Newest sunday, december 28, 2014 binder122334567890 by Newtelegraphonline

SUNDAY SATURDAY Sunday, December 28, 2014

Vol. 1 No. 312

Sanctity of Truth

/newtelegraph

N150

@newtelegraph1 www.newtelegraphonline.com

NAIRA DEPRECIATION

Dangote, Jim Ovia, } 7 Elumelu lose billions

DANGOTE

ELUMELU

JIM OVIA

even whitemen consult okija shrine – chief priest

}40

FIREWORKS

boko haram,

OFFSHOOT OF }7 CIVIL WAR –Northern elders l

You’re talking nonsense –Igbo Leaders

•Jonathan visits IBB in Minna }9

LIVING ON BORROWED LAND How Lagos property owners }4 lose billions to omo oniles, government officials, fraudsters

Actress, Kate Henshaw, rocking 2014 Calabar }5 Carnival... yesterday

l Inec redeploys recS } 8 l Buhari unfit for presidency – S’West PDP } 9

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Contents | 28.12.14 BODY & SOUL

Call me a tailor At a period every seamstress wants to be known as a designer, Sartorial Yeni prefers to be called a tailor

}18

POLITICS

2014: Year of upsets Lots of political events shaped the outgoing year in Nigeria

}31

BUSINESS

Other sectors overtake oil The non-oil sector sustained economic growth above 6 per cent of GDP, despite decline in crude oil prices by over 45 per cent since June 2014

}23

FAITH

Mixed fortunes The church was defined by major scandals, calamities, leadership tussles, as well as historic resolution of age-long diplomatic face-off in 2014

}51

SPORT

Nigeria Premier League Chairman of the League Management Committee, Nduka Irabor, may not return as boss of the Nigeria Premier League in the 2015 season

}59

Editorial

Time to refine oil locally is now

igeria has always been a paradox. The country is Africa’s largest oil producer and the sixth world’s exporter of crude oil. But ironically, it imports refined petroleum products such as diesel, fuel and kerosene. Importation of refined oil, sometimes from non-oil producing nations, is one of the reasons the Federal Government claims to be subsidising petroleum products. The government says it loses money as it imports refined petroleum products into the country and sells to the public below refining cost abroad. A few weeks ago, the government was toying with the idea of total removal of subsidy in the New Year. But with the daily crash in the price of crude oil in the international market, many Nigerians are calling for reduction in the pump prices of petroleum products. Another reason adduced by the Federal Government is that smuggling of refined petroleum products to neighbouring countries is possible because prices in Nigeria were lower than these African countries. The refined petroleum products, the government argued, are being sold at very high and profitable prices in those neighbouring countries. This, it further argued, makes smuggling an attractive venture. So, subsidy removal, government reasoned, would serve as a disincentive to petroleum products’ smugglers. Nigeria produces about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil daily which is exported to be refined abroad. However, owing to years of neglect, induced by corruption, the four Federal Government-owned refineries are operating below their installed capacity. With this, about 70 per cent of petroleum products, about 250,000 barrels per day (bpd), needed for domestic use is imported. The country’s fuel needs is put at 35 million litres daily, equivalent to 279,000 bpd, while crude oil production averages about two million bpd. But the nation’s four refineries, two in Port Harcourt (PHRC), and one each in Kaduna (KRPC) and Warri (WRPC), have a combined installed capacity of 445,000bpd. Many reasons, including age of the refineries and vandalism by pro-democracy forces in the wake of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election said to have been won by the late Bashorun Moshood Kasimawo Abiola, have been at various times adduced for the failure of the refineries to meet local consumption requirement. Also, efforts in the past to repair the refineries have failed woefully owing mainly to

endemic corruption in the oil sector. Despite gulping several billions of dollars, rounds of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) by successive governments were also unable to expand domestic refining capacity. But it is shameful that the Federal Government has been unable to build modern refineries in the 16 years of civil rule. Modern refinery, according to experts, costs only about $9 billion. It is also a shame that the Federal Government has been unable to encourage private investment in the oil refineries. Most of the private investors licenced in the past to build refineries were unable to do so because the operating environment was not conducive for investment. Many of the investors preferred, they still do, importing fuel from where they make huge profits almost immediately. Whereas gestation period for investment in refineries, according to the President of Dangote Group, Alihaji Aliko Dangote, is a minimum of five years. In 2012, the National Refineries Special Task Force led by Dr Kalu Idika Kalu said that 28 of the 35 investors given licences by the Federal Government to establish refineries in the country lacked the capacity to do so. This was contained in a report presented to President Goodluck Jonathan on November 2, 2012 by the committee’s alternate Chairman, Mallam Yusuf Ali. According to him, after screening only about seven might be capable of setting up refineries. Ali also said that to ensure selfsufficiency in petroleum products’ production, the country needed three more refineries which should be established either by the government or private investors. Recently, the oil workers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Associa tion (PENGASSAN), went on a three-day warning strike. One of the reasons for the strike was the inability of the Federal Government to carry out turnaround maintenance of the refineries. Another was the inability of the government to reduce pump prices of petroleum products in line with the slump in global prices of crude oil. The strike, the unions said, was also to ensure that the government evolve new strategies to combat pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft with negative impact on the nation’s economy. But some of the problems, such as smuggling, vandalism, crude oil theft, confronting the oil sector of the economy would be solved if oil is refined locally.

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, Sunday n Juliet Bumah

Bureau Chief, Brussels n Leo Cendrowicz

Bureau Chief, Washington DC n Marshall Comins

Editorial Coordinator, Europe n Sam Amsterdam

Ag. Burea Chief, Abuja n Onwuka Nzeshi

Asst. Editor, News & Politics n Biyi Adegoroye

Business Development Manager n Taiwo Ahmed

Sales/Circulation Manager n Oyebanji Abiodun

Head, Graphics n Timothy Akinleye

Head, Admin. n Robinson Ezeh

Telegraph Adam&Eve

SUNDAY NEW TELEGRAPH

28 DECEMBER, 2014

a Emek

a Sophi Age: 27 Weight: 75 Height: 5.5ft Occupation: Medical doctor, massage therapist

E-mail: chusks_nwaosu@yahoo.com

Bust: 34 Waist: 27 Hip: 36 Height: 5.8ft Occupation: Student Hobbies: Modelling, acting and dancing Phone: 0814 621 6534

Telegraph Adam&Eve is a page for the young, lively, sexy, cute and daring male and female. If you fit the bill, send your profile, snazziest high resolution image, phone number and email to: julietbumah@gmail.com; editor.body-soul@newtelegraphonline.com, Abuja Office: Orji Kalu House, Plot 322, by Banex Junction, Mabushi, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or our corporate head office, No 1A, Ajumobi Close, Off ACME Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Enquiries: +234 (0)811-675-9770.

SUNDAY 28 DECEMBER, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

The Sunday Magazine SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

A bulldozer pulling down one of the buildings at Odoigarunshi community

Photo: MURITALA AYINLA

Living on borrowed land

How Lagos property owners lose billions to land speculators That no fewer than 200,000 residents in Parafa Community in Lagos may soon be rendered homeless underscores the fact that your property in one of the developing areas in the state may not make you a landlord for life. MURITALA AYINLA writes on the agonies of Lagos landlords caught between the state government and land speculators

t was 10:50 am on Monday, December 16, 2013. Mrs. Felicia Tubo was having a nap. But through the haze of slumber, she could perceive a monstrous noise. She, however, took this as a dream until she was rudely shaken awakened by her distraught three-year-old daughter. With tears dropping from her eyes, she informed her mother that their area at Mowo Phase II Atinporome along Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Lagos was under a police siege. Barely clad, Tubo rushed out of her newly erected bungalow to meet a large crowd near her house. To say she was shocked by the sight that confronted her would be an understatement. Unable to bear the sight that confronted her, the middle-aged woman collapsed but was quickly resuscitated by sympathisers. Just a stone throw to her house were no fewer than 200 policemen with a number of bulldozers in tow. They had commenced work early that day, as the air was thick with the dust. The petrified residents watched as magnificent buildings came crashing down under the weight of bulldozers, with billows of thick dust rising to the sky; perhaps in a painful affirmation of the havoc that was being done by the team from the Lagos State Government. For a few minutes, Tubo did not know which of her belongings to save as a bulldozer turned menacingly in the direction of her bungalow. She dashed in quickly to rescue her children. The eldest of the children was making frantic calls to their father, who was at his workplace, to inform him of the ‘invasion’ of their community. As she barely managed to take her children out of the house, the bulldozer descended

on the place they had called ‘home’ for some months. Unmindful of the tears cascading down the cheeks of the frail Tubo and her children, the bulldozer operator tore at their building with such fierceness; as in to underscore the anger of the state government at the ‘illegal’ occupation of the area by the residents. But that didn’t stop the bulldozers from moving on to their house. Tubo watched as the labour of several years vanished into thin air, her 30-month-old baby clutched tightly to her chest. Tubo and her family had just joined the long list of victims of periodic demolitions by the state government. In a curious twist, the team of policemen had come on a two-pronged mission – to effect the demolition and reclaim the 65 hectares of land duly acquired by the Nigeria Police Force from the state government. The demolition of the 500 houses in the community was said to be on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police at the time, Mohammed Abubakar. It took more than a decade for the community to develop but in less than four hours, the demolition team had wiped out all the houses that made it habitable. The police force claimed authentic ownership of the land, by virtue of a Certificate of Occupancy from the state government. On March 5, 2013, Odoiragunshi, another community in Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State Government, also shared a similar fate with Mowo Phase II. The community was completely levelled over the alleged illegal erection of structures on government’s acquired land. The area was said to have been earmarked for an assembly plant for Marcopollo buses used for the state government’s transport scheme,

LAGBUS. Several homes were brought down and hundreds were rendered homeless. One of the victims, Mr. Omosheni Tajudeen Debowale, is currently battling with the trauma after his property, the culmination of a 30-year dream, was demolished in his presence. His five-bedroom flat which he built in 2004 was pulled down by the Lagos State Government despite his claim of having building approval from agencies of government. Amid tears, Debowale, a level 14 officer of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Education Authority, said his property worth N12 million was destroyed by officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences Unit. Today, after being a proud owner of a five-bedroom bungalow for nine years, Debowale now squats in a single room apartment with his five-member family, including his aged mother. But he was not the only victim in the community. Over 100 landlords with their families and tenants were also rendered homeless in the mass demolition exercise that saw properties worth billions of naira destroyed. These are sorry tales from some Lagos landlords, especially those in developing regions otherwise known as ‘new sites.’ They lost their homes one after the other when the authenticity of their land titles was questioned by well connected or influential ‘owners.’ Before their ordeal, some of them had lived happily and enjoyed their own fair share of life, having realised the dream of becoming landlords in Lagos with structures that could rival those found in highbrow areas like Ba-

nana Island, Victoria Garden City and other choice areas in Lagos and Abuja. But their joy of being house owners vanished within a twinkle of an eye. Investigations by Sunday New Telegraph also revealed that residents of Parafa Community near Ikorodu may also suffer a similar fate as the state government intends to relocate the popular Mile 12 food stuff market to the area. This is in realisation of the state government’s plan to ease the perennial Ikorodu Road gridlock caused by activities at the market. *Land grabbers/speculators angle To these victims, acquiring and building their houses wasn’t an easy task. But they eventually became victims of what building experts called ‘fatal error’ in building plans. They are simply victims of lack of or false information. Investigations have, however, revealed that most of them built in areas encroached upon by land grabbers/speculators otherwise known as Omo Onile. These speculators, in active connivance with unscrupulous traditional rulers and government officials, derive pleasure in selling undocumented parcels of land to people. The victims are mostly members of the middle class and low income earners who had struggled to erect their buildings, perhaps due to exigencies necessitated by the frustrations of living in rented apartments in Lagos. Sunday New Telegraph also gathered that the erratic system of land ownership and the poor mortgage system in the country are two of the major factors responsible for the continuous mass demolition of buildings CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

The Sunday Magazine

CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 5

in Lagos and other states. The overwhelming demand for land, especially in Lagos, also necessitates the sale of land without title documents. The development, according to experts, paved the way for land speculators to swindle unsuspecting buyers. According to the experts in the building industry, over 75 per cent of houses in Lagos lack proper documents, especially the important Certificate of Occupancy. This is due various reasons ranging from bureaucracy on the party of government and the lackadaisical attitude of most landlords. Speaking on why Nigerians fall victim to such practices, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, who is also a town planner, blamed the misfortune of the victims on the adoption of wrong models in the implementation of building projects. According to the commissioner, rather than starting a construction project with a vision, which would propel the project financer or prospective landlord to seek information about the land, prospective landlords ignorantly place acquisition of the land first. He said, “That is why people run into the problem of Omo Onile, who can sell a parcel of land to three or more people. They still come around after they sold such to collect more money from the buyers, as they begin development on the disputed land. As you end a particular stage, they come with fresh charges. That has become their way of life because they have been brought up to think that might is right. “They could use force to dislodge the rightful owner of the land. The only way one can solve the menace of getting into trouble of building being under threat of demolition or avoid some government officials coming to stop you because you don’t have one paper or the other is to start first with infor mation.” Confirming Ayinde’s assertion is Mr. Shogunro Kamilu, an indigene of Ajah, a suburb of Lagos. According to Kamilu, due to frequent demands for parcels of land in Lekki/ Ajah axis, land speculators in the area, like their counterparts in other parts of the state, usually sell a parcel of land to many people. He added that only those who are lucky to commence development on the land and meet the demands of the Omo Onile are eventually acknowledged as the authentic owners of the land out of several buyers. His words: “This is Lagos; if you must buy land in our area, after you must have paid the amount demanded for the land, you must also pay 35 or 50 per cent of the total cost to the agents. Then, you can’t pay less than 50 per cent to the ‘boys.’ I mean the ‘area boys’ in the community. “Land in Lagos goes to the highest bidder. It is only when you are ready to cooperate and pay our charges that the land is yours. Failure to do so on time, you will see different gangs coming to lay claim to your land and chase you away from it; even after you must have paid.” Sunday New Telegraph learnt that this is also responsible for why most landlords circumvent government channels in the procurement of building approval before embarking on the development of their land. Often, land buyers are forced by the speculators to begin the development of their land, even without any building permit or title document from the state government, on the pretext that it could be encroached upon by their rivals and sold to other persons. Hence, they flout several building and construction laws. It was also learnt that there are instances where land speculators provide certain land title documents to unsuspecting buyers as an avenue to obtain money from the anxious buyers. Such documents are fraudulently obtained from government agencies or forged in most cases. Confirming this situation, a top official of the Lagos State Lands Bureau, who craved anonymity, said the parcels of land where such structures were erected were wrongly acquired through what he termed ‘fly coordinate.’

Living on borrowed land

Police invading Mowo phase II, Atinporome along Lagos-Badagry Expressway on December 16, 2013.

According to him, some of the buildings demolished by government may have genuine documents and building approvals, which were fraudulently obtained. The official said: “Unsuspecting persons are mostly swindled to acquire land designed for an industrial scheme or other public interest use by the government. Don’t forget that the interest of a few people cannot override that of the general public, which government stands to represent. That is why government always tells prospective landlords to seek information when acquiring land.” Speaking on the antics of the speculators, the taskforce chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, told Sunday New Telegraph that the miscreants usually “fly the coordinate, by taking the chart of a location that is free of government acquisition to dubiously get building approval on the land under government’s acquisition. “It is like taking the survey of Oregun in Ikeja to seek government approval on a building in Alausa in the same Ikeja. “It is unfortunate that they build on government land to whip up sentiments. They were probably cajoled by miscreants called omo onile to quickly develop and build on government land, thinking that once the structures are erected nothing will happen. That is the strategy used by miscreants in selling government land.” He, however, advised that “people should seek information from government on any piece of land before paying or building on it. If they had a genuine Certificate of Occupancy before the acquisition of the land by government, they would be duly compensated should government have a reason to demolish their building for overriding public interest.” Speaking further, the commissioner for physical planning, the approval for most building permits were sought only after the buildings had been erected. This, the commissioner insisted, is the major cause of building owners having their dreams shattered. “We have just discovered from a study that most houses do not have title documents or approval probably because their owners don’t know the implications. When you build without approval, in the eyes of the law, it is illegal. “Now, if someone challenges you on that building and you do not have any paper to validate the ownership, you are bound to lose the property. If the government, for any reason, decides to acquire the area in which your property is located, especially for overriding public interest, what the government wants to do is to acquire the land and pay compensation. Now you can only get compensation if what you built is covered by an approval. It means that it is a legal development. “For government to pay people without approval would be to encourage illegality. These are the things that people do not

Photos: MURITALA AYINLA

Jagun

Ayinde

know. We tend to hurry to bypass legal processes and we tend to think that justice is slow,” the commissioner added. Though many of these victims claim to have sought information on such lands before erecting their buildings, they (victims) are either found to have been misinformed by government officials or swindled by the miscreants. For instance, Debowale whose house was demolished in Odoiragushi claimed he obtained the necessary papers and approval from the government. “I obtained all my papers validly from the government. It is sad to be chased out of the building I laboured so much to erect with my children and aged parent. It is painful. “I sought information about the land before commencing work on it. I went to the Office of the Surveyor General. I charted the land and I was told it was free from government acquisition and revocation,” he said amid tears. Also lamenting her sad story, Tubo said she went to the Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa to seek information about the land before developing it. Though she said she purchased the land from the previous owner who had already laid a foundation on the land, she was assured by the government officials she consulted that the area was not under any form of acquisition.

think it is cheaper to deal with land speculators, touts and carpenters, vulcanizers as their agents. If they approach professionals, they will be able to hold him responsible for any problems encountered on the land. “If a professional is involved, definitely he might done some little research on the land. Also failure of the government to inform the citizens on the land that belongs to it. When government do publications on the land, the publications are not noticed by the citizens. Some of these citizens don’t read because they are illiterate, those who are literate are not always aware”. He also blamed the problem on corruption and lack of monitoring mechanism on the part of the government officials, saying government allows such areas to develop with ‘illegal’ structures before taking bulldozers to level the area. “People who build in such areas are not usually rich; they are even bellow middle class in the society. They go to the developing areas because the demand for land in such areas is usually lower compare to the city. If government officials go to such areas and discover that structures have been erected on government’s land, they should mark such structures for demolition and inform the residents of the area. If they had had money in the first place, they would not have built in such areas. There is no way we won’t continue to face these problems if people still seek service of vulcanizer, carpenter and mechanic or a former gate man as agent to help them buy land,”he added. But Ayinde debunked his claims, saying most landlords especially those currently occupying Parafa Community failed to seek information before buying the lands. “For somebody who wants to build a structure, the more information such person gets about the land, the less trouble he is bound to experience. We must always get our information correctly when we are about to embark on a project. Every project must start with vision but what I find in Nigerians is that every project starts with acquisition of land either rightly or wrongly, “he said.

Govt, Expert trade blame For Mr Stephen Ajagun who is the Chairman of Lagos State Chapter of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers NIESV,the state government and the landlords must be blamed for the frequent demolition of structures in the developing areas. According to him,” First, I will blame the government for not informing people about the land that falls under its acquisition. The people who bought the land too. It is a problem of lack of education about the land on which their structures were sited. In most cases, they don’t approach the professionals before they buy their lands because they want to cut corners, so they

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY 28 DECEMBER 2014

News

Boko Haram, offshoot of civil war – Northern elders Ibraheem Musa and Uwakwe Abugu

orthern Elders Council yesterday traced the origin of the Boko Haram insurgency to the civil war which the country fought about 48 years ago. NEC Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, who spoke on behalf of the group as a guest of FRCN Kaduna Hausa phone in programme, ‘Hannu dayawa,’ pointed out that there was a proliferation of weapons after the war as most soldiers from both sides of the conflict did not surrender all the weapons that were issued to them. The 88-year-old elder statesman said armed rob-

bery and violent crimes started within that period as some Biafrian soldiers and federal troops traded off the illicit weapons after the war, to criminals who in turned used them for armed robbery. Yakassai stated that the phenomenon progressed from the southern part of the country to the North. “Before, armed robbery was largely concentrated in the South,” he further said. The NEC chairman said the situation deteriorated from armed robbery to kidnapping for ransom in the South-South. “This was a fallout of the civil war,’’ he said, adding that “the Niger Delta agitation reached a point where the country’s economy

was threatened and government had to negotiate with the militants.” Yakassai recalled that after the killing of the leader of the Maitatsine sect in Kano in 1980, “some of his followers fled to different towns in the North and they later regrouped and led the Bulunkutu crisis in Maiduguri and the Qala Qato riots in Yola.” According to the octogenarian, the Maiduguri and Adamawa riots were contained but some members of the group survived the military onslaught. “They now regrouped in 2002, during the Obasanjo administration, when the first leader of Boko Haram was killed. From then on,

President Goodluck Jonathan (right), with former President Ibrahim Babangida, during Jonathan’s visit to Minna, Niger State …yesterday

the group started attacking different towns in the NorthEast, including Kano State. Now, the group has spread to almost all parts of the North and it requires concerted efforts to defeat Boko Haram,” Yakassai further said. He took exception to clamour for President Goodluck Jonathan to visit Borno state and other troubled spots, pointing out that such will have no impact. “In fact, the visit may even aggravate the security situation in Nigeria, if for example, the President is hurt by an attack during such a visit. If God forbids, a suicide bomber attacks him, his people will say that it was a deliberate ploy and the Niger Delta agitation will resume,” he added. According to him, the militants will attack oil workers and facilities in such a way that it will affect the nation’s economy so much so that states and even the federal government cannot even pay salaries. “The government cannot contain the uprising that will follow,” he added. Yakassai faulted Borno Elders’ call for soldiers to be withdrawn from Borno State owing to alleged excesses. He noted that they did not provide any alternative as to how to secure lives and property against Boko Haram attacks. The elder statesman called on religious and traditional rulers in the North to reserve a day for prayers, during which Muslims and Christians will pray for God’s intercession in order to end the Boko Haram insurgency. Meanwhile, prominent Igbo leaders yesterday dismissed Yakassai’s position as

“untenable, implausible and an unnecessary reopening of the wounds of the war.” A veteran who fought on the Biafran side, Col. Joe Achuzia (retd), challenged Yakassai’s competence to make such a weighty comment on the war, questioning what rank and authority he held during the war. Achuzia, popularly known as ‘Air Raid,’ told Sunday New Telegraph that it was incongruous to link the insurgency to the Biafran war that took place decades ago because as it is now, the insurgency has spiraled in scope into a terrorist organisation. Achuzia who actually made the first announcement on the Biafran side on the ceasefire agreement, said, “The NEC chairman by his assertion confirms the fact that the federal government at that time bungled the end of the civil war activities and made nonsense of the process. If the government could not properly mop up arms from both sides, it also makes nonsense of their claim of victory over Biafra even though they officially declared no victor no vanquished. “By the end of the war, they used a backdoor, arm-twisting tactic by luring Biafran officers who voluntarily came for the government’s proposed reconciliation discussions but the exercise turned into an inquisition and they tried to apportion blames. Some of us went from hotel rooms into detention. “So, how did they expect us to gather arms from our men, no matter how small the arms were? And you see, they didn’t also mop up

arms from the federal troops just as they didn’t know where our men were coming from. It would have been impossible for them to make a success of the exercise on their own without us.” Former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, was livid with rage when our correspondent contacted him. He declared that the sanity and senility index of NEC leaders should be re-examined, especially considering the fact that the linkage of the two historical developments in the life of the nation appeared most implausible. Ikedife, who referred to Yakassai as “my friend and brother,” said, “I know the respected elder statesman as someone who has been in the political arena of Nigeria for about 65 years now. But when people make certain statements, before you take them serious, you must ascertain the person’s sanity and senility index. “If Biafrans had a quarter of the weapons the Boko Haram insurgents have now, Biafra would have crushed Nigeria in six months. My respected friend, Tanko Yakassai, should link Boko Haram to the First World War of 1914 to 1918 not even the Second World War of 1935 to 1945. “I state that to the best of my understanding, Biafran soldiers fought with bare hands and creative ingenuity and it may be said that Boko Haram is fighting with elusive ingenuity. But it should not be linked to Biafrans who had no weapons of note to surrender at the end of the war,” he maintained.

Naira devaluation: Dangote, others lose billions of dollars Chijioke Iremeka

he falling rate of the Naira may have taken its toll on the fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and some other dollar billionaires, forbes.com reports. The Nigerian currency began plunging few weeks ago after the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced a nearly 10 per cent devaluation of the Naira, after admitting that a plunge in world oil prices and dwindling dollar reserves were making it difficult to defend the value of the currency. The Naira is now trading at N187 to $1, compared to N165 in November, Forbes reports, adding that in dollar terms, the devaluation has knocked more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria’s economy. The report said Dangote, who is also the president of Dangote Group, is the big-

gest loser among Nigeria’s wealthiest as the Naira’s slump, coupled with falling stock prices, has erased more than $7.8 billion of his fortune since February, when FORBES locked in the values for its annual ranking of the world’s billionaires. Dangote was worth $25bn at the time; as of market close on Tuesday, he was worth $17.2 billion. More than half of the drop in his fortune has happened since early November. As of November 7, Dangote was worth $21.6bn, $4.4bn more than now. Here’s why: The last few weeks have been a bit of a disaster for many companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Several blue-chip stocks such as Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Transcorp and United Bank of Africa among several others have hit one-year-lows as a result of the fall in oil prices, a general uncertainty regard-

ing the 2015 elections, CBN regulatory headwinds, and weak earnings from large cap companies. These have all contributed toward putting naira-denominated assets, including equities, at risk. “This is whipping up negative market sentiments as foreign and institutional investors such as pension funds who hold equity stakes in companies (due to their large cap and liquidity status) have mostly fled their positions,” says Ugodre ObiChukwu, a leading financial analyst and publisher of Nairametrics, a website that provides analysis and opinion about Nigerian stocks, investing, personal finance and the economy. Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest manufacturer of cement, has shed close to 40% of its market value between the beginning of November and now. The company’s stock, which was trading at N215 ($1.15) at the beginning of

November, is now valued at N165 (88 Cents) as at Monday. Market research firm, Meristem, however, said in its report for last week that Dangote Cement “emerged as the top gainer for the week following weeks of negative sentiments which depressed share price to a year low of NGN153.00. The stock closed the week’s trading at NGN196.95, having gained 22.91% during the week.” Forbes reports that at the beginning of November, Dangote’s stake in the cement manufacturer was valued at more than $18 billion, adding that it is now valued at $13.2bn. “Dangote has also lost more than $230 million in paper value within the same period on his stakes in publicly-traded Dangote Sugar, Dangote Flour, and National Salt Company of Nigeria. Between November (when FORBES published the list of Africa’s 50 Richest) and today, Dangote, has

lost more than $4 billion in his net worth,” it said. After Dangote, the second biggest loser among Nigeria’s ultra-rich is Tony Elumelu, the chairman of Heirs Holdings, an investment company. Heirs Holdings, which is wholly-owned by Elumelu, is the controlling shareholder in Transcorp, a publicly-listed conglomerate with interests in power production, hotels and agriculture. Transcorp’s current market capitalisation is now $700m, down from $1.4bn at the beginning of November. Heirs Holdings has lost an estimated $345mn in paper value on Transcorp, and its stake in the company as at Monday is now worth roughly $400mn, down from $700mn. Elumelu’s investments in other listed companies like UBA, Africa Prudential PLC and UBA Capital have shed a little over $27 million in value. Another big loser is Nigerian multi-millionaire co-

founder of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia. The value of his stake in Zenith Bank was $240m as of late Monday, down from more than $350m last month. He owns a nine per cent stake in the bank. “The situation is likely to get worse till it gets better as we expect a frequent boom and bust cycles over the next three months. We noticed this between late October and Early November when stocks plummeted only to recover slightly towards the end of November. Another massive sell-offs then commenced in December that sent stocks to hit multiple year lows. The bulls are back again this week and I expect that to last until January at the latest when another bearish market may take hold. The next bearish session may intensify as we approach the elections and rhetorics from politicians ratchet up,” ObiChukwu said in an email conversation.

News Onwuka Nzeshi ABUJA

head of the 2015 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has redeployed its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. As has been the norm, each REC has been posted to a state other than his state of origin but within his geopolitical zone. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuemeka

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

2015: INEC redeploys RECS Onukaogu has been sent to Enugu State; Mr Mike Igini, Cross River REC is now in charge of Edo State; Resident Electoral Commissioner, Niger State, Dr Emmanuel Onucheyo has been redeployed to Kwara State while a one time Resident Electoral Commissioner in Delta State, Dr Gabriel Ada has been moved to Imo State. Others who have been redeployed and their new states include: Baba Abba

Yusuf- Adamawa, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad – Bauchi; Ahmad Makama- Taraba; Selina Omagha Oko- Abia , Edwin Offor; Nwatarali- AnambraSadiq Abubakar MusaSokoto, Jibrin Ibrahim Zarewa- Kebbi; Hussaini Ahmed Mahuta- Kaduna; Abubakar Umar Wara- Zamfara; Rufus Akeju- Oyo and Abdullahi. Others are Umar DanyayaNasarawa; Timothy IbitoyeOgun; Barito Lenusikpugi Kphagih- Bayelsa; Haliru Tambawel- Jigawa ; Kas-

sim Gana Geidam- Gombe ; Ibrahim Bagobiri Marafa – Katsina; Aniedi Ikoiwak – Delta; Habu Zarma- Yobe; Akin Orebiyi- Lagos and Hussaini Halilu Pai- Kogi The rest are Kwanga Godwin Mbatsavbee- Plateau, Sylvester Okey Ezeani - Cross River; Lawrence. Azubuike – Ebonyi; Sam Olugbadebo Olumekun – Ekiti; Minkaila Abdullahi - Kano Austin Okogie Akwa Ibom, Segun AgbajeOndo; Nasir Ayilara- Niger

# Istifanus Dafwang- Benue; Gesila Khan -Rivers #Samuel Madaki –Borno and Jacob Jatau - FCT Although the commission did not give any reason for the redeployment, Sunday New Telegraph gathered that the change of guards across the states was part of the preparations by the Commission for the forthcoming polls. According to the time table earlier released by INEC the 2015 presidential and National Assembly election will hold on February 14 while February 28 has been set aside for the governorship and state assembly elections. The redeployment which was conveyed in a letter marked INEC/SEC/402/ VOLIII/312 and addressed to all RECs directed the electoral chiefs to conclude all handing and taking over formalities by Wednesday, December 31, 2014. Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, who signed the letter con-

gratulated the RECs on their new postings which she said has been approved by the Commission. New Telegraph learnt that redeployments ahead of crucial elections has become a tradition in INEC designed to enhance neutrality and impartiality of the electoral umpire. A source at the Commission described it as a “routine exercise” to create a level playing field and forestall possible manipulations by some RECs who might have served too long in a particular state. “You know, election is a highly sensitive exercise and the Commission will not want to leave anything to chance. Some of these RECs have served in these states since the last general elections and may have become stakeholders in these places. So, it is better to reshuffle them and put everyone on his or her toes for the next assignment which is less than too months away,” he said.

CAN youth wing decries non-conduct of elections Musa Pam Jos

L-R: Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Lekki Lagos, Mr. Istifanus Ibrahim; Special Marshal, Unit 38, Lekki, Mr. Gbenga Oke; Unit Public Enlightenment Officer, Mr. Omon Otii and Unit Provost, Mrs. Otu Ekpo, during the Xmas Special Patrol on Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

Firm petitions Jonathan over N2.4bn Abuja complex

Tunde Oyeshina resident Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to probe the alleged refusal of the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, to pay the agency fees for the purchase of the complex housing his office. The petitioner, AG Properties and Investment Limited, in a letter to the President through its counsel, Adebayo Eniwaye and Co, said the Office of the Auditor General

agreed to pay it five per cent agency fees after the company introduced an eight-storey office complex to Ukura for sale at N2.950bn. Eniwaye noted that the AGF’s office eventually acquired the property, located at Plot 272/273, Central Business District, behind UAC office complex. A copy of the petition with the official stamp of the Chief of Staff to the President acknowledging receipt of the petition was obtained by Sunday New Telegraph.

The petition reads in part, “Our client viewed the act of the Auditor General of the Federation as regards the transaction as an embarrassment to your administration known to all well meaning Nigerians which needs to be addressed “We respectfully appeal to Your Excellency to use your good offices to ensure that the wrong against our client is corrected by ensuring that the sum of N120 million due and payable to our client is promptly paid.

“You will recall, Your Excellency, from the approval given to this transaction by the office of the Bureau of Public Procurement vide its later dated December 22, 2010, approval for the sum of N2.68 billion including the agency due and payable to our client. “It is on record that a sum of N2.4 billion was eventually paid to the property owner, leaving the balance of N248 million out of which our client was supposed to be paid N120million agency fee.”

he Youth Wing of the Christians Association of Nigeria has decried the non-conduct of elections into the various positions of the association since the dissolution of the executive in July 2014 and the suspension of the YOWICAN bylaws to give way for election of new leadership. The association also accused the National Directorate of Youth and Women which have taken advantage of the vacuum created to take charge of the youth activities contrary to the provisions of the CAN constitution of 2004. Interim National President YOWICAN, Ekiye C. Ekiye, who stated this while briefing journalists in Jos at the weekend, stressed that Nigerian Christian youths have been subjected to various deprivations by this absence of

an executive and the activities of a youth director who is not a youth and seems not to understand the working of CAN constitution. “Our leadership was born out of necessity for youth to have a viable democratic platform to address our needs even as we want to discourage simony,” he said, adding that “it is unfortunate that men who are greedy and having no regard for the future of the youths have decided to usurp our roles to achieve a cheap political goal.” Ekiye said that the youths have lost confidence in the director for his inability to provide advice and encouragement for the conduct of elections for the Christian youths, but commended “the competent and credible leadership of the National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor for standing and speaking for the church nationwide.”ler

Insecurity: PDP backs Jonathan on call for caution Storekeeper docked

Onyekachi Eze ABUJA

he leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday described the call by President Goodluck Jonathan on politicians not to heat up the polity by their utterances as a mark of true leadership. PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, also called on the opposition All Progressives Congress and some former office-holders to desist from sowing seeds of

discord among the people with their incendiary utterances. According to the party, Jonathan’s statement is a “perfect act in nationalism, the mark of a true leader who is committed to the interest and welfare of the nation and her citizens” and urged the opposition to heed this caution, show decency, patriotism and shun the do-or-die quest for power. It noted that the President had shown as always that he is “a committed national

and patriotic leader, a decent politician, a lover of a united, stable and prosperous Nigeria and a champion of the integrity of the nation’s electoral process. “It is the height of hypocrisy that the APC, known for making inflammatory and divisive statements would turn round to point a finger of guilt at the President.” PDP described as unfortunate that instead of retracing their steps, as all well-meaning citizens would have done under the circumstance, leaders of

APC in their desperation, went ahead to justify their unguarded statements with renewed personal attacks on the President. It said this had confirmed that APC is a party of unpatriotic elements on a mission to destroy Nigeria. “This has further confirmed that APC is a party of determined and irredeemable anarchists; a tool in the hands of enemies of our dear nation whose agenda is to divide the people and break up the nation for their selfish interests.

Caleb Onwe

35-year-old store keeper, Solomon Ojile, has appeared before an Upper Area Court, sitting at Gudu District Abuja, for allegedly looting a store assigned to him, to the tune of N339,450. The prosecutor, Inspector Sani Haruna, told the court that one Nathaniel Kurah on December 16, 2014 reported the accused at the Wuye Police Station; hence

the investigation that led to the arrest of the accused. According to him, the offence was contrary to provisions of section 314 of the Penal Code Laws as it constitutes criminal breach of trust by a servant. He further informed the court that the accused who was a store keeper and employee of Blue Arrow TSW Limited located at Plot 1254 Kaura District Abuja, is standing trial for allegedly looting the store assigned to him.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

News

FG owes Lagos State N51bn - Ambode Temitope Ogunbanke

agos State All Progressives Congress (APC), governorship candidate, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday disclosed that Federal Government is currently indebted to Lagos State to the tune of N51 billion, which is the amount of projects executed by Lagos State on behalf of the federal government. Speaking yesterday at 10,000 Youths March for Akinwunmi Ambode tagged ‘Walk With Me’, at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota, Lagos, the APC governorship candidate said APC winning the presidency will attract more development to Lagos and therefore charged Nigerians to vote for APC. Ambode while addressing youths at an event organised by the Ambode Youths Initiative (AYI), described the youths as the hope of the country and therefore charged them to vote for change in 2015 by voting out President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) February 14, 2015 presidential election. He also promised to create Employment Trust Fund to empower Lagosians, adding that his government will help the youths to develop their talents in the area of entertainment, arts, tourism

and sports. His words: “This project is about Nigerian youths. We have had enough of a government that does not care about the future of our youths. I want to thank the 10,000 youths who have come out today to identify with us today. We shall make youths our focus when we come into power. If elected as governor, I am going to be the bridge between the elderly and the youths. We are concerned about two things, security and empowerment to create jobs. There is no way we can do that without the involvement of the youths. “We are going to create employment for the youths. We will create Employment trust funds just as we have created the Security Trust Fund. We will focus on tourism, entertainment, arts and sports. APC will do what the youths have always wanted. We will make their life better. “We need to change the government in power and vote in the new government of APC. Federal Government has been in power for 16 years yet they have nothing to show for it. They are owing us N51 billion. This is sum total of all the projects we have done on their behalf. We need to change them fast and that can only be done with your votes” he said.

Kano to finance projects despite low revenue Muhammad Kabir Kano

ano State Government has assured that despite decline in crude oil prices globally which has decreased revenue in the country, funding of ongoing capital projects in the state will continue. The assurance came against the backdrop of insinuations that the state’s multi billion naira projects across the state might be stalled by the shortfall in federal allocations to states, a development that has created economic challenges for many Northern states which could not even paid monthly salaries. Governor Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, who gave the assurance at a meeting with members of the Kano Elders Forum at Africa House, Government House, Kano, Friday, added that the state would not borrow a kobo to finance its projects but would depend on its internally generated revenue. He said that his government has paid keen atten-

tion to revenue generation and prudent management of resources and as a result, he was able to execute several life-changing projects across the state. The governor pointed out that his administration has transformed the state capital to a mega city, pointing out that people would not realize this until when all the projects become fully operational. He said that the revenue the state would get from the N14.4 billion 35 megawatts of hydroelectricity Independent Power Project being executed would be reasonable, adding that collection of revenue from residential, commercial and industrial sources would make the state to be financially independent. The governor told the elders that so far, over 2,600 indigenes of Kano are in 14 countries studying in reputable universities through a special scholarship scheme instituted by his administration, adding that those who completed their masters’ degrees were given automatic employment by the government.

Jonathan, IBB meet in Minna

Dan Atori MINNA

resident Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday paid a private visit to former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in his Minna country home. The visit which lasted for less than an hour was guarded in top secret and may have afforded President Jonathan the opportu-

nity to see the former military leader after his return from a two-month medical treatment in Germany. Though journalists were barred from gaining entrance into IBB’s residence, it was gathered that the two leaders took time to discuss state of the nation and the forth coming general elections. It was also gathered that the President used his visit to the recuperating leader to

solicit for IBB’s support for his second term ambition in the next year general elections. Jonathan who arrived late hours in the morning in a chopper landed at El-Amin International School, owned by the late Mrs. Maryam Babangida and drove straight to the Hilltop residence of Babangida where the two leaders went into a closed door meeting. All the roads leading to

the Uphill residence of the former military leader were sealed up for human and vehicular movement. Detachment of armed military men, police and Department of State Security officials were stationed at strategic positions in the town as early as 7am. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had paid similar visit to the recuperating IBB shortly after he returned to the country.

Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke (middle) and revelers at the opening ceremony of 2014 Calabar Carnival…on Saturday

Buhari unfit for presidency – S’West PDP Babatope Okeowo Akure

eoples Democratic Party leaders in the South-West yesterday declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, MajGen. Muhamadu Buhari, unfit for the position due to his antecedents. Among the leaders at their meeting in Akure were the governors of Ondo and Ekiti states - Olusegun Mimiko and Ayodele Fayose; Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Jumoke Akinjide; former Minister of State (Defence), Musiliu Obanikoro; Senator Hosea Agboola; Gbenga Elegbeleye; Erelu Olusola Obada, Senator Iyiola Omisore; Teslim Folarin; Jide Adeniji; Dr. Bode Iwaloye; Chief Kolapo Ogunjobi; Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe; and Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun. Their communique read by Mimiko and signed by Fayose, Omisore, Obanikoro, Akinjide, Folarin, Ogunjobi, Ogundipe and Oyedokun said, “The change that the opposition mouths is indeed a change from democracy to totalitarianism and dictatorship as represented by the presidential candidate of APC. “Judging by Buhari’s temperament, political antecedents and intellectual capacity, Gen Buhari, the

APC candidate is unfit to be the President of Nigeria.” The communique stated that they had resolved to work for the realisation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election. Mimiko, in his opening remark, said an APC presidency would spell doom for the South-West and the Yoruba race, alleging that Buhari does not like the ethnic nationality. Mimiko, who is the coordinator of the PDP National Campaign Council in the South-West, said Buhari at 72 cannot change. He de-

clared that Buhari would lose the presidential election the fourth time next year. Mimiko said a vote for Buhari is a vote against the sensibilities of journalists who were jailed under the former head of state’s regime. Some of the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan, he said included the democratisation of education by the establishment of 125 Almajiri schools in 13 Northern states; 27 special girls’ schools; 12 new federal universities; and 35

new NCE and OND/HND awarding institutions. The PDP led federal government, he said has upheld the sanctity of ballot boxes as was demonstrated in Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states’ governorship elections. In the case of infrastructure, Mimiko said SouthWest roads handled by Jonathan’s administration include the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, Benin-OreSagamu highway, LagosIbadan expressway and Ilesha-Akure Road.

Maku gives PDP one-week ultimatum

former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, yesterday gave the Peoples Democratic Party one week to correct the anomalies in the party’s governorship primaries in Nasarawa State. Maku gave the warning while addressing youths in Wakama Village of Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of the state. He said that he had already written a petition to the appeal panel set up by the national headquarters of the party challenging the outcome of the primaries. He mentioned the irregularities that occurred during the primaries to include changing of del-

egates names in many council areas, intimidation and threats to delegates, among others. According to him, the fraud committed in the recent PDP governorship primaries in Nasarawa State is worse than the one committed at party’s primaries in the state in 2007. He said that he would take a decision and seek for the people’s mandate directly if steps were not taken to correct these anomalies in the next one week. Maku said, “Since they think they can shortchange the names of delegates and intimidate them, we will see how they can short-

change and intimidate the members of the public.” He vowed to move on with his ambition to contest the governorship seat of the state in 2015 and advised all those who thought they could deny the state of good leaders to have a rethink. Maku promised that he would restore peace in the state within six months and reposition the state for total transformation if elected as governor in 2015. He, however, urged all his supporters to support the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 for consolidation of development of the country.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

OPINION

‘Abia stakeholders’ chicanery Ebere Wabara

rom time to time, the vanishing tribe of bunkums inexplicably opposed to the former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, churn out faceless and nondescript outfits that indulge in pathological and dysfunctional dissemination of concoctive yarns spun in Umuahia. One of such pedestrian stupefactions with a nomenclatural duplicity of ‘Abia Stakeholders (sic) Forum’ on Sunday, December 21, 2014, took a full-page advertorial swipe in THE NATION, Page 78, for a preposterous and poorly-written rejoinder to an earlier olive branch extended by Dr. Kalu in his rapprochement with those who disagree with him and in precipitation to his recurring apology to Abians for inadvertently foisting Governor Theodore Ahamefula Orji (Ochendo Global and Gburugburu), a man in the vanguard of fluke legacies, on them. The empty rebuttal was entitled ‘Re (sic): Now is the time for peace and reconciliation.’ It is either the person who scribbled the trash did not read Dr. Kalu’s two-page treatise or did not comprehend the content. This reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s evergreen words: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubts.” If such limitations were pigeonholed, there would have been no need for this subject. The tepid and thoughtless rejoinder was signed by three fictitious characters on behalf of their imaginary members with no official address or contact details, typically! This is not the first and will not be the last. It is obvious words have lost their meanings in Umuahia. If not, why would a bunch of rascally scallywags constitute themselves into ‘Abia stakeholders?’ As I had posited last week, who are these ‘stakeholders’ and who are not? When have a few government apologists become the conscience of a state, particularly my state? Stakeholding has suddenly become the pastime of government pikins in Umuahia - a dwindling clan of political jobbers are now loosely and drunkenly referred to as ‘stakeholders!’ I am a major stakeholder on grounds

of my aristocratic, scholastic and professional circumstances as a developmental journalist, among other critical backgrounds and prospects. The war-mongers in their clownish rejoinder said they were “grossly embarrassed by that unnecessary effusion from Chief Kalu.” If these fellows were not cowardly agents of bellicosity whose real identities will never be disclosed, what is embarrassing about a peaceful man offering a hand of reconciliation? It is only in the insanity of sustained belligerency that such a development could be embarrassing. What is it that is fundamentally wrong with Dr. Kalu’s proposition? Is it not better to jaw-jaw than war-war? Must political disagreements be allowed to become festering sores? A lot of hangers-on must be benefiting from the status quo and will do everything within their devilishness to sustain the imbroglio. There is no way anyone can rationalise this deviancy other than crisis jobbery! Another excerpt from the forum’s kindergarten stuff goes thus: “Chief Orji Kalu is being uncharitable to his Successor (unnecessary capitalisation) Chief T. A. Orji by blaming his woes on him. Abians know the difference between the locust years and the present time.” The tomfools who placed the advertorial in question should not arrogate any power to themselves. Dr. Kalu has never blamed Gov. Orji for his political trajectory. A lot of people muddle up issues concerning Dr. Kalu’s political career and the inevitabilities of some undercurrents. Gov. Orji as an individual does not have the capacity, clout and competency to undermine his predecessor’s political fortunes. Dr. Kalu withdrew from the senatorial race on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in principle after seeing the diabolical hand of Esau (PDP) in the build-up to the last congresses and primaries for the 2015 general elections. Again, this had been discussed on these pages with the fears of the Abia Senators’ Caucus and others justified during the conduct of those exercises a fortnight ago. Which ‘woes’ are these vagabonds refer-

ring to? Dr. Kalu’s business conglomerate is flourishing with his latest membership of the Club of 50 Richest Africans according to Forbes international magazine and supranational economic investments. Just last week, President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP National Chairman, Dr, Adamu Mu’azu, held a private meeting with Dr. Kalu in further demonstration of the latter’s invaluable political profile. This is also after the unprecedented waiver granted to him by the ruling party to contest the senatorial election before the same party subtly empowered governors to become sole determinants of who gets what candidacy in pursuit of President Jonathan’s unstoppable en core. From all indications, Dr. Kalu, a founding member and one of the foundational financiers of the PDP, is having political ascendancy to the chagrin of his vicious detractors. It is a monumental mistake to ever compare Dr. Kalu’s illuminative tenure with the present darkish one. It is akin to comparing water and oil, light and darkness, reality and propaganda, ad infinitum. Between 1999 and 2007, most Aba roads, for instance, had a fair utilitarian value unlike the current craters. When I hear or read about make-believe ‘legacy projects’ of the present administration that are sparsely located in and around Umuahia. During Dr. Kalu’s era, there was no systemic prostitution, no kidnapping of political foes, wilful repression of the media and systematic emasculation of free speech, among other infringements on freedom of information. No editor was abducted and handcuffed by 17 armedto-the-teeth policemen from his Lagos home and driven to Umuahia in handcuffs at the instance of Gov. Orji, The former governor equally did not mess up his predecessor for any reason whatsoever. Can anyone outside government circles volunteer and take me round Abia State to go and see Ochendo’s much-talked-about ‘legacy projects?’ Are they located outside the purview of The Sun correspondents in the South East? The worsening dilapidation of social infrastructure as captured by the national media

is a clear testament to the glorious period of Dr. Kalu. It is not for officials of this administration to accept, but the people of the state. As I had also pointed out elsewhere, there should be an acceptability/popularity contest/march between Dr. Kalu and Gov. Orji in major cities of Abia without any security details. Such an exercise will enable us to know whose tenure impacted on the lives of the people more. Aba residents that I know by years of domicile and association will stone the present governor and toast to the goodness of the Kalu years. I am so certain and feverish of this suggestion that I can’t wait for it to take place. The senile advertorial also raised again issues pertaining to Dr. Kalu’s senatorial withdrawal as it rounded off its childish rehash. “He saw open defeat staring him from the electorates (sic)…It’s the tiger’s tactics when its (sic) brownbeaten (sic) waiting for an auspicious time to show its true colour (sic).” The PDP leadership knew Kalu would withdraw from the senatorial race for obvious reasons. It is sheer stupidity for anyone to think that Dr. Kalu would go ahead to contest in a poll that had been officially manipulated by the PDP leadership to the favour of governors who are expected in return to deliver their states for President Jonathan in next year’s elections. I am still amazed that this party duplicity was allowed to stand with the emergence of governors as tin gods. In addition to this, most of the delegates, according to reports, were hugely compromised through dollarisation. Dr. Kalu cannot be daft like his detractors as to walk on a path strewn with landmines. His withdrawal from the senatorial race on the platform of the PDP was the wisest decision. Any other step would have been foolhardy. At the opportune time, his critics who said he chickened out will come to their senses and belatedly see the writing on the PDP wall when the scales would have fallen off their lachrymal eyes. •Wabara (ewabara@yahoo.com) is the media adviser to Dr. Orji Kalu

So much for Christmas

Valentine Obienyem he truth is that nobody knows for sure the exact day that Jesus Christ was born. The choice of December 25 is symbolic. Pope Julius I chose that day in the 4th century as a subtle way of blighting pagan celebration of Saturnalia in the bud. This has been a consistent feature of Christianity and the logic is simple. By superimposing Christian celebrations on pagans’ own, especially in the infancy of Christianity, the influence of paganism waned. Even till now, most churches are built in forests that were considered as belonging to evil spirits. This is a proven evangelism tool, and this is the same logic by which Christmas came to overshadow the pagan saturnalia. A yearly ritual, Christmas is here again. It has come to be associated with fanfare of the Epicurean dimension. People now look longingly to its coming. Because of its very nature, it is only a few that even know that Easter is considered as more profound and by far more significant than Christmas. One of the things that make Christmas popular is the fact that it takes place towards the end of the year, an ideal time for stockstaking, to determine how one has fared for the year. The fact that it is usually a public holiday has contributed to its popularity.

By third week to Christmas, its preparations are usually at a crescendo. Traffic all over the country becomes heavy because of so many people travelling home for the celebration. It is a month of joy, a month of sharing and a month of introspection. It is a month that is particularly gratifying to our parents/relations in the villages, whose food stores will be replenished. It is also a month with a fair share of troubles and tribulations. We have actually seen people who committed suicide because they felt they were denied what it takes to celebrate a worthy Christmas. See these people’s reactions whenever Christmas approaches. Some will roll while others will wail on the ground. Their tales are usually that of a year bent on frustrating them and their efforts. As a way of keeping themselves out of circulation, against popular tide, they will decide not to travel home for Christmas, until, perhaps, the economy improves. Honestly, Christmas drives a lot of people out of their wits. It may sound incredible, but it is true that some people’s ideas about Christmas end with a great celebration, when people show off. The people that think thus are those that will take all the money they have or even borrow from friends to buy cars for Christmas. They do not end at this. They also spend their last money buying expensive clothes; jewellery

and other ornaments. This is the epicurean dimension we earlier talked about. To some women, Christmas is a time for dressing competition. There are many social occasions lined up; each has its own dress. Women at this time are usually moving showcases of their husbands’ prosperity. Even though Christmas is for festivity and is longed for, some women actually decline travelling for the reason that they are not prepared. Preparations in this case have to do with being unable to procure enough clothes to terrorise other women. Youngsters are not left out. Those in the flower of maturity, in whom the light of puberty has just been lit, often have in mind to travel and announce to everybody that they have come of age. They dress in inconceivable manners that will drive beholders’ eyes all the more to wantonness. They will, however, discover that even those in the villages dress likewise. In their inexperience, they strive to be the talk of the town. Some of them, the grown up ones, who have come of age to marry are made to travel home for Christmas, for the possibility of catching the prancing eyes of some eligible bachelors. Christmas, in its very conception, is supposed to be a positive feast/celebration, but like everything else, it has been corrupted. Wait till January, after the effects of Christmas festivities wear down, you will hear

the tales of people suffering from one outrageous disease or the other. Some of these diseases are only metaphysically explicable. Also, by January, most of the housemaids that travelled for Christmas will be sent back to their homes. Tongues will wag; people will guess why the sudden ‘repatriation’ until their tummies start to bulge in four/ five months’ time. So much for Christmas! Frankly, Christmas is supposed to be a joyful season. Is it? It is a temptation-filled season instead. Come to think about the antics of the boys who are undergoing apprenticeship in different places (umuboyi). From January to December, these people will start saving monies they pilfer from their masters. By December, they will have a few thousands. Guess what? They will spend it in such a vulgar manner as if they were going to die the next day. They drink, they spray, they give to girls, they go to parties, and they indulge in other vices common to their ages. After seeing such indulgence, some boys of their age will think that all is now well with them. In their delusion, they announce defiantly their intentions to stop schooling and take to trading. They do this without realising that most of those boys actually live like slaves under the tutelage of their masters. So much for Christmas! •Valentine Obienyem writes from Awka, Anambra State via valobi2000@yahoo.co.uk

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

News

Andrew Iro Okungbowa,

Calabar

overnor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has described the Carnival Calabar as a big boost to the economic development of the state, stressing that it has served as a huge impetus in the giant stride that the government has made in developing the state in the last one decade. Imoke, who disclosed this yesterday during the opening ceremony of the celebration of this year’s Carnival Calabar, which was flagged off at the Millennium Park (Eleven eleven), also enjoined the people to continue to embrace the carnival in the years ahead. He made the remark to an ecstatic audience who had waited all morning for the signal to commence with the celebration of the carnival, which has been described the biggest

Imoke lists gains of Carnival street party across Africa, with revellers and members of the five traditional bands dressed in colourful attires ready to party and parade through the 12 kilometres carnival route. The governor was accompanied by his wife, the deputy governor and his wife, the duo of Nigerian musical icons of the moment, P-Square (Peter and Paul Okoye), Senator Ben Ajade, PDP governorship candidate for 2015 election, and the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke, were all attired, except for the minister who adorned in his Masta Blasta Band outfit, in colourful and attractive Robin Hood style, had the audience in celebra-

tion mood shouting for joy as the governor and his team headed to the flag off point to declare the street party which lasted till the early hours of today. Addressing the large crowd of celebrants, Imoke said the carnival, which yesterday witnessed its 10th edition, having commenced in 2004 during the administration of former governor Donald Duke, has greatly impacted on the economic and various developmental strides of the state. The carnival, which has since been a yearly event and climax of the Calabar Festival, a 32-day festivity of all sorts,

Imoke said has changed the face of the state, as it has affected every home and every facet of life. Imoke, who was presiding over the even in Calabar for the last time as governor, expressed deep appreciation to the people of the state for embracing the carnival and the entire festival, as they have shown great support. He also appreciated Nigerians and everyone, particularly tourists who in the last one decade have made it to the city to celebrate the yearly event but for them he said there would had been no festival or carnival to celebrate.

As the governor cut the tape to signal the commencement of carnival, which theme was ‘celebration time,’ he enjoined the people and the state government to continue to support the event. And turning to Senator Ben Ajade the PDP governorship aspirant in the 2015 election, he charged him, as if handling the mantle over to him, to ensure that the carnival and festival doesn’t fail as it has become the people’s event. After the short remarks of the governor, which got the audience applauding in a resounding manner, to show they were in support of the

governor’s charge, the carnival finally got underway with the five bands – Freedom, Passion 4, Masta Blasta, Bayside and Seagull – taking to the carnival route to entertain the huge crowd of people who have lined the 12 kilometres carnival route all day. The street party culminated at the U.J Esuene far into the night with the five bands having a go at the coveted prize. As of press time yesterday, the party was still in full swing with the stadium stands and every available space filled by the people who have come to celebrate and be entertained by the bands.

Bird strike forces Arik to abort flight Wole Shadare

n Arik Air flight from Abuja to Yola yesterday made an air return due to a bird strike. A statement by the spokesman for the carrier, Banji Ola, stated that the bird strike affected the aircraft’s wind shield and the captain had to return to Abuja for safety reasons. “Safety of guests comes first at Arik Air and the airline

will not compromise safety. The airline apologises for whatever inconvenience the air return may have caused its esteemed guests,” it said. The airline said an alternative arrangement was made to fly the affected passengers to their destination with another aircraft. Bird strikes are a significant threat to flight safety, and have caused a number of accidents with human casualties.

2015: Elect credible politicians, PPA tells Abians

he Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has congratulated Nigerians on the year-end festivities. In a statement made available to the media on Friday, Abia State Chairman of PPA, Chief Emeka Okafor, said: “Members of our party, PPA, extend their greetings to Nigerians at this special season of Yuletide. We should use this period to re dedicate our lives to God and humanity. Let us continue to promote peaceful co-existence through mutual respect for religious and ethnic beliefs. The unity of Nigeria remains paramount for the sake of

national prosperity”. “As we approach the 2015 general elections, we need to elect selfless leaders with the people’s interest at heart. The current administration of Governor T.A Orji has brought undue hardship to the people of the state. The future of the state has been mortgaged by the governor and the only way out is to ensure his stooge doesn’t win the forthcoming election”. PPA as a party has a credible manifesto that will promote good governance anchored on participatory system of government, he declared.

Archbishop Akinadewo is dead

he Founder, Primate, Prophet and Supreme Head of Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim

Late Akinadewo

Worldwide, Archbishop Isaiah Moyinlorun Akinadewo (Omo Jesu), is dead. A proprietor of many missionary schools, publisher, administrator and Ondo religious leader, he died on Friday night. A statement signed by Senior Superintendent Gabriel Akinadewo says the remains will be buried today at the Mission House after service at the international headquarters of the church in Ondo.

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; his Ondo State counterpart, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Osun State PDP governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore and Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, at the inaugural meeting of the PDP South-West 2015 Campaign, in Akure…yesterday

APC to FG: Release audit report on missing $20bn Johnchuks Onuanyim, Abuja

he All Progressives Congress yesterday opened up on the alleged missing $20 billion oil money of, warning that the Federal Government should not suppress the audit report of the fund. The party stated the deadline for the release of the report, which was set by the government itself, had come and gone. A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the incumbent Emir of Kano, Alhaji Mohammadu Sanusi, had alleged that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation did not remit the sum of $20bn into the Federation Account. The allegation led to an investigation as well as the engagement of an external auditor to audit NNPC’s accounts. Addressing the audit report in a statement by APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the

party said the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, had said, at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2014 in London in October, that the report would be ready in November 2014. Mohammed quoted the minister as saying at the forum, ‘’We engaged PwC (PriceWaterHouseCoopers) with the Auditor General of the Federation taking the lead. They asked for 16 weeks to complete the work; they have spent 11 or 12 weeks so far and they will be done in a couple of weeks.” APC, therefore, stated that the report ought to have been ready by November 7, 2014. It said, ‘’It is now over a month since the deadline for the release of the report expired, and the government has simply kept mum on the report, apparently in an effort to sweep the issue under the carpet, as it has done with all other reports of widespread corruption under the present dispensation. “However, Nigerians will not allow this to happen.

False information: INEC imposes N.5m fine Onyekachi Eze, ABUJA

he Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday said it would impose a N500,000 fine on any political party that presents a candidate with false information. Also, any party that fails to meet the December 18 and 25, 2014 deadline for the submission of names of candidates for next year’s elections will not have such an opportunity anymore. According to the INEC guidelines for the 2015 elections, the deadline for submission of candidates for presidential and National Assembly elections is December 18, while that of governorship and state Assembly elections is December 26. Available information on the commission’s website states that “parties are requested to ensure that the candidates they intend to sponsor at the elections are available with the originals of all their credentials at the re-

spective venues for the exercise in case they are required. “The attention of parties and their candidates is also drawn to section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2006 which disqualifies any candidate who provides false information in his/her affidavit (Form CF 001) from contesting elections. Furthermore, a political party which presents such a candidate is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine up to N500,000.” However, contrary to the promise by INEC that list of presidential and National Assembly candidates would be published on December 25, 2014, such did not take place as at 6p.m on Friday. The commission later stated that the publication of names of candidates for various positions was being done at the constituency levels. INEC also said it does not recognise parallel primaries, stressing that only names of candidates signed by the national chairmen and secretaries of political parties would be accepted.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Moment

L-R: Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; APC Lagos Deputy Governorship candidate, Dr. Oluranti Adebule and Senator, representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, on Christmas eve at the Yoruba Tennis Club on Lagos Island

Deputy Speaker, House of Reps/Imo State PDP Governorship candidate, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; his wife, Lady Ebere; and Donaldians Group Ensemble Ent. Owerri, during the 2014 Christmas Carol in Mbutu, Aboh Mbaise L.G.A Imo State…on Wednesday

A cross-section of kids at the MultiChoice Nigeria’s Christmas Day celebration in Lagos …on Friday L-R: Mrs. Remi Adiukwu; former Ekiti State Deputy Governor/host, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi and Mrs. Dayo Keshi, during Olujimi’s 50th Birthday celebration, in Lagos…PHOTO: TONY EGUAYE

L-R: Kogi State Deputy Governor, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi; Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad and Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Mr. Lekan Asuni, at the inauguration of pneumonia vaccine in Nigeria by NPHCDA in Lokoja…recently

L-R: Olympic Milk Brand Ambassador, Peter Okoye of PSquare; Winner, Blue Santa Selfie Challenge, Joy Orji and Category Marketing Manager, Standard Milk, Nutricima Limited, Mr. Raphael Agbaje, during Christmas celebration with consumers in Lagos

Presidential running mate, All Progressives Party (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, addressing commuters in a free Lagbus ride, during the Christmas celebration in Lagos…on Thursday. PHOTO: SULEIMAN HUSAINI

L-R: Ambassador Polo Luxury Group, Osas Ighodaro; Executive Director, Jennifer Obayuwana; Creative Director, Zashadu, Zainab Ashadu; Creative Director, Ariaba Beads, Linda Mesorob-Sodeinde, during a Luxury designers show at the Polo Luxury Group Headquarters in Lagos

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Fashion

Red carpet favourites of 2014 22-43

Bed, Work & Life

Made in heaven love at Christmas 20

Body Soul SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Why I dumped banking for fashion designing - Omoyeni

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

y heart m m o r f t h g i Stra

4 Pg. e us he re d in w at th y da st er It w as lik e ye e, w e ‘d an ce d 20 14 ! Ph ew ! an d ch am pa gn . In 96 ho ur s of ks ay or w nd re Su fi st s, er 14 e la e & Din t’ s al re ad y th ea t ex pe ct at io ns . Wit h pr ay in g on th e no w ol d ye ar 20 Wine gr er a th is ye ar w it h . To da y, th e cu rt ai n is lo w Ye r ar he New t h m ore jo y. uc o t m in ’ th e N ew Ye he r in a N ew Ye ar. d t an s k s a ar to e C hi bo m ore te us du ct io n of th Vintage ti m e, w e w ill be en fi lle d w it h jo y, te ar s, N or th , th e ab ab le an d e er th s ln in ha vu g e 14 in or 20 m m ct th at Th e ye ar s an d m ai S in w it h it , th e fa ou t th e ki lli ng m an y pe op le y D o w e ta lk ab ca da br a po lit ic s as so ci at ed sa m e te rror grou p, th at an m le hi e tr y w ab ra du ct ed by th ei r ow n co un ia ns are m ore gi rl s an d th e le are be in g ab ol d -l iv e as re fu ge es in th ic op lit pe po s d es an el s ns er e de fe yo un g an d at ou r le ad h th ot ct hu nt ed ? D o w -b fa e e th ne th e zo lik th e te rror w e dw el l on of th e th e le d liv e n do e le io r O at hi ? ct w es pe er sh w ex it cak m ore liv e in bu zi ng ’ an d re m ai ni ng in po rd le ou r lo in s ti gh te r, in y to ca re fo r us ? e fru t a gi ei it l ‘s to or in o th ed c in te re st ed are ex pe ct ti on s of au arou nd s ch o e fa ct th at w e us by th os e w e pu t in po si . If yo u’ re in do ub t, lo ok stma i ur yo r ta lk ab ou t th 14 ed on 20 h s is ar ile om C ye su re pr s pu t sm lo t th is au st er it y m ea e, ho w ev er, w e la ug he d a pl et e st ra ng er ill si tt in g fi rm on M es an d ev en co m st th is es l al on ad d te he ve pi ur lo es D u th is ye ar. m ea ns yo yo es di d yo ur is m th on ti g y ed in an er ad m re ow u yo u are yo u. H ow e Lo rd sh da ys . N o? Yo ? Th e fa ct th at in g th e m an y bl es si ng s th th e ne xt th re e ye ar ! n hi fa ce th is ye ar m it w na y ill w Tr u s. N o? or yo o’ th is yo ur sh ou ld er ed yo ur bi rt hd ay th is ye ar s to sa y ‘G od , I th an k yo u bl es sld co un t ou r at on ou br as sh le re e ce y w an ve id m u’ sa w it h y, Yo u he an n yo m e he ly w av te l it al de fi ni brea th , I le d te ba h se e, th ere are hn so n O at m an Jr., ca pt ured it w aw ai t 20 15 Pg. 50 Th e ly ri ci st , Jo em on e by on e. W hi le w e th in ki ng : th e s8 m 5v e di sc ou ra ge d, na ss ar he u 1T yo n by in gs an d he ed W ly ri c in sp ir st to ss ed / on e by on e, hi s ev ergree n e’ s bi llo w s yo u are te m pe s, na m e th em lif hie ng si on es up bl y an W he n ... m r Arc ne ur o do yo du f th vi nt di ha ou s in rd /C n us Lo st r t th e ne fo al l is lo pla rp ri se yo u w ha s an d se e w ha t G od ha s do Year ng A nd it w ill su New si es bl r t ou t ee co un t’ s m T In de ed , le t’ s s on us , so le ! ct iv el y in 20 14 is st ill po ur in g hi s bl es si ng lle co d an ly al od G ... is s ne w A nd th e go od ra ce . Gags ’G od G by 15 20 in ul ! ef at gr ly ss le #C ea se

&Sou Body

EMBER

NEW

TELEGR

APH

4 28, 201

, DEC SUNDAY

st. Year toap the sto the New re ebrate ng should God the ily Nothi tion. Thankin the marr fam k t you bra brands son’s a trea always loo . cele of h per to l st or a toa nds wil ng with you e are lots meet eacody has t agne ket to ; so nob into deb and frie to enjoyi tage win run Champ vin palate budgeta bank or tles to the forward and the se arelush the bot ng ak nce ned The rkli bre erie the ope pop! ke that r of spa nds. nts bring g exp must are lots which offe , picks lingerin er mome son to le with frie time to mathe ode l re e h for ney eth stil tab Kay sea aus The ch wit mo tog is rea this e for oluwa hold of the There haven’t bec here, the , es to nt at Ibukun spirit ’re win endous valu e sends h andrefreshme . ost the tim g smoot some-t up if you r is alm ting closer e of tion you in trem ire , bra ite yea till get at sam lingerin with rself of cele e you descontrol tha a new to pop is season favour the to find you tles andate into your best of e ke oyment In cas cial to the and ma - tim reach for faspe likely g more bot any pal ish of enj nds. noir, thing nt of toast on the pal , so, and savour h your in openin e than you fin ily and frienon, pinotfadel, wit mome impressionand friends l wine ment fam sauvig zin ng win year. So mo l , wil ily rkli ing e and raz wel The e last your fam mpagn of spa time of the fizz as er . a the t, shi gioves se ate of olute Cha magic for - miliars merlo to, San few of tho other affordable ght-aft an sou All are the absr the fizz ent to cel mosca are just need ething types. st the delive t enjoym riesling friendly herings and as som . e to toa r are ate perfec all gat . They all pal Yea and rare of win sm t al for parties pose of Bottlesand the Newing tha h ide er drinks cial pur eth season ely som out for botOf larg that spe definit er be left classes. be serve can nev h and low must tles the hig , the bot course

one to try no chance tmas your at Chris adent. re is s, d? He recipe t and dec her foo lovely , quain of her is simple s. It h les S e in wites, DIENT prunes ir tim INGRE s pitted s fill the . Sometimyou sin cup rai 3 ple s sts is, any peont intere ing. If it ourite 1 ¾ cupcurrants differeld be bak of my fav . Who 1 cup it cou to try one Lawson taste ited f Nigella cook and be exc will s from chewatch her recipe ’t love to doesn

om Biw

Iklak

and spice de wi zests, e and o a largegently, l nge juic oa int the boi mer for , ora coc queur eetened bring to lts. Sim t and unsw an and butter mee off the hea peel e saucepg as the then tak nutes. l hav orange tter rin wil d mi and it , bu , stir nutes up ted longer candie for 30 10 mi to stand nutes are ve it for ur, alpiece soft unsal ar 2 oz ks wn sug leave the 30 mi u can lea eggs, flobaking 1 ½ sticdark bro After a little (yo beaten er and on or the 1 cup honey ueur wd zest) cooledh). Add ing po oden spo bine. ⅔ cup coffee liq ice and thoug meal, bakwith a wo e, to com prethe ½ cup nges (ju spice oa ora mond and stir r you lik re into bake mixed d coc 2-3 xtu eve a, on and ene spo sod a, how cake mi oven top of 1 tea unsweet aten) spatulr the fruit Place in the time the have a ¼ cup eggs (be se flour e tin. by which t will Pou ge a cak bu cake 3 lar all-purpo meal er pared –2 hours, be firm you insert it will 1 cup almond ing powd e for 1¾ e should look. If the cak le. Put a ¾ cupspoon bak ing sod the cakand stickycentre of the midd l. ½ tea spoon bak ma rk shiny into the gooey in k to coo tea s ½ g rac to ga and bot tester a little N be coolin RATIOthe ov enthe sides 9cm / 3½ still on a e EPA h , e cak PR he at nd wit Lin the Pre C/300°F. 8-inch rou cake tin . Put ed / ent 2/150° a 20cm bottom parchmcoffee liof loose- baking tom of honey, deep, inch le layer r, sugar, a doub it, butte the fru

EMBER

W 4 NE 28, 201

RAPH

TELEG

, DEC SUNDAY

&Sou

Body

ed its rea ch was ye ar w year s e wa a ne he old and Archi Year’s end, way, so New on its another d es an d for parti It was excite for e Day. s a tim all night. rs an d It wa ying up ma ke ise it for sta e for no ht. , bu t a tim rks to lige for fun too. firewo s a tim nning Archie, It wa e for plawas for do. to tim ar s s wa New Ye of thing utions’. sol nk The als, to thi l them ‘re for go m time cal word t of the lis They a fancy ke a s ls. ma at’ sou le Th tions, ing? their peop and lp uplift ar ’s resolubehind rry cry awbe a jam. to he New Ye the past ke s for le str in sta With leave the litt ts were when was ren can de mito find. ArWhy His pa one pu t asi make e, ss com pines Ans: dit ion ; but an d r happine to the porcu at tra ead nt year. ck say nd do greate s a gre think ah the we odu sou ar s res d ough It wa ed to What kiss? did the h ye m his up.” fly an py thrNew Year’ sou rce lov What as eac ed fro rthey Ouch een a ack me chie r? His s we re a eh ow als slipp betw im po dian? “You qu spide he has a Ans: d! er. ile. som ence go mo st dern ’t bir lut ion and che ma ke b, Ans: le wh differ -th e t a mo ve a we a litt nn ed, by, the fly can can his the joy few a als s u for spo t of . es. ote go pla m yo bu on ’t ha What’ head t the , his do you at he tant always wr t the y No w w Ye ar do es t can fly d? How He doesn Ne ie He kep just wh e we nt on . a bir A bird E, bu bulb? He do wn , bu ow n yo ur y Arch nd Ans: with thr a lightlunch. Ans: wa He did the tim not sta als, and ends go als we re for bsite! n eat ht the as did ny go E and bu t the lionted a lig wo rk can we . rd to so on po st with letter? tions ma did ha too y ’d it can rts olu too wa Wh sta ns one res de He away. ye ar he they’d ch too If it ma yb e What tai Ans: it He mawe re mu ie, ope. Th is wheredisplay. ns be- . ly con envel Arch for you. when e good up pla on ke a m An too som ma work out a few Ans: form got hisal sheet fer- the always on ma de a nut do. go he for be does dif Write Archie’sDay. ch ie wr ite on Then lost his uld be to fail, ’s sound So Ar for m to he wo goals w Year . m on What s? ! cause this year not want knew sim pleals upon to his for Ne pu t the you’ll sneeze CASHEW But chie did was, he il. his go tap ed it r, so it Th en rror, so day. va he Ans: rro mi ent. Ar ver as he’d prema kin g He m mi ne. your m everythe pa rcle d throo . and ehow nd to go see the er all som mi keep nt ba s never he looke works that set his would we wa So aftd the fire ma ke time rro r, his He tions he ul mi nd a bit an to go mi Each it s , , re ut tie do ne ns the the resolu tho ug htfrk, witho int o olu tio ! are we re wo Hi s e res of fun als y to ye ar ht to som a wa m go d. a lot the straig ep. w. rea found ke the as can be simple of sle Archie and ma m ww An d by, this ch ie’ s om d d fro Ar Then goals thod, passe fill ed Cu lle funshop.c his . w me te keep ily his of a ne at to dony no . ke pt p- fam true. thought t wh ma need Arch ie s ha too de He ew jus So and he wa he kn to ma ke he ma , d an ed t say goals He usyou migh ta , se jus cho goals he tons. this year But

Juliet

zzle gspu w Goard Cross

r Art Colou

Contents 28.12.2014 COVER

I was a creative child right from the beginning. I could virtually create designs from anything. Funny enough, I’ll say the defining moment came even before I left banking

-Omoyeni Ajayi

} 18-19

BEAUTY

To look glamorous at every party. Make sure your makeup is always on point to give you that festive glow

FASHION

Bright colours, sequins, high slit dresses, mini dresses, laces, prints and floor length evening dresses are some of the trends that rocked in 2014

T h e Te a m Juliet Bumah (Editor)

Vanessa Okwara (Correspondent) Wole Adepoju

} 22&43

Biwom Iklaki (Correspondent) Ugochukwu Nnakwe (Graphics)

MY PASSION I think people just have that impression that I must be a playboy and probably have lots of girlfriends but I’m not like that at all

Edwin Usoboh (Graphics) +234 (0) 811 675 9770, +234 (0) 701 110 1014 julietbumah@gmail.com julietbumah@newtelegraphonline.com

} 17

} 21

GLAM DUDES Purple is the new colour of suits that bring out the glamour in a man. We a r i n g a hint of purple here and there gives a man a super edgy and cool look

} 44

Associates

BED, WORK & LIFE How does she tell this woman who gave her a platform, a visa to better life, that she had slept with her husband for three years? But truth she must tell. “Auntie, I knew your husband had sired two children outside

your home,” she says.

} 20

Helen Paul

Eyitayo Aloh

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Body&Soul

How has it been with you career-wise? It’s been busy and fun as well. What did winning the Gulder Ultimate Search do for you as a person? It gave me a platform to excel in my chosen career. It helped to further my acting career which I had been doing even before the Gulder Ultimate Search. Having been exposed to a whole lot of people, I got more roles. I also produce as well. I have produced my own movie, Lotanna. It has not been premiered yet, but I will do that. What are the popular movies you have been in recently? The most popular will be ‘Playing Safe.’ It was a movie that was packed with a lot of stars like Ini Edo, Tonto Dike and the rest. Currently, I am shooting a movie titled, ‘Getting Rich in Lasgidi.’ There were high moments after winning the Gulder Ultimate Search like getting a big role on Tinsel, a few movie roles and some modelling gigs. I’ve been in a lot of others and I have to work harder now so that people will get confused when they hear my name and cannot count how many movies they have seen me in. I want to do as many as I can. What inspired you into acting? First of all, I started acting by accident. So I won’t really say it was something I’ve always wanted to do. I have always known that I was good at it but it was not something I had consciously gone out to do. Today I am in it and what is really driving me in everything that I set out to do is success. The outstanding thing about me is that I don’t believe that I have got to a point where I need to relax. I keep pushing myself every day and setting my goals high so that I can quickly surpass them. What is your educational background? I hold a BSc in Sociology from the University of Lagos. I got into the entertainment industry at a very tender age. I started as far back as 2004 when I was 17 years old with lots of modelling jobs. I was doing that as well as a whole lot of things. So when I got into the university, I just faced my studies and ensured that I finished my schooling. Entertainment can be very distracting and can make you want to quit school. What was growing up like? Growing up was fantastic. I had a very supportive family. I was born into the royal family of former Obi of Onitsha, H.R.H Obi Ofala Okechukwu Okagbue and Ogechukwu Clara Okagbue of Onitsha Kingdom, Anambra State. I have five siblings. My dad has passed away but my mum has been there for me as well as my siblings. My older sister, Sandra, was the one that paved the way for me in the industry. She is into modelling. She paved the way and I followed suit and it

Why I’m attracted to girls with beautiful faces - Chris Okagbue Multi-talented Gulder Ultimate Search Season 8 winner, Chris Okagbue, is a successful artiste by all standard. The Anambra-born model, actor and producer tells VANESSA OKWARA AND BIWOM IKLAKI about his royal background, rise to fame and sundry issues has been great so far. I come from a family of artistic people. You are seen as a playboy by most people. What do you make of that? Well, I don’t think they call me a playboy to my face. I think they just have that impression that I must be a playboy and probably have lots of girlfriends but I’m not like that at all. I actually like to play roles that are more complicated. I know I have the ‘fine boy’ looks, which is effortless for me. So, I will rather play the more complicated ro l e s that will help me to grow as an actor Who is your current girlfriend? There is no new girl, just the only girl that has been my girlfriend all these years. What is her name? I would rather k e e p my private life out of the media. But there is someone in my life I am currently in a relationship with. Chris Okagbue is not single. Are wedding bells ringing soon? Eventually, it will ring. It is in the tunnel somewhere along the journey but it will definitely happen. Since you are in a relationship, how do you fend off other ladies seeking your attention? It is not very easy but I am a relatively nice

guy so I look for polite ways to fend off their interests. What is the first thing that attracts you to a girl? I think it has to be the face. The girl’s face has to be beautiful. Then every other thing can come in such as the body shape and so on. I am very particular about the face of a girl before I will get attracted. Describe your style?

My favourite fragrance

I am usually styled by a good friend of mine, Maca Ban Couture. My style is basically what I feel comfortable in. My best colour is red. I wear black and also white a lot. What is your signature clothing? I don’t stick to one type of clothing for a very long time. For now, I wear a funny hair cut which I don’t even have a name for. Tomorrow, it could be another style. What is your favourite car? I love BMW cars. I love fast cars. I had a sport car before I won the SUV from the GUS so that is what I am currently driving. And your favourite perfume? My favourite perfume of all time is probably not a very well-known brand but I love it. It is called 24 Gold by Jack Bauer of 24 series. The name of the perfume is just 24 which is a franchise perfume for the series. The fashion item you cannot be caught wearing? I cannot wear fur. I cannot be seen wearing feather unless I am on the runway and it is the theme of the fashion show. All the same, I try not to limit myself. When I see something I like, I go for it but if it is something I feel I cannot deal with, I don’t go after it. Do you consider yourself a romantic person? Yes, I am an extremely romantic person. Romance is a very broad subject. My idea of romance may not be your idea of what is romantic, but I am a very romantic person. What is your passion? I am driven by the desire to succeed. I always want to be the best in everything I do. I also believe that there is nothing that I cannot accomplish except the really technical stuff. What are your three main wishes you would like fulfilled? Health is very important to me, wealth and love too.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Omoyeni Ajayi is the brain behind Sartorial Yeni, a budding fashion label making waves in the nation’s capital, Abuja. She is now a household name among Abuja’s trendsetters; her amazing designs are worn by fashion forward ladies both here in the country and overseas. Ajayi, the Creative Director of Sartorial Yeni, started out as a banker. But after three years, she dropped her banking job for her long held passion of fashion designing. In this interview, she told VANESSA OKWARA why she ditched banking for fashion designing

Why I dumped banking Tell us about your childhood. Growing up for me was fun. I am the last born in my family. Everybody treated me like their baby and I was really pampered and cherished by a loving family that showed me so much love and care. I grew up in Osogbo, Osun State and growing up was fun-filled. Although, I had ‘issues’ with my parents – which was natural with our generation while growing up – but thanks to them, I am who I am today because of the support they gave me. God bless them a great deal. Growing up, I had grown siblings and a full house; it was all fun. What is your educational background? I did my university degree pro-

gramme at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, where I studied Computer Science. On graduation, I worked for a while. I even worked in the bank before deciding to follow my God-given passion, which is fashion designing. What made you to go into banking in the beginning? Working in the bank was something I enjoyed a great deal. As a kid, I dreamt of working in a bank, especially the customer service department. I used to visualise myself in suits and high heels speaking with customers and dealing with their complaints. But when I did get into the banking sector, I ended up in the marketing department. At that point in time, I loved doing my job but I never forgot my love for entrepreneurship. Why did you dump a bank job for fashion designing? Banking was not bad. In fact, it was a great experience for me, a good foundation. But when you wake up each day with the thought that you’re helping someone else fulfil their dreams and not yours, then you know something needs to change. I knew I was not fulfilled; right inside me something was really missing, a void that could not be filled by any other thing. I realised I needed to pursue my own dream. One day, the decision was made easy for me as the banks started downsizing. A lot of my colleagues lost their jobs. It was a pathetic period in the banking sector as a lot of people lost their jobs to restructuring. The decision to leave was made easier for me when the banking tsunami started. So I decided to resign before the flood caught up with me. Moreover, I had a flair for fashion. Also, friends and family always commended my fashion sense and colour combination and it had always been my dream to go into fashion designing. When was the defining moment, when it dawned on you that you would go into fashion designing? Fashion designing had been in me right from my growing up years. As a child, I loved playing with dolls and changing their clothes. From redesigning dolls given to me as a child to cutting dresses out of papers and creating amazing designs out of them, I knew I was an artistic person. I was a creative child right from the beginning. I could virtually create designs from anything. Funny enough, I’ll say the defining moment came even before I left banking. I went for breakfast with some of my senior colleagues, I can’t place what it was but I just said I needed to open a fashion house. If I had opened it then, it could have been named Yeni Stitches. But I think the mistake I made then was telling my mum. Well, I would not really call it a mistake now, I guess, because it wasn’t the definite time for me to branch out into designing. Everything in life has its time and season. What was your family’s reaction when you told them you were going into fashion designing? I didn’t even tell them when I was going to start because my sister in USA warned me not to because of fear of my mum. Growing up in a family where your dad was a principal and mum a proprietress, all they wanted from their

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Body&Soul

for fashion designing - Omoyeni Ajayi children was for us to go to school and secure a good job. In my case, banking was good news for them. So when I eventually told them that I was leaving my job to start a fashion house, they felt a little bit uneasy. I could read it in their faces when I was telling them of my intention to leave my job and set up my own fashion house; but since they knew it was what I had been dreaming of since I was much younger, they were happy and gave me their blessings. Why do you call yourself a tailor rather than a fashion designer as people in this profession now prefer to be called? Gone are those days when we don’t take pride in what we do. Moreover, a fashion designer only designs but a tailor can do more than just creating designs. A tailor is involved in every aspect of dressmaking. This is the festive season. What trends are in vogue now that clients keep asking for? My customers just walk in and tell me what they want and we do the professional thing. To tell you the truth, our customers are like family, so, we discuss and get things done properly in such a way that they go home satisfied. At the end of the day, they go home with amazing trendy designs that can compete favourably at any occasion they appear. What does the festive season mean to a designer like you? Festive season for us basically is all about work and more work. People want to wear something new and good for Christmas and the New Year, so it’s basically work all round for us. It is the busiest time of the year for us because we want to make sure we satisfy all our customers. At the end of the day, we smile and they smile too. In what way does the season add to your business? It helps more with the sale of our ready-to-wear clothes. At this period, we design lots of clothes that you can just come in and fit to size. Some clients can’t be patient to wait for you to start making an outfit which involves the intricacies of choosing a fabric and design. They prefer to come in and look at what we have already done and make a choice. So they come in, pick what they like from our already made clothes and go without the hassles of choosing designs and all that. Who are your biggest customers? All my customers are big. In my fashion house, we regard every customer as the same. We aim to satisfy everybody irrespective of your social status. So everybody that walks into our office is considered as a big customer and we treat you as one. Are you restricted only to clients based in Abuja? No, as a matter of fact, we also have clients outside Nigeria and we also send our ready to wear outfits abroad too. Our business has expanded to such an extent that we get a lot of orders from those living outside the country. We make sure we satisfy them and meet up with their demand. What are your staff strength and challenges you face in the business? I have about 10 people working with

me. I have good ones but staff can be funny sometimes. They bring with them certain challenges that must be resolved from time to time. But when it comes to challenges, I will say electricity and accommodation. Rent is the major challenge. Of course, we all know how high the rents are in Abuja. It costs a lot to get a good office space in the city centre and nearby satellite towns. Also, customers can be difficult to please and I just have to find a way to make them satisfied. Like is often said, the customer is king. Abuja women are classy without being showy. What is fashion to you? Fashion to me is what fits and makes one to look good. Fashion is not only what’s in vogue. It has to be an outfit that brings out the best in you and make you to look very nice. As a designer, what kind of clothes do you make for your clients that you can’t wear yourself? I wear most of what I make for my clients. However, what I am not comfortable with and do not wish to wear are clothes showing too much of the V, that is clothes that show too much of the cleavage. What is your passion? My greatest passion in life is God and my work. These are two things that I am most passionate about. I don’t joke with the things of God and whatever that has to do with my business. I am so passionate about my God and making heaven, and then work follows. I don’t joke with my work because I have not got to where I want to be in the industry. What is your beauty routine? I don’t have a beauty routine. What inspires your designs? The print I work with. Fabrics inspire me a lot. Once I see the print, I already know what I want to do with it. What is the favourite fabric you like to work with? I just love to work with our local print. Ankara is one of my favourites and you can create beautiful designs from our African print with ease. They are so beautiful if it is used well and the designs on the print help to create designs that are distinct and unique. There are lots of things you can do with fabrics especially our African prints. The colours, the patterns, the textures all make you love working with them. I have been able to understand the materials I work with and I can never get tired of working with them. Again, working with a material also depends on the clients I’m working for,

meaning, even if I’m in love with the material, if they don’t like the material, I can’t force it on them. But, if I have my way, I will convince them and at the end of the day, they will like the outcome. What’s your life philosophy? My philosophy is to try and take life as it comes. What are your three greatest wishes in life? First on my list is to have a good home. Secondly, I wish to live in g o o d

health and wealth and thirdly I wish my label should go places. Which is your favourite perfume? I am not particular about fragrances. Any good and nice one is fine by me. What gave birth to your business name- Sartorial Yeni? Why that name? Sartorial in Italy means fashion and Yeni is cut out of my name Omoyeni. So we could still call my label OGE’YENI. This can even happen in few years’ time. What inspires you? I am inspired mostly by things I see in nature. The things I see around me and people I come in contact with all inspire me when creating my designs. What do you do when you are not just in the mood or lack inspiration? Whenever it happens, I ask questions from people around me, especially my staff, because I do not cut my staff off. I believe their opinions also count. In this sense, they also inspire me and I appreciate them a lot. Also, at some point, I give myself a little break and unwind to get my inspiration back.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

with

Juliet Bumah +234 81 1 675 9770

julietbumah@gmail.com

Made in heaven love at Christmas

t’s been two weeks after Kathryn and Dave got married. It has been two weeks of making Dave realise he made the best choice. They had left for Dubai, a week after their wedding. They had delayed their honeymoon because Dave had to see to some businesses. Despite her pregnant state, Kathryn has taken Dave through unimaginable heights of pleasure. The night before their departure from their suit in Armani The Residence, Dubai, she gave him such head that got him shooting upward. It was his first experience of such copious cum. He felt like his peep increased in size that night. He felt he was lying on a bed of the finest of wools and she promised him even more dreamy experiences. That night, as he cuddled her to his chest on that luxurious bed in that luxury hotel room, he murmured, “Merry Christmas my adorable wife. I will forever love you, my love. I’ll kill any man who comes near you.” Just back from the one week honeymoon in Dubai, Dave asks Kathryn to go to her former house and make arrangements on how to move her things into her new home. Dave suggests that she gets Alice to help her in packing her intimate possessions first. His brothers will help pack other things she may want to move to her marital home. Kathryn and Alice have not had the opportunity to talk about their secrets. An opportunity presented itself. They are in Kathryn’s house. After packing a few boxes, they sit down to rest a bit. Over glasses of juice, Alice says, “So who are you leaving this flat for? “Dave’s cousin is moving in here,” Kathryn replies. “Auntie, remember the secret you talked about the other day? What is it?” Kathryn asks. “Kiki, let’s allow sleeping dogs lie,” Auntie Alice says. “No auntie. We agreed that sisters do not hide anything from one another. I want to know whatever it is. Moreover, I have a confession to make,” Kathryn replies. Alice takes a very deep breath. “Kiki, let’s just forget about the past and look forward to a bright future,” she says. “No auntie. Remember your favourite saying? You made me to know that no matter how bitter the truth is, it becomes sweeter than a lie in the long run. You see, when I met Dave, I told him the truth about my life. He felt bad at first, but he later got to trusting me. I’m sure he’s happy I told him everything. I made up my mind that any man who married me would never regret it,” Kathryn says. “Has Dave ever sought to know our relationship?” Alice asks. “No auntie,” Kathryn replies. “Hmmmmmmm...James has been dying to know. But I told him you’re a distant cousin of mine,” Alice says. “Thank you auntie. I understand that this is a truth that will only get more bitter if members of the family know about it,” Kathryn says with a sigh of relief. Then she asks again, “Auntie, can you please tell me what you wanted to say

that day? I have been having sleepless nights since then. I have also been wondering why Dave respects you so much.” “Kiki, your husband, Dave, is a perfect gentleman. You’re so lucky to get each other because I know you both have good and sincere hearts. Dave is the reason why I remained in this family. He welcomed me with open arms and made everybody to respect me here,” Alice says. “Oh, that’s so nice. But you haven’t told me what I’m dying to know,” Kathryn says. Alice fidgets a little and sips her juice and asks, “Kiki, do you know that James has two children outside our home?” “What!” Kathryn exclaims not at the news, but at the fact that Alice knows and has kept quiet. “Yes Kiki. James sired two children with a woman outside our home. I got to know the day they had a quarrel about two years ago. I overheard James telling

the woman on the phone that he would take the children away from her if she didn’t changed from ‘her bad ways’. He complained about a text message that the woman sent to him. I said nothing to him and he didn’t know I heard everything. That night, while he was sleeping, I took his phone and read his messages. Unfortunately for him, the woman sent in another message while I was reading the first. The first message, which I felt was the bone of contention, was about money. She wanted more money. Then, the second message was a bombshell. ‘You think these children are yours? You must be out of your mind! They’re my husband’s, I didn’t tell him anything. I confided in your husband, Dave. He told me to maintain my cool, which I did,” Alice says. “Auntie! I wish I have your kind of mindset,” Kathryn says, marvelling at Alice’s patience. Then, she asks one question that has

been eating her up, “How did you earn my husband’s trust?” “Hmmmmmmmmm, that’s another shocker, Kiki. Dave is the reason every member of this family respects me so much. He speaks so highly of me,” Alice replies. “Yes, I know, but why?” Kathryn insists. “Dear sister, don’t fret. Dave was my first love! He made me a woman. He was in the university then and I was seeking admission into the university. I went to the campus to check my JAMB result. I cried when I didn’t see my name on the list of successful students. He saw me and came to comfort me and promised that he would help me gain admission the following year. I started visiting him on the campus and he made me read very well for the exam. In fact, he literarily opened my brain and put books inside. I was successful and in our joy the day I went to check my result, we did it...first time for me. He graduated after my first year and that was the end. We lost contact. You could imagine the joy when James introduced me as his wife to him! Was I happy to see him! At that point, it was as if I met my long lost brother. James knows about him forcing me to read hard and pass my exam, but not about the ‘reward’ he got from me. If you hear James call me ‘cry cry baby’, you now know the reason. But Kiki dear, since I came into this family, Dave has taken me as a younger sister, nothing else,” Alice says with a smile. Kathryn’s eyes are almost popping from their sockets! Auntie Alice dated my husband and her husband dated me! James! This life! “You can’t mean what you just told me. I mean, is that a true story?” Kathryn asks, incredulous. “Yes, Kiki. That’s the truth, and nothing but the truth, dear sister. Now, I remember you told me you have something to share with me,” Alice says. That brings Kathryn back to the present. How does she tell this woman who gave her a platform, a visa to better life, that she had slept with her husband for three years? But truth she must tell. “Auntie, I knew your husband had sired two children outside your home,” she says. “Oh that? Dave should have told you I know about it,” Alice says. “Dave didn’t tell me, your husband, James, did!” Kathryn says and Alice turns sharply to her. “James told you what? You mean my husband confided in you? Why? He doesn’t seem to like you. He doesn’t want me to get close to you at all. So why tell you his closely guided secret?” Alice asks, deep furrows in her brows. Kathryn says, “Auntie, pull yourself together. Your husband, saint James, was my client. He patronised me for close to three years...” “WHAT?” Alice screams and jumps up from the divan. ****** Can Alice bear this truth? What’s the effect on the two couples? Let’s find out on Sunday! •Send your observations to the email above.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Glow with the season Vanessa Okwara

he ticket to looking absolutely fabulous during the holidays is to take extra care with your makeup. Looking glamorous at every party. Make sure your makeup is always on point to give you that festive glow that is usually seen on ladies at events and New Year Eve parties. If you are beautifully dressed without a glamorous makeup, especially during the festive period, something is just missing. You have to make extra effort to bring glam to your looks. You can do this by adding lots of drama to your eyes and lips. Get this year’s popular perfect smoky eye, add shimmer to your eyes and face and get the lips popping with bright red lipstick. Shimmer adds drama to your looks. You can get shimmery eyes in several ways: apply shimmery shadow on your lid just above the iris in your eye and on the inner corner of the eye. This will open up the eye, lighten up what is usually a dark area of the lid, and helps eyes look amazing in photos. If you do go with the shimmery eye, don’t go overboard with the shimmer elsewhere on your face. Apply shimmer to no more than two places. For example, shimmer your eyelids and your cheekbones but don’t also add a batch of shimmer to your dé-

colletage. Here are a few tips every girl should know for pulling off that classic makeup combo of red lips, thick black liner, and just enough festive shimmer. 1. Give eyes drama and glimmer. Use black waterproof liner up top, getting thicker toward the corner and elongating slightly past the lid. 2. Get your brows done. You can have perfect makeup, but if your brows are a mess, you’ll look unfinished. Use a lighter colour on the brow bones and inner corners and a bit of black and brown on the outer corners. Do mascara on top but keep the bottom lashes clean and add a bit of shimmery pale gold pencil, tracing it just along lower lashes to add sparks. 3. Using a bronzer to create contours on the face is a particularly flattering choice for holiday makeup. A soft brush is perfect for applying a matte bronzer to the hollows of the cheeks and along the hairline. 4. Wear red lipstick. A red lip is a very simple way to achieve glamorous holiday makeup. Everyone can wear red; they just need to vary their shade a little bit. Apply lip gloss to create more elegant look and to make your lips luminous.

Body&Soul

• Colours It was indeed a colourful year as bright hues filled the red carpet on major events. Cobalt blue, red, white and yellow kept debuting on red carpet events all through 2014. There was no major event you would not see ladies clad their beautiful bodies in these bright hues.

his was indeed a year of fashion and trends. We can gladly say that the red carpet saw lots of haute fashion outfits that made the ladies look absolutely glamorous. It was top notch glamour for Nigerian celebrities and fashion forward ladies on the red carpet all through the year as they met up with red carpet trends all over the fashion world. It was a year filled with body revealing and cleavage baring clothes. Bright colours, sequins, high slit dresses, mini dresses, laces, prints and floor length evening dresses are some of the trends that rocked in 2014. To celebrate the year of style, we have rounded up some of the best looks and major trends straight from the red carpet that brought dreamy smiles to our faces and whimsical looks on the guys.

Vanessa Okwara

• Mullet dress Initially, this

• Thigh high slit dresses Ladies with beautiful straight legs cannot help but show off what they have by wearing clothes slit high up to their thighs. The more daring ladies take the slit a lot higher, all the way up to the waist, showing off their smooth legs and thighs. The thigh-high slit celebrates the female form in sexy, classic, red carpet glamour.

Red carpet favourites of 2014

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

SundayBusiness SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

Features

2015 is the year of Entrepreneurship p.24

Transport Hyundai Elite i20 bags Indian award p.25

Interview

Why we acquired Norwegian warships –Akpobolokemi p.27

News

Economy: Group harps on skills acquisition p.29

Goodluck Jonathan

2014: When govt got serious with non-oil sectors

Paul Ogbuokiri

Paul Ogbuokiri Head, Business paulogbuokiri@newtelegraph online.com

David Mark

he economy started in 2014 on an upbeat note, with the entire economic indicators pointing high. The indicators took a cue from the performance of the economy in the 2013 fiscal year. It was also a year of price hikes and intensive tax drive, as government sought to inject life into the economy through non-oil sectors. The Federal Government in May 24 released the 2014 budget approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan. But many Nigerians criticised the heavy allocation to Defence (20 per cent), with a sum of N968.127bn out of a total budget of N4.962trn because of growing insecurity in the country. The government later in the year got the approval of the National Assembly to take a $1bn loan to fight the insurgency in the North-East. The Rule of Law Collective, a nongovernmental organisation, dismissed the 2014 budget as “wasteful, short-sighted and extravagant,” highlighting specific spending anomalies in the appropriation Act. In September 2014, the Federal Government in an effort to boost electricity supply announced the injection of N213bn as bailout fund for the new electricity generation (GenCos) and distribution companies (DisCos). The GenCos and DisCos had reportedly been battling to provide stable electricity to

“The authorities fully recognise the implications of this exogenous shock. They have already taken bold measures to counteract lower oil receipts, pressure on the naira, and a fall in reserves,” IMF mission leader to Nigeria, Gene Leon, said in a recent statement

Nigerians, forcing government to intervene. The bailout fund, government had said, was meant to settle legacy gas debts of N36bn (up from N25bn in August) as well as the shortfall in revenues to the sector since the new power firms took over the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in November 2013. New electricity tariffs were announced in the outgoing year, increasing the economic burden on Nigerians. The nation’s Gross Domestic Product expanded by 6.23 per cent in the third quarter of 2014 over the same quarter of the previous year. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Nigeria averaged 6.14 per cent from 2005 until 2014, reaching an all-time high of 8.60 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010

and a record low of 3.46 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. According to recent figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the Nigerian economy advanced 6.23 per cent year-on-year in the three months to September 2014, marginally down from 6.54 per cent in the previous period. Yet, the oil sector stalled, hurt by lower production and a fall in international prices. Average crude oil production fell to 2.15m barrels per day in the third quarter of 2014 from 2.21 mbpd in the previous period. The oil sector shrank 3.6 per cent year-on-year, following a 5.14 per cent expansion in the three months to June. The non-oil sector expanded 7.51 per cent, compared with a 6.71 per cent rise in the previous quarter. Growth was mainly driven by manufacturing (16 per cent), particularly apparel and footwear, crop production (up by 4.34 per cent) and activities in telecommunications (6.25 per cent) and real estate (5.9 per cent). On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded 8.67 per cent, following a 4.18 per cent expansion in the previous period. The nation’s GDP growth for the first quarter 2014 stood at 6.2. per cent and 6.54 per cent in the second quarter. The growth rate is expected to slow to about five per cent in 2015 as falling oil prices cut revenues and spending, the International Monetary Fund said last Friday. The NBS in July 2014 revised the size of Nigerian economy to about N81.009trn, following the final rebasing of the country’s Gross Domestic C ON TI N UE D ON PAGE 28

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Business/features

2015 is the year of entrepreneurship How an African entrepreneur, Mr. Tony Elumelu, launched a $100 million programme to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs, writes Jennifer Ehidiamen The programme is truly pan-African,” she says. It prides on the uniqueness of bringing together all the critical tools that entrepreneurs need to succeed

Elumelu

ony Elumelu (CON) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, with over 20 years experience in the banking and investment sectors in Africa. In the course of his career, Elumelu says he has met hundreds of entrepreneurs who carry in them the hope of Africa’s future. “Many of them are young people with incredible dreams and business ideas but without the experience or the access to mentoring and support required in order to build a bankable business plan,” he said. With no access to the right resources and lack of know-how, the ideas remain dreams in the hearts of the young African population, while the continent’s growth is stifled by high rates of unemployment and poverty. But not for much longer. Elumelu has chosen to rise to the challenge. The Nigerian entrepreneur has personally committed $100 million to empower African entrepreneurs through the newly launched Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP). Elumelu, who is the chairman of Heirs Holdings and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, at the launch of the programme in Lagos Nigeria on December 1, 2014, said his philanthropic commitment was driven from the stance that government and big corporate companies alone cannot provide the number of jobs required by the millions of young Africans entering the job market every year. “Demographic trends show that Africa needs to create 10 million jobs a year to sustain its young population,” Elumelu said. TEEP will identify and help grow 10,000 start-ups and young businesses from across Africa over the next 10 years, targeting the creation of 1,000,000 new jobs and $10 billion in annual revenues. Africa’s Booming Entrepreneurial Space Elumelu is optimistic that Africa’s young entrepreneurs have the capacity to grow Africa’s economy. He says that if he could make it successfully on the continent, so can the next generation of Africans. “To be able to make it at home, on a continent handicapped by narratives of hopelessness, the fact that entrepreneurs from a humble beginning like myself, like Ayodeji Adewunmi the co-founder of the Nigeria job search site Jobberman, like Monica Musonda, the CEO of Java Food in Zambia, like Strive Masiyiwa of Econet in South Africa, not only speaks to the potential for success in our homeland, but

it gives hope to other budding African entrepreneurs, wherever they may be, that success is possible,” he said. Elumelu has met several young entrepreneurs who have a deep insight into local consumer demand. “They can spot unique gaps in the market for specific products and services. They can tap into strong networks and often exhibit a burning drive to create innovative, often disruptive, solutions to complex challenges,” he said. To him, these are young people who can fuel Africa’s future, but who often lack the capital, the training or the support to take their strong small business to a national or regional scale. It is this gap Elumelu seeks to fill, to provide the capital investment and support for young entrepreneurs on the continent to flourish, add value to lives and help Africa rise to the top on the global supply chain. A Pan-African programme for entrepreneurs According to Parminder Vir, director of Entrepreneurship at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEEP will be an annual programme. An official application process will start in January 2015 on an online application portal managed by the foundation. African entrepreneurs who are resident on the continent will have the opportunity of applying. Over 10,000 applications from Pan-African Francophone, Anglophone and Portuguese nations across Africa are anticipated. Vir says the programme is open to both business and social entrepreneurs who have physical or technology-enabled business ideas, or existing businesses not over three years in operation. A group of independent judges will select the best 1,000 businesses from a range of industries in Africa. The selected entrepreneurs will then be taken through a series of training, mentorship and networking opportunities. There is no age limit for application and the opportunity is open to new business ideas or existing businesses not older than three years. “At the end of that, the entrepreneurs on our programme will be provided seed capital investment of $5,000. As they develop and grow their business plan, they will be able to then access their second round of funding which will be structured as a loan or as an equity investment,” says Vir. “The programme is truly pan-African,” she says. It prides on the uniqueness of bringing together all the critical tools that entrepreneurs need to succeed. The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepre-

neurship Programme is inspired by three guiding principles: the inclusive economic philosophy of Africapitalism, based on the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic and social potential; commitment to drive African economic growth through African entrepreneurship; and a mission to institutionalise luck by creating an environment where African entrepreneurs can get critical elements of support in the early stages of their business life. Why Entrepreneurs Fail Within their first year of starting, 95 per cent of businesses fail. Omololu David Aiyeola points to two factors that led to his failure as an entrepreneur - a poor business environment and lack of know-how. Aiyeola says he experienced the hard side of entrepreneurship when he resigned from his job to start his business. After months of bootstrapping, he soon ran out of funds and turned his office space into a mini-mart where people purchased sachet water and mobile recharge cards. This was a huge shift from his initial plan to run a social enterprise that teaches adolescents how to save and be financially empowered. He says if he knew entrepreneurship was more than just launching a business, he would have stalled his desire to start up. Like Aiyeola, many young entrepreneurs launch their businesses without carrying out a feasibility study or testing out the market to ensure their products or services will sell. Most operate on assumption. Segun Ogunlana, the founder of Afripreneur, a media company that provides online access to training and research for entrepreneurs, says mentorship is also an indispensable element in the journey of entrepreneurship. Ogunlana started his business out of the frustration of seeing the increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria. He said his experience finding an internship placement during his days in the university first exposed him to the reality of the high rate of unemployment. Graduating with good grades was no guarantee that you would find a job, he said. But in 2011 after launching his business, he decided to spend the next three years conducting in-depth research into the challenges of entrepreneurship. He says his findings will enable him to better position Afripreneur for its 2015- re-launch. Ogunlana says he is excited by TEEP. This is an opportunity long overdue, he says. Not funds, but early mentorship, is vital for young entrepreneurs A member of the selection committee, Dr. Ayodeji Adewunmi, the CEO and co-founder of Nigerian job search site, Jobberman.com, while expressing his views, described the programme as ambitious and encouraged

entrepreneurs in Africa to maximise the opportunity. The most important thing about entrepreneurship itself is to “believe,” Adewunmi says. In his opinion, the programme is one that will help entrepreneurs increase their chances of moving from zero to one on the growth scale. The organisers have democratised the application process to ensure that people who are genuinely in business and have a product or service that can fundamentally change people’s lives get the opportunity to do exactly that. Adewunmi has experience in starting and growing a business as an entrepreneur. In August 2009, Jobberman.com, an online job search portal was launched to help jobseekers find new opportunities. Within its first three years, it had over 50,000 daily unique visitors. Today, the online portal is one of the most popular on the continent. It prides itself in the high number of users as well as the quality of jobs recruiters post on the site. The young entrepreneur started the venture as a student, with two of his friends - Opeyemi Ayodeji and Olalekan Olude. His background in Medicine and Surgery from Obafemi Awolowo University was not a limiting factor. But he says if he had received access to an opportunity like TEEP when he started out, he would have had a better entrepreneurial journey because of his trust in the pedigree of the founder of the programme. “He has exposure to at least 20 African markets,” he says. Elumelu also works closely with the Nigerian government and business leaders to tackle the challenge of unfavorable business eco-systems through policy reviews and the creation of proper infrastructure. Although some entrepreneurs might gravitate towards TEEP because of the promise of seed capital investment, Adewunmi says funding is not the only challenge to today’s entrepreneur. In addition to a lack of funding, access to the right mentors and network of people to help take the business to the next level is also a challenge. “Those are the things that money potentially cannot buy but experience, expertise, knowhow, network and of course local understanding of the culture and context are very important. So I think it (TEEP) would have made a huge difference,” he says. TEEP has a strong mentorship plan as a component of the programme. “We have over 500 mentors that we have selected to support the programme,” says Vir. The programme will also provide information in the form of an online resource library with access to case studies, information about finance and funding opportunities. “We are going to supplement online learning with offline and face-to-face bootcamp,” Vir explained. Part of the initiative will be to host a global entrepreneurship forum in Lagos to connect the entrepreneurs and also help those in the program develop soft skills. Elumelu, who is regarded as one of Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs, describes himself as lucky; thus his ambition to institutionalise the concept of luck through TEEP’s support system for young entrepreneurs. His success was made possible because he had access to the right mentors and capital C ON TI N UE D ON PAGE 29

Transport

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

Hyundai Elite i20 bags Indian award H Paul Ogbuokiri

yundai Motor India Ltd, the country’s second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, has won the most coveted Indian Car of the Year 2015 (ICOTY) award for the Elite i20. Within the second month of its launch, the Elite i20 forayed into the list of top 10 most selling brands in India receiving overwhelming appreciation and response. The un-compromising Elite i20 has received 60,000 bookings and has become the choice of 32,000 happy families within four months of launch. Hyundai Elite i20 has earned the country’s most prestigious automotive award in a most competitive and rapidly growing market. The ICOTY award has been instituted by the most eminent jury of Senior Editors of all the prominent automotive publications in the country like Top Gear, Motoring World, Car India, Overdrive, Auto Bild, AutoX, Hindu Business Line and EVO. Commenting on the occasion, MD & CEO, HMIL, Mr. BS Seo, said, “We are honoured to win the most prestigious automotive award - The Indian car of the Year 2015 for our world-class product Elite i20. Winning two successive ICOTY awards symbolizes Hyundai’s commitment to Indian customers by offering world class standards of quality products, design and branding. With this, we intend to thank all our customers, media and jurors who have chosen Elitei20 as the Indian Car of the year and made Hyundai as the most loved and trusted car manufacturer in India and global markets. With such a challenging spirit, we will be consistently pursuing the development of Modern Premium technologies to innovate at every step to strengthen our brand globally and our brands with the customers.” Congratulating the winning car, Founder Member ICOTY & Chairman of the Jury, Indian Car of the Year 2015, Mr. Bob Rupani, said, “The 2015 ‘Indian Car of the Year’ title represents the most prestigious recognition for the Elite i20, which embodies Hyundai’s values of excellence. In our collective votes it has come out on top as a whole package which has led its way

“The 2015 ‘Indian Car of the Year’ title represents the most prestigious recognition for the Elite i20, which embodies Hyundai’s values of excellence

from innovation, design, superior technology, safety and value for money. It was very challenging to select one product for from the entire line-up of the contenders, since all the products have done very well in their respective segments and I am happy to see a car as good as the Elite i20 being awarded as ICOTY 2015.” Hyundai’s signature design language, the Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 symbolized by its hexagonal grille, has captured the attention of customers and has created a

new design benchmark in the segment, setting a trend of future cars that Hyundai is making for global markets. The Elite i20 has a strong fan following and is seen as ‘Elite companion.’ The Elite i20 comes with great combination of power, performance, mileage, comfort, driving pleasure and un-paralleled value proposition India plays an important role in the market for Hyundai Motor Company, and Hyundai Motor India has been serving Indian customers with high quality products. As a commitment to the Indian market, Hyundai has launched the Elite i20 within five months of the successful launch of Xcent, improving the domestic volumes and increasing market share. Earlier, Hyundai Grand received positive and appreciative media response making it the Indian Car of the Year in the year 2014. The Grand got overwhelming customer response with landmark sales of 100,000 units in 10 months, the fastest by any Indian auto brand in the Indian automobile market.

BATN keys into NAIDP, changes fleet to Peugeot

n indication that the new auto policy of the Federal Government will lead to a drastic reduction in the patronage of imported vehicles has emerged, with British American Tobacco (BAT) of Nigeria taking delivery of different models of Peugeot vehicles from PAN Nigeria Limited, This is a move described by both organisations as a sign of new things to come. BATN bought four units of the Peugeot 301, four units of 4008, two units of the 3008 and one unit of the 508, all totaling 11. The stylish cars, which are a new definition of the lion brand, come in automatic transmission. Head, Trade and Marketing BATN, Ademola Omotayo, said the decision to shift to Peugeot cars is to support the new National Automotive Industry Development Plan as approved by the Federal Government which emphasised on local patronage of vehicles. Corporate Affairs Director of BATN, Fred-

dy Messanyi, said the choice of Peugeot cars was predicated on the company’s inventory of Peugeot cars by BAT’s operational offices outside Nigeria in terms of after sales and service maintenance, as the National Sales Manager, PAN Abubakar Jimeta, highlighted some of the features and other offerings that stands the Peugeot models in the midst of competition, and assured that the company will be up to the task in maintaining all brands of Peugeot cars as it has service outlets all over Lagos and others parts of the country. According to the Head, Corporate Communications, PAN. Usman Bashir, BAT purposely bought these cars in response to the Federal Government’s call on public/private organisations to buy Made -in-Nigeria cars as a support for the automotive policy. Contrary to NAIDP critics, there is a drop in the prices of locally assembled cars in comparison to imported ones. The drop in prices, however, is contrary to the initial fear

that the new auto policy will lead to a sharp rise in the cost of imported new and used vehicles. Many car dealers had projected about 60 per cent increase in the prices of such vehicles following the introduction of the new auto policy in September last year. As part of the new policy aimed at encouraging local manufacturing of vehicles, the import duty on new and used cars was increased from 22 per cent to 70 per cent; while a zero per cent duty was placed on imported Completely Knocked Down (vehicles). Recently, Pan Nigeria revived its moribund assembly plant in the country with the inauguration of Peugeot 301 production line in its Kaduna factory. The Managing Director, Pan Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Boyi, said the new plant had been “fitted to handle multiple Original Equipment Manufacturer brand assembly, (and) when operational, we will require additional 250 workers at the SKD level, and over 1,000 workers when we migrate to the CKD.”

Coscharis offers free diagnosis

ront-running auto Company and accredited dealer of the Ford brand in Nigeria, Coscharis Motors, is offering the brand’s customers free diagnosis of vehicle complaints that bother on basic safety and comfort. This is part of the ongoing ‘Real Deals around the Wheel’ promo. ‘Real Deals Around the Wheel’ promo offers free checkup on all the vehicle parts around the wheel including, brake pads, shoes, calipers, shocks, struts, ball joints and wheel bearings, and others. If the result of the diagnosis discloses any defect, and the customer opts to repair the vehicle, he gets an automatic 20 percent discount on the cost of repairs, which includes the cost of replacement parts and labour. Explaining the reason behind the promo, the Group Managing Director, Coscharis Group, Mr. Josiah Samuel, said, “We are encouraged by the level of patronage of our Ford brand of vehicles by our esteemed customers and therefore feel obliged to add value to the services we are rendering to them, as a way of saying thank you.” Samuel added: “’Real Deals Around The Wheel’ is an after-sales safety check campaign, which provides an opportunity for our existing Ford customers to ensure that their brakes, calipers, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc are in top condition as they prepare to embark on business or leisure trips this season. We ran this campaign earlier this year, but some of our customers requested that we re-run it this season as it will be very helpful for them, thus the re-run.” On the readiness of Coscharis Service Centres for the anticipated increase in the volume of vehicles into their facilities, the General Manager, Coscharis Ford After-Sales Services, Mr. Vasant Rele, declared, “Our Service Centres are all installed with modern diagnostic equipments and manned by factory trained, award-winning technicians who are willing and able to deliver all the promises offered in the ‘Real Deal Around The Wheel promo.’ ‘The Real Deals around the Wheel’ promo will run till December 23, 2014.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Christmas brings Cheer to Equities Market

he Equities market was resurgent in the week, as the bulls made a Christmas appearance, and ran the market to a substantial 13.60% gain Week-to-Date (WtD). All sector indices save for the Health Sector trended northwards to bring the NSEASI Year-to-Date (YtD) return to -16.70%. In a top gainers’ list largely dominated by the banking sector as investors took advantage of the seemingly attractive prices, UBA led the pack with a 32.28% gain. The ticker was joined by TRANSCORP (28.90%), OANDO (26.79%), SKYEBANK (26.20%), and DANGCEM (22.91%). On the other side, the laggers were led by ASHAKACEM (9.96%), INTBREW (6.81%), CAVERTON (5.36%), PHARMDEKO (4.89%), and NPFMCRFBK (4.88%). Activities in the fixed income market were however mixed, as yields on Treasury bonds advanced by 0.26% as at the 23rd of December, across instruments as market expectation for better yielding new issues continues to waiver demand. Investor’s appetite for Treasury bills was high, as yields on instruments declined by 0.47%, with the greater part of the activity witnessed on the mid tenor instruments. The liquidity conditions in the market have also eased somewhat WtD, as signalled by the decline in the OBB and OVN rates which declined by 3.96% and 4.74%. This came just as NIBOR across tenors also abated by1.62%. Also, the currency finished the week weaker, depreciating by 0.54% at the interbank to peg at NGN185.55/USD. This comes despite both the CBN’s interventions and the new Zero percent Exchange trading position policy. With particular regard to the Equities market, this period was expected as asset managers make adjustments to their portfolios, and so in our opinion cannot be categorically pinpointed as the moment of market recovery especially as the risk factors which have pressured down market returns in recent weeks remain prevalent. This report highlights the performance of Nigerian financial markets in the week, and presents an outlook for the coming week while considering internal and external factors influencing prices.

Economic Roundup: IMF sees GDP growth at about 5%

The U.S.’s Q32014 GDP expanded 5%, representing the fastest pace since 2003, on stronger consumer and business spending. Meanwhile, Mr Gene Leon, who led the IMF mission to Nigeria, stated that Nigeria’s GDP growth is expected to ease to about 5.0% in 2015 against 7.3% forecasted earlier in October on the back of dwindling oil prices. Fitch Ratings had earlier reviewed the country’s 2015 output growth forecast from 6.4% to 5.2%. The mission noted that oil price shocks will sharply reduce fiscal revenue and limit fiscal spending, while the overall impact on GDP would most likely be offset by growth in the non-oil sector which has been the major driver of growth thus far in 2014. Whilst Naira devaluation should cause a rise in inflation, increased domestic production of staple foods is expected to moderate the overall impact on price levels according to the mission. In a move to get tougher on speculators and arrest naira volatility, the CBN limited dollar holdings purchased from the interbank market to 48 hours post-purchase, emphasising that USD most be sold back to the CBN at its own day rate, after the stated period. Despite continued FX intervention, Reserves had tumbled 20% YtD as at 22nd December, settling at USD34.93bn (Vs. USD43.61bn in January). Away from the economy, insurgency in the country continued in the North-East with more cases of bombings, as well as another reported case of abduction of 185 women and children. The Nigerian military however noted that this is yet be confirmed. Whilst we insist that the demographic appeal of the Nigerian economy remains compelling, we align with the view that the outlook for output expansion in the coming year is expected to be constrained by stringent monetary and fiscal measures amidst instabilities on the global and domestic fronts.

Fixed Income Brief: Liquidity availability calms market

The CALL, 1M, 3M, and 6M NIBOR shed 3.32%, 1.22%, 0.96%, and 0.97% for the week to peg at 11.85%, 14.68%, 15.46%, and 16.07% correspondingly. Average change on money market rates was -4.35% as at yesterday, with the OBB and OVN rates closing at 11.54% and 11.96% respectively. Average yield on T-bills pared by 0.47% across the maturities for the week, as the 1M, 2M, 3M,

… as NSEASI gains 13.60 WtD

6M, 9M, and 12M bills closed at 13.94%, 14.17%, 14.40%, 14.46%, 14.54%, and 15.53% in that order. Data in the bond market reflect a day lag, with the WtD change on our Meri Bond Index being -1.33%. Short term tenors dipped by 0.06% for the week, while long term tenors grew by 0.80%. Treasury Bills worth NGN53.421bn weere on auction today, with maturities of like sum on the 91-Day and 182-Day bills due tomorrow while settlement will be done on 29th December. Mid-quote for the Naira reflects a day lag at NGN185.55, as it depreciated 0.54% WtD against the Dollar and YtD depreciation stands at -13.91%.

Agric Sector: Driven by Market Sentiments

Reversing the streak of three consecutive Week on Week (WtD) losses, the sector had a better outing during the week aligning with the general market mood as indicated by the MERI-AGRIC index which returned 6.54% WtD. LIVESTOCK, PRESCO and OKOMUOIL appreciated by 14.83%, 10.23% and 2.86% for the week, closing at NGN2.40, NGN24.25 and NGN24.80 respectively, while ELLAHLAKES, and FTNCOCOA stayed flat. Stocks in the sector have continued to closely mirror general market sentiments, and we expect this trend to continue going into the concluding trading days of the year.

Banking Sector: Impressive three-day run

The banking sector ended the three-trading-day week on a highly positive note, with 12 stocks advancing, while all other sector stocks stayed flat. Top gainers for the week were UBA, SKYEBANK, ZENITHBANK, ACCESS, and DIAMONDBNK which posted gains of 32.28%, 26.20%, 19.30%, 18.68% and 14.23% in that order. Major banking stocks, which in preceding weeks reached new lows, reversed those losses as investors took advantage of depressed prices, consequently leading to the significant gains seen in the week. For the rest of the year, we expect banking stocks to trade in line with the entire market as investors and asset managers rebalance their portfolios for 2015. Notwithstanding, in our opinion, the myriad of challenges we have continually highlighted remain on the horizon so investors should factor that into their trading decisions.

Consumer goods: Resurgence tied to year end activities.

Following the uptrend that began in the last two trading days of last week, key players in the consumer goods space appreciated in line with the overall market mood. The NSEFB10 appreciated by 10.15% WtD as against the downbeat performance in the last two weeks. The sector’s return for the week was driven by the WtD rise in prices of GUINNESS (+21.53%), DANGSUGAR (+17.33%), NESTLE (+14.96%), FLOURMILL (+12.70%), NB (+9.51%), UNILEVER (+1.25%) and 7UP (1.01%) whilst week on week losses were posted by PZ (-1.55%), and INTBREW (-6.81%) which modestly dragged sector’s return. HONYFLOUR and CHAMPION traded flat for the week. Whilst global and domestic concerns subsist, we expect that the end-of-year rally may extend to the last three trading days of the year given the attractive prices of most stocks in the sector. However, some investors may take advantage of the recent gains, depressing prices as they take their profits. Healthcare Sector: Negative Sentiment Persists The sector continued its losing streak with a negative WtD performance of -3.77%, while the YtD return settled at -26.21%. Sector breadth for the week (0.67x) also favoured decliners as two stocks appreciated in price against the three stocks that depreciated. FIDSON and NEIMETH posted gains of 1.49% and 4.00% as prices settled at NGN3.40 and NGN0.78 respectively. The decliners’ chart was however led by PHARMADEKO which dipped by 4.89% (NGN2.14), trailed closely by MAYBAKER which shed 4.55% to peg price at NGN1.47. GLAXOSMITH declined by 3.85% after weeks of trading flat at NGN52 while all other counters closed flat. We do not expect significant activities in the stocks for the remaining days in the year; hence we expect the current trend in the sector to persist. However, as we expect companies to begin to enjoy the benefits of ongoing CAPEX investments next year, we foresee an improvement in investors’ interest in the sector going forward.

Industrial Goods: Buy sentiments drive sector gains

The mood in the sector was significantly upbeat

during the week following a slightly positive outing last week. The Meri-Industrial index gained 6.49% during the week with most of the stocks closing in the positive zone. DANGCEM emerged as the top gainer for the week following weeks of negative sentiments which depressed share price to a year low of NGN153.00. The stock closed the week’s trading at NGN196.95, having gained 22.91% during the week. WAPCO, PORTPAINT, and PAINTCOM also recorded positive returns of 10.44%, 4.90% and 4.76% respectively. ASHAKACEM, the only decliner for the week, lost 9.96% to close trading at NGN22.15. We believe the recent decline in share price may not be unrelated to Lafarge Africa’s mandatory tender offer for the Company’s shares. We attribute the recent rally in the sector to bargain hunting by value seeking investors. We nonetheless opine that given the uncertainties and prevalent risk factors in the country, the current rally may not be sustained for the rest of the year.

Insurance Sector: Swings in market direction

In line with the three days of bullish sentiments, the insurance sector’s index advanced by 1.96% WtD to peg YtD return at +17.17%. Market breadth (5.00x) was largely in favour of advancers, as 5 stocks appreciated in price against a lone decliner. NEM gained 12.50% to close at NGN0.63 (vs. NGN0.56 in previous week) as it championed the gainers’ chart, alongside AIICO, CONTINSURE, CUSTODYINS and MANSARD with 5.88%, 4.82%, 3.59% and 1.90% WtD gains in that order. Contrarily, ROYALEX was the lone decliner for the week as the counter pared by 1.92% WtD to close at NGN0.51 (vs. NGN0.52 in previous week), while the remaining counters traded flat for the week. SAHAM Finances S.A., the insurance arm of the SAHAM Group, acquired a 40% stake in Unitrust Insurance Ltd. We foresee more mergers and acquisitions in the industry in 2015 and beyond, as burgeoning opportunities in the insurance market continue to attract offshore participations. This said, we attribute the rally in insurance counters to bargain hunting as investors took advantage of stocks with low prices. We opine that the recent rally might not be sustained as investors are likely to take profit on those counters that have significantly appreciated.

Oil and Gas: Bullish Sentiments, Positive Breadth

Activities in the oil and gas space were bullish as the sector’s index level advanced by 21.12% WtD, reversing the negative sentiments that characterized the previous week. Market breadth skewed in favour of advancers as 6 stocks appreciated in price while none of the stocks lost value. OANDO appreciated by 26.79% WtD, leading the gainers’ chart for the week, reversing the trend of persistent price declines after the reopening of its rights issue. Other advancers for the week were SEPLAT, TOTAL, MOBIL, ETERNA and FO with 21.54%, 9.55%, 5.37%, 1.69% and 0.35% returns respectively, following the price declines each ticker recorded in the previous week save for FO. In as much as we expect that a few stocks with sound fundamentals may offer minimal gains as they currently trade at their year-lows, we opine that the rally for the week was not due to major positive news flow sufficient to drive positive market sentiments. Hence, it is not improbable that oil and gas stocks witness some modest level of profit taking in the coming week, all else equal.

Services Sector… TRANSCORP takes a leap forward

The sector’s performance closely mirrored general market sentiments as the MERISERV index closed in the green zone with a 15.00% WtD return. Despite the positive returns, sector breadth pegged at (0.80x), as 4 stocks advanced against 5 decliners. TRANSCORP surged by 28.90% WtD (compared to the marginal 0.98% WtD gain in the previous week) to lead the sector. It was followed by NAHCO, ABCTRANS, and IKEJAHOTEL with 20.90%, 3.77% and 0.53% respectively. On the other hand, CAVERTON declined the most with 5.36% to close at a market price of NGN0.66. The ticker was followed by LEARNAFRICA, RTBRISCOE, REDSTAREX, and AIRSERVICE with 4.76%, 4.35%, 3.06% and 0.58% respectively while others traded flat. We expect that the positive sentiments in the market might continue till the end of the year as discerning investors take position due to the low level market prices of most counters, especially in the services sector.

2727

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

SundayBusiness Interview

Since Nigeria escaped the hammer of the American Costal Guard, not much has been heard about compliance with the ISPS Code. What is the situation of things? NIMASA has vigorously pursued compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. Having established a full fledged unit to drive the ISPS Code implementation, the agency has adopted the ISPS Code Regulation, developed guidelines and quick reference cards to enhance assessment, inspection enforcement and monitoring of port facilities in the country. NIMASA has conducted security surveys, verification and inspection on a regular basis to ensure continuous improvement. So far, over 38 per cent of 129 port facilities in the country have fully complied. This comprises all the major ports in the country. This is a great improvement from the less than seven per cent compliance level before the appointment of NIMASA as the Designated Authority (DA) in 2013. Our goal is to attain over 90 per cent compliance level before the end of 2015 by the continuous Verification Inspection Exercise (VIE) of Port facilities to maintain implementation pace and focus on continuous improvement. NIMASA has also been able to gradually increase its Port State Control Performance in the last twelve months due to increase in our manpower capacity and availability of vessels for operations. I am delighted to inform you that the Secretary General of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control recently commended NIMASA for being the foremost Port State Control Administration in the West and Central African Sub-Region just like other leading maritime stakeholders have commended NIMASA. Your contractor, Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, is in the news again for buying seven warships from Norway. What is the involvement of NIMASA in this deal? The seven Norwegian warships which the newspapers reported GWVSL acquired were decommissioned warships. But the Nigerian Navy has rearmed and mans it for the NIMASA’s regulatory roles in the Nigerian territorial waters. Remember NIMASA has a subsisting inter-agency collaborative working arrangement under the Maritime Guard Command. Our contract with GWVSL is to provide the platforms for bunker and crew and that is what has done in this transaction. This original owners of the vessel never said they sold it with warheads on them. Anybody who is in doubt should verify and bring the public if there is anything to the contrary. But anyway you know this election year you can hear anything. We know that the highly placed criminals on our waters whom we have run out of business can sponsor negative stories against us. But our detractors should prove that they were warships when they were bought; that they are not currently being manned by the Nigerian Navy; or that the transaction was illegitimate; or that it broke any international protocol or convention. The beauty of the boats is that they have enabled us to respond faster to emergency situations and outrun and outgun the pirates. Check the records of the global maritime watchdog, International Maritime Bureau, this year and you will agree with me that Nigeria is winning its anti-piracy war. It would not have been easy for us to achieve the result we have if we were to rely on the bureaucracies of the government agencies. That is where our partnership with Global West Vessel Specialists Limited has worked, in terms of enforcement of the laws governing the Nigerian territorial waters, including collection of revenues. NIMASA could only acquire two small boats it had sought since 2010 this year because of bureaucracy. To change a faulty engine in a machine will take months to acquire because of the process the document will pass before approval. There is no way

Why we acquired Norwegian warships –Akpobolokemi Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Ziekede Akpbolokemi, in this interaction with journalists, says the agency’s increased regulation of Nigeria territorial waters is turning the heat on pirates and other criminals. PAUL OGBUOKIRI reports namely: John Moores University Liverpool and South Tyneside College Newcastle, both in the United Kingdom, as well as the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt. The NSDP, the institutes and universities we believe will greatly help grow capacity in the maritime sector in the nearest future. Are the NIMASA shipyard and dockyard commercial ventures? Our dream for the NIMASA Shipyard and Dockyard is to transform the maritime sector into an industry that will generate capable local manpower which, will contribute significantly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. The vision behind the shipyard and dockyard project is to have a world-class building and repair facility that will be commercially viable to transform the nation’s economy. The project is being developed in two phases. Phase one is the ship building facility to handle smaller vessels and maintain ships plying the nation’s inland waterways while the second phase is planned for a facility that will handle ocean-going vessels and offshore installations which will serve the oil and gas industry.

Akpbolokemi

you will regulate the water effectively in this age like that. The role of Global West in this partnership is to just to provide the platforms, maintain them, bunker and crew them; the military provides security; and all NIMASA officials do is jump into the boat anytime it wants to go into the waters. It is noteworthy that platforms available for the agency to patrol the coastline have increased from a few vessels in the pre-concession era to a sizeable number which now include ocean going vessels while other NIMASA owned vessels are being refurbished. The NIMASA fleet includes Search and Rescue Vessels, Pollution Control Vessels and Patrol Vessels, deployed by NIMASA in conjunction with the Nigerian Navy and other Security Agencies under the Maritime Guard Command. The PPP project has also made it possible for the agency to provide suitable platforms for the relevant security agencies collaborating with us to fight piracy and other sundry security breaches in our waters. Accordingly, the agency has successfully carried out number of rescue operations as well as tracked, interdicted and detained vessels engaged in criminal activities in our waters. The agency is also utilising the PPP initiative in the establishment of a new national carrier, which is aimed at increasing Nigeria’s tonnage. Dearth of human capital? As a forward looking management, this administration has tailored a long-term solution to the dearth of qualified professionals in the Nigerian Maritime sector; hence it conceived

the Nigerian Maritime University. The university will produce high level manpower for Nigeria’s maritime/shipping sector on a sustainable basis. It will provide training for seafarers, master mariners, marine engineers, naval architects, nautical scientists and other specialised maritime/shipping trade skills. The NMU is envisaged to become a Centre of Excellence in innovative research for the maritime sector in the West and Central Africa sub-region when it fully evolves. Academic activities are expected to commence at the beginning of the next academic calendar. We will continue to discharge our statutory obligations to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron in order to further grow human capacity in the maritime sector. You are aware that the agency has established six institutes of maritime studies in the University of Lagos; University of Nigeria Nsukka; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, Niger State; Niger Delta University Amassoma, Bayelsa State; Federal University Kashere Gombe State; and Anambra State University Uli. How much has the agency so far spent on the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme? By January 2015, we will be able to put all the figures together and make a statement. But I’m sure that we will have not spent less than N20bn on the payment of school fees, upkeep of the over 2,500 young Nigerians that have benefitted or are currently enjoying various levels of sponsorship in schools in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Romania, India and Philippines. The scheme has so far graduated about 74 beneficiaries from three institutions

NIMASA has failed to effectively implement the Cabotage Act.? It is has been more than 10 years since the cabotage regime came into force in Nigeria and from the time we took over the affairs of the agency, it has been a point of duty to regularly interact with stakeholders in the industry, not only as a means of sensitisation and information dissemination on cabotage policy issues , but also as a feedback mechanism through which the agency gauges the impact level of its implementation efforts and also notes the opinions and complaints of the stakeholders. As stated in the various fora, the Nigerian cabotage laws seek to impose some form of restrictions or complete prohibition on foreigners from participating in the internal transport business of our country purely on economic grounds. This is aimed at building indigenous capacity in maritime tonnage, infrastructure and labour. The hallmark of the law is the provision that all coastal trade vessels must be owned by Nigerians, manned by Nigerians, built in Nigeria and registered in Nigeria. Part of the success story we have recorded is the development of structures for implementation and enforcement of the cabotage regime, creation of a special register for cabotage vessels which as at the last count hundreds of vessels have been registered, developed modalities for the collection of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) and disbursing banks have been selected. The first recipients have been shortlisted and sent to the Federal Ministry of Transport for final approval. We are confident that in due time operators would start accessing the fund. I wish to state at this juncture that NIMASA as a government organisation is statutorily not empowered to utilise all or part of the CVFF in its custody. These monies have been in our banks and I wish to authoritatively tell you that the monies are intact. It is our sincere commitment and pledge to consolidate on these modest achievements in the next four years.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

SundayBusiness/News

...when govt got serious with non-oil sectors

Okonjo-Iweala

CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 23

Product (GDP), using the Expenditure Approach between 2010-2013. This represented a marginal increase from the projected N80trn in 2013 when the output method was used to compute the rebased GDP in May. According to the GDP Report (Expenditure Approach) 2010-2013 released by the statistical agency, the final consumption of Household Items Expenditure accounted for the largest chunk of the rebased GDP figures at about N58.13trn in 2013, up from the N42.115trn of the preceding year. The report also indicated that expenditure on export goods and Services accounted for about N14.61trn compared to about N22.82trn in 2012. Also, expenditure on Gross Fixed Capital Formation in 2013 stood at about N11.72trn, up from the about N10.61trn expended in 2012. The NBS further stated that overall Gross Final Consumption Expenditure of General Government increased to about N6.54trn, rising marginally from the N5.953trn expended in the preceding year, while final Consumption Expenditure of Non-Profit Institutions Serving Household amounted to about N302.24bn in 2013 compared to about N248.57bn recorded in 2012. It also indicated a marginal drop in Changes in Inventories Expenditure from about N204.24bn in 2012 to about N201.44bn in 2013. Although total GDP by Expenditure Size stood at about N91.23trn, expenditure on Imports of Goods and Services which amounted to about N10.51trn reduced the net figure to about N81.009 trillion. Also, rebased GDP figures on the GDP and Expenditure at Current Purchasers’ Value basis showed that the size of the economy at Basic Prices stood at about N80.09trn including compensation of employees’ expenditure of about N22.33trn; Operating Surplus of about N53.51trn; Consumption of Fixed Capital N3.71trn; and Other Taxes on Production (Net) value of about N536.44bn. The reported noted that a total of about N917.40bn accrued as Net Taxes on Products during the year under review, thereby pushing the overall GDP figures at market prices to about N81.009trn. Among other things, expenditure based on National Disposable Income and its Appropriation Current Purchasers Value indicated that whereas Domestic Factor Income and National Income and Market Prices stood at about N75.84trn and N72.74trn respectively, the Appropriation of Domestic Income rose from about N68.32trn in 2012 to about N76.21trn in 2013. Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that because of the performance of the contribution of the

Aganga

he naira has fallen 11.3 per cent against the dollar this year, including an eight per cent one-off devaluation by the CBN recently

non-oil sector to the rebased economy and the performance in 2014, the 2015 budget would concentrate on measures that would stimulate the diversification of the country’s economy. “This budget (2015) really focuses on moving us to diversify the economy and raise non-oil revenue. We have made up for the fall of $13 per barrel, from $17 to $65, by raising non-oil revenue through various types of taxes and policies. The surcharge on luxury goods is there, plus additional tax efforts to close leakages in revenue,” she said, after presenting the 2015 budget proposal to the two chambers of the National Assembly. But the government slashed its forecast for economic growth in 2015 to 5.5 per cent in 2015, down from an earlier projection of 6.4 per cent. The naira closed at a record low last Wednesday, down 3.6 per cent on the day at N187.10 to the dollar, after the Central Bank of Nigeria said it would hold its last foreign exchange auction of the year on Wednesday, triggering strong demand from some importers. Since June, the price Brent crude has declined by more than 45 per cent. “The authorities fully recognise the implications of this exogenous shock. They have already taken bold measures to counteract lower oil receipts, pressure on the naira, and a fall in reserves,” IMF mission leader to Nigeria, Gene Leon, said in a recent statement. An eight per cent devaluation of the naira in late November would likely boost inflation, the fund added. Renowned Economist and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Limited, Bismark Rewane, told Reuters that inflation would hit double digits for the first time in two years by January 2015. He cited the about $7 difference between the benchmark oil price for 2015 budget and about $17 difference between the 2014 oil benchmark and the current price of about $60. “If you are in this kind of difference, you are already under water,” he told Reuters.But Leon believes that “…the effect of the decline of oil prices is likely to be contained, in part owing to lower food prices from increased local production of staple food crops.”

Adesina

Reuters quoted him as saying that the country’s fiscal and external buffers had shrunk in 2014 since the last sharp oil drop in 2008, leaving little room for manoeuvring. “Compared to the onset of the 2008-09 financial crisis – the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in 2008 was $21bn compared to $3bn now, while gross international reserves was $52bn,” he said. As of December 17, gross foreign reserves were about $35.3bn, according to CBN data. The ECA is a rainy day fund, which is meant to accumulate crude export revenues above the benchmark price. Also, the country’s combined domestic and external debt rose $60.1bn and $9.5 respectively about 13 per cent of the GDP in 2014. But the finance minister insisted Nigeria’s debt profile remained healthy. Nigeria’s foreign reserves fell to a six-month low of $36.7bn by December 1, down 4.5 per cent from the previous month as the CBN stepped up its defence of the naira, figures on the bank’s website showed. The naira has fallen 11.3 per cent against the dollar this year, including an eight per cent one-off devaluation by the CBN recently. The new auto policy announced by government in October last year went into full implementation on July 1, 2014. But the 35 per cent duty and 35 per cent levy on imported vehicles will start to take effect on imported fairly used vehicles in January 2015. But it takes immediate effect on brand new vehicles, whose importers have not shown sufficient commitment to open an assembly plant in Nigeria. According the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, no fewer than 26 foreign auto firms have already shown commitment to set up assembly plants in Nigeria while six have commenced assembling in Nigeria. Director-General of National Automotive Council, Aminu Jalala, said the firms which have started assembling in the country but cannot meet local need can import vehicles, to meet the shortfall at the 25 per cent duty. There has also been pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to cut the price of fuel, given the sharp drop in oil prices. In the outgoing year, also, property investors stepped up their activities, with developments around the country. There were also reports of divestments and acquisitions in the oil industry. The insurgency in the North-East also negatively affected government’s ability to provide social services. It is mainly responsible for the displacement of over 2.5 million Nigerians in the hardest hit areas. In all, the economy is expected to witness some interesting developments in 2015, given the recent sharp drop in oil prices and government’s efforts to shore up its dwindling revenue base.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Economy: Group harps on skills acquisition

Chijioke Iremeka he Nigerian Opportunities Industrialisation Centre in collaboration with Opportunity Industrialisation Centres International and United States of America-based Wal-Mart Foundation has graduated its set of entrepreneurs. The Chairman, Parents and Instructors Forum, Mr. JA Adedayo, who spoke during

the graduation of the first set of entrepreneurs in Lagos, said it was one of the ways of reducing the country’s dependence on oil, especially in the wake of declining oil prices. Urging the graduands to make use of the training profitably, he said, “I implore you to utilise this opportunity and make use of the skills you have acquired for your lives. You have acquired this but you have to

ensure that you strive to improve the lives of Nigerians, especially the youths across the country.” According to him, the programme is unique and remarkable, and provides an opportunity for establishing the aim of Empowering Africans for Retail Needs, which is geared towards preparing Nigerians and Africans for immediate employment in the retail industry. “With this, your names

are being inscribed as the pioneer students of the programme, not only in the Lagos chapter of NOIC, but also in the Wal-Mart Foundation, USA. We urge you to take advantage of acquired skills to better your endeavours in various fields and play positive roles in improving the economy of Nigeria,” he added. The Programme Manager, NOIC/Wal-Mart Training Lagos Programme, Samuel

Afowowe, said the project would serve as an added advantage for the graduands to get suitable job opportunities and make speedy progress in their endeavours.“We enjoin you to reciprocate the gestures offered by this organisation. This scheme is aimed at empowering Nigerian youths. The twoweek training started on October 29, 2014 at NOIC’s Lagos and Kano centres. The programme will run for two years and four months in batches. Successful graduates will be assisted with prospects for employment

World / News

after training. The project is targeted at unemployed youths,” he stated. However, Prof Magnus Atilade assured the graduands of immediate employment, saying efforts are being made to obtain some employment slots from Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and other officials. One of the trainees, Awe Philips, said: “I trained in machineries and engines. So, to a reasonable extent, I can stand on my own, may be with little seed money. I’m happy that I’m one of the graduands.”

2015 is the year of Entrepreneurship CONTINUED F R OM PAGE

Business Development Mananger, UPS, Mr. Emaka Nwagwu (middle), and some of the awardees

UPS rewards customers

Chijioke Iremeka t was a fun-filled afternoon at United Parcel Service, Lagos, as the customers of the global leading courier and logistics firm, thronged the premises to mark the company’s 2014 customers’ appreciation and award giving day. The customers, who were thrilled with different categories of awards and gift items all over the country, where UPS has its presence expressed gratitude to the company. Also, the event witnessed a free raffle draw, which rewarded customers with top quality phones, wall clocks, movie tickets at Silverbird Cinema for husband and wife, buffet ticket to Sheraton hotels for husband and wife, golden pens, flash drives and umbrellas among others. However, the highpoint of the event was the conferment of recognition awards of varying degrees to UPS esteemed customers. It included the Silver Award to Alcatel and Airtel Spares which was in recognition of their compliance with and utilisation of UPS’s WorldShip, a time-saving IT platform that uploads customers’ information, provides shipping alert, tracking and

export of shipment data, error-free. This was followed by the gold level category awards to First Bank Nigeria, Diamond Bank, Unilever, World-Wide Commercial Ventures and Union Bank with almost 100 per cent Worldship technology compliance. Commenting on the occasion, the Business Development Manager for UPS Nigeria, Emeka Nwangwu, applauded the commitment of the recipient companies for their tech savvy, which include Nigeria Breweries, VFS Global, United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Standard Chartered Bank for their outstanding relationship with UPS throughout the year. He added that the Customer of the Year award went to First Bank Nigeria. He added that through this medium, the company was afforded the opportunity of interfacing with her customers in a non-business and relaxed environment to enlighten them more on new services, new technologies innovations and their benefits to the customers, especially the UPS WorldShip support. UPS Managing Director, Mr. Ralph Ozoude, described the programme is a yearly event organised by

the company in appreciation of its customers for believing in them, despite economic challenges; and most importantly,organised to get feedback from the customers on how to serve them better. Speaking on the programme, he said, “I’m happy that we have a very good turnout of customers. There is a remarkable difference from what it was last year. Every year, we try to introduce varieties into what we are doing. Last year, we started giving awards to customers, those, who have been with us for over 20 years. This year, we tried to ensure that every customer goes home with something.” Comparing the experiences of 2013 to 2014, he said customers were more forthright with the company this year. He said such constructive feedback, which would help them improve services, was highly what they need, despite the challenges in the courier service in the country. “Having said this,” he remarked, “We cannot discountenance the challenges we are facing, delivering parcels in the security threatened areas of the North-east. One of our staff narrowly escaped death when the plaza was bombed in Abuja this

year. “Added to this is the fact that there have been a number of armed robbery and hijack cases. Infrastructural deficits are also affecting our business but as a company, we are committed to delivering excellent services. We defy challenges to give our customers good services.” Expressing his views on the programme and award, the representative of one of the awardees, Mr. Femi Adedeji, of WWCV said it wasn’t a surprise that his company bagged the award, especially going by the volume of transactions his company has initiated with UPS. “We are into the drug distributive chain within and outside the country. We deserve it. We won two awards. In fact, we are the only company that won two awards here and that tells you what we have done over the year with UPS. We are happy that we received this award and by next year, we will collect more. Thanks to UPS, their services are good. Keep it up,” he said. The Head, Human Resources, Mrs. Anu Ajayi, who would not withhold her excitement, especially on the turnout of the customers said the programme was a laudable event organised in appreciation of UPS’ customers.

investment. He says, “I believe one of the key reasons why I made it in business is because early on in my career in Nigeria, I benefitted from the mentorship of Chief Ebitimi Emmanuel Banigo at Allstates Bank.” Like Elumelu, young Adewunmi’s success was facilitated by an early mentorship. “Chika Nwobi was the first investor in Jobberman via his angel financing vehicle, L5Lab, and the mentorship that came with that was priceless,” Adewunmi says. Stepping up to the next level For entrepreneurs, beyond launching a business, it is also critical to nurture and grow it. Adewunmi and his co-founders are working to make Jobberman.com the best destination for jobseekers and employers in Africa. “The goal is to build the pre-eminent employment franchise on the continent. Africa is going to be home to one billion people in the working population over the next 40 years and we want to play a big role in placing people in jobs across the continent,” he says. Moving his business to the next level does not include venturing into a new line of business but rather strengthening the core of the existing business. “We don’t want to be all things to all people but rather be known for facilitating recruitment, employment and career advancement on the continent,” Adewunmi says. “Whether you are in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Nairobi or Dakar, Africa is buzzing with entrepreneurs who need a platform to enable them to take their business or idea to the next level,” says Vir. Adewunmi shares in the optimism. He says the opportunities in Africa are not only to create wealth but also to add value to the continent through products or services rendered as well as through

entrepreneurial mentorship. “For me, it’s been five years of fun but it has also been five years of ups and downs. I think in general it’s a perfect time to be an entrepreneur on the continent. A lot of the economies in Africa are changing very fast. The economy on the average is growing at about five per cent GDP growth rate across the continent,” he says. TEEP has been designed to provide a mechanism for entrepreneurs to grow the African economy, says Vir. “Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs worldwide are the drivers of economy. They are the drivers of job creation and Africa in that sense is no exception,” she says. Adding, “If you look at it, entrepreneurship is driving that across Latin America, across America. Europe, as it emerges from austerity, is turning to its startups and entrepreneurs to help drive the economy. So they are a vital part of the economic growth of the African continent.” Although Elumelu has a background in Banking and Investment, the programme is open to the growth of entrepreneurs in any sector or field. “We are building an eco-system to identify and cross-pollinate grassroots innovation across Africa, sparking intraAfrican trade and investment and accelerating success,” Elumelu says. TEEP is the first of its kind to be launched by an African philanthropic organization. Jennifer Ehidiamen is a techsavvy journalist and communicator keen about using new media as a tool to disseminate information, collaborate and stir up progressive interaction. She is described as one of the next generation of communicators by Georgetown University’s GAIN’s Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC). Connect with her on Twitter: @disgeneration or website: www.ruralreporters.com. This article was first published by Harvard Africa Policy Journal

s boss 30

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sunday/ Business

Bombings scaring our customers–Joel Mr. Ediale Joel is the General Manager of Valencia Hotels, Abuja. In this interview with YEKEEN NURUDEEN, he laments the negative impacts the current security challenges facing the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have had on hotel business in the nation’s capital. He says while revenue has dropped by 25 per cent, expenditure on additional security measures has gone up to 35 per cent. Your hotel recently donated some gift items to an orphanage in Gwarinpa estate, what’s the motive behind this? This is the hotel’s 11th year. It started operation in 2003 and the hotel recognises her corporate social responsibility to the society. One of the ways to say thank you to the society where you have been privileged to establish your business and also to even appreciate God for His blessings is to identify with the less privileged. So that has been a tradition since inception. It is not a new project, we have been on it as long as the hotel has been in existence. Usually at the end of the year, we go to visit homes. We have visited quite a number of homes: Gwagwalada, Karu, Durumi. Maitama, Gwarinpa and so on. There is one in Kado which is for the elderly, that’s where we went to last year. It is just a way of saying thank you to God and also identifying with the less privileged. Eleven years down the line, how has it been doing business in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja? Well, it has been good except that recently due to the security situation in the country and in this part of the country we have come to face series of challenges when it comes to patronage. That is not the only reason, the other reason that there are so many hotels now; so the competition is stiffer. But all through we would say its been a wonderful 11 years for the hotel and we are very optimistic that with time the efforts government is putting and cooperation of Nigerians, we believe this issue of insurgency will be resolved soon and the environment will be conducive for business. How has the problem of insecurity affected your business? It has negatively impacted on patronage. There are two sides to it. One is the income that is the revenue you make, patronage itself has been affected because before people come into Abuja these days there is tension especially after the last bombing at EMAB Plaza. It affected people’s confidence in going to public places. Most times you see people who come to Abuja if they have to do one day business, as much as possible they come with first flight and return may be with last flight and where they have to stay, that’s when they stay now. We also have organisations that would also send their guests and being very careful where they are staying, the kind of security the hotel provides. I said it has affected the business in two folds. The revenue side which has gone down a little and the other side is that it has blown up your expenses because you have to do a whole lot to protect and try to secure your environment by providing more security equipment and tryimg to get more security staff and see how you liaise with more government security agencies. All of these have kind of increased expenses. The bottom line is where the effect is felt; that is the returns to the investor. That’s where the effect is felt. In terms of naira and kobo can you place a figure on the revenue reduction and the increase in expenditure? I may not be very specific with the figures but if I could use what’s happening here

So that has been a tradition since inception. It is not a new project, we have been on it as long as the hotel has been in existence. Usually at the end of the year, we go to visit homes to may be predict what happens in other hotels, it runs into millions of naira. On our own part revenue drops by 15 per cent and cost jumped by almost 25 percent. In this situation, you found out that you are not at par. It is the bottom line that is affected. If you look at the industry generally, if you look at what the industry has suffered, I’m not just talking of Valencia Hotels alone, I’m talking of the hotel industry in Abuja, it runs into billions of naira. Government is doing a lot we just hope they could also find a way to assist because as I said it is not easy. Organisations like this help to take care of huge unemployment problem bedevilling the country but if business keeps going down and profit keeps going down, you know what the outcome is going to be. Every organisation would start to look for ways cut to cost and one of the ways to reduce cost is to reduce overhead, to reduce personnel in line with what you are making so that you still have a little profit to return to the investor. We are just very optimistic and praying. In spite of the security challenge, Abuja still remains a preferred business and meeting destination and there is stiff competition among hotels in the city as you said. How do you intend to meet up with the market demands? Well, in this industry the first thing you do is not theory. In fact the first thing you do is practical. It is easier for me to say we are thinking of adverts and so on and so forth; that’s good. It is part of what we do but our main focus and that has remained our key selling point in the hotel industry is customer service. How are we satisfying our customers? We are trying as much as possible to ensure that the facility is up to date, the facility is modern. It is not decaying. So what do we do? We carry out series of maintenance religiously to ensure that everything and every part of the hotel is working. That’s on the one hand. The other thing we also do is to try as much as possible to upgrade facilities where necessary because this industry is a trending industry. So you have to keep in touch with what is happening internationally and our brand is international because we are not just selling only to the locals, we are selling to the foreign

customers. You have to make sure that your facilities are in line with that they are used to so that they can get the kind of customer satisfaction they desire. Now, the other thing we do strategy wise is human development; one of the cardinal things we do here is training and coaching. We don’t joke with those areas because we believe it is in that way that you can render customer service. No matter fine your facility is, if your customer service is poor then of course your beautiful edifice would not translate to anything. What sells mostly is the people. The people make the place. So, strategy wise, one is to ensure that our facilities are working, two, upgrading our facilities, our equipment, our machines and then three, to ensure that our staff are brought up to the level where they can deliver internationally. Another thing we are looking at is the issue of expansion because in all fairness we have a very good market share but the challenge is that the size has become too small for our share of the market. Our pressure now is on the investors to see how they do an expansion project which has been on the table for over six years. Soon we believe it will materialise. How do you get feedback from your customers whether they are satisfied or not with your services? We do have a feedback mechanism. In fact this is a sample of that questionnaire. It is a letter to the guest and the question is how we measured up.

Joel

It is signed by me and is dropped in all the rooms. This information comes to me directly. Immediately the customer checks out I get this. This came in this morning and you can see the grading from this customer. If you see this part now, he puts fair; he says the quality of food. This information is extracted and we now know where we are going to check. We use this to check the level and quality of our service. Now, you can see the customer’s name and the phone number. Another thing we do is also trying to reach back to them to thank them for taking time to fill this and to assure them that we are taking time to correct any issue they raise. If you look at this comment here, he says “improve in your coffee quality”. That’s very vital information. Next 10 years where do you see hotel business in Abuja? Well, next 10 years I would still say hotel business in Abuja would still be growing because Abuja actually is still a growing city and the potential here is much. There’s much to cover, so 10 years from now I see hotel business still flourishing and then we believe by then this issue of insecurity would have been properly dealt with so people will be free to come to the city. And then of course Valencia we would not just be onlookers. We would want to compete, we would want to ensure that we are still there and playing major role so that everyone who comes to the FCT is properly taken care of

Politics SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

The Sunday Interview

Alao-Akala: There is no justice in PDP p.32-33

Interview

Buhari is president in waiting, says Alasoadura p.37

Some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls

2014: Year of defections, upsets and more ONYEKACHI EZE reviews major political events that shaped 2014 in Nigeria

Biyi Adegoroye biyi.fire@yahoo.com 08033024007 © Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited

or students of history, the year 2014 was indeed event-loaded and engaging. From the beginning of the year in January till the last month, there was no dull moment. Even though 2014 was not strictly a year for major elections, coming directly before the 2915 polls, most historical events were not actually election-related. Rather, they were orchestrated by politicians. The year began with the release of the timetable for the 2015 general elections by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). That was January 24. In the timetable, which was a product of the commission’s one-week retreat in Kaduna, presidential and National Assembly elections were fixed for February 14, 2015 while the governorship and state Assembly elections were slated for February 28. INEC also considered and fixed dates for two governorship elections - Ekiti and Osun, which were also held in 2014. While the Ekiti governorship election held on June 21, Osun had its turn on August 9. The order of the elections generated a lot of controversy from the political class, with INEC being accused of working with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to rig the 2015 pollss; having set the presidential election first before other elections. Those who hold this view said the presidential election might trigger a bandwagon effect. The All

Progressives Congress and Arewa Consultative Forum, which opposed the order of elections, however, canvassed for a reversal of the order or in the alternative, for the elections to hold in one day. But INEC said it was guided by global best practices in fixing the dates for the elections. According to the commission, it would prefer a situation where all election disputes are disposed off before the winner is sworn into office. It also expressed its displeasure with the use of state funds to prosecute election cases. INEC also ruled out one-day elections because of logistical challenges. The month-long Nigeria centenary anniversary climaxed in the New Year with commemorative 100 awards on deserving Nigerians and the launching of the Centenary City in Lugbe, an outskirt of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The year 2014 marked 100 years since the amalgamation of North and South Protectorates of Nigeria by Britain. The political rivalry between the two major political parties in the country - PDP and APC - continued in 2014, a carry-over from the previous year. The ruling party, on January 17, effected a change in its leadership, with the national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whose style did not go down well with PDP governors, being forced to resign. He was replaced with Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. The new chairman reinvigorated the dying spirit of members. Within weeks, the political misfortune of the party in the National Assembly was reversed, as some members of PDP who had already defected to APC were persuaded to return by the new national chairman.

PDP did not only regain its majority in the House of Representatives, it was also able to poach some foundation members of APC. Among those who joined the party were immediate past governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau; ex-Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa; former presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; former governorship candidates of the party in Kwara and Adamawa states, Dele Belgore and Dr. Ardo Umar respectively; as well as former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa. PDP, however, lost former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, to APC Senator Chris Anyanwu who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and other chieftains of the party, also joined PDP. Though former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Opeyemi Bamidele, dumped the APC for the Labour Party late 2013, it was one out of a number of movements across party lines this year. Those who left the opposition parties for PDP were received at colourful gatherings tagged ‘Unity Rallies’ staged by the ruling party. The rallies were held in geopolitical zones. The party, however, came under attack after its rally in Kano to welcome Shekaru and Bafarawa into the party. Chibok Girls The rally was held a day after the April 14 CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 201

The Sunda

Alao-Aka is no justic

Chief Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala is the immedia Democratic Party. Owing to intra-party crisis, he dump with SOLA ADEYEMO, he bares his mind on what info Congratulations on your adoption as the Labour Party governorship candidate. Yes, you are right. Thank you, I have gone to a less stressful party. But isn’t it worrisome that you could dump the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform you struggled and laboured to build along with others just like that? What really transpired? Nothing other than that man proposes but God disposes. Our wishes are not God’s all the time. I have also found out that if you are with God, you are with the majority. Nothing other than that. What informed the defection was the display of injustice whereby it was impossible for us to conduct free and fair primaries. The way they nominated and selected delegates showed

gross injustice, and so the best thing was for me to leave. The way they nominated the candidate was not what we agreed upon. What they did was just to shy away from the way of picking a popular candidate and as such, I had to leave. Like I said in my speech, I was not forced to leave, but I can’t continue to waste my time where they are cancelling congresses because they are not trying to be fair. In short, a level playing ground was not provided. Despite our complaints, they turned a deaf ear to us and my people said we should move and I moved. But I was made to understand that after the declaration, the party leaders still contacted you, asking you to stay in the PDP. Yes that’s true. Don’t forget I am a leader and I have to listen to my followers. When you are leading and not listening, you will go astray. So, I followed the dictates of my followers. What we agreed upon was what I did. Recently, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Akin Oke, who is your kinsman from Ogbomoso said you would regret going to Labour Party. What is your reaction to this prophesy? For God’s sake, what is his own business about my move? Why is he taking Panadol for my headache? People are of the opinion that you have chosen

Akala

14 NEW TELEGRAPH

ay Interview

ala: There ce in PDP

ate past governor of Oyo State on the platform of Peoples ped PDP for Labour Party two weeks ago. In this interview ormed his decision and his plans for Oyo State beyond 2015 the part of Gov. Olusegun Mimiko who returned to the PDP. You have spent more than 10 years in the PDP and you must have made friends in the party across the country. What was the disposition of your friends to the step you took? Thank you for that compliment. I have made friends across the party and my friends are aware of what is going on. I’ve been giving them situation report as regards our progress. Most of them were among the people that even encouraged me to cross over. They saw it all and they insisted I leave the party where our aspiration cannot be achieved because of the injustice. What was the feeling of the presidency when they learnt about your exit from the party? I am not in the presidency, so I don’t know their mind. Were you called from there to...? (Cuts in) My friends among them called me. They wished me good luck in my movement. Now that you have left the party, Seyi Makinde too has gone to the Social Democratic Party. How will you describe the PDP now in Oyo State? You see some of us are not afraid of being loyal. Don’t bring me somebody who has told me that there is going to be election without delegates. They are supposed to elect those people through ward congresses and somebody just woke up in a day to bring out a list and said that was what they were going to use. It means there is a conspiracy somewhere. With you, your former boss Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Sen. Teslim Folarin, Seyi Makinde, and Governor Abiola Ajimobi in the governorship race now, what are the chances of LP in Oyo in your estimation? What I know is that my party will win. I don’t know the level of preparation of other parties and I don’t want to be interested in their preparation. All I know is that my party will win. Now that LP is not fielding a presidential candidate, will you work for President Jonathan? I will obey my party. Whatever and whoever they endorse, I will support him. The interest of my party is sacrosanct because I am a party person. Wherever the party decides we should go, I will go. Sometime ago, you said that without you, PDP is dead in Oyo State, and now it seems to be happening. What gave you the confidence then? I can also tell you that the party can’t win in Oyo State in the next election. You don’t need a pathologist to tell you that. We all live here and you also see things for yourself. Time will tell.

When the news of your defection to LP filtered out at the Liberty Stadium at the PDP primary election you were supposed to attend, some of the disgruntled members said they know how to cage Alao-Akala. Cage me? Unfortunately, I am older than all of them. I am more experienced than all of them. The person who will beat my experience among them must be a political scientist or a political editor who must have read the works of many politicians thoroughly. When you know your onions, you don’t need to wait for somebody to tell you when to leave. I have caged somebody before so, I cannot be caged. Some of your aides, I learnt, were not convinced about your decision to go to the Labour Party. How true is that? Let me tell you, I don’t need to beg them. We are going to separate the boys from the men. There is nothing wrong in being ambitious, but you must know your limit. Once you know your limits, you won’t go the wrong way. If you had lost fairly in PDP, would you have stayed in the party? Oh yes! I would have exhibited a spirit of sportsmanship. I would have waited, but in this case, I will look stupid to remain in the party when everybody knows that I won the two congresses in the state and they didn’t give it to me. So, I will not be fair to myself and teeming supporters who joined their voices with mine to kick against injustice and leave the party to another party. But why do you want to come back as a governor? I have so many reasons. A lot of people want me back because they are not getting the kind of smiles I put on their faces when I was there as a governor. And since they have decided to ask me to come and serve again, I have to listen to them. A lot of them tell me that when I was in government, money was in circulation; when I was in government, they were enjoying themselves, and when I was in government, things were going the way it should go. So, they came to me and said: ‘Akala we want you back in government.’ It is part of my principle to make people happy. That is part of the arrangement. The four-way test of Rotary is my own idea of life. We are back in the era of breaking jinx... (Cuts in) Having three former occupants of the office of the governor in the race? Yes. Are we now saying that this time around, the jinx will be broken? Yes, with due respect to other contestants, the governor is among the three of us. The jinx has to be broken, and I am the one to break that jinx.

A lot of things transpired in Abuja before the PDP eventually conducted the primaries. Would you like to share with me some of the things that transpired before it got to this stage? That is no more necessary. It has become history; it cannot help any cause now. If I need to say anything, it will be due to the fact that we thought people can reason so that we can move our party forward. Maybe later, some of them may come, and we would resolve issues. But for now, the issue of PDP is in the dustbin. The issue of violence during your tenure… What do you want to say about the recent happening at Bere, Born Photo when arsonists moved to people’s houses and began to kill people, burn down houses and others? That was an indigenous crisis. The only crisis that you could hear of during my tenure was the National Union of Road Transport Workers palaver. I am a security man and I know how to handle and

keep the people of Oyo State safe. I have done that before. The issue of the NURTW people is not a threat to the security of Oyo State because that is how they change their leadership. This case is isolated. If you are not a member, they won’t come to you. They only fight their members and I want to tell you that we will make Oyo State safe. On your issue with the PDP, will you change your mind if the National Working Committee appeals to you again? You see, some of us know our onions. You know we have some Abuja politicians among us who have their ears in Abuja. They listen to them and I am a grass roots man with local ideas. They may not like to listen to people like us with local ideas and we are in the majority. We are about 75 per cent and that is where I belong to. I can assure you that we have firm control of our people at home.Aala ni o fi oko ole han (the boundary will surely expose a lazy man’s farm). Are you now saying that the so- called Abuja politicians distorted the process of conducting free and fair governorship primaries in the state? I don’t know o! Go and find out and come up with an answer. Just imagine a situation whereby you are changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. They set up an ad hoc committee, because, by all means, they want to favour a particular candidate. The directive was not from the presidency; it was just from the de facto in the party and they have wrecked so much havoc in the party through their injustice. Look at the scenario in Ebonyi State whereby the entire state moved to the Labour Party, including the governor. If there is justice, things will work the way it is supposed to work. There were times when we made efforts to settle everything but because of their agenda, they blocked us and that are why the party is yet to settle. Your defection to Labour Party is no more news but your name is synonymous with PDP in Oyo State. Don’t you think the change of party, particularly the logo of your party, will confuse the electorate during the election? No. We have embarked on a sensitisation campaign and with time they will know. So, if you go to the polling unit and tell them you want to vote for Akala, our agent will show you where to put your thumb. And the logo of our party is simple: it is Baba, Iya, and Omo. It is a symbol of a family: a united home. Join Labour Party. Can you let me into your campaign manifesto? My manifesto will go in accordance with the party’s own, but let me now tell you something. In most cases, you don’t force what people don’t want on them. You have to study their environment and ask for their needs. You can’t just do

something they really don’t want. Give them what will make them to appreciate you. For instance, if my back is paining me and you are scratching my leg, you are not solving my problem. You have to look at their needs and know what they want and how to satisfy them. My programme will be in accordance with the party manifesto and I as a governor, will tell them what we are going to do for them. We will be going on campaign and we will be asking them what they need and promise them if they will vote for us. But that doesn’t mean we should be promising what we cannot do. During my first term in office, I fulfilled about 80 per cent of my campaign promises, apart from the party manifesto, I will also study people’s needs before giving them anything, for instance, I can’t promise the people of Ibadan North or North West fertilisers when in actual fact they don’t need it. I will rather give it to the people of Egbeda, Moniya or Iseyin where it will be more useful and appreciated. You were the governor between 2007 and 2011 and out of government for about four years now... (Cuts in) I went on sabbatical leave. Now that you are planning to come back, what are those things you really want to do differently? You see nobody is perfect. We learn every day and anything I have left undone, now I will do it. And those ones I have done well, I will do much better. That is why they say anything you know how to do best in life, do it well, as it will form part of your life. I learnt a lot during the time I was privileged to govern this state for four years, and I am coming back to do things better than I did when I was the governor. I have known better too because I am now on the other side of the divide. I know what we did that interested people, and I am better experienced and fit to effectively run the state. The job is for experienced people and not novices who are just desperate to be governor. And like I did in the first term, I will make my government accessible; interact with people to know their minds. ‘E pade gomina’ (Met the Governor) really helped me a lot. It made me know the feelings of the people and gave me the opportunity of solving most of the problems. I do tell the person handling the phone not to censor anything. When people called and said bad things, I appreciated that. I listen to everybody and do what they want. Now that you are returning from sabbatical leave, what is your message for the people of Oyo State bearing in mind that election is near and there are governorship candidates from other parties too? I have been tested and could be trusted too. Like I said, I want a situation where I will promise and fulfill it; I want to tell the people of Oyo State that come February 2015 election, they should vote for me. I will do better than before. Money will be in circulation and I will change the economy of Oyo State. They have tried me before and know what I can do. I will make things happen. I won’t let the standard of my performance fall. I will move ahead to do it better than we did during the first time. I will work and walk with people to take Oyo State to a greater height without stressing them or making life difficult for them. Why the choice of Sarafa Alli as your running mate? Thank you for that question. You will all agree with me that Sarafa Alli is an experienced politician. He became chairman of a local government before he was 30 and now he is above 50. You know the kind of experience he must have gathered. He has been a Chief of Staff, Secretary to the State Government and we had worked together before when I was the deputy governor. He is a seasoned administrator and I need somebody like him to work with me as my deputy. He is a grass roots politician and people love him. So his choice is a good one. Let me tell you, all the governorship aspirants in the Labour Party are eminently qualified to be governor, and we will work together as a team to move the state forward.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Politics

2014: Year of defections, upsets and more C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 1

bomb blast in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja. It coincided with the abduction of over 200 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Responsibility for the kidnappings was claimed by Boko Haram, the terrorist group based in North-East Nigeria. Though it took President Goodluck Jonathan some days to acknowledge the incident, some of the kidnapped schoolgirls managed to escape from their captors. Thus began a long journey of hoping against hope that the terrorists would free the pupils. On October 17, 2014, hopes were raised that the 219 remaining girls might soon be released after the Nigerian army announced a truce between Boko Haram and government forces. The announcement coincided with the six-month anniversary of the girls’ capture and followed a month of negotiations mediated in Saudi Arabia by Chadian President, Idriss Deby. The announcement was, however, met with doubts because it wasn’t the first time the Nigerian government had claimed a breakthrough in negotiations with the Islamic militant group. It it had to backtrack on a previous announcement in September after saying the girls had been released and were being held in a military barracks in Maiduguri. The issue and its poor handling attracted national and international condemnation, including the emergence of the BringBackourGirls campaign, which held sit-out protests at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for several months and tried unsuccessfully to march on the Presidential Villa. All the while, Boko Haram issued some videos, taunting the Nigerian government and showing the kidnapped girls assembled in an unidentified compound in Islamic gear. Distribution of PVCs Pursuant to the provisions of Section 16 of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, the Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the issuance of the Permanent Voters Card, a smart card-based identity card which contains the bio-data and biometrics of eligible Nigerian voters. The distribution of the cards began in all parts of the country, though they were in short supply. Hence, it became a subject of serious controversy, as many states believed they were short-changed by INEC which could not make all the cards for the respective states available. Seriously affected in this exercise were voters in Lagos, Niger, Kano, Oyo and Enugu states where over five million people could not receive their cards. For instance, INEC postponed the distribution of the PVCs and continuous voter registration in Katsina State. INEC had earlier scheduled the distribution of PVCs and the continuous voter registration for November 12, but it later moved it to December 10. However, few hours after the commencement of the exercise, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Abubakar Wara, said the exercise could not hold as scheduled. INEC directed that anyone who could not register during the period should do so at the local government secretariat nearest to his or her residence. Gale of defections Still on the gale of defections within the year, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko who is on his second term in office, left Labour Party for PDP. Also former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, joined the ruling party from APGA. It was indeed a year of defections, as even the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; and the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom, dumped PDP for Labour Party and APC in their respective states, after they were unable to pick the ruling party’s governorship tickets. Five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly opposed to

misconduct.” However, he succeeded the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, after much tension on October 22.

Jonathan

Buhari

Jega

Shekau

Governor Rotimi Amaechi tried unsuccessfully to impeach him. The political instability in some states led to sharp disagreements between governors and their deputies, notable among which was the feud between Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko al-Makura, and his deputy, Dameshi Luka. The state house of assembly’s attempt to remove the governor also failed. The story was the same in Kano and Borno states, where secret plots to induce their houses of assembly to remove the governors, allegedly on the prompting of the presidency, were thwarted. Tambuwal’s defection jolted the PDP, which is seeking both legal and illegal means to remove him as Speaker. Apart from the suits filed in different courts seeking his removal, the PDP is pushing members of the House of Representatives to effect a change in the House leadership. The matter came to a head on November 24 when some members of the House scaled the gates of the National Assembly and gained entrance into the House of Representatives, to thwart an alleged attempt to impeach Tambuwal. This followed the shutting of the gates of the complex by policemen. The House was later reconvened by the Speaker to attend to President Jonathan’s request for the extension of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Prior to this, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba had ordered the immediate withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security details, arguing that by defecting to APC the Speaker had lost his seat in the House.

tigi was appointed as its Chairman while former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, was the vice-chairman. The constitution of the conference followed the recommendation of Senator Femi Okunroumu, Conference Committee, which submitted its report in September 2013. The conference debates ended in July and its report, which contained about 600 recommendations, were submitted to the Federal Government. In accordance with INEC’s timetable, the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections were held during the year. While the Ekiti governorship poll led to the ousting of Governor Kayode Fayemi of APC by ex-governor, Ayodele Fayose, of PDP, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of APC was returned in Osun. Governor of Adamawa State, Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako, was impeached by the state house of assembly while his deputy, James Bala Ngilari, allegedly resigned. The Speaker of the House, Umar Fintiri, was sworn in as acting governor. Ngilari’s alleged resignation was later quashed by the court and he was sworn in as substantive governor. In the same vein, the court annulled the 2012 state house of assembly’s removal of former Taraba State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi. The court also directed that Danladi should be sworn in as acting governor while Alhaji Garba Umar, who had been serving as acting governor since Governor Danbaba Suntai sustained serious injuries in a plane crash in 2012 was sent packing. Thought, it was economy related, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, was suspended by the Federal Government in June for “various acts of financial recklessness and

National Confab The much awaited National Conference began in March with 490 delegates. Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Justice Idris Ku-

INEC’s 30,000 polling units An attempt by INEC to create 30,000 new polling units before next year’s general elections ended in a fiasco. The move was hotly opposed by politicians and elders from the South, who accused INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, of favouring the North unduly in the allocation of the new polling units. Due to pressure mounted by these people, including a court case, Jega was forced to postpone the exercise until after next year’s elections. The nation’s political climate became charged towards the end of the year with the conduct of party primaries by registered political parties. It climaxed with the national conventions of the two major political parties. PDP, which had earlier adopted Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2015 presidential election, ratified this at its December 10 and 11 special national convention. That same day, APC, which held its own convention in Lagos, elected former head of state, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as the party’s presidential candidate. Fall of the governors Another highpoint of the year was the fall of some governors who hitherto held sway in the country. Some the governors who are serving their second term in office either lost their ambition to pick tickets to run for Senate or could not position their anointed successors. In Lagos, Governor Raji Fashola’s prevarication over his choice of successor brought him face to face with the war chest of political manipulations of his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Ebonyi State Governor, Martins Elechi, was outsmarted by his deputy, Dave Umahi, who emerged as the governorship candidate of the PDP. Umahi enjoyed the strong support of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, hence, the fall of Elechi’s anointed successor, Prof. Onyewuchi Chukwu. Political analysts believe that the same scenario played out in Delta and Enugu states, where the governors capitulated under the political wizardry of the other aspirants. Governor Sullivan Chime lost his ambition to transmute to the Senate to incumbent Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy senate president. Capture of towns The nation’s territorial integrity came under severe attack as Boko Haram captured about 12 local governments in the North-East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. The insurgents also kidnapped over 180 women and children, causing an upsurge in the list of internally displaced persons to over 800,000 besides over 15,000 deaths. Villages like Gwoza, Mubi, Gomsuru, Wada Mangoro and Grata were captured and the flags of the insurgents hoisted. They also made regular forays into Nasarawa, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe states. However, the Nigeria Army has been able to recapture some key towns from the insurgents and restored relative peace. The insurgents then resorted to using girls as suicide bombers. They also made some daring moves, attempting to assassinate Buhari in a bomb attack in July. The same day, Boko Haram insurgents targeted respected Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, narrowly in Kaduna, narrowly missing him. Parts of the North have also been engulfed in regular killings of villagers by Fulani herdsmen, despite efforts by government officials to reconcile them. In all, the year has been an interesting one even as Nigerians look forward to 2015 with much hope.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Politics / Column

Of N21.72bn campaign donation and matters arising Villa Notes emmyanule@yahoo.com

Anule Emmanuel

he Banquet Hall of the presidential villa was indeed filled to capacity penultimate Saturday night when friends, associates and stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party gathered to raise funds in the support of the party to execute some its on-going projects including sponsoring candidates across the country vying for various political offices in the 2015 elections. On the weight of President Goodluck Jonathan and political orators like Professor Jerry

Obaze

Gana who served as chairman of the Presidential Fund Raising Committee at the special dinner, oil magnets, construction giants, leaders of government business entities pulled together a total of N21.27billion for the party. Although it was clear from the onset that as advertised in national dailies, that the fund raising dinner had been specifically planned to support the PDP presidential flag bearer, President Jonathan to ensure his victory in next year’s general election, at the event proper, it was made clear that it was actually for the party as a whole. In the words of the chief planner of the dinner, all moneys realised would be used for major projects embarked upon by the PDP. But Professor Gana did not hide the real intention of the fund raiser which has already been generating controversies and criticisms from both analysts and the opposition All Progres-

sive Congress. For instance, the Buhari Support Organizations, the body of all support groups for the presidential candidate of the APC in 2015 election, said that PDP fund-raiser should have devoted itself to finding a solution to the nation’s power problem instead of the event. The Presidency for its part, said the suggestion that the money raised be used to fund national power projects portrays the APC party as an unserious, unfocused and defective organisation with no reasonable alternative solutions to the nation’s problems. The legality or otherwise of the donations has generated a lot of condemnation. The argument from lawyers and many other wellmeaning Nigerians was that rising as much as N21 billion violated the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Interestingly, the Act states that the total

amount that can be expended by a presidential candidate is N1 billion, while Section 91 (1) puts the amount that can be donated by an individual at N1 million. Penalties for violating these provisions are a maximum of N1 million fine or two years imprisonment. However, Professor Gana, who was aware of these while urging donors at the event to contribute generously, disclosed that the funds raised would aside being deployed to the building of a new national corporate, headquarters for the party. That it will also be used to support its presidential candidate and other candidates vying for various political offices across the country. Knowing the source of the donations, President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo seized the opportunity to drive home the point that all monies donated at the event had no relation to their campaign but would be dedicated to repositioning the ruling party and ensure that it continues to remain the largest party in the black world. Jonathan, in his remarks, described that Saturday as a special day and thanked the donors, while assuring them that the funds would not be wasted or misused. “I thank everyone who made donation tonight,” said Jonathan. Needless to say, while the PDP can be said to have established dual purposes for the fund so raised, it is a fact that not even the APC can come claim that it is operating within the law respecting the expenses spent so far on campaigns and primaries. It has been reported that delegates at its last presidential primaries went home with thousands of dollars- from aspirants. If the laws have to be enforced to the letter, these is no doubt that scores of politicians will either go to jail or get away with a fine- though this fine is so little a deterrence. But it will go into record that the erring politician would have been convicted. It was also expected that the ruling party would enjoy the patronage of lots of people and businesses, because some of them are government contractors and patron. That explains why some months ago while President Jonathan was under pressure to declare for the 2015 polls, he also had personal donations from well wishers including a corps member who donated N5, 000. In order to prevent further issues being raised from the donation, it is important that the party comes out clear to take a position on the exact reason for the donation. This would also save the President the heat as the campaigns begin. Along with this is the fact that the President himself would have used his position as a privilege to get cheap funds. Hence the need to address the issue. There is virtually nothing wrong in donating to a course one believes in, but the fear is that like the provision of the Electoral Act, what is wrong is a situation where that is down outside the provisions of the laws of the lad, or if state funds are directed to promoting party or individual interest.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Politics / Interview

Buhari is president in waiting, says Alasoadura I leave that for people to judge if PDP is taking care of the interest of the people. I would not be the one to go into an altercation with Governor Mimiko. Before he said it was LP that he belonged to that was a progressive, now he is saying it is the PDP

Former Chairman of forum of Commissioners of Finance and now senatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), for Ondo central, Chief Donald Omotayo Alasoadura tells BABATOPE OKEOWO in this interview that with the emergence of General Mohammadu Buhari as APC presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan’s days in office are numbered Alasoadura

You have just been declared the winner of the APC’s primary for Ondo Central senatorial district, what are your chances of winning the election? My chances are very bright; they are bright because the people of Ondo State are fed up with the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party government. The people of Ondo State are alive to the aphorism which says that ‘you can fool some of the people some of the time and you can also fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’ The present government of Ondo State has taken the people for a ride and they are now wiser. The people will not vote for the PDP. Now that PDP is the ruling party in the state, are you not afraid of the power of incumbency? There is nothing like the power of incumbent in this contest. What matter is the power of the people and the power of the people now belong to the APC. It is the power of the people that matters to us and not governmental power. Do you think your presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has any chance of winning in the state? The election of Buhari in Ondo State is given; the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has performed woefully that nobody in the state in his right sense would want to touch the government with long spoon any more. What is attractive in Jonathan’s PDP? Is it the Chibok girls that have been taken away from their schools and are yet to be rescued months after? Is it the stealing and pillage of the resources of this country? Or is it the impunity that this government is known for as demonstrated recently when we were told that a woman in this time donated N5 billion to his campaign? Is it the epileptic power supply that we will be charged with higher tariff? Is it the cluelessness of the government in tackling rampaging Boko Haram? I can give one thousand reasons why Nigerians will not vote for Goodluck Jonathan anymore. As for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, he is the president in waiting.

You were in PDP and later defected to the APC, what informed your decision? There are two sides to it; when my good friend, Dr Olusegun Agagu was alive, he led us very well, he was a good man and we were so friendly that I thought whenever I needed his assistance too like I gave him all the support when I was serving with him, he would give me support. I wanted to run for the position of a governor in this state and I told him and I could not see the support coming and this made me not to be too happy. If it were somebody else not giving me support, I would not mind but somebody who I had served diligently, somebody who I committed everything to, somebody I made his administration one of the best in this country and the best this state ever produced; no scandal, salaries and gratuities were being paid on time, no contractor and bank was owed one kobo, everything was done according to the law. When he left government, no EFCC harassed him, even me the Commissioner for Finance, no EFCC called me once despite the fact that a very hostile government took over from our administration. I thought those services given should have been enough for him to give me support. What other reason informed your decision? The second part is that I saw the PDP drifting. I was one of the founding fathers of the PDP. We had this aim and objective to make Nigeria better but after some time, I discovered that majority of the people in the PDP was out to grab money, to steal as much money as possible and I as a Chartered Accountant, trained in the act of transparency and accountability could not countenance such bad behaviours that would not be in the interest of our people. I came to politics to serve; I came from a very poor family, worked very hard to get the little I got and after that to now be a party to the wanton plundering of the Nigeria resources, I don’t think I will like that. Also, one of the main reasons was that when some of us who were young Turks because we were against the normal establishment in the state as at that time, was that we wanted to build a national party to be able to retrieve our natural resources that were being used by other states. Our fathers

who were in government had tried but because we were not at the party at the central, it made it extremely difficult for us to get our oil wells retrieved and to the glory of God by the time Dr Olusegun Agagu was leading the crusade and I was carrying the file, we were able to get 103 oil wells attributed to Ondo State which is what we are now sitting on today. Having completed my mission that our resources are not being used by other states, I felt it was time for me to go back home to the progressive where I naturally belong. You talk of progressive politics, what define your progressivism? Is it by party affiliation or otherwise? You must have progressive inclination before you can join a political party that is progressive. Progressivism is very simple. A party that looks after the interest of the greater majority of the people; give them good education, ensure that there is gainful employment, to ensure that schools are in good shape, ensure that all the people that are working are paid on time - anything that will add to the welfare of the people is what the progressive party does. Take APC for example and look at the states they are governing today and compare it with other states that are not in a progressive party. Progressivism is taking care of the interest of the greater majority of the people because there is no government that can take care of everyone. Do you need to be in APC before you do that? What of the governors in PDP that are doing the same thing or more than that? They cannot do it because if you are surrounded by angry and hungry lions and you stay somewhere and you are contended, you now want to use your contentment to pacify those hungry ones that are surrounding you, they will eat you up. There is no way a progressive can thrive when taken together with those who don’t have the interest of the people at heart. Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State said recently that the APC is not a progressive political party, that it is the PDP that has the interest of the people at heart. Do you share his view?

Do you mean the six years you were in government as a PDP chieftain, you were not taking care of the interest of the people? No! You know you can start something or have a vision about something and along the way, people can derail. PDP has derailed! What is attractive in the PDP today? Is it the abduction of over 200 of the Chibok girls that government has not found solution to? Is it the stealing of our money by ministers? There is massive corruption in this country that our President does not know the difference between stealing and corruption. Is it that a woman used N235million to buy two cars that will attract me? Is it that a woman used N10billion to hire an aircraft for her personal use and is still in the government that will attract me? Is it a government that cannot arm our solders to confront the insurgency in our country and all the money that should be used to buy equipment for our soldiers are pocketed by few people? PDP has derailed, they are not what we set out the party to be and I cannot be part of them anymore. Elections are coming, what are the chances of your party in this state? The chances of our party are bright. I would say this, before Mimiko joined PDP, our party was number three in this state because I am a practical politician. But the day he joined, it made our job easy. People can now see which one is a progressive party and which one is not. Don’t forget that Ondo State has a lot of educated elite, you can put a wool on their faces for some times, but you cannot do it all the time. With the influx of people joining the party now and with what we are hearing from the ordinary people on the street that they have tested PDP and LP, let us test APC, I think we have good chances of winning this state. Recently, APC said the progressives in PDP should leave and join them, does that mean we still have progressives in the PDP? Of course, there are progressives in the PDP. I was in PDP and I am a progressive and I have always been a progressive. Even in APC today, there are conservatives but the good thing is that the people who are progressives are more than those who are conservatives. In any organisation, you cannot have all of them to say they are on the same level. But remember the saying of the wise ones, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the theory of the thesis and anti-thesis that at a time all the progressives from different political parties would come together while all the conservatives from different political parties would also come together; that is what is happening in Nigeria today. You were a chairman of Forum of Commissioners for Finance, how would you describe the dwindling resources from the Federal Government to states in recent time? It is unfortunate. But it will be so when you have a corrupt administration running the affairs of a country. If you have an up and doing administration, why did we do planning? We have five years short term planning, 10 years middle planning and 20-25 years long term planning. A very anticipatory administration will see this coming and it would edge as we call it in accountancy.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Politics / Column

State Assemblies as enemies of grassroots devt From the

Red Chamber chukwudavid68@yahoo.com

Chukwu David

ne of the greatest challenges militating against grassroots development since the advent of this democracy in Nigeria in 1999 is the operation of State/ Local government Joint Account. The state governors have adopted this as a strategy to interfere with the funds of the local councils, as they seize their monthly allocations and release inconsequential sums to them for sharing amongst council executives rather than for development. This act of lawlessness has rendered the councils financially impotent, as they hardly receive enough funds from the states to carry out meaningful developments to the benefit of the people. Ironically, over 70 per cent of the nation’s population lives in the council areas. This means that more funds should be provided for the third tier of government to be able to embark on projects that can make life comfortable for the rural dwellers. For instance, fourth schedule of the 1999 Constitution gave the councils such functions as collection of rates, radio and television licences; establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm; licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheel barrows and carts; establishment, maintenance and regulation of slaughter houses, slaughter slabs, markets,

motor parks and public conveniences. Others are the construction and maintenance of roads, streets, street lightings, drains and other public highways, parks, gardens, open spaces, or such public facilities, naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses; provision and maintenance of public conveniences, sewage and refuse disposal; registration of all births, deaths and marriages; etc. Ironically, the duties have suffered immeasurably since the state government started usurping their duties starving them of funds. Consequently, urbanisation has become the order of the day. This explains why cities like Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and others are suffering from population explosion, leading to congestion and other concomitant social vices in these cities. Consequently, attempts have been made by the local government councils through protests to the Federal Government to get out of this bondage but to no avail. The National Assembly, which is the last hope of the oppressed in terms of representation at the national level, took the matter up since the Sixth Assembly, to tackle the problem through constitution amendment. Unfortunately, the state governors always made sure that the effort of the federal lawmakers to free the local government from the captivity of the states never succeeded. The governors have continued to frustrate the liberation of the councils from their unlawful grip on councils’ funds by influencing the state assemblies to always kill proposal by the National Assembly to grant the grassroots government financial autonomy. They have attempted various options like blackmail, hoodwink and threat to ensure that the lawmakers danced to their tune. Some of them were threatened by the governors to take such

position or risk re-election into the house. The state assemblies killed this proposal in the Sixth Assembly; they have also done it again in this Seventh Assembly. For instance, the Senate on October 21, 2014, approved the report of the Conference Committee on the Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution Amendment Bill, 2014, as amended. In its resolve to facilitate expeditious passage of the report in order to bring the amendments into effect as quickly as possible, the Upper Chamber also, on October 28, transmitted the report to the Conference of Speakers of the 36 states of the Federation for their immediate ratification. While receiving the document, the Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly assured Nigerians that the state parliamentarians would independently consider the proposed amendments without giving room for any intimidation or undue interferences from their respective governors as was the case in the past attempts at reviewing the Constitution. The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, Hon. Samuel Ikon, also assured that the report would receive accelerated and positive action from the state assemblies. Contrary to these assurances however, the state lawmakers only kept their words in expeditiously considering the document but some of the critical items in the proposal, which formed the basic wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people, particularly those at the grassroots were killed by the same people. In the alteration report as approved by the National Assembly, Section 7 of the Bill specifically granted autonomy to the local governments in Nigeria by providing for their funding, tenure, elections, and to clearly delineate their powers and responsibilities to ensure effective service delivery and insulate them

from undue interference from state governments. In fact, Nigerians hailed the National Assembly for making the move to provide autonomy to the local governments because it has been the argument of political analysts, that if this Section scaled the hurdle of the state assemblies, it would facilitate the strengthening of the local government administration in Nigeria, as rapid socio-economic development would have been engendered. It is evident that the council system of administration, as the third tier of governments is currently being bastardized by the encroachments of the state governments through joint accounts and other arbitrary impositions by state governors. Unfortunately, just as many Nigerians expressed fears and worries that the state assemblies would bungle the project, they actually and eventually frustrated its passage as the legislators again, yielded to the whims and caprices of the state governors, who want to perpetuate the impunity of tampering with local government funds. Since it became public knowledge last Friday at the transmission of the Constitution Review report approved by the state assemblies to the National Assembly, that the state lawmakers dashed the hope of Nigerians on the issue of local government autonomy, it has become clearer that most Nigerian politicians place selfish interests above public concerns. The state assemblies are now seen and branded as enemies of grassroots people and development. The earlier they remedy this blunder, by ensuring its passage in the next constitution alteration exercise, the better for them because a day of reckoning with the Nigerian people is definitely coming, when they will give account of their stewardship.

Still on aversion for LG autonomy From the

Green Chamber ternyam@gmail.com

Philip Nyam

t was a former member of the House of Representatives and now Chief of Staff to Edo State governor, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, who once described members of the state House of Assembly as ‘political halleluiah boys’. In other words, they are just there to sing to the tune of the governors. These same state Houses of Assembly legislators are so powerful in the process of constitution making. After sieving through a deluge of requests and proposals, the National Assembly subjects its decisions to the scrutiny of state assemblies. But in order to take advantage of this privilege to help strengthen democracy, the state assemblies have turned into ‘errand boys’ for the governors instead of working for the good of the generality of Nigerians. Since the return of democracy in 1999, the National Assembly has made spirited efforts to ensure that the third tier of government is granted fiscal autonomy but to no avail. During the 2005/2006 experiment, which collapsed with the infamous third term, local government autonomy featured prominently. In the last alteration that was held in 2010, both chambers of the National Assembly voted in favour of autonomy for local councils but when the proposal was sent to the state assemblies, they kicked against it. This scenario played itself out in the ongoing process as the issue was again thrown out by the state legislature. In the Alteration report as approved by the National Assembly, Sec-

tion 7 of the Bill grants autonomy to the local governments in by providing for their funding, tenure, elections, and to clearly delineate their powers and responsibilities to ensure effective service delivery and insulate them from undue interference from state governments. Incredibly, about a fortnight ago, the state assemblies for the umpteenth time frustrated the bold effort of the National Assembly to entrench financial autonomy at the third tier of government- the local government. Reminiscent of what has transpired in the last 15 years, the state assemblies kicked against the proposed insertion of the autonomy clause for local councils in the constitution. Out of the 36 states, only 13 voted in favour of local government autonomy while 23 rejected the proposal. The states that aligned with the National Assembly on the issue include Adamawa, Abia, Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, Niger, Kogi and Kwara. Whereas, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Rivers, Delta and Imo states voted against local government autonomy. Majority of these

The rejection of this proposal by majority of the state assemblies is but a tacit approval of perpetual exploitation of the rural populace in the country

state assemblies have argued that the local government autonomy bill is fraught with irregularities. According to them, it will be improper to leave the local governments unmonitored for the sake of autonomy because there is high level of immaturity at the local government level. That the deteriorating state of local governments in the country has been a source of concern to all discerning Nigerians is just stating the obvious. The governors have virtually converted local councils into personal fiefdom and cash cows. They have successfully done this over the years through the instrumentality of state/LG joint accounts and other arbitrary applications and impositions introduced by state governors. There is no iota of development at the grassroots level and the scenario is getting worse by the day. Apart from the fiscal slavery, which local governments are subjected to, the governors have carefully circumvented democracy at that level by dissolving local council executives at will and appointing cronies. This they do without batting an eye. Hence, Nigerians hailed the federal lawmakers for that singular decision to provide autonomy to the local governments because from analytical perspective, it was believed that if this section scaled the hurdle of the state assemblies, it would facilitate the strengthening of the local government administration in Nigeria. But this was not to be as the two warring factions of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), surprisingly agreed to speak with one voice against local government autonomy. Both Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Jonah Jang’s factions vehemently mobilised against this proposal. The two factions had argued that the National Assembly has no power to determine what happens in the state, anchoring their arguments on the idea that Nigeria is a federation. The chairman of

the speakers of state Houses of Assembly, Hon. Samuel Ikon, is from Akwa Ibom and a close ally of the Governor Godswill Akpabio, who is the chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum. It was therefore easy for the governors to manipulate the process again. According to them, in a federation, the federating states have constitutional powers to determine the structure and system of administration to adopt at the state and local government levels. Consequently, Nigerians have been worried over this situation and want the state assemblies to be courageous enough this time around to counter the governors and grant the much desired autonomy to the councils for accelerated development. But the Governor’s Forum was not alone in the conspiracy to stop local governments from having the free hand to exercise their constitutional responsibilities. Both the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) supported the governors in their quest to ensure that autonomy does not come the way of local councils. The NUT position was anchored on a selfish perspective. The NUT posited that teachers suffered greatly when their salaries were being handled by the local governments so councils should not be granted financial independence. The rejection of this proposal by majority of the state assemblies is but a tacit approval of perpetual exploitation of the rural populace in the country. The lawmakers at state assemblies are representatives of the people and should be doing the biding of the people and not governors who are clearly out of tune with the reality in our society today. The legislators must abandon primordial interests for international best practice and stop playing puppets in the hands of state governors.

Education on Sunday SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

I dedicate my success to my mother, says ABSU best graduating student Uchechukwu Amanze and Ande Favour

I ABSU

t was a dream come true for some 5,760 graduating students of Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu as they received their scrolls for the award of first degrees and postgraduate certificates of the state university. It was at the 23rd convocation of the university, where seven of the students obtained First Class Honours. The week-long activities were flagged off with a pre-convocation press conference addressed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chibuzo Ogbuagu, who noted that the university has produced quality graduates who could raise their shoulders anywhere in the world. Other activities lined up for the ceremony included Arts and Books exhibition and a cultural carnival, where students and lecturers showcased their works of arts and writing; general clean-up of the university campus; convocation lecture and a novelty football match. The convocation lecture entitled: “Sapere Aude Oganihu Ndigbo,” was delivered by Prof. Austine Okwu, who decried the marginalisation of the Igbo people in the scheme of national development. “The Igbo people are being marginalized on daily basis in this country. We occupy few top positions, and we have been sidelined from national politics,” the don stressed, regretting that the Igbo people are the cause of their marginalisation. His words: “To an extent, I want to blame the Igbo people for being the architect of this marginalisation. This is because they lack internal love, unity and cohesion. It is only when you live in peace and harmony that you can fight for your rights collectively. However, in the case of the Igbo people there should no love lost among them.” The Professor Emeritus, who proffered solutions on how the Igbo could go back to their glorious days, argued: “We can go back to our glorious days, the days of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr. Alvan Ikokwu, among others, if only we can live in love, peace and harmony.” Giving the breakdown of the graduating students during the award of first degrees and prizes to graduating students, who distinguished themselves academically and morally, the Vice-Chancellor said seven of them had First Class; 893 graduated with Second Class Upper Division; 3,584 obtained Second Class Lower Division; while 583 came out with Third Class and nine with Pass Degrees. In his address, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, who was represented by the President, Vision Africa, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, congratulated the graduating students on their successful completion of their academic programmes. “You all deserve the joy of this occasion, because your labour has been adequately rewarded. I, therefore, charge you to be worthy ambassadors of Abia State University, wherever you find yourselves,” he said.

Onuma, best graduating student with the VC, Prof. Ogbuagu.

The best graduating students, Precious Onuma, a graduate of the Department of Soil Science, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.70 points, led six others with First Class. In her valedictory speech, Onuma dedicated her success to her mother and late father. She recalled: “Originally, I applied to study Nursing Science, but I was offered Soil Science. Initially, I did not want to accept the course, but my mother appealed to me to accept the course. And, today that advice has paid off.” For her outstanding performance, Onuma was offered automatic employment by the management of the university.

For the award of higher degrees and honorary degrees, 66 students bagged their PhD degrees, while 296 were awarded Masters Degrees and 126 Post Graduate Diplomas (PGD). The Vice-Chancellor while welcoming guests comprising top government functionaries, principal officers of the university, members of the academia, captains of industries and traditional rulers and religious leaders to the ceremony, thanked the state government for its spirited efforts at addressing the various challenges confronting the university. However, he pleaded with the Theodore Orji-led administration to look into the chal-

lenges of power and water supply which the university is still facing. The high point of the ceremony was the conferment of the institution’s Honorary Degrees on Sir Chief Bob Ewuolonu Ogbuagu, who was conferred with Doctor of Public Administration (Honoris Causa); while Prof. Anya O. Anya, the ProChancellor and Chairman of Council of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike; and Eze Nwachukwu Okere, Iyi Ukwu Enyi 1 of Oheiyi-Ukwu Autonomous Community, Ahaba Isuikwuato were conferred with Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) and Doctor of Business Administration (Honoris Causa) respectively.

Auchi poly student wins 2014 national youth debate Yekeen Nurudeen, Abuja

n undergraduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Olaniyan Joshua has emerged the overall winner of the 2014 National Youth Debate Competition organised by the Federal Ministry of Education. Olaniyan, a Higher National Diploma (HND) undergraduate at the Department of Computer Studies, who scored 86 points to clinch the first position, beat 10 other contestants across Nigeria universities and colleges

of education. The theme of this year’s competition was: “Entrepreneurship Education: A Panacea to National Development.” The finalists, who had earlier won at the zonal levels of the competition were from the University of Abuja; University of Benin; University of Uyo; Federal Polytechnic, Auchi; Federal College of Education, Okene; Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo and Nasarawa State University. At the end of the exercise, Ibironke Oluwaseun from Adeyemi College of Education came second, while Mba Judith of University of Benin placed third respectively.

The contestants, who spoke on the theme, noted that entrepreneurship education could be used to address the myriad of problems facing the country, which ranges from poverty, unemployment, ethno-religious conflict to diseases, among others. Speaking during the presentation of prizes, the representative of Director of Tertiary Education in the ministry, and Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Jonathan Mbaka commended the quality of the presentation of the students, and the Tertiary Education Department for sustaining the competition since its inception three years ago.

Life 40

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

Even white people visit Okija Shrine for consultations – Chief Priest

n August 3, 2004, the quiet community of Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State was brought to the attention of the world. A raid on the dreaded Ogwugwu Shrine in a forest in Okija by a combined team of mobile police men, special anti-robbery squad, detectives and members of the local Anambra Vigilante Services, uncovered shocking fetish practices such as human sacrifices. Several corpses in different stages of decomposition, human skulls, headless corpses and even a fresh corpse in a coffin were recovered from the dreaded Alusi Ogwugwu Akpu, the deity of Okija Shrine.   Nigerians were outraged; the media was a wash with news of the discovery of the evil forest while the Nigeria Police Force temporarily shifted its federal headquarters to Okija. Two chief priests in the shrine were arrested along with 30 persons suspected to be agents. Some of the 50 corpses recovered from the shrine had decomposed beyond recognition. Among the items recovered from the forest were 10 registers, allegedly with the names of prominent politicians, businessmen and top shots in Anambra State and beyond. They were said to be names of people who regularly patronised the deity. A decade after the invasion that sacked the ‘gods’ in Okija, the names in the registers have yet to be disclosed. Then Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, had visited the shrine and told Nigerians that he made some shocking discoveries. Speaking on his visit to the shrine, Balogun had said: “I am particularly disturbed. I could not believe my eyes that this kind of thing still happens after 44 years of independence. But the good thing is that our laws have taken care of it. Sections 207 and 208 of the criminal code take care of possessing dead bodies. People who do this are members of secret cults. There are so many areas to criminalise the perpetrators. We have got a lot of registers. We will look into them and invite those involved. We will involve our forensic officers to see if there is anything that suggests the pattern of killing. “Something terrible has happened. We will not only make the contents of the registers public, we will also make the report public after we have submitted the report to the government. Before, I did not believe but I have come and I have believed.” Sunday New Telegraph recently visited the infamous shrine to find out how the sleepy town had fared since the discovery and also to ascertain the status of the shrine 10 years after it was ‘desecrated.’ Okija community is located on Onitsha-Owerri Road in Anambra State. Visitors heading to Okija Shrine by public transport alight at Okija Junction, a few metres away from the expressway leading to the main gate of one of the pioneer private tertiary institutions in Nigeria, Madonna University.  As the reporter alighted at Okija Junction, several

Adherents at Okija shrine

Ten years ago, Okija Shrine in Anambra State was in the news after security agents discovered some strange practices in the grove. AHAOMA KANU, who recently visited the dreaded grove, reports that that things are moving normally commercial motorcyclists accosted the visitor, seeking to take him into the town. The mention of Okija Shrine is met with some level of scrutiny by the motorcyclists. Many simply backed out when the reporter said he was heading to the shrine, especially as they sensed that he was not an indigene of the town. At Okija, the Ogwugwu Akpu Shrine is a deity everybody knows about but dares not discuss, especially with strangers. After a reasonable price was offered to a cyclist, further enquiries are made before he accepted to take Sunday New Telegraph correspondent to the shrine. The cyclist revealed that almost all the commercial motorcyclists stationed at the junction were agents of the Ogwugwu Shrine and would scrutinise prospective patrons before taking them to the shrine. The cyclist, a young man of about 25 years, told Sunday New Telegraph that he couldn’t take anyone to the shrine. He, however, offered to take the reporter to the chief priest’s consulting hut.  “We don’t take anybody to the shrine. We cannot even go there on our own or Ogwugwu will kill us. You need to pay some money and get prepared in order to be able to enter the shrine,” he said. He further said

The remains will simply be taken to the evil forest while the deceased’s family will perform some rituals to cleanse the family so the curse does not move from generation to generation

that since the raid, the shrine had grown stronger. The ride from the junction to the chief priest’s abode took about 20 minutes. The road leading to the Okija community is well tarred with signs of road construction visible around the community. It was a Sunday and the people, especially men, were mainly playing games like draughts and cards while others relaxed in various local drinking joints.  At Nkwo Okija Market, the cyclist made a right turn into a road under construction; with the bare earth looking newly graded. After about another three-minute bumpy ride, the reporter and the cyclist arrived at a small unpainted duplex. Two old men sat on a bench and a woman was washing some clothes. The cyclist disappeared behind the house and returned seconds later to invite the reporter to a hut beside the house. The hut with a thatched roof stood on the left side of the house and had one entrance and several footwear at the door. This is the consulting room of the dreaded Ogwugwu Akpu Shrine. “Remove your shoes,” said the cyclist, “You don’t enter the temple of Og-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 41

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

wugwu with your footwear.” A young man was seated inside the poorly lit room. Five half-clad young men in shorts appeared, with one bearing a tattoo on his left hand. They were smoking cigarettes, with their eyes looking reddish.  The chief priest, who was introduced as Ekwensu na Okija (meaning Satan of Okija), sat on a chair. The chief priest, a plump man in his late 30s or early 40s, had a clean shaven head and nicely trimmed beards. Bare-chested and nursing a pot belly, he was clad only in a pair of sport shorts. In front of the chief priest was a heap of feathers and ashes with some eggs on them. The interior of the hut smelt awful; a cocktail of decomposition and incense filled the air. Hanging on the roof of the hut was a dried snake. There was a padlock hanging on a red thread behind the chief priest and on the left was a smaller room of about four feet, in which was a structure that looked like a mound of earth. Carved metal obviously used to stoke the ashes and feathers lay at his feet while on the table in front of him were a cell phone, a bottle of Aromatic Schnapps and a small cup.  Three of the young men outside came into the hut and took their seats before the priest ordered that everyone should be served. After pouring libation and chanting incantations in Igbo language, Ekwensu na Okija asked for the reporter’s mission. After the reporter had introduced himself and stated his mission, the chief priest cleared his throat, adjusted his position and proceeded to narrate the events that had occurred since the invasion.  Origin of Ogwugwu deity He started by saying that he was not educated and could not remember the year the deity came into being. “It is difficult for me to tell you that because from generation to generation, the people of Okija have had this god with us and we have been worshipping it. This deity is not associated with killing people, rituals or any form of death. There is no way you will come here and see anybody chasing you to cut your head,” he said. But instead, the shrine’s main objective is to settle differences amicably and, should this fail, then punish the culprit accordingly. Some of the issues reported to the shrine, according to him, are cases of cheating, fraud, unpaid debts, property dispute and unfair business dealings.  “The shrine seeks to create solutions to problems, especially for people who have been cheated in one way or the other. For instance, if someone is owing you and refuses to pay or your land or property are forcefully taken from you, you can come to the shrine and state your case. The shrine will help in getting a settlement for you peacefully if the other party obeys our summons,” he said. The 2004 ‘invasion’ But so many incidents were said to have occurred which led to the ‘invasion’ of the shrine by the police. One of such accusations was that the chief priests in the shrine had turned it into a money making venture, scamming unsuspecting victims of millions of Naira as well as dispossessing them of their properties. In August 2004, several political incidents occurred at the Okija Shrine which observers felt led to a petition written to the then IGP. Balogun was said to have ordered the then state police commissioner, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, to storm the shrine and rid it of criminal elements.  Several politicians, including the then governor of Anambra State and now a serving senator, Senator Chris Ngige, had visited the shrine in company with his former godfather, Chief Chris Uba, to take an oath of allegiance during the 2003 elections. Ngige, while confirming that he actually visited the shrine, said he sought advice from his parish priest before going there with his Bible. But when he refused to obey the agreements he had with his godfather, it was alleged that he instigated the raid through the police in 2004. Shrine deposed Balogun Ekwensu na Okija said that the raid, which

Life

Okija Shrine

C ONT I NUED FROM PAG E 40

IGP Abba Suleiman

the condition of anonymity, people from all walks of life visit the shrine in search of solutions to various problems. “Even foreigners come here. On so many occasions, we see white people coming here to lay complaints, especially when they are cheated by their Nigerian counterparts,” said a man who identified himself as Nnamdi. “In Onitsha and many parts of Anambra State, why you don’t hear them going to the police or courts to settle their differences is because Ogwugwu brings faster results than any law enforcement agency,” Nnamdi said. According to one of the chief priests arrested in the 2004 raid, their modus operandi is designed to fool people in order to retain their patronage, loyalty and awe of the deity. But Ekwensu na Okija denied that. According to him, the shrine is open to people from everywhere and they do not use it to defraud patrons. “If you have a case, you must come to Ogwugwu with clean hands and the truth. If you come with lies, you will become the victim. Once you come and lay your complaint against someone, we listen to you, check out your evidence and then write a letter to the accused to come and state his own side of the story. The letter is given to you to go and serve the person. If the accused comes and states his story, if it has to do with debt, he will set a payment plan. But if the accused does not respond to the summons after the given period, then we will consult the oracle to pay him back,” he said.

Policemen at the groove in 2014

A section of the shrine

occurred 10 years ago, had not reduced the powers of the deity. Instead, it announced the deity to the world, he boasted. “The shrine is still in use; it is effective and still very strong and potent even after the raid,” he said. He revealed that most of the police officers who took part in the raid 10 years ago had to come back to the shrine to ask for forgiveness and cleansing after a series of misfortunes befell them.  “When they (the police) wanted to invade the shrine, the chief priest then told them to remove their shoes as it is a taboo to enter the sacred Ogwugwu Shrine with your shoes on but they did not listen. So many of them have come back here and sat down exactly where you are sitting to beg for forgiveness and find solutions to the problems facing them. I don’t need to tell you what happened to the police chief who ordered the invasion. Ogwugwu disgraced him from office and till today, he is hiding in shame. It was the repercussion

of his desecrating the oracle of Ogwugwu that made him to be removed disgracefully from office a few months after the raid,” he said.  But Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, denied the claim in a telephone interview with Sunday New Telegraph. When our correspondent requested for a visit to the shrine, the chief priest refused, saying that it would lead to instant death. “I cannot take you there because if I do you will not come out alive. It is a taboo to take you there. If I do, the repercussion will not be on you alone but also on me and my family. I am being very careful not to endanger my family and even my talking to you is a risk that I am taking. I am being very careful not to overstep my boundary,” he warned.   Business in the shrine  The Ogwugwu Akpu shrine is among over 30 such deities in Anambra State but wields its powers all over Igboland and beyond. According to some indigenes of Okija, who spoke under

Burying of corpses Sunday New Telegraph investigation revealed that consulting the oracle involves a ritual, where the defaulter’s name is written on a piece of paper and put in isusu (a kind of leaf) mixed with gun powder and fired. It is claimed that once this is done, that person will die within a few days. Once death occurs, the victim’s corpse will not be buried in his compound or the cemetery. The remains will simply be taken to the evil forest while the deceased’s family will perform some rituals to cleanse the family so the curse does not move from generation to generation. A popular businessman was said to have been killed by the deity in 1999 after he refused to respond to a summons. When the raid was carried out in 2004, the shocking revelation reportedly led to the acquisition of the land by the government. But the chief priest denied that the land belonging to Okija Shrine was seized or confiscated. “After the raid, the government did not seize any land; it is still there behind us. The only thing the government told us was not to be blocking the roads with corpses.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Education

Trills at UNILORIN ankara night Oleku Night, among other campus events has the widest representations on campus, which made it, dramatically the best campus social event in recent times. The event took-off with the red carpet sensation, which featured beauty shows and exhibition by the movers and shakers of campus fashion world, was a talk of the town by the students craving for rewarding moments. After a brief stint at the photograph session, the prospective ‘Kings and Queens’ of the fashion show were ordered into the theatrical stage in their bespoke regalia. The main aim of the contest is to crown who will be the new Ankara King and Queen of the night. Dressed in Ankara of various colour and designs, when it was the turn of the male contestants to parade themselves before the excited crowd, they were ushered in with loud ovation that shook the hall to its foundation. However, the female contestants stole the show with their designs. As part of activities to select the winners at the grand finale, every contestant was compelled to show

Ali Toyin Abdul,

UNILORIN

he atmosphere was charged and the entire campus of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara State was aglow. The event was this year’s edition of the Faculty of Law Ankara Night, a day set aside by the students of the Faculty to celebrate the richness of the Nigerian dress culture, with the popular Ankara clothing materials. It was full of fanfare and razzmatazz, while attention was concentrated on the reigning fashion stars and the beautiful damsels who dressed in various fashion and styles. However, the cat walk by the models did not go unnoticed and unrewarded as they were greeted with thunderous ovation and shout of Oleku that filled the hall. This year’s Ankara celebration, tagged: ‘Oleku Night’ drew audience from all the faculties and members of the university community. Telegraph Campus gathered, the yearly

their dancing skills and dexterity. At the end of the exercise, Ifeoluwa, a 400 Level Law undergraduate, having convinced the audience beyond any reasonable doubt, beat other contestants to emerge the new Queen of the night. Other highpoint of the night was a performance by the Theatre Troupe of the Performing Art Department, which was not only electrifying, but also sent the audience giggling in laughter. In a more dramatic style, the hall was agog when the institution’s Students’ Union executive members, led by the Vice President, Titilope Anifowoshe, entered into the hall with the chorus of Aluta Continua, led by the Director of Socials, Osazie Amadasun. Bowing to the popular demand by the crowd, Anifowoshe was ushered into the stage to give her own choreographed version of the dance, ‘Shoki’. The arrival of the popular thespian, Wale Akorede, fondly called Okunu by the students, was greeted with standing ovation as the audience wanted to catch a glimpse of him.

The students in the Ankara attire during their parade

Communication Minister commissions UNILAG’s smart classroom Mojeed Alabi

he Minister of Communication Technology and Chairman, Board of the Universal Service Provision Fund, Dr. (Mrs.) Omobola Johnson has commissioned the University Inter-Campus Connectivity (UnICC) project at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos in Idi-Araba. The Minister, who explained that Federal Govwernment established the Fund (USPF) to facilitate the extension of telecommunication services to under-served and un-served communities across Nigeria, added that over 300 kilometers of 48 cores, single mode Optic Fibre Cables, OFC, will be deployed between the main campuses of 17 universities and their corresponding annexes. She stated; “The project is creating and equipping 17 smart classrooms at medical colleges across the country. Facilities within these smart classrooms include an interactive smart board, overhead projector, audio-visual support systems with lecture

recording and playback capabilities as well as 50 wireless enabled touch screen PCs.” In his brief remark, the university’s ViceChancellor, Prof. Rahamon Bello, expressed the delight of the management of the uni-

versity at the project, describing it as a significant one that portends the start of the realization of solid ICT base necessary for the attainment of the nation’s contemporary educational objectives.

Hon. Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. (Mrs.) Omobola Johnson and Provost of College of Medicine, UNILAG, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola at the commissioning of the project.

Ajasin varsity honours outstanding Law graduates

mid pomp and ceremony, the management of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State rolled out the drums to celebrate its outstanding Law graduates, who set a new record for the university at the Nigerian Law School. The students are Opeyemi Akeem Alonge and Ebunoluwa Bamigboye, who shone brightest at the Law School for their exceptional performances in the 2014 Bar Final Examination. Alonge was said to have obtained First Class in the university’s Law Faculty, the first to be produced in the 15-year history of the university, named after the Second Republic Governor of the old Ondo State, late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, also emerged the best nationally in the 2014 Bar Final Examination of the Nigerian Law School. He led the pack out of 5,841 candidates that took part in the Bar Final Examination across six campuses of the Nigerian Law School. Of the figure, only four First Class graduates were produced out of whom Alonge emerged the overall best graduating students. With his outstanding performance, Alonge was said to have set a new record in the Nigerian Law School by winning seven awards during the Call to Bar ceremony, thereby breaking the former record of six awards. Similarly, Bamigboye was said to have won two awards in the examination. With their awards or prizes, Adekunle Ajasin University won nine of the 29 awards available at this year’s Law School graduation for both local and foreign Law students in the Bar Final Examination. In his remarks during a reception organised in their honour, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Femi Mimiko congratulated the duo for not only doing the university proud, but also brought honour to their families. The Vice-Chancellor, who noted that their accomplishment was a testimonial that the university was not only committed to building infrastructure, but also pursuing academic excellence, described Alonge and Bamigboye as excellent products of the institution.

KWASU admits 1,580 fresh students, warns against bad acts

o fewer than 1,580 fresh students of the Kwara State University, Malete, admitted into the institution for the 2014/2015 academic session, have taken the matriculation oath of the university to shun all forms of anti-social behaviour. The students took the oath of allegiance during the sixth matriculation ceremony of the university, presided over by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, who warned the students against all forms of social vices such as cultism, examination malpractices, violent demonstrations, armed robbery or act of hooliganism. At KWASU, he said, the students would learn, trained and employ the knowledge acquired to impact positively on their immediate community and the society at large, adding that all the students are trained to be entrepreneurs before their graduation. The university, according to the Vice-Chancellor, has recorded an unprecedented boost in teaching, research and community development, as well as the accreditation of all the university’s academic programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Lacy affair There was wild romance with the lace fabric all through 2014. Designers had a wonderful time creating beautiful dresses with the lace fabric and ladies absolutely wowed on the red carpet in their lace ensembles.

• Abs show-off season 2014 saw ladies getting bolder and showing off their well-toned mid riffs in mind blowing crop tops and peek-a-boos that give you a peep of a toned midriff. Ladies looked simply amazing in sleek crop tops at various events all through 2014.

• Prints and floral There was practically no red carpet that didn’t feature ladies in prints and floral designs. The love of prints could not be overemphasised as ladies came out boldly in their ethnic, floral, animal, stripes and miss match looking wonderful on the red carpet.

• Floor length embellished evening and Grecian dresses The red carpet of 2014 couldn’t have been complete without the ladies clad in expensive floor length evening and Grecian dresses looking like princesses in fairy tales.

Risqué sheer outfits The sheer fever was caught on red carpet with Rihanna’s sheer Adam Selman dress which she wore to the Council of Fashion Designers Awards (CFDA) in June. The Sheer styles are all about skin barring and drop dead sex appeal. At the just concluded 2014 Headies, sheer dresses were everywhere. It will not just be a trend in 2014, we see it a major trend in 2015.

trend started off with the mullet skirts and gradually evolved to include dresses as well. These dresses are also known as the high-low or Asymmetric hemlines. This trend is getting hotter by the day and will be a major fashion trend in 2015.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Purple for dapper guys Vanessa Okwara

his season, companies, organisations and individuals host lots of parties and special events to mark the end of a good year. If you are attending events like State dinners, diplomatic functions and very formal charity balls, you’ll like to look your best. Usually, for such events, most men wear the traditional black suit and tie but this has become boring as men’s fashion has evolved to embrace the bright hues especially this season.

Why don’t you ditch your normal dress code of black suit for such events and embrace purple instead? Yes! Purple is the new colour of suits that brings out the glamour in a man. Wearing a hint of purple here and there gives a man a super edgy and cool look. During Greek and Roman civilisations, purple was often considered a sign of royalty due to its rarity and the fact that only the elite could afford it. You get colour purple when you mix different elements of red and blue. It is between navy blue and violet on the colour wheel. Purple at times is mistaken as a shade

of blue. Purple also comes in many pastel forms of mauve, indigo and violet which are all varied forms of the colour blue considered as a man’s favourite colour. Purple suits are attractive, elegant and stunning. They make you stand out from the rest at any event, giving you that regal feeling only a well fitted suit in bright colour can bring a man. When it comes to official meetings, get together or end of year corporate parties, purple suits are the best costumes for men to show their pride, masculinity and at the same time, make a lasting impression.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Body&Soul

When it is over and done with, end it well

verything in life comes full circle either for good or bad. Most relationships we see in life look pretty much like a doughnut- solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. The same thing happens to a relationship heading nowhere. Are you stuck in a relationship that you’re just not happy in? Maybe you’ve been this way for a while and you have made every effort to see if you could salvage what’s left of the relationship but it only got worse? Either way, you know you want out but you can’t come up with the best way to approach this. Well, the end of the year is the best time to review that relationship, itemise the reasons why you think it’s not working and also the efforts you have made to save what’s left of it. If at the end of this review you still think the relationship does not have a future with you in it, the best thing is not to carry a cancerous relationship over to a new year. End it now and pursue peace and happiness with revitalised vigour as the New Year approaches. However, if you are already married, I’ll advise that you still put in more effort to see how you can salvage your marriage. Doughnut is an interesting snack but sometimes problems give a different perception to issues, making us see the hole in the middle more often and not the snack itself. Instead of discarding the doughnut, you can try to patch up the hole. If all your attempts proved abortive, then seek the help of third parties you know your spouse holds in high esteem.

CONNECT NG vanessaonsunday@yahoo.com Use the excuse of this festive period to invite them to your home and prayerfully see how they can help you resolve the differences between you and your spouse. Having got that out of the way, I will specifically address singles that are in relationships that eats away the good in them. Whether you are scared of hurting the other person or scared of their reaction, you still need to make the right decision as soon as possible especially as we approach a new year. If you are in a romantic relationship with someone

If your guy is the type that easily gets angry or show signs of being violent, then its best you do so in a public place rather than a private room or hotel where you can be easily raped or beaten up.

and it is not going the way you originally intended and you want to end the relationship, let’s see the best way you can break up without breaking legs, figuratively speaking. People have different ways they react to difficult situations and decisions. So it’s important to put into consideration your partner’s temperament and how he/she reacts to sudden unpleasant news like the one you are about to give. Most ladies cry and throw tantrums when their boyfriend ends the relationship. So if you are a guy who wants to end it with your girlfriend, it is important you consider the venue where you wish to do the break up. I’ll advise you don’t do that in a public place that will attract a scene. It’s best you do so in the privacy of her own home or around her close friends or family who will comfort her while you are gone. And if you are a lady, the reverse is advised. If your guy is the type that easily gets angry or shows signs of being violent, then its best you do so in a public place rather than a private room or hotel where you can be easily raped or beaten

up. Carefully plan what you want to say to your partner. Pick your words carefully, remember you once had feelings for this person. Do not set out to be cruel. Make sure you respect their feelings. It’s not necessary to go into every detail of why you don’t want to continue this relationship but you may want to explain some of it. In all that you say, make sure you don’t put that person down or damage their self-worth. Tell the person you had a great time with them, but need to move on since the relationship is not ideal with your dreams. Wish them well in their future relationship and move on with your life. The main theme here is the need to treat your partner with respect and exit the relationship gracefully. If you had the guts to ‘toast’ her, have the decency to communicate your break-up decision to her. If you once had a relationship with this person, I think it is childish to just ‘run away’. Communicate your decision to end it in any way possible (in person, phone, and text). Don’t just run away. If you do this, you will stick out in the other person’s memory as a noble person, albeit in a sad situation. Also, you will alleviate a lot of stress in your life by making a clean break with your past. Breaking up well with your partner will help you enter into the New Year feeling fresh with a clear conscience fearing no accusation. I wish you happy hunting in the coming year! SEE YOU HAPPIER IN 2015! Send your views to the email above!

A Literary journey of discovery and human nature

here is something inherently interesting in the human migratory tendency. So interesting that it seems to generate so much literature year in year out. It comes as no surprise that the first Nigerian novel, The Palmwine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola, is about a journey. The journey by a lover of the natural drink of the gods, palm wine, to the land of spirits in search of his favorite tapper (or tapster as the novel puts it). It epitomises the way ones heart desires can move him to great lengths in order to satisfy those desires. Like the palm wine drinkard, I have also journeyed in pursuit of my heart’s desire for more knowledge into a foreign land -Canada. In imitation of the palmwine drinkard, I have also decided to know more about my environment. However, I have chosen to do this, not by taking a sight seeing tour, but through the vehicle of literature. Don’t stop reading now because you think this is another piece on immigration; no it is not. This is a celebration of literary production by people influenced by the journeys that they have taken. I confess that I did not know much about Canadian literature and authors before coming to Canada aside from Magaret Atwood. However, thanks to my teacher, Sally Chivers, I was introduced to three other authors whose experience played a large part in the novels they wrote -Venous Hum by Suzette Mayr, Soucouyant by David Chariandy and Joy Kogawa’s Obasan. The aforementioned novels introduced us to such places as Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, Toronto, Cecil and Vancouver. Canada being the large country that it is, I traveled through the pages of the book faster than any plane

or train could take me. However, it is interesting that all authors are second generation migrants and were heavily influenced by the journeys their parents undertook to get to Canada. More interesting, especially in the case of Soucouyant and Venous Hum, is the culture and tradition the parents brought with them and passed on to their children, making it into the books they wrote. It demonstrates the oral influence on most authors. Perhaps, it is at this point that I need to point out that this is not a book review, but a reflection on how that one activity we take for granted, moving from one place to another, can have a profound effect on our life, both culturally and environmentally. In Soucouyant, Chariandy writes about the struggle of a migrant widow, coping with raising two children on her

own and battling a debilitating illness, dementia. Somehow, Chariandry manages to work the native religion of Trinidad, as represented by the title spirit, Soucouyant, into the novel. In a back and forth journey between Canada and Trinidad and between time, Chariandry writes about a tradition that many who lived in Canada and amongst the Caribbean –Asian communities may not know of. The same is true of Venous Hum, where Mayr weaves a tale of Vampires that is very much not like the Twilight movie series. This are vampires who are part of a culture and have come to settle in a new country and doing everything to blend. I agree, it may also be a play on the perception of Canadians that every migrant is a blood sucking vampire, Mayr manage to put the different journeys in focus

There is also the journey of discovery by a gay daughter who struggles for a defined identity in a new environment. Both of theses tales are a testimony of the impact a journey may have taken on the sojourner and why it may help to empathise rather than criticize. Okay, I did promise it is not another immigration piece

in the novel. There is also the journey of discovery by a gay daughter who struggles for a defined identity in a new environment. Both of theses tales are a testimony of the impact a journey may have taken on the sojourner and why it may help to empathise rather than criticize. Okay, I did promise it is not another immigration piece. Some of these journeys may even take on the cloak of a journey within a journey as exemplified by Kogawa’s Obasan whose novel is semi historic and semi autobiographic. It details the distrust of Japanese living on the coastline of Vancouver during the second world war. The peak of this distrust was reached when the Japanese, most of them now Canadians were forced to migrate away from the coastline for fear of using their fishing boats as gun boats to attack Canada in support of Japan. The novel is as interesting to students of history as it is to those who love good books. My reason for taking us through this analytic journey is to show that literature can really be a bridge builder beyond the political terrain. Again, as this is the season when many undertake journeys and trips, perhaps it is a period of reflection on why we are taking such trips. Are we on a mission to show the village folks the wealth we have amassed in the big city or are we really interested in spending time with them? There is always a story behind every journey and while merriment may be one of the side enjoyments, as the authors- Tutuola, Kogawa, Chariandry and Mayr- have all shown, every journey is about people. Let us not forget that.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Accessories

Chic clutches for stylish ladies Vanessa Okwara

hat better way to add style to your outfit than carrying the perfect handbag? They are an essential part of a woman’s wardrobe. A fashionable lady collects different types of bags in her wardrobe for different occasions. To complement an outfit, especially for evening events, a clutch bag is the perfect accessory. It gives every outfit an elegant and sleek look. The clutch is a handheld purse literally meant to be ‘clutched’. A stan-

dard clutch purse holds some basic necessary items, including a driver’s license, credit cards, cash, and perhaps a cellphone. Some clutches are particularly too small to hold anything other than a lip gloss and compact powder. Women typically hold their clutch purses in their hands, but several styles come with a strap that can be removed when not in use, allowing the wearer to sling the purse over a shoulder or slip it onto their wrists. These straps are often stylish chains that complement the overall attire in addi-

tion to being functional. When not in use, these can be taken off, but they offer comfort and convenience when desired. Clutches are rather small, although extravagant, larger models are also available. A woman who does not need many things throughout the day may also be able to fit all her essentials into a stylish clutch bag. There are different types and shapes of clutch bags you can choose from. From hard case clutches and embellished box designs for evenings to oversized envelope

clutches for the day. You can always find sleek, chic clutches to stash your essentials when going out for that special occasion. Several factors are important when selecting the right clutch bag. They include size, colours, versatility, material, structure, and cost. The occasion generally determines the appropriate size of the bag. Smaller bags are used for evening events, while large clutches are used for day time events. Here are different types of clutches you can choose from for that elegant look.

Formal Clutch: A small but sometimes long evening bag without a handle may feature jewels, crystals.

• Envelope: Flat, square or rectangular bags with a triangle-shaped top flap that fold over like an envelope.

• Fold over clutch: A clutch with or without a handle that can be tucked or folded.

• Minaudiere: A small evening bag emblazoned with pieces of metal, semi-precious stones or beads or covered with fabric or leather.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

GLOBAL fashion

Victoria’s Secret angels Biwom Iklaki

s fashion shows and runway events go, none is quite as much fun or filled with models as beautiful as Victoria’s Secret shows. One would not be wrong to refer to them as the crème de la crème of fashion modelling. It is a highly celebrated event and many look forward to it. They feature the best looking models - supermodels even, best ‘bed hair’, sun kissed makeup, feather, glitter, shimmer, glitz, glam, winged women with barely-there costumes and bodies to die for. That is where you find women with legs that stretch for miles, who often look like their legs go all the way up to their armpits. The underwear which is the main focus of the event is drenched with fun props. All these with the set design, music often featuring artistes singing on the runway alongside the models, gives the entire fashion show a festive, exotic carnival ambience. The likes of Naomi Cambell, Oluchi Onweagba and Tyra Banks are some of the popular African models who featured on the runway as Angels. Today, names like Karlie Kloss, Miranda Kerr, Lily Aldridge, and Candice Swanepoel are some of the famous supermodels strutting the Victoria’s Secret Show. They are always fit and firm. Many of them have children, but you would never guess it just by looking at them. Heidi Klum, was known to open the show five weeks after giving birth to her fourth child in 2009, Adriana Lima did same two months after baby in 2012. You do not need a soothsayer to tell you the rigours these models put their bodies through to stay in such magnificent shape. From kickboxing to pilates, weight training, and more. After all, they are only preparing for one of the biggest lingerie events in the world.

Body&Soul

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

Miscellany Alley

Life is rich sometimes and painful at other times, but it is mostly full.

Let’s share our experiences on this page, after all, everyday is an opporCalabar stre et party! tunity to learn...send yours to julietbumah@gmail.com I am so exci ted. Looks li ing tips nally get to holidays ke I will fibe in this st on travell the New Year as soon s a e S reet festival after all. I h and can av fail Yuletide eriod, but they a part of it si e always wanted to be re if you k p a n tm fu h nce it first st a ig n re t s b a se rs d ou arted, but ev ery time I m wo er sp elle ac Cashless ak Cheats make bett hemently quite re- become your ghly. I have trav eria and naija for li comes up an e my plans, something ve u fe thoro ide Nig I am not e Someone argued d I have to ntirely sure ers make bet- to plan within and outs eart and a bid rtn pa this time, it cancel. Not g tin ea ch at shopping rth yh w entities are if these online cently th the guilt and the and fo on, I am ness of m ward to mee on’t. I am looking forcurse yet. a blessing spouses. Between d that they are with the kind deed of the seas l guarting with, an ter B e o si ra des the fact testing the p wil l so ba d possibly od gerian gov ro that the deception, they fee to their spouses at to do my go e travel tips that . First of e girls. I hav wess of those Calabar m ay up it o d e s li ak m g o for a cash rnment keeps advoca Nito h g in in p e heard an n ill w your drop nd fu the fact that fr earf how they ca mooth a double checking get s begs the q ee society, the situ ting . It is either that or a sts co e n steal you ul about n all te ow n sh a a u de has sible, keep wife and m fr go cashless estion “are we rea tion relationship outsi opposite sex ook and t details. If pos ks like. eir ake a pries om your b th , ll a d ?” y e th h We can loo to t d God, with th e of m loo d flig many ang k at this fr eir cooking enounce them such a bad sid mes out smelling hotel an f what your roo be crammed le in bed, and , co se ou o sp to our culture s. First of all, it is p om s eir is re th t general care acrobatics at n tu th pic art of ration u wa Whatever the !I and experie thing yo om for the du get What then to ‘dash’ people m t s in comparison. s se ro la nce all these want to see e lik e ur h yo g T ro ld o d for myself. I am secretly all for treatin y hotel you cou who expe o you say to your ney. hoping it is case may be, I am in a seed ip, especially as ooked’ gist. niece cts someth e to be treated; true, and if rv is, I may ‘lo se de ey b th tr e w r y in lik hen she vis it g from ss es spouse ‘full of you of your life. You my people w for dia o’ . Please, tell aby wip meet a home? Or its you and is retu you e the king/queen re and y face wipes/b y candy hat happen e lik e ar th ds ki rn th ur in e yo g days whe ed to me if I do not retu r that stick carr network is n your b rn need to remembe Always verything from our clothes, laying the ‘d and the carn . Between the women y e n of any tra own’ and deprive ank you and you are n o g a in s le ch at c in ival and stre e w ask to s you nsaction w rd sta ionships in th ta lat I believe I s re et e flight, d u eir c p th th r ar fo n a to ti n h ll es tio s O atsoever. know how , da . shall reach d e un n n c fo of a a ay fa h w u r a We my you many tim heaven and sh yo day have pens. I beli es this ha may never re personal ture. Also, kids to with the kind of ver mind ice (it helps refre thes into fu e n e v e p th will be ther tu e governm nsom r clo to ju to look into e too, you w rn. If you ent ne holding you to ra for toma t lag). Roll you ases and fits you do, il me as the g je re ey ask. Whatever catch s c make it ea this matter some m eds th e s ns c e tio u uy sandwic l recognise c es d u qu re sie ore to (red and get (ren) hed two buxomly society. B r to function in a ca not let your child suitcases arry extra cash er is a do r se u ea women, hol between o pl u y Yo n. u sh io C t then aga less bottle of An d ising posit thes). d sanitis typical of dre Rose. D ing a huge you in a comprom ur natural life remore clo e airport. Han ts and itinerour govern in, this is very o not disturb me, for I wil yo th of n t st e a re m p e m o e th p li e n u cies on u t, to imp lb will liv with a ma l doc means nod and tip e in active service, just ep trave ress comfortably ip! e e ‘I do’ you said measures s without correspo ose Th K it. t. g s in your hat at u ett gr to tr m d r nd nding d ki on groun u n o be a d y me. I will un an derstand. Se rs , y d to ensu they work folde s. Enjo ill take care of in e w e you in Cal o u ry h yo At a s . re es g . liv th at abar. Pete Abioy rest of your walkin Clement O e 27 each other for the sensible tta, 30yrs k Ikoyi, Lagos yrs . A at i th to m e Victoria Is afor, 48yrs ti tru Ro least be land te Delta sta Janelle P, 35yrs t ur co ar H Port

Health Wellness Natasha Ellah

adaukuonsunday@gmail.com

sually, everyone is in relaxation and enjoyment mood during the Yuletide and New Year. There are always social events like office Christmas parties, nights out with friends and dinner with extended family members to attend. Most of this time is spent indulging in sweet treats, fizzy drinks, alcoholic beverages and heavy meals. You say, “I’ll be ok, I’ll just have one more spoon of auntie’s jollof rice, or another piece of her fried chicken which she makes with her special pepper spice. Ah...she made this cake for us, we can’t allow it to go to waste, I’ll just have one more slice of it with its delicious butter cream icing…”. There will always be temptations, but in the veracious voice of your local neighbourhood pastor, “The devil is a liar!” and here are three tips to keep his lies away: 1. Set realistic goals and keep reminders visible: Goal setting is the number one way to stay motivated. CEOs, coaches, mentors, mothers of young children set goals for the conduct of their charges every day so why not use this to stay in shape? Setting goals gives you long-

Stay in shape over the holidays

term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your mind on things that are important and helps you to organise all thoughts and actions to reach your target. By setting realistic, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in achieving them and you’ll see progress in what may previously have seemed a long pointless mission. Reaching the target you set for yourself increases self-confidence, and you will recognize your ability and competence in achieving what you set out to do. If your goal is to be able to fit into those pair of jeans that no longer zip up when you put them on, find a photo of yourself in them and remember how it

made you feel. Hang it up by your mirror to have a daily reminder of why you are not going to overindulge this Christmas. Visual reminders are a great way to stay motivated. 2. Get support: Once you have that clear and specific goal in your head, it is time to stay on track. Get motivation, tips and encouragement from friends and family who are on your side, stay away from those people asking you “why do you bother?” and replace them with people who say “Well done, go for it!” People who speak positivity into your life are the ones that you need. Support can also be found with

friends that would like to join you on your quest for eating healthy and feeling great - a buddy. It’s great to be able to speak to people on the same journey as you and be able to share mini-goals that have been reached, lift each other up when motivation is low with upbeat conversations, and celebrate with them when you can finally fit into those jeans! All are great ways to help you stay motivated and keep those kilos from adding up. 3. Exercise! It’s the prevention and cure for almost all things! It’s free, easy to do, and has positive immediate and long-term effects. Research shows that physical activity boosts self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, depression, dementia, heart disease and stroke. As most people will be out of the office over the Holiday period, this is the time to get the family out and about and a chance to be active! Go for a family walk/jog/cycle around the estate. In this harmattan heat, you are guaranteed to burn lots of calories! However, make sure you stay hydrated and avoid long period exposure to the sun. As families will be spending more time in the church, when it is time for praise and worship, make sure you dance ‘well well’ too! Inactivity is described by the Department of Health as a ‘silent killer’ with emerging evidence that sedentary behaviour, such as sitting or lying down for long periods, is bad for your health. So put on the latest album from your favourite musician, turn the music up loud and dance from beginning to end and make sure you sweat! Let’s make the start of January 2015 a healthy and happy one. Happy Holidays everyone!

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Wine & Dine

Body&Soul

Vintage toast to the New Year Ibukunoluwa Kayode

till in the spirit of the season, you’re likely to find yourself opening more bottles of sparkling wine than in any other time of the year. So you need an affordable fizz as well as something sought-after and rare. Bottles of wine to toast the season and the New Year are definitely something that can never be left out for both the high and low classes. Of course, the bottles must be

opened and the Champagne must pop! There are lots of sparkling wines to reach for which offer tremendous value for money, and at same time sends the palate into lingering smooth finish of enjoyment with family and friends. The sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot, shiraz, zinfadel, moscato, Sangiovese and riesling are just few of those palate friendly types. All are ideal for small gatherings and larger drinks parties. They all serve that special purpose of

a toast or a treat your family and friends will always look forward to enjoying with you. These are vintage wine picks that lush the palate with lingering experience and hold together moments of refreshment at this season of celebration. In case you desire something special to control that moment of toast and make a lasting impression on the palate of your family and friends, the absolute Champagne will deliver the fizz magic for a perfect enjoyment to cel-

ebrate the New Year toast. Nothing should stop the celebration. Thank God there are lots of brands in the market to meet each person’s budget; so nobody has to break a bank or run into debt to bring the bottles to the table with friends. There is still time to make up if you haven’t because the new year is almost here, the time to pop is getting closer, so, reach for your favourite wine and savour the best of the moment with your familiars.

Christmas chocolate fruit cake Biwom Iklaki

any people fill their time in with different interests. Sometimes, it could be baking. If it is, you will be excited to try one of my favourite recipes from chef Nigella Lawson. Who doesn’t love to watch her cook and taste

her food? Here is your chance to try one of her lovely recipes, at Christmas no less. It is simple, quaint and decadent. INGREDIENTS 3 cups pitted prunes 1 ¾ cups raisins 1 cup currants

2 oz piece candied orange peel 1 ½ sticks soft unsalted butter 1 cup dark brown sugar ⅔ cup honey ½ cup coffee liqueur 2 - 3 oranges (juice and zest) 1 teaspoon mixed spice ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa 3 large eggs (beaten) 1 cup all-purpose flour ¾ cup almond meal ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda

PREPARATION Preheat the oven to gas mark 2/150°C/300°F. Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm / 8-inch round, 9cm / 3½ inch deep, loose-bottomed cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment. Put the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee li-

queur, orange juice and zests, spice and unsweetened cocoa into a large wide saucepan and bring to the boil gently, stirring as the butter melts. Simmer for 10 minutes, and then take off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, it will have cooled a little (you can leave it for longer though). Add the beaten eggs, flour, almond meal, baking powder and baking soda, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, however you like, to combine. Pour the fruit cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for 1¾–2 hours, by which time the top of the cake should be firm but will have a shiny and sticky look. If you insert a cake tester into the centre of the cake it will still be a little gooey in the middle. Put the cake on a cooling rack to cool.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Body&Soul

New Year plans for Archie T

he old year reached its end, and a new year was on its way, so Archie was excited for another New Year ’s Day. It was a time for parties and for staying up all night. It was a time for noisemakers and fireworks to light. It was a time for fun, but it was time for planning too. The New Year was for Archie, time to think of things to do. They call them ‘resolutions’. That’s a fancy word for goals, and people make a list of them to help uplift their souls. With New Year ’s resolutions, one can leave the past behind and put aside mistakes for greater happiness to find. It was a great tradition, Archie loved to think ahead; but somehow as each year went by, the goals slipped from his head. He kept them for a little while. He did just what he planned, but as the time went on, his resolutions did not stand. He made too many goals, and some were much too hard to do. Then he forgot his plans because he lost his goal sheet too. But this year would be different. Archie did not want to fail, and clever as he was, he knew that somehow he’d prevail. He set his mind to making resolutions he would keep. His thoughtful mind went straight to work, without a bit of sleep. Then Archie found a way to keep his goals and make them true. He thought of a new method, and he knew just what to do. He used to make too many goals, you might say he made tons. But this year he chose just a

few -the most important ones. He always wrote his goals down, but they soon were thrown away. This year he’d post them up where they’d be always on display. So Archie made a simple form to write his goals upon. He taped it to his bathroom mirror, so it was never gone. Each time he looked into the mirror, his goals were there to read. And as the year passed by, this simple note filled Archie’s need. So Archie kept his goals, and he was hap-

Colour Art

py through the year. His New Year ’s resolutions were a source of joy and cheer. Now you can make your New Year goals the way Archie does too. If it can work for Archie, maybe it can work for you. Write out a few good goals on Archie’s form for New Year ’s Day. Then put them on your mirror, so you’ll see them every day. So after all the parties and the fireworks are done, go make some resolutions, it can be a lot of fun!

Culled from www. familyfunshop.com

Gags What did the duck say to the comedian? Ans: “You quack me up.”

Why was the little strawberry crying? Ans: His parents were in a jam.

How do you spot a modern spider? Ans: He doesn’t have a web, he has a website!

What sound do porcupines make when they kiss? Ans: Ouch

What starts with E and ends with E, but only contains one letter? Ans: An envelope.

What’s the difference between a fly and a bird? Ans: A bird can fly but a fly can’t bird!

What sound does a nut make when it sneezes? Ans: CASHEW!

Why did the lion eat a light bulb? Ans: He wanted a light lunch.

Cross word Gagspuzzle

Faith 51

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014

News

End police brutality now -Archbishop Martins p.52

Interview Lagos pastor declares: Why I don’t believe in Jesus p.54

Sermon

Winds against the manger p.56

Sermon

My tongue is irresistible p.58

Tai Anyanwu Head, religous Desk titus.anyanwu@newtelegraph online.com

Adeboye

Temitope

Oritsejafor

Oyakhilome

2014: Year of mixed fortunes Tai Anyanwu

t this year’s first Holy Ghost Service, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God warned that it would be a year individuals should deal with utmost care. “I want to tell you the truth. Since I was born, this year is going to be the most significant year. If I were you, I will handle this year very carefully,” Adeboye said. Consequently, the RCCG patriarch led the church into the crucial year, with 100 days of fasting and prayers. According to him, the last time RCCG engaged in such a lengthy spiritual exercise was 18 years ago. “So if God is calling us to what we did 18 years ago, that tells you that this is a very significant year. He told me that that the destinies of individuals, the destinies of families and surely the destiny of Nigeria will be determined this year,” Adeboye emphasised. Invariably, the theme of the Holy Ghost Service aptly captured the severity though concealed within a soft landing clause: ‘You shall laugh last.’ But Adeboye’s huge crowd of listeners, on that January 3 night, apparently did not realise that the year would come with so many calamities, scandals, terror and insecurity such as has not been witnessed within the Christian faith and in other segments of our national life. It is evident that unfortunate events that took place in some Nigerian churches during the year under review were clearly woven around the challenges the nation had to grapple with. Some of the scandals in the holy places contributed to major headlines of newspapers. Nigerians were treated to screaming headlines such as ‘$9.3m Arms Deal: Source Confirms Oritsejafor is involved;’ ‘No longer at ease in Assemblies of God;’ ‘Twenty-four years after: No sign of reconciliation in CAC;’ ‘War in God’s house: Pastor divorces his wife;’ ‘Chris Oyakhilome leaves wife Anita;’ ‘Oyedepo banned in UK;’ ‘Cardinal Okogie condemns Oritsejafor,’ and many more. Analysts likened the ugly events recorded in the house of God to the Biblical warning given

in Matthew 24 15:31. “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.” While there is not intention to underestimate the role churches in Nigeria played in the area of moral, spiritual and educational development of the citizens, it must be said that instead of love and unity in the house of God, the unexpected such as leadership crises orchestrated by selfish motives affected the church. Many have been left wondering why such things should be mentioned in churches. One of the churches that generated immense interest in the outgoing year was Assemblies of God Nigeria. It was wracked by a leadership tussle, which divided the church into two. About 45 per cent of its income generated by its large local churches are remitted to the centre; and that places enormous funds in the hands of the Executive Committee at the national office in Enugu. The battle over who controls the financial fortunes of the AG is what many observers, including the Christian Association of Nigeria, have been trying to understand. Currently, CAN is involved in

the resolution of the leadership crisis in the church. CAN’s leadership was not left out of the troubles in holy places. During the year under review, a private jet belonging to CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was found carrying $9.3 million by South African authorities. The discovery generated immense interest in Nigeria but the Presidency said the money belonged to the Federal Government. It explained that the money was meant for the purchase of arms for Nigeria. While the jet, crew and three passengers were released, the money is still being held by South African authorities. Pastor Anita Oyakhilome, wife of the flamboyant founder of Believers Loveworld Ministries aka Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, filed a divorce suit against her husband in 2014, a matter that grabbed the headlines for some weeks. Anita has meanwhile taken over control of the church in the United Kingdom, removing the founder’s name from the list of trustees. The September 12 collapse of the Synagogue Church of All Nations guesthouse, in which over 100 worshippers died, stirred a diplomatic faceoff between Nigeria and South Africa. No fewer than 67 South Africans died when the guesthouse at the church’s headquarters in Ikotun, Lagos crashed. The matter is currently the subject of a coroner’s inquiry in Lagos. The main issue in contention is the addition of four stories to the original two-storey structure, which is being attributed to its collapse. But the church has risen in stout opposition to the allegation, saying the structure was mowed down by a mystery aircraft. The year 2014 was also a sad year for Christians in the North as Boko Haram stepped up its attacks on churches and Christian faithful. Hundreds of Christians were killed in the last few months while churches were razed in some Northern states, especially Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Former Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, granted an interview to Saturday New Telegraph, in which he made C ON TI N UE D ON PAGE 55

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

It’s a tearful Christmas in Middle East-Pope Francis

End police brutality now -Archbishop Martins P Tai Anyanwu

he Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Martins, has called on the National Assembly to re-examine and pass into law relevant bills that will protect Nigerians against brutality in the hands of policemen and other law enforcement agents. The archbishop made the call in his Christmas message made available to newsmen by the Director of Social Communication, Rev Msgr. Gabriel Osu. He said it had become relevant in view of many reported cases of assault on citizens in recent times by security agents, pointing

out that a case in point involved a young couple, Mr. Ejeh Smith, and his wife, Grace. Martins stressed that it was worrisome that some law enforcement agents who had sworn to protect lives and properties, had turned against those they were meant to protect through acts of brutality. This, he added, was capable of creating an atmosphere of anarchy and lawlessness in the land. His words: “In recent times, there has been an upsurge in media reports of police brutality and accidental discharge with corresponding negative consequences for victims. For instance, the alleged torture suffered by Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the

hands of a law enforcement agent is uncalled for, unacceptable and unjustifiable in any civilised society. It is an affront on their fundamental rights. This form of indiscriminate harassment and brutality meted on the masses of this country must stop forthwith and the perpetrators brought to book.” He expressed his gratitude to renowned Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, for taking over the case. He therefore called for an end to all forms of torture and abuse of human rights in the country. He also urged the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to stop police brutality and restore the people’s confidence in the Nigeria Police Force.

ope Francis has described this year’s Christmas in the wartorn Middle East as ‘Christmas with tears.’ In his message to the Middle East, he expressed grief over the violence ravaging the region as well as the displacement of many Christians in the region. “I write to you just before Christmas, knowing that for many of you the music of your Christmas hymns will also be accompanied by tears and sighs,” Pope Francis said in his December 23 message. “Nonetheless, the birth of the Son of God in our human flesh is an indescribable mystery of consolation: ‘For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all people.” The pope also stressed the need for unity in peace efforts between East-

ern Catholic Churches and Orthodox Churches, as well as continued dialogue with Jews and Muslims in the region. His words: “The more difficult the situation, the more inter-religious dialogue becomes necessary. There is no other way. Dialogue, grounded in an attitude of openness, in truth and love, is also the best antidote to the temptation to religious fundamentalism, which is a threat for followers of every religion.” Pope Francis also urged the international community “to address your needs and those of other suffering minorities, above all by promoting peace through negotiation and diplomacy, for the sake of stemming and stopping as soon as possible the violence which has already caused so much harm.”

Diary Operation clear all barriers

The deliverance programme of Glory Restoration Assembly (GRA), Okota, Lagos comes up from January 11-18. Titled ‘Operation clears all barriers 2015,’ the programme is targeted at releasing the oppressed from witchcraft operation, marine powers, poverty, family curses, covenants and others. The event is scheduled to hold at the church auditorium, Godmon Street, Chemist Bus Stop, Okota Road, Isolo, Lagos. Prophetic Night All is set for the prophetic night of the Sanctuary of Grace Assembly, Lagos. It comes up on December 31 Cross-Over Night to Year 2015 on December 31. The host minister, Prophet Noah, says the Lord will tell His people what will happen in the coming year. He added that there would also be impartation at the event. The event will take place at the church auditorium, Ikotun Egbe Road, Behind Filling Station, Eco Bank, Ile Epo Bus Stop, Ejigbo. House of Grace Cross-Over House of Grace Mission International, Lagos will hold its Cross-Over night on December 31. The event will feature prophetic decree for 2015, prophetic declarations, grace to function in 2015, blessing of the new year, national prophecy and family prophecy. The event takes place at the church ground on Aceland Avenue, Ailegun, Ejigbo, Lagos. CMC Oshodi The cross-over night of Christ Methodist Church, Oshodi, Lagos comes up on December 31 at the church ground on Banjoko Street , Oshodi, Lagos.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

Scenes from Christmas carol service held at Hebrew Church Int’l, Lagos

General Overseer Rev. Femi Akinola, delivering his message

A cross-section of the congregation during praise and worship

Members of the congregation

Members of the choir rendering a special song

The wonder of favour Taming your Emotions Bishop

Lawrence Osagie 0806 325 0667 www.powerlineministriesinc.org mail:powerlineministries@mail.com

hen pride made him separate from favour, his wife became a pillar of salt. He lost his wife and became a drunkard. His two daughters never got married because he departed from favour. Under the influence of alcohol, he slept with his daughters and produced a cursed generation. When he walked away from favour, he lost the opportunity of divine coverage and his life changed. I have seen many enter their early graves because they walked away from favour. I am not writing to impress anybody rather to help you step into your favour. What is speaking in tongues without the word of God as a foundation in your spirit? Your speaking in tongues is meaningless if you don’t understand the essence of salvation; but when you understand the things of the spirit from the Bible, and you walk orderly then your speaking in tongues becomes a meaningful experience. Lot lost favour and lost all. Joseph was a carrier of favour. Everywhere he went favour went with him. And that is why you must be conscious of the kind of people you associate with. Before you employ workers

or bring house maids into your house be certain God is leading you. As a businessman, I pray that you will employ people that are carrying the favour of God on their heads. When people that carry favour step into your business, you will begin to experience favour. Joseph was a carrier of favour and it was evident in his work life in Potiphar’s house. Genesis 37:1-6 recorded that, “Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guards, an Egyptian, bought him off the hands of the Ishmaelite, which brought him down thither: And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord had made all that he did prosper in his hands. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread he did eat.” I have discovered also that there are some people who, when they enter your home, you begin to reduce. There is no favour upon their heads. But some people will enter your life and you begin to experience expansion. People who are compassed with favour as a shield come with new things, news ideas and new business frontiers that translate into progress. Laban

testifying of the favour of God upon Jacob said: “I have discovered by divination that your handling my business is the only reason for the boom and progress we have recorded so far, so name your price.” May you contact men and women carrying favour in Jesus name. Potiphar did not stay long before he discovered what was happening. He quickly handed everything over to Joseph. Before you knew it, everything in the man’s house turned around. There was great increase and evident prosperity until the evil manifestation of Potiphar’s adulterous wife changed the tide and landed Joseph in prison. The good news is that even in prison, favour did not leave him. Know this, a man who is carrying the favour of God might suffer for a while, but after a while the sun will shine upon him. It did not take long before Pharaoh called Joseph out of the prison after he interpreted the dream and said to him, because of the thing in your life I have over Egypt to you? In order words, a whole nation was going to benefit from one boy’s favour – the favour upon one individual. Beloved, they can fire you in that company but God’s favour will open a bigger door for you in Jesus name. For a bad wife’s plot, Joseph was condemned to prison; but at the appointed time, a higher promotion came that has national colours. That is the wonder of favour. Joseph was not the only one in Egypt. It was because there was something upon his life. Pharaoh had to transfer the treasury of Egypt to him. They knew that the favour of God upon his life would affect their economy. Did they do well or not?

They did well because other nations came and benefitted from the grace and favour upon Joseph. Notice also that his brothers and family members who rejected the favour of God upon his life came and bowed their knees to the man that was favoured. I don’t care what they call you today; but because of the favour of God upon your life anyone that is calling you unscriptural names is coming to bow to you. I love the way Bible expressed the favour of God upon Elizabeth; it says “Elizabeth that was called the barren is now six months pregnant with a child.” Luke 1:36. She was called barren. People will testify the same for you. He was called poor but now he is rich; he was a leper but now is healed. I don’t care what they called you before; God is giving you a new name. They called you the oldest single sister but now favour is your name. All I am trying to bring out here is that you can be a partaker of the favour of God, only diligently pray for God’s leading. All you need is to continue to appreciate and celebrate the grace of God upon those you admire and God will link you to your destiny helpers. Without doubt, those who are close associates of the wife of Mr. President are already benefitting from the favour of God upon Mr. President. Check the list of personal staff and personal assistants in the presidential payroll and tell me who recommended them. Join me at the cross-over night on Wednesday, December 31st, to cross over into 2015. Time is 10 pm - 3am. Venue is Powerline Bible Church, Odolowu Bus Stop, Ijeshatedo, Lagos.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

Lagos pastor declares: Why I don’t believe in Jesus

Briefly introduce yourself, particularly the way you would like to be addressed? My name is Seer Blessed Oguguamaka Dike. I am a servant of the Most High God. Can you take us through your background, your growing up years and call to the ministry? I am an indigene of Enugu State. I was born and brought up in Edo State, the former Bendel State. I was born on the 1st of October 1960, when Nigeria had her independence. So, I share the same age with Nigeria to the glory of God. I started primary school in 1970, I didn’t even complete my Primary 1 when my parents withdrew me from school. What was common then was house boy and house girl. I grew up as a house boy. When the journey was tough and with my stubbornness I could not continue the work again. As my parents did not have enough money to send me back to school, I needed to get a job. In 2001, April 14, when I had an encounter with the Almighty God, ‘Jehovah Emmanuel’ I had the encounter at Omole Phase 1; if you are going towards Agindigbi, that place till today you will find fresh corn, fresh plantain, fresh vegetables everything you find there must be fresh and not old, that is where Jesus met me and he said: ‘Son, why are you here?’ He was putting on a shirt, trousers and shoes. He said” ‘I have an assignment for you. My father has sent me to you.’ And I said: ‘Who is your father?’ He said he would introduce him to me. And I asked: ‘What can I do for you?’ He said he wanted me to go and do an estimate of all the vehicles at (Federal) Road Safety (Commission’s office in) Ojodu (Lagos); that his father is in charge of all the cars and that the father needs somebody that will repair, paint, check the engine, change the tyres and refurbish the car again. I said: ‘Do you know this is my profession?’ He said they knew and that was why they were looking for me. I said: ‘Okay, can you permit me to rush down to my shop and bring my letterhead so that anyone I check I can then give you the quotation?’ He said: ‘No, come and have a look at it first.’ And I said: ‘Okay, let’s go.’ I was a chain smoker then; I drew out my packet of St. Moritz, lighted it up and began smoki n g . Then I said: ‘You mentioned your father in the first place, who is that your father?’ He said: ‘My father is coming to meet you;’ and I said, ‘Okay.’ Behold, he brought out a Bible and said: ‘This is what my father said I should give to you, and I said: ‘NEVER!’ Instantly, I remembered the advice of my father when I was leaving for Lagos in 1995; that some people usually turn individuals into different kinds of objects. Immediately my mind went to and fro all that my father had told me, so when the man was giving me the

Blessed Oguguamaka Dikeh of As The Lord Said It Should Be Done Temple, Lagos recently spoke with EDWIN USOBOH on why he doesn’t believe in Jesus and the New Testament, as well as other issues Bible and said his name is ‘Jesus Emmanuel;’ I became afraid. I said I couldn’t accept it and he said I must accept it because the Bible is my profession. And I asked if I accept the Bible from him, what did he want me to do with it? This is because I don’t even know how to read nor write; besides, what do you want me to tell my wife? How do I take care of my family? He said that question belongs to ‘Father.’ I said, ‘Okay;’ then we went towards Isheri Road, along Agidingbi. I had not even got to the end of Omole Phase 1, when I now looked back and I could not see the man again. I ran down to Isheri Road, to my workshop; when I got to the shop, I kept the Bible. After one week of the encounter, I now started seeing

crowds, men and women flocking around me. That is the journey of my life, God bless you! You are a seer, meaning that you see and hear from God. Can you tell us how you hear and communicate with God? I communicate with God every moment. I have been ordained by God and sent forth by God. What is the mandate given to you by God? The mandate… of what? When you first had an encounter with God, what did God instruct you to do? God said I should go and bring all his children back to Him. He said all the men of God that have disappointed him that I should go and bring them back. After the seventh day I had an encounter with Jesus, he said the father would come and that the father he said would come is the same man I’m maintaining his name till today. I don’t maintain the name of Jesus, I maintain the name of God; that is the man I had an encounter with. How do you see Jesus and how do you connect Jesus back to Abraham, Noah and the rest in the Old Testament Bible? I connect Jesus back to Adam and Eve, Enoch, Methuselah, Melchisedeck, Abimelech, Noah. These were the people that lived a life of fulfillment before God. If you check their history, you will find 910, 950, 960 years. These are my ancestors that obeyed God and God gave them extra years. But because of sin, God shortened the lifespan of man. In my own time, God will not shorten it again. He wants to make all things new again, like in the days of old. So, God has promised me 500 years of victory till I find rest. I will not die till 500 years is completed; no sickness, no disease and all my members here, nobody will die because I know the man that killeth and maketh. Jesus is a servant of God like me. He has finished his assignment and gone. When I finish my assignment on earth I will go also. He is a servant of the Most High God, he has done a wonderful job. So, when people say Jesus is the saviour of the whole world, then who do they say God is? According to John 3:16, we are meant to know that God loves the world and He gave His only Son (Jesus); that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. So, how do you explain this? You see, there are lots of mistakes in that part of the Bible you just quoted. John 3:16 you quoted is good news, can God be new? I don’t understand what you mean by good news. New Testament Bible of course! Now, can God be good news? But we were told that the Bible was written by the inspiration of God; both the Old Testament and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 55

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

CONTINUED FR O M PAGE 51

scathing condemnation of Jonathan’s administration and rose up against his reelection bid. It was also the year in which famed world’s wealthiest cleric, Bishop David Oyedepo, marked his 60th birthday with pomp and circumstance. The birthday celebration was one of the most talked about events of the year. The church had a running battle with the British government over certain issues pertaining to its UK branches as well as its attempt to open an academic facility for children. Attempts by the Christ Apostolic Church to resolve its long-running leadership crisis did not yield dividend within the year. It was also a year in which the Redeemed Christian Church of God began the construction of its three-kilometre-long auditorium at its campground on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State. One of its top pastors, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was named as the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress. He is the second pastor to run with MajGen Muhammadu Buhari, after the former military ruler had an unsuccessful run in

2014: Year of mixed fortunes the 2011 presidential election with the founder of Latter-Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare. An international gospel documentation organisation, Voice of God Recording, launched the construction of its West African office with fanfare at the campground of Christian Ministry of Reconciliation on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State. It was also a year of sundry scan- Emeka dals in churches, with issues ranging from the involvement of pastors in adultery, kidnapping, robbery and other unsavoury matters. The Bible Society of Nigeria also launched some editions of the Bible in some Nigerian languages. The widow of the founder of Bethel Worship Centre for All Nation aka Wonder City, Ajah, Lagos, Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi, Pastor Roselyn, launched a special prayer

project for Nigeria. Tagged ‘1-11’ project, it is expected to take off in 2015 and will rally Christians to pray for Nigeria. 2014 was a year in which strange pronouncements were issued by pastors from some churches around the world. Pastor Lesego Daniel of Rabboni Centre Ministries in South Africa came under scrutiny after asking members to chew grass and drink fuel in church. Another in United States reportedly assembled single ladies in his church at a beach, asked them to strip naked and kissed their

Faith

butts. He said it was meant to help them get husbands. The Church of England ordained its first female bishop, Rev. Libby Lane, in the outgoing year. An interesting development in the outgoing year was the crucial role played by Pope Francis in the resolution of the over five decade diplomatic standoff between the United States and Cuba. The Catholic pontiff wrote U.S President Barrack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in recent months, urging them to end their differences over humanitarian issues, including prisoners. The Vatican also hosted U.S and Cuban delegations in October and facilitated a constructive engagement that resulted in the resolution of the standoff, reports said. Even as the year comes to an end, the church remains a major factor in issues shaping global events. It is expected that the church will still play a major role in global affairs in 2015.

Lagos pastor declares: Why I don’t believe in Jesus CON TINUED FR O M PAGE 54

New Testament were all inspired by God. I don’t think any of the books in the Bible was written within this generation. They were written even before our forefathers were born. So, what differentiates the Old Testament from the New Testament? How do you reconcile it? Yes, I believe this is a very big opportunity to reconcile it. It was because man offended God. Let me tell you that the original Bible was a scroll, that was what we had then. John 3:16 says that; “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” How many Christians today die at a fulfilled age? ‘Whosoever believes in him shall have everlasting life;’ everlasting life means you must live a fulfilled life like your father Adam. Adam lived for 930 years. From the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jacob died at the age of 147 years. When you do what pleases God, you will live beyond your ancestors. When you die below your ancestors, it is an abomination before God. So, the John 3:16 you people are quoting I don’t feel people really know the meaning; they are only misleading people. Once you believe the word of God totally and obey the commandments, you will not perish. That same thing that was written in John 3:16 was also written in Joshua 1:3-9. What this place is trying to teach us here is to obey the commandments of God. The same word that God gave to Joshua was the same word God gave to John. What John is telling you here is to obey the word of God. ‘Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish;’ between Jesus and Adam who lived longer? And ‘whosoever believeth in him shall not perish;’ the mother of Jesus; Mary and Jesus who died first? Then, why couldn’t Jesus give the mother everlasting life? Because if it is written that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life, what about the mother and the father? I told my congregation in the year 2012 that God is angry with Nigeria. Not long after I said it, crisis started, fighting and killings. I also told them in 2013 that there would be a plane crash between September and October. It was three plane crashes God revealed to me but God allowed me to stop one but I could not stop the other two. It was not up to two weeks I said it, when one plane carrying a corpse from Lagos to Ondo State crashed while taking off. People started calling me after the incident. I will tell you that what was happening in the time of old has started happening in our own time.

So as a prophet are you saying you don’t believe in the New Testament? In the Old Testament, God spoke directly to the prophets and they wrote down what he said. But in the New Testament, the disciples only wrote their minds. For instance, there is nothing like being ‘born again,’ because God can never be born again. The New Testament is not the mind of God. It is men speaking and not God. In the book of Matthew, for instance, what is written there is the mind of Matthew and not the mind of God. But in the Old Testament, God spoke directly to his prophets. He spoke directly to people like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Solomon and so on. Jesus was just a servant and not God. He has finished his duty on earth the same way other prophets finished their calling. Any Christian that leaves God and starts giving glory to Jesus should be ashamed. Jesus can never be God. He is not the saviour and he did not die for anyone. Anyone that tells you that Jesus is the son of God is a fraud and is not of God. Do the Muslims worship Mohammed? No. They worship only God, but you see Christians worshiping Jesus and even equating him with God. In the book of Deuteronomy, God says he is the only one that should be worshipped and that we should not bow down to any image. So why do people worship Jesus when he is just a prophet? He did not die for anybody’s sins. He died just like any other human being. If he died for you, why are many people still afraid to go to their villages? If you say that Jesus is the only son of God, then what was Adam? Was he not also a son? When Adam who was made in the image of God could not save you, then who is Jesus to save you? I don’t want to hear the name of Jesus because he is not God and has never been God. God is very angry with Nigeria because they have taken his glory and given it to a mortal man. Why we have this high level insecurity is because of God’s wrath. Looking at you, you have a crown on your head and you are wearing beads on your hands. At first, one would assume that you are a royal personage. What inspires your dressing? God is the King of kings, so I represent my father and I must dress like a king. You said so many things about Jesus being a servant and all of that… Cuts in: Yes, Jesus is a servant Do you believe in rapture and resurrection? (Whistles) Do you know how many men in the Bible did not see death? That is what they called rapture. Elijah did not see death; rapture is when a servant of God lives a life that pleases God and when the time comes

me give you the final example of hell - the widow of Zarephath, she was in hell fire but when God sent Elijah to her, she automatically experienced her own heaven (1 Kings 17:8-16). You told us earlier on that when you were initially called to the ministry, you do not know how to read or write. So, at what point did you learn how to read, write and speak good English? God has sent me and he has equipped me. Besides, I have never been to any Bible school.

Dikeh

he goes. When a man dies the spirit returns back to God and the dead body goes back to the dust. Rapture simply means when a man dies the spirit returns back to God, (Ecclesiastics 12:7). So, don’t allow men to deceive you! Colour means a lot and the moment any one comes in here the first thing he observes is the colours - red and white. So, what do red and white mean to you? Red is life; without blood in your body you will not be alive. White represents peace of the Most High God. You can see what God said concerning blood in Leviticus 17:11. So, it is that blood that is red that cleanses one to become white. In the course of your teachings you said that there is nothing like heaven and hell. I said you must not allow anybody to deceive you that there is hell fire. There is nothing like hell fire. Heaven and hell fire are here on earth. How do you experience heaven and hell fire here on earth? In the book of Isaiah 65:17-25 (a new heaven and a new earth), when you are suffering, ultimately you are in hell fire. That was what God told Isaiah in Isaiah 43:18-25. I can tell you that poverty had treated me so badly before, but today I can insult poverty. I had suffered, so while I was suffering then, I was automatically in hell fire. I could not pay my house rent for three years and whenever the landlord was coming I would begin to pick my nails because I did not have money to give to him. But when you have everything to your comfort then you are in heaven. Let

We know many men of God that served God diligently but died before 70… (Cuts in): Yes! Why they died before 70 years was because God was angry with them. Did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob die at the age of 70? Then what are we talking about? Open to Isaiah 65:20; when you know the man that killeth and maketh you will never die young. The reason why they die young is because God has punished them. So, what happened to men of God that served him diligently but died before 70 years? Are you telling us that there is no hope of heaven for them? All the big men of God, for the fact that God has given them life to live on earth that is why they have made progress. So by the time they die their bodies go back to the dust while their spirits return back to God; and nothing else again - no more heaven or hell again. They have enjoyed their years on earth, they have ridden in the church cars, they have acquired enough wealth, but the moment they die their spirits return straight to God. If the man lived a life that pleased God, God will now take his spirit and place it in another being… or you don’t believe in reincarnation? In the course of your teachings, you said Jesus is a servant… (Cuts in): Till tomorrow! So, how do you relate this to Muslims that have this same belief? They are 100percent correct! They my friends and my brothers…. I and the Alfa close to my temple are friends and we cooperate, I can go to his Mosque and he can come and worship here. Muslims will not take it that God can become born again and I the Seer of the living God and the son of the living God of this generation cannot subscribe to that. And I don’t believe Jesus is the saviour of the world but the only saviour of the world is God Almighty.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

Winds against the manger Firm Faith:

Right Reason Most Rev.

Emmanuel A. Badejo fradebadejo@yahoo.

0803 949 4219 (SMS only)

The oracle of Christmas “For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.” (Is. 9:57). For 400 years from the time of the prophet Malachi, the fulfilment of this promise was awaited. Then came the event of Bethlehem. Now, it is Christmas yet again; that evergreen fact of more than 2000 years ago in a manger in old, cold Bethlehem is here! “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning the child.” (Lk. 2: 15-17). Millions have since proclaimed the news concerning that child and on it depends the hopes and joys of over

one billion people, who believe that he is the salvation of all humanity. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’ (Jn. 3:16-17). Welcome salvation, merry Christmas. The rebellion and opposition That was God’s plan, but man challenged God’s will right from the beginning of creation. In utmost patience and compassion, God promised a saviour for his people and fulfilled it. Jesus left everything in glory and came into the world, not counting his equality with God a thing to be grasped. (Phil. 2:6ff). He came among his own and his own did not receive him (Jn. 1: 11). The mere fact of his coming provoked considerable disease; the discomfort of a census (Lk. 2:1-5); the rejection at the inn (Lk. 2: 6-7); the persecution of Herod and the killing of the innocent children (Matt. 2:13-18); the temptation in the desert (Matt 4:111); the opposition of the Pharisees; the betrayal of the disciples; the rebellion against the truth; the cowardice of Pilate (Lk 23:1-25), and the crucifixion of the Son of Man (Jn. 19). Those tragedies and rebellion still subsist in the man of today. Out there, the wolves of death and evil still devour God’s children and threaten his kingdom. Today, however they bear new identities, even as ‘followers of Christ.’ Be they politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, businessmen, artisans, clergymen or students, they still make Jesus cry out: “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. So you yourselves confess to be the descendants

As the Good Shepherd he is still out on the mountains searching for his sheep. He has said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor

of those who murdered the prophets. And now finish off what your ancestors began.” (Matt. 23: 29-32). The travesty of Christmas today The travesty of Christmas today is that Christ is no longer the focus of Christmas; the ego is. The task of Jesus to build God’s kingdom of peace, love and justice thus faces great handicaps because the human heart is no longer available or accessible. His mission to give life to the full has become even more difficult to sustain. What with all the bloodshed and violence occurring through brutal murders, assassination, abortion, ritual killings and other accidents! The reality of sin experienced from Adam and Eve which disrupts human fraternity and disfigures the nobility of our brotherhood has thus continued to put humanity to shame. The outcome is a chronic estrangement of humanity from God, resulting in the violation of human dignity, and the institutionalisation of injustice. How today for example does one speak of the Prince of Peace to

those who have been maimed, injured, decimated and rendered homeless by terrorist and other violent attacks? How does one speak of providence to those who live in abject poverty in the midst of plenty? How does one speak of the love of Jesus to those who have lost those whom they love and who love them? It becomes really difficult to refute the claim that the God of the marginalised is different from the God of the rest of us. The faithfulness of God “Give thanks to the God of gods for his kindness endures forever.” (Ps 136:2). The Baby in the manger is still there for all. As the Good Shepherd he is still out on the mountains searching for his sheep. He has said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind.” (Lk. 4: 18-19). Even those who wallow in material wealth, power immorality, self-centredness, greed, corruption etc. are called to seek freedom from their bondage. “Come to me all you who are burdened... and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11: 28-30). So now we all dare to hope that in spite of the present darkness, humanity shall be set free. He has already declared: “I know well the plans I have in mind for you says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe!” (Jer. 29: 11-14) Plans to give you a future full of hope. In spite of the present rough winds against our salvation it is still safe to believe that the manger will outlast the grave. God will have the final word and our joy shall be restored.

God is never late! Insight Rev.

Femi Akinola

www.thehebrewsng.com

01-790 3163; 0808 584 5864

re you worried going by the number of days remaining in this year and few or better to say none of your heart desire is yet to come to reality? Permit me to ask you, how many days did it take God to finish the work of creation or how long will it take God to attend to your case. It is too early for you to pack up, come off it; you can still see the manifestation of your expectations. It is good to plan for another year but there is still room for testimonies this year. Do you still believe that your miracle job, baby, lifting, promotion and what have you is possible? In fact nothing is impossible for our God to do. In athletics; it is not the swiftest or fastest athlete that wins the race in most events, if you are a believer and you do not believe in miracles, you are among men most miserable. This is because we ought to live not by what we see but by faith. “Here’s what will happen — you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill” II Kings 3:17. This scripture is a clear reflection of some of the contemporary issues we

encounter and sometimes it seems as if you are at your wits end. Beloved, the impossible can still happen in your days if only you believe. Whose report do you want to believe anyway? Is it that of your landlord, doctor, financial adviser, lawyer or the report of the Lord, Isa 53:1? You need to believe the report of the Lord wholly if something great and amazing must emerge from your life in the days remaining for this year to wrap-up. As the Lord lives, it shall be miracle galore for you in Jesus name. Is there any particular way or door you are expecting to open for you and from all standpoints it seems to be no longer feasible? God can make another way that is not the usual way. It may interest you to know that all your expectation might not follow the norm but when all your hope is stalked on Jesus, expect the unusual because He is the way, the truth and the life. “Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.” John 14:6(AMP) Where men have permutated, calculated and concluded about your case, the King of kings will step in and you will see His glory in Jesus name. “And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!” Mark 9:23(AMP) The level or magnitude of your faith is without any iota of doubt very important in this critical period in the pursuit of your expectation in God. In order for you to see the manifestation of your expected end, you must be sensitive to His commands. Luke 5:1-5 brought to limelight

Where men have permutated, calculated and concluded about your case, the King of kings will step in and you will see His glory in Jesus name the scenario that was a milestone in the life of Apostle Peter; he and his colleagues who are veteran fishermen were met with disappointment having toiled all night without a catch till Jesus, the Creator of both men and other creatures came on board, He gave an instruction cum Peter’s obedience and the miracle that surpasses that of the ages happened instantly. “And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again].” Luk 5:5(AMP) Also in your case, Jesus is coming to attend that situation, crisis, need, shame and disgrace in your home, office, marriage, and relationship; just be sensitive when He comes. I am a man of reckless faith and at His command only do I trust, nothing more. In a very short while, I will be highlighting on those measures (covenant steps) that you must not over-emphasise if truly you want to experience His awesome wonder:

First, you must surrender your life

to Jesus genuinely else you will never expect a miracle; surrender your life in totality to Him, not a part of it; this is what qualifies you to get His attention. For how long will you continue to depend on human intellect or calculation to manoeuvre your way through challenges of life? John 3:16-18.

You must change your confession. It is what you confess that you eventually become and your confession is your possession. Over the years, the result you have got hitherto is a product of what you have confessed yester-years. Your much awaited miracles will only respond to what you confess. (Pro 18:20-21). n You must trust God and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways. (Ps 37:3-7). n You must refuse to feel hopeless. Let your hope and aspiration be so high that you are not perturbed at any slightest limitation. An eagle takes advantage of the wind to gain altitude so as to soar higher while a chicken looks down for remnants. (Job 14:7). n Refuse to feel helpless because there is a sure help in God. Do not give up easily, no matter what you are passing through. In every dark cloud; there is always a silver lining. (Ps 121:1-8).

Finally, you must be ready to obey His instruction and do not forget the place of sacrifice in your quest to get his attention for much awaited miracles. Your miracle is still very much possible and you shall share your own testimony in Jesus name, Amen.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

Power of imagination, your creative ability Mystery ofAnxiety John Ogbansiegbe

0803 341 6327

creator is one who creates something, who brings something into existence out of nothing. To create means to form something or bring something into reality by force of imagination. To create means to make, to produce, to design, to initiate and to institute. For any person to be creative or to be a creator, that person must be visionary and idealistic. The first step to creation is a vision and dream. That which is to be created must first exist in the mind of the creator. There must also be a plan backing the vision. To this end, the word of God declared, “Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:2-3. God gives the vision. Every good vision and dream comes from God. He is

also the one that brings it to pass. There is an appointed time for an appointed work. This vision must be patiently waited for. It must be held with great tenacity, patience and carefulness. Be conscious of the fact that you have creative ability. God has given you the grace to dream and have visions. It means that you can conceive something and bring it to reality. Creation takes place in your spirit. As you spend more time to meditate on the word of God, the Holy Ghost will inspire creative thoughts in you and help you to transform them into reality. Create a picture of what you desire or what you want to achieve in respect of that assignment before you. Always bear in mind that imaginative power is your creative ability. In view of the foregoing, therefore, the word of God declares, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou comest forth pout of the womb, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah1:5. Map out a plan and vision for your life; something you desperately need to create based on what God has appointed you to be. Ask God for His divine plan for your life, and live by His will in order to fulfil your divine destiny. In Genesis 1:15, the word of God records thus, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the

Let there be light.” That spoke word was the manifestation of God’s will concerning the situation. The entrance of the word of God brings light, revelation and insight. A very important prayer to make in the face of any storm or challenge of life is, “Lord, give insight and revelation solution

deep. And the Spirit of God move upon the face of the waters. And God said let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, the darkness He called Night. And the evening and morning were the first day.” After the creation of the heaven and the earth, darkness and emptiness filled God’s creation. Scripturally speaking, darkness represents evil and every work of the devil. God was not discouraged by the useless void and formless state of the earth. He positively created by speaking the word, “Let there be light,”

and there was light! The Holy Spirit began to move and patrol over the darkness and the face of the deep. By this divine movement, the Holy Spirit was incubating on the vision of God for the earth. Then God spoke the earth, “Let there be light.” That spoken word was the manifestation of God’s will concerning the situation. The entrance of the word of God brings light, revelation and insight. A very important prayer to make in the face of any storm or challenge of life is, “Lord, give insight and revelation solution.” This is the secret of divine illumination and victory. For God to create the world that He had conceived in His mind, He spoke nine times, deliberately, purposefully and strategically. Be challenged to create a mission for your vision. Allow the Holy Spirit to incubate it, write it down in your diary. Also have a picture of what you want and where you are going. You cannot afford to keep silent, resign to fate or settle down in mediocrity. You can create your world by speaking the word that agrees with God’s plan for your life. Even when the situation looks contrary to your expectation, speak the word and keep on speaking it until you see the manifestation of your desire. As you create your world, may God bring your heart’s desire into tangible realities in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The priesthood gift and calling the of

Oracles God

Frank Oboden Olomukoro frankolomukoro@yahoo.com

0703 362 1866

he last message that precedes the Return of Christ restores all things and prepares the church for the final ministry. That message will take the church back to its original state, in teaching and in life. The priesthood, in calling and in practice, must pattern after the original Bible mould: “… for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. (1 Tim. 1:16B) For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. We are born with natural and spiritual gifts, which we use for our profiting. Whatever gift you are endowed with is never withdrawn. The Eagle is endowed with great vision and ability to attain great heights. It is not so with the sparrow that flies at a lower height. God gives according to proportion of faith. Gifts are bestowed to the obedient and to the rebellious alike. We are at liberty to use our gifts to the glory of God or Satan or for selfaggrandisement. But one thing is certain, in the end there will be stewardship. There is the true vine and the false vine. They are closely associated that, if care is not taken, the false vine can be misconstrued to be the true vine. That is why the pattern serves as a standard check to ascertain the true from the false vine. The Jeroboams’ Perverse Pattern There is a standard Bible pattern of calling gifted men into the ministry. We have established the fact that it is patterned after the order of Aaron. Only men are called into the office of the priesthood or the fivefold min-

istry of Ephesians 4:11. From the beginning it was Aaron and his sons that are called into priestly service all through their generations. We are aware that this strict order patterned after Aaron and his sons only was set at naught during the reign of King Jeroboam. He recruited miscreants and anybody that was interested and available into the priesthood without due regard to the tribe of Levi. It was a precedent that was never again corrected and it continued till date. Even in Jeroboam’s time, it was still only men that were called in even though not from the lineage of the Levites. However, the version in our day is a stench because from the 17th century, women began to jostle for a role in the priesthood. It is the exclusive preserve of men who are called and ordained by God, and only the tribe of Levi produced the priesthood. Men from other tribes were excluded. They could be kings or in any other profession. The sanctity of the sanctuary has been desecrated to high heavens. “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places. Whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut if off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.” (I King 13:33. Whoever thought of a woman priest going into the holy of holies in the Old Testament? It was unimaginable. Some kings attempted making sacrifices with the censer in the place of an ordained priest. We read of the instant judgment that followed. Has God changed His mind today? One in particular, King Uzziah, was struck with leprosy and he died a leper. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 “But when King Uzziah was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense…..it appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, But To The Priest The Sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn

After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places insence….” The Error of the Denominational Church Women kept their distance from the consecrated service until the period of reformation by John Wesley when they were granted passage as preachers. The jostle for women to be ordained as Pastors was initiated by the British state church, the Church of England. In 1920, women ordination was first placed on the agenda of the Lambert conference. By 1935, the Archbishop’s commission discussed women’s ordination and turned it down. In 1944, Florence L1 Tim–01 was ordained as a priest in Hong Kong during a wartime emergency. But who is the Church of England or the Anglican Communion as an authority to overrule God’s divine ordinance? The church body is not an authority scripturally to call any into this sacred order that is exclusively God’s! This is why God is against the denominations, they operate by traditions and not by the commandments of God. (Mark 7:14). We see their like in Jeroboam, who never operated by the law of Moses. By the year 1971, the Anglican Consultative Council passed Resolution 28, which authorised bishops to ordain women if they had the approval of their province. Approval for the priesthood or any other ordinance comes only from God because Jesus asked the Pharisees, the Baptism of John, was it from God or from men? (Luke 20: 4) It is a consecrated service to Him alone. All through the scriptures, the calling and election is done by God. Noah found grace before God and was called a prophet to

build the Ark of safety. Abraham was called by God and separated from his kindred unto God. This is also true of Judges, war lords, Kings, the priesthood by the Levi tribe and narrowed down to only Aaron and his sons. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ called and chose the 12, including Judas Iscariot the rebellious who did the dirty job of betraying his master. The gift and calling of God are without repentance. Still with the Church of England, by 1974 in the U.S., three bishops “irregularly ordained eleven women. In 1976, the Episcopal Church (USA)’s General Conference voted to allow the ordination of women and to accept the irregular ordinations of 1974. Ten years later in 1984, synod decided to ordain female deacons styled ‘deaconesses;” obviously contrary to scripturally Apostolic pattern, quoting Apostle Peter: Who do we obey, man or God? “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. (Acts 4:19). It is clear to all that denomination is not of God. Where in the scripture can we read that the ordination of men is approved by a ‘consultative council:’ ‘General synod;’ ‘General Conference;’ ‘Archbishop commission’ to name some? The church of Jesus Christ operates only by the revelation of God. The ordination of women was given final approval in 1992 by the Anglican Communion and the first women priest was ordained in 1994. The seed of discrepancy had germinated, since then there was no turning back on women ordination in some of the orthodox churches and Pentecostal denominations. The Aaronic Order Remains The Supreme Standard We must conclude and rightly too that there is no scripture from Genesis to Revelation in support of female priesthood for pastoral work. The Aaronic and Melchisedec order is sufficient proof in teaching and practice in the Old and New Testaments on the infallibility of the Bible on the ordination of men into the priesthood.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Faith

Engaging the demand of discipline for success! The Voice of Dominion by

Bishop David Oyedepo E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

7747546-8 (SMS only)

elcome to your regular column. So fWelcome to your regular column. So far, in the first week, I explained what success and spiritual empowerment are. Last week, we examined three scriptures that graphically illustrate the place of spiritual empowerment in commanding our unending exploits. This week, we shall be looking at Engaging the demand of discipline for success. God’s plan and purpose for the redeemed are to enjoy unending success. Understand that God’s success plan is not a promise, but a covenant. This implies that until our part is adequately played, God is not committed to deliver. The Bible says: My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (Psalm 89:34). Therefore, we must be conscious of our role in the covenant of success. For instance, we understand from scriptures that when we diligently hearken to Biblical instructions and observe to do all that God commands, supernatural breakthrough is usually the outcome. When the covenant is broken, breakthrough be-

comes impossible (Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Ecclesiastes 10: 5-18). However, there are certain demands that qualify us for our birthright of success, and one of such is the demand of discipline. What Is Discipline? Discipline is possessing a sense of mission in the pursuit of any task: It is a strong dedication to a well-defined goal. Apostle Paul said, “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

n It is operating as demanded, not as convenient: It is a task that determines the kind of approach we put into it. For instance, Nehemiah and the people never took off their clothes except for washing. They were on duty as demanded by that task. Also, Daniel and his companions purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves with the king’s rich food. Therefore, we cannot make the most of any task that does not make a specific demand on our lives (Nehemiah 4:23; Daniel 1:8). n It is setting order to one’s life pursuit: This means being where we should be at the right time, and doing the right thing. For instance, at the time when kings go to battle, David tarried in Jerusalem and he met his waterloo in Bathsheba. He paid dearly for it, but mercy prevailed for him. (2 Samuel 11:1-2) We must recognise that it takes highlevel discipline to maximise our adventure on the earth. No one will ever be more distinguished than he is disciplined. n

It is also making the most of one’s

Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am a child of God.” I will conclude this teaching next week

time: Time is the most precious asset of every disciplined man, and whatever robs us of our time has robbed us of our best in life. As it is written: Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). We must budget our time the same way we make budget for our money. Moreover, just like money is squandered when it is not budgeted, when our time is not budgeted, it’s bound to be squandered. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America, a believer, once said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Time is not just in years, but in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. So, we must constantly put value into our time, by investing it. Interestingly, time is an asset of equality and every living being has an equal

share. However, what each one does with his time determines the outcome of his life. That means we have equal opportunity to make the most of our journey, if we choose to. We must recognise that discipline is not a gift, but a lifestyle of choice we design and submit to. This is because no one will ever be more distinguished in his pursuit, than he is disciplined. Moreover, nothing triggers the potential within us like self-discipline (Genesis 39:9, 41:15-44; Daniel 1:8, 17-20, 6:10-28). Friend, accessing success via discipline is the preserve of those born again. If you are set for it, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am a child of God.” I will conclude this teaching next week. Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get the following books: Exploring The Secrets Of Success and Success Strategies. We shall be celebrating Christmas on December 25, 2014. Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season! I wish you and your family Happy Christmas! I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 77475468; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

My tongue is irresistible Word of Life

Bishop

Moses Kattey

moseskattey@yahoo.co.uk

0808 770 7486

hen we pray in tongues, no devil, no man and no circumstance can curtail, limit, resist or withstand our prayers. Tongues, whether physical or spiritual tongues (spiritual gifts), have same attributes. The scriptures let us know that the tongue that is used in praying in the spirit, is more powerful than that of flesh, for we speak unto God, not unto men. for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries (1 Corinthian 14:2). Known tongue is addressed to men while unknown tongue addresses God and the spirit world. Spiritual tongue has greater capability than physical tongue. Physical tongue is what is referred to as being understandable, like, when we speak English, French, or a local dialect that one understands. Spiritual tongue is what is referred to as ‘Unknown tongues’ (1 Corinthians 14:2,4) and ‘new tongues.’ (Mark 16:17). for every kind of beast, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:7,8) The picture in the above scriptures is more serious when we consider spiritual tongues, or new tongues. When I am praying in unknown tongues No demon, no man, nothing Can redirect the prayer Can curtail the prayer Can tame the prayer Can limit the prayer Can repel the tongues Can resist the tongues Can withstand the tongues Can send the prayer back to the sender Can reduce the “Poison” in the tongue Can match “stubbornness” of the tongues No devil, no man, nothing can equal or “call the prayer to order “or “chain” it. I have heard where people or churches were praying and binding prayers of some other Christian groups/churches. If they are praying in tongues, sorry, it is not possible to interfere with the prayers. May be they succeed to bind prayers in known tongues but praying in tongues is unconquerable prayer. James makes it clear that if people can bind, or chain tongues, unknown tongues or praying in the spirit as it may be referred to, or if they can Charm, or tame tigers, lions, elephants, pythons, sharks, leviathans, etc. it is not possible to do that to prayer in tongues. This is another reason why I speak (pray) in tongues. St. Paul quite understood the efficacy and capability of tongues and he said, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful the spirit, and I will pray with understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. - (1 Corinthian 14:14;15). Elder James said that tongues boast of great things. ”Even so the tongue is a little member. And boast great things (James 3:5). Tongue speaking appears very unimportant, out of place, optional, not mandatory, but Paul said you must acknowledge that what he said about tongues is a “commandment of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37)? Your testimonies or rather your experience with praying in the spirit (tongue) will be accompanied by great exploits. Tongue is a gift Tongue speaking is a gift from God, apart from the fact that it is an evidence of your believe in Jesus. St. Mark records it as an evidence of our belief in Jesus (Mark 16:17), while Apostle Paul puts it this way. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirit; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthian 12:10). I also operate tongues as a gift. Without tongues, one’s life will be unbalance. You may not know until it is late and die in ignorance. I have opted to receive all that

God has designed for his church, whether I understand it or not. Tongues create signs I realised that I need tongues to see signs and wonders in my ministry and in my life. It has great potentials to create signs in my life that people see. l have experienced this, and that is how I understood what Paul said. “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.” - 1 Corinthians 14:3. Every sound is significant Sometimes when I say words I do not understand in prayers, or as someone might notice when “ I make noise” and say or repeat syllables that appear meaningless, none of the things I say is without significance. (1 Corinthian 14:10). I say all in faith believing that each sound is significant. The scriptures say that there are things and feelings that human language cannot express. It must just be understood by the Lord when sounds, groaning, signs, etc are produced in prayers. In fact, you will be speaking heavenly language. Your innermost desires are just understood only when such sounds are produced. In that situation you are talking to God directly. In fact, the Bible says: You speak mysteries -1 Corinthians 14:2. Your spirit prays and all things work together for your good. That prayer overcomes our infirmities, your inabilities, your limitations, and extends the boundary you could not have reached when you pray with understanding. Tongues meet God’s standard for your prayer and present the case in the right and appropriate way.

Advertise your church events, special programmes, conventions and other church activities on these pages. Contact: Tai on 07064380029

Sport 59

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

End of Year Review: Ugly year for Nigerian sports

p.60

Rugby

Fom Pam, Fasimoye count gains p.61

Irabor: I may not return as LMC boss in 2015

• Point deduction for league defaulters • Four-team tourney holds in Jan • N100m bank sureties a must

Golf

Korblah favoured to win Order of Merit title p.61

Action from the 2014 Nigeria Premier League

Dapo Sotuminu

Sunday Team

Deputy Sports Editor Dapo Sotuminu Golf Reporter Ifeanyi Ibeh

he Chairman of the League Management Committee, LMC, Honourable Nduka Irabor, has revealed that there is a likelihood that he would not return as the number one man in the Nigeria Premier League in the 2015 season. Irabor told New Telegraph on Sunday exclusively in Lagos that, he has paid his dues and as such he does not have any regret even if he leaves his position as LMC boss. “The most important thing is that, we have been able to set in motion machinery for an advanced football league in Nigeria. And I am proud to be a part of it despite the initial obstacle. “At least we have been able to a reasonable extent bring Nigerians back to the stadia across the country to watch Premier League Football as against the overbearing passion built by Nigerians for the English Premier League and other European leagues. But the clubs need to do more in this area; they

Nduka Irabor

must at all times engage massive publicity for their matches. “In the short period we took over the league, we introduced some innovations that made the league number one in the continent. This is not a mean achievement after the long years of decay. It is unfortunate that, at a time we are struggling to ensure that we establish stability in the standard already

set in the Premier League; all what some people harped was the expiration of our tenure in office. With the way things are, I may not return as the Chairman of the LMC in the new season. I am confident that with the structure on ground, the league will fly.” Irabor noted that, the 2015/2016 League season has been scheduled to start in March 2015. This

is geared towards protecting the players, officials, the media and teaming supporters of the various clubs from any form of violence that may result from the federal elections. Ahead of the two tiers of the CAF Continental championships, the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, the LMC boss revealed that, the Committee has finalised the arrangement to organise a Four-Team Tournament to prepare the Nigerian clubs already registered for the two competitions, this has been slated for January 2015. The clubs are league champions Kano Pillars, Enyimba International of Aba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins FC of Port-Harcourt. “We are doing this based on past experiences where clubs playing in the continent failed to prepare adequately for the competitions and they ended up being eliminated in the first round. We don’t want that to happen again, but the truth is that, it shouldn’t be the LMC helping to prepare the clubs for continental competitions.” The LMC boss also revealed that the N100million bank sureties by all the clubs in Premier League will be fully implemented in the 2015 season. “This time around, a stiffer penalty would be slammed on erring clubs. Clubs who fail to pay after 45 days of the league kick-off would have three points deducted from each of the matches they play afterwards. When this is done, the clubs will know that we are out for business. “In addition to this, we shall also enforce the payment of the monthly salary of N150,000 minimum wage for all Premier League Players. Last season, we were frustrated by both the players and the teams’ management.” Nduka Irabor disclosed that, players of Sharks FC and Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt in the season under review wrote letters to the LMC management asking us to allow their club administrators run affairs unhindered despite not paying salaries as at when due. “When the two clubs started owing salaries, match bonuses and sign-on fees, it was a difficult task for the LMC to control. The players and even Nigerian soccer fans that had earlier condemned our strict stance on welfare saw reasons behind our action. “This time around, the enforcement of the minimum wage for players would be tougher. We won’t condone half measure. This was done in the German Bundesliga and it worked, so, that of Nigeria won’t be an exception,” Irabor said.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

Sport

END OF YEAR REVIEW:

Ugly year for Nigerian sports T

Dapo Sotuminu he year 2014 was not a good one for Nigerian sports as it was plagued by intrigues, failures, underachievements, criminal manipulations in the football house and court cases. Though there were some successes recorded at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the International Table Tennis Federation Classic in Lagos and the African Women’s Championship in Namibia, all these were enveloped by the unending crises in the country’s sports. It was a year Nigeria had three presidents in the football federation. Aminu Maigari, Chris Giwa and Amaju Pinnick took their turn at the Glass House in controversial circumstances. It has never been so in the history of the country’s football since the establishment of organised football in 1949. Still on the issue, the NFF had two presidential elections in one calendar year. The circumstances that led to the removal of Maigari immediately after the Brazil 2014 World Cup on order of the Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo, the election and rejection of Giwa, and the election of Pinnick were done with criminal manipulations such that Nigerians were forced to believe that the NFF is a multi-million dollars organisation. FIFA, more than ever before, banned and unbanned, and issued series of warnings to Nigeria in 2014. The year also marked the emergence of Nigerian-toned FIFA letters which raised suspicion on its originality. It was also a year of litigations in sports. Interestingly, the year ended with cases involving the NFF Electoral Appeals’ Committee where a new parlance was coined the same way former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, popularised the word ‘annulment.’ In this case, ‘majority report’ filed by the committee members as against the chairman’s report which was tagged ‘minority report’ took over. Shockingly, the NFF accepted the ‘majority’ report to repel the attempt to call for a fresh election. The Super Eagles after a poor showing at the Brazil 2014 World Cup where they failed to go beyond the second round again

failed to qualify for the 2015 African Nations Cup. Stephen Keshi was sacked with two matches to go in the Nations Cup qualifiers. He was reinstated by President Goodluck Jonathan whose action finally sealed Nige-

ria’s ouster from the biggest soccer event in the continent. The Eagles for the first time played a competitive game in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state hosted by Governor Godswill Akpabio. All these made the three-times African champions finished the year on a low with a poor FIFA ranking. Nigerian sports experienced the all high at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow when the country’s number one athlete, Blessing Okagbare, won two gold medals at the event. Gold medals were also won in the Wrestling and weightlifting events. The low points at the same Commonwealth Games was the dope ban slammed on 16yearold Chika Amalaha, The gold she won in weightlifting was withdrawn. Also at Glasgow, the Team Nigeria shamefully competed in ‘coat of many colours’ as the Sports Ministry did not provide any official kit for the athletes. A 12-man Shooting team travelled to the Games and was not allowed to compete as they were not with their equipment. Nigeria emerged overall winner at the African Athletics Championship. The Team Nigeria athletes to the Youth Olympics in China were embarrassed; when they were asked by the organisers to have a

compulsory quarantine for fear of spreading the Ebola virus. The Sports Ministry ordered the withdrawal of the team from the Games. The Super Falconets won silver at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada, a competition that produced a Nigerian superstar, Asisat Oshoala who was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Later in the year in Namibia, the senior team, the Falcons won the African Women’s Championship title for the seventh time out of the nine editions of the competition. Oshoala, was again voted the tournament MVP. The year saw the appointment of a new Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, who replaced Bolaji Abdullahi. The former Weekend Editor at This Days newspaper was removed on political ground. He was booted out when his menthol, Bukola Saraki defected from the ruling party PDP to the opposition APC. The National Sports Festival tagged ‘The Centenary Games’ was twice postponed in Cross River state due to non-availability of facilities. It will now come up in March 2015. The year also marked the return of Engineer Habu Gumel as president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, in an election held in Asaba, Delta state. Gumel lost election four years ago to former Sports Minister Sani Ndanusa whose reign ended in an election he was beaten by just two votes. Table Tennis star, Aruna Quadri, became the first Nigerian to win the men’s category of the ITTF Classic in Lagos; this catapulted him to the number one spot in Africa. Nigeria’s number one athlete, Blessing Okagbare, got married in Sapele, Delta state to her heartthrob Igho Otegheri in an elaborate ceremony. Stationery Stores Football Club of Lagos legend, Yomi Peters, died at the age of 74 years after he lost a battle against Gastric Cancer. The Super Sand Eagles lost their title at the Copa Lagos International Beach Soccer to Cote d’Ivoire after a three-year reign. In all, out of the 31 registered sports associations in Nigeria, not up to five of them hosted national championships to promote the various sports.

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Golf Weekly

Emos Korblah is on course to retain the Nigeria Tour’s Order of Merit title

Korblah favoured to win Order of Merit title

Rugby: Fom Pam, Fasimoye count gains

he Nigeria Rugby Football Federation under the leadership of Sir Edward Fom Pam has described the year 2014 as a successful one considering the achievement recorded by the national team, local clubs as well as grassroots developmental programmes for players and coaches. According to the president of the new NRFF board inaugurated in November, 2013, the outgoing year has witnessed so many tremendous and unprecedented achievements in the history of the sport not just on the pitch of play but also administratively. Fom Pam told New Telegraph on Sunday that: “To ensure that the federation cares for its members, we have created a database that captured details of all clubs, officials and players. That has provided us with an accurate yardstick for planning and measurement of growth.” The seasoned sports administrator expressed immense joy over the repositioning of the regional leagues which have grown to become one of the biggest leagues in Africa with eight teams in the South West, four in the South East/South South league and six in the Northern league with the regional winners featuring in the Super League to determine the national champion. In the same vein, The Technical Director of the Federation, Fasimoye Olatunji, buttressed the sentiments shared by the president. He said: “Two Sevens tournament were staged this year, with Liliker sevens in the North and Independence Sevens in the South West. We hope to establish more in other

regions to improve the standard of Rugby in Nigeria.” Fasimoye also highlighted the grassroots development programmes of the federation prompted by the ‘Get Into Rugby’ which is an initiative of the International Rugby Board. The programme launch was attended by 50 coaches and 35 teachers from eight states. The eight states include; Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Plateau, Kaduna, Abia and Imo state) which represented all the regions and the programme was administered by Mohamed Dermouni (Regional Development Officer) with materials delivered to the NRFF by the GIR Regional Development officer to kick start the programme, the grants we received from IRB for the programme was also committed in acquiring more GIR training materials. “At the moment, over 75 schools have registered for the programme.” “The NOC/IOC staged a solidarity coaching course in Nigeria, the Level 1 coaching course which was organised as solidarity and developmental strategy for Olympic sports was attended by 19 coaches from every region of the country, the programme was facilitated by Bright Chivandire a technical representative of IRB from Zimbabwe.” At the national level, the senior national team also known as Black Stallions predominantly consisting of home-based players featured in the African Cup in Gaborone, Botswana where they came fourth. The team captained by Azeez Ladipo also took part in the African Sevens Tournament held in

Harare, Zimbabwe where they finished 11th on the log. The president while defending the federation’s stance of using the home grown players despite having a pool of rugby players abroad expressed belief that “this was done in a bid to engage the home-based players in order to measure the actual level of rugby development in Nigeria.” “This gave the players exposure, experience, courage to face any opposition, hope for a better tomorrow and the needed motivation to forge ahead and become better players.” It must be noted that the board made use of little resources at its disposal to engage National players on high performance training and employed the service of Fabian Juries a South African rugby legend in November as the new head coach of the Black Stallions. Fabian Juries led the team to the African Sevens Championship in Harare Zimbabwe. On his part, Fom Pam revealed that: “We brought in two Rugby legends from South Africa (Breyton Paulse and Danie Gerber) to help promote the sport in Nigeria. This gave NRFF the opportunity to project its plans and vision for the next four years and also to seek for more sponsorship.” He believes that the impressive turnout of expatriates at the Independence Sevens Tournament and the voluntary hosting of the Black Stallions Sevens team to a dinner by the expatriate community are dividends of the event coupled with a working partnership with vibrant media partners home and abroad.

Ifeanyi Ibeh

hanaian golf superstar, Emos Korblah, is on course to retain the Professional Golfers’ Association of Nigeria Order of Merit title having accumulated over six million naira so far on the Nigerian Tour. Although the veteran Ghanaian has not won a tournament since his victory at September’s Memorial Championship in Otukpo, he has earned N6,164,775 so far this season. Korblah has a considerable lead over his closest rival on the Order of Merit, Oche Odoh, who has earned the sum of N4,884,875. While Odoh has been victorious at three events this season - Annol Ventures, Britannia, and Olu of Warri Opens - Otukpobased Korblah has won five times, most notably at the Memorial Championship and the Gabriel Suswan Open, which are two of the few tournaments

on the tour commanding star prizes of over a million naira, and which both took place on his home course, the Otukpo Golf and Country Club. The only other tournaments played so far this season with a million naira prize for the winner has been the ULO Golf Championship and the Delta Open, both won by Gift Willy. Port Harcourt-based Willy, who has made the cut in 10 tour events this season, is currently third on the Order of Merit standings with N4,593,083. In fourth place is Sunday Olopade (N2,353,733), while Kabir Mohammed (N 2,261,120), Martin Odoh (N2,134,125), Morgan Atako (N1,895,466), Elijah Markus (N1,842,750) and Kingsley Oparaku (N1,708,983) occupy the fifth to ninth positions respectively. Christopher Francis (N1,689,733) of the Minna Cantonment Golf Club completes the top-10.

Tiger: It’s fun to be back again

iger Woods says he is looking ahead to 2015 now that he has shaken off the back pain that has blighted his game during the past couple of years. The 14-time major winner, who turns 39 on December 30, is now ranked 32 in the world and No 17 in the United States of America. His most recent PGA Tour victory came in Ohio 16 months ago and he has not won a major title for more than six and a half years. But despite his recent troubles, the former world number one remains reasonably upbeat, saying: “I’m mostly excited about being healthy again. “I’ve struggled for the past year-and-half with my back, and it showed in my results. “Even though I won five times two years ago, it was hit or miss some weeks and got progressively worse. “Now that it feels healthy,

strong and stable, it’s fun to be able to play with my kids again, to play soccer and run around with them – things that I used to take for granted. “For anybody who has ever had a bad back with nerve damage, it’s downright debilitating. To not feel that is finally just an incredible relief. “I am still working on my playing schedule and should have it figured out shortly.”

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH

NEW TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

Courts don’t vote for candidates, people do

ince 2007 when the Supreme Court ruled that Hon. Chibuike Amaechi was unjustly replaced as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Rivers State and therefore that the election that produced Celestine Omehia as the governor of the state was actually Amaechi’s, meaning that Amaechi, not Omehia, was the validly elected governor of Rivers State, many electorally weak politicians appear to have anchored most of their electoral calculations on the possibility of an Amaechi encore. Witness the push and shove to which the system has of recent been subjected by all manner of tendencies represented by politicians who, unable to win popular votes in their parties, are enthusiastically running to the courts to void properly organized primaries, and recognize their perfidy of primaries as the authentic ones. You know, politicians are incurable optimists, especially in these parts. They believe that with money in their bags and judges out there for sale, they can capriciously turn red to black and we shall all swallow our words and turn round to hail them as our God-sent rulers. As the 2015 general elections draw near and politicians jostle to be nominated by their parties to fly their flags at the polls, we are beginning to see the ugly under-belies of hitherto highly regarded political big boys (especially of the PDP) who, it turns out, aren’t that big after all. In Imo State, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, beaten to the contest for the PDP governorship ticket by the more popular and better grassroots politician in the person of Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, has turned round, after embracing and congratulating the winner, to condemn the exercise in which he fully participated. He now says he wants a rerun primaries or he would go to court to contest the result. In Cross River, the otherwise well-respected Senator Ndoma Egba, a three-term senator of the Federal Republic and senate majority leader, unable to win a return ticket for the fourth time, is crying foul over the outcome of the exercise in which he also fully participated. In Akwa Ibom, the emergence of Udom Emmanuel, a seasoned banker who is a well-advertised candidate of the ‘uncommon’ performer, Governor Godswill Akpabio, as the PDP governorship candidate in the state has not gone down well with some stakeholders (some would say bellyachers) who believe the exercise was anything but free and fair. The controversy over Udom’s election is so intense that a group of Akwa Ibom women under the aegis of Nka Ufon Iban has threatened to go nude should Udom’s victory be reversed. As has been noted, these disgruntled aspirants hope to actualise their seemingly failed ambitions simply by going to court to ‘seek redress’. For, apart from Amaechi, there is also the case of Alphonsus Uba Igbeke, a former Senator representing Anambra North, to embolden them in their predilection for abuse of the democratic process. Remember Igbeke? He was a three-term federal lawmaker who never won an election but had consistently been granted victory by the courts. In 2003, the court declared Igbeke a member of the House of Representatives even though he did not participate in the election. Indeed, he had lost the nomination of the PDP after a validly held primary election and quickly defected to the Alliance for Democracy (AD). However, after the election, a court of competent jurisdiction, in one of those imponderable decisions by some Nigerian judges, ruled that he was the candidate of the PDP and, presto, Igbeke went to the House! History repeated itself in 2010 when the court ruled again that Igbeke, who had defected to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), was the winner of the election and, therefore, the senator-elect for Anambra North. This was three years after Joy Emordi (PDP) had been sworn in the senator representing Anambra North and in spite of the fact that Igbeke was not even a candidate in that election. So, there is a lot

Sunday

Felix Oguejiofor Abugu

abugufex@gmail.com 08076290498 (sms only)

Ihedioha

Araraume

Ndoma-Egba

Ugwuanyi

of our perfidious electoral history for some mischievous politicians to learn from. In Enugu, two of such aspirants are already in court, praying that the result of the televised, validly conducted governorship primary held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, must not be accepted by PDP and or INEC. One of them says he is the authentic candidate following a primary election that, to all intents and purposes, was not properly organized: no record of the presence of party stakeholders or members of the PDP electoral panel, or representatives of INEC as observers or even official security details to police that electoral process. Which is to say that the politician must have simply declared himself winner of an election, which he and he alone organized for himself. The other aspirant is just a dog-in-manger kind of guy, a money bag (money-missroad, if you will), who once boasted that he had set aside N5b to ‘buy’ the PDP governorship ticket for Enugu 2015, if need be and woe betide anyone who stood in his way. Well, after the power brokers took one or two steps to demonstrate to the wealthy transporter that Enugu is no Anambra (if you catch my drift), he couldn’t stand the heat in the kitchen and practically faded out of the race. He reportedly told some people that while he did not like the process that produced the PDP governorship candidate

Emmanuel

in Enugu, he would also neither decamp from the party nor contest what had happened. Now, the same man is in court apparently with intent merely to destabilize the party and ensure that the validly nominated candidate (whose guts he seems to

hate with passion) does not, in the end, fly the PDP ticket. That appears to be his only ambition as far as the Enugu PDP saga is concerned. Unfortunately for all those lovers of courtdictated democracy, the Supreme Court has since reversed itself on the Amaechi landmark ruling. The apex court has since ruled --pursuant to the amended sections of the Electoral Act 2010--that only the parties, not the courts, have the sole prerogative to nominate and submit candidates to INEC and that once that is done, the decision is final. It thus boils down to one thing: election is about who has greater appeal to the electorate or, in this case, party stakeholders, not who has the most money to bribe lawyers, high court judges and rogue members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) members to award them an unearned victory. My understanding of what has happened to most of the aggrieved aspirants on the platform of the PDP is that in the popularity contests in their state chapters, they were squarely beaten by better, more organized, more popular candidates. Pure and simple! You cannot place little store by people in the game of politics and expect the same people to stand by you in an electoral contest against another who places a lot of premium on them as the livewire of any political office holder or seeker. No; it does not work that way. Politics is about people. It is about doing the will of the people. It is about reaching out to the people. It is about sharing their pains and triumphs with them. It is about showing them little gestures of respect such as even stopping on the way to throw cheerful greetings to people around. It is about occasionally entertaining people and eating from the same table with them, thereby making them feel one with you. It is about showing that you are simply as human as they are. Once you begin to equate yourself to a god at whose feet the people must constantly worship, the only star in the political firmament who must be respected and obeyed, the only who to whom the community must eternally pay obeisance, you cannot be a man of the people. And, hey, forget politics if you are not a man of the people or seen to be one. The difference between Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the PDP governorship candidate and his implacable opponents in Enugu is that while the man is regarded across the length and breadth of Enugu as a man of the people, one who reaches out to the people of the state in so many ways, the others are seen as miserly, standoffish persons who would rather stockpile billions with which to buy the law and the votes than genuinely work to curry the people’s favour. But, while money, as the scriptures say, may well answer all things, it isn’t in all cases that money solves the problems that arise. We are still human beings, come to think of it, with the imbued ethical understanding of what is right and wrong. To be sure, there are still a lot of situations that can be resolved simply by our acting as the human persons that we are: by just doing the right thing. Thus, from the PDP, INEC, police, Enugu Caucus in the National Assembly and the Presidency in Abuja, to the PDP stakeholders and statutory delegates in Enugu, the people whose responsibility it was to choose candidates for the PDP in the Coal City State just decided to do the right thing for the good of party and people, by staging easily the most transparent primaries to be held by any PDP state in recent time, from which Hon. Ugwuanyi and others emerged as party flag-bearers. My advice to the aggrieved in Enugu and elsewhere is, therefore, this: let it go. Power is given by God, believe it or not. Having served your people at very high levels of the political establishment, you must be prepared to move on if you cannot get tickets to move to the higher rungs of the ladder. Truth is, one could still play a very relevant role in governance without necessarily being one’s state’s Number One Citizen.

SPORT

Irabor: I may not return as LMC boss in 2015 }59

FELIX O. ABUGU

Sanctity of Truth

Courts don’t vote for candidates, people do

NIGERIA’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE NEWSPAPER IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014

N150

}63

Random musings (2) Continued from last Sunday

The

JOKE! JOKE!! JOKE!!! – OBASANJO, BABANGIDA AND JONATHAN OBASANJO, BABANGIDA & GOODLUCK were in a plane. 1. OBASANJO said: I can throw two N1000 note out & make someone happy. 2. BABANGIDA said: I can throw two N500 note out & make 2 people happy 3. GOODLUCK said: I can throw five N200 notes & make 5 people happy. 4. The PILLOT heard them & said to himself: “IDIOTS” I can throw 3 of u down & make over 150 million people happy!!! So who do u support among this four? A. OBASANJO B. BABANGIDA C. GOODLUCK D. PILOT VOTE NOW! Please send it to many people as u can to know what they think. CAN THESE BE TRUE? Only a courageous woman can fry a bunch of plantain without tasting any – Albert Macauley (1872) He who says nothing lasts forever has never tried Hausa perfume – Nelson Mandela (1973) He who completely unwraps moimoi and gala before eating cannot keep a secret – Abraham Lincoln (1864) Any man that uses his teeth to cut shaki from pepper soup, with his eyes wide open, is not afraid of anything – Williams Shakespeare (1900) Anyone who graduates without experiencing a strike, has never been to Nigeria – Lord Lugard (1904) He who refuses to mix Agege bread and akara as a type of sandwich is a racist – Martin Lurther King Jr (1788) Any man who chews Alomo bitters without squeezing his face, is capable of murder – Michael Faraday (1899) Drinking Garri doesn’t mean u”re poor, but allowing the Garri to swell before drinking is poverty – Queen Elizabeth (1893) He who runs around looking for scissors to cut indomie seasoning sachet is not hungry – Dr NNamdi Azikiwe (1947) No matter how hot your temper is, it cannot cook yam – Goodluck Jonathan (2013) Anyone who reads this without laughing is either looking for a job or needs money badly – Barack Obama (2014) Don’t laugh alone pass it on THE SUITCASE: WE WERE BORN EMPTY. WE LEAVE EMPTY. A man died and when he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in His hand. The following conversation ensued between them. God – Alright son, it’s time to go. Surprised, the man responded: Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans…… God – I’m sorry but it’s time to go. Man – What do you have in that suitcase? God – I’m sorry but it’s time to go. Man – What do you have in that suitcase? God – Your belongings. Man – My belongings? You mean my things, my clothes, my money? God – Those things were not yours they belonged to the earth. Man – Is it my memories? God – Those never belonged to you; they belonged to time Man – Is it my talents? God – Those were never yours; they belonged to the circumstances of your life.

Nigerian Project

MIKE OZEKHOME san, ofr mike.ozekhome@yahoo.com 08128444555 (sms only) Man – Is it my friends and family? God – I’m sorry; they were never yours. They belonged to the past. Man – Is it my wife and children? God – They were never yours; they be longed to your heart. Man – Is it my body? God – That was never yours; it belonged to the dust. Man - Is it my soul? God – No that is mine. Full of fear, the man took the suitcase from God and opened it… just to find out the suitcase was empty. With a tear coming down his cheek, the man said: Man – I never had anything??? God – That is correct. Every moment you lived were the only belongings you had. LESSON: This is a great lesson. Life is just a moment that belongs to only you. For this reason, enjoy your time and use it wisely while you have it. Don’t let any material thing that you think you own or that you are struggling to acquire stop you from doing so. Live Now! Live your life. Don’t forget to be happy; that is the only thing that matters. Material things and everything else that you fought for stay here. Your primary duty is to serve & worship your creator. Once again enjoy every second you live and live it for God THE WAHALA OF MATRIMONY Be honest. A scenario for debate, a man is going on a trip and the wife is helping him to pack his clothes. When he was about to leave his wife handed him a box of CONDOMS and said “Honey, take these with you in case of temptations”. With a broad smile he said, “Thanks honey you are the best”. When he got into his car, his came running, “Honey give me some, who knows I might also be tempted”. If you were the man, what would you do? Forward this to every man & woman for their views.

MAMA LASISI

Nurse: She is still crying Deris God oo!!! Baby: Kai, are APC and PDP still accusing each other and holding each other responsible for everything wrong in the country? Nurse: Yes. Baby: Aaaaaaaaaaah!!! Shame to the devil…Am not coming out again!! Don’t laugh alone, pass it on. OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God & not of us. 2Cor. 4:7. Paul reminds us today that in living for Christ and sharing Him with others, we are not the music but the megaphone. Our purpose is not to become the message but to convey it thru our lives and our lips. If amplify music, then our flawed lives can magnify the goodness of God. Nothing is unusable in God’s hands. Have a blessed weekend. MAN IS CREATED IN GOD’S OWN IMAGE Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; & everyone who loves is born of God & knows God. 1 Jn 4:7. We can easily become so driven by our goals that people become just one more pawn that we use to achieve them. The scriptures, however, call us to a different view of these around us. We are to see people as created in the image of God. They are objects of God’s love & deserving of ours as well. People are to be loved, not used. Have a blessed weekend.

Obasanjo

NIGERIA AND FEARS, EVEN OF YET TO BE BORN BABIES A pregnant woman was delivering but she was finding it very difficult. The nurses as usual yelled at her: “Push!...” But there were no signs of the baby coming forth, no matter what they did. About five minutes later, the baby’s head came out and asked: Baby: Is this Nigeria? NURSE: Yes. BABY: What about Boko Haram, are they still here and killing? NURSE: Yes. BABY: What about ASUP? NURSE: Still on strike BABY: What about the missing $20 billion? Nurse: Still missing. Baby: Chai, what about the Chibok girls have they been rescued? Nurse: No. Baby: What about NEPA… are they on 24/7? Nurse: For where. No bi my phone touch-light we wan carry deliver you? Baby: Is Jonna still the President? Nurse: Yes. Baby: How about Jonna wife?

JESUS: OUR PERFECT FRIEND Then Jonathan & David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 1 Sam. 18:3. In a world where most relationships are about what we can get, let us be the type of friends who focus on what we can give. Jesus our perfect Friend, demonstrated for us that greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. The glory of life is to love, not to be loved; to give not to get; t serve not to be served. Have a blessed weekend. Merry Christmas! POLITICS: AMBASSADOR WALI VS. TAMBUWAL The governorship election in Sokoto State will surely be interesting. The election is between the PDP candidate, Amb. Wali & the APC candidate, Hon. Tambuwal. However, Tambuwal & Wali are both from the same Tambuwal LGA. Tambuwal’s wife is Amb. Wali’s younger sister (same mother, same father). In 1999, it was Amb. Wali as senate leader that brought Tambuwal to Abuja & made him his Senior legislative business. When in 2003. Tambuwal ran for house of Reps, Amb Wali ensured his victory. Tambuwal was responsible for his nomination as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco. Will Mrs. Tambuwal vote for APC/ her husband to be the First Lady or will she vote for PDP/her brother to be the First sister? • Follow me on twitter @ MikeozekhomeSAN

By Aliu Eroje

Printed and Published by Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Ltd: Head Office: No. 1A, Ajumobi Street, Off ACME Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja-Lagos. Tel: +234 1-2219496, 2219498. Abuja Office: Orji Kalu House, Plot 322, by Banex Junction, Mabushi, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Advert Hotline: 01-8541248, Email: info@newtelegraphonline.com Website: www.newtelegraphonline.com ISSN 2354-4317 Editor: EMEKA MADUNAGU.