile and overcoming challenges. She spoke with LANRE ODUKOYA WHY ARTISTS ARE LESS FLAMBOYANT The life of an artiste is not as colourful as every other person. If an artiste has to make a choice between a car and a house, he would choose a house because an artist doesn’t work in a car. You need your studio to work.

ADIRE AND ASO-OKE BOOM Every minute of my life has been defined by adire because adire has started booming in the 1960s and 1970s. No other textile could match adire and aso-oke in terms of prestige around this clime. Ankara was to later come from Ghana. It was the pronunciation of the capital of Ghana - Accra - that was mispronounced by the colonialists until it became “Ankara”.

They would say, “that cloth we brought from Ankara, Gold Coast capital”. The fabrics were then made in Holland, Manchester and so on and they were imported majorly to Accra by the British then. Like I said earlier, the names of our indigenous fabrics are adire and aso-oke. We have adire eleko, adire alabela, adire oniko, adire alabere, adire onipatani (done in Abeokuta, Ogun State); adire Ibadan dun comes from Ibadan; adire orimipe comes from Osogbo, Ogbomoso, Oyo; and most of the major cities of South-west had theirs as well. And from the eastern part of Nigeria, they have the hand-stitched adire, in northern Nigeria they do the corn-tie. So, the whole of the country was full of the glory of either adire or aso-oke at a time.

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

FROM OBSCURITY TO THE LIMELIGHT Actually, most people think I’m from Osogbo or Abeokuta, but as a matter of fact, I’m from Kogi State. I lived in Osogbo all my life. I was Okundaye

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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Weekend Delight

| Conversation

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Trophy chest...

Okundaye in an office filled with awards she has won over the years

‘My first husband had 15 wives, but I still stood out from the pack’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 3

brought to Osogbo at the age of six. So, Osogbo is my second home. And God has been kind to me because when I got to Osogbo, I didn’t even know anything called money. I went to Osun deity to pray. As a little girl, I told Osun: “you see me and you know me; I have no mother, I want you to look after me. This is what I want to become in life.”

I was at age 10 by then. I said if I become great, I will always talk about you. Osun is like going to church. It’s a traditional heritage place. They don’t kill cows, humans or chickens there. It’s just a place where people go and pray. I’m Catholic, I fast during the Lent season and go to church every Sunday.

It’s just the same way the Oba of Osun is a Muslim, he observes every prayer session in Islam. But we have to respect our culture. In 1974, the American government wanted to pick some artists from Africa specifically from 54 African countries and I think by then, there was just 50 African countries. So, after their research, all the people they got were all men. They began to worry that, are there no female artists in Africa? They told them the lady they could find was Ladi Kwali and she was a potter.

To the Americans, pottery was just a craft.

And then they had me, I worked on textile which was also a craft to them. They said no, they didn’t want anything craft. They later thought that the people they were staging the programme for, African-Americans were coming to learn about their cultures, their backgrounds and so on. So, these are also some form of arts from Africa and that was why they had to take us along. One of my friends worked at the Museum of Natural History, she was the one who recommended me to the principal of the school.

And they came to look for me in Osogbo.

We were using feathers to paint this adire.

Just two and half yards of adire takes one week to complete.

So, I did five yards and sent to them in Osogbo where they had come to look for me.

Going to America was my breakthrough.

It was when I got there that I realised that handiwork can take one to a great height. So, I was teaching women how to make aso-oke, pottery, because I’d learnt all these crafts little by little as I had no money to go to school when I finished Primary Six. My mother died and my father was a very poor man, he was a farmer, basket weaver and village musician.

My great grandmother taught me everything that I mastered then. I was abundantly gifted with these crafts that I taught many of my

colleagues and neighbours. My first husband married 15 wives and I was still able to stand out of the pack because of my handiwork.

WHY I DIDN’T CONSIDER STAYING BACK OVERSEAS I’ve always loved Nigeria. I said to myself, even if I stayed back in the US, what was I going to be telling them? I didn’t know how to speak a word of English. So, my little knowledge of spoken English was what I picked from interacting with people like you. I remember that if I had to interpret my works to them there, I would say, “This is my try” when I intended to say “these are my works”. They were even teaching me how to speak some English because I didn’t know how to explain the concept of a traditional drum called bata. I would say, “bata prapapapa” and they would say, “no, say drum”. I was never shy to tell them what I didn’t know. They even asked me what kind of snake I liked most and I told them the python was my favourite. They were shocked. But I meant what I said because in my village there wasn’t even beef; you would kill a snake and eat. If you killed a rat, you’d eat that. There was no electricity in the small village.

GIVING BACK TO KOGI Yes, I go back occasionally to Kogi to develop the young people willing to learn.

I even have a centre there for women with aso-oke. I established a training school there for them where they learn how to weave and there are trainers there to take them in adire class too.

THE ARTS AND THE MYTHS Yes, I know some people still believe that most artists’ works are diabolical. But let me explain what many don’t know. We have different types of groups for these craftsmen, Osogbo, Yaba, Zaria and so on.

We artists from Osogbo are self-taught, we didn’t go to school to learn the art.

When Ulli Bieir and Susan Wenger came to Osogbo, they formed the school called Osogbo School of Arts and that is how Osogbo artists started to reign. These Germans were the first to write a book on the art from Osogbo and that is why the Osogbo artists are very popular today more than their counterparts.

POINTS OF DISTINCTION There are over forty galleries in Lagos.

What stands Nike Art Gallery is that I’m an artist myself. It’s just like people who write books on polygamy and has never married many wives or women who had never had senior or junior partners in a polygamous family, where would the person find adequate experience to tell the story of polygamy? I know the feelings of an average artist and what it takes to put something on the board. And I know what it requires to get inspired before they would put anything sensible on the board. That is why I’m able to look after their works for them. Some people will open a gallery today and in another two years, they close it. I told you that my first gallery was in 1968. And I haven’t even done a single anniversary; rather I would do it in a proper way to give the Nigerian artists a voice. When you come to the country, you’d see the works of the artists which stand as their voice. More so, what I can do to help artists in my capacity is to resound the quintessential creativity of our artists to the government. Though, I don’t partner with the Lagos State Government, just by verbal referrals, no single signpost, people from different ministries storm here.

If there hadn’t been an Ebola outbreak, on the average we have 50 expatriates coming here every day and 75 on Saturdays.

WHAT I LOOK OUT FOR IN ART WORKS Well, I can see the artists’ future by looking at their works. I know the ones that can become a huge success between two or three years. There’s one artist whose works are conspicuously displayed here now. His name is Romanus, but he’s popularly called Rom. He’s one of our renowned artists today in Nigeria who has made it to the top. He has his own house, a big studio. He also has another house yet to be completed. We also have the president of the artists’ guild by the name Dotun; he heads over 1000 artists.

MY LIFE AS A YOUNG WOMAN You won’t believe that most part of my life has been spent working. I never stopped working. Even in the early hours of today, I was obsessed with what we should be doing for a young artist, Olawunmi’s exhibition. The young woman would come here, sit down and imagine things to put together. Olawunmi is self-taught, before you can get inspiration, you have to look at other artists’ works. From there, you can now start and carve your own niche. I got back from a party yesterday at 1.00am and by 5.00am

I woke up to cook for my husband. All my life has been hard work. I just enjoy it because I don’t fall sick. Today, my first son has three master’s degree. I don’t blame God that I don’t have formal education, I thank God that I’ve given what I don’t have to my children as their inheritance.

My daughter who used to work with me here is doing her master’s programme at the moment. I have four girls and two boys. One of my sons also have two master’s degree already. They have their own houses and families today.

MY SUCCESSION PLAN I already have in mind that I cannot be here forever and that is why I have a foundation which involves some who are even into arts. It has its board of directors, so if anything happens to me today, Nike Art Gallery will continue. The Nike Art Foundation is solid enough.

MOST CHERISHED LAUREL It’s actually the one given to me in Italy. They gave me a medal to go with the plaque. I cherish this one greatly because in Torino, Italy, they had five thousand prostitutes who are Nigerians and they are all from Edo State. And when they saw that there was nothing they could do to tackle that menace, they went to surf the internet because they know that Nigerian women mostly work with their hands. How come these ones won’t stop prostituting? They invited me, I got there and spoke these young women. By the time I got there, I told them I couldn’t do it alone. I needed the support of the then first lady of Edo State, Eki Igbinedion. We had to do it elegantly. And it was so bad that thirty nine of our girls were killed in three months.

So, I had to get people to start training them how to do adire. All these fabrics you’re wearing, it’s just a little design that goes into it and they send the rest to Holland, Spain and so on. That was the understanding the Italian Embassy had and they bought the girls computers to be designing and sending to other parts for processing. It’s less difficult than ours where we have to dye it the natural way and so on. After six years, that was how I managed to change the lives of three thousand Nigerian girls.

That was where this award came from.

I leave my people to continue teaching them there and I just go to visit them for a month and I return home.

Instyle

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

15

fashion etiquette Create a focal point, but avoid accessory overkill

W

hen you dress up for any occasion, you should create a focal point for your outfit with an accessory. This means, when people see you, their eyes should be drawn to that feature on your clothing before anything else.

Although, accessories complement outfits, you should not wear excessive accessories. Wearing too many necklaces, earrings, bracelets or belts would make you look shoddy and also draw attention for the wrong reasons.

For instance, if you are wearing a plain dress, harmonising it with a bright coloured belt, blazer or earrings should be the focal point. So, create a focal point with minimal accessory.

Stephanie Coker

Ono Bello

T

Simply chic

Wide-leg trousers to flaunt your well toned stomach, then, pair this flattering trousers in the contemporary style, rock it with an elegant crop top and pair it with heels for that sexy and dramatic look.

• For a chic look, pair your wide-leg trouser with a lovely lace blouse, a sleeveless ruffled top, or a classic shirt tucked into your high-waist trouser and style with a skinny belt to actually embrace the 70s look and accentuate your waist as well.

• And for a corporate casual look, pair your trouser with a top and throw in a colourful blazer. But ensure, it complements your trousers.

• If your trousers are the floor-sweeping type, wear them with open or peep-toe sandals.

• The loveliest wide-legged trousers will not look stylish if you choose to pair it with the wrong shoes. So to achieve that trendy look, pair your wide-leg trouser with wedge and platform sandals, high heels, open or peep-toe sandals and platform pumps.

• Finally, accessorise and step out for that event.

The wide-leg trousers are perfect for flattering all figure types depending on how you choose to style and accessorise it. Your ability to pull off this trend depends on you, so rock it in style.

he retro wide-leg trousers which held sway during the 70s inspired by menswear style is trending and fashionistas are trendily rocking this loose silhouette outfit. This trend is fun, flattering and versatile.

The trousers which features a combination of a high waistline or low waist and wide legs creates an instant 70s style while creating a modern elegant look. These trousers which come in different styles are made with various fabrics like satin, silk, cotton and many more.

These trousers come in all manner of wide-leg styles ranging from floor sweeping, patterned, pleated and solid. You could choose from either the cropped above the ankle or floor sweeping one to make your style statement with. To standout in a wide-leg trouser, the rule is to try and balance your total look with a form fitting top.

TIPS • Choose a pair of wide-leg pants with a high waist in a solid colour.

This will look flattering on any woman.

• To accentuate your waistline or create the illusion of one, style your trousers with a belt.

• If you are bold, daring and want Peju Alatise

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Instyle

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

How would you define your style?

I love elegance with some afropolitan vibe. My style has to have a little bit of an African touch and at the same time metropolitan, modern and classic.

Do you follow trend?

I’m not really into trendy wears because they do go out of fashion. So, I prefer classic wears. However, sometimes I could take something that is trending and personalise it to look classy. I could then wear it any time and be sure that it will not go out of style.

A little bit of this and that

What determines the kind of outfit you wear?

Every event requires a different kind of outfit. When I am performing at an event, I love to look grand. And of course, other events I may tone it down but there is a string that ties all these different attires together; that is classic, afropolitan and elegance.

The eclectic philosophy is at the heart of Dolapo Ogunwale’s style.

The performance poet and dramatist loves outfits that reflects her African heritage.

Angela Davies writes.

What are the predominant outfits in your wardrobe?

That will be jeans and different styles of shirts.

Is there an outfit you would rather not be seen wearing?

That would be bum shorts outside my house because it will reveal my bum.

Most expensive clothing or fashion accessories ever bought?

It was a designer dress and it was to die for.

Fashion accessories you cannot do

without Earrings, I think they frame your face and make you look like you are dressed up. If you wear clothes and don’t have earrings on, of course depending on the clothes, some clothes are very shimmery but still earrings just finish up the look.

Best designer I love different things from different designers. Recently, I saw a collection from a designer called Paolo Sisiano and I just feel in love with them. The designs were fantastic.

Best colour Maroon, it is mature, strong and classic as well.

Do you have a signature perfume?

I use Chloe. I like this perfume because it has that classic sophisticated scent and it last very long. Sometimes, I use Givenchy as well.

What are the kind of shoes you love?

I love different shoes for different occasions because of what I do. I do a lot of rehearsals so wedges are the way to go. They may look casual but are comfortable and give that lift you need.

How do you love your hair?

I have natural hair so I style it in different styles. More hair dressers should look into the styling of natural hair. Sometimes, I fix hair extension if the need arises.

How do you love your make-up?

I like to emphasis my eyes with some nice eye shadows, dark eyeliner and make my eye brows a little light using brown colour to make my eyes pop. They say my eyes are my best features.

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

TNL Origami Blazer Dress

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he fashion face-off this week is between two beautiful style divas, singer, Tonye Garrick and Studio 53’s Ghanaian presenter, Sika Osei whose dress sense speaks volume. The outfit in contention is the TNL Origami Blazer Dress. However, both ladies rocked the dress in different colours and styled differently as well.

Beautiful and stylish singer, Tonye Garrick wore the black version of the TNL Origami Blazer dress which features a single button to day one of the GTBank’s Lagos Fashion and Design Week which held at Eko Hotel and Suites on October 30.

With the sleeves rolled up, Garrick styled her edgy look with a black bowler hat, black clutch, silver hoop earrings, wristwatch and a pair of black low heel knee-length gladiator sandals which flaunted her painted nails. To harmonize her evening

Osei

look for the fashion show, she opted for a black lipstick which gave her face a distinct look Meanwhile, dark complexioned Osei, rocked the white version of the same blazer dress in an elegant style. Although, the long sleeve blazer dress flaunted part of her thighs, with a charming smile, she stepped on the blue carpet at the 2014 Aquafina Elite Model Look competition which held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on September 6 looking gorgeous. She coordinated her look with stud earrings, a statement cocktail ring and a pair of black and transparent pumps. Osei kept her makeup light with dark eyeshadow and a pink pout. Her look was soft and feminine.

So who in your opinion rocked this blazer dress better? Is it singer Garrick with the edgy look or Osei with the feminine and elegant look?

Garrick

Facts Nigerian fashion designer, Ituen Basi trained at the London College of Fashion after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife. Her training at the London College of Fashion enabled her to deepen her knowledge and formalised her experience in the fashion industry.

A fez is a brimless felt hat, usually red, with a black tassel hanging from its crown. It was first worn by men in Morocco and is still worn by Muslim men today.

Shoes all over the world were identical until the 19th century, when left and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia.

The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Big Hoop Earrings Big hoop earrings come in a variety of styles and shapes. That's just as well because you could always find a suitable pair when you want to dress up or dress down, Angela Davies writes.

W

hether you believe it or not, earrings are the most important accessory for women.

Hoop earrings are perhaps the quintessential piece of jewelry. They transcend fashion trends, time and personal style. The hoop earring is a truly ubiquitous piece of jewelry. At least, every woman has a pair of hoops.

These classic earrings are made from rounded or flat pieces of metal or plastic that runs from the front to the back of the earlobe. Whether simple and classic or bejeweled and colourful, these delicate pieces help frame your face for a flattering and youthful look.

Wearing big hoop earrings is a sure way to instantly draw attention to your pretty face for women who want to make bold statement. Big hoop earrings are versatile and are an excellent fashion statement jewelry that adds some oomph to any plain outfit. Hoop earrings are extremely stylish, classy, and chic For instance, diamond, bejeweled or double toned hoop earrings are

perfect for special dress-up occasions.

While simple gold or silver hoop earrings are ideal when you want to dress down in jeans and shirt or native attire.

They are available in a wide variety of sizes, circumferences and widths to choose from. They come in shapes like round, oval and oblong and styles like basic thin, platinum, bejeweled, gold, sterling silver, pattern, twisted, slightly different shapes, diamond, wire hoop style and more.

When it comes to selecting big hoop earrings, the golden rule is to find a hoop style that complements the shape and scale of your face.

Know that hoops are tricky for a lot of women to wear, but with a square or wide face shape, they will add that contrast that will soften your jaw line while complimenting it at the same time. Also, women with wide or round face should opt for oval hoop earrings.

So put on those hoops and watch how well they will frame and compliment your facial appearance.

Instyle

17

The Arts SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Of nostalgia and reminiscences Interlocking Energies, an exhibition of drawings by two childhood friend and artists, Sam Ebohon and Hamid Ibrahim, which opened last week in Lagos explores new ideas and shed light on the beauty of creation emanating from stories told by the paintings, writes TONY OKUYEME.

B

eauty, nostalgia and reminiscences, are some of the words that resonate in a group art exhibition by the duo of Hamid Ibrahim and Sam Ebohon which opened last Saturday at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, and ended yesterday.

In this exhibition titled Interlocking Energies, the duo bring their signature styles to the table as they explore various socio-political and cultural issues.

Ibrahim’s desire to continue to strengthen his personal touch with which he fused his painting since he began his full time studio practice is often his driving force. It is also a dependable source of inspiration when faced with the prospect the prospect of producing and showcasing his art before the public.

The challenge could be daunting, sometimes overwhelming, occasionally leaving him self-critical if he fails to meet his goals. But the lessons of assiduous practice have moderated his emotions and have convinced him that a modicum of criticism generally is part of the Ibrahim ingredients of the creation of a masterpiece. This has continued to kindle his creativity and productivity.

Nevertheless, Ibrahim gives abstraction pride of place in his work, increasingly employing it as an effective tool for expression his sentiments. With the same determination and skills, he also deals figurative subjects in his compositions.

Trained as an artist at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, where he bagged his HND in painting in 1990, Ebohon Ibrahim started practicing full time shortly after and has had remarkable exhibitions (four solos and 35 groups) Divergent at home and abroad. Currently he is the views, vice president of the Guild of Profesconverging sional Fine Artists of Nigeria. purpose If there is one thing that Ebohon’s paintings boast, it is a stylistic identity.

And if there is a habit that his professional training and practice as an artist have instilled in him, it is the obligation "Sometimes, to preserve that identity while at the same time, not allowing it to stagnate abstraction but to watch it grow and metamorphose functions gracefully.

His art derives its strength and where words beauty from a repertory of structural forms which only thorough discipline or reality falls in drawing can guarantee. The forms short – this is are absolutely convincing and in their conviction they command a seemingly what I seek to facile understanding of the theme with achieve with which the artist is dealing.

Nevertheless, Ebohon seems to take a my paintings" cue from a mason in his professional attitude. Looking at his paintings in total-

Market banter

ity, the idea that he literally subjects them to a somewhat mathematical precision almost substantiates this.

Yet, the paintings which are limited in their economical rendering connote maturity and this helps to spice up the message which the painter is trying to get across.

Ebohon is a graduate of painting from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, where the foundation for intense private studio work was laid. He has created a brand through painting consistently for over 20 years. The series of awards he has received plus the solo and group exhibitions which he has featured in so far in Nigeria and overseas attest to this.

Explaining the idea behind Interlocking Energies, Ibrahim said: “The new ideas seen here are conceived from the depths of my creative incense, consciously synthesizing the bold, energetic and gentle intricate details by harmonizing them to bring to fore the beauty of a creation emanating from stories told by the painting itself.

“Incidentally, it is interesting to note that emptiness is not bareness, solitude is not loneliness. Abstraction can be beautiful, evocative and emotionally refreshing at the same.

Sometimes, abstraction functions where words or reality falls short – this is what I seek to achieve with my paintings.”

18

Art Brief

Really, Whose Centenary?

The art project Whose Centenary? is a critical analysis of significant historical aspects of Nigerian social, political and cultural memory, with a particular emphasis on 1914.

The exhibition will explore themes around the centennial commemoration of Nigeria’s amalgamation, as well as and the multilayered nature and prevalent results of colonialism in the country, revealed in the primordial space of Benin, where history was itself played out a hundred years ago with the exile of Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar in 1897 and eventual entrenchment of British rule. The year of 1914 also brings to mind the passing of the king who stood against British imperialism in defense of his Kingdom. In its rhetorical form, several questions emerge: Who and what is being commemorated? In what forms do these memorializations occur?

Whose Centenary? is a two year long series of artistic collaborations that also aims to redefine the boundaries of museological spaces in Africa, where places, people and their memories continuously enrich our understanding of life, art and history. Therefore Igun Street is apprehended as a living museum, becoming an ideal space for this first intervention. The multi-series exhibitions will include, performance art, installation art, poetry reading, community workshops, songs/choreography, painting, photography, video and collaboration between contemporary Nigerian artists with traditional Edo bronze casters and their wards, in a series of community based art projects in Benin City.

The art intervention will begin on December 6 with public art exhibitions and life performances following a procession route from the King’s quarters at Akenzua Street, through Airport Road, Ring Road and will culminate at Igun Street - a World Heritage site and the home of traditional bronze casters in Benin City who for centuries have produced the bronze works the city and country is renowned for.

The collaborative Project is curated by Inês Valle with Jude Anogwih, Jelili Atiku, Josephine Ebiuwa Abbe, Victor Ehikhamenor, Andrew Esiebo, Taiye Idahor, Peju Layiwola, Elizabeth Olowu, Wura Ogunji, George Osodi and Jumoke Verissimo.

Kehinde Gbelee

Yinka Olukunga

How I fell in love with cake decoration

God, love for children made Nnenna and Friends grow

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You seem to have your finger in many pies, how exactly should we see you?

I’m a fashion designer by training and I specialise in creating fabulous fashion using all sorts of textiles and that’s why I own an outlet here at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos. I decided to float another business here called the Gallery Cafe, collaboration between me and Nike. And basically, we started this to offer a healthy lifestyle in terms of culinary to patrons who come around here because there are not too many places close by where you can get something like a good salad, sandwich, fresh fruit juice and so on. This whole concept was put together because I personally need somewhere to eat because I don’t eat meat. I have such a crazy kind of diet and this cafe would prepare me the kind of food I enjoy and which others enjoy too. Here is just the right spot for the freshest pastries, the finest coffee, barbeque and so on.

ShowBiz SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Queen Ahneva Adegeye:

I don’t care about KSA’s polygamous life Queen Ahneva Adegeye is a fashion designer of long standing, an on-air-personality formerly with the Classic FM and a chef from the United States. This art exponent speaks to LANRE ODUKOYA about her new enterprise, her return to Nigeria and life being King Sunny Ade’s wife. rive at that concept?

Well, first of all, I started at Classic FM when it was first launched.

There’s a young man called Tintin who actually invited me to be a part of the station. I conceptualised the Sunday show because I love gospel and I’m a constant worshipper and it was easy for me to come up with such a show because it’s about giving all glory and honour to God. It has become a popular show because from the feedbacks, people say that it’s inspirational and that they love the music played on the show. I started with the show, however, four months into being at Classic, I was asked to add four more days to my one day, which means that I would be working there five days a week. And that show was Mellow Magic which was the show I turned over to Elvina Ibru. I did the show for three and a half years. I created it and I became the managing director of a company, Quintessentially at that time. And about two years ago, I was working on both jobs which were too much.

One was 9am to 5pm and the other was 9pm till midnight. It worked for about six months and I decided that, you know what? I can’t continue with this. So, I resigned from Classic FM and just kept my Where’s The Praise Show on Sunday.

Your voice was amazing on Classic FM and all of a sudden you are talking confectioneries, when did this part of you evolve?

First of all, I am a well-groomed chef, a great cook. I had a catering service in the United States for over 12 years and that was how I sent myself to school. I’ve been in the catering business for many years in the U.S. So, foods, events and putting parties together had been what I was doing over the years. So, it comes so natural to me. It’s like my second breath.

After sewing, it’s cooking for me. It’s who I am as a person. I don’t eat red meat, I’ve not even eaten it in over 35 years. So, the concept of the cafe is from a personal need as well as to cater for visitors at the gallery. You know several international visitors come to Nigeria and when most of them are around, they stop by here and we must cater well for them.

Nike Arts Gallery is a destination for expatriates, embassies and companies bring associates here. And a lot of times, they’re hungry and need something to eat and drink.

How much of you would be available to deliver the world class menu you set out to do given that you also have a fashion outlet in the gallery?

My showroom is just like five steps from the cafe. I’m always in the compound and that makes it easy for me to cater for any order made. The ambiance here is all of arts as you can see, the tables, cabinets and nearly all of the things you find around are the same expression of the arts. So, it’s all about the arts here and the place is going to be hosting live jazz, we would have international movie nights when you could come in and see fabulous movies from around Africa. This will be a place you would come on Sunday for fashion brunch and I’ll be inviting other designers to be part of the show. It’s not just going to be about me.

What would be mainly on your menu?

We will be serving essentially exotic coffees from Kenya, French brewed, teas, Columbian brewed, beers, wines, barbeque grills, fish, prawns, fresh pastries, all kinds of

19

Ahneva

salads and everything greatly tasty we can find will be served. We would have one soup a day, it might be chicken or fish pepper soup. We are not trying to be a big restaurant, we’re just a cafe which is a complement to our guests and clients.

How affordable will the services be?

We expect everybody to come around and that’s why we would make our price point palatable. We are not trying to overprice our goods and services. We just want to make this place an enchanting destination.

So, now you have foods, clothing, accessories, drinks and fun-filled activities.

Do you have in mind any particular

I am a child of stolen Africans and one of the prayers of our ancestors is that we make it back to Africa

jazz artistes to perform here?

I have been producing live jazz at the Four Point by Sheraton for about four and a half years. So, we should expect singers like Seaon, Yomi Sax and others are my regular people. So, we’re going to have jam sessions and we would have a basic band. For the grand opening, we have Wale Ojo and Demola gold band who will be doing some Afrobeat performance.

We’ve got some fabulous dancers, Adunni and Nefretti and so on. So, it’s going to be a great opening because we would also have a fashion show. The opening is on November 22 from 3pm to 7pm.

What about your show, ‘Where’s the Praise’ on Classic FM on Sunday mornings? How exactly did you ar-

You’re King Sunny Ade’s wife, how exactly did you meet him?

He actually met me. He came to my country, the U.S. He had a show at the University College of Los Angeles (UCLA) and I was with my friends at the college. And I was handling a project called Rap and Pride years ago. Someone told me that he was coming and that I should come to the show, blablabla... And he was introduced to me because I was the queen of designs in the United States for Culture Couture. I made African clothing and I had the largest showroom in the United States doing that.

And the collection that I was famous for was very weird, so people who knew the two of us said it was great meeting because he was King of Juju and I was Queen of Designs. We were introduced and that was how we met.

And of course, he loved the collection and employed me to do something for him. That was how it started.

The first time you saw him perform live on stage, how did you feel?

His music was enchanting. At that time, jazz for me was a huge hit and I was really feeling the rhythm and the vibes and feeling him too because he was cute, not a bad guy.

20

Showbiz

nigerian celebs WITH MOST social media FOLLOWING WIZKID Twitter - 1.3 million Facebook - 1 million Instagram - 412,000 DAVIDO Twitter - 1 million Facebook - 988,000 Instagram - 408,000 D’BANJ Twitter - 982,000 Facebook - 1.1million Instagram- 76,000 OMOTOLA JALADE-EKEINDE Twitter - 513,000 Facebook - 1.8 million Instagram - 119,000 P'SQUARE Peter: Twitter - 714,000 Instagram - 192,000 Paul: Twitter - 300,000 Instagram - 93,000 Facebook Psquare's official page - 1.6 million DON JAZZY Twitter-962,000, Facebook-719,000 Instagram- 270,000 TONTO DIKE Twitter - 494,000 Facebook - 1.29 million Instagram - 118,000 GENEVIEVE NNAJI TTwitter - 708,000 Facebook - 802,000 Instagram - 283,000 ICE PRINCE Twitter - 577,000 Facebook - 928000 Instagram- 255,000 TUFACE Twitter - 894,000 Facebook - 325,000 Instagram - 256,000

TOP TEN MOST HEARD SONGS IN NOVEMBER 10. Shoki by Lil Kesh featuring Olamide and Davido 9. Eje Ajo by Psquare featuring T.O. 8. Murda by Sheyi Shay featuring Patoranking and Shaydee 7. Wake Up by Flavour featuring Wande Coal 6. Onye by Waje featuring Tiwa Savage 5. Sanko By Timaya 4. Ogadinma By Kcee7 3. Awon Goons Mi By Olamide 2. Shake Body By Skales 1. Show You The Money By Wizkid

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

LANRE ODUKOYA

SHOWBIZ TODAY

lanre.odukoya@newtelegraphonline.com

Tunde Kelani’s Dazzling Mirage premieres amid fanfare

M

ainframe Productions in partnership with Lagos State government, Still Earth Limited, Access Bank and other sponsors played host to top Nigerian actors and actresses, medical practitioners and the media at the premiere of Tunde Kelani’s flick, an advocacy and heart touching movie, Dazzling Mirage.

The grand premiere took place at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Dazzling Mirage is a movie aimed at creating awareness on sickle cell anaemia, advocating against its stigmatization and helping people to make informed decisions in managing its crises.

According to the movie producer, Kelani, “Dazzling Mirage is an inspiring story centred around a young advertising executive, a talented beautiful lady living with sickle cell disorder. Funmiwo (Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju) overcomes social stigma, prejudice and her own low self esteem to achieve career success, marriage and motherhood.

“Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder primarily affecting people of African ancestry. The disease causes the body to make abnormal sickle or crescent-shaped red blood cells that can block vessels, causing organ damage and pain,” Kelani said.

The flick is adapted from a novel of the same title by Yinka Egbokhare and the screenplay adaptation is written by Ade Solanke. Dazzling Mirage is a story about love, denial, pain, and perseverance, as fate unfolds through life’s twists and turns.

According to the producers, Dazzling Mirage is "proudly Nigerian", with all the scenes shot in

different locations in the country.

The message in Dazzling Mirage is that no one should be considered useless regardless of his or her medical challenges as noted in the case Funmiwo (Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju) who later became a huge success.

The movie parades the best of Nollywood stars including: Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju, Kunle Afolayan, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Bimbo Manuel, Carol King, Yomi Fash Lanso and Seun Akindele, amongst others.

Naeto C responds to fan who called him 'an idiot' for supporting GEJ

A

Kelani

Quay Productions announces Peacegroove’s 12-day music festival L agos state residents are billed for an exciting holiday season as Quay Productions announces the Peacegroove - a 12-day music festival taking place on Lekki Beach from the December 24 to January 4, 2015.

Peacegroove is a music festival with "Peace in Nigeria" as its theme. It will feature musical performances by A-list artists in the music industry, comedians, dance performances, talent hunts, drama performances, magicians, local circus performers, food tastings, beach games, aqua sports and various family friendly holiday activities all taking place over a 12-day period.

Over three million fun seekers are expected to attend the festival over the 12 days of festivities. Lekki Beach serves as the ideal ven-

ue for this landmark event due to its capacity to accommodate over 400,000 people and its expansive car park capacity of 5,000 cars.

Each of the 12 days is themed with performances within a various genres of music with multiple family friendly activities happening pre, during and post the musical performances. The Ladies’ day is a day for strictly female performers in all forms of entertainment which also promises to be a thrill. Attendees can also get their appetites stimulated and sated with various foods from around Nigeria and the world on the food and music day. The organisers, Quay Productions, said they have put in place necessary structures and relationships that will guarantee the success of the event.

random fan called him an idiot on Instagram for supporting GEJ, and rapper, Naeto C unexpectedly replied, advising him to respect other people's choice. The rapper last Tuesday, November 11, posted a photo of himself at the Eagle Square, Abuja for Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential declaration ceremony and a fan was not happy with it. Naeto C posted a photo of himself in green attire at the ceremony he titled “President Declaration Day”. A fan however took to the comment section of the post to attack the rapper for supporting Goodluck Jonathan and called him an idiot.

“You are an idiot for supporting GEJ,” the Instagram user with name @Jabir_ink told

Naeto C. “My dear friend, we are not peers or mates on any level at all, please learn to be respectful to those older than you. Furthermore, if you will comment on adult matters it means you must also behave like an adult. Who I support has absolutely nothing to do with you or your opinions in life. I encourage you to be more positive and support whomever you feel might be a good leader in your opinion. Have a great day and please watch the use of your words in the future,” Naeto C replied. The user has apparently been looking for the rapper’s attention and he got it. “Lmaoo finally u replied me yaay @whitekaftan thanks boss,” he later wrote back to Naeto C.

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SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

‘God, love for children made Nnenna and Friends grow’ Her name has virtually been eclipsed by her stage name, Nnenna, a lead character in Wale Adenuga's Super Story series. That character would later inspire a new programme, Nnenna and Friends. Through that television show, Yinka Olukunga has won herself several fans especially among children who see her as a role model. She tells OLUSHOLA RICKETTS what has kept her going.

Everything seems to be going fine for you; was acting really what you wanted to do as a child?

Though I started as a model, I have always loved acting since I was a kid. So once the opportunity came to join the audition train of Wale Adenuga Productions, I didn't hesitate to embrace it.

Did you get your parents' support?

Right from time my father tried as much as possible not to interfere in what we choose to do even though he has the right. He gave us freedom, but we did not take it for granted.

The least he would do is to show you the way and explain some key things to you. But when he realises that you are going astray he would quickly call your attention. He will never dictate to you. I even believe he saw all these before I did because I wanted to join the science class when I was in school, but he told me that he didn't think science was the best for me. He advised me to go to the art class and study mass communication. Though I insisted on science and he let me have my wish.

How has the journey been so far?

We can only thank God. We have the Nnenna and Friends Brain Power Game that is aired every Monday on AIT and on WapTV. Also, there is the Nnenna and Friends Live that runs five times in a year - on Valentine’s Day, Easter, Children’s Day, Independence Day and End of the Year. We as well do local and international educational tours that help to expose the children outside their immediate environment.

That broadens their horizon. We are really doing a lot and I am happy to have good and reliable people around me who help to get the job done.

Has it been a huge challenge staying at the top?

I put it that it was my turn. God has decided to take me to greater heights and I have been preparing myself for the challenge. I took my chance very well and it has been sustaining me all this while.

How did you really come about Nnenna and Friends?

I have always been a lover of children. And I knew I would certainly put out something for children, though I must say I didn’t know how that would happen. I didn’t see it happening with Super Story because I then didn’t see acting as a means of achieving the dream.

Acting is different from my love for children.

But as they say, man proposes, God disposes.

So Super Story was that turning point in my life and gave me a huge opportunity to express myself. God and my love for children have taken Nnenna and Friends to this point. There are times I wonder why I really love children in my private time. The company too, Wale Adenuga Productions, believes in it.

It seems you don’t really take jobs outside Wale Adenuga Productions; why is that so?

I can do other productions, but mostly my projects get me so occupied that I cannot think of running other things. So I still do things outside Wale Adenuga’s and I must set my time right. I get scripts from other producers, but the idea behind the film must be good for me.

I would not like to be in a movie that people

would see and start wondering why the movie was put out in the first place. So I am always particular about the story of a film.

Are you an only child?

I am the first of four children. So you can imagine the kind of pressure as the eldest because apart from the responsibilities that come with it, I must be able to set good examples too.

Growing up for me was not really a jolly ride, but I praise God for the blessing and favour upon my life. I am satisfied with what God is doing in my life.

Could you share with us your best moment so far?

I have encountered so many happy moments because God has been very good to me. I was really excited the day Nnenna and Friends made its debut sometime in 2008; the celebrat i o n of my birthdays with children; the day I graduated from the u n i v e r s i t y, among others.

Is there anything you wish you had the power to correct?

That would be the challenges faced by African children, from insecurity, poverty, substandard educational system, etc. All these affect the growth and development of the children as well as the nation, because these children are supposed to be the key to a better future.

How would you describe your fashion sense?

I love it simple. Simplicity works for me.

You are always seen with your natural hair; is there a reason for that?

I prefer to leave my hair this way because it is very soft. The few times I tried to make my hair it didn’t work. It could be so painful and bumps start developing. I am not comfortable having my hair touched.

Do you have any accessory you consider priceless?

All my accessories are precious to me.

What new projects are you working on?

We are working on many great and amazing ideas. We are still working on them; the public will know at the appropriate time Are you getting married anytime soon?

You’ll know when the time comes.

Showbiz

21

22

Showbiz

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

'How I fell in love with cake decoration' Since inception in 2006, Kogzy Cake and Sugarcraft exhibition has become a yearly fiesta where cake lovers and practitioners meet to showcase their products and interact. Chief executive officer of the outfit behind the exhibition, Kehinde Gbelee, speaks with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS. Did you envisage that the exhibition would get to this level?

I would say pretty much that I got into this exhibition by accident or hand of faith. One of my mentors abroad in 2004 actually sold the idea to me. She asked if I do exhibition and I said no.

She advised me to start one. It was the first time I actually thought of it. The next question I asked her was who would come for the exhibition, but she encouraged me that a lot of people will show interest. She gave me a few tips of what to do and how to go about it. But prior to that I noticed that there was a gap in the market when I came back from England some years ago to make a wedding cake for someone. I realised that I could not get most of the things I needed to make the cake. I got my training in England - the Wilton Method of Cake Decorating - so my background was different. I later felt that there were different names for the items I needed, so I took my book to the market. I couldn't however work with most of the things I got there and a lot of people later took interest in the book. I also just finished my masters in business administration in England. So, something told me that this was an opportunity.

Along the way I started dealing in cake materials with the sole aim of making them accessible to people and we've really expanded over the years. It was afterwards the exhibition came in and I set personal goals for myself. I wanted to create a gathering where everything that has to do with cake and its designs would be seen; I wanted a platform to for designers, professionals or people who do it for hubby, to meet credible suppliers and I wanted an avenue for good quality education.

How would you describe yourself?

I am someone who is passionate about cake decorating; it has been a childhood love, but little did I know that I would end up in the cake business. Though I normally baked while I was very young, it was until I got married I started baking for money.

What other things do you do as company?

We do training also and it is free. We have some sessions for which people pay for but it is not expensive. The exhibition is yearly, but we also have programmes we take to Abuja, Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt, Enugu, etc. The exhibition is centred in Lagos alone; the ones we do in other parts of the country are usually work tours.

How was it like at the beginning?

Then it was difficult because many people had no idea of what we were selling to them. So I ended up going to houses, teaching them and hoping that they would buy into what we sell. I used to go from house to house; some will like it while others do not. But as time goes on the market exploded with the arrival of the internet.

Information became available to everyone and that really helped us too. I don't bake cakes for a living. Even till now I do it when time permits.

We basically sell tools, educate and publish a magazine on sugar craft.

Are you satisfied with this year's exhibition?

What more can I ask for? Yes, I am. We have people from different parts of the world who

came just to be part of the exhibition. You could tell that everyone here was having a nice time and busy with one thing or the other. Even at the first edition I was amazingly surprised. The turnout was fantastic. I cannot even say this was what I have been doing right. Are we doing well generally? I would leave that to others to conclude, but I try to be the best in anything I do.

encouraging entrepreneurship. If you know how to decorate a cake you can sell it and feed with it. If you know how to bake you can sell too or teach other people. You could also be a columnist for the newspaper with the knowledge of baking. So one way or the other we try to encourage entrepreneurship.

Do you consider it ironic that men are leading in the industry?

Inasmuch as men are doing well women are doing great too. The way I would look at it is that gender equality has replaced those years of segregation. Nowadays, anything a woman can do a man can even do it better and vice versa.

What has kept you going?

Nothing to be sincere. I am an open book; I just source inspiration from my mother's word: hard work has never killed anybody. I am the greatest critic of myself because whenever I do anything I try to improve on it. Sometimes I do make mistakes, but I learn from them and I moved on. I consistently work on making what I do better.

How did you come about the name, Kogzy?

It is the combination of my husband and children's initials. I don't even have an idea that it would be the name I would settle for. I was just playing around with names and it came up.

What you do seems to be time-consuming; how do you combine it with other responsibilities?

When my children were younger I did less or paid little attention to my business, but they are all grown up now. So I really have enough to concentrate on this. I travel whenever I want to and there is no fear that I left my children at home. I have three children and they can all take care of themselves. My husband is also understanding and supportive.

How is the exhibition of importance to the economy?

I told you earlier that we educate; we have training programmes. It is my own little way of

"Sometimes I do make mistakes, but I learn from them and I moved on. I consistently work on making what I do better"

There's been much concentration on whitecollar jobs; how would you encourage your people to look into opportunities available in the industry?

They must learn how to bake because baking is a science. I can understand if you are a young person and you have limited resources, but the internet is a robust place to learn. They should also learn how to better their lives because that is the only way one could grow.

They should also invest more in themselves by acquiring relevant skills.

How would you rate Nigeria's cake industry in comparison with other developed countries?

We are now at par with any country of the world in terms of the availability of cake materials. But it is possible we still need to learn one or two things from other sophisticated industries. We should however not forget that internet has opened the doors. We should also remember that our cards now give us asset to shop anywhere in the world from the comfort of our sitting rooms.

Showbiz

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

23

XPJoe: ‘I'm looking beyond Nigerian market' Emerging producer and singer, Xcel Precious Joe Egbuleze aka XPJoe, believes he has what it takes to dominate the Nigerian entertainment scene and beyond. In this interview with EDWIN USOBOH, he speaks about his new single, Seleku.

You sang partly in French in Seleku; what were you trying to achieve with that?

Since the song is a dance hall song, the fusion of French is deliberate. I want my music to be aired beyond Nigeria.

I want my fans in Togo, Benin Republic and all around the world to be able to sing along and dance to it.

Is there a message you intend to pass through the song?

The message I am passing across to my fans is that I created a new dance step to make people happy. When they listen to it, they would forget what ever travails they are passing through and they can dance to it at the club as well.

With the nature of the industry now, it would do a musician lots of good if they create a song and a dance step along with it. I still have more songs I am working, including love and inspiring songs that would help people to live their life well.

How do you find inspiration?

Basically, everything gives me inspiration, I get inspired sometimes from my environment or things that happen around me. Sometimes I get inspiration when I'm driving and when I'm alone in a cool atmosphere.

Are you releasing the video of Seleku anytime soon?

I am presently working hard on the video. By God's grace the video should be out before the end of the year.

What's unique about your music?

I believe all artistes are different and unique in their own way. It could be in the voice, song compositions, lifestyles,

the way they sing, etc. My songs are unique, my voice, the way I sing and the experiences I had gathered while growing up from the church choir. My lifestyle and belief make me unique too. So I think I'm unique and I'm not in the industry to compete with anybody; just here to do my thing.

How long have you been singing?

I have been singing since a very tender age, but I started doing music professionally in 2006.

Who are your mentors in the industry?

Shout out to Tuface; I love him so much and whenever I watch his performance and everything he does, I get inspired.

He is talented and a real musician.

What is your greatest fear as a musician?

I am not afraid of anything. I believe when you are determined and focused towards achieving success, you will get there. I learnt a lot working with other artistes. I have really paid my dues. I now know the kind of music people love to hear and dance to. I believe my music will be accepted.

What moment would you regard as the most embarrassing so far?

My most embarrassing moment was the day my trousers got torn on stage. I almost ran mad but had to look for a way to get over it. The second one was while performing I had a dislocation on my right hand, so I was unable to move my hand properly.

It took me almost ten minutes to move my hands.

It was so embarrassing I had to manage myself that day while I performed.

What have been the challenges?

The challenges are much. Sometime, you go to shows to perform and at the end of your performance you don’t get paid. It becomes difficult to get home because you had anticipated that you would get something there. Artistes' welfare needs to be looked into by the appropriate bodies because this is what we do for a living.

‘It's fulfilling to be signed by Weird MC’ Shuley Dee whose real name is Sola Mcdaniel is a highlife artiste signed under Weird MC’s record label, 0907 Entertainment, after spotting her talent during Star Quest, a reality show. She tells OLUSHOLA RICKETTS why she cannot do without music.

How has the journey been?

I started professionally in 2011, but things have been stressful and hard as usual. I am signed under Weird MC’s record label. I met with my boss when I participated in the Star Quest reality show. She was one of the judges and I was able to impress her with my performances. Though I didn’t make it through to the finals at the two editions I participated, I guessed I did enough to convince her how good I am. I thought I did great at my second coming, but you know Nigerians and their voting system. We later got to talk and I was happy to meet her because she has been someone I looked up to in the industry. I quickly told her I had something, but I don’t know how she would react to the song. She asked me to bring it on. The song is on her album now. Since the synergy was there, she asked if I could work with her and I couldn’t refuse it.

What kind of music do you do?

I sing contemporary highlife. I have done a couple of songs like Adure, Ebano, featuring Kay Switch and have done some collaboration too.

I am promoting Adure at present.

How was your growing up?

I was born and brought up in Festac, Lagos.

My mum is a teacher; she has her own school and there was a lot of discipline at home. I am the last of five children - three girls and two boys.

Was there no objection from her about your desire

to do music?

Of course, no parent would want his or her daughter to go into music because they believe she might live a wayward or irresponsible life. To make matters worse, most of my siblings are bankers and they wanted me to be a banker too. But I told them I wanted to do music regardless of what they thought. I read theatre arts in the University of Abuja. If I work in the bank tomorrow I might end up a moody person for the rest of my life.

Music makes me happy.

Where do you see your music in the next five years?

I see myself at the top, though I understand I need to work hard, do the right songs and have the right character.

It is not about the songs anymore, so many things are involved. I must really work hard to be rated among the best.

What is the different element you are bringing to the industry?

I think no female artiste is doing what I am doing presently. I am doing highlife and every other person is singing about love. I sing about love too, but the way I go about mine is different. I think for the mature audience and the young. I don’t think anyone is doing that right now; may be later in the years to come.

How would you describe fashion?

I love fashion, but I just don’t go with the trend; I create my own style. Trending things will come and go, but people will get to know what you represent.

So I like to create the way I want people to see me or relate with me.

24

Investigations

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Abandoned ponds at Ogbomoso

Streams of dead projects (2)

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he youth of Ilobu and its neigbouring communities, who had waited for the take-off of projects proposed by the Federal Government, are gradually derailing into nothingness. They had received with enthusiasm, the news of approval by the government to establish some projects in their communities.

Though, budgetary allocation for the schemes were said to have been approved as far back as 2011, no such projects, according to investigations, exist in the area at present.

According to the Chairman of Olobu Advisory Council of the committee of community elders to the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Asiru Olatoye Olaniyan, Alhaji Wahab Falowo, the projects idea was a big relief to the communities. “Because we believed as an entrepreneurship centre, the youth would be trained and engaged and could in a greater way divert their attention from criminal activities,” Falowo told this reporter.

But, that was not to be as the communities’ optimism has long turned to despair. This is understandable. More than three years were granted, the communities are yet to see any such ventures sited within their neighbourhood. Others that were established have long been abandoned. This, however, has necessitated an endless waiting game, which the communities have been enmeshed in.

Spurious projects proposed to be sited within Ilobu and neigbouring communities in Osun State by the Federal Government have become moribund even before taking off. The people of the area, who had applauded this gesture, have now waited for three years without seeing any tangible venture on ground. MOJEED ALABI, who toured the area, concludes this two-part series on projects that never saw the light of the day An Abuja-based lawyer, Olelekan Oladapo, who had been following the issue, had on Friday, September 19, on behalf of one of the communities, Ilobu, written to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Crimes Commission (ICPC), seeking its intervention on the matter. The petition was a follow up to an earlier one sent to the office of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, which was not responded to.

The petition entitled; “Application for the Conduct of Investigation on the Disbursement Of Statutory, Annual Budgets of 2011, 2012, and 2013 for Aquaculture Entrepreneurship Development Project in Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State as Initiated and Supervised by Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Nigeria Institute Of Oceanography And Marine Research: A Case Of Phony Project Attracting Statutory Federal Bud-

Though, budgetary allocation for the schemes were approved in 2011, no such projects exist in the area at present

gets.”

The petition, a copy of which was made available to New Telegraph, reads in part: “Since its inception, the project has been attracting Federal Government budgetary allocation. For example, the Federal Government budgeted the sum of N50, 000,000 and was designated as ongoing project. In 2013 the project received the sum of N30, 000,000.

These facts were contained in the Compendium of Capital Projects in S-W Geo-Political Zone Act 2012 and 2013 as compiled by NASRO.” It further added that the community’s search team led by Alhaji Wahab Falowo, after several attempts to secure clarifications from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Assembly member, however, “found that the Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research is in the vantage position to confirm the true state of things concerning the project. The Committee reached out to

the office in Lagos. It made its findings through Mrs. Ogan, who was ambivalent but could not explain where a project will be designated ongoing with annual allocation without existing on the ground.”

It added: “The ominous silence from the ministry and the Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research is suspicious and it warrants further findings from independent investigating body like your office to get to the roots of the matter.

To us, this is not fair to the entire community, which is struggling to survive. It is an abuse of office by the ministry and mere disbursement of monies annually as it can be evidenced by 2012 and 2013 for non-existent project is fraud and glaring administrative corruption.”

Meanwhile, inquiries into the status of the petition from the public relations department of ICPC met a stone wall as the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the department could not speak on the matter. The officer said it was against the ethics of the commission. “It is not in the practice of ICPC to speak on an investigation it is conducting except it has made specific discoveries. But, I can assure you that the matter would not be swept under the carpet,” the source said.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, when contacted, commended New Telegraph for its painstaking inves-

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

FREE

Sport Splash 25

What the players are saying

AFCON

Congo: Weah tips Uche to start p.27

Efe Ambrose

"T

he important thing for me is to see that my team is winning matches.

"We hear the Congolese have been talking and that is okay. But for us we don't want to talk too much, we want to do our talking on the pitch and that is our plan. Let them say anything they want to say, talks don't win matches, it is the action on the field that determine outcomes of matches.

"We will meet the challenges head on, even if it is hell fire, we will play our game to win, we will carry our fire extinguisher."

Basketball

My best yet to come – Ekene Ibekwe p.27

Interview

Playing alongside Okocha, Kanu was like a dream - George Abbey p.31

LifeStyle

I maltreated Yobo for two years - Wife p.32

Vincent Enyeama

Nigeria's Elderson Echiejile (left) and Nosa Igiebor during the first leg against Congo in Calabar

Congo vs Nigeria

Eagles ready for war –Shorunmu

G

Vincent Eboigbe

The Team

Vincent EboigbelAssistant Editor Ajibade Olusesan l Correspondent

Charles Ogundiya l Correspondent

© Daily Telegraph Publishing

oalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu, has stated that the Super Eagles are fired up for the all-important match against Congo, insisting that the team has no option but get an outright win today (Saturday) in Pointe Noire.

Shorunmu’s optimism is informed by the “positive attitude” in camp in the run-in to the crucial encounter.

The Super Eagles need to defeat the Red Devils with at least two clear goals to offset the 3-2 reverse they suffered at home in the opening match of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign in the event that both sides are tied on the same points after the conclusion of the group matches.

Nigeria is third in Group A with four points, behind Congo on seven points. South Africa leads the pool with eight points. If the Eagles get the maximum six points from their last two matches they will be on 10 points and with Congo expected to beat Sudan in their last match, they too will be on 10 points, in which case the head-to-head goals will separate both sides.

Shorunmu told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday that the mood in camp since the players converged in Abuja was confidence-inspiring.

“The mood in camp gives me confidence. The attitude has been very positive, the atmosphere has been fantastic; my hope is that the players are able to translate this into results on Saturday,” said Shorunmu.

“The players know what is at stake, they know what to do, they know that it is going to be a war out there in Congo and they have shown by their eagerness that they are ready for the challenge. I’m hopeful.”

The former Eagles goalkeeper is also very impressed with the home-based players who are part of the squad. He said that they knew this was their opportunity and they were responding with enthusiasm.

Shorunmu added: “The new players have been great I must confess. They know they are in the midst of the big boys and that this is their chance to show what they are capable of doing.

“They have been looking up to the big boys who on their part have also been playing the role of senior brothers. It is a win-win situation, and I can see all these positive vibes counting in our favour on Saturday.”

"T

he problem is not how we can go to Congo and return; it is how we can be a unified force and in contention" "In football there are three results: win, loss or draw.

Anything can happen; but if we want our three points we have to win that match."

Ike Uche

"I

am happy to be back. I thank Nigerians and I will do the best on Saturday. Football is my job and I have to do what I can do to see that we win the match.

"Football is a team game and we have to succeed like a team. I will do my best just like my teammates.

"The expectation is high and we know how important this game is to us and we will do everything within our power to win the ticket.

"We are here to work together we are all teammates. I am part of the team and I will do my best to help the team."

Compiled by Comfort Chukwu

26

Sport

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Nigerian League Rendezvous

Bayelsa will escape relegation, says Ebimobowei B

ayelsa United's top scorer, Peter Ebimobowei, has said Bayelsa United will surely escape relegation as the club travels to Owerri to confront Heartland on Sunday for their last league match.

The Yenagoa-based club is 16th on the league table with 48 points, and will have to win at Heartland to have any chance of staying in the elite division.

Ebimobowei believes that Bayelsa United can pull off a win at Heartland to secure another season in the top flight.

"I believe we will stay

Dosu

§ Kaduna United are the only club not to pick a point in their away games this season. § Two goals conceded by Heartland at home were the least conceded by a home team. § Nembe City conceded the highest number of goals, 69 in all. § Heartland have conceded the least numbers of goals all season, 25 goals.

He is the last of three boys who all play football, and in keeping with the family tradition, John Dosu, the younger brother of Atlanta Olympic football gold medalist, Joseph Dosu, in this interview with CHARLES OGUNDIYA, spoke on 3SC’s last game and the influence of his brothers, David and Joseph on his career. Excerpts…

Are we looking at having another Dosu as goalkeeper soon?

I will say no, because I am the last in the family who is a goalkeeper. I won’t encourage my children to play football because of the pressure of the game.

Why was it difficult for Nigerian goalkeepers to travel outside the country?

Everyone has his own luck. We have good goalkeepers in the country but the problem is, some of these foreign countries prefer to use home grown goalkeepers. That affects goalkeepers from the other parts of the world not just Nigeria alone.

You moved to 3SC from Warri Wolves, was that not a demotion?

I joined 3SC because of the tradition of the club. Playing in the Nigeria National League does not take anything away from the success of the club and I am happy we are about gaining promotion to the premier league; hopefully we can achieve our target by this weekend.

MATCH DAY 38: (16TH NOV 14) HEARTLAND VS BAYELSA UTD CROWN VS AKWA UTD SHARKS VS FC TARABA GOMBE UTD VS ABIA WARRIORS NASARAWA UTD VS WARRI WOLVES KADUNA UTD VS RANGERS EL-KANEMI VS SUNSHINE NEMBE VS GIWA ENYIMBA VS KANO PILLARS LOBI VS DOLPHINS

If the club gains promotion, can they perform well in the premier league?

If you look at the team we have a set of dedicated players that are hungry for success and I am sure they are going to perform well in the premier league.

3SC need to win against Akwa Starlet, can the club achieve that this weekend?

The players are aware that Akwa Starlet are also fighting for promotion and what we need to do is to put in extra effort to defeat them. Promotion is not negotiable and we are going to give our all for the success of the team.

You have not been regular in the team, was that what you bargained for when joining 3SC? You have to understand that we can only have one goalkeeper on the field at a time and currently the first choice is performing well, I will have to bid my time and when I have the opportunity I will give my best to help the team.

If the opportunity to play abroad comes where will you like that to be?

I will like to play in France, most African goalkeepers are there. So it will be a good place for me to start. I also love the Portuguese league.

Who is your idol in the game?

My role model and idol remains Edwin Van der Sar. I loved his game when he was active as a goalkeeper.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Top scorer Mfon Udoh Enyimba Emem Eduok Dolphins Peter Ebimobowei Bayelsa Gbolahan Salami Warri Wolves Osaguona Ighodaro Rangers Christian Pyagbara Sharks Adamu Hassan Kano Pillars

21 20 17 16 16 14 14

I

League ends Sunday

t was celebration all round after the management of the Nigerian leagues announced the end to the 2013/2014 league season after the league had suffered several postponements.

Feelers reaching League Rendezvous indicate that the Nigeria National League will end on Saturday (today) while the Glo Nigeria Professional Football League will end on Sunday (tomorrow).

As at the beginning of the week, concluding the season looked dicey especially with results of some matches still under contention.

Glo NPFL champion, Kano Pillars, will be treated to a guard of honour in Aba as they take on Enyimba in their last league game.

El-Kanemi Warriors, Bayelsa United and Gombe United will have final opportunity to remain in the league for another season as the three outfits are still mired in relegation waters.

At the top half of the league, Warri Wolves, Nasarawa United Abia Warriors and Giwa FC will be fighting for the final continental slot with Kano Pillars and Enyimba already assured of their places on the continent next year.

In the NNL, 3SC will be looking to avoid last minute heartache as they entertain Akwa Starlet inside the Lekan Salami stadium, Ibadan.

Glo league table No.

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

GD

1

Kano Pillars

37

19

8

10

56

38

65

18

2

Enyimba

37

17

10

10

47

26

61

21

3

Warri Wolves

37

18

6

13

47

36

60

11

4

Abia Warriors 37

17

7

13

50

36

58

14

6

5

Nasarawa Utd

36

17

6

13

41

35

57

6

6

Giwa

36

16

8

12

40

34

56

6

7

Lobi Stars

37

18

2

17

39

46

56

-7

8

Dolphins

37

15

10

12

45

33

55

12

9

Heartland

37

14

13

10

35

25

55

10

10

Rangers

37

16

7

14

43

36

55

7

11

Sunshine

37

14

12

11

51

44

54

7

12

Sharks FC

37

14

10

13

42

38

52

4

13

Akwa Utd

37

14

9

14

27

31

51

-4

14

Taraba FC

37

15

5

17

34

41

50

-7

15

El-Kanemi

37

13

9

15

40

35

48

5

16

Bayelsa Utd

37

15

3

19

48

53

48

-5

17

Gombe Utd

37

13

8

16

38

40

47

-2

18

Kaduna Utd

37

11

5

21

32

53

38

-21

19

Crown FC

37

10

6

21

27

56

36

-29

20

Nembe

37

6

10

21

23

69

28

-46

Ebimobowei

Hurray!

FACTS

3SC cannot afford to slip against Akwa Starlet – John Dosu

Was it Joseph Dosu that influenced your choice of career as a goalkeeper?

Not really, we have an elder brother called David Dosu who is working with Gateway Football club of Abeokuta. He was a fantastic goalkeeper.

He played in the Nigeria league and he was the one that encouraged Joseph to become a goalkeeper and Joseph in turn encouraged me to be a goalkeeper. He usually transferred his kits to me when I was still young.

in the premier league by the grace of God even though it has not been the best of seasons for us.

“As professionals we know what is at stake and we will do our very best to win at Heartland although we expect it to be a very difficult match.

"Right now we cannot afford to lose or even drop points as results of other teams in the same situation as us can work against us,” he said.

Ebimobowei is the third highest goal scorer in the league this season having netted 18 goals so far.

Eduok

Sport

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

27

El Guerrouj inducted into IAAF Hall of Fame

M

Congo: Weah tips Uche to start Charles Ogundiya

F

ormer Liberia international, George Weah, has advised Super Eagles technical crew to use returnee Super Eagles star, Ike Uche, as the team’s striker against Congo on Saturday.

Weah convinced that Uche, who is making his return to the national team after being sidelined for long periods by the team’s coach, Stephen Keshi, had what it takes to spearhead Eagles’ attack.

The Super Eagles will be fighting to get the full three points against Congo in Pointe Noire as they seek to qualify for the African Cup of Nations tournament in 2015.

Speaking to our correspondent, the former world footballer of the year however said the country should not put pressure on the Villarreal striker.

“I think it is better to allow him lead the Super Eagles attack in the two games since most people have been on the issue of Uche coming back to the team.

“But I will advise Nigerians not to put too much pressure on him to deliver. He has what it takes to get the goals and I hope he will give his best for Nigeria against Congo and South Africa,” Weah said.

On the failure of African players to

Uche (inset) Weah

win the world footballer of the year since he won it 19 years ago, Weah said the players needed to work harder to achieve such accolade.

The former AC Milan of Italy striker said: “Everything is with time, I was playing at the right time, dominating world football at the time, and I will also advise those aspiring to be the world’s best to start dominating too.

“We have potential and the players in Africa that can achieve that; the players just need to work harder and dominate in every area, they must be more focused too. And I am sure another African player will rise to the occasion some day.”

El Guerrouj

My best yet to come – Ekene Ibekwe

Ekpai leads Wonder Goal season eight chase

A

s the Nigeria Professional Premier League reaches its climax, fans will continue the vote for the scorer of the best goal during the season.

As at the time of going to press, Kano Pillars’ player, Moses Ekpai, was leading the Wonder Goal season eight votes.

The nominees were Chinedu Udeagha and Etim Mathew of Rangers International; Ifeanyi Mathew of El-Kanemi Warriors; Christian Pyagbara of Sharks and Ekpai of Kano Pillars.

Udeagha and Etim scored two of the goals in Rangers’ 3-0 away win over Crown FC on Match Day 34 played on October 19.

Mathew scored his goal against Kano Pillars in the Match Day 36 fixture which Pillars won 3-1, while Pyagbara’s goal for Sharks was in the 4-1 defeat of Sunshine Stars on Match Day 34.

The fifth nominee Ekpai got his own goal for Kano Pillars against El-Kanemi in a 3-1 win at the Kano Pillars Stadium on Match Day 36.

Ekpai’s goal is leading with 26.9 percent ahead of Sharks’ Pyagbara who is second with 23.1 percent.

The player whose goal gets the highest votes from fans after the voting online is usually rewarded with N100, 000 from which 50 percent is donated to a charity organisation the player will nominate within the location of his club.

oroccan Hicham El Guerrouj has become the youngest man to be inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame, having just turned 40 in September 2014 and barely a decade after he ran his last international race.

El Guerrouj joins 11 other athletes announced by the IAAF, who will compose this year’s induction into the IAAF Hall of Fame.

El Guerrouj first came to international attention when he won the 1500m at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships and then took the silver medal at the same distance at the IAAF World Championships the same year.

From that point, he was the dominant middle-distance runner for the next nine years. El Guerrouj won four successive 1500m titles at the IAAF World Championships from 1997 to 2003.

In 1998, he went to Rome and took 1.37 off Noureddine Morceli’s 1500m world record with a time of 3:26.00, a time which has not been beaten to this day.

The following year, he returned to the Italian capital and successfully attacked Morceli’s mile world record of 3:44.39, clocking a time of 3:43.13, which also remains on the record books 15 years later.

In 1997, he set still-standing world indoor records of 3:31.18 and 3:48.45 for the 1500m and mile before winning the second of his 1500m world indoor crowns.

Ifeanyi Ibeh

N

Ibekwe

igeria international, Ekene Ibekwe, believes his best is yet to come in the colours of highflying Australian National Basketball League outfit, the New Zealand Breakers.

The US-born Ibekwe, who was one of Nigeria’s top performers at the 2012 London Olympics, following a slow start to the season, has in the past three games been producing some breath-taking displays for the Breakers.

And the 29-year-old, who missed close to a year of basketball as he recovered from a foot stress fracture, feels he is finally finding his rhythm.

"I like to think I bring some sort of excitement, you know what I mean, as far as getting up and down the court and jumping and blocking shots and getting rebounds and dunking, stuff like that," he said in an interview with New Zealand-based news portal, 3News.

"I love the league – it's fast, it's quick, it's my style," added Ibekwe, who feels at home with the Auckland-based club.

"I guess my family is my team mates - I'm with these guys all the time," he said. "It's raining and stuff like that. I heard it's going to heat up soon, so I'm waiting for that, but it's cool out here."

"He's playing awesome and I think that's what everybody expected from him," said Breakers captain, Mika Vukona, in an interview with the same news network. "The guy's had a year off and he's finally starting to blow off those cobwebs, so it looks like he's just going to improve more and more."

Breakers coach, Dean Vickerman, added: "His spark off the bench was just incredible for us. Every time he was on the floor good things were happening."

into crisis shortly after the World Cup, and the build-up to the start of the qualifying series was marred by confusion, but still very few Nigerians would have expected the Super Eagles to succumb to an embarrassing 3-2 loss to Red Devil of Congo.

The goalless draw in South Africa did little to ameliorate the situation and another 1-0 loss in Sudan piled more pressure on the African champions. Although they defeated the Sudanese 3-1 in the reverse fixture in

to be the star man for his country. He will combine with towering Ferebory Dore of Romanian club CFR Cluj to try and wreak havoc on the African champions Coach Stephen Keshi has recalled Ikechukwu Uche but there are still some injury worries in the team. There are still questions over the fitness level of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, Mikel Obi and Raheem Lawal Eagles struggled on artificial turf in Sudan and will play on the same surface in

igeria must beat Congo in Pointe Noire today (Saturday) in the 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifier or forget about defending their African title.

The Super Eagles are third in Group A with just four points in four matches, three points behind Congo who are second. South Africa are leading the pack with eight points

Ajibade Olusesan

N

Nigeria walk nations cup tight rope

Head-to-head

Congo nigeria Played: 10 10 Won: 2 5 Draw: 3 3 Goals: 8 12

P 4 4 4 4 P 4 4 4 4 P 4 4 4 4 P 4 4 4 4 P 4 4 4 4 P 4 4 4 4

Group B No Team 1 Algeria 2 Mali 3 Ethiopia 4 Malawi Group C No Team 1 Gabon 2 Burkina Faso 3 Angola 4 Lesotho Group D No Team 1 Cameroon 2 DR Congo 3 Ivory Coast 4 Sierra Leone Group E No Team 1 Ghana 2 Togo 3 Uganda 4 Guinea Group F No Team 1 Cape Verde 2 Zambia 3 Mozambique 4 Niger Group G No Team 1 Tunisia 2 Senegal 3 Egypt 4 Botswana

Pts 10 7 6 0

Pts 9 5 5 2

Pts 8 6 4 4

Pts 10 6 6 1

Pts 8 7 4 2

Pts 12 6 3 3

Pts 8 7 4 3

v Senegal

v Sudan v Nigeria v Mali v Ethiopia v Burkina Faso v Gabon v DR Congo v Ghana v Guinea v Zambia v Niger

Wounded Uganda in

Netherlands v Latvia Czech Republic v Iceland Turkey v Kazakhstan Belgium v Wales Cyprus v Andorra Israel v Bosnia Azerbaijan v Norway Bulgaria v Malta Italy v Croatia

Euro qualifiers

Egypt

South Africa Congo Malawi Algeria Lesotho Angola Cameroon Uganda Togo Mozambique Cape Verde

AFCON qualifiers

P 4 4 4 4

TABLES

Group A No Team 1 South Africa 2 Congo 3 Nigeria 4 Sudan

Global Football Special

ngland captain Wayne Rooney is set to win his 100th international cap in Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia at Wembley.

The Manchester United skipper will likely lead the line for Roy Hodgson's side in their final Group E qualifier of 2014 and become the ninth England player to reach the century mark in doing so.

Joining the likes of former international team-mates Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and David Beckham, Rooney will hope to mark his achievement with a fourth victory of the qualifying campaign.

England have been impressive in qualification for the European Championships after a dismal showing at the World Cup in Brazil, and boast an unblemished record ahead of Saturday's clash with secondplaced Slovenia.

Sreko Katanec's side have lost just once in the group and will move level on points with the leaders, provided they can beat an England side bolstered by a number of recalls.

Rooney

Rooney set for historic cap E

Euro qualifiers

Sport

Nkausu

he Pharaohs of Egypt will aim for a last chance of making it through the 2015 AFCON Qualifiers when they meet Senegal’s Lions of Terangaon Saturday evening.

The former African champions go into this encounter occupying the third place in group G after two wins out of four games and a win in their next matches could reignite their chances.

However, the Lions of Teranga are also aiming for a spot in next year’s tournament, they’re sitting at position two with two wins and one draw, one point above the hosts.

This encounter is one of the most anticipated of the weekend as Egypt is in a-must-win situation.

Although Egypt are brimming with confidence following their two victories over Botswana in October, the visitors have played a draw and lost to Tunisia giving them a headache ahead of this battle in Cairo.

Coach Shawky Gharib will hope his men such as Mohammed ElNeny and Mohamed Salah come to the party, showing the same hunger they displayed against the Zebras of Botswana.

T

Egypt bank on home advantage against Senegal

www.newtelegraphonline.com/metro

NEW TELEGRAPH

28 SATURDAY N 15 nove

Mbia

SAY it quietly, but world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko may finally have a real fight on his hands.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian will be seeking his 17th successful title defence against unbeaten Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria, a man known as "Big Messi" on account of his skills and technique.

Pulev is little known beyond the confines of boxing’s hard-core devotees, but in accumulating 20 consecutive wins he has engineered some outstanding performances, chiefly against top-10 fighters such as Tony Thompson and Alexander Ustinov.

Certainly, fight fans will be hoping that Pulev can mix it with Klitschko, whose dominance is such that even when he beats whoever is put in front of him, fans complain about his mechanical, overcautious style.

Wladimir Klitschko

Ferrari has given the strongest sign yet that Kimi Raikkonen will definitely still be wearing red in 2015 With many prominent Ferrari figures having departed this year, and Fernando Alonso and a flurry of his engineers to be the next, it has been rumoured Raikkonen's future might also be in doubt.

The 35-year-old Finn is already signed up for 2015, but he has notably struggled alongside Alonso this year and at the end of 2009 was ousted by Ferrari despite having a year to run on his contract.

Kimi Raikkonen

Pointe Noire, but the players have vowed that playing on synthetic pitch will not stop them from claiming the maximum points.

Midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi said: “we are going to throw everything into that match even if they take us to a sandy ground. We cannot afford to slip again and we cannot tell Nigerians that we failed just because we played on artificial turf, we just have to be at the Nations Cup by the grace of God,” he said.

C

Keita

weekend, ahead of their trip to Uyo to take on the defending AFCON champions.

“We don’t prioritise any of the games …we take them all equally,” said Mashaba.

“It is going to be more than the three points at stake. However, I will be happy if we sum up this by beating Sudan, which will make our life easy when we go to Nigeria.”

Ayew

depleted Ghana side could book their ticket for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals if they beat hosts Uganda in Kampala in their penultimate Group E qualifier.

But the Black Stars are less fancied for the points with injuries to captain Asamoah Gyan, who has scored in their last three matches.

The Al Ain talisman is yet to regain full fitness after picking up a thigh injury three weeks ago during a league match in the United Arab Emirates top-flight.

Also ruled out for the test is Juventus ace Kwadwo Asamoah who has been sidelined for two weeks due to a knee injury.

FC Lorient striker Jordan Ayew is suspended for the match after getting two yellow cards from the previous qualifying round.

But Andre Ayew believes they have strength in depth to taste victory against the Cranes who lost their last two qualifiers.

A

Ghana's sights

nown to the continent as The Flames, Malawi are getting ready to entertain Mali for their Group B, CAF 2015 AFCON qualifier on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts come into the game following back-to-back losses. The Southern African side currently occupies fourth position after one win in four games while their opponents are second.

Malawi will be playing for pride as they have nothing at stake in this encounter.

Coached by young Chimodzi, the Flames have to test their abilities against an experienced Malian side that is close to qualifying for the continent’s ultimate tournament.

K

The visitors have been boosted by the availability of skipper Seydou Keita and forward Nouha Dicko who have been out due to injuries.

On the other hand Bordeaux forward, Cheick Diabate is making a return after he missed their clashes against Ethiopia also due to injury.

However, the low point is the fact that their keeper, Mamadou Samassa is injured and has been replaced by Soumaila Diakite.

Looking at the Flames, the availability of key men including players like Robert Ng’ambi, and captain Joseph Kamwendo could ease Chimodzi’s concerns and possibly stun Mali.

Mali chase points to Blantyre

the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

South Africa squandered a chance to book their place in the showpiece event last month, but will now have another bite at the cherry, knowing a win over Sudan will see them through to next year’s event and make their trip to Nigeria for the final round of 2015 Afri-

ameroon are in search of only one point to qualify for the 2015 edition of the African Cup of Nations and they will hope to get it when they host DR Congo in a Group D qualifier.

Cameroon have been almost faultless in their qualifying campaign having scored eight goals and only conceding one which sees them top Group D with ten points from four games.

Cameroon beat DR Congo 2-0 away from home in their first outing thanks to goals from Clinton N'Jie and Vincent Aboubakar. They followed that up with a 4-1 thrashing of Cote

D’Ivoire at home with both N’Jie and Aboubakar scoring a brace each.

Cameroon stuttered slightly in their next outing when they played to a 0-0 draw away to Sierra Leone. They bounced back at home, however, in their most recent match with a 2-0 win over Sierra Leone thanks to goals from Leonard Kweuke and captain Stephane Mbia.

DR Congo, on the other hand, have won two games and suffered two defeats and they are placed second in Group D with six points, the same number of points as Cote d’Ivoire but with a superior goal difference.

Cameroon set to confirm ticket

Abuja, they are still far away from the Nations Cup ticket.

Despite losing to Congo in Calabar two months ago, Nigeria still have bragging rights over the Red Devils. The two teams have met 10 times and Nigeria won five of them while Congo defeated Eagles twice.

Three of the encounters ended in draw.

Almeria striker, Thievy Bifouma, who scored two goals in the famous win in Calabar is in good form after scoring against Barcelona last weekend and he will be expected

South Africa in search of decisive win afana Bafana will be eager to book their can Cup of Nations qualifiers stress-free.

B place in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations Head coach Shakes Mashaba has reiterated with one game to spare, by beating Sudan at that his side is eager to get the job done this

while Sudan have three points to sit at the bottom of the table.

The Red Devils also hold the advantage of having beaten the Super Eagles 3-2 in the first encounter in September and so Nigeria would now need to win by at least two clear goals on Saturday to return to pole position in the series.

Nigeria’s poor run in the qualifying round incidentally coincides with the period of political upheaval in Nigerian football administration. The country’s football slipped

SPORT BRIEFLY

ambia visit Mozambique hoping to consolidate on their second position in Group F of the 2015 Africa Cup qualifiers.

Chipolopolo are tied on five points with third placed Mozambique heading into Saturday’s penultimate Group F qualifier in Maputo.

Victory will see Zambia open a three-point gap over Mozambique and could mathematically see Honour Janza's side qualify with a game to spare with a big score away win.

"The Mozambique game is going to be tough but with God's power we are going to pick up the three points," Bloemfontein Celtic defender Davies Nkausu said.

However, Zambia have suffered a setback heading into the game with captain and defender Stopilla Sunzu ruled out due to a hamstring injury.

Nkana defender Christopher Munthali will likely start in Sunzu’s place and partner Zesco United’s Nyambe Mulenga in central defence.

Z

Zambia seek to consolidate on second place

Sport

Bosque

icente del Bosque has cooled talk of a new Spanish generation ahead of his side's Euro 2016 qualifier against Belarus on Saturday.

Having meekly surrendered their World Cup title in Brazil - bowing out at the group stage - Del Bosque's relatively new-look side have adapted reasonably well to their Group C campaign - currently sitting second behind Slovakia.

Missing the likes of Xavi and Xabi Alonso following their retirements, Del Bosque has offered more game time to the likes of Koke in midfield.

However, Del Bosque played down suggestions it was part of a wider revolution in his squad, who have already tasted defeat to Slovakia in the group.

"The litmus test is Belarus," he told a news conference this week. "It's important because it's three points for qualification. Renewing the squad has been constant since we took over seven years ago.

"It's always required to replace when necessary. Now the same thing is happening.

V

Del Bosque plays down Spain revolution

avor Suker has insisted that Sunday's match between Italy and Croatia will have no bearing in the race to qualify for Euro 2016.

The two countries face each at San Siro this weekend, occupying the top two spots in Group H. For the Croats’ former Real Madrid striker, who now serves as the President of the Croatian Football Federation, Sunday will be a close encounter.

“The game against Italy won't be decisive. Three points will be up for grabs, and that's it,” Suker told Sky Sport 24.

D

‘Italy-Croatia not decisive’

NEW TELEGRAPH emBER 2014

29

30

Sport

Dutch coach, Simon Kalika, recalls his experiences working in Nigeria as assistant to then Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, in this encounter with Olusoji Olukayode. He expresses willingness to work in the country again if given the opportunity; he also discusses sundry issues in Nigerian football.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

I’m ready to help Siasia succeed again - Kalika

I

t’s commonplace to see a white man lead Nigeria’s national team but what is not an everyday occurrence is to see one assisting a Nigerian head coach. But that was exactly what happened in 2005 at the World Youth Championship in Holland when Simon Kalika toiled with Samson Siasia as one of the lieutenants of the former Lokeren of Belgium striker from the first to the final match of that championship.

Kalika continued with Siasia as Nigeria’s Under 23 national team assistant, a partnership that led to Olympic silver at the Beijing Games in 2008 before the Super Eagles job that may be seen as an anti-climax of the duo’s partnership. Of course that misadventure was due in part to the forgettable 2-2 home draw to Guinea in the last match of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers. That tie effectively ended the team’s ambition of getting a ticket at the fiesta.

Simon Kalika has been in Holland.

But what has been up to?

“Now I’m involved in training coaches. I do a lot of clinic for coaches behind the scene like what I did at the beginning for Siasia; that’s what I’m doing for a lot of professional coaches,” he said.

“If they ask me to make a preparation for a whole season, conditioningwise and tactical build up-wise. What to play in the first week, what to play in the next week, what to play in the next month, I make a whole year planning. That is what I’m doing basically and I do that in China, in Thailand in Vietnam depending on where they need me.”

But after serving as national assistant in Nigeria on different occasions aspiring to be the main man should be his target. No, not Kalika who relishes his behind-the-scene role.

He said: “I’m happy being the man behind the scene, that’s what I love to do. I don’t want to be in the picture but I love to be on the field.

“I love to train the players, I love to make players better, I love to make the team better, that is what I love about this game. Other coaches like Samson, like Keshi they are the big guys, they are standing in front of the team while I’m standing behind the team.

“So that is my ambition. I like to be on the field, I like to make the team understand how to play, how do you attack, how do you defend, how do we build, from which area do we build, who are the main players that can build, who are the main players in transition? That’s my life, that’s what I like to do, that’s my passion for football.”

So, could he be on his way to helping Siasia as a member of his back room staff now that the former Nantes striker is back in the saddle of the Under 23 national team? The Dutch replied: “It’s up to him. If he needs my services, if he needs my assistance, yes of course I will talk with him, I will discuss with him. But I know if Samson wants me I don’t know the new

15 NOVEMBER 2014

"I’m happy being the man behind the scene; that’s what I love to do.

I don’t want to be in the picture but I love to be on the field"

Kalika

L-R: Kalika, Ike Shorunmu and Samson Siasia... during their days in the Eagles

people in the NFF, I don’t know their plans so I may probably need to talk to them as well. I think a lot of good things are going to happen as well, I just have to be patient.

“We spoke a few times already.

After the announcement, he called me and we spoke about football. We are seeing what’s on ground in Europe, looking at the young players.

Samson is the chief coach but it also depends on the technical people on the board and on the president of the board. The only thing I can say is that I have heard a lot of good things that they want to do with the team and like I always believe, any players be-

• Simon Kalika’s appointment as the first assistant coach to Samson Siasia was approved by the Nigeria Football Federation on December 29, 2010.

low the FIFA top 19 is not good for Nigeria and that’s because of all the talents and quality in the country.”

Will it then mean a dream return to Nigeria should the opportunity present itself? Kalika remarked “No, it’s not a dream."Of his past exploits with the team he recounts “It was a job, it was a very important job at that time. And of course I will be honoured if somebody asks me to do it again. The experience we had from all the qualifiers, from all the preparations, the camping in Portugal, the camping in South Korea, preparing the team for big matches… all those experiences, all those preparations

are still fresh.”

But past experiences notwithstanding, Kalika reckons that the job this time if he gets eventually gets on board the crewing crew of the national U-23 team, it won’t be a stroll in the park.

His words: “It won’t be easy, it will be a very tough one because you’ll be playing with a lot of young players, and so you don’t have the right experience in your team. It will offer a fantastic challenge.”

On the issues between Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi and the NFF, the Dutchman said: “If you want to judge a coach you have to look at the games, starting from the first game to the last and then you have to highlight what is going on, how did the team play given quality available? How did the team perform in terms of forming into a group? I think Keshi has distinguished himself with a unique result by winning the Nations Cup.” “It was the same thing in Holland- the Dutch team got to the final of the 2010 World Cup but nobody was happy with them. The way they played, they played defensive football, they were not attractive. You see, it’s just a matter of what angle you are looking at. If you look at it from the angle of the players and the coach, it was a fantastic result but if you look at from the angle of the fans they don’t appreciate just getting finals at all. This is how we used to look at the Super Eagles. If it’s result, yes, definitely winning the Nations Cup was an outstanding result. If it’s the way they’re playing, what is attractive, what is good enough?

I don’t know because some people were responsible for that. But for me without knowing the team from inside I think winning the Nations Cup was a major achievement.”

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Playing alongside Okocha, Kanu was like a dream

- George Abbey Former Super Eagles defender, George Abbey, in this interview with Emmanuel Tobi speaks on his abiding love for the Super Eagles, his current fitness trainer career, experience in the national team, retirement and many more. Excerpts…

Abbey

It’s been quite a long time. Where have you been?

Yes, it’s been a while; I’m doing well in England with my family.

A lot of Nigerians don’t know much about you since your retirement from the National team…

Well as often the case when you stop playing for the national team most people forget about you, which is understandable as you’re no longer in the limelight or relevant to a lot of people.

I must say though that I still receive a lot of love and support from the Nigerian fans on social media, which is lovely and very much appreciated because the national team means a lot to me. As you may know I was and still am a huge fan of our Super Eagles.

So what have you been doing in recent time?

At the moment I am a fitness trainer and opposition scout in Manchester. I work with young players as a strength/conditioning coach and sports nutritionist. I also do opposition scouting for some teams in and around Manchester. My new career path is something I am very passionate about. I started studying whilst I was still playing and gained all the relevant qualifications as I knew this was my next move after football. I had to stop playing in 2011 due to a succession of muscle injuries; that was a huge disappointment for me at the time because I felt I hadn’t really fulfilled my potential. The knowledge I have

... with daughter

gained with regard to sports injuries is one I wish I had when I was playing as this would have helped me prevent most of the injuries I sustained. So my aim now is to help other players by passing on my expertise on how to reach maximum fitness, the prevention of injuries and also give advice on the right nutrition for each individual.

As the saying goes “prevention is better than cure.” “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”.

The Eagles are currently struggling to qualify for the 2015 AFCON, how will you rate Nigeria’s chances?

The AFCON 2015 qualification at the moment looks a bit worrying for us but we have to believe qualification can still be achieved. In an ideal world you want to ensure you get maximum points from your home games, dropping points at home to Congo was a disaster. But I’m sure the coaching staff and players will be doing all they can to win the remaining games and I hope it’s enough to see us through.

The right full back position has become the weakest link of the Super Eagles in recent time, what do you think can be done to rectify the situation?

On the issue of the right full back position, the problem we have had in recent time is that we haven’t picked a natural full back who plays in this position for his club, rather we have asked players to do a job for the team. It’s okay if you play against

There was consistency in the squad selection, I more or less knew which faces I would see in camp when I arrived which helped us bond and build a fantastic team spirit.

average opposition but when you come up against top players you can be exposed. I’m sure the head coach and his team will find a solution even if it means trying a few players to see who can deliver what is required in that position. As we all know in the modern game the full backs play a massive roll in the dynamics of the team in terms of defending and attacking, providing width and balance to the team’s shape. Ideally we would have a scout(s) who will travel the globe to watch our players in action live and then relay the information to the coaching staff. This is a question I put forward when I played for the national team and even after I retired, the role of a scout is vital in today’s game. The scout will not only identify quality players for our team but will go and watch opposition teams play before we play against them, to give our technical crew tips on potential dangers and weaknesses of our opposition.

All the top teams in the world do this so why can’t we? A DVD is not good enough.

A lot of disharmony was recorded in the team’s play, what do you think can be done to rebuild the team’s confidence?

In terms of disharmony in the team, I can’t really say much because I’m not in the dressing room, but what I do believe in is a good team spirit. When I played for the national team between 2003-2007, there was consistency in the squad selection, I more or less knew which faces I

Sport

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would see in camp when I arrived which helped us bond and build a fantastic team spirit.

An example could be- I would ask any of my teammate for a copy of a CD I had heard playing in his room and he would bring it to the next game as we knew we would be back together for that next game. Believe it or not this helped the spirit on and off the pitch. There was a sense of togetherness within the squad; I think we only dropped points at home against Angola in Kano when we failed to reach the World Cup in Germany 2006.

In recent time the squad changes every game and that can’t be productive especially in the middle of a qualifying campaign.

Going back to your days in the Super Eagles, how will you describe your experience?

My experience in the Super Eagles is something I will cherish forever; I loved every minute I was in the team.

My only regret is I didn’t gain as many caps as I would have loved, due to injuries. When you grow up watching the team on television and celebrating the goals scored by your heroes such as Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Taribo West and ‘Papilo’ Nwankwo Kanu etc. and then one day you get to put that ultimate green and white strip on and line up belting out the National Anthem with those same heroes you just wonder when you will eventually wake up from the dream but then you realise it’s real.

I look back with immense pride; it was the best years of my career. It still to this day makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with great memories.

Your invitation to the Super Eagles came as a surprise to a lot of Nigerians. What really helped you settle easily in the team?

When I got that first invitation I was nervous and excited at the same time, I was this unknown player playing in the lower leagues in England.

I said to myself ‘boy this is my time, many players more gifted than me will only dream of this opportunity so I’m going to grab it with both hands and make the most of the experience.’

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived in camp at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja but like I said earlier due to the fantastic team spirit back then, it was easy to settle in, as the other players made me feel welcomed and relaxed.

The senior players always encouraged the younger guys and that helped me grow in confidence.

Were you at any time intimidated because you were playing for Port Vale, a lower division club in England?

Although I was playing outside the top flight in Europe I never felt intimidated by anyone in camp, I never doubted myself for a minute. Yes I admired most of the players growing up, but I wanted to learn from them and improve myself, so I took the whole experience in my stride.

Who will you describe as your toughest opponent in the Super Eagles and outside the team?

I never came up against any one player who I would say was the toughest opponent; as a team I think Samuel Eto’o troubled us in the game against Cameroon during AFCON 2004. He kept us busy the whole game and of course scored the opening goal before goals from Austin Okocha and John Utaka gave us victory.

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Sport

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Khedira rocks girlfriend, Gercke in new photo shoot

M

idfielder Sami Khedira looks set to split from Real Madrid this summer, if not in January, with interest coming from Arsenal and Chelsea.

However, the German World Cup winner surely has no plans to split-up with girlfriend Lena Gercke, who is quite possibly the hottest La Liga WAG of all time.

Khedira and Gercke attended the world premiere of Die Mannschaft in Berlin on Friday night.

It would be fair to say that Khedira looked a tad smug when he turned up with lovely Lena on his arm…

Khedira with girlfriend, Gercke

Lifestyle

I maltreated Yobo for two years - Wife

Sharapova, Dimitrov dismiss separation rumour

J

Yobo and wife, Ada

oseph Yobo’s wife Adaeze has revealed that the first two years of their marriage were turbulent.

The former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria said her ego was getting in the way of their union and things were difficult for the lovebirds until she did away with her poor attitude. Below is her unedited post on Twitter.

“In the first 2years of my marriage when I had too much ego, it was all about me and what "I deserve". I will always think that my husband should know "we gotta go out" i would seat my ass down all the time and just get mad, I mean doesn't he know? It wasn't that I desperately wanted to go out because most of the time, we did we had nothing to say to each other but my "i deserve mentality" my after all, I'm the woman" "the queen" mentality, was my motivating factor.

“I always said to the people that I complained to, "How dare he? just because I want us to go out and have a nice dinner, don’t I deserve it eh"? Anyway, the moral of this story, is that when I changed from my "i deserve" mentality to "we deserve" slowly, the tables turned,” she said.

Gotze's WAG shows off incredible curves

Argentina legend, Diego Maradona cozies up to young girlfriend

Maradona tries his hand at singing

D

iego Maradona is recognised as one of the best ever footballers but he now appears to be trying his hand at singing.

The 54-year-old's on-off relationship with 24-year-old Rocio Oliva has taken a positive turn as the former Barcelona and Napoli forward was filmed serenading his girlfriend in Dubai.

Maradona's decision to take to the microphone during a product launch comes just two weeks after a video emerged appearing to show the 54-year-old physically assaulting his girlfriend.

"Do not live in the shadow of the masters for ever. Learn to live in the light of your soul. Life deserves full expression.”

G

erman stunner Ann-Kathrin Brommel was on the red carpet recently.

Miss Brommel, who is the girlfriend of Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze, looked amazing in a tight black dress, which showed off her perfect figure.

I

t was recently claimed that Maria Sharapova and Grigor Dimitrov had called time on their romance.

Putting an end to the rumours, the athletic couple looked happier than ever as they stepped out in London on Sunday afternoon.

Making their way through Dover Street Market hand in hand, the pair were all smiles as Sharapova, 27, sported a massive piece of jewellery on her ring finger.

It's not the first time Maria has been pictured wearing jewels on the finger which is usually reserved for love tokens such as an engagement ring or wedding band, as she did the same thing last year but the images were not followed by news of a coming wedding.

– Amit Ray

Mario Gotze's girlfriend Ann Kathrin Brommel

Stories courtesy Dailymail

Sharapova and Dimitrov

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

The communities were agog for being remembered by the FG. Unfortunately, the optimism soon turned to hopelessness

Forgotten aquaculture centre at Ogbomoso

Olaniyan

Ogunmupe

Orisaleye explaining a point to the reporter at the Agro Input Centre, Idiroko

tigations into the matter, even as he pledged to intervene. According to Aganga, corruption is a major problem facing the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, but insisted that his office, which he described as the soul of the national economy would make genuine efforts to unravel the mystery surrounding the project.

Aganga noted that journalists, as the fourth estate of the realm, owe the people the responsibility to beam its searchlight to every aspect of governance towards exposing the ills in the society. “I must commend your commitment towards unraveling the alleged mystery surrounding the project despite the difficulties. Building responsible leadership is a task for all of us, and in playing your part, let us always be truthful and committed.

“I want to believe very strongly that my colleague, Dr. Adeshina, is yet to be aware of this development because he detests corruption, and that is reflected in several of his initiatives, especially the accountability in the fertilizer distribution system in the country now. As soon as I get the details of this project, I shall try to respond accordingly,” he promised.

The Minister directed the reporter to forward the details to the electronic mail addresses of one of his media aides and the ministry’s Press Secretary, Bolaji Kazeem. Incidentally, Kazeem has neither acknowledged nor responded to the documents forwarded to him since Monday, November 3.

Unperturbed by the challenges currently being faced in its efforts to trace the location of the project, other high-profiled members of the community have joined the search team. They vowed to employ every right means to bring to the community what is due to her.

One of the community members, a former aide to Babagana Kingibe, Bayode Ogunmupe, recently condemned the development. According to Ogunmupe, the people’s annoyance against government over such developments cannot be overemphasised. He said such spurious projects have forced the people to query the seriousness of government towards fighting corruption.

He said: “The town was agog for being remembered by the Federal Government. Unfortunately, the optimism soon turned to hopelessness as more than three years elapsed without the people seeing any such project.”

Oba Okunoye Lateef Oyewale Orisaleye 1 is the Olu of Idiroko via Ifon-Osun in Orolu Local Government Area of Osun State where the Store Shop Agro Input Centre was constructed by the National Food Reserve Agency, which has now been abandoned.

The project construction was executed by Mikky Tai Engineering and Construction Limited with NFRA Engineering Crew as consultant. According to the Oba, follow-

Investigations

33

ing the New Telegraph publication of September 15, the Osogbo office of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development visited the project to assess the level of damage.

The team, which was led by a man simply identified as Mr. Olowe, was said to have explained that government was no longer interested in running the facility, and therefore, introduced a man, "who he described as an agro-allied dealer, who had come to inspect the project before his company would decide whether to take it up as a private establishment to run it or not."

According to the Oba, "When they came, they inspected everywhere and they also saw the rotten facilities and confirmed that the generating plant of about N4 million had been stolen. The contractor they brought checked everywhere but from the look of things, I don't think he would want to take up such a burden.

"There may be several reasons government has not found an interested party. One of such is the abandonment it has suffered and another is the infrastructural problems in this area. How could government commence a project, and transfer it to private investor in a location like this, where there is no road, and other facilities are not in place," asked the Oba. The Kabiyesi expressed his regret over the development, saying no single farmer in the axis could boast of making profit from their sales in the area this year, because of lack of storage facilities.

"Farmers are nothing to government, yet we talk of relying too much on oil. I know what we suffer here every day; apart from flooding that ravaged our farms this year, the link road here is no longer motorable. So, how do we move our products to farm? I bought a vehicle and I could only use it for six months because of bad roads. The situation is the same everywhere," he added.

He said his village was even lucky to have a project like this just awaiting use, saying the stories of his contemporaries from other villages both far and near is not encouraging at all.

In a similar development, the people of Ogbomoso have explained that in October, a contractor visited the aquaculture site located within Senator Ayo Adeseun Estate, to carry out some measurements. The man, according to impeccable sources, confirmed that he had submitted the quotation for the remaining job to the appropriate quarters and was only awaiting approval and mobilisation.

However, this was contrary to what one Mr. Adetutu of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture told our correspondent. Adetutu had explained that what was left for the Ogbomoso project was installation of facilities. According to him, the contractor had explained that the building structures in place were already weak and so, would need more fortification before anything could be installed. This, he said, was as a result long period of abandonment. Efforts to reach Mr. Adetutu to confirm the state of the project, almost two months after his pledge, was not successful.

In October 2013, some indigenes of the communities had accessed CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

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Investigations

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

‘Neglect culminated into social disorder' C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 3

relevant documents on some of the projects, including the budgetary allocations for the year 2012 and 2013.

The projects were already classified as ongoing in 2012 with an allocation of N50 million, and N30 million in 2013, as contained in a Compendium of Capital Projects in the South-west Geopolitical Zone’s Appropriation Acts. Though, no one could ascertain the actual amount allocated to some of them in 2011 when they were thought to have been initially approved. The budget for the 2014 allocation on the projects has also remained a mystery.

Incidentally, efforts by stakeholders, including a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Lygel Youths and Leadership Initiatives, to identify the location of the projects and those handling them have thus far proved abortive. One of the projects was tagged, Aquaculture Entrepreneurship Development Centre (AEDC).

It had received over N100 million, which had been allegedly expended on it by the Federal Government as revealed in the 2012 and 2013 budget of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

It was tagged, “money for ongoing aquaculture entrepreneurship development project in Ilobu.”

Oladapo, who claimed that the community has suffered from total neglect from the government at all levels, said the many years of neglect has culminated into social and economic disorder in the environment, particularly among the youth. In his earlier petition to the Minister, Oladapo noted that “sometimes in 2011, this

T

he Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), has petitioned the Acting Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, among others, on the alleged attack on our reporter, Mojeed Alabi.

Alabi, according to the petition, was attacked and injured by some identified thugs allegedly loyal to a politician in Osun State.

The petition signed by the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of CDHR, Comrade Buna Isiak, accuses the member representing Osogbo, Olorunda, Irepodun and Orolu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuff, of being behind the attack.

According to CDHR, Yusuff had on the night of Thursday, October 2, threatened to deal with Alabi for portraying him in bad light in his first part investigative series published on Monday, September 15, entitled; Osun: Streams of dead projects.

The petition, entitled; “Attempted Murder and Crimi-

administration, through a sub-unit of the ministry made a provision for the implementation of Aquaculture Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Ilobu. Our client, that is the community, applauded this kind gesture for the benefit that it would offer to the teeming majority of youths, who now walk aimlessly without meaningful jobs.”

Similar agricultural projects had been instituted in Ilobu’s neigbouring communities of Ifon, in Orolu Local Government Area of the state, AgoOwu in Isokan Local Government Area, and another in Iwo Local Government Area. Those located in these three places are Store Shops and Agro Input Centre, where agro-allied products are expected to be made accessible to farmers in bulk and at cheaper rates.

Other types are located in Ila Orangun, in Ila Local Government Area and another in Ikire, headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area.

Also at Ode-Omu in Ayedire Local Government Area of the state, the hometown of the former Minister of Youth Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, is sited a similar project tagged Youth Development Centre, which has been completed but not yet open for public use.

More puzzling is the fact that the same aquaculture entrepreneurship development centre expected to be located in Ilobu is currently under construction at Senator Ayo Adeseun Estate, Kilometer 5, Iresaapa Road, Onipaanu, in Ogbomoso, Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State.

•

Concluded

National Youth Development Centre, Ode-Omu

CDHR petition to IGP

Attack on our reporter Investigations revealed that the project were not physically on ground

Alabi being treated at the Mercy Private Hospital, Ilobu, Osun State after the attack

nal Wounding of Mr. Mojeed Alabi by Killer Gang of Honourable Lasun Yusuff,” reads in part: “In the report carried out by Mr. Mojeed Alabi, the project titled Aquaculture Entrepreneurship Development Centre was captured to be sited in Ilobu, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government in Osun State.

“However, the investigation carried out on the project revealed that the project was not physically on ground despite the annual budget of N50,000,000 in 2012 and N30,000,000 in 2013 as stated in a compendium of capital projects in the South-West geopolitical zone’s appropriation acts.

“Coincidentally, Honourable Lasun Yusuff is the representative of the Federal Constituency where the project was allegedly sited. Having read the report in the New Telegraph, Yusuff threw caution to the wind and told some members of the constituency that the investigative report had thoroughly embarrassed him and the reporter, Mojeed Alabi, would pay for it with his life.”

The petition added that a violent stab on Alabi’s hand, which occurred on October 5, when the victim was attending an event in Ifon-Osun in Orolu Local Government Area, was carried out by a gang allegedly led by Olayinka Mutiu, popularly called Laredo, Ojuolape Akeem aka Baale/Esu Gongo and Saliu

Waheed aka Last Born. They carried out the attack allegedly on the orders of Yusuff.

The CDHR, therefore, prayed the IGP and other authorities including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), office of the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, AIG Zone 11 in Osogbo, Osun State and the Osun State Commissioner of Police, among others to effect the arrest of the alleged culprits for prosecution.

CDHR, as a human rights body, which campaigns, educates, advocates, litigates and defends fundamental rights of Nigerians, said it could not fold its hands and allow the alleged criminal attempt on life of the journalist by the parliamentarian and the killer gang in question to unjustifiably and maliciously terminate the life of a promising journalist contributing his own quota to make “this rickety democratic space better for every Nigerian.”

- Editor

Life Experience 'I miscarriaged triplets

p.36

True Story I had a lesbian relationship with my sister-in-law p.38

L ve&Lv ng SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

35

'I’m dating my boss because my wife denies me sex' always wanted? I and my boss made love for the first time that weekend and became tight lovers.

At the office we tried to be discreet, but we couldn’t avoid a kiss whenever we thought nobody was looking.

Funke and I continued seeing each other and making sweet love after office hours. She looked so beautiful whenever I held her in my arms.

At those moments, it was like only the two of us existed in the whole wide world. We were so much in love.

Through the grapevine, my wife found out about our romance.

She demanded for an explanation and threatened to bring down the roof.

But I told her that my MD was a very wicked woman who had the habit of retrenching workers every six months at the company and that my name had been penciled down for retrenchment.

For that reason, I had to seduce her to keep my job. My wife initially believed my lie, but soon she discovered the truth that my MD wasn’t sacking anybody and she threatened to commit suicide if I don’t stop.

My wife has now given me one month to resign my appointment with the company, but I can’t.

When you point a finger at others, four fingers are pointing back at you.

How can I resign just like that?

Besides, the real reason I’m happy with my relationship with my boss is because unlike my wife who denies me of sex, my boss lets me have sex with her anytime.

My wife denies me sex but my boss is a very passionate woman.

I’ve explained to my wife that I won’t resign because it would be difficult for me to get another job.

And she’s furious.

But what I didn’t tell her is that as long as she continues to deny me of sex, I’ll continue to date my boss. She’s busy pointing accusing fingers at me instead of looking inwards.

Confession Starving your partner of sex is actually a bad idea, especially when you're married and expected to satisfy each other sexually.

This storyshows just what could happen if one partner denies the other sex.

Baby, every night I long for you like the desert longs for rain.

I

ROMANTIC QUOTES

t all started when I was sacked from a bank. My search for a new job took me to a company in Ibadan. At the interview, I sat before the female Managing Director. I noticed how sexy she looked in her suit.

Her skirt was quite short and I ogled at her sweet thighs. She was busty and had a perfect figure. I resolved to chase her and get her to fall in love with me when I got the job.

I was employed as personal assistant to the managing director.

As her personal assistant, I was able to get close to Funke, my managing director. My MD was still single and didn’t appear keen on marriage.

I wanted to show her that I love and care for her although I’m married. So I invited her for a party just for the two of us.

“I’m having a party at a club this Saturday and I’d like you to be my guest,” I said. “That’s wonderful, Bayo. I’ll be there,” she replied. “Hope your wife won’t mind.” “No, she won’t.”

That Saturday, I saw a lovelier side of my boss, and I was carried away with her very affectionate attitude. Wasn’t this what I’d

“I would pour you a glass of wine, but wouldn’t it be more romantic if you sipped it out of my armpit?”

–Jarod Kintz

“My love is like one of those wooden Russian nesting dolls (matryoshka doll). I know, because your heart fits perfectly inside mine.”

–Jarod Kintz

“Don't be afraid," I said, "We belong together."

I was immediatly overcome by the truth of my own words.”

–Stephenie Meyer

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Love&Living

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Love News

‘Everyone thought I'd gone mad' l Emeli Sande admits she came close to a ‘breakdown' after splitting from Adam Gouraguine just one year into their marriage

Emeli and Adam

E

meli Sande has revealed she divorced her husband after just a year of marriage.

The 27-year-old singer says she came close to suffering a 'breakdown' after splitting from her childhood sweetheart Adam Gouraguine - who she dated for 10 years - last year and admitted she is

Love Songs

still coming to terms with losing her 'best friend'.

Emeli - who married Adam in his home nation Montenegro in September 2012 told The Times newspaper: 'Everyone thought I'd gone mad. 'What do you mean a divorce? We were all at your wedding a few months ago!' But there was just some-

Sam Smith

Stay With Me Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man These nights never seem to go to plan I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?

[Chorus:] Oh, won't you stay with me?

'Cause you're all I need This ain't love, it's clear to see But darling, stay with me Why am I so emotional?

No, it's not a good look, gain some self-control And deep down I know this never works But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt

Love Poem

Craig

My Love For You My love for you is as cool as the ocean as we walked through the waves with love and devotion my love for you is not as complex it’s not just your looks or the great sex it’s your personality that shines to me being with you shows what love can be I look at the picture that you sent me knowing your waiting makes me happy all the times we’ve spent together I just hope the good times can last forever and ever I never want anyone to tear us apart a piece of you will always be in my heart…

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

Romantic Jokes

Playing Golf

A married man was having an affair with his secretary. One day, their passions overcame them and they took off for her house. Exhausted from the afternoon's activities, they fell asleep and awoke at around 8pm. As the man threw on his clothes, he told the woman to take his shoes outside and rub them through the grass and dirt. Mystified, she nonetheless complied and he slipped into his shoes and drove home. "Where have you been?" demanded his wife when he entered the house. "Darling," replied the man, "I can't lie to you. I've been having an affair with my secretary. I fell asleep in her bed and didn't wake up until eight o'clock." The wife glanced down at his shoes and said, "You liar! You've been playing golf!"

thing inside me that said, "This isn't the life. You're pretending to be someone else." admitted that she still can't explain what happened in her marriage.

She said: 'I don't want to call it a breakdown, but it felt like that.'

And she has tried to stop blaming herself for the breakdown of their relationship but said things are still tough.

Emeli was believed to have taken Adam's surname to make her name doublebarrelled, although remained as Emeli Sande for her pop career.

Speaking about her Montenegrin-born husband last year, she said: 'I would also love to have a Montenegrin passport. I want to be part of his tradition. I grew up in a family of two different cultural backgrounds, so I embraced both.

‘One day when we have kids, I'd like them to be the part of these two different

Life Experience

B

abies A and B were destined to bring chaos into my life from the moment my midwife said "highrisk pregnancy." The ultrasound wasn't even finished and I was already over the moon, greedily imagining two car seats, two high chairs, round the clock breastfeeding, and double the diapers. Sisters sharing a room. Fighting and making up.

My small house overstuffed with girls.

There was a third fetus, too, but it entered and exited my world simultaneously when the tech staring at the screen said, "I'm not getting a heartbeat on Baby C." So I didn't know there was a Baby C until there wasn't one anymore, but nonetheless I felt driven to tell people that my twin pregnancy had begun as a trio. Save for my dad, people treated the natural reduction as benign or even beneficial -- less risky for me, less risky for the two babies whose strong, speedy heartbeats told us they were going to make it.

Except they didn't. Baby A and Baby B brought chaos, just not the kind I was wishing for. Suddenly there were dead people inside of me. And no one understood that I felt like a grave.

Yes, there were hot meals delivered and beautiful handwritten letters from women who'd never shared their own stories of loss until I had my own. My husband brought me wine, food, and medication after I locked myself away to sob away the hours until my D&C. But not one person seemed to understand that at that point I was still home to three people who'd been -- who'd always be -- all potential.

Nothing can wipe away the memory of people who smile as they say "At least you already have one healthy child" and "At least there must have been a reason" and "At least you know it's all part of God's plan" when they ought to have been sobbing along with me as they said, "I'm just so sorry you lost those babies."

That alone made the lifeless ache I felt that much worse. So many people trying to convince me that miscarrying three babies had a bright side I'd eventually see if I waited long enough.

So many people telling me God must be some kind of rat bastard without really meaning to. Every statement came with its own "at least." but all of them together were not enough to dull my hurt. I had experienced every magnifi-

cultures.’

Emeli - who debuted a new straight fringe look at the MTV European Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland last night - admitted she regrets marrying Adam because their lives were 'so separate' but insists she doesn't have a bad word to say about him and is going to keep her tattoo on her left breastbone, which reads 'I love you Adam' in Serbian.

The Heaven hitmaker, who is now single for the first time since she was 17, added that it was tough for the couple to spend time together while she was touring.

'We were mates, but maybe we shouldn't have been married': Emeli was unflinchingly honest about her split with her husband and admitted things were not perfect between them.

Courtesy: Daily Mail.

'I miscarried triplets'

"So many people trying to convince me that miscarrying three babies had a bright side I'd eventually see if I waited long enough"

cent moment of my body cocooning those babies in the parts of me that were supposed to keep them safe. That were supposed to keep those strong, speedy hearts beating.

Now those hearts were still.

And worse, my body kept up its cocooning for weeks after someone took my hand and said, "I'm sorry, but your babies have passed." There was no gush of blood between my legs or spear of pain in my belly to give my mourning momentum. I stayed bloated, breasts swollen, the firm roundness of my uterus clearly visible whenever I lay down. I was empty of life but my body wouldn't believe it.

And so I couldn't believe it. In the most secret parts of myself I prayed it was a mistake. That I would feel some flutter of life that could prove a whole office of neonatologists wrong.

But there was nothing.

That nothingness manifested as cold medical jargon -- what had once been beautiful babies was now tissue to be evacuated before infection could

set in. The nothingness was in the ambiguity, too. Miscarriage describes a messy, visceral process, not the abrupt and heartbreaking stillness of the loss that accompanies it. There's no word for what I was and no true reckoning.

Could I be a mom of four when three had never drawn a breath and one was gone before I even knew it was there? If I hadn't already had a daughter, would I even be a mom?

It was as if from the moment the spark of life inside me was declared gone, everyone around me conspired to take away the humanity of the people who'd been nestled together in my womb. They took their personhood, not as it pertains to abortion rights (which should be a totally separate discussion) but as it existed as part of my own experience of motherhood.

Some people believe a woman becomes a mother the moment she conceives. I think a woman is transformed into a mother when she begins weaving a unique life story for her baby after the reality of conception sets in.

In my fog of grief, I was not mourning a child I had. But neither was my grief for a pregnancy ended too soon.

My tears weren't shed over the expedited D&C that I shouldn't even have needed. I cried unrelentingly then for the babies I lost; I sometimes still cry to this day for them and for the kind of sympathy that was denied to me.

When I miscarried, I lost a life -- the life my family and I would have lived if I'd had A and B and even C. And yet in the eyes of the world, I lost nothing because that imagined life was just that -- imaginary -- and so never really mine to lose.

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Relationships & Love Advice

‘My husband doesn't like touching me' Dear Love Doctor, I got married nine months ago in Lagos. I love my husband and I'm sure that my husband loves me too. But the problem is that my husband doesn't like touching me or making love to me. Instead of him to make the move as a man, I am always the one who has to move him to sleep with me. Please what can I do about this?

From Cynthia.

Love Doctor’s Advice: Dear Cynthia, Touch is a fundamental part of human existence. Studies on infants have shown the importance of regular, loving touch and holding on brain development. These benefits do not end in childhood.

Life without physical contact with others is a lonely life indeed.

Studies have shown that affectionate touch actually boosts the body’s levels of oxytocin, a

Love&Living

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

hormone that influences bonding and attachment. In a committed relationship between two adult partners, physical intercourse is often a cornerstone of the relationship. However, intercourse should not be the only method of physical intimacy in a relationship. Regular, affectionate touch—holding hands, hugging, or kissing—is equally important.

Try to discuss your feelings with your husband. Tell him the way you feel and I'm sure he will improve. You can also try to put him in the mood for sex by wearing sexy lingerie at night to arouse him. There is nothing wrong in you initiating sex, as long as your husband responds positively. *Send your comments/stories to Love Doctor. E-mail: ireto007@yahoo. com. For free marriage/relationships counseling, call Love Doctor Mike 07031028714, 08131161840. Visit lovedrmike.blogspot.com

H♥♥K UP...find your heart’s desire Women SEEKING relationship/ marriage

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

37

Blackberry Connection Chika, a principled and focused young lady, needs a gentle, intelligent, working guy of 30-39 years.

BB Pin: 7A111DF.

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

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

Faith, 23, in Akwa Ibom, is asking all men: "Between a man and a woman, who stays longer without having sex?" *Call Mike: 07031028714 to send questions or issues.

Love Education Ku Klux Klan opens its door to Jews, homosexuals and black people in bizarre recruitment drive What is Impotence?

I Odd News mpotence is a common problem among men and is characterized by the consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse or the inability to achieve ejaculation, or both.

Erectile dysfunction can vary.

I

t's a white supremacist organisation notorious for homophobic and racist violence, including the lynchings of black people.

But the Ku Klux Klan is now looking to diversify and increase its membership to include Jews, black people, homosexuals and those of Hispanic origin with a re-branding as 'the new Klan'.

All those wanting to join the extreme right-wing group will still have to wear the white robes, masks and conical hats and take part in rituals, according to founder John Abarr.

The rebranded organisation, called the Rocky Mountain Knights, claims to now stand for 'a strong America' rather than irrational hatred.

'White supremacy is the old Klan. This is the new Klan. The KKK is for a strong America,' said Mr Abarr.

The move comes after the Klan organiser met with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People.

He said: 'I thought it was a really good organisation. I don't feel we need to be separate.'

But Klan members have said Mr Abarr is trying to make the changes to further his own political career.

Bradley Jenkins, Imperial Wizard of the KKK, said: 'That man's going against everything the bylaws of the constitution of the KKK say. He's trying to hide behind the KKK to further his political career.'

The Klan is classified as a hate group by the anti-semitism organistion Anti-Defamation League and the civil rights law firm Southern Poverty Law

What is Impotence (Erectile Dysfunction)?

Center.

But some black people have apparently already expressed an interest in joining, after Mr Abarr organised a summit with civil rights groups.

The requirements for joining the new KKK group are to be aged over 18 and live in the Pacific Northwest.

The first Klan was founded in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee, by six veterans of the Confederate Army.

Similar groups spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement during the Reconstruction era in the United States.

As a secret vigilante group, the Klan targeted freedmen and their allies and sought to restore white supremacy by threats and violence, including murder, against black and white Republicans.

Today the organisation is made up of small, unconnected groups that use the KKK name and have emphasised secrecy and distinctive costumes.

Recent estimates suggest there are between 5,000 and 8,000 members.

Courtesy: Daily Mail.

Erectile dysfunction is known in common parlance as impotence. It signifies the inability to get and maintain an erection necessary for a satisfactory sexual intercourse. This is a fairly common condition and affects a large majority of men over 40.

This is not a life-threatening condition but may have a serious and significant impact on the quality of life of sufferers, partners and families. It is important that patients are properly assessed and investigated for underlying physical and psychological conditions before embarking on treatment.

Causes of impotence (erectile dysfunction) Erectile dysfunction can occur due to several causes. These may be both physical and psychological.

Physical causes include narrowing of blood vessels of the penis due to long standing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or diabetes. Surgical or traumatic injury to the penis or hormonal problems may also cause erectile dysfunction.

Certain psychological causes such as depression, anxiety and problems in the relationships may also cause impotence of erectile dysfunction.

Risk factors of erectile dysfunction Risk factors of erectile dysfunction include: • obesity • smoking • high blood pressure • high blood cholesterol • lack of exercise • diabetes • metabolic syndrome Erectile dysfunction epidemiology Worldwide there is a high incidence (of new cases) and prevalence of this condition. Large number of men may not come forth with the condition and this means that the actual numbers may be even larger.

38

Love&Living

True Story

I

met Peter straight after high school at a friend’s 18th birthday party.

Not having much experience with boys I was very shy at first, but Peter was very chatty and charismatic which made it easy for me to talk and connect with him.

That night I chatted to him for hours and afterwards cursed myself for not being brave enough to ask for his phone number. I wasn't very confident and assumed he was just being friendly and wouldn't want to see me again. But, to my surprise, I received a call from him the next day!

He had rung around a few people who had been at the party until reaching my best friend Melissa, who promptly provided him with my digits. I had never had a boyfriend before but Peter was everything I expected one to be like.

At the time he was 22 and older than me. He had a full-time job as an apprentice electrician. Peter had the cutest cheeky smile that he would flash whenever he wanted something and I fell in love with him within weeks of meeting him. I remember at the time thinking he was perfect "husband material".

He had a future career, was tall, muscular, good looking and I got along well with his family. Peter had even confided in me that he wanted to settle down and buy a house once he became fully qualified.

Peter and I dated for three years while I studied at university. Our relationship wasn't as physical or affectionate as I wished but not having anyone else to compare him to I never brought it up.

Peter was your typical “blokey tradie” and while he was chivalrous in that he always paid for our meals and always looked out for me, driving me to parties and picking me up to make sure I was safe, he was never very affectionate and our love making was always short and to the point.

We were married shortly after I finished my course. At dinner after my graduation ceremony he proposed to me in front of all my family and friends.

My parents were thrilled and I was so excited. After our beautiful wedding we bought a house and started our new lives together.

Shortly after our honeymoon Peter's younger sister Katie came to stay with us. Katie was the same age as me but had been studying in Sydney for the last few years and I had only met her a couple of times at Christmas dinners. She had moved back home to start searching

Wedding Traditions

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

I had a lesbian relationship Sex and Beauty: with my sister-in-law SEXUAL COMMUNICATION

Ways sex makes you beautiful

"She had a stunning physique with beautiful big blue eyes and she had the same charming, confident manner"

for a job and Peter was happy to let her bunk with us.

Katie certainly came from the same gene pool as Peter. She had a stunning physique with beautiful big blue eyes and she had the same charming, confident manner. I was nervous about her staying with us at first but soon found that we had a lot in common. We would sit up late and watch DVDs together while Peter, tired from a long day’s work, would go to bed early.

It was on one of these late nights that I asked her if she was seeing any guys or if she had left a boyfriend in Sydney.

She was so gorgeous I couldn't believe that I had never heard Peter or his family mention a boyfriend. She laughed

and said that her family had always been awkward about this and liked to pretend it wasn't true. I looked at her quizzically, not understanding. Katie laughed and said she was a lesbian and that her family weren't very accepting of this so they never talked about. I was surprised at first; I hadn't picked it up at all.

Weeks went by before the topic was brought up again. I was sitting with Katie on the couch when she asked me if I had ever been with a woman.

I confessed that I had only ever been with Peter. She told me she was surprised and that she thought I was very pretty. I started to get a bit concerned.

Was she trying to hit on me? Would she try something? But then I started to get excited and decided that I wasn't afraid. Before I knew it, Katie and I were kissing.

She was so soft and affectionate, it was something I had never experienced before. It wasn't long before we were in her bedroom. Later on I snuck back into my and Peter's room. Surprisingly I didn't feel guilty at all! Katie had given me something that Peter never could and what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Katie ended up only staying with us for another week. She got a job a few suburbs away and moved into a share house with a friend. We never did anything like that ever again but she always gives me a cheeky smile or wink across the table at family dinners.

Courtesy: msn.com

Coup de marriage: France

I

n France there is a tradition that both the bride and groom at their wedding reception drink wine from a cup with two handles called "coup de marriage" (cup of marriage) symbolizing their loving relationship.

When the happy couple in France decides to leave the wedding reception people put some laurel leaves on their path.

Courtesy: list.com

5. Don’t Worry, Be Happy There’s a reason wrinkles are called worry lines—but no amount of eye cream can put your mind at ease like the horizontal hula. “Sex is the best stress reliever,” says Rapini. Since orgasming is all about learning to relax and breathe, when you’re having sex regularly, the calming effects cumulate and you’ll enjoy long-term stress relief. Rapini points out: “The normal sex act itself takes between three and 20 minutes. That’s not very long, but it influences your whole day, it can even influence you for several days.”

And that lack of tension will be all over your beautiful face!

6. Busting Out During sex, you’ll have even more to show off. According to Dr. Roizen, during sex, “breasts enlarge 25 percent; nipple height increases a half inch.” You’ll be wowing your man sans Wonder Bra. 7. Sexercise While it might be hard to motivate yourself to get to the gym, if you’re ready to spend some time on your back—or on all fours, or in a pretzel shape—sex can give you a great cardio workout. According to Roizen, “From an arterial standpoint, having sex is the equivalent of engaging in Zumba.” The more you do it, the more it does for your bod!

8. Fountain of Youth If a woman has an average sex life, her real age can be two to eight years younger than the number on her driver’s license, notes Roizen. “You end up being functionally younger … it’s a consistent effect,” he says. It lowers your risk of the three major killers: heart disease, cancer and all others— which is really depression, suicide, mood changes and things that cause attitudinal changes.” If you keep getting frisky with your partner, you can both turn back the hands of time.

So, gorgeous, the next time someone asks you what your beauty secret is, you can tell her it’s your sex life. And how.

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Travel &Tourism 39

Chef's Corner In Lagos, dining is a splendid experience p.40

Travel Personality Paul Friedrich: Africa at his feet p.41

Destination

The alluring splendour of Victoria Falls p.42

One of the suites - plush and chic

HOSPITALITY

A

fter being treated to the many attractions of the kingdom Hotel with its well crafted natural and traditional facade for days, it was a welcome development stepping into Elephant Camp, one of the few enticing facilities in Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe, to experience the real natural environment and its elements unhindered.

It was a sunny day but the airy and breezy nature of the Elephant Camp located in the middle of a wilderness with its enchanting nature makes the exploration of the environment and facilities a fascinating experience.

Hilda Ncube, the officer in charge on this fateful day, dressed in smart khaki pants and top, which blended somewhat with the environment, stepped out to welcome the team to her world.

Her warm and pleasant introduction gave inkling to the treats, which awaited guests.

Although set in a forested wilderness environment, the facility boasts a plush sophistication within the tented suites, which are lavishly furnished.

Elephant Camp Victoria Falls

Fall asleep and awake in nature's embrace

ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA who was at Elephant Camp Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe, writes on the alluring scenery and offerings of the hospitality outfit.

You are amazed by how well the facility blends with the environment and the attractions.

Ncube explained that the place is well secured and noted that guests had nothing to fear about the fact that elephants, bushbuck, impalas and other wild creatures are just a shouting distance away.

For all you care, it is this natural pull and unhindered view as well as the up close interaction with wild life - guests have a private lounge to view the game on

prowl - that hold attraction for many. No wonder the camp is a most sought after facility by tourists as Ncube disclosed that the facility is booked for the year and running into next year.

To get a foothold, one would have to make and confirm reservation well ahead of the trip otherwise you get turned back at the gate due to the high demand and also because it has limited facilities. So those who know this detail know what to do to stave off

NEW TELEGRAPH PARTNER HOTELS

FESTAC, LAGOS

Š Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

ABA LAGOS

ABA

competition and get booked for a real experience with nature.

The camp sits majestically on a private game reserve, which is bounded by Masuwe River and the Zambezi gorges and offers a breathtaking view of the wilderness with the Victoria Falls about 10 kilometres away. During the peak moment of the falls, guests at the camp are afforded the view falls’ spray and the spectacular gorges.

The camp boasts a well apportioned 12 suites (accommodating 24 persons) of luxurious and alluring nature with each featuring a private viewing deck, plunge pool, private lounge area, air condition and fan, bath, inside and out shower, mini bar, tea/coffee station.

No TV in the suites except at the reception lounge where you also have a library, a bar and restaurant.

This, Ncube said, is deliberate, as it is part of the calculated attempt by the camp to offer a serenading environment for one to relax and explore the best of nature, leaving behind the cares of the world.

To this also, the camp offers different activities ranging from game viewing, canoe safari, elephant back safari, falls tour, white water rafting, village tour, walk with lions, helicopter flights, Chobe day trip to sun set cruise.

B E N E F I TS There are lots of benefits to derive as one of our partner hotels. For enquiries and details on how to join the programme, please contact Andrew Iro Okungbowa: 08023152195 (sms only), e-mail: iroandy@ymail.com or Chinyere Opara: 08063768131 (sms only) e-mail angela_curtis-2@live.com

40

Travel & Tourism

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

CHEF’S CORNER

In Lagos, dining is a splendid experience Lagos is fast becoming a destination for rich and savoury culinary treats with eateries pandering to different tastes opening by the day just around your street corner. ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA serves you the endless list of restaurants where you could experience a lavish meal. It is a collectors’ item.

L

Lagos choice eateries agos has one of the most exciting and colourful culinary offerings in the country with rich and diverse palate available and a range of restaurants, still counting, of various blends spanning African, Europe, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.

You would be amazed by the wholesomeness of some of these eateries from home cooking to fast food. There is always something enticing for everyone whether you are average, voracious or have a catholic taste. You must certainly find your range in any of the spots across the city.

Most of them come with rich ambience, creatively laid out with appealing decor and scenery. Some are also toptiered with regard to status but whatever the case, there is something for everyone in terms of offerings, pricing, location and class.

Even the hours of operations and targets are also different with some operating all days of the weeks for breakfast, lunch and dinner while others operate at weekends and offer lunch and dinner. Others simply offer dinner and could be just for the mass or special groups.

But no matter the colouration and the different offerings, Lagos’ culinary scene is quite alive, eventful and exciting as you would likely experience a level of professional service in many of the restaurants that may leave you asking for more.

Here is a list of some of the choice restaurants across the city’s landscape for you to explore: Izangi: A Japanese themed restaurant located on Idejo Street, off Adeola

Odeku, Victoria Island, operates between Tuesdays and Sundays between 1200 – 2230 hours and reservations could be made ahead.

Metisse: Located on Etim Inyang Crescent, Victoria Island, it offers an enticing ambience and nice place to enjoy dinner and a feel of the Mediterranean. Its options includes Asian, Malaysian and Thai. Opens from Tuesdays to Mondays between the hours of 1200 – 0300 and 1800 – 2230.

The Ice Cream Factory: This is different from the pack as it offers mostly after gourmets such as bakery, dessert, ice cream and café treats. It is located on Omega Bank Avenue, off Adeola Hopewell, Victoria Island and also on Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase One. It opens from Monday through Friday between the hours of 1000 – 2200 and Saturdays to Sundays between the hours of 1100 – 2200.

Spice Bar: Offers Indian treats and serves breakfast/brunch and it is located on Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island.

Yellow Chili: Is all an African affair down to some of the most rare and enjoyable Nigerian local delicacies. Offers breakfast/brunch and is found on Oju Olobun Close, off Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island.

Rhapsody's Victoria Island: The location is Agoro Odiyan street, off Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, and treats guests to appetising American, continental, café, pizza, pasta and Asian fusion.

Great offerings.

Terra Kulture: Great spots it has become over the years for the promotion of the arts, theatre and literature. it also hosts a number of social events. It offers delicious African and continental dishes, ranging from breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Location is Tiamiyu Savage, off Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island.

Bangkok Restaurant: Located on Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, is a Thailand themed restaurant.

La Veranda Restaurant: Is an Italian restaurant where you can be treated to authentic Italian pasta and pizza.

It is found on Oju Olobun Street, off Bishop Oluwole, Victoria Island.

Chocolate Royal: Is located on Etim Inyang Crescent, Victoria Island and offers breakfast/brunch and lunch.

Sherlaton Indian Restaurant: Located on Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, offers savoury Indian themed gastronomy for breakfast/

brunch and lunch.

Talindo Steak House: The Ikotun Karimu–based eatery offers continental dishes for diners’ delight.

Zenith Water Margin Chinese Restaurant: Is a Chinese based restaurant and located on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere.

Ocean Basket: Treats you to seafood meals and is located on Tiamiyu Savage, Victoria Island.

Indigo Indian Restaurant: Is one of the Indian themed restaurants gaining ascendancy in the city. It is located on Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island.

Coral Blue Seafood: Located on Adeyemo Alakija Street, off Sanusi Fafunwa, it offers a variety of delicious sea foods.

L'Afric: Is a chic and cosy spot for savoury African local delicacies. It is on Sanusi Fafunwa Street, Victoria Island.

1415 Fine Dining Italian Restaurant: The Adetokunbo Ademola based Italian themed restaurant is a huge hit for lovers of pizza and pasta among other delicacies.

Johnny Rockets: Specialises in American hamburgers at its Adetokunbo Ademola, Victoria Island, location Lagoon Restaurant: The Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island–based restaurant with it seaview location offers African and continental breakfast/brunch.

Jade Palace Chinese Cuisine: On Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, offers Chinese meals.

Piccolo Monod: Located on Idejo street, off Adeola Odeku, It is an African themed restaurant, offering choice variety.

Oriental Garden: Is on Lekki road, Victoria Island and offers Chinese meals.

Kilimanjaro Restaurant: Is part of the Victoria Island food court on Adeyemo Alakija, offering a variety of dishes.

Yin Yang Chinese Restaurant: Is on Omega Bank Avenue, off Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island and serves Chinese options.

Al Diwan Restaurant: On Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, offers Lebanese options.

Bar Campione: Is on Kasumu Ekemode street, off Saka Tinubu, Victoria Island and specializes on Italian, American and continental menu.

Fusion Restaurant: Is located on Ozumba Mbadiwe, Lagos, offers choice Japanese and Lebanese meals.

TRAVEL BEATS

Travel presenter, Yvonne Bassey, clinches TV presenter award The presenter of the weekly travel programme, Through the Eyes of an African, on DSTV/Africa Magic, Yvonne Bassey, has for the third year running clinched the TV presenter of the year award category of the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA).

She was one of the awardees honoured and celebrated at the recent award ceremony held at Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri, Imo State. The ceremony was attended by the crème of Nigerian journalism and a host of other personalities from across the various fields of endeavour.

Her winning entry was a documentary centred on Ethiopia`s hidden churches, which was adjudged the most excellent in terms

of creativity, originality, scripting, presentation and production, among others.

The awardee described the award as rewarding and fulfilling. Her journey, she said, had been one of endless destinations and discoveries, each one opening her eyes even more to the horde of priceless sites and legacies across Africa, many of which remain virtually

UNWTO and WTM Ministers’ Summit harps on imperative of mega events Gov Rochas Okorocha of Imo State making a presentation to Yvonne during the NMMA Award ceremony ignored in the face of Western influences.

She also noted that based on viewers’ feedback, her documentary works have, to a great extent, helped correct a lot of warped perceptions that many hold of the continent as merely underprivileged and diseased, even as the tools of words and pictures paint the true image of a vibrant Africa.

At the recently concluded World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and World Travel Market (WTM) Ministers Summit in London, the benefits of hosting events and building infrastructure formed the crust of the discussion. In his opening remark, the UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai said "destinations need to consider infrastructure, investment and jobs, intangible benefits such as how the country is perceived and the most effective way to involve the community when looking at the legacy of mega-events."

The forum afforded the different countries who have in recent time hosted various mega and global events, such as London, USA, South Africa to talk of the economic benefits and other intangible milestones recorded through such hosting. On his part, the president and CEO of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), David Scowsill, called for the engagement of the private sector in the early stages of the preparation of any mega-event bid while Adolfo Mesquita Nunes, Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal, stressed that tourism administrations need to be “involved from the beginning in any hosting of mega-events” but cautioned that the decision of bidding to host such events must be totally “in line with the main objectives of a country.’’

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TRAVEL PERSONALITY

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Background aul Friedrich is a German and a man of many parts. But you will never get to know this from a first encounter with him except you probe deeper. Quite a lively figure he is, lounging at the swimming pool bar of Kingdom Hotel on a sweltering afternoon as he waited for light lunch to be served.

One was drawn into conversation with Friedrich and he unearths a little about himself and his work.

He is a former politician and associate of the former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, with who he still maintains very strong and close ties. He served under his government as minister of Agriculture, among others. His first love was insurance but he would later quit as he discovered that he was in wrong profession.

He was also an army officer and served in the special unit of the force. But all of that is a closed chapter now as he has taken to touring the world and taking others on a pleasurable trip to the different corners of the world to explore the beauties, fun and adventure which they possess in abundance with Africa as one of the places which has caught his imagination.

Today, Friedrich is the owner and managing director of Afrika Reisen Exklusiv, a tour company, which he established in 1997. According to him, the company offers specialised safari to eastern and southern Africa, eastside and active holidays in the Indian Ocean region and tours to Egypt and Thailand. Besides, he says, “Afrika Reisen Exklusiv views itself as a specialist safari tour operator and as such has devoted itself to very individualistic safari tourism. Wherever possible we endeavour to guide you away from mass tourism (destinations) and show you a bit of classic Africa.”

Friedrich also works as a journalist and has been involved over the years in press trips across many regions of the world but with Africa as the centre piece of his world. As of the last count, he has notched over 100 trips within the continent, spanning over 25 countries, Middle East and Asia in the last 20 years. So he confidently says, “We know the things that we are offering.” But unfortunately, Nigeria still remains a dark destination to him and his numerous associates.

Discovering Africa's beauty Friedrich first ventured into Africa in 1989 and his first port of call was Kenya when he went visiting a friend who is an author and lives near Mombasa, one of Kenya’s most adorable tourist enclaves.

“That was my first time in Africa and after three hours I found myself in the middle of a bush. We had great experience and in the evening we had some bottles of whiskey, beer and fire and tents and crocs (crocodiles) in front of us next to a river,” recounts Friedrich of his first encounter with the inner and natural beauties of what Joseph Conrad once described as the ‘Dark continent.’

At the end of his six weeks stay in the country, he came to the realisation that nothing could separate him from the savoury adventure. “That was the moment I said, wow, this is incredible. I will do this one day with my own company, that I will like to sell safari,” he says of the turning moment of his life, which led to the setting up of the tour company years later. The following year Friedrich created a personal record when he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and subsequently conquered east Africa.

I like the open space of Africa The former politician tells one that his love for Africa stems among others from the open space and freedom that exist in most of the countries. “I like most of the

Paul Friedrich with a cultural troupe at the background while getting set for a function at Vic Fallls town (Inset: Friedrich)

PAUL FRIEDRICH Africa at his feet Paul Friedrich, a German tour operator, in an interview with ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA in Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe, relates his experience of Africa, how he fell in love with safari, his little knowledge of Nigeria and what Nigeria must do to win the world, among others. countries, I like the open space and not a lot of regulations unlike Germany. we are over 80 million people. So, we need a lot of regulations and restrictions and here you don’t have that much. All over Africa the people are mostly very friendly, they smile, they laugh and of course, the landscape and the wildlife are just exceptionally beautiful.”

Then as the lunch progresses, he leads you to his many travels in Africa and his world view of the different countries he has conquered and even those he has not, like Nigeria. “I have been to 24 Africa countries and most of them I have been there several times. I have been to Namibia more than 50 times. I don’t know West Africa so well but I only know Senegal and The Gambia.

“I think that you find more culture in West Africa, but East Africa is more of wildlife, safari while Southern Africa have everything, a little bit of desert, rain forest, you find the whole Africa in South Africa and people like to go there because of the good wildlife, good culture, food and the wine region -Cape Town.

“Namibia is good for the Germans. We like the open space, the desert and it is also one of my favourites and in Botswana you have one of the most incredible wildlife...

I don’t really know North Africa except Egypt, very different people, the culture is different and the pyramids are beautiful. I personally like Namibia very much and now I am in Zimbabwe again after a couple of years and I see that Hwange National Park is beautiful, Vic Falls, the people are very friendly but Namibia is a little bit richer.

"I just went around the corner and about 50 metres away there was a female lion in front of me. She was also surprised like me and we were watching each other"

“It has less people, very, very empty, it is about three times bigger than Germany but they only have over two million people and in Germany we have over 80 million people so you can imagine that.

This is one of the main reasons that I like it. You can drive and relax while driving and you can see very beautiful landscape.

Namibia is very well known by Germans and it is like a colony for them.”

With such a rich and diverse knowledge of the continent particularly the Southern and Eastern regions one expected Friedrich to also know about Nigeria, the giant of Africa and the most populous black nation on planet earth. But wait for this: he has never been to Nigeria and knows only a little about it.

Nigeria is not a tourist destination “I know where it is and I know the

capital. I know the name is not Lagos but Abuja. Many people live in Lagos than Abuja and you have many people in the country. I know that you have this problem in the north. The north is more of Muslims and the south you have Christians. Boko Haram is killing people, I know that you have a lot of oil and we have heard about corruption in the country. That is all that I know.”

Disappointed? He says that Nigeria has never featured on his radar as a tourist destination. “I have never thought of Nigeria as a tourist destination,” however, he adds that “but it will be interesting for me to go there to see it with my own eyes."

Most cherished moment One of his most memorable moments, he recalls, is when he had a close shave with death. He was on a trip to the gorilla mountain in Congo during the country’s civil war and on the way; the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked by the refugees. “I thought that I was going to die,” he says but he was saved by the whiskers.

“I had my press card and logo from the UN which I showed to the people; they can’t read but they know the logo of the UN and then they stopped. Four hours later I was at the mountain to see the gorillas, but you know the difference between the refugee camp and these peaceful animals. That was incredible and one of the best moments that I ever had.”

Close shave with death He also had another close shave with death, describing the incident as one of his most agonising moments. “I went to a semi desert in Kenya and I was a bit stupid and I don’t know why because I went out of the camp and no one knew of it. I just went around the corner and about 50 metres away there was a female lion in front of me. She was also surprised like me and we were watching each other wondering what are you doing here?

Then I went back slowly around the corner and back to the camp.”

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The alluring splendour of Victoria Falls ANDREW IRO OKUNGBOWA who was in Zimbabwe recently and visited Victoria Falls writes on the delightsome experience of one of the world's seven natural wonders and Zimbabwe’s unarguably most iconic tourism treasure.

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Harare – The Sunshine City ctober 12 made it the second time in a little over five years that I would be visiting Harare – the sunshine or jacaranda city or simply the capital city of Zimbabwe. The first time was in 2008. The over five-hour flight from Lagos aboard Ethiopian Airlines to Bole International Airport was a smooth and lively one with the crew of the airline treating passengers to their usual in-flight hospitality.

Overnight stay at Ethiopian Hotel in Addis Ababa was a short and dreamless one, but the lack of sleep was compensated for with the restful nap during the con-

A sight to behold

team from ZTA led by its executive director, destination marketing, Jeffreys Manjengwa.

DESTINATION necting flight to Harare. Not much seemed to have changed at Harare International Airport on arrival.

What could have been a happy return to the city for one turned sour as one’s luggage was not delivered from Lagos. It was a sad discovery as this would be the third time I would be having such experience in one's many years of travelling.

Contemplating how this new development was going to play out left me in a sad state, given that one had yet to have a change of clothes for two days. I usually do not put any personal effects in my hand luggage except laptop and work tools.

My friends (Victor Enwezor, Joan Imoagene and Efe Awhana) on the same flight did their best to cheer me up. It was hard to live with it because for the four days that it took before the luggage arrived I had no personal belongings.

This would be the longest period I've had to wait to recover my luggage and yet Ethiopian Airlines officials acted as if it was a normal occurrence.

Anyway, outside the arrival hall the team from Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) led by Nellia,

The group in the falls surrounding vegetation

enthusiastically welcomed us to the country and thereafter, our chaperone for the duration of our stay, Moreblessing Jeranyama, an amiable, caring, professionally acquainted with her duties took over.

Minutes after we drove into Crystal Lodge, checked into the room, had lunch and later headed for one of the flea markets for one to get some clothes and personal effects. But it didn’t work out as expected. Back to the hotel we had a delightsome dinner and memorable moment with Rocky Hatami Pour of Flamingo Group and her sister, Soraya Hatami of White Flamingo, both Iranians, and Waturi Watu, a Kenyan lady, joined our team alongside the

Day one The next morning we headed for Victoria Falls town to commence what turned out to be one of the most fulfilling, cherished and eventful three-day tour of Zimbabwe’s most attractive tourism zone which has Victoria Falls as the main attraction. Victoria Falls is one of the world’s seven natural wonders and a World Heritage Site, commanding huge tourist traffic all year round from across the world.

The flight aboard Zimbabwe Air to the town, about an hour, was smooth and stress free. This time there was no welcoming party barring the driver, Absolom Gotosa, from Africa Travel, who doubled as our guide and Tsika Mberi of ZTA stationed at Vic Falls and the co-ordinator of our Victoria Falls activities. The Vic Falls airport is currently undergoing changes with the runway and facilities being lengthened and widened to accommodate the increasing traffic.

Shortly after we settled into the tour bus, Absolom took full charge, welcoming us to his adopted and ever busy community, Victoria Falls Town, which is entirely a tourism enclave as the only thriving business here is tourism.

It's not surprising because the Falls

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and other attractions located in the town keep visitors to the zone gainfully and amazingly occupied for as many number of days till some of them probably come to the last dollar in their once fat credit card or wallet.

Absolom, who has been on this job for over a decade is quite adept and knows how to win the rapt attention of his audience, as he enthralled us with tales about the zone. The drive from the airport to the town is about 21 kilometres and it is a pleasurable ride as you drive through parts of the Vic Falls National Park.

On a good day you could sight some wild life but Absolom warned to beware of monkeys, elephants, baboons and some other animals because as is normal at most parks, animals have right of way as you are not expected to harm them.

The fear of animals is the beginning of wisdom as you are always advised to watch out for them particularly at night.

The zone, Absolom says is crime free even though there was heavy security presence.

The town harbours about four villages or communities inhabited by the natives – Tonga, Ndebele and Nabia people, among others who work at the various tourism establishments in the zone. They all speak the Lozi dialect.

Leaving the national park area behind, it is a most beautiful sight that bids you welcome to the town itself, which turns out to be quite busy during the day, but becomes a dead end at night but for buses and taxis ferrying tourists back to their hotels.

At the Kingdom Hotel, which was our abode for two nights, we were served a welcoming drink, Mazoe, a local brew with orange flavour, as we waited for room allocation and check in.

After lunch, we set out for a tour of the majestic Victoria Falls, which in the local parlance is known as Mosi – oa – tunya, translated as the "noisy thundering smoke".

What an awesome waterfalls, straddling four countries – Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana.

As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, it is a dream attraction, which many tourists look forward to visiting in their life time.

The drive from the hotel to the park is about three minutes while it takes 10 minutes to walk the distance. Visiting hours during winter is between 0630 – 1800 while during summer it is between 0600 – 1800 and the gate fees varies with the entrance fees charged for the locals quite different from those of the visitors.

As we gathered at the first point inside the park, before setting out for a memorable exploration of the waterfalls, Absolom again took charge of proceedings as guide.

The waterfalls has 16 different viewing points with each point clearly marked out such as the main falls, the devil’s cataract, luna rainbow (moon how) to the horse shoe falls and the highest point.

The falls sits pretty between the borders of Zimbabwe and Zambia on the north western axis of Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland north with the Zambezi River dropping

water into the narrow gorges, which is about 3000 feet. It was discovered by David Livingstone in 1855 who described the surreal and awesome scenery as ‘‘gazed on by angels.’’

Known as Zimbabwe’s RAMSAR Site, it offers an amazing and picturesque scenario with water cascading in a most fascinating manner from its Olympian height to the narrow gorges, which are only empty within the period of September to January.

It really comes with fascinating and amazing statistics with its measuring about 108 metres (360 feet) heights while Niagara falls is about 51 metres (167 feet) and Iguana falls at 64 - 82 metres (210 - 269 feet) while the width of Vic Falls is put at 1, 708 metres (5, 604 feet), that of Niagara is 1, 203 metres (3, 947 feet) and Iguana falls at 2, 700 metres (8, 858 feet).

February to May is the period to witness the falls at its most blooming period with April as the peak period with

ging deeper into its entrails to uncover the secret of the falls, which makes it a most cherished enclave and height to conquer in a life time. Zimbabwe’s end of the falls plays host to about 1, 700 metres stretch viewing point while Zambia only host 500 metres. Zimbabwe also has most of the water and the deepest point, but Zambia has the most sparkling water point.

Perhaps the most attracting and astounding part of this is viewing the spray rising to over 400 metres (1, 300 feet) with constant shower and shrouded misty cloud and fog either descending or hovering around the surface of the falls and then the long stretch of rainbow (moon bow) suddenly colouring the surface to make it a remarkable scenery to behold.

Apart from gazing on the highest point of the fall from either the Livingstone or Boarukg Island, this sight is the most amazing and colourful for people exploring the falls.

It speaks volume of the wonders of creation and what makes the falls a most exciting and naturally inviting place to explore. Of course, the next point is getting across to the bridge end, that is the connecting bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Aside the pleasurable adventure the falls offers, the real attraction at this point is the adrenalin push because here is where the real stunts or activities that many tourists are eager to perform are conducted.

These include water rafting, bungee jumping, swing and sliding. But in our team of eight not many were eager to give any of these activities a try ex-

Some of the scenic attractions on offer at Vic Falls Town

the average water volume put at 1, 100 sq metres. It is home to a rich variety of flora and fauna species such as monkeys, bushbuck, warthog, lion and guinea fowl as well as abundant bird life. The flora, particularly flowers includes flame lily, black arum, fireballs, ground orchid and hibiscus.

The starting point for the exploration usually is the trophy museum where carcass of some of the park’s fauna are kept for viewing. Then you move over to the sculpted statue of David Livingstone. At the foot of the statue is also a replica boat, which was used by Livingstone on his first mission to the site. The sculpted piece was officially dated November 16, 1955.

From that point on you begin the journey into the underbelly of the falls dig-

"With the frenzied activities of the day under the sweltering sun concluded late evening, dinner was a welcome relief "

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cept for the Kenyan lady, Waturi Matu and Efe who had to wait till the next morning to engage in bungee jumping (Matu) and zip line (Efe) activities.

With the frenzied activities of the day under the sweltering sun concluded late evening, dinner was a welcome relief as it turned out to be quite an exciting and colourful affair. It was at the Boma, translated as "eating place" in the local parlance, where along with other tourists we were treated to rich Zimbabwean cuisine blended with traditional setting and cultural treat to the delight of everyone. It is a life cooking station that you are treated to and you eat to your fill.

Day two Another eventful day it was and it started with the early morning game drive to the Vic Falls National Park through Stanley and Livingstone, a privately owned park, with David as both driver and guide. It was an exciting morning game safari in search of the big five among the other animal species of the park. We were only fortunate to sight black rhino and buffalo with lion, leopard and elephant proving elusive sights.

After hours of safari, we made a detour at the Stanley and Livingstone Lodge on our way back to the hotel where we were given a tour of the amazing lodge before settling down for some snacks and drinks.

After breakfast, the team visited some of the other lodges and hotels in the town, which included the three different facilities of the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge while later in the day we had an interesting sunset cruise on the Zambezi River.

Day three The last day of the tour also came with its colourful attractions with early morning breakfast followed by a tour of the crocodile farm and nature sanctuary. We were taken through the routine by one of the tour guides of the sanctuary.

First, the museum then the nursery where everyone was allowed to hold a baby crocodile then through the lion’s den and crocodiles’ enclosure where we had an up close encounter and finally through the curio shop.

The next activity for the day was a tour of the Wild Horizon’s Wildlife Sanctuary where some of the activities included elephant ride and walk with lions. But we were booked for the encounter with the elephants where we interacted with them and fed them under the direction and watchful guide of Manda Sibanda and his team.

The day’s activities were concluded with a tour of the Elephant Camp with Hilda Ncube as our guide, another lodge with natural but sophisticated and amazing facilities, located in the middle of the wilderness.

Back to Kingdom Hotel for a quiet lunch after which we departed to the airport to catch our flight to Harare. No tearful moment though but it was a sad goodbye to the tourism town, which for three days treated us to some of its richest and most colourful offerings, leaving us with memories to last for a long time.

Of course, we all missed Absolom and Tsika, the duo that almost became a part of us and the other people we encountered and bonded with at the various points visited by us.

As one writes this and the memories flood back, there is no doubt it was one of the most eventful, exciting and funsoaked three days one have spent in any tourism enclave recently.

TV & Radio with Angela Davies

Liberty Television commences broadcast

Ramalan

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This weekend Channels

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iberty Television has commenced 24-hour broadcast from Kaduna on the platform of StarTimes.

The station which airs on Channel 180 on the StarTimes bouquet commenced live broadcast on October 1 after test transmission for a couple of weeks.

The television channel is expected to have mass audience appeal by broadcasting 70 percent in Hausa, and 30 percent in English through relaying High Definition programming to diverse demographics across vast areas of Nigeria and West Africa.

Owners of the station, ATAR Communications Nigeria Limited, are said to have assembled a team that will ensure professionalism and objectivity.

Dr Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, chairman of ATAR Communications, describes the advent of Liberty Television as a culmination of collective dedication to the Nigerian project.

“While I am ecstatic about leading a vision that will help in unlocking potentials in our country, and indeed the West African sub-region, the journey to me has only just begun in telling our story, much of which is untold, and may never be told, unless we tell it. Equally, as the broadcasting sector inches towards digitalization by June next year, we are encouraged by the prospects of partnering with content developers and other stakeholders in achieving our purposes,” he said.

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Discussing TVC's big issue

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t is controversial, African, actionpacked and perhaps the hottest debate show on television. It is The Big Issue, a platform for discussing controversial issues affecting the society.

Each week, the host, feisty Oba Adeoye invites speakers to take on everyday contentious issues affecting the average man and woman as well as the society as a whole. He present facts about the topic to be discussed before the studio audience and the two invited speakers in preparedness for the debate. The speakers analyse and argue it out by trying to give convincing reasons why they are for or against the topic on ground. If you do not have an adequate knowledge about the issue or even doubtful about your argument, then, you will only be minced meat for your cospeaker. It is even worse when you sit on the fence.

Every week, speakers have conflicting opinions and approach to each topic.

A topic of interest on the show recently was, "Do reality television shows undermine youth education in Nigeria?"

Speakers invited to lend perspectives to the topic were Big Brother Africa reality television winner, Uti Nwachukwu and a school principal, Ben Akintelure.

As expected, outspoken Nwachukwu argued that reality television shows do not undermine youth education in Nigeria. Instead, it is the role of the parents to bring up their children properly.

kponmwosa Osakioduwa popularly known as IK is a radio presenter with Rhythm 93.7fm and the presenter of Big Brother Africa.

The University of Lagos graduate of economics, while still an undergraduate took part in many stage plays and concerts, where he discovered and groomed his talent as a master of ceremonies and host.

After graduating, Osakioduwa worked for Rhythm 93.7fm, as a presenter popularly known as The Wild Child. However, he changed his name to Ik after he got married.

Osakioduwa is one of the leading presenters of Silverbird and Rhythm 93.7fm. He has been selected as MC at three presidential events for President Goodluck Jonathan.

FACE BEHIND THE mic

He added that television itself is a huge distraction to education. He said that winning BBA gave him a platform to launch his dream to become a television presenter and an actor. On his part, Akintelure, stated that he is not against reality television shows but on the corporate bodies who sponsor these shows. He emphasised that he would rather that these corporate bodies use the huge amount paid to reality television winners to sponsor different educational competitions instead. He argued that if substantial sums are put into these competitions, many youths will read and study hard to win the prize instead of opting for reality television shows.

As much as the programme is entertaining, educating and full of drama, it has its flaws. Speakers are left standing throughout the one-hour duration of the programme. At least they should be seated. While one speaker mounts the podium, the other speaker should be seated and vice versa. Also, it is observed that while arguing or trying to clarify a point or statement, both speakers as well as the host, tend to talk at the same time. At this point, who will the studio audience listen to?

For easy flow of communication and understanding, it would be ideal to allocate time to each speaker. If you want to see heated argument mixed with drama, then, tune in to Television Continental (TVC) every Saturday at 9.am

TELEVISION

Saturday 8:00 News 8:30 One Cubed Naija 9:00 Sunrise 1:00 News Track 1:30 Business Incorporated 2:00 News Track 2:30 Earth Files 5:00 News Track 5:30 Dawn in the Creeks 6:00 News Track 6:30 The Gavel 7:00 News Track 7:30 Dateline Abuja 8:00 News Track 9:00 Showbiz 9:30 Art House 10:00 News at 10 Sunday 7:30 Tom & Jerry 8:30 Turning Point 9:00 News Track 10:30 Health Matters 11:00 News Track 11:30 Question Time 12:00 News Track 12:30 Channels Sports 1:30 African Journal 2:00 Sportsville 2:30 Inside Out with Agatha 3:00 Rubbin Minds

6:00 Seriously Speaking 7:00 News Track 7:30 Dateline Abuja

Radio Lagos

LTV

Saturday 7:00 AM Saturday Live 9:00 Voice of Restoration 11:00 School Buggie 11:30 Silent Noise 12:00 Red Hot 1:00 Mariana and Scarlett

2:00 Living Spring 2:30 Mido Mase 3:00 Laughter ½ Hour 4:00 News 4:30 White House 5:00 Power in the Word 5:30 Health Wise 6:00 Iroyin 6:30 Hour of Empowerment 7:30 Oracles of God 8:00 News 8:30 Music 9:30 Red Hot 10:00 You will get there Sunday 7:30 Better Life for City People 8:00 Sunday Express 9:30 Zakat and Sadaqat 10:00 Naaginn 11:00 Documentary 11:30 Burning Spear 12:00 Purification of Soul 12:30 Music 1:00 Mogbejo Mide 2:00 Nkan Nbe 2:30 Hour of Salvavtion 3:00 Gbarada 6:00 Iroyin 7:00 News 7:10 Promised Land 7:30 LAMATA ½ Hour

RADIO

Saturday 05:00 Iroyin ni soki 06:00 World News 07:15 Asayan iroyin 08:00 P.P.A. 09:00 Lin lin gigo 11:05 Eyi ara Ajide Olayinka 1:00 Oyin momo 2:30 E da wa lohun 4:00 Oba Orin 6:00 State News 7:00 Lagbo Regal 8:30 Ohun enu Yoruba 9:30 Mito Heme 10:15 Music 11:00 Iroyin ni soki

Sunday 5:00 Iroyin ni soki 06:00 World News 7:30 Music 9:00 Lin Lin Ledo 10:00 Interlude 11:05 Mukulumuke 12:00 World News 1:00 Music 2:00 Orita Aje 3:00 Iroyin ni soki 6:55 Irun pipe Magrib - sp 7:45 Music 8:30 Ba Olorun pade lori oke Sioni 9:30 Igbalaye 10:00 National News 11 :00 Ironyin ni soki

Radio Continental 102.3 FM

Osakioduwa

Saturday 5:00 Highlife 7:30 Papers Today 10:30 Be my Guest 12:45 Replay Africa 2:30 Music 317 5:15 Salsa Plus 6:00 Entertainment Unscripted 7:00 Music 7:30 Afrobeat Tonight 9:00 Single Life 10:30 Old School Groove 12:00 Whispers

Sunday 7:30 Press Report 10:30 Think you know the Bible 1:00 Chart Busters 2:00 Lagos News 2:30 Palaver 4:00 Studio 102 6:00 Youth Connect 7:00 Woman's Own 8:00 Sunday Evening Groove 10:00 Music 11:00 Symphonia 12:00 Whispers

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2014

Politics 45

Perspectives

Substance and transferred aggression in Abia p.47

Politics

Godfather, godsons battle for the soul of Lagos p.48

FaceOff

Trading blames over APGA's woes p.50

© Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

2015: Presidency must return to the north – Coomassie, ACF chairman President Goodluck Jonathan has declared his interest to run for the presidency again. Some critics are saying that given the insecurity that is ravaging the country, he shouldn’t seek reelection. What is your view?

Under normal circumstances and bering in mind that we have been a nation for more than 100 years and have been independent for 54 years, we should emulate what other democracies are doing. If a government fails, like in our own case where insecurity's all over, the head of that government, under normal circumstances, should resign. You heard that the President of France, because he has not been able to create enough jobs, he said that it appears that he cannot seek reelection. But in our own case, in spite of the huge insurgency that is happening in the country, the president is still sticking to his guns that he wants to seek reelection.

Since 2009, North-Easterners in this country, including other parts of the north and even Abuja, were killed through bomb blasts. And these killings are going on unabated. The purpose of government is to provide for the security and welfare of the people. It’s stated in the constitution. The same constitution has provided for social, economic and cultural rights. But most of these rights are not even justiceable. That means you cannot go to court and get a judge to enforce it. Except for fundamental human rights, because lawyers are available and can go to court and file a motion to seek freedom for individuals.

So, under normal circumstances, the president should have even resigned and allowed someone to fill his position not to even talk of seeking re-election.

He should have resigned so that someone else should try and solve the problem.

But the president is not contemplating resignation.

Since the president has refused to do so, I’m telling you that as chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), come 2015, it will be the turn of Northern Nigeria to produce a president. Whether it is legally right for the president to seek re-election, let the court decide. But we have said it before when President Umaru Yar’Adua died; automatically, Jonathan

Since Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie assumed the chairmanship of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the pan northern pressure group has become more assertive in its quest to pursue northern interests. In this interview with IBRAHEEM MUSA, the former Inspector General of Police speaks of his mission as ACF chairman. in their schools. So, will Nigerians re-elect Jonathan again besides the constitutionality of his seeking reelection?

Governor Babangida Aliyu had alleged that President Jonathan in 2011 signed an agreement with some PDP governors that he will do just one term in office and thereafter, power will return to the north. Till date, no one has seen a copy of that agreement.

As ACF chairman, have you been privileged to sight the agreement?

I just became chairman of ACF and immediately after our inauguration, I went to the conference. I don’t think it is mandatory for anybody to show me that agreement. Don’t forget that we had that same problem during Obasanjo’s time. There was also a gentleman’s agreement that was reached, for power to return to the north but he also denied it. He did his two terms and even tried to get a third term but didn’t get it. So, he brought in Umaru Yar’Adua and Jonathan. So, what will happen in 2015, will absolutely be in the hands of the electorate and the election officials. Can we have free, fair and credible elections? Will the man who wins the election be pronounced winner? Will there be rigging? We are waiting for 2015.

Coomassie

stepped in and completed that tenure. Then he decided to contest for the second tenure, some of us have said that if Jonathan had thought wisely, after completing Yar’Adua’s tenure, he should have stepped down and allowed another northerner to complete the rest four years, going by the power shift agreement. Jonathan would have become a hero in this country and had he come now to contest, he would have been supported by everyone in the North.

Some of his supporters tried to legitimise his re-election in 2015 during the National Conference by introducing a new constitution but we resisted it. So, we are waiting for Jonathan at the polls, we really want the presidency to come back

to the north.

President Jonathan has been endorsed by all organs of the PDP as sole candidate of the party for the 2015 poll. With this reality, what will the north do to stop him from becoming president again?

There are other parties and they are organising. They will bring out a northern candidate and they will fight it over. It will be the duty of northern electorate to use their votes wisely. They have seen what happened to their region in the last years, will they still elect somebody who didn’t bother to check these killings and kidnappings all over? Look at the Chibok girls. We don’t even know where they are. Students have been killed

But the governor who alleged that there was an agreement is now part of the Jonathan re-election campaign team. Don’t you see a contradiction in the whole allegation?

He belongs to the same political party with the incumbent president. He is also the chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum. So, we are begging God to expose these manoeuvres.

When the ceasefire between Boko Haram and the Federal Government was announced, you had expressed some scepticism. Now that government has come out and said that there is no ceasefire CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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‘ACF will support northern presidential candidate' CONTINUED from PAGE 45

after all, do you feel vindicated?

Right from the beginning when the ceasefire was announced, there were some doubts. Except the fact that the Chief of Defence Staff had talked about it, so we presumed that there was something like that. But there was no similar confirmation from the other side. Three times it was announced that Abubakar Shekau had been killed but some people came out and denied it. That the name Shekau is a false name that anyone can assume and speak to the world on behalf of the group, using the name, especially when that person assumes the leadership of the group.

At the beginning of the crisis, some people were clamouring for a ceasefire, some even asked for amnesty.

ACF asked for amnesty. The leader of Supreme Council for Shariah, Malam Ahmed Datti, offered to mediate. Along the line, the thing broke down or the federal government just abandoned it. Since then, nothing had been done; then out of the blues, there was an announcement of a ceasefire.

Why? When your colleagues asked me questions, I raised some posers: Who was brokering the deal? Was it done within the country? Did it involve ECOWAS or was AU involved?

Besides the pictures that we saw in the newspapers, featuring presidents Jonathan and Idris Deby of Chad and former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, sitting together in Ndjamena and some news items, there was nothing tangible. It was Boko Haram that first said that there was no ceasefire and the government also said that there was no ceasefire.

So, I felt that my suspicions have grounds. It’s not that I’m vindicated.

So many northerners are occupying key positions in government yet this insurgency is not abating. Yet it is being alleged in some quarters that government is behind these crisis.

Isn't that ironic?

Do you even have the guts to ask this question when your kith and kin are occupying positions which have direct bearing with internal security? The Chief of Defence Staff is a northerner and the insurgents invaded his house in Mubi. The National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, Minister of Internal Affairs, Inspector General of Police, Comptroller General of both Customs and Immigration are all northerners. The Senate President and the Speaker of House of Representatives are all northerners, including the vice president. Recently, the speaker defected to another party and his security was withdrawn. What does that mean?

court?

Well, the matter went to court after the action.

By withdrawing Tambuwal’s security, the IG seemed to support that he was no more the Speaker when the matter was already in court.

Let the court decide. But do you think what the IG did is proper?

I’m asking your opinion as a former Inspector General of Police.

I don’t think it's proper; unless he is acting on instructions. It happened before with the appointment of the Emir of Kano. The security of the incumbent governor was withdrawn in Kano State. Is this correct? So, things are happening which create so many doubts in this type of democracy that we are running. Most of our leaders are educated and have seen democracy practised elsewhere.

Why are they not imbibing the spirit of democracy? It’s very lamentable.

We hope the electorate will exercise their rights to elect people who they think will deliver come 2015. Once we have the right leadership from top to bottom, Nigeria will be great.

You know what ACF did some years back? We sat down and set up a committee and asked them to draw up criteria for leadership from the ward to the presidential levels. It was vetted by the Central Working Committee, the National Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees. And we sent the report to all the political parties because it’s their duty to produce credible candidates. But the parties are lacking even in internal democracy. The electorate is also helpless because of poverty, that is why they can easily be bought by a meagre amount of money on election day.

Once we have the right leadership from top to bottom, Nigeria will be great

It was after we finished the National Conference. When I came on board as ACF chairman, the first set of people that I wrote were my immediate supervisors, the northern governors.

We wrote a letter, drawing attention to the persistence of the insurgency in the North East in particular. And we asked them to do something.

The constitution is clear that they are partners in progress with the Federal Government, for goodness sake let them do something about it.

And I said in that missive that what is left for us is to join people to demonstrate if we cannot get response.

The chairman of Northern Governors who received it, commended us and said that he would take the letter to his colleagues and then they will know what to do. But what they can do is limited. May be the constitution mandates the Federal Government to do all these things that we were talking about in terms of security.

At the National Conference, security was a very burning issue and everybody was concerned. So after the conference, ACF said that our kith and kin are being killed and so we can’t just fold our arms since we are representing them. So, we wrote an open letter to the president, highlighting everything under the sun which had happened to us since 2009. We called for action, telling him that insurgents

have taken over towns and villages.

Some Emirs and chiefs have abandoned their palaces and relocated to Maiduguri for safety. We called on the president to reclaim those lost territories and deal decisively with these insurgents. We also convened a meeting with all northern nongovernmental organisation (NGOs) that feel very strongly about the issue. And we identified some people who are not doing their jobs and some of them are northerners. Instead of addressing the issues that we raised, I was insulted and abused in the media. One elder in the north addressed a press conference, saying since I became ACF chairman, the forum has become an opposition.

But we are not. We are just fighting for our people.

As a trained security officer, will you say that the failure in the war against insurgency is a failure of intelligence or a tactical warfare error?

It can be both. If there is sufficient intelligence to deal with the insurgents why was it not carried out? If there is sufficient intelligence and it is not acted upon, then there is another hidden plan. Election is coming.

Some people want to win by hook or crook and they make other parts of the country ungovernable; that was the accusation that the people in government were making when the insurgency started. They used to say that the north wants to make it impossible for the incumbent president to function. But is it true? Now, we are saying that they are allowing the insurgency to continue because they don’t want elections to hold in certain parts of the north so that they can get their third term.

Some people believe that the rivalry between the intelligence agencies and the military is part of the reasons the war on terror has not been won.

How correct is this assertion?

I have not heard anything like that.

If what you are saying is true, then that is why northerners that are occupying key positions in this government couldn’t do anything. So, you seem to have the answers. But there is more to all these than meets the eye.

We pray to God Almighty to expose the truth, to make our country peaceful and united again. But definitely, we want the presidency to come back to the north.

When you assumed office as ACF chairman, you wrote a letter to President Jonathan, regarding the insurgency that has overwhelmed parts of the north.

Was there a reply?

No, it was not when I assumed as chairman.

Is that the agenda of ACF? Of course, any reasonable northerner wants the leadership to come back to the north.

Does ACF have any particular presidential candidate in mind?

No, it’s the political parties who should produce candidates. We will support any party that presents a credible northerner as its presidential candidate. It’s not our duty to campaign for him, it is the political parties that will campaign for their candidates.

Do you think the Inspector General of Police acted within his bounds by withdrawing the speaker’s security when the matter is still in

Coomassie

Then what role will ACF play in the emergence of the northern president?

ACF will monitor to ensure that there is free, fair and credible elections.

Perspectives

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D

Onuoha Amadi emocracy would lose its defining egalitarianism if it foreclosed free expression of viewpoints by their adherents - including often unreasoned perspectives by forces that seek to diminish and divide. Against this backdrop, we should then appreciate public communicators who by dint of self-discipline and diligent application of the power of thought have achieved that delicate, firm balance between researched opinion that informs and leverages society and humdrum commentary that diminishes and stunts.

In a recent interview with former Secretary to the Government of Abia State and self-confessed member of Abia Patriots, Mazi Donatus Okorie, published in a national daily, the gentleman’s hackneyed mission was surprisingly simple. This was to demonise the personality and demolish the image of former governor of Abia State, His Excellency, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

In the press interview under reference, the current governor and erstwhile protégé of Dr. Kalu, His Excellency Theordore Orji was made not even a candidate for sainthood but an outright saint and not surprisingly came off smelling like roses. It is the contention of this writer that Mazi Okorie did gross disservice to himself, Governor Theordore Orji and Abia State which he believes he is defending from imaginary adversaries. Here is why.

The abrasive defensive positions he canvassed in his media outing clearly stems from a survivalist footing fed by transferred aggression.

While he is entitled to defend his principal who may have impacted his fortune on earth, he sorely needs to intellectualise his discourse, a pathway that would have deepened his perspective on the imperatives Abia State needs at this particularly

B

oko Haram bloody insurgency, quirky political defections, corruption, poverty amidst plenty, blurred visions of alternative governance and more; these are indicators of an ideal in retreat, a nation on the back-foot. What’s more - these equate a ‘crisis of faith’.

As nation-states go, is Nigeria a false construct? Are her constituent ethnic nationalities fundamentally incompatible? Are the premises of her 1914 amalgamation conceptually flawed or a product of intellectual vagrancy by the British colonialist? Is her sovereignty proclaimed in 1960 a tainted diadem?

From introspection the apparent crisis of faith in the Nigerian state stems from lack of clarity in defining these fundamentals.

An unexpected situation presenting serious problems that need urgent resolution is one way of defining a crisis. While comparable to a disaster, it is not quite one. It could be viewed as an embryonic disaster perhaps, which requires immediate and radical action.

On the other hand, a ‘crisis of faith’ is a term commonly applied, especially in Western culture, to periods of intense doubt and internal conflict about a person’s preconceived beliefs or life decisions.

A crisis of faith can be compared to a period of doubt in that a crisis of faith demands reconciliation or re-evaluation before the person

Substance and transferred aggression in Abia trying period in our national life.

Those closely tracking developments – or lack of it – in Abia State would readily recall what transpired during the recent 23rd anniversary of creation of the state. During the event, a personality who doesn’t need handouts from Governor Orji told him the blunt truth about the development status of Abia State. It could be recalled that billionaire business mogul and something of the godfather of South-East politics, Prince Arthur Eze told Governor Orji to his face that Abia State stinks.

A disgusted Prince Eze actually dropped the microphone on the bare floor and stalked out of the event’s venue. In Prince Eze’s words: “Right from the Abia Tower in Umuahia, the rot hits you. Abia State is now the dirtiest in the country. Garbage everywhere; along with bad roads. The people are really suffering, and you see it in their faces.

Are there no elders in Abia again?

If so, what are they doing? What are the senators, the members of House of Representatives, and other elected people doing? Nothing. If you do not know what to do again, please write to President Goodluck Jonathan, and let him come to your aid. Abia State needs help.”

It needs little imagination to link this public relations disastrous outing for the current administration with extreme efforts at image repositioning it is making presently. Mazi Okorie’s interview is one such exertion to correct a damaging truth about Abia development status today. But why attack the wrong target. It would have

Orji

It may interest Mazi Okorie and Governor Orji for that matter to know that good governance is a crucial determinant of human sociopolitical progress

been a worthier effort to attempt to disprove Prince Arthur Eze’s verdict instead of attacking the former governor who left office some eight years ago.

In basic psychology this is called ‘transferred aggression.’ The office of secretary to the state government is an important position that requires certain intellectual credentials to operate.

For a man that occupied that strategic niche to resort to such virulent offensive calls his advisory and governance capacities to question.

This aggression should be properly targeted – assuming it’s necessary- after the core message is appropriately understood.

The other peg of this discussion is to locate Mazi Okorie’s principal’s famous achievements within the context of scientific parameters of good governance and hence disprove his flighty claims of Solomonic rule of Governor Theordore Orji.

It may interest Mazi Okorie and

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Governor Orji for that matter to know that good governance is a crucial determinant of human socio-political progress. Against this backdrop, the challenge for all societies is to create a system of governance that promotes supports and sustains genuine human development.

Moving forward, good governance involves a grid of networks - including public and private sectors, institutions, organisations and individual actors - that can influence the development journey. It can also be seen as the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a state's affairs at all levels.

It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.

Fundamentally, good governance has three legs: economic, political and administrative. Economic governance includes decision-making processes that affect a state's economic activities and its relationships with others.

From the foregoing, good governance clearly has major implications for equity, poverty and quality of life.

Societies that aspire to greatness can simply not navigate otherwise. Using the foregoing parameters and given the quantum of resources that Abia State has garnered in the almost eight years of Governor Theodore Orji’s administration it could certainly not be said that the current governor has led God’s Own State to the Promised Land.

• Amadi, a public affairs analyst, writes from Umuahia

On Nigeria’s crisis of faith The Nation-State With Louis Achi

achilouis35@gmail.com or state can continue believing in whichever tenet is in doubt or continuing in whatever life path is in question.

This scenariodemands uncompromising decision: either sufficiently reconcile the cause of doubt with the belief or decision in question, or drop the belief. This scenario captures something of the problem with the current Nigerian state.

Currently, the country is navigating a phase of intense self-doubt and internal conflict - socio-economic, political, knowledge-centric, cultural, religious and moral - about its being; a crisis of faith.

This compelling but hardly unique scenario demands “reconciliation or re-evaluation” before the nation can continue believing in whichever tenets are in doubt or continue in whatever life path is in question.

In Nigeria’s case: the national question.

Dodging the core issues is both intellectually lazy and dishonest.

This is fundamentally a ticking socio-political time-bomb. The Nigerian state must respond properly to this crisis of faith. Realism dictates this course. This is where the real “Transformation Agenda” of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency

Mother Theresa

ought to pivot.

Six great personalities from the arena of faith supply us with gripping examples of crises of faith in the Biblical Old Testament and in the 19th Century. These include Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah and Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Significantly, these men and woman carried out some of the greatest exploits in their walk with God. Things got so bad that most of them told God to terminate both their walk and even their lives.

The case of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, an amazon of faith, is particularly riveting. Canonised by the Vatican in 2007, she had a deep crisis of faith in God for the last 40 years of her life, according to a new set of her letters after her death.

Although she publicly proclaimed that her heart belonged "entirely to the Heart of Jesus", she wrote to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, a spiritual confidant, in September 1979 that "Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. The tongue moves (in prayer) but does not speak." The letter was written just a few weeks before she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Currently, the country is faced by multi-hued crises comparable to those experienced by these six great folks of faith. Ahead of the

milestone 2015 general election, one curious fact stands out like a sore thumb - the country’s political intelligentsia is singing dissonant tunes. With hordes of grasping politicians jostling for survivalist space and a diminishing tribe of notable statesmen in disorderly retreat, poverty gnaws at the innards of this nation of extra-ordinary promise. Some theorists posit that some of the human crises tearing at the soul of many Nigerian geo-political zones have linkages to a loss of faith and increasing self-doubt.

They have a point here.

The subsisting bloody Boko Haram episode gnawing at the North-East zone and overflowing only shores up this theory. These internecine crises have translated to extreme human underdevelopment and pervasive poverty, a ticking time bomb which needs to be diffused.

What to do? Confronted by a far bloodier, enervating crisis of faith, Ethiopia with over 80 ethnic nationalities willy-nilly settled for a national conference in 1991. Today, ethnic federalism - the product of that groundbreaking internal conversation is powering modern Ethiopia, a country today grounded on law and progressing rapidly - measured by key parameters of human development and progressive social re-engineering.

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Governorship election in Lagos State is not only interesting but keenly contested among candidates.

As the battle rages among aspirants in APC, the purported endorsement of one of them will make it more interesting in 2015, WAHEED BAKARE writes.

A

siwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is adored and cherished by his supporters some of who call him the Lion of Bourdillion or governor emeritus of Lagos State. As far as they are concerned, he is a political juggernaut and master tactician. But to his political opponents, Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, is a gadfly with an array of supporters and will stop at nothing to impose his will on others.

His political odyssey started in 1992 when he was elected as a senator on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to represent Lagos West.

But just a few months after the election, the military truncated the democratic process. He went into exile in 1994 after the military annulled the June 12, 1993 elections and was a founding member of a pro-democracy group, National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).

When the country returned to democracy, Tinubu was elected in 1999 as the governor, a position he held from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007. From 1999 to 2003, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) under whose platform Tinubu was elected as the governor also produced the governors of Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo and Osun. But only Tinubu returned as the governor in April 2003 among his brother governors in AD. Others were consumed by political arrangements to give tactical support to the re-election of the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo. Tinubu, the Asiwaju of Lagos, was then often referred to in political circle as the ‘last man standing.’

He utilised the uniqueness of his position in the South-West to build a political fortress that many of his loyalists find as a safe haven. He broadened his horizon, and his astute political investments over the years have yielded him many more loyalists even beyond the South-West. He was also pivotal to the formation of the Action Congress (AC), a party that was formed largely from the fragmented AD. In 2007, towards the tail end of his administration, he single handedly picked Mr. Babatunde Fashola, his Chief of Staff and a relatively unknown politician, as his successor. Without dissipating much energy, Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom, had his way. This was expected as most of his supporters see him as the oracle whose divination is not only sacred but must not be questioned.

Precisely on February 14, 2015, Lagosians will pick another governor to succeed incumbent Fashola. At least 15 aspirants have signified their intention on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), an opposition party, that prides itself as a mega party. As an undisputed leader in APC and former governor in the state, it is expected that Tinubu will play a crucial role in who emerges as the party’s flag bearer.

This explains why some of the aspirants are not sleeping with both eyes closed following the belief that one of them, Akinwunmi Ambode, has been endorsed by the leaders of the party in the state.

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Godfather, godsons battle for the soul of Lagos Tinubu

Oba Akiolu’s endorsement But while Asiwaju’s endorsement is still within the realm of speculation, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, openly gave his royal blessing to Ambode’s candidature. In fact, as far as the monarch is concerned, the supposed oracle’s choice is already the next governor in the state.

At Ambode’s biography launch on May 15 in Lagos, Oba Akiolu further fuelled the speculation that the former accountant-general of the state had been endorsed.

He said: “When the APC leader, Bola Tinubu, chose Fashola in 2007 to succeed him, it was met with stiff opposition, but today, Tinubu has been justified. We see a similar character to Governor Fashola in Ambode. You people know me well that I do not hide my feelings on where I stand on issues. We all know why we are here, and we shouldn’t be talking about book launch now. We are here to meet our governor.

“We, the royal fathers have consulted widely within the state with sons and daughters of Lagos, and have come to the conclusion that the best person to take over from Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the iconic Governor of Lagos State is Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

“We cannot have a man like this, and allow somebody whose father is an Oba in Ewekoro, Ogun State, be the governor of Lagos (a veiled reference to Obafemi Hamzat, commissioner for works and infrastructure). Although Lagos State belongs to all Nigerians and the state will continue to offer opportunities to every Nigerian to actu-

alise the Nigerian dream, Ambode remains the best man with the required pedigree and character to take Lagos to the next level.”

The monarch also describes as untrue, the rumour that Ambode is not a Lagosian, but from Ilaje in Ondo State. “Ambode is not from Ilaje in Ondo State, he’s a true son of Lagos from Epe. In view of this, all of you contesting against him should support him,” he added.

Ambode was just a civil servant here yesterday.

When did he join the party?

When? Who will impose Ambode?

Ambode’s declaration Ambode, former account general of the state, had on October 24 declared his interest to contest the governorship of the state on the platform of the APC. “We have the political will to move Lagos to the next level,” he told his supporters at the Onikan Stadium declaration ground.

“I stand before you today as a bridge between the elderly and the youth. I hold before you a beacon that summons us all to building together a more prosperous Lagos. I have the competence, experience and determination to lead Lagos State to greater economic heights and prosperity.

“I ask for your support and your votes that will send me to Alausa to continue in my tradition of selfless service to this great state of ours,” he added.

Governorship aspirants kick While some of the aspirants appear dispirited by the said endorsement of Ambode, some of Tinubu’s political sons have vowed not to put their ambition in abeyance.

In an interview with New Telegraph, one of the aspirants and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said nobody could impose Ambode.

Ikuforiji, the longest serving speaker in Nigeria, said: “Ambode was just a civil servant here yesterday. When did he join the party? When? Who will impose Ambode? You can’t impose Ambode. There are many reasons Ambode cannot be imposed and when we get to the river, we know how to cross it.

“On the issue of imposition or no imposition, let me be very clear about it. A lot of rumours are making the rounds, and each and every candidate had been tagged with the support of one leader or the other except Ikuforiji.

But a year and a half ago, someone told me one of the aspirants already had the nod of the leaders; they said he was the one Asiwaju Bola Tinubu wanted to use. I pushed them aside because I knew it was a rumour and it was not possible. After about 10 weeks or so, that particular name disappeared from the scene. Another one came up and after about two months, that one also disappeared, yet another came up.

“I can assure you that some of the names that came up of recent cannot even go to Bourdillion to face Asiwaju and say they want to run. Yet, they tell people that Asiwaju has asked them to get prepared for the job. Do you tell people to get prepared with the words of mouth? You don’t get prepared for the job of governor of Lagos in just a few days. We should just leave some of these stories for what they are. To

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You need to tell me what is wrong with me that makes me unsuitable for that position for a second time. And what makes that person so suitable that I need to sacrifice myself again

Ambode

Hamzat

Solomon

Ikuforiji

me, they don’t exist.

“Look, the party is not a party of tyrants. I had made my intention known on Sunday and I am happy about it.

You can see the crowd there, they are not rented crowd. I did not give a dime to anybody to come to that session. So that somebody is imposed, please forget it. If somebody is imposed, we did not need to pick the nomination form.”

He described his relationship with Tinubu and Fashola as cordial in “the same way some of the aspirants are,” adding that the two leaders were aware of his ambition to rule the state in 2015.

When asked if the two leaders supported his ambition, he said: “Well, you should understand one thing; they are leaders of the party and they should not be seen to have given total support to any of the aspirants till the time is ripe to do so. So, I will not be able to answer right now that particular question.”

What happens in case he is not picked, Ikuforiji said, “I am a politician and I am not that politician that sees a particular office as a do-or-die matter.”

The Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, also has his eyes on the seat and has declared his ambition to become the governor next year. He reeled out his programmes for the people recently at the declaration, which took place at Ikorodu Town Hall in Ikorodu Local Government Area, Lagos State, citing his “unwavering commitment and drive to take Lagos to the next level” among others as the reason he should take

“I only have business with my God, the party as an institution comprising a group of individuals with aggregated interests of forming a government and the people to collectively bring prosperity to the state.”

Other notable politicians in the race are Hamzat, commissioner for works and infrastructure, who is believed to have the backing of Fashola, Olasupo Shasore, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former attorney-general and commissioner for justice in the state, Leke Pitan and Tola Kasali, both medical doctors and former commissioners for health. Kasali is facing a trial over the murder of a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the process of collecting the permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) in IbejuLekki.

over from Fashola.

On the rumoured endorsement of an aspirant by some godfather, Solomon, a former local government chairman, member House of Reps and two-time senator, said he was not perturbed by the speculation.

He further told an online news portal, thegazellenews.com, that he had put on hold for eight years his ambition to govern the state, adding that there was no going back in 2015.

He warned that he would not be swayed by the juicy offer of Senate presidency being dangled before him should APC form the majority in the Senate next year.

“Senate President? No, I don’t want. My aspiration is to become the governor. You have a passion, you have what you want to do. It is not about what someone wants you to do; don’t give me what I don’t want,” he said.

When asked if he would step down for any anointed aspirant, he said, “It is not possible because I know how we got to where we are.

If in 2007, you said ‘you can’t go now; let’s allow this person – you will have the opportunity next time.’ You want to call me now – so what are you going to tell me? That I have to wait again! You put my life on hold? You cannot.

“You need to tell me what is wrong with me that make me unsuitable for that position for a second time. And what makes that person so suitable that I need to sacrifice myself again.

No! We start from where we stopped.

It looked like eight years was long, so

While some of the aspirants appear dispirited by the said endorsement of Ambode, some of Tinubu’s political sons have vowed not to put their ambition in abeyance.

now you need to call me and let me know or we go to the primaries. And in primaries, you are not under any obligation to start to placate anybody.

“If you want to sell a person forcibly as they are doing; that’s their approach. They put him in your face every time and now – okay, he is a career civil servant (reference to Ambode). If I had been a civil servant, I’m not sure if I will be his contemporary, I will rather be his senior. In my own chosen field, I’ve proven myself so you assess me from my chosen field.

“You also assess him on his chosen field because he’s been a career civil servant. At a point in time, I chose to be a politician-public servant. If now you want to assess our capability in any other way; that will be a thing that cannot be arranged. We are talking of administration, because at the end of the day, governance is about administration and we cannot now say there is a correlation between your academic pursuit and administration. It hasn’t been proven that the more degrees you have the better administrator you make. So, everything they have been brandishing is absolute nonsense, it cannot stand in any context.”

Solomon, who advised the party to provide a level playing field for all aspirants and ensure the primaries were free and fair, also wrote on his facebook page, “I do not entertain any fear about the forthcoming gubernatorial party primary elections in Lagos, particularly the rumoured endorsement of some aspirants by some individuals.

Tinubu summons guber hopefuls As temper continues to rise over the said endorsement, all the aspirants were summoned to a meeting at Tinubu’s Bourdillon home in Ikoyi on Sunday night.

A source told our correspondent that Tinubu urged the aspirants to unite and be wary of the persistent threat by the PDP to take over the state.

It was learnt that when the issue of endorsement was raised, Tinubu denied it and dispassionately assured all the aspirants that since the sky was wide enough for many birds to flock, they should go and test their popularity.

As the aspirants took turn to express their feelings, they demanded that the national leader of the APC should make a categorical statement to deny anointing any aspirant.

According to a source, all the aspirants have agreed to open primaries and promised to abide by the outcome, which must be free and fair.

However, Tinubu’s assurance, the source said, was a mere political rhetoric meant to placate frayed nerves of people in the party who felt the delegates rather than an individual or group of individuals should determine who represents the party at the general election.

In politics, just like other spheres of life, there is always a first time. This explains why some analysts are of the view that 2015 may be the year some godsons will go against their godfather as the battle rages over who succeeds Fashola. This assertion may be true going by how supporters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on December 4, 1991, abandoned the SDP and voted for the candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC), late Michael Otedola, who became the governor of Lagos State. The protest votes, which gave the NRC victory, was made possible by the acrimony between two rivals, late Prof. Femi Agbalajobi and Chief Dapo Sarumi, over who should get SDP’s gubernatorial ticket.

FaceOff SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH 15 NOVEMBER 2014

50

Umeh’s greed destroys APGA – Obienyem Even with the exit of former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), there has been no letting up in the altercation between him and the party national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh. In this interview, Obi’s media assistant, Valentine Obienyem, insisted that are Umeh was feeding Nigerians with falsehoods. He spoke to TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE. Excerpts: What really informed the exit of former Governor Peter Obi from APGA? The exit of Mr. Peter Obi from APGA to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was informed by the consciousness that he was exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right to associate freely with any law-abiding group of his choice and the PDP. Perhaps you are interested in knowing why he became tired of APGA. It is not only Obi, everybody is tired of APGA because its leaders are more of men that think about today rather than the future. When you deal with a man who thinks about today, he may get all the goodies of the world – houses, cars, fly first class, name it – but he will not register any progress in the strict sense of the world. It is like building a castle in the air, once a violent wind comes, it will bring it down because it is not rooted in enduring foundations.

There is something organic about nurturing a party, but for the current chairman of APGA, party is about using it to leverage for personal gain. If he cared for APGA's growth, how would he remain the chairman of the party and be vying for senatorial seat? If this is not the highest exemplification of greed and selfishness, what is? To be honest to ourselves, how can a party that is so mightily derided by its leadership ever hope to survive? The irony of it is that he does this with the party people remaining supine, because once one raises one's voice, one is either suspended or expelled. This means that from the beginning, APGA has never been a political party.

Asking me what informed the exit of my boss from APGA, you are invariably asking me what informed the exit of people like Chief Martin Agbaso, Ugochukwu Agbala and other big names from the party. You are asking me what some people like Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, Sen. Joy Emordi, Sen. Ben Obi, Hon. Uche Ekwkunife, Hon. Chris Azubogu, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu and many big name saw and rescinded from the decision to join APGA or leave the party as soon as they joined.

In APGA today, one man, Chief Victor Umeh, is the beginning and end of APGA. The decision of my boss to leave the party was a great one. We note with happiness that he fulfilled his promise to Ojukwu and handed over to an APGA government. Besides the fact that Victor actually demanded that he should leave, the PDP has also wid-

ened his horizon and placed him on a vantage platform where he would serve the people of Anambra State, Ndigbo and Nigerians from the centre as he has been doing and dreaming on expanding.

How do you feel with the criticisms of Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca, and APGA national chairman, Umeh, over the action?

If you have been following development, you would have noticed that amidst cacophony of voices, Obi only responded to Bianca, because she was the only one who spoke with sincerity and was genuinely touched by the development. Obi explained to her that he had to leave because the party had derailed from its original ideals.

As to the reaction of Umeh, all I can tell you is that he has not said anything meaningful since then nor raised any objective point except to display and, indeed, prove the fact that he is paranoid about anything to do with Obi. Is it true that Umeh didn’t benefit from Obi administration despite being the national chairman of APGA? Or what benefits did he derive from the government?

The irony is that Umeh says that Obi was the one that benefitted from him. Obi is an international business man before I met him. I was part of his government from the beginning to the end. My first real trip out of the country, to the USA was because of him and thenceforth to over 50 countries.

The same thing applies to Umeh. The other day I saw the receipt with which Obi paid for Umeh’s first trip out of the country, I shuddered.

Before Victor met Obi, the job he did was being the servant to Mr. Joseph Okonkwo (Ofiadilu). Through Obi he now knows people in Nigeria though he would always turn back like a person under the influence of hate to say he was the one who actually introduced Obi to those men. You can see that I share the same history of moving from obscurity to limelight with Umeh, but where I get annoyed with him is that he has suddenly turned back trying to chew off the finger that fed him, to the point of saying that he was the one that made Obi. Obi met him as a bank chairman and a chairman and director in at least seven quoted companies.

This is a notorious fact. So who

Obienyem

made who? You can answer that question yourself. I mean before he became governor he was a successful trader, banker and investor. He bought two of his houses in London before he became governor.

Check Victor’s life since he graduated, all his houses and cars were bought because he met Obi and we rejoice with him. If he did not meet Obi, God might have worked miracles in his life through another person, but since he preferred to work it through Obi, Umeh must continue to treat him with reverence thus proclaiming the goodness of God.

Check Victor’s life since he graduated, all his houses and cars were bought because he met Obi and we rejoice with him.

Is it true that Obi and Umeh parted ways because of Umeh’s insistence that the former governor must hold local government election in Anambra?

We have passed that stage. Umeh is a very clever man. He has a thousand and one thing under his sleeves, depending on which one will appeal to the audience, he brings it out. The fact is that anybody who tolerated Umeh for even a year must be a Saint. How many months did he get on with Governor Rochas Okorocha before he declared him persona non grata in Imo State Government House? During Obi’s time, he nominated many commissioners, but Rochas would have none of that. Remember he made him APGA leader when he was seeking the key to his heart, but the man seeing him for what he is left him so soon. When he is with you and you are servicing him, he can call you God if that is what pleases you.

Citing local government election as the reason he fell out with Obi is not true. I would rather prefer if you ask him if it was Obi that made him to sell party nomination forms to candidates for local government election on many cases and refused to balance them the

money when elections did not hold.

Somebody like him who feed on blackmail will not survive serious politics because once he is not in control, nothing makes meaning to him.

When some big names wanted to enter APGA, he frustrated that because one of the conditions was that the party would look for a new chairman.

Umeh’s aide, Stanley Okeke, accused the former governor of collecting 10 per cent from contractors on all the contracts awarded by the Obi administration. What is your take on this?

It is not up to a year I started seeing Okeke with Umeh, it is therefore safe to assume that Stan does not know him very well. Meanwhile, Stan did not witness what he said first hand and would have most probable repeated the lies Umeh told him. We knew Umeh when he was living in rented house, but Stan met him in duplexes. All Victor made were from 2003 or thereabouts when he met Obi. Obi changed his life.

Anybody that knows Obi knows that this is a blatant lie. Under him, Anambra State built the most impressive network of roads. Under him Anambra State got first of everything: Secretariat, Teaching Hospital, and Laboratory for testing construction materials among others. When he handed over, he left billions of naira in the treasury. The debate in other states in Nigeria is on how much unpaid debt from money borrowed from banks or through bonds was left by former governors, but in Anambra, it is about how much money was left. Is this an evidence of a man that collected 10 per cent? Everybody in APGA knows that most contracts meant for APGA party faithful were hijacked by greedy party officials.

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

FaceOff | Politics

Obi traded with APGA – Umeh’s aide Stan Okeke is the media assistant to the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sir Victor Umeh. In this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE, he debunks the claims of former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, that Umeh was responsible for the crisis rocking APGA. Excerpts: Why did former Governor Peter Obi and APGA national chairman, Victor Umeh part ways?

This question is better directed at ex-Governor Peter Obi and his Man Friday, Valentine Obienyem, who has contracted all sorts of characters in the social media to disparage my principal, Chief Victor Umeh. There is a limit to treachery and blackmail.

Umeh tolerated Obi's treachery for the simple reason that he wanted to ensure that he lived the promises he made to the late leader of APGA, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.

All the peace meetings arranged to ensure that Peter Obi saw the need for peace to reign in the party was met with his usual pretence that he was open to peace and love between him and Umeh. Whereas, his intentions were to gradually ease Umeh out as the National Chairman of APGA. So, answering your question on its merit, on my principal's part, I think he saw through the antics of Peter Obi and he felt that enough is enough. On Obi's part, he felt that it was time for him to pursue his selfish interests, as for the eight years he was governor of Anambra State, he was trading with APGA at the federal level. He concocted all sorts of reasons for which he left APGA, but with time, we shall see through these naked lies.

get Umeh out as National Chairman. He was sponsoring all sorts of High Court cases and getting frivolous judgements which my principal vacated on appeals.

Obi also sponsored all sorts of destabilising activities all in his efforts to oust my principal out of office. Of course, you will agree with me that all these had the capacity to generate crisis, and Umeh being who he is, determined never to allow the APGA flame extinguish in his hands, stood firm and waved off all the attacks set in motion by Obi to destabilise the party.

And let me tell you something, Obi was my junior in Christ the King College, Onitsha, as I was leaving the school, he was entering. It was my junior brother, Francis, who I think was his mate in CKC. His antecedents even as a young boy on issues like this, were well known in school.

Who actually benefitted from APGA administration between Obi and Umeh?

Without mincing words, Obi was the greatest beneficiary of his government. But since Obienyem said that Umeh was the greatest beneficiary, I want us to break that down and see how. The former governor of Anambra State, Obi, spent N400 billion local government funds and over N600 billion from Statutory Allocations and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in eight years, while he took N48 billion as security vote.

I challenge Obienyem, since he accused my principal of being the greatest beneficiary of Obi administration, to publish all the contracts awarded to my boss, or any contractor nominated by him, and show the

Are you satisfied with the reason for the defection of Obi from APGA to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

No right thinking member of APGA will be satisfied with the reasons he gave for leaving APGA. In everything we do, God is the ultimate judge. There was no better reason Obi left APGA other than because he felt that he could achieve his personal interests if he joined PDP that he had been with in spirit for the past eight years or more. Remember how he fought tooth and nail to get the portfolio of Minister of Aviation.

You will marvel at what resources he deployed to achieve that ambition and there are living witnesses to testify to this. I think that one of the reasons he walked away was that PDP must have told him that his best option to achieve his ambition was to jump ship, and he brazenly did that.

Umeh has been blamed for the crisis in APGA. How true is this?

No right thinking person will ever blame Umeh for whatever crisis in the party, but Obi and his co-travellers. It's on record that this man has done everything within his powers to destabilise the part and

Okeke

Without mincing words, Obi was the greatest beneficiary of his government

world how Umeh materially and financially benefitted from Obi administration. Obienyem should find out from the contractors who they paid 10 per cent of all the contracts awarded to them by Obi during his eight year tenure.

The answer to this will be a huge shame to them because Umeh had no relationship with the former governor's contractors that litter all over Anambra State. I forgot to tell you that one of the issues Obi perpetually held against Umeh was that he insisted that he conduct local government elections in Anambra State.

The world knows that when Obi was sworn in for a second term in office in 2010, my principal insisted that he should conduct this election, an agreement that was reached among him, Umeh and Ojukwu, as a condition for their support for Obi's second term, which he didn't want to conduct for obvious reasons (LG funds).

Umeh was estranged from Obi's administration for daring to ask him to conduct LG elections in Anambra State. I therefore wonder how, and at what time my boss made all the money from APGA, a party Obi tactically starved of funds.

Was it true that Obi paid for Umeh’s first trip out of the country?

That shows you the character we are dealing with. Obienyem’s allegation that Obi procured Umeh's first international passport when at the time in 2002, the cost of a passport was N5,000, shows how reckless he can be with words. He even claimed that Obi bought a car for my principal, and that he acquired mansions all over the place since

51

Obi became governor.

In other words, he is insinuating that Umeh became somebody in life on meeting Peter Obi. This is absolute thrash and the height of Obienyem's efforts to deceive the unsuspecting public. First of all, Obi never bought a car for Umeh.

Never! And for crying out loud, this was a time when Umeh had a fleet of about five cars. The V-Boot he mentioned, Umeh bought same from Germany, through his brother, Jeff Onyemalu, in 2001 before Obi met my boss and he even used the car to drive Obi around while introducing him to people.

This shows the kind of lies Obienyem can dish out to the public, just to ridicule a self-made man.

As for the mansions he talked about, Umeh's present residence in Enugu was completed in 2006, the year Obi was sworn into office.

The six luxury bedroom flats with service buildings, which Umeh has in the village, was completed in 2003, three years before Obi became governor. These facts are well known to people and all those who attended Umeh's father's burial in 2003, including Obi. It was also said by Obi’s aide that Umeh met Obi as a servant to Ofiadulu while the former governor was bank chairman and director of companies. Is this true?

I cannot join Obienyem in such trivialities, but I wish to remind him that my principal graduated in 1984 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, along with his paymaster, Peter Obi. It was Obi who went to Umeh in 2001 to solicit for his support and begged him to lead his governorship bid, a fact well known to their associates and everybody. Before Obi went to Umeh in 2001, Umeh had practiced, and is still practicing his profession as a Consultant Estate Surveyor and Valuer to many companies and multinationals like the then Cooperative Bank, First Bank, UTC (Nig) Plc. and Innoson Group, among several other companies.

I also challenge Obienyem, in all of his claims of who benefitted what and from who and where, to list all the breweries, shopping malls and wine yards in South Africa that Obi owned before he became governor of Anambra State.

Furthermore, Obi should publish his Assets Declaration Form, which he filled before he became governor and then declare his present assets after leaving office, as required by law.

Without subjecting this response to the sublime, Umeh saved Obi in the hands of Ojukwu, at least, five times, including when Ojukwu went to Awka out of anger with his wife, Bianca, in 2009, to declare Barr. Emeka Etiaba the next governor of Anambra State, come 2010.

This was a clear erosion of confidence by Ojukwu in Obi at the time. Obienyem's story on Obi's impeachment does not deserve a response because his boss knows the truth, as he cried out to my principal to help save him. My final word for Obienyem is to remind him that those who live in glass houses, do not throw stones, as it has severe consequences.

52 Perspectives

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

Identity crisis

BUSINESS SENSE Alex Ogundadegbe

alexogundadegbe@gmail.com “The wealthiest places in the world are not gold mines, oil fields, diamond mines or banks. The wealthiest place is the cemetery.

There lies companies that were never started, masterpieces that were never painted… In the cemetery there is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential. There is a treasure within you that must come out. Don’t go to the grave with your treasure still within YOU.” Dr. Myles Munroe author, preacher, speaker a trainer of leaders

A

n eagle landed on my window seal the other day and as I reached for my phone to take a snap shot of this King of Birds, I pondered the symbolic nature of this bird of prey and remembered the pride of place it takes on our coat of arms. Every school child and most adults in Nigeria know the coat of arms. It adorns offices of government and children are taught in civic studies what it stands for in our national life. Perhaps the other symbol of our national heritage is the green and white flag which we salute while reciting the national anthem and the national pledge.

In spite of our national heritage, a trend of uncertainty and confusion has crept into our national collective psyche, rendering our love for the country Nigeria passionless and perfunctory. We are a people who act inconsistent with whom we believe we

it’s not enough to sound a refrain of who we are, where we are going and whom we want to be.

The important thing is that we agree. are and thus a ground is set for what is widely known as an identity crisis.

The term crisis is fully applicable to a person who has reached midlife, but still has different thoughts about who he is and thus acts the part of who he thinks he is as against his real state.

Thus appearance, hair cut, clothes and perhaps outings and frills, passions and hobbies sing a contradictory song to the real demeanor and age of the person in question. Occasionally the truth may dawn in brief spurts and turmoil ensues.

A business can have an identity crisis, if it does not conform to current trends, and tends to have to play catch up with the competition in terms of technology, personnel and strategy that enable it measure up and meet industry standards. The terms “cutting edge” comes into contention and the customer or client demands for the highest quality possible based on rankings he has seen and desires to experience in the sector where the business operates. The customer is definitely the person who determines the quality of the good or service. So once we have a customer asking for a standard we cannot make which

is obtainable in the sector where we operate, we could be on the verge of an identity crisis which our research and development (R&D) should have identified long before the customer.

So who are we? Is our national pride really what it appears to be when we thump our chests in the comity (of nations)? Every time an idealist enunciates a veritable rallying point or a creed and it’s contradicted by attitudes and behaviors of those who are supposed to lead, a trauma of frustration is passed down and the observers are thrown into a psychological turmoil which is an identity crisis.

Who are we as a business? Do our services or goods measure up? Can we meet the demands made on our speed, accuracy and efficiency? We may not be the sector leader, but we ought to define our own place, have our own customers and meet their demands without shrinking with untenable excuses.

Who are you as an individual? In this rat race of resource acquisition,

which tries your integrity and flaws your credibility, can you stand up to the honesty test and still swear to have put in your best? It takes more than an identity card to determine who you are. A giant bill board is not loud enough to announce our business.

Neither is a call card or a complimentary card enough to encompass our enterprise. The operatives are the best advertisement for the organization.

John F. Kennedy former president of the United States made us understand that when written in Mandarin (Chinese Language), the word “crisis” is composed of two characters-one represents danger the other represents opportunity. Should it really take personal, organizational or national crises to make us change our behaviors? Luck beckons when preparation and opportunity meet. In our change management seminars we recognize the pain involved in breaking away from harmful core beliefs as against adapting new trends and ideals that would enhance our goals and objectives when we are at a cross roads called crisis. In such situations, we recommend gradual infusion of new strategies coupled with the buy-in attitude of those who need to be transformed. So it’s not enough to sound a refrain of who we are, where we are going and whom we want to be. The important thing is that we agree. Some of us would go as far as killing ourselves, our businesses or our country to preserve primordial polarizations.

To expand our identity, and include new trends which will sustain our presentation, there ought to be a nexus beyond a mere name. That alone will ensure our salvation. That is the new palatable identity we crave.

My vote goes to President Jonathan EDGAR'S WORLD Joseph Edgar

josephsamsponedgar@gmail.com

A

siwaju Bola Tinubu has always been my hero. From his certificate scandal days down to the placing of his daughter, wife and other family members in strategic positions, I have always looked up to him as the quintessential leader Nigerians deserve.

But this is 2014 and elections are looming. I have decided to jump off the fence and take a position. History and in fact my housemaids unborn children would not forgive me if I don't take a stand.

Here is my stance. After a long and robust consultation with my constituency, I have come to the realization that only President Jonathan is better suited to lead us especially in these traumatic times. This decision did not come easily. I consulted far and wide, I discussed with Chibok parents, the Anikulapo Kuti family, Governor Amaechi and they all pushed President Jonathan's candidacy.

I guess I really do not have a choice in the matter, Johnny Boy is my candidate and here are my reasons The first sitting president to declare his candidacy 24 hours after his school children were massively massacred. This level of insensitivity you cannot get anywhere else. The song and dance at the

Eagle Square, going hand in hand with the cries and sorrow of the parents of the dead children. For this he has my vote.

I am also supporting him for giving us the most creative First Lady.

My mummy has been to me a major source of inspiration since they came on board. From the fashion, to the wonderful one liners thrown consistently at us, it's been a wonderful ride.

Since the Civil War, Nigeria has never had it so good in the scramble to lose territory. This is of immense importance to us. With the continuous decline in oil prices and our inability to raise enough funds to provide necessary infrastructure for our people, the solution is to creatively carve out territories and hand them over to another authority, so that we can build less roads, schools and bridges. Na wa.

For the wonderful ceasefire discussions with those who have nothing to do with the insurgency. This is ingenious. Since we have not been able to fight effectively the insurgents and elections are drawing

Never in the history of our country has there been an assemblage of talented chorus singers

Jonathan

near, we just start discussing ceasefire with another set of people with the hope that the real insurgents watching will actually stop the fight. Teheeeeeee!!!!!!!!

For managing to allow South Africa seize all that money. Kai, that one really excited me. Twice in a month, a country that we practically fed during apartheid to be so emboldened as to show such rudeness. It can only be the work of a major diplomatic expert that has led us to such kneeling position. Where is my PDP membership card sef. It must not go missing o.

Never in the history of our country has there been an assemblage of talented chorus singers who find it so hard to hide the fact that they remain grateful for this unique opportunity to join the party.

For rehabilitating our people - convicts, ex-convicts, and those with different court cases. This sends a very strong message to our youths that they can go ahead and steal that tyre and you would still rise to

exalted heights once you join the right party. I swear if my family members don't vote PDP in this election, they will all be excommunicated For making the bowler hat popular. The South-South mode of attire has now achieved global recognition.

The other day I saw President Obama wear something like that on CNN. We have Johnny Boy to thank for this.

There is no doubt in my mind that a Jonathan second term would ensure global conquest of that attire. People will wear it from Cape to Cairo, from New York to Kuwait and down to Brazil. Even the Kardashians will also wear it and then we will be a world economic and political power.

For not wearing shoes to school.

I have stopped buying shoes for my kids. They are forced to go to school in their chauffeur-driven BMW but without shoes. I need for them to understand that humility and hard soles are the sure way to the Presidency. I have warned them that only the driver can wear shoes in their journey to school. The driver also have been told to not drop them near the school gate, but that he should drop them at the NEPA pole beside the school so they can walk to school with their bare feet.

This is the lesson I have learnt from Johnny Boy. So my people, PDP and by extension Jonathan have my votes for all of these reasons. I cannot wait to cast my vote and you will be sure that I will not wear shoes as I go to the polling station.

Ciao.

News Extra

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

53

Police, youths clash over rape of women by herdsmen RAGE

Angry mob engaged police over failure to check alleged rape of their women.

Steve Uzoechi

A OWERRI

ngry youths of Irete community in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State yesterday clashed with policemen, following protests against the activities

of Fulani herdsmen, who were alleged to be raping women in the community.

As early as 7.30 a.m. yesterday, some men and women of the community numbering over 500 had marched through the village singing war songs before barricading the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway.

In the process, the protesters insisted that the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, should attend to their grievances before they leave the highway.

Eyewitnesses told the Saturday New Telegraph that

the community was allegedly protesting the incessant raping of mothers, ladies and teenagers by herdsmen, who operate in the area.

A young lady, who operated a restaurant along the Irete stretch of the highway told our correspondent that the situation had become a nightmare for the women in the community.

She said: “This did not start today. These herdsmen, rape and sometimes kill their victims and we have made several reports to the authorities and nothing seems to have been done to redress

the issue. Yesterday, a woman and her daughters were raped in their farmland and when the governor was here yesterday on his political rally, the women spoke about their plight but nothing was said about it. Just this morning, another lady on her way to market was attacked and raped by these nomads. And that is what provoked the angry demonstration this morning.”

Another protester also offered that the herdsmen also destroy crops in their farm lands with impunity and would readily attack any-

one that challenges them. He regretted that the state government had done nothing decisive on the matter.

By 8.30 a.m., traffic along the Owerri-Onitsha Road was already grounded to a halt while the angry youths threatened to take laws into their hands if the authorities failed to deci-

You are a mole, PDP chieftain tells Jimoh Ibrahim Babatope Okeowo Akure

Court declines to lift ban on Akwa Ibom PDP congress A Tunde Oyesina

T Abuja

he Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday refused to reverse the ex-parte order it gave on November 8 stopping the Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from using the November 1 delegate congress for the purpose of conducting governorship primary election in the state.

The order will, however, subsist till November 19 when the motion on notice filed by two governorship aspirants under the platform of the PDP, Umanah Okon

l Bid to dissolve Oyo PDP executive stalled Umanah and Lady Roberta Nyong, will be determined.

Also yesterday, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja stopped the moves by some members of the PDP in Oyo State, seeking the dissolution of the party executives.

The plaintiffs have sued the party and its National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, over alleged plans to exclude them from the party’s primary elections in the state.

The trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, extended the order against the

PDP at the resumed hearing of a case instituted by the plaintiff challenging his exclusion from the November 1, ward congress in the state.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to the PDP, Paul Usoro (SAN), informed the court that the motion on notice listed for hearing should not go on because he was only served with a copy of the motion on notice on Thursday evening.

Usoro, therefore, asked for a short adjournment to enable him to respond to issues raised by the plaintiff

in the motion on notice.

Justice Adeniyi, who agreed with the defendant’s counsel adjourned hearing of the motion on notice to November 19.

The judge said the exparte order he granted the plaintiff on November 7 should subsist.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that some supporters of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala were alleged to have petitioned Mu’azu seeking the dissolution of Yinka Taiwo-led executives of the state on grounds that the executives are not living up to expectation.

sively address the matter.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Andrew Enwerem, confirmed the incident, noting that the police only tried to prevail on the community to seek redress appropriately and also dismantle the barricade on the federal highway.

s the Senate President, David Mark, intervened in the crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to the party, a chieftain of the party, Chief Ademola Adeyemi, yesterday accused businessman Jimoh Ibrahim of being a mole within the party.

The Senate President on Wednesday night, at the Presidential villa, Abuja, brokered peace between the old members of the PDP in the state led by the Chairman, Mr. Ebenezer Alabi, and the new members led by Mimiko It was learnt that the peace was achieved after Mark held a marathon

meeting with the leaders of the party in the state which included Mimiko, Chief Bode Olajumoke; Olusola Oke; Kingsley Kuku; Gbenga Elegbeleye; Senator Ayo Akinyelure; Senator Boluwaji Kunlere; Kolawole Ademujimi; Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Sola Ebiseni, among others.

It was learnt that the meeting resolved that the Mimiko-led new PDP would produce two out of the three candidates contesting the senatorial seat in the forthcoming general elections while the Alabiled executive would produce one.

The meeting also conceded five out of the nine House of Representatives seats to Mimiko while the Alabi-led group was asked to produce the remaining four for the election.

54 Sport Extra

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

CAF names E’ Guinea as 2015 Nations Cup host

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Adekunle Salami he Confederation of Africa Football on Friday named Equatorial Guinea as the host for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

CAF said the decision was made after a meeting in Malabo on Friday between Equatorial Guinea's President, Teodoro Obiang, and CAF President, Issa Hayatou.

African football's governing body also announced that Equatorial Guinea will play in the tournament despite the team being disqualified in July for fielding an ineligible player in a preliminary qualifier against Mauritania on May 17.

CAF also named four centres – Malabo, Bata, Mongomo and Ebebiyin – for the continental football event scheduled to hold between January 17 and February 8.

rocco from the relocated tournament, which will now be held in the country which co-hosted with Gabon in 2012. Equatorial Guinea will now take on sole responsibility for holding the 16-team event.

Hayatou said in a statement: "The Head of State of Equatorial Guinea agreed to host the competition. As a result, the CAF executive committee confirms that the tournament will go ahead and Equatorial Guinea will compete

It was also decided on Friday that the draw for the competition would hold on December 3 in Malabo.

Equatorial Guinea was selected as a replacement for Morocco after the North African country asked for a postponement because of the Ebola Virus Disease.

CAF did not grant the request and Morocco opted out of hosting the event.

CAF however expelled Mo-

Wolves, Giwa, others fight for continental slots

Eagles land in Pointe Noire

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he Super Eagles arrived the Congolese city of Point Noire 2:30am on Friday morning and were checked into Atlantic Palace Hotel in the heart of the city.

It was drama at the airport as Nigerians resident in Congo, kept vigil to welcome the team with familiar songs, drumming and dancing.

They were joined by the Nigerian Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, led by Dr Raufu Ladipo.

Keshi was however not happy with reports that the team was riddled with injuries, inferring that the team was actually 100 percent fit.

“Mikel is super fit, Enyeama (Vincent), had a slight shoulder strain and he’s also in perfect shape now, Raheem Lawal had knock during our last training session and he has since bounced back, ” he declared after conferring with team doctor, Ibrahim Gyaran.

The match holds at the Stade Omnisport at 3.30pm local time which is same time in Nigeria.

Charles Ogundiya

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Ambrose Efe (right) dribbling past a Sudanese player

Murray laments defeat against Federer

Win for Akpabio, Umanah charges Eagles

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Adekunle Salami

ritain's Andy Murray says he has never experienced a defeat like his 6-0, 6-1 hammering by Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray, 27, was beaten in only 56 minutes by the Swiss world number two, ending his participation in the season-ending event at London's O2 Arena.

Scot Murray told BBC Sport: "It has not really happened to me before like that where winning games has been an issue.

"I've had tough losses and heavy defeats but nothing quite like that."

He added: "It's very frustrating, when I'm trying my best. I've never been in that position before in my whole career."

T

avid Moyes has described La Liga as "better than the Premier League" at his unveiling as Real Sociedad manager.

Moyes, 51, who was sacked by Manchester United in April, said he took charge of the Spanish side after turning down offers from clubs in the Premier League.

"Real Sociedad tugged at my heart strings," Moyes said.

"La Liga has the finest players and great coaches and I want to test myself against the best."

He added: "It is the right time. I am well rested and I am ready to go."

is scheduled to hold at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium on November 19.

He said: “The Eagles have everything to beat the Congolese at home since that was what they did to us in Calabar. Governor Akpabio has sent words to the players that he will receive them next week in Uyo when they will be set to crush the South Africans.

“As African Champions, the Eagles should go all out to win well because we have to be at the next edition to defend the trophy won in South Africa two years ago.”

The Uyo Stadium inaugurated on November 7 by President Goodluck Jonathan is also billed to host a friendly encounter between Nigeria and Brazil next year.

because Nigeria lost 3-2 to the Congolese in Calabar.

Umanah is however conscious of the fact that it is only a win that can make the Nigeria, South Africa match a big game. The match

he Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, has charged Super Eagles to go all out for victory in the decisive Nations Cup qualifier against Congo today.

Umanah said the Eagles should win for Governor Godswill Akpabio who just provided a new stadium for the national team in Uyo. Nigeria will have to beat the Red Devils of Congo by two clear goals to stand a chance of qualifying for the continental football competition.

Since the first rule in the event of a tie by two countries is the head-to-head rule, Stephen Keshi and his boys will have to win well

Moyes: La Liga is world's best league

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as the host nation.

"CAF wishes to express its sincere thanks to the Equatorial Guinean people, its government and particularly president Obiang."

The last round of games in the qualifying series for the tournament holds on November 19 at various centres in Africa.

Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final to win the last edition of the competition held in South Africa two years ago.

Akpabio

he quartet of Warri Wolves, Abia Warriors, Nasarawa United and Giwa FC will tomorrow battle for the final continental slot as the Glo Nigeria Professional Football League ends.

Warri Wolves currently third on the league table with 60 points will be away to Nasarawa United, fifth on the table with 58 points.

A draw for Warri Wolves in the encounter will guarantee the Seasiders a place in the continent next season while Nasarawa need an outright win.

On Friday in Abuja, Nasarawa United increased their points haul to 58 points after forcing home team, Giwa FC, to a 0-0 draw in a rescheduled game.

Giwa on 57 points will be taking on the league wipping team, Nembe City, on the last day of the season while Abia Warriors on 58 points will be away to another club battling for league survival, Gombe United.

League champion, Kano Pillars, are already assured of a slot in the CAF Champions League Enyimba by virtue of their position on the league table are also closer to qualification while the remaining clubs will have to battle for the solitary CAF Confederation Cup slot.

The other slot allocated to Federation Cup champion will be taken by Dolphins of Port Harcourt by virtue of their qualification for the final of the competition.

The last club to join the trio of Nembe City, Crown FC and Kaduna United in the lower division, Nigeria National League next season, will be determined on the last day as FC Taraba, ElKanemi Warriors, Bayelsa United and Gombe United fight for survival.

GAMES/CROSS WORD PUZZLE Sports Clubs-2

1

KEY WORDS BARCELONA LIVERPOOL BOCHUM LORIENT SIENA

ISTRES NANTES LECCE AJACCIO BARI

PALERMO LYON MONACO AJAX CELTIC

D A J A X D B F B G P

F J X S E T N A N Y A

E A M C B A R I L U L

C C U V E C D A Y O E

C C H B E V C N O M R

E I C L O R I E N R E

L O O P R E V I L E I

O N B S E R T S I L R

A R E O C A N O M A O

R F D C I T L E C P L

B A R C E L O X C A J

R

A

B

I

T

L

E

C

N

T

A L

M O

2

8 11

12

H

18 19 21

22

25

ACROSS 1 5 7 8 9 10 11 12

Badly behaved, (7).

Assistance, (3).

Recede from the shore, (3).

Employ for some purpose, (3).

Snake-like fish, (3).

Musical instrument, (4).

Something done to deceive, (4).

Depart, (2).

17

DOWN 1 Not taking sides, (7).

2 Ill at ease, (6).

23

3 Pay attention to advise, (4).

4 Of the colour of butter, (6).

5 Aid in wrongdoing, (4).

26

16 17 18 22 23 24 25 26

Editor, abbr., (2).

Grain storehouse, (4).

Fish semen, (4).

Anger, (3).

Yoruba dew, (3).

Operation, abbr., (3).

Flat Indian bread, (3).

Small short-handled axe, (7).

15 20

24

V I

6

13

14 16

B

E

5

10

A

R

4 7

9

N

P

3

6 Performed, (3).

13 Practitioner of dentistry, (7).

14 Magical object, (6).

15 Produced in abundance, (6).

19 Somebody famous for something, (4).

20 In case, (4).

21 Indicating negation, (3).

See solution on page 20

SATURDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

15 NOVEMBER 2014

55

DESTINATION

SATURDAY

Sanctity of Truth

SPORT Congo vs Nigeria

The alluring splendour of Victoria Falls

Eagles ready for war –Shorunmu

P.42

N150

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014.

P.25

My goals will wreck Congo -Musa Ajibade Olusesan and Comfort Chukwu

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LAGOS AND Abuja

uper Eagles striker, Ahmed Musa, has vowed to score goals that will ruin the Red Devils of Congo in the Africa Nations Cup qualifier at Pointe Noire on Saturday (today) .

Eagles must beat their hosts by two goals margin to brighten their chances of qualifying for the tournament. A loss or draw by the Nigerian side may signal the end of their dream to defend the title they won two years ago in South Africa.

And in an interview with New Telegraph, Musa said that the Eagles were not thinking about losing. He insisted that he was going to work hard to help the team come out of the match victorious.

Musa has been the best Super Eagles player in recent times with his inspiring form for both club and country. The CSKA Moscow of Russia player has scored five league goals this season and has also recorded two goals in the Africa Nations Cup qualifiers for Nigeria.

His performance against Argentina at the World Cup when he scored two brilliant goals and his efforts against Sudan in the team’s 3-1 win in Abuja have endeared him to Nigerians who will be looking forward to seeing their striker repeating that form in Pointe Noire.

And the player said he was ready to wreak havoc on their opponents. ”For the Congo game, we are all going there to do our best because are not thinking about losing but to win. We know what is at stake, so we will go there and win that match and by the grace of God, we will come back to Nigeria with the three points. Personally, I am eager to nail them with goals.

I will do my best to score goals and help the team to come out victorious on Saturday,” he said.

Musa’s run in the year has earned him a nomination for the African Footballer of the Year Award and he vowed to work hard so as to capture the gong.

“I feel very happy being nominated. This is the second time I will get the nomination and I pray I win that award,” he said.

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by Banex Junction, Mabushi, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Advert Hotline: 01-8541248, Email: info@newtelegraphonline.com Website: www.newtelegraphonline.com ISSN 2354-4317 Editor: Laurence ani.